Chapter 1326: Chapter 893 Truth

The story told by Lumiere was all too familiar to Duanmu Huai.

A group of Psychics prayed and summoned a Subspace Demon known as a Magic Elf, seeking to obtain Strength they made contracts with the spirit. This gave rise to beings called Elf Contract Holders — but in actuality, this was no different from a Demon possessing a mortal. In the eyes of the Tribunal, what these Psychics did was merely invite demonic possession through a Heretical Ceremony to obtain power.

“An Elf Contract represents the complete merging of one’s Soul with the Elf, turning their Soul into that of an Elf. Since Elves are eternal, at the moment of forming the contract, the body becomes nothing more than a vessel for the Elf, hence the immortality.”

It was only logical that those whose Souls had been taken by Subspace Demons became nothing but pawns, for their Souls were no longer their own. Even if their bodies were destroyed, their Souls could not be eradicated.

“But there is a flaw… Elves are originally beings without vessels, so they gradually deviate from humans, and eventually, they abandon even the vessel. Those who discard their vessels after becoming an Elf Contract Holder are referred to as… Great Spirits.”

Having lost their Souls, the bodies controlled by Subspace Demons were of course meaningless. Those Psychics’ Souls were completely transformed into Subspace Demons as they were swept into the Subspace.

“More importantly, the contract holders themselves are bound by the desires of the contract they made. My father gained the power of Elves through an Elf Contract and created Magic. In order for more people to wield Magic, he allowed more people to form Elf Contracts, all for the people, for the suffering kin. They were the earliest members of the Royal Family and the Nobility. But…”

At this point, Lumiere sighed.

“However, the desires of humans are endless. The wish for a better life was replaced by the desire for more luxury. The King that emerged to help his country upon such wishes was no longer responding to those wishes, but rather fulfilling desires–for the protection of his citizens, he would invade other countries without hesitation, exterminate their people, and trample the populace like ants with overwhelming power. An immortal King who, because of the wishes of his people, not only repelled invaders but even burned the invaders’ countries to ashes!”

Lumiere clenched her fists in anger.

“Do you think such a King is just? That’s why I destroyed him! Because I believed he was wrong!”

Wuah…

Watching Lumiere in front of him, Duanmu Huai silently applauded in his heart.

This was simply a reenactment of the rebellion of The Emperor and Horus, except it seemed that this Ms. Horus had succeeded.

Well, that’s normal. After all, this was just about one country, not the entire Milky Way.

“I did all that to stop the people, to prevent the country from spiraling out of control! Fortunately, even without making an Elf Contract, the power of Magic could still be inherited by descendants. That’s why I deliberately let the knowledge of making Elf Contracts be lost! This country no longer needs Elf Contracts! Those who desire such monsters should also be eradicated!”

“But I failed.”

Lumiere lowered her head.

“The Magic Elves betrayed me… no, maybe it’s more accurate to say that I betrayed them. That’s why they abandoned me and sealed me away completely.”

“How could this be…!”

Shocked by Lumiere’s series of confessions, the three girls were speechless. The Paretia Kingdom has always regarded the Magic Elves as part of their faith, but they had never thought that those Great Spirits they worshipped were actually transformed humans!

“It isn’t surprising.”

On the contrary, Duanmu Huai scoffed.

“It’s a typical tactic of Subspace Demons–give mortals a taste of sweetness and then lure them to fall. By the time they want to turn back, it’s already too late.”

“What do you mean, Sir Judge? Are you saying that our revered Magic Elves are Demons?”

Facing Duanmu Huai’s sarcasm, Yuriya spoke up discontentedly, and Duanmu Huai glanced at her, snorting.

“Exactly, from the Tribunal’s perspective, what you worship are indeed extremely evil Subspace Demons. I could even declare you Heretics who worship Demons right here, right now. All Subspace Creatures must be eradicated, and your Magic Elves are no exception. Essentially, they’re not very different from the Demon Clan that you’re about to confront.”

The atmosphere suddenly tensed up, and before long, Teerdi furrowed her brows and voiced her thoughts.

“But why… Why is Lumiere here? I mean… What is her purpose for coming here?”

“I don’t know that, but I have a hypothesis — in fact, you may not be aware, but before you arrived here, the transport team was attacked by the Demon Clan. If it wasn’t for my subordinates’ timely arrival, the Demon Clan would have already annihilated the transport team, and…”

Duanmu Huai glanced at Lumiere.

“Do you have any clues?”

“Of course.”

Lumiere bowed her head.

“As I mentioned before, I am the daughter of The First Generation King, but the reason I made an Elf Contract was only as a backup to the ruler–should anything befall the King, I was to assume his duties. That’s why I possess all the memories of the original Kingdom, including…”

“The Big Barrier!”

Hearing this, Enisphia seemed to have realized something. She turned pale, and the others were similarly taken aback.

Indeed, the Paretia Kingdom had not been conquered by the Demon Clan to date, largely due to the Big Barrier, which had been in place since the founding of Paretia. It prevented the Demon Clan from invading from the sky. Otherwise, Paretia Kingdom might have been destroyed by the Demon Clan long ago.

“Correct, the Big Barrier was built by my father and me. We’re very clear about everything regarding the Big Barrier.”

“”””

“So it is, then. Since you are now a subspace creature, the Demon Clan can sense your presence as well.”

“Yes, just like you said, I can sense the Demon Clan, and the Demon Clan can sense me.”

“I see.”

Duanmu Huai nodded; he understood what was going on now. The Magic Department had used the excuse of sealing Lumiere to send her out of the Royal City, while the Demon Clan that sensed Lumiere’s presence came to try to abduct her. As long as they could obtain the knowledge in Lumiere’s brain, they might be able to break through, or even destroy the Big Barrier, and completely annihilate the Paretia Kingdom.

Whether the Demon Clan could achieve this, Duanmu Huai did not doubt as their magic spells were numerous and varied; it was not impossible for them to have magic that could read memories.

“So, what you mean is that the Magic Department deliberately sent Miss Lumiere out, so that the Demon Clan could get her, and then gain knowledge about the Big Barrier?”

Enisphia was entirely unable to understand.

“Why? Why would the Magic Department do such a thing? The Demon Clan is an enemy to all of humanity!”

“Yes, the Demon Clan is an enemy to humans, but not to Magic Elves, right?”

Duanmu Huai let out a cold laugh.

“You have been played by both sides for so many years, and yet you still haven’t realized it?”

“Huh? Great Judge, you mean to say…”

Yuriya was taken aback upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s words.

“The Demon Clan and the Magic Elves are in cahoots? But… haven’t the Magic Elves always been helping us resist the Demon Clan?”

“Nonsense, if that were not the case, would you accept their existence? In fact, aren’t the Magic Elves ruling over humans right now?”

“But the Magic Elves don’t have self-consciousness…”

“Heh.”

Duanmu Huai glanced at Lumiere and snorted with laughter.

“Let me tell you the story of the North Wind and the Sun.”

“The North Wind and the Sun?”

“Yes, the story is simple. One day, the Sun and the North Wind made a bet to see who could make a traveler on the road take off his own clothes. Then the North Wind blew forcefully, and the traveler wrapped his clothes tighter around him. Next, it was the Sun’s turn. The Sun shone its light on the traveler, who, feeling hotter and hotter, eventually took off his clothes voluntarily…”

At this point, Duanmu Huai spread his hands, his eyes fixed on Yuriya with a smile that was not quite a smile; her expression was already pale.

“Do you understand now?”

“I see.”

Teerdi nodded.

“The Demon Clan is the North Wind, the Magic Elves are the Sun… their goal is to rule over us humans, right?”

“That’s more or less it. Sometimes, those standing by your side may not necessarily be your companions.”

Duanmu Huai said this with deep sentiment. The task assigned by the Great Judge back then was too overturning. The Cultists who worshipped the Evil God attempted to rule the entire planet, and under the guidance of the Holy Woman, the people overthrew the Cultist rule. The Great Judge who came to investigate later, despite the anger and confusion of the people, forcefully sent the Holy Woman who led the resistance against the Cultists to the stake.

The reason was that the Great Judge discovered that this was actually a ruse created by the followers of Cunning Deception. Whether Cultists or the Holy Woman, they were in fact followers of Cunning Deception. Whichever side won, it would mean Cunning Deception’s victory.

After all, Cunning Deception also represents hope and change, so the victory of the Holy Woman also equated to its victory.

However, the ignorant populace did not agree with this, so in the end, the Great Judge chose to issue an Extinction Order for that planet.

I’d rather kill them all than let them become Cultists who worship Cunning Deception.

It was after this mission, that players on subsequent missions carried a skeptical gaze not only towards their enemies but also towards their own people–who knew whether the “noble” ideals of their comrades were seduced by an Evil God.

“I remember, Enisphia once said that the Paretia Kingdom regarded the Magic Elves as a faith, and the Magic Department was a staunch believer in the Magic Elves, right?”

As he spoke, Duanmu Huai looked over at Enisphia, who paused for a second, then nodded.

“Indeed… Are you trying to say… the Magic Department is controlled by the Magic Elves?”

“If Magic Elves are the faith, then isn’t the Magic Department akin to a church that worships the Magic Elves? In that case, isn’t it normal for the officials of the Magic Department to be fanatic believers of the Magic Elves? Otherwise, how do you explain their finding Lumiere’s seal and then sending her here?”

“This…”

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s mockery, the girls exchanged glances, unable to hide the shock in their hearts.

If this were true, then it would be a massive issue!

“””