228: This kid is a little too kind.

Lloyd's eyes widened, staring at the scene before him in disbelief.

Topaz simply raised a finger, and a golden, shimmering coin appeared above her head. And that ten-meter-long demonic sword was abruptly halted in mid-air!

Where the sword's edge met the coin, dazzling sparks erupted, and energy shockwaves spread outwards, sweeping away all the dust on the altar.

"This..." Noel's voice trembled slightly, "What kind of Orbal technology is this...?"

"No, is it magic? Or something else?"

Dudley's pistol unconsciously drooped: "Is she really just a Scholar?"

Arios's lips curled slightly: "Just as I thought."

The Demon Ernest's twenty-one eyes simultaneously widened, his crimson eyes filled with horror, and his bone wings violently trembled: "Impossible! How could this be...?"

Topaz tilted her head, a faint smile playing on her lips: "Is that all the strength you have? Your D-grade gate isn't very good, is it?"

She flicked her fingertip.

Clink!

The golden coin emitted a crisp hum, and the demonic sword's edge was actually forced back several meters!

"Ahhh!" Ernest let out an inhuman roar, "I'll tear you apart!"

His bone wings suddenly spread, and the blood mist coiling around his body surged like a living thing. The entire ritual chamber's Sept-Terrion energy began to gather frantically, forming dozens of purple-black energy vortices around him.

"Be careful!" Lloyd shouted, "He's drawing power from the Sept-Terrion Veins!"

Noel raised her Orbal gun: "Doctor! Get out of the way! It might be a high-power spell!"

Topaz, however, merely waved her hand: "Don't panic."

Her expression remained composed, even carrying a hint of interest as if watching a performance. However, if Ernest had observed Topaz's eyes carefully at that moment, he would have seen the reflection of a red nose.

Ernest's body further expanded, muscle tissues tearing and re-forming, and immense energy gathered around his body: "Die!"

Boom!

Dozens of energy torrents erupted simultaneously, surging towards Topaz like giant pythons!

Lloyd's heart almost stopped: "Doctor!"

However, Topaz simply snapped her fingers.

Snap!

A rift suddenly opened in the space behind her, and a round, black-and-white creature flew out from the rift!

"Pururu!"

Lloyd and the others' eyes widened: "What kind of creature?!"

It was a peculiar creature resembling a small pig, with a plump body covered in purple-gold stripes, and long, slender ears like a pair of small wings. It joyfully circled Topaz once, and then—

"Numby, time to work," Topaz waved lightly.

"Purururu!"

Numby's body suddenly expanded, transforming into a giant purple-gold energy tornado that instantly devoured Ernest's energy torrents!

"Wh-what..." For the first time, fear appeared in Ernest's eyes, "What is this?!"

Before he could react, the purple-gold tornado had already swept him in!

"Ah ah ah ah ah—"

A mournful scream echoed throughout the ritual chamber. Within the tornado, Ernest's demonized body was cut by countless energy blades, and purple-black blood splattered like a fountain.

Lloyd and the others watched this scene, dumbfounded.

"This..." Dudley's Adam's apple bobbed, "Shouldn't we do something...?"

Arios shook his head: "It's no longer necessary."

A few seconds later, the tornado dissipated.

Numby returned to her plump piglet form, happily flying back to Topaz's shoulder. Ernest, meanwhile, fell heavily to the ground, his demonized body shattered. Of his twenty-one eyes, only two on his face could still open; the rest had burst, oozing black blood.

"Is... is it over?" Noel asked softly.

Lloyd quickly stepped forward, wanting to check on Ernest: "He's still alive!"

He knelt down, attempting to rouse Ernest's consciousness: "Ernest! Stay awake!"

However, Ernest's flesh had already begun to collapse. His skin cracked like dry earth, and muscle tissues peeled off in chunks, revealing the writhing purplish-red flesh beneath.

"It's no use," Arios said calmly, "The backlash from the excessive Red Truth has already begun."

"Oh ah ah ah ah! I don't want to die... I don't want to die!" Ernest let out a desperate roar from his throat.

"He, he's melting? Is this the phenomenon mentioned in Joachim's death report?" Dudley watched the scene before him, gritting his teeth.

"It seems he's going to lose himself, how pathetic," Arios put away his sword.

"No, no... I don't want to die yet! Ugh... mm... eek..."

Just as Arios shook his head and sighed, Lloyd rushed forward, shouting loudly: "Stay conscious! Ernest! Don't lose yourself! You are you!"

"Mm mm mm... eek eek eek..."

"You didn't ingest a large amount of Red Truth like Joachim, so there's definitely still a chance to save you, don't give up on yourself!"

"Ah... why, why... I've done so many bad things, why do you still want to save me...?"

"That's different, the two things can't be conflated," Lloyd shook his head. "You've certainly committed many crimes, but I also don't believe you're so deeply sinful that you deserve to die in such a tragic way in this place."

"Moreover, if you die like this, Elie MacDowell and Speaker McDowell will surely be very sad. So, you must hold on and find yourself again!"

"Elie... Teacher McDowell... I'm sorry... I... ah ah ah ah ah!"

Ernest seemed to enter a state of temporary recovery, but unfortunately, it only lasted a few seconds before his body began to collapse even more rapidly.

"Is there no other way?" Noel looked at Ernest's painful roars, an uncontrollable surge of sympathy welling up in her heart.

"Hmm, this situation isn't within my area of expertise," Dudley looked at the process of Ernest's body dissolving, a sense of powerlessness rising within him.

"Doctor Kaga!" Lloyd suddenly turned to Topaz, his tone urgent and tinged with a plea, "You're a doctor, you have a way, don't you?"

Topaz looked at Lloyd, shaking her head helplessly, "I'm sorry, I'm an Orbal Doctor; I haven't done much research in medicine."

To be honest, Topaz felt far more helpless in her heart than she had shown in her actions just now. She had never expected that Officer Lloyd could be so kind.

On the way here, she had gained a rough understanding of the cult incident from several months ago.

Bribing the mafia, instigating riots, attacking law enforcement, producing illegal drugs, human trafficking, human experimentation, large-scale poisoning, colluding with imperial forces to betray national secrets, treason, and a coup. Topaz couldn't fathom how these things could be directly linked to a mayor's secretary.

Even the companies cursed by hundreds of millions of people on Blue Star had only committed minor acts like a few coups and selling some weapons.

She was even more surprised that this Officer Lloyd still wanted to 'save' a criminal who had committed so many crimes and had already been sentenced and imprisoned, not wanting him to die so ungracefully.

Well, this child is a bit too kind.

Ernest's screams echoed within the ritual chamber, his body continuously collapsing like a melting wax figure, and purple-black blood spread across the ground.

Lloyd stood before him, his hands clenched tightly, his voice almost squeezed through his teeth: "Hold on! Ernest! Don't give up!"

"It's no use..." Ernest's throat emitted a hoarse whimper, "I already... can't go back..."

His eyeballs began to liquefy, and black liquid slid down his cheeks.

Noel turned her head away in distress, and Dudley clenched his fists, but was powerless.

Just then—

"It seems the expert arrived just in time."

Arios's voice suddenly rang out, carrying a rare hint of relief.