As Catherine turned to leave, Lathel glanced at the believers kneeling in the courtyard and at Viviane, who was so angry she could barely stand, a contemptuous smile forming in his heart.
'That's right... get angrier,' Lathel thought to himself. 'The angrier you are, the more likely you are to make mistakes in judgment and decision-making.'
However, his disdainful gaze lasted only for a moment before disappearing.
Of course, no one noticed or sensed that look from Lathel. They would never imagine that such a kind Prince would look at them with such eyes.
Viviane watched Lathel leave, then turned her gaze to her believers.
However, those believers looked back at her with eyes full of hatred.
"You bastard! What kind of Saintess are you?" a young man suddenly shouted. "When everyone was in danger, where were you?"
"I... I..." Viviane was taken aback by the young man's question. The situation had changed so quickly that her thoughts couldn't keep up.
"Saintess?! I think you'd be better off as a dog," the young man shouted loudly. "In the end, it was because I was stupid, because my eyes were blind, that I became your believer."
"Damn it! In the end, the one who saved us was the Prince, not you."
The young man forcefully ripped the believer's badge from his chest.
The badge was made of silver, extremely precious and elegant.
To the believers here, it was like their second life. But now, seeing it thrown to the ground, they didn't stop the young man.
Their faces showed a mixture of emotions. Some were angry but didn't want to speak up or intervene.
Some felt satisfied by what had just happened, while others felt uneasy and disappointed.
Clang!
The badge was thrown to the ground, bounced, and then fell back down like a worthless coin.
Viviane was stunned at the sight. Why hadn't Lathel appeared sooner or later, but at the exact moment she had just mustered the courage to fight back?
'Lathel...' Viviane's heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst from her chest, a sharp pain stabbing her stomach. 'You appeared at just the right time. You truly aren't the kind person everyone thinks you are.'
She gritted her teeth, trying to stay calm, but her body still trembled violently. "Listen to my explanation, this is all because..."
"I don't want to hear it!" the young man shouted again. "Everyone, just think about it. The Prince was assassinated by one of us, but he still tried to come here, despite being severely injured, to help us."
"And what about the Saintess? She's just a cowardly whore, hiding behind our protection and our lives."
"Look... so many people died, did she ever speak up to stop it?"
"She only cares about her own life. If we die, she can just find other believers. In her eyes, we're just lowly ants."
Viviane trembled, shaking her head hastily. "No! What the hell are you talking about? You all..."
"That's right." At this point, others began to support the young man.
"He's right. Damn it! So many people died, but she still didn't save us."
"The gods will save us? Damn it! The gods only save the Saintess. What about us?"
Clang!
Another person threw their believer's badge down, pointed a finger at Viviane, and shouted angrily, "You bitch! If I'm still your believer after today, then I'm a dog."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Following that person, others also began to remove their believer's badges, tossing them onto the ground like useless trash.
They started to leave, and before they went, their eyes were filled with contempt and anger as they looked at Viviane.
Many even spat on the ground in front of her.
In the courtyard, only a small group of the most loyal believers remained.
However, their faces now also showed bewilderment.
Viviane collapsed to the ground, her hands gripping the sword as if she wanted to use it to hack Lathel into a thousand pieces to release her anger.
"My Church..." Viviane muttered through her tears.
"My believers..."
"Everything I've built over so many years..."
The maid beside her quickly hugged her tightly. "Saintess, you still have me, you still have your most loyal believers."
Viviane didn't seem to hear the maid's words and suddenly burst into crazed laughter. "Hahaha... hahahaha..."
"Pfft!" Viviane spat out a mouthful of blood, her face growing even paler, like an anemic patient, and then... she fainted.
"Saintess! Saintess!" the maid shouted in fear.
The remaining believers also rushed to Viviane's side, trying to help her.
In the air, a white lily petal drifted on the wind, gently falling and landing precisely on a discarded believer's badge on the ground.
...
Meanwhile, in the Black Skull Forest.
Irelia slowly opened her eyes and was startled to find herself in a familiar cave.
"This... where is this? This place is..."
"Ah! You're awake?"
Lucien's voice made her look toward the cave entrance. There, Lucien was holding a pile of firewood and dry leaves, arranging them into a large stack.
Irelia's eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief and astonishment as she looked around, then back at Lucien.
Now, there seemed to be something different about him.
The hate-filled face from before now held a hint of confidence, and his smile was brighter.
What was particularly noticeable was his left arm, which was wrapped entirely in bandages.
But... for a fleeting moment, Irelia thought she saw black smoke swirling around that arm.
However, her vision blurred, and just a second later, it returned to normal, and everything seemed ordinary again.
"What's wrong? Is there something strange on my face?" Lucien teased. "Or is it because I'm too handsome?"
"Lucien..." Irelia's lips trembled, and tears streamed down. "You... are you really alive?"
"Hahaha... of course," Lucien laughed heartily. "Not only am I alive, but I've also become an Awakened." 1
"Huh?!" Irelia couldn't believe what Lucien had just said.
However, Lucien immediately raised his right hand and waved it.
A gust of green wind flew from his hand, then quickly dissipated into the air.
Lucien scratched his head, laughing sheepishly. "Hahaha... I've only just awakened, so I can't use it proficiently yet."
Seeing Lucien's smile, Irelia felt an inexplicable sense of reassurance in her heart.
Her heart felt a warmth, beating wildly like a startled deer.
Her face flushed red, which confused Lucien a little. "Hey! Are you okay?"
He hurried into the cave, walked over to her, and sat down.
Suddenly... Irelia hugged him tightly, the emotions she had suppressed for so long bursting forth.
She cried... cried a lot... cried like a downpour, her choked voice saying, "I thought we were dead."
Lucien felt Irelia's soft body trembling and gently patted her back to reassure her. "It's okay... everything's okay now."
...
"Really?" After Lucien recounted everything, Irelia's eyes widened, looking at him with suspicion.
"That's right," Lucien nodded. "The rare treasure you mentioned was an Awakening Stone."
He then took out the 'Awakening Stone' and held it out to her.
The stone was a perfect hexagon, emitting a faint light as if it were about to go out.
Irelia looked at the Awakening Stone, sighed, and said, "Who would have thought this stone was actually a type of mushroom?"
Seeing that Irelia didn't ask any more questions about the Hurriclaw, Lucien let out a sigh of relief internally.
Of course, the story he told Irelia had been changed quite a bit.
He had hidden Lilith's existence, simply saying that in the heat of the moment, the Awakening Stone had suddenly activated, helping him become an Awakened.
As for the Hurriclaw, he claimed that the immense energy radiating from the stone had frightened it into running away.
Although Lucien's explanation was rather clumsy, the evidence was so compelling that Irelia immediately believed him.
If the Hurriclaw hadn't run away, how could she and Lucien still be alive?
Could Lucien have defeated the Hurriclaw? Impossible! Irelia would never believe that.
The difference in level was too great. Even if Lucien had become an Awakened, he would have just been a hearty meal in the eyes of that monster.
However, the most important thing was... having gone through a battle on the brink of life and death, Irelia now seemed to trust Lucien unconditionally.
Lucien continued, "Do you feel anything different about yourself?"
"Me?" Irelia was confused, but then, as if realizing something, she said with a start, "No way! Did I... did I level up?"