The video spread by the Black Fangs throughout the Empire.

Seeing it raised doubts in Lucy, who promptly made her way toward the Cathedral.

However, it wasn’t like she dramatically declared she would investigate what was really going on once she opened the Cathedral doors.

“What should I even do…?”

She found herself merely lingering around the Cathedral, letting out a deep sigh in frustration.

Under the circumstances, it was kind of expected.

After all, the Cathedral isn’t a place just anyone can waltz into. And right now, the Empire was in an uproar over the Black Fangs.

In a situation like this, there was no way a lowly apprentice knight without any power would be allowed entry.

Plus, Lucy wasn’t strong enough to ignore all those heavy security measures and barge in.

No matter how she thought about it, she was stuck in a situation with no solution.

Should she back off like this…?

‘There’s no way I can retreat from here.’

She had to confirm something.

Were the children really doing okay?

Including the thirty children Lucy had brought to the Holy Church and the others that different knights had rescued as part of their duties.

Her suspicions from watching the video of the Black Fangs’ leader.

She couldn’t go back until she figured out whether the Holy Church might be using those kids for something sinister.

Just as Lucy was pacing back and forth, caught up in her thoughts…

“…Huh?”

Her face turned to one of surprise.

It was the sibling she’d previously led to the Holy Church.

She had just caught a glimpse of the girl slipping by!

In this moment, there was no time for hesitation.

Lucy quickly dashed in the direction the girl had vanished.

The landscape in her view began to swirl as she hurried forward.

The girl was just within reach, evading Lucy’s pursuit as she bolted away to who knows where.

After a mad chase, Lucy found herself facing a dead end…

‘Where did she go?’

Flustered, Lucy scanned her surroundings, but the girl was nowhere to be seen.

This was bizarre on so many levels.

There was clearly no escape route from here, yet…

The girl had vanished like a ghost.

And now that Lucy thought about it, that wasn’t even the end of the weirdness.

Lucy, being a knight recognized for her potential, could definitely wield some mana.

Just moments ago, she concentrated mana in her legs and tried to catch the girl at maximum speed.

But she hadn’t been able to keep up.

It made absolutely no sense!

There was no way a mere child could outrun her!

‘Did I just imagine that?’

She considered the possibility but found that thought a bit odd.

She’d been stressed lately, but it was stretching it to think she was hallucinating.

Ultimately, it just left her in a baffling situation.

Exhausted, Lucy leaned against the wall… only to feel something strange.

It definitely seemed like an ordinary wall.

But oddly, something was protruding from it.

Like a doorknob.

Lucy reached out and touched the old brick wall again.

For sure.

This was an illusion created by magic.

Someone had gone to great lengths to hide a passageway in this spot.

But what on earth was the purpose?

Where did this path lead?

Could it be that the girl had guided her here?

But then again, what exactly was that girl?

With thoughts racing in her mind, Lucy’s head spun.

She couldn’t wrap her head around all this.

But… one thing remained clear.

Lucy swallowed hard, opened the door, and stepped into the unknown space.

*

After walking down the damp, yucky passageway beneath the Cathedral for quite a while, Lucy couldn’t shake her puzzled expression.

Thinking back, that secret passage had been oddly close to the Cathedral. She hadn’t thought of it until now.

If she hadn’t been confused about the direction… this should definitely be located underground the Cathedral.

“This place…”

Finally arriving at her destination, Lucy was greeted by an incredibly strange space.

She couldn’t tell what purpose it served, making it all the more eerie.

There was no sunlight, nor any lighting; it was not a space built for human habitation at all.

However, on the floor lay scattered gospels and prayers—far more than she expected.

It was as if a significant number of people had lived here.

But then, where had those people gone? As Lucy searched around, the more questions arose.

‘Why on earth are these things here?’

She pried open a locked door using force, revealing a room packed with bizarre magical engineering machines.

Tools that looked like they’d be used for cutting something.

Even machinery that seemed to compress something into a liquid form.

‘Butchering facility?’

That assumption arose naturally.

She could see blood and flesh stuck to those machines.

Although not an expert on magical engineering, it seemed clear they were used for that purpose.

Most likely, it was a place used for slaughtering meat…

‘…Isn’t that a bit strange?’

Lucy’s face turned to confusion. Perhaps fittingly so.

Why on earth would there be a butcher shop in a place like this? It was illogical on so many levels.

But if that was the case, then why were those machines here? With blood and flesh, they clearly weren’t just for ‘grinding’ meat.

“…”

Cold sweat trickled down Lucy’s back as her expression turned pale.

The reason was quite simple.

A gloomy imagination sprang to mind. A particularly ominous one.

But…

‘N-no way that could be!’

Surely, it was just her overactive imagination.

She must have been too extreme in her flights of fancy.

After all, while working as a knight, she had come across countless criminals and punished them, and none had committed such horrific acts.

There were limits to evil deeds.

And for the Holy Church, which worshiped God, to carry out such horrors… even conspiracy theorists wouldn’t believe in such preposterous tales.

Lucy spent a long time calming her shocked heart, but that unsettling feeling never left.

Nervously biting her nails, Lucy paced the area around her.

And then…

“…!”

The face of that girl appeared before her once more.

The girl who had led her here.

That girl was somehow right in front of Lucy again.

“W-wait! Hold on!”

Lucy shouted quickly after the girl, but just like last time, the girl ignored her words and sped off somewhere.

Once again, at an incredible speed.

Lucy strained to keep up, but… it was a lost cause.

Just like before, the girl vanished as if she had evaporated into thin air.

Lucy, panting heavily from running, found herself only facing a black door.

[Contaminated Objects Storage]

A room with such a strange name.

A wave of dread washed over her.

But there was no backing down now. Lucy took a deep breath and opened the door.

*

As soon as she opened the door, nausea surged up.

Her head spun.

Severe pain radiated from her eyes.

She sensed a foul aura.

A sinister black liquid was stored in there.

But it wasn’t the black liquid that horrified Lucy.

Something horrifying was there.

Something she shouldn’t be seeing.

Souls that appeared to be a mix of hundreds…

No, thousands of humans were before her eyes.

In a state that was emanating dreadful curses.

Danger.

This was definitely dangerous.

She couldn’t control her ability to see souls.

At any moment she might be affected by it, causing abnormalities in her mind and body.

That’s why, as Lucy struggled to hold onto her fading consciousness, she was about to make her escape.

[Big sister.]

A voice echoed.

It was the voice of the girl who had brought her here.

Only then did Lucy realize the identity of the girl.

How could she move faster than Lucy? How could she appear so mysteriously?

The reason was simple.

That girl wasn’t a living human.

The girl’s soul extended her hand toward Lucy, looking at her with a mixture of emotions.

Why was it?

It was clear that fleeing was the right thing to do.

Everything in this place was suspicious and dangerous. It was full of threats to her life.

So it was right to escape.

Even knowing that…

Lucy felt she couldn’t ignore it. A sensation rose that she shouldn’t turn away.

Lucy… took the girl’s hand.

Memories of the experiences the girl had gone through flooded into Lucy’s mind.

Wandering through the slums, they struck up conversations and became close friends.

Being guided by Lucy to the Holy Church.

And then…

Everything that happened afterward.

After learning all that, Lucy looked back at the girl.

She gazed at her but couldn’t speak a word.

Lucy had witnessed it.

The sight of a girl shredded alive because she hadn’t sung a hymn properly.

Of the girl being forced to slice open and dissect her brother as punishment for not truly revering God.

That’s why Lucy couldn’t bring herself to say she was sorry.

There was no way she could audaciously ask for forgiveness after such monstrosities.

Toward her, the girl spoke.

That she held resentment.

She resented those who shamelessly praised God while committing such atrocities.

With that, the girl became part of that tangled soul.

No, the girl had undoubtedly been a part of that soul all along.

The object that the Holy Church called contaminated.

The souls of those cursed children left behind after all the divine power had been harvested.

They called upon Lucy.

To make the sinner pay for her sins.

Her head spun.

Her thoughts just wouldn’t work.

Lucy’s legs moved against her will.

With vacant eyes, Lucy gazed at the black liquid.

She heard the voices of the children.

They were calling out to her.

Requesting her help.

And Lucy… did what she had to do.

The blue-haired girl sank into that ominous black liquid.