Chapter 188: Chapter 188

When Tiya finally arrived at the old factory, the sight that first greeted her was a scene of utter devastation.

The ground was pocked with countless craters, while the already crumbling walls had collapsed in several places, leaving the entire building looking as though it might come down at any moment.

It was hard to imagine what kind of fierce battle had taken place here.

Yet none of that mattered.

What did matter was that, at this moment, the officially uniformed Extraordinary Beings from various factions lay on the ground, breathing their last. Most were either gravely injured or dead.

The Fourth Prince Joshua, bound to a chair, hung his head with a deathly pallor. It was unclear whether he lived or not.

And in that moment, the only person standing unscathed in the entire area was that black-haired youth she had been “thinking about day and night.”

Lynn Bartleon!

Not far from him, an Extraordinary Being from the Church of Providence was pinned to the wall by a black lance, his garments in tatters, blood pouring from his mouth; he looked as though he wouldn’t last much longer.

Had it not been for Tiya and the others arriving just then, the Arm-Grafter’s moment of distraction might never have occurred.

But once he realized what was going on, the wanted young man not only showed no sign of surrender but even raised his right hand, seemingly prepared to deliver the final blow!

「Stop!!!」

At that instant, Tiya felt only searing anger and profound disappointment thrashing about in her mind.

Before coming here, even though she had promised Louise that she would personally kill that deranged murderer, part of her had harbored some lingering hope.

Her memories flashed back to the events on the rooftop a few days ago.

Every time she recalled what happened there, she just couldn’t reconcile that young man before her with the homicidal maniac described in the rumors.

Though she still refused to believe his story about the last twelve years, she wondered—

If, hypothetically, the two of them really had once shared the kind of past he mentioned, could she—given her personality—have been so close to someone with such a severely flawed moral character?

Hence, even though Lynn admitted in front of countless witnesses that he was the Arm-Grafter, Tiya’s heart still resisted that idea.

Setting aside everything else, look at motive and timing alone—Lynn, who had been at the frontier all this time, simply lacked any opportunity to commit the murders.

But now, conclusive evidence stood right before her eyes.

At the moment, it no longer mattered whether or not he was the Arm-Grafter.

Just the crimes of slaughtering official Extraordinary Beings, and possibly killing the Fourth Prince Joshua, were enough to doom him. Even if he weren’t the Arm-Grafter, certain people would make sure he became so.

What’s more, if he weren’t guilty, why would he do all this?

Tiya took a deep breath, forcibly quelling the tangle of emotions in her mind.

Ignoring the swirl of unreadable feelings reflected in his azure eyes, as the Silent Saintess, she knew only one thing mattered now.

「Seize him.」

In the next moment, moonlight poured into the old factory like water, shapeless and soundless, yet illuminating every patch of darkness within.

It felt so quiet, so gentle—yet harbored a hidden note of danger!

The nine battle sisters standing behind Tiya flickered as they drew the gleaming execution blades from their backs, their eyes now shining with a pure moonlit radiance as though entering some mysterious, heightened combat state.

「Whoosh—!!!」

The crescent arcs of their blades sliced the air in silence, so swift that Lynn barely sensed them before blood was already drawn.

Sharp pain tore across Lynn’s body as fresh blood splattered onto the floor.

He dodged a few attacks that nearly hit his vital points, slipping past the slender sisters.

In fact, from the moment the Arm-Grafter Berhuman spoke, Lynn had realized the man’s true goal.

Still, he felt no panic.

As the Arm-Grafter said, this was part of his plan.

But who could say if it might not also be part of Lynn’s own plan?

Evading yet another silent stab from the sisters, Lynn reached a corner cast in shadow, the darkness concealing him so completely it was impossible to read his expression.

「Viya,」 came Lynn’s toneless voice, 「I never thought that the next time we’d meet, it’d be like this.」

「You stand on high as the Silent Saintess, while I’m still unable to shake off the shackles of a prisoner.」

He gave a faint, self-deprecating chuckle.

Tiya felt her heart clench.

Her face still betrayed only frosty anger—her mind brimming with countless questions for him.

Yet for some reason…

The words she blurted out became something else entirely.

「Is there anything you want to say in your defense?」

Clearly, the most sensible move at this point was to arrest him on the spot.

That response from her caused a hint of astonishment to flit across the faces of the nine battle sisters.

They had never expected that their doll-like, aloof Saintess would have any personal connection to the suspect in a serial murder case.

In the distance, Louise, seeing this, shouted out loudly:
「Tiya, don’t fall for that killer’s lies! Kill him! Avenge Sister Trina!!!」

With that, she unleashed another swift slash of moonlight at Lynn, silently cleaving the distant wall in two.

That strike left a deep wound on Lynn’s shoulder, exposing bone amid the torrent of blood.

His body swayed, his face going pale as he collapsed to the ground.

Now’s our chance!

Seeing him suddenly reveal an opening, several of the sisters unleashed the light of the Divine Bestowed Factors unique to the “Silence” faith, their speed and strength soaring by several levels. In a flash, they appeared before Lynn.

In that instant, six blades closed in on him from above and below, left and right—completely cutting off any attempt to advance or retreat, like a steadily contracting net ready to slice their quarry to pieces on the spot!

At that point, Lynn had at least three ways to escape this deadly trap.

The easiest was to use Time’s Concealment to slip into a temporal rift.

But Tiya, standing guard nearby, had prepared for this. She knew he’d used a time-based Extraordinary ability that very morning, so she was carrying a Sealed Artifact to freeze time in a small area.

She had waited for the perfect moment to use it, unable to bear letting Lynn escape again—only to wreak more havoc.

Indeed, that day on the rooftop, or even in the interrogation room, she’d had opportunities to kill him.

Yet because of her hesitation, all this had transpired.

She had to stop him now.

Taking a deep breath, Tiya slowly retrieved the Sealed Artifact from her pocket.

But to her surprise, when Lynn realized attacks were coming from all directions, he showed no intention of using that move.

In fact, he slowly shut his eyes.

N-no…something’s off!

Though she couldn’t pinpoint the source of her disquiet, the sight triggered a voice deep within Tiya’s mind.

You can’t just watch him be killed!

In the next second, the radiant moonlight abruptly intensified, levels beyond what it had been, compelling everyone present to squint hard.

Is Her Holiness intervening?

The sisters’ faces lit with delight.

Only Louise realized what had really happened—and her expression darkened.

Moments later, the moonlight faded, and the old factory was once more shrouded in darkness.

In that dim glow, everyone looked down.

They saw the blood-soaked youth—the “serial killer.” Now he lay pinned to the ground by a set of shackles formed from concentrated moonlight.

He tried flexing his muscles, hoping to break free, but the apparently tender light-bonds were as unyielding as tempered steel.

From a human perspective, there was no way he could escape.

Seeing this, Sister Louise strode forward, pressing her boot firmly into his chest, flipping him over onto the floor.

She glared frostily at the source of it all.

「Why?」 Louise’s voice was cold as ice. 「You swore you’d personally avenge Sister Trina. Miss this opening, and once the Imperial Council takes him, you’ll never get another chance.」

Tiya paused briefly, then spoke in a soft voice:

「The Church gave us orders to capture him alive for interrogation. Besides…he no longer has the strength to fight back, does he?」

She gazed at the black-haired youth bound by those moonlight manacles. Her eyes grew dazed for a moment, then resolute and cold again.

「Lynn Bartleon, don’t bother trying to escape. I won’t give you any chance. Just stay like that and don’t move.

「As the mastermind behind the Arm-Grafter serial killings, your fate is already sealed. But before the final verdict, conserve whatever energy you have left. 」

「It’s better for both of us—wouldn’t you agree?」

Confronted with her frigid stare, Lynn gave up struggling further.

Proving his innocence would not be difficult.

But he suddenly recalled the task the young witch had given him.

After a moment of silence, Lynn slowly opened his mouth:

「All right, I won’t move.」

He offered a faint smile.

Seeing this, Tiya’s lips moved almost imperceptibly, as though she wanted to say something, but she forced down the urge.

Standing by, Louise was dissatisfied with this result—yet considering his ultimate fate was likely hanging from the gallows, she let her misgivings go for now.

Then they began cleaning up the scene.

Several sisters started administering emergency aid to the still-living Extraordinary Beings.

Even so, the situation was dire.

Aside from them, the Fourth Prince Joshua’s condition was the worst.

Though he still displayed faint signs of life, for reasons unknown, he would not regain consciousness.

If he really died here, matters would get very complicated.

Looking once more at Lynn kneeling quietly on the ground, Tiya heaved a sigh.

Facing a murder charge against a prince was far too severe.

Subtracting even one such charge would be a blessing.

Wait, what am I thinking?

Shaking off her stray thoughts, Tiya pulled a magic stone engraved with positional coordinates from her pocket and crushed it with a soft squeeze.

It was a device shared by the various Extraordinary squads for relaying their locations.

Once broken, it would alert all squads to her position, prompting reinforcements as soon as possible.

Apparently, there had been three squads that arrived ahead of them, yet for some reason, none had used this device.

Ten minutes later, members from the other churches, as well as the Punishers and the Night Executioners, trickled in.

Because of the gravity of this operation, all sides had sent Extraordinary Beings of at least Third Rank.

Counting the first batch that arrived—those still being treated—there were over thirty Fourth Rankers here alone.

Under normal circumstances, that would be a terrifying force anywhere in the Empire.

Seeing this, Tiya felt her lingering anxiety vanish.

Now that the Arm-Grafter had been caught in the act, there was no chance of a reversal.

She was quietly pondering what would happen next when she heard a voice at her side:

「I guess it’s true what they say about Your Holiness the Saintess. As Brother Shia’s woman, your decisive methods mirror his own. You’ve secured the greatest achievement here and will soon gain His Majesty’s commendation. It’s impressive, really enviable.」

The speaker’s voice sounded familiar—likely one of Captain Shia’s acquaintances in the military.

But aside from one particular person, Tiya felt extreme aversion and disgust toward all men.

So she had no intention of being cordial. She replied coldly:

「The Fourth Prince is still in critical condition. We need hands to help.」

And with that, she had no further desire to speak.

But unexpectedly, a sudden turn of events sent the situation spiraling.

「No need to rush,」 the voice carried from the shadows, the figure slithering through the gloom like a viper, heading straight for Lynn. 「We’ve just received new orders: the original strategy for the Arm-Grafter is to be revised.」

「Revised strategy?!」

Tiya found it absurd.

He was already captured—what could they possibly change?

And yet an ominous possibility sprang to her mind.

A moment later, the military assassin lurking in the darkness reappeared, hovering in midair.

「Yes.」 He looked down at the black-haired youth trussed up by the moonlight shackles. 「The directive changed from ‘capture alive’ to ‘execute on the spot.’ That’s the exact wording from high command.

「We soldiers have no choice but to obey. So—」

Under Tiya’s disbelieving gaze, the military Extraordinary Being slowly raised a cone-shaped bayonet.

At that moment, everyone else was standing a good distance away, and none of them had even heard of these so-called “latest orders.”

They all wanted to claim Lynn alive to earn the bounty from Saint Roland VI, so why would they switch, just like that, to immediate execution on the basis of a military directive?

Something was off!

Someone did not want to see that man remain alive, even until the day of judgment.

With a shriek of wind, the spear-like bayonet engulfed in Extraordinary power plunged toward Lynn’s chest.

Tiya, realizing she couldn’t save him in time, felt her heart skip a beat.

Then she remembered he supposedly had a trump card to save his own life.

That time-based ability.

It had been unusable only because of the Sealed Artifact she carried.

With that in mind, Tiya immediately lifted the artifact’s effect and dismissed the moonlight shackles, removing every restraint on Lynn.

Quick—get out of the way!

If it’s you, there’s still time—

「Splurt—」

Before the thought formed fully, the sound of a blade punching through flesh reached Tiya’s ears.

This time, it wasn’t the shallow mark left on his chest before.

No—the blade sank straight into the boy’s body, piercing right through. A bloody tip emerged from his back.

Blood spurted uncontrollably.

The military assassin eyed the black-haired youth whose pupils were already losing their shine.

Realizing Tiya had tried to free him, the assassin felt baffled.

「You should have had time to dodge, right?」

He withdrew the bayonet, flicking the blood away as he spoke.

But the youth lying in the ever-expanding pool of blood made no response.

Tiya stared blankly at the scene before her.

He could have avoided that blow.

That was how it should have gone.

So then…what compelled him to remain there without flinching, even before the threat of death?

Ah.

She remembered now.

It was me.

I just ordered him, with ice-cold composure, to stay put—to spare us all the effort.

And that idiot actually treated it like a promise, stubbornly keeping his word.

That’s just—

For reasons she couldn’t name, the Silent Saintess suddenly felt the entire world was unbearably cruel.

Her heart felt as though something had crushed it, and for the first time in her life, she experienced what it was to choke on her own breath.

Meanwhile, out of everyone’s notice, a faint rustling rose from the corners, as though countless limbs were scraping against the floor and walls.