“…Lucy Valierre.”

Suddenly, the Commander of the Black Fangs appeared before her, calling out her name without her ever informing him of it.

But thinking back, it wasn’t too strange. That man was always like that.

From the very first encounter, he had seen right through everything.

– You have no right to blame me.
– Do you think I don’t know about the things you’ve done?

Today, Lucy learned about the grotesque underbelly of the Holy Church.

The horrible act of gathering children to harvest divine power in cooperation with the Empire.

That man had already noticed everything from the start. No wonder he had expressed disgust towards her back when she was a knight of the Empire.

‘What if he had told me the dark side of the Holy Church back then… No, that’s too selfish of a thought.’

It was obvious.

This was only Lucy’s second time facing the Commander directly.

The first time they crossed paths at the Black Market, they were both just strangers to each other.

To the Commander, Lucy was merely a knight of the Empire he had just seen for the first time.

What kind of trust would he have to share confidential information with such a knight?

That secret was significant enough to shake the Holy Church to its core.

And to blab about it to a knight he had just met?

What if that knight reported it to his superiors?

What if the Holy Church noticed the leak and destroyed evidence, attempting to frame them while covering up?

Throwing away the chance to topple the Holy Church just to give advice to a mere knight.

In fact, if all of this had been revealed back then, that would have been more bizarre.

‘Then what he said back then…’

Lucy finally began to understand the words left by the Commander at the Black Market.

– Whether you truly know nothing or are just pretending, that doesn’t concern us.
– We are simply fulfilling our mission.

Whether Lucy was involved in this abhorrent act as a dog of the Empire or not, it was all about doing what needed to be done;

In the name of the Black Fangs, they would bring down the Holy Church.

If Lucy hadn’t embarked on this path, the Black Fangs would have destroyed the Holy Church in their own way.

Given that the video released by the Black Fangs had already shattered public trust in the Holy Church…

If the Black Fangs had exposed those secrets at the right time…

If the inhumane facility that ground children to harvest divine power was revealed to the world…

The Holy Church couldn’t possibly survive.

As the Commander had declared, the name of the Holy Church would be wiped from history.

“What are you doing right now?”

The man before her asked.

His voice was sharp.

Lucy realized it.

The man in front of her was genuinely angry.

And truthfully, it wasn’t that strange.

The massacre Lucy had just committed would inevitably be attributed to the Black Fangs.

Surely, the Black Fangs intended to bring down the Holy Church not through bloodshed, but through exposing their secrets.

But if this fact came to light, the Black Fangs would be painted as the main culprits of the massacre.

Of course, considering the wrongdoings of the Holy Church, public sentiment might be somewhat favorable…

But this wasn’t just a matter of public opinion.

By fostering criticism of the Holy Church and encouraging the people to bring it down themselves,

The Black Fangs aimed to sow the seeds for a future revolution against the Empire.

In the end, this simpleton had jeopardized all of that.

…Indeed, a person like her would be better off not existing in this world.

Having not only dragged children into hell but also suspicions, slanders, and hindrances against those trying to make the world a better place.

That’s when Lucy picked up the dagger the Commander had discarded on the floor.

“What the hell are you doing?”

The man questioned her again.

His voice was even sharper than before.

Before Lucy could even aim the sword at her neck, the Commander grabbed her arm, stopping her.

And in that moment, Lucy realized the ‘real’ reason he was angry.

…He was worried about her.

He was trying to save her, even as a murderer who had disrupted his plans.

But…

“Let go of my hand,”

Lucy said.

She told him to let go of the arm gripping her.

To finally let her pay the price she rightfully owed.

She understood the depth of his ideals. The nobility of his desire to save people.

Yet still…

There are people who are not worth saving; people who have no right to live.

Just like her, in her current state.

Her body was stained with blood and flesh.

She had killed far too many people.

She was not someone deserving of salvation.

While saying this, Lucy looked at the Commander.

And then…

He removed his mask.

Revealing the face of an enraged boy.

He slowly approached Lucy and opened his mouth.

*

Her head couldn’t keep up with the situation.

In retrospect, it would have been even weirder if she understood.

The tracking spell had been flickering wildly, which is why she rushed over to the High Priest’s residence.

Strangely enough, there wasn’t a soul guarding the place. Surprised, she entered inside to find the stench of blood hanging thick in the air.

Scattered bodies surrounded her.

Before she could even process the gruesome sight, what she saw next was…

Lucy, who was suddenly attempting suicide.

She dashed to grab Lucy’s sword and threw it to the ground. With someone like her attempting to take her life right in front of her, there was no way she could just stand by.

After putting out that immediate fire…

She asked the child what was going on here.

Why was she trying to commit suicide out of the blue? What about the bodies? And why was she drenched in blood?

There was a mountain of questions piling up.

But…

‘Why is this kid doing this?’

Despite asking, Lucy remained quiet. What was she thinking? Something felt off about her condition.

She quickly assessed the situation.

Even if Lucy was keeping her mouth tightly shut, she could still piece together what was happening here.

Let’s start with the most important question.

What on earth happened to turn the High Priest’s residence into this state?

Who was the root cause of this entire mess? Pondering this would help her understand the situation better…

‘…Wait a second.’

Wasn’t it highly likely that Lucy was the one responsible?

There was no other possibility to consider.

No other suspects in sight.

It was strange that she was the only one alive at this massacre.

Especially when the spoiler had described Lucy as a horrific murderous girl.

If the named villain of the story had committed all these acts, the pieces would fit together somewhat.

…But for some reason, it didn’t fully click.

It felt like she was missing something important.

Just then, as she was deep in thought, Lucy reached for the dagger she had thrown on the ground. She was quick to react, grabbing her arm to stop her.

Naturally, rough words slipped out of her mouth.

Anything less would have been odd.

Having experienced a similar situation before, she couldn’t watch someone end their own life right in front of her.

But Lucy looked at her and said,

“Let go of that hand.”

To let go of her hand.

To allow her to die.

…It was then that everything clicked for her. She understood.

When she last met Lucy, she had seen a strangely normal side of her, leading to several hypotheses.

Among them… was the notion of ‘dissociative identity disorder.’

Applying that theory to the current situation, everything fit.

The reasons Lucy might have committed these acts.

And why she was suffering with guilt after killing everyone here.

She felt responsible for the actions of another identity. That’s why she was trying to take her own life now.

In this situation, there was only one thing she could say.

She slowly approached her.

“You’re just running away right now.”

Indeed.

The weight of that guilt must have been unimaginable.

Even if it wasn’t intentional, her actions had led to death.

Lucy must be burdened by a depth of guilt beyond what she could conceive.

But even so, death was never the answer. That was something she couldn’t ever agree to.

“Stop trying to escape from your guilt.”

No matter how heavy the sin,

No matter how unprepared she felt to carry those sins,

She wouldn’t allow her to make that choice.

So, she declared,

“Do not run from your sins, Lucy Valierre.”

Don’t use death as a means of escape.