“…Useless Evi,” Alnea mumbled, while quickly shifting to a more defensive stance, receiving another warning from the world. But he did not care. Those blood red tentacles were not strong enough to get past the defences of his robe anyway. Besides, he could not just stand in place, and let the Heterodox Wanderers have their way, could he? Though it seemed that the Heterodox Wanderers were not ready to let him regain his advantage either.

  “…Cannot stay still, can you?” Nikas Rosefield said, the moment he saw Alnea’s movement. “Are you ready to be judged?”

  “…I said it before, and I will say it again, you are not qualified to judge me,” Alnea said, gathering his Aspects around his legs, while also urging the Blood Crystals flowing in his veins. He was not sure if he could get past the siege of the blood tentacles to reach the Heterodox Wanderers, but maybe if he was fast enough…

  “Why don’t you let me judge you instead?”

  “That is not up to you to decide,” the blue robed man said, and put on a solemn face, before putting his weapons away. He then took out a small, black figure, almost like a doll, just one made from rags, from within his robe, along with a ceremonial knife, in the shade of blood, carved with intricate figures and symbols, before mumbling a few words under his breath, stopping only when the figure also turned the shade of the world around them.

  “Alnea Tresting, born Ernith Tresting, son of Raun Tresting…”

  “Are you trying to show off how much information you have dug about me?” Alnea said, just as the blue robed man brought the ceremonial knife to the figure in his other hand. “I am sorry to disappoint you, but what you have—

  “Do you revere Blood?”

  “…Are you stupid?”

  “I ask you again, Alnea Tresting, do you revere Blood?”

  “Hey, snake faced guy, I think there is something wrong with your friend. He—

  Alnea paused—No, he did not pause. Rather, he was forced to stop midsentence, as he felt something reach out to him, and caress his chest. Just not on the physical level, but on another plane. In a dimension where even the robe he wore could not defend. But that was not enough to surprise him. At least not enough to leave him completely stupefied. After all, he had already expected to face such a situation at some point in the Final Trial. No, what caught him completely off guard was the blood he saw on his chest, and the gash that appeared to justify that blood. All without actually tearing through his robe.

  “Finally,” Bassin Gorvein said, allowing a smug smile to surface on his face. “Do you still think there is something wrong with us?”

  “…A Dimensional Blade?” Alnea mumbled, subduing the sensation of fire flowing across his chest, while directing his blood away from the gash. Especially his Blood Crystals. It had been a long time since he last got injured in a battle. Getting stabbed by Amira did not count. He was not fighting with her back then. In any case, he had never been injured since he came to the Lost City, or since he began practising the Blood Crystal Martial Styles.

  Still, just because he was never injured before did not mean that he did not pay attention to the consequences that could arise because of his injuries. As the Captain of his team, he had to prepare for everything, even for eventualities that he did not expect would happen. Like his Blood Crystals flowing out of his wounds. That would be the silliest way of losing strength in mid battle.

  Similarly, he had also thought of ways that his enemies could overcome the defences of his robe. And a Dimensional Blade was definitely on the top of that list. But what he just experienced…

  Alnea glanced at the cut that the blue robed man had made on the figure with the ceremonial knife. Curse? Inevitability? Or a direct application of Fate? No, Fate never struck directly. At least not at their level. False Ranked Mysteries of Fate did not have any direct means of attack. And though the blue robed Heterodox Wanderer was using a Ritual, its effect still did not feel like a higher Ranked Mystery. Instead, it felt more like…

  “…Cause and Effect,” Alnea said to himself, raising his guard, completely abandoning his initial plan of just charging through the blood tentacles. Not because he was afraid of the tentacles breaking through the defences of his robe. Even with the help of Fate, those tentacles would still not be able to get past his defences. But if he damaged those tentacles, he did not know what kind of Cause he would have to bear. Even worse, what if the Heterodox Wanderers could transfer that Cause to his teammates…?

  “…You are quite vigilant,” Bassin Gorvein said when he noticed the change Alnea’s stance. “But that’s not going to change anything.”

  “Because you have already planted the Effect?”

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  “…As expected of the man wanted by the Lord,” the yellow robed man said, with a hint of envy in his voice. “Since you already know, there is no need to struggle anymore. Save you effort, and just get caught. Maybe I will spare you teammates if you do so.”

  “…No wonder you are in a hurry,” Alnea said, glancing between the two Wanderers he was facing. “Are you afraid of the backlash from Fate? Or the Cause you will have to bear for distorting a part of the Final World? After all, even if the distortion did not originate from you, you were still instrumental in the descent of this… Blood World.”

  “…Forget it. There is no use in talking to him, Nikas. Just capture him so that we can leave—

  “Before you have to face the Cause? Is that why the Ritual did not activate even after the statues had already fulfilled their purpose? You were waiting for the Trial to near its end before triggering the Ritual?”

  “…So, it was indeed you,” Nikas said, nodding to himself, while Bassin just turned a little pale. “Can you tell me how you did it?”

  “Ony if you tell me what is the Effect that you have planted for me.”

  “…No need. We will know the answer once we capture you anyway,” Nikas said, shaking his head, before slashing his forearm once again. “Do you worship Blood?”

  “…I suppose lying would not help me get through this Blood Trial of yours, would it? Or maybe that is what you want me to do. In this play of Cause and Effect, anything I say or do will form the seed of Cause, whose Effect I must bear. And if I really do give you the ‘correct answers’, then I will just end up falling into your trap. At that point, you would not even need to capture me. After all, by then, I would end up becoming one of you… am I right?”

  “…I ask you again, Alnea Tresting, do you worship Blood?”

  “…Worship? No. Respect, maybe. But not worship,” Alnea said, and felt the strange caress once again. This time, from the side of his chest to his abdomen. Right in the next moment, he saw blood staining his robe, which was soon followed by a searing sensation in the same position.

  “Do you fear Blood?”

  “What is there to fear about Blood? It is a part of our body. If today, we fear Blood, then tomorrow, should we begin fearing our hair?”

  “…You do not revere Blood, do not worship Blood, and do not fear Blood… You, Alnea Tresting, are a blasphemer.”

  “Bite me. Though I guess, you are indeed biting me. That too, quite literally,” Alnea said, forcing himself to grin, as he felt a searing sensation in his stomach. This time, a little more intense than before. Even the blood seeping into his robe was more than before. But there was nothing he could do, except force himself to look brave. Especially for his teammates. For the girls…

  “But the Lord is merciful. There is always a place for you in his compassionate Heart.”

  “…Honestly, that’s rather creepy to hear.”

  “As long as you open your Heart—

  “Thank you for the offer, but my Heart is already taken.”

  “…As long as you give up your sinful ways…”

  “But I like to sin. Especially against the believers of your Lord.”

  “He will forgive you, and accept you as his messenger.”

  “…Although the job of a messenger sounds intriguing, I have got much better job offers from the Union, so no, thank you.”

  “Do you accept Blood, Alnea Tresting?”

  “…Your filthy blood, reeking of decay and rust? Again, no, thank you.”

  “Do you believe in Blood?”

  “…What is there to believe in Blood?” Alnea said, panting, finding it hard to concentrate. Mostly because of the blood he had lost. With how many wounds he had suffered, not even the Blood Manipulation Style was enough to stop the bleeding. And that was when he still had Blood Crystals.

  As the blue robed man kept asking more and more questions, making more and more cuts on the figure in his hands, inflicting Alnea with more and more wounds, it was only a matter of time for the wounds to appear right next to his Blood Crystals, giving him no time to keep them from flowing out. And the more wounds he suffered, the more such instances happened, until he lost just enough Blood Crystals for his Blood Manipulation Martial Style to fail.

  “…Blood is not a God… nor an Origin Beast… It is not even a Concept… It is a part… of my body… How should I… believe in Blood?”

  “Do you wish to become one with Blood?”

  “…Are you stupid?”

  “…Then you leave me with no choice,” Nika said, shaking his head, as he poked the ceremonial knife into chest of the figure in his other hand. “It is time for you to accept the baptism of Blood.”

  “…No,” Alnea said, barely keeping himself from falling. He had lost so much blood, that he had even begun losing his vision. And his other senses. But that did not matter. He could not fall. He would not fall. Not when his team was still fighting. Not when Yuri was still fighting. Not when he had someone to Protect. Unfortunately, his determination alone was not enough to resolve his situation. Maybe, if he—

  No, absolutely not. Giving up his body… Becoming someone else… That alone, he could not accept. He was a very selfish man. Selfish enough to fight against the world for even the smallest of things. But his selfishness did not just end at the world. Even against himself… He did not mind sharing his body, but he could not accept sharing the people he loved with anyone else. Even if that ‘anyone’ claimed to be a part of himself. Only Origin knew if he could regain control over his body once he gave it up.

  In the end, Alnea was left with only one choice. One that he had made a long time back. After all, he had long prepared himself to take that final step. He was just a little reluctant to give everything up. At least not until he had exhausted all the other options. But when the time to go through with his choice finally came, he did not show any hesitation. Instead, he just took a deep breath, and glanced at his teammates. At the people he wished to Protect. He glanced at Yuri. He glanced at his Heart, and said the one thing he wished he could have said earlier.

  “I love you, Yuri. I always have, and I always will. No matter where I am, I will always love you.”

  “Wha—