[Ariel's POV]
A beautiful full moon...
The battle inside the city has ended; we finally won this struggle. The remnants of the monsters fled outside the city, while the Vampires returned to hiding—heaven knows where.
Currently, I am on the roof of a building, sitting with the man who has always saved me, far beyond anything Brian ever did. I turned to the side to gaze at his face, as he looked out over the city landscape ruined by this invasion.
I wonder what is on his mind right now.
"Hey, may I ask the question that was delayed before?" I asked him.
"Of course, you can ask anything," the masked man answered without turning his gaze.
At this moment, I possess the power of the Truth Seeker eyes, which allow me to see into a person's heart to discern whether they are lying or being honest with what they say.
"Why did you join the Heretic group? Why did you kill the people of the Temple?" I asked him earnestly.
"Everyone has their own interests; everyone has different moral standards," the man answered, looking toward the full moon in the sky. "We do not want them to discriminate against and hunt the Cursed Children, but the Temple Authority insists that they must be exterminated if they cannot be controlled."
Truthfully, I have started looking into this issue. It cannot be denied that their power is very dangerous and difficult to control. That is why the Temple Authority took extreme steps to protect the masses from the threat of the wild Cursed Children's power.
I also do not know what should be done to overcome this problem. To take the risk of the masses' safety being threatened, or to set aside a small number of people for the peace of the majority.
"To be honest, I do not want to weaken the Temple Authority," the man revealed.
Using the power of the Truth Seeker, I did not see a single lie in those words.
"They are the main force to fight the Demons who, at any time, could invade this world again," the masked man said.
That is true; the Demons are evil creatures who want to exterminate humanity. I have already seen the vile evils they committed during the field work practice in this region with the other members.
Speaking of the other members from the academy, I feel that the speaking style, attitude, and gaze possessed by this masked man are very similar to that black-haired man.
I am curious; what is the name or true identity of this man who is always helping me?
"Hey, may I know what your real name is?" I asked him.
This time, he glanced toward me and looked into my eyes. There was no mistake; this was the gaze Raul usually gave whenever he spoke with me.
"Do you really want to know my real name?" the man asked, seeking confirmation.
I nodded, my hand clutching my chest because my heart began to beat faster than before. For some reason, I was very nervous waiting for the answer that would come from his lips.
"My real name is..."
— Deg...! Deg...! Deg...!
My heart pounded even harder; in a moment, I would know his identity.
"Evans... Baxter..."
A silence occurred between us; I could only remain still without being able to respond to his answer. I did not see a lie in his heart; he spoke honestly when answering my question.
So it isn't him? I had been so confident that he was Raul de Garcia...
"Evans Baxter, is it? A unique name," I muttered.
He could only smile in response to my words.
"Do you know, Ariel?" Evans said with a smile that looked rather mischievous. "You are the first person to know my true identity."
"Heee~ In that case, am I a special person to you, Evans?" I asked half-joking.
However, Evans turned his gaze away from me; his expression looked melancholic as he returned to staring at the full moon in the sky. Once again, his expression reminded me of Raul when we spoke at the mines during the first stage of the survival exam.
"There is only one person who is very special in my heart right now," Evans muttered, appearing like a person without a sense of direction. "I want to meet her again, even if it will only hurt my heart."
For some reason, he looked very lonely when saying that. And for some reason, my heart was very uncomfortable seeing him like this. I wanted to comfort him; I wanted to make him smile just like before; I wanted to always be there for him, just as he was always there to help me at every moment.
I touched his cheek and made him look into my eyes. He only stared at me flatly, unlike before. My hand, which was touching his cheek, now moved upward to reach for the mask he was wearing.
I know that mask is an artifact that changes the wearer's face and hair color to hide their true identity. I wanted to see his actual face; I did not want to stop at just knowing his real name.
However, the man's hand caught mine, preventing me from removing the mask he wore.
"Why?" I asked him.
"For the good of us both," he answered briefly. "It is time for me to go," he said as his finger pointed toward the city street.
I looked in the direction he pointed; a blond-haired man could be seen riding a horse toward us. Beside him was a pink-haired woman, followed by several Inquisitors behind them.
"It seems your ride has arrived." The masked man stood up. "Congratulations on successfully becoming a Saint, Ariel."
He turned around, but I pulled his cloak to ask one last thing.
"Hey Evans, can we meet again?"
He only gave a small smile and then said, "I will be by your side when you are in difficulty, I promise."
After he said that, Evans then manifested his wings and leaped, flying into the night sky and leaving this city.
***
[Duke Alvaro's POV]
Currently, I am in the Duchy of Toledo—the territory controlled by the Garcia family in the Aragon Empire.
I am reading a newspaper containing information regarding the attack by demons and monsters in the Margraviate of Cataluna—the place where the person who entered Raul's body is performing his internship activities.
"I did not expect Vilmore to be defeated so easily without facing a Holy Knight or a Grand Espada."
However, it is also written here that a Saint was newly chosen at the time the battle occurred in the Fortress City of Cataluna. Could it be she who defeated Vilmore?
This makes it necessary for me to change several plans I have made for the future.
— Tok! Tok! Tok!
I heard a knock on the door of my study.
"Enter."
The door then opened, revealing a woman with shoulder-length black hair wearing unique combat attire. She then walked toward me, approaching me, and said, "I wish to report on your son's activities while he was there, Duke Alvaro."
She is the daughter of one of the Ashina Clan members who made a Blood Pact with me. I asked her father to provide me with someone to conduct a reconnaissance mission against the man who entered my son's body and report all his activities to me.
"Very well, tell me everything he did in that region," I commanded her.
The woman then told me about Raul's daily routine of performing patrol duties; she also talked about his group fighting and destroying a Vampire group's headquarters. After that, he was involved in the battle at the Fortress City of Cataluna against the Demons and Monsters attacking the territory.
"Is that all?" I asked her.
"That is the only report of the activities your son performed, Duke Alvaro," she answered flatly.
"Fine, you may leave this place and return to your reconnaissance mission," I ordered her.
After the woman left, I re-evaluated the report she had just delivered. There was something wrong with her report.
I gave Raul The Masquerade mask last year, exactly after the death of The Fool during the fight against Holy Knight Hosentia. At that time, he said he wanted to kill a talented academy student whom I predicted would become a problem one day.
But, because his body was entered by this stranger, that task was not carried out.
Information says that Holy Knight Remilio was killed by a new, young Performer from The Masquerade group. If The Masquerade group approached the person possessing Raul's body and recruited him, it is certain that he was the one who killed Holy Knight Remilio.
This makes the report delivered by the woman a lie or a fabrication. Because if it were true that she observed the movements of the person possessing Raul's body at all times, then she would have also reported Raul's fight with Holy Knight Remilio.
Which indicates the man who entered Raul's body already knows of the woman's existence and made a certain deal with her to fabricate her reports to me.
However, the woman could have been deceived when the man entering Raul's body tricked her while wearing The Masquerade mask, as the artifact has the ability to change identities.
But my instinct says that my first assumption is the more likely possibility. I must not underestimate someone who can kill a fighter of a Holy Knight's caliber.
"It seems I must contact Princess Lilith in the Tsardom of Slavia to make a change of plans."
That's right; my agreement with Tsar Feodor at that time to invest in his country was merely a cover so that my activity of collecting souls from the citizens of the Tsardom of Slavia—who died due to monster attacks in that country—could be carried out easily without hindrance.
Indeed, Princess Lilith and I made a deal to be able to open the gate between the Demon World and this world. The method is to collect human souls using a forbidden artifact as a sacrifice in opening the connecting gate between these two worlds.
"I must get rid of that person; he is an unpredictable variable who could destroy our plans in the future."
I absolutely hate uncertainty...
Because of that, Princess Lilith and I must deal with the person who entered Raul's body as soon as possible so that our plans can be carried out without any interference.