The Angel of Pain had arrived, but it came to an empty nest. By the time it got there, Loren had already left with the witches, safe and sound, leaving behind nothing but a mess.
Even if it wanted to punish those involved, it couldn't. Because everyone mixed up in this affair had been killed by Loren, and their deaths were bizarre.
With no other options left, the angel could only pressure the King and the Church. After today, Loren's reputation was bound to spread across the world once more.
But this time, public opinion would be completely different from before.
...
"Sigh..."
The King let out a sigh. He had barely managed to fob off the angel, almost getting dragged down himself. From now on, life was going to be tough.
The angel wanted him to take practical action, but after what just happened, how could he possibly dare?
He was terrified that the moment he ordered a search for the witches, Loren would come knocking on his bedchamber door the next second. Loren's methods of killing were just too incomprehensible.
In the end, the King silently cursed Loren under his breath. He didn't dare curse the Church, because they might actually hear him.
"Hello there."
Loren stood behind the King and suddenly greeted him.
"Who?!"
The King reacted quickly, spinning around and leveling his weapon at Loren.
But as soon as he saw Loren's face, he immediately cowered.
"Ma... Master Mentor, what business do you have with me..."
Loren didn't answer right away. Instead, he started admiring the torture instruments and human skins hanging on the wall.
Seeing Loren arrive, the King's first instinct was to check if his head was still on, then start wondering if he had done anything to offend Loren.
"Don't be nervous. I'm not here to kill you."
Loren casually picked up a torture instrument and toyed with it.
The King gulped, terrified that Loren would use the instrument on him the next second.
These instruments were for rituals. The sacrificial offering needed to feel pain during the offering.
That's how they punished criminals too. The Followers of Pain usually had their pain blocked, so their pain tolerance was pitifully weak.
Once the block was lifted, the pain they felt was far stronger than an ordinary person's.
But dealing with witches was an exception. Every church had a standing order: the moment you catch a witch, kill them immediately. No extra actions, no unnecessary words.
Because the power of witches was mind-dependent. They might suddenly comprehend something, doubling their strength, and very likely counterattack.
"Alright, I'll make it brief."
Before speaking, Loren snapped his fingers. The witness King immediately began checking his body, only to see several of his fingers lying on the ground.
As a Follower of Pain, his sense of pain was blocked. Without checking, he wouldn't have noticed where he was injured.
"I know what you're struggling with. Killing witches offends me. Not killing them means trouble with the Church. So I'm here to give you a hand."
Loren tossed the torture instrument aside and stepped closer to the King.
The King didn't think Loren was that kind-hearted, but with Loren holding the knife, he had no power to resist.
Even if he called for help, Loren could kill him before he opened his mouth.
"Solving this problem is simple. Just make the Church too busy to worry about the witches..."
Then Loren repeated the same things he had said to the King of Bardo. The more Loren talked, the more afraid this King became. Clearly, he didn't have the same backbone as the King of Bardo Kingdom.
"That's the situation. The rest is up to your choice."
"Let me remind you, I can kill people regardless of distance."
"When I go to the next place, I'll chop off your other hand to prove my ability. I hope you won't doubt me."
"Yes..."
The King saw Loren off with a pounding heart. He knew full well that Loren had given him no choice at all...
...
"Mirrorheart, do you know about the Child of Nature?"
By now, Loren had arrived in the wilderness near the Uridia Kingdom and started resting on the spot.
After finishing his meal, Loren suddenly asked.
"Yes."
Mirrorheart was lying on Loren's lap as she replied.
At this moment, everyone was leaning against Loren, as if the campfire in front of them wasn't giving off heat, but Loren was the real source of warmth.
"Is there a way to escape the Child of Nature's reckoning?"
Loren wasn't very clear on this point. He had no memory of the Child of Nature, but he somehow knew some things about it.
He even knew that after defeating all the gods, the God of Light and Fire still couldn't beat the Child of Nature, and couldn't escape its reckoning.
"Yes."
Mirrorheart's answer delighted Loren. He immediately became serious, but Mirrorheart didn't answer right away. Instead, she first began explaining the principle to Loren:
"Do you know the essence of Anomalies?"
"I really don't know that."
Loren shook his head. He had always felt that the existence of Anomalies was somewhat disjointed.
Anomalies should belong in something like the Luxury Goods Foundation or the Anomaly Management Bureau. For this world's setting, they did feel out of place.
"The essence of Anomalies is a momentary lapse of focus from the Perpetual Observer. It is the God of Reason, the God of the Mundane. So its lapse of focus gives birth to things that contradict its own authority."
"And since Anomalies are the creations of the Perpetual Observer, they are naturally subject to the control of the Perpetual Observer when it is rational. Even the Child of Nature is no exception..."
"Is that so?"
Loren hadn't expected such a connection between the Perpetual Observer and Anomalies. It seemed that Its status was indeed high. The creations born from just a momentary lapse of focus could destroy the gods themselves.
Originally, Loren had thought of using the Child of Nature as a backup plan. If something happened to him one day, and the witches couldn't beat the Orthodox Gods, he could rely on that contingency.
As long as the witches could survive the Child of Nature's cleansing, living in a reset world wouldn't be too hard. At least it gave them a better survival rate than being hunted down by the Orthodox Gods.
But figuring out how to help them escape the cleansing was the tricky part. If Loren was around, he could try using the observer's authority to command the Child of Nature. But if the Child of Nature was needed, Loren would probably be long gone.
Now, Loren felt more and more like an old father, tirelessly arranging escape routes for his children.
The newly joined children had also fallen into a deep sleep under Loren's soothing. They hadn't accepted reality yet and still needed time to adapt.
Starnight stood on Loren's shoulder. She had been clinging to him even more since yesterday.
"Master Mentor... the gift I prepared for you..."
Anna suddenly spoke up. She looked very disappointed. Today was supposed to be Loren's birthday, and the gift she had carefully prepared never got a chance to be given.
"It's alright. You all are the best gifts for me."
Loren smiled and stroked Anna's head. But his words didn't seem to comfort her.
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too."
"..."
Anna's answer made Loren pause. Then he realized something and tapped her on the head.