**Chapter 42: The Gray Sky and the Confession**
The gray sky pressed down on the forest. Lilith walked through the mud, dragging a steel sword. Her light blue clothes hung in tatters, stained with ash and mud.
A groan cut through the damp air.
Ahead of her, three wounded men leaned against tree trunks. Their ankles were bloodied, their feet amputated off to the side in the mud.
Lilith stopped in front of the first one. She rested the tip of the sword against his chin.
"What does the church know about me?" she asked. Her voice was flat.
The man trembled. Sweat ran down his temples. He clenched his jaw.
"They know... they know about Elionor," he said, spitting blood. "The report has already reached the barracks."
"Who has it?"
"Elector," the man let out a raspy groan. "And the Inquisitor."
"What measures have they taken to catch me?"
The Purifier averted his gaze toward the leaden sky. He clenched his fists.
"I won't tell you."
Lilith drove the metal into his throat with a dry motion. The man convulsed and went limp.
She turned to the second one. The wounded man breathed heavily, staring at his companion's body.
"You?" Lilith asked him. "What does the king know?"
"The king is no longer here," the second Purifier whispered. His voice was a wheeze. "He fled."
Lilith leaned in slightly. Her face became severe.
"Fled? Where to?"
"To a secret place... with the high priests. You're alone. They'll hunt you down anyway."
"Then let them try. How do they plan to find me without their priests?"
The man gritted his teeth, keeping his mouth shut.
Lilith pierced his chest swiftly. Hot blood splattered the mud.
Only the patrol sergeant remained. He crawled face-down across the ground covered in pine needles, leaving a red trail behind him.
Lilith walked toward him. She stepped hard on his back, crushing him against the ground. The sergeant let out a scream that shattered the forest's silence.
"Tell me what those who stayed in the capital are going to do," Lilith ordered.
The sergeant clawed at the cold earth with his fingers.
"Please!" he begged. "Don't kill me!"
Lilith crouched down. She grabbed him by his damp hair, forcing him to lift his mud- and sweat-covered face.
"Tell me what Elector is planning."
"He wanted... he wanted a curfew," the sergeant said, his breath ragged. "They want to search every house in the capital to find your trail."
Lilith frowned. Her fingers tightened on the man's hair.
"A curfew? How do they plan to detect me?"
"The cleric... the young cleric has a sample of your ash," he stammered. "He knows how you smell. He can sense your aura."
Lilith let out a dry laugh.
"A hunting hound. And the nobility allowed this?"
"No..." the sergeant spat out a mix of saliva and thick blood. "The nobles refuse. They say it's espionage."
The sergeant clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms. The pain tensed the veins in his neck like violin strings.
"Speak," Lilith demanded, driving the sword into his left thigh. "What else?"
The sergeant let out a piercing scream. His eyes locked onto hers.
"Nothing matters anymore," he whispered, in a thread of a voice. "The capital is going to collapse. There will be a civil war... the nobles will rebel against the church. Everything is going to burn."
"A civil war?"
The sergeant didn't respond. A spasm shook his body. His eyes went white. His head fell heavily to one side, sinking into the mud. His breathing stopped.
Lilith released him. The dead man's face hit the ground with a dull thud.
She straightened up. Her chest rose and fell violently beneath the torn corset. Her hands, stained with human blood, trembled slightly.
Useless.
She kicked the sergeant's corpse. The body rolled a meter in the mud.
"Damn you, Eugenio! Damn you all!" she screamed into the forest's void.
No one answered.
The mist began to descend again over the broken trees. The air carried the smell of ozone and dead leaves.
Lilith took a step back. The bulges on her back tore through the remnants of her dress. Two dark, membranous wings burst open, beating the air with a heavy roar.
She launched herself upward.
The mud and pine needles flew in all directions. Lilith disappeared into the gray of the clouds, flying at full speed back to the capital.