After passing through layers of bushes, they finally saw Angelica's house.

"Wow, what a nice place." Etras said in surprise.

It was rare to see sunlight in the Dark Swamp. The dense clouds in the sky were torn open by some force, and it remained open, keeping the surrounding darkness at bay. The golden sunlight sprinkled over the lake, casting a faint glow on the surface.

Unlike the polluted black water that could be seen everywhere in the swamp, the water in this small lake was unexpectedly clear. A wooden bridge connected the shore to a small island in the middle of the lake.

The cottage stood alone on the island, giving a feeling reminiscent of the witch's hut in a fairy tale.

It had to be said that compared to the surrounding dark and gloomy environment, the lake and the island where the cottage was located seemed like a completely different world.

Walking across the wooden bridge, Aya leaned over and glanced at the lake below. She was surprised to see a few fish swimming faintly in the water—not the mutated monsters that had been corroded by the black mist, but the common freshwater fish.

"They seem completely unaffected, is there a barrier here?" Aya raised her hand and released a bit of magic power from her fingertips, but she didn't sense any magic or even the existence of magical elements.

"More or less." Angelica answered vaguely, without revealing any emotions in her voice.

Setting foot on the soft grass of the small island, Aya couldn't help but exclaim. If location was put aside, this place would be the ideal living place for those pretentious great sages who sought a reclusive life.

The cottage had a simple wooden and stone structure, but many of its design features were eye-catching, showing the skill of an excellent designer. Outside the house, near the lake shore, a fence surrounded a field of flowers. It seemed that the person who planted them didn't have any particular preference, as various types of flowers bloomed, numbering in the dozens.

However, it seemed that the owner had been neglecting them recently, as many weeds had started to appear.

Noticing that Aya was looking at the flower field, Angelica showed a displeased expression and reluctantly said, "Those were planted by my sister."

"Sister?"

Now that she mentioned it, Aya seemed to have heard her talk about it before...

...

"Hoo hoo, the gaze of the knight is really impressive, it reminds me of my own sister. That girl can be quite stubborn sometimes..."

In Mothra's room, the young girl sat on the edge of the bed, flipping through the file she had just received while occasionally raising her head to glance at Anvi standing nearby. She muttered to herself every now and then.

The female knight had resumed her original attire, and the shoulder armor that had been pierced before was somehow repaired back to its original state. She stood straight against the wall, with a serious expression. But upon closer inspection, a hint of disharmony could be seen, as every expression and posture seemed robotic.

Anvi felt like she was going crazy. Ever since the girl in front of her planted some kind of strange seed into her body an hour ago, threads of fine yet distinct power had spread throughout her body along every blood vessel and meridian, seizing control of her body in a gentle yet unstoppable way.

Now, apart from her thoughts and senses, which were still under her control, Anvi felt no different from a puppet.

"This ability is impressive, isn't it?"

The young girl observed Anvi's face with interest, watching the twitching caused by their struggle for muscle control, and couldn't help but laugh, "The Shadow Vine thrives by drawing on the strength of its host. If you continue to resist like this, Knight Sister, the only result will be exhaustion."

"I don't actually mind this kind of effort, hmm... How about this, as long as it doesn't attract attention from outside, I'll let you speak, how does that sound? You only have one chance, so think carefully and don't miss it. If you agree, blink your eyes. If you go back on your word later, I'll be very angry."

"Hold on, keep your eyes open and show me!"

Anvi wanted to curse.

But after careful consideration, she realized that she didn't have much choice. Not to mention whether she could transmit the message in the current situation, even if she alarmed the servants in Mothra's house, this girl could easily kill them. There was no need for much effort.

Without much hesitation, she blinked her eyes.

In the next moment, the feeling of every muscle above her neck being controlled by a certain power disappeared. After a slight groan, Anvi confirmed that her vocal cords were back under her control.

Tsk, who the hell is this person? This miraculous plant is definitely not something ordinary humans can cultivate. Even the Magic Masters, in the human Magic system, usually only study the preparation of potions.

As for the Elf race, who are the most skilled in this field... First of all, this girl is not even an Elf. Secondly, based on the Elf's character that cherishes freedom, there's no reason for them to cultivate such a Magic plant that feeds on blood and relies on parasitic control of the host.

In that moment of careful contemplation, Anvi suddenly noticed a faint mark on the inner side of the girl's delicate wrist.

It was not a natural birthmark, but rather some kind of brand, indicating a very special identity.

"The Mark of the Holy Fire... Are you a judge of the Church?"

Anvi's expression changed, and even though her voice, which had just regained control, sounded slightly hoarse, it couldn't hide her astonishment.

In history, there was a period when the Church was in its heyday, and during that time, the religious judges of the Inquisition were the least talked about.

These people had the mark of the "Purifying Flame of the Goddess" branded on the inner side of their left wrist. It was their divine duty to eliminate heretics and they possessed terrifying power. Moreover, they were not subject to any external control from the Holy See. As long as they accused someone of being a heretic, they would be taken away and judged without any chance for the accused to refute. Most of the time, the final result was being burned alive at the stake.

In the most extreme case, a prince of a kingdom was suddenly taken away by a judge during his wedding, on the grounds that his newlywed wife had a suspected Demon lineage. The hundreds of guards surrounding the wedding venue remained silent, and no one dared to intervene until the judge left.

No one knew whether this was true or not, but openly storming into a royal wedding and capturing someone was definitely not something anyone would dare to do now. It would not just be a face-slapping incident, but rather stomping on their reputation and spitting in their faces. If the king was a hot-tempered person, he might have gathered a large army and attacked.

But at that time, the incident ended without much consequence. The prince was eventually released, but his wife was exiled to the Devildom, which was possibly worse than death.

Although their activities have become much more low-key now, and the Church has repeatedly oppressed the Inquisition, the identity of a judge still carries a considerable amount of terror.

Therefore, the presence of a judge here was quite intriguing. Anvi knew that the Church was involved in the coup in the capital city, in collaboration with the Heinrich family. However, the Church has publicly declared them as apostates and even planned to send a knight order to suppress them. According to reason, they should be on the same side as Milanía.

As a magistrate directly under the authority of the Holy See, their position is worth pondering after the beacon attacked their own garrison officer.

"Oh, exposed, huh?"

The girl hesitated for a moment, but did not deny it.

"The Church... aren't they afraid of starting a war?" Anvi showed a shocked expression.

"Don't worry, that won't happen. They haven't done anything yet, have they? And afterwards... if it succeeds, Milanía shouldn't have the energy to hold us accountable," the girl said calmly.

Indeed, if something were to happen to Tiran, Milanía, lacking a top-class warrior and facing internal strife, could be easily attacked by the group that had been eagerly waiting for an opportunity.

This statement made their intentions very clear. This guy was really planning to do something to Prince Tiran, or rather, the attitude of the Church towards Milanía...

"Why?" Anvi, realizing this, suddenly felt powerless.

"Well, I guess that old man in Minis feels like you guys are getting in the way," the girl tilted her head and suddenly clapped her hands, as if suddenly realizing something.

"Don't you know? Your country's War King has decided to suppress the Church's power domestically. Hmm, if Milanía were still a first-rate power, we might have let it slide, but since you guys are having trouble, we don't mind giving a little kick from behind. That way, we can have a piece of the pie when Milanía is divided. Oh, of course, that's just Minis' own idea. The Elders have always been kept in the dark..."

"Are you kidding me?"

Anvi suddenly raised her voice and glared angrily, "Isn't the Church supposed to be the light? Doing something like this... how are you any different from those treacherous bastards?"

The girl hesitated for a moment and then burst into laughter.

"Wait, wait a minute, you're not one of those idiots who believe the Church is just the righteous representative of the light, are you? If the Church really wanted to uphold righteousness, they would have destroyed that empire together ten thousand years ago!"

"..." Anvi fell silent.

Because she did indeed believe that. There was nothing strange about it. The Temple Church was the largest religion of humanity, with a deep historical background dating back to the Empire era. In this country with the prefix "holy", over sixty percent of the population believed in the Church, even with War King deliberately reducing its influence.

"Don't you believe it?" Anvi asked subconsciously, and then realized she had asked a stupid question.

"What do you think?" the girl smiled ambiguously, opening her hand and extending it in front of Anvi. In the palm of her hand, a white tulip bloomed with a deep black stamen.

"The closer you are to the center of the light, the more you understand the deep darkness within it. Most magistrates aren't believers, you know, and as for the Pope... guess?"

"Right, since we still have time, why don't I tell you a story? It's a very interesting story."

From the girl's narrowed eyes, Anvi seemed to catch a fleeting shadow.