“……”

 

An eerie silence, and the man’s frozen movements, lingered between the door of the inner room and the courtyard for a long time.

 

Finally, a low, echoing laughter began.

 

“Hee hee hee…”

 

The laughter grew louder and more intense, like a frenzied dance of extreme joy.

 

“Hee hee hee… Hahahahahaha!!!!!!”

 

“Hahahahahaha!!! Who the hell are you? How can you be so entertaining? So confident, so arrogant—I like it! It’s fun, fun, fun hahaha!!”

 

Jeremy slowly stood upright again, his hollow chest turning toward Miss White Fox standing at the door of the inner room. On his face, an eerily familiar mask of manic laughter had appeared.

 

From the depression in his chest, thick, pitch-black liquid began to flow, healing the wound once more. His clothes, which had been damaged, were astonishingly restored, as if they were a part of his body.

 

“Tsk… How noisy. No wonder none of those 【Faceless One】 are normal. It seems they all have a god like you…”

 

The girl put down her small hands, which had been covering her ears. The black gem beside her spun around her like a mischievous sprite, and an invisible pressure began to spread.

 

“So, before you’re done for, do you have any last words?”

 

“Oh my, oh my! What an incredible presence you have~ You’re quite something, aren’t you? Although I didn’t find the target I was looking for, I’ve ended up with an unexpected gain. How interesting!”

 

Jeremy’s black-and-white mask visibly expanded into a more exaggerated and eerie grin, then seemed to shrink again, morphing into a rather serious and solemn expression. He raised his hand, and from nowhere, produced a top hat that clashed with his demeanor, placing it on his head and giving a slight bow.

 

“This beautiful fox lady, since you are so insistent on finding me, allow me to introduce myself formally. My name is Musk, the world’s greatest role-playing master. Whether it’s a tragic role, a comical role, or a piteous role. If it’s interesting enough, I can… heh heh, imitate it all!”

 

“Role-playing master? What’s that?”

 

Curious about his words, Miss White Fox paused, tilting her head in confusion.

 

“Oh, you don’t understand? Well, it’s quite an esoteric profession. Please allow me to demonstrate~”

 

As he spoke, the black-and-white mask on his face vanished again, revealing the true appearance of the Holy Knight Jeremy. He placed his hands on his chest, assuming a posture of devout prayer.

 

“Great and exalted Goddess of Light… Praise be to Your name… You are the embodiment of dawn and hope…”

 

“Ahem! How, how, how, how, how, how was that? Did I do a particularly good imitation? Am I a very devout believer? Heh heh heh hahahahahahaha!!!”

 

The sincere prayer was abruptly interrupted as the man, now revealed, clutched his stomach and laughed uncontrollably. The contrast between his former devout demeanor and his current chaotic laughter was striking, enough to make any normal person frown in disbelief.

 

“Crazy… Wait, you wouldn’t be the God of Madness, would you? Isn’t this godhood a bit too bizarre?”

 

“Thank you for the compliment!~ Audience recognition is our endless motivation, hee hee hee hee!”

 

“But there is one thing I need to correct. I am not a god of madness. This fox lady… um, Miss Dawn, if you don’t mind, you can call me Wanxiang~ My friends all call me that, or formally—【God of False Faces and Ecstasy】~~~ Oh~ hee hee hee hee hee!”

 

In just a few sentences, Jeremy—or rather, Musk—changed expressions multiple times. It seemed like each of his words represented a completely different mindset and attitude, filled with a crazy kind of joy, making it difficult to discern his true intentions.

 

Thus, the white fox lady nodded in agreement.

 

“Alright, I completely understand now that you’re just a lunatic looking for trouble.”

 

Initially, Violet was still pondering why the so-called mastermind behind the scenes would go through such elaborate and strange actions in certain places. Was there another hidden motive?

 

For instance, the 【Faceless One】 could have acted more discreetly and expanded their influence, yet they specifically attacked the Holy Knights and caused a city-wide commotion just a few nights ago.

 

Moreover, although the 【Faceless One】 have assimilation abilities, why did they choose to kill Holy Knight Arden and others in such a vindictive manner and deliberately spare Jeremy?

 

Given the disparity in their strengths, if that mask really wanted to intercept, the latter, as merely a devout knight, wouldn’t have stood a chance of escaping.

 

Such an action was similar to writing ‘I have a problem’ all over Jeremy Murray’s face.

 

So, Pedrick suspected him, Yuna suspected him, and Violet did as well.

 

Given the level of research into soul studies within the Holy Empire, even if they couldn’t achieve the level of summoning the dead like Violet, it would be entirely possible to retroactively recall the memory images of the deceased. Not to mention the existence of the Redemption Saintess, who can use resurrection magic.

 

So, the fact that the 【Faceless One】 did not assimilate those knights but merely killed them seems like an intentional hint for the investigators to use similar methods.

 

Indeed, it appears to be deliberately designed to make the sole survivor, Jeremy Murray, to be suspected. Then to clear his name through investigation, and consequently, to shift the investigators’ focus to the fact that the first victim, Chloe, and the second victim, Holy Knight Karina, both had Lightborn Tribe lineage.

 

Such actions might seem inexplicable, but those who interact more with the 【Faceless One】 and gain deeper insight into them will eventually realize a critical issue.

 

If the 【Faceless One】 spread through assimilation rather than transfer, then… why did Chloe Lowry, unlike others, die with her soul dissipating right after being assimilated by Holy Knight Karina?

 

There is only one explanation: Chloe’s situation was different from other 【Faceless One】, her mask was special.

 

However, as long as the first wave of suspicion is avoided, later on, even if this anomaly is noticed, it will naturally attract most of the investigators’ attention due to the similarities between Karina’s and Chloe’s so-called “Lightborn Tribe lineage” and Karina’s disappearance. This results in overlooking Jeremy Murray, who had also come into contact with Chloe but was left “unscathed.”

 

Does this sound quite complex and convoluted, making one frown?

 

Indeed, it is, because many actions are redundant and unclear, which is why Violet could not fully understand it and had to remain passive for a while.

 

By confirming the clearest evidence from the 【Faceless One】 who were exorcised and after the recent exchanges, the priestess finally understood.

 

It was precisely the effect created by the mastermind behind the scenes, the 【God of False Faces and Ecstasy】 who had shifted from Chloe to Jeremy Murray.

 

He did not intend to do anything specific to Bright Light City or to hatch any particular scheme. He simply wanted to make the situation obscure and convoluted, creating confusion for the sake of confusion.

 

At the same time, however, he subtly left clues for the investigation. This was merely a puzzle he left behind for fun and amusement during the pursuit of his main objectives. The 【God of False Faces and Ecstasy】 clearly relishes in such malevolent amusement.

 

But he did not anticipate that Mr. Diviner of the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild would use astrological calculations to pinpoint the fleeing Karina Brett, sending a capable disciple, Mr. Dead Soul, to intercept her, resulting in a mutual defeat in the subsequent battle.

 

Karina died, but her mask held no particular peculiarities. Consequently, the investigators, having lost their suspect, would naturally turn their attention to Jeremy, who had already been cleared of suspicion. Therefore, he could no longer remain hidden.

 

This led to the inevitable city-wide riot by the 【Faceless One】. There might have been other inducements, such as the possibility that the 【Faceless One】 mistook the priestess who had infiltrated Mr. Dead Soul’s mental world for the true Goddess of Light.

 

Regardless of the reasons, with the situation having developed to this point, even if Violet did not seek him out, the now-exposed 【God of False Faces and Ecstasy】 would likely have to step in personally.

 

This is the final battle where everything will be decided.