The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 121 The Pursuit of Intertwined Fate
The aura of a demonic curse...

Xinmagule stopped, glanced in the direction he vaguely sensed, and then looked back at the emperor's carriage that had long been left behind.

It was the same curse he sensed from the Empress; it must have originated from the same source.

Xinmagu glanced again at the blond young man standing on the carriage.

"...The demons might be after you."

Were they here for him?

Whatever his purpose, let him simply deal with them outside the city.

Xinmagu turned his horse around and galloped towards the direction from which the curse aura was coming.

"Hey……"

On the carriage, Eric was dumbfounded when he saw Simagu inexplicably turn around on the way back to the city and leave in a direction that was not at all the city gate.

This person won't listen to advice at all!

Did he see something?

"It's not safe outside the city, Your Majesty. You should return to the palace as soon as possible today."

Eric hastily uttered a sentence, jumped off the carriage, and with a few blinks, dashed off in the direction Sinmag had gone.

Chik Utu followed her gaze, staring blankly for a while. "I didn't realize this quasi-saintess had so many skills."

Natalia glanced at Eric's retreating figure and then said, "He's right, it's not safe here. Your Majesty should return to the city first."

"It's only noon."

The emperor looked up at the sky; it was late spring, midday, and the scenery was beautiful. "The guards have already gone to search. Can't we go back to the venue and stay there? There are still many performances this afternoon..."

Natalia immediately refused: "You are the emperor, you cannot take such a risk!"

"Okay, okay, I got it... Don't be so loud, Natalia, you're over twenty..."

The emperor sighed, feeling regretful and helpless, and then announced that he would return to the palace.

"Nana, are you feeling alright now?"

"I'm much better, Your Majesty... Just now, I felt as if I had suddenly fallen into an abyss where I couldn't see anything, and I thought I was going to leave Your Majesty forever."

Seeing her brother and sister-in-law snuggling together, Natalia stood up and looked in the direction Eric had left.

I can't tell the difference anymore.

Seeing the emperor's carriage begin to move behind him, Eric turned his gaze back to the front.

There were so many people crowded here that it was impossible to see which way Simma Gu was running.

Could this also be part of the Kiraya Project?
Eric had to admit that he had underestimated the seemingly unintelligent demon princess.

He might have even seen through his plan to kidnap her...

She's so smart now, how did she end up being captured?

Eric regretted not acting immediately.

Looking at the vast crowd, he took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and trying not to think about Kiraya.

The key right now is to stop Xinmagu and prevent him from escaping with the demon envoy.

After looking around, Eric bought the horse from a passerby at a high price and, taking advantage of its greater mobility, searched for it while asking around.

"Have you seen a thin, middle-aged man riding a horse, wearing a bishop's robe?"

"A bishop's robe? I think I've seen it before..."

Which way did he go?

"Over there," the passerby pointed in a direction.

Eric quickly chased after them.

Meanwhile, Simagu had arrived at another place and, following the aura of the curse he sensed, stopped beside a tree.

A black arrow was drawn on the tree trunk, which was the source of the extremely dense aura.

Xinmagu looked in the direction the arrow pointed, then closed his eyes and sensed it again. In the distance, there was another faint, similar aura.

Before seeing the arrow, he could have assumed it was a trace accidentally left by the demons, but now he was beginning to understand Eric's words.

With such deliberate guidance, these people were indeed coming for him.

The demons are actually running rampant in the capital city...

A sense of desolation welled up in his heart, and Xinmagu flipped his hand, releasing a ball of holy flame.

He placed his hand on the tree trunk to erase the black arrow and the aura of the curse, eliminating the interference, then mounted his horse and headed towards the next location.

Meanwhile, Eric, completely unaware of this, continues his search.

Did so many people really come out to attend the celebration in Lutia?
There probably aren't that many; most are just vendors and merchants who have come from other places specifically to join the fun or to make a quick buck.

They filled every corner of the western suburbs, using dazzling, colorful displays to attract potential customers and distract Eric's attention.

When he stopped again to ask for directions, he began to doubt whether he had gone in the wrong direction from the start.

"A person riding a horse and wearing bishop's robes? Never seen that before."

Eric took a breath. "Have you seen any strange people?"

"What constitutes something strange?" a passerby asked.

"Anything you find strange counts."

A passerby glanced at him and said, "You're dressed like an aristocrat, yet you're trying to talk to people like us. I find you quite strange."

"..."

Eric rolled his eyes, tugged at the reins, and prepared to ask again in another place.

"Speaking of strange people, wouldn't you say that woman who just ran past us count?" He heard the woman's companion say before he left.

"What kind of woman?" Eric immediately thought of Kiraya and pulled back to ask.

“A woman with silver hair,” the other person said.

Eric was stunned.

Silver hair... an Aran?

Or rather, it's Aran?
Where did she go?

"there."

Eric looked in the direction the man was pointing, which was exactly the direction he was planning to go and check next.

He thanked them and rode his horse over there, his gaze sweeping around, and he couldn't help but pay more attention to the silver-haired man.

At this time, the undisguised silver hair was still easily noticeable in the sunlight.

Not long after, Eric discovered an Aramean.

A young Aramean male.

Eric glanced at it from afar but didn't pay much attention; it wasn't unusual for an Aran to appear here.

But he hadn't taken more than a few steps when he saw yet another Aramean.

Then came the third.

The Arameans appear to be gathering nearby.

Eric pulled on the reins and stopped the horse temporarily.

Two of the Arameans met up and then headed in another direction.

This place is already some distance from the celebration venue at Lake of Tears of the Elves, and it's also beyond the area checked by the Emperor's guards. The crowd has thinned out, and you can see quite far ahead at a glance.

Eric watched from a distance for a while, then ignored the two Arans and decided to move on to another location to continue his search.

As he turned around, he caught a glimpse of another silver glint in the corner of his eye.

He looked over and pursed his lips.

This time, it was finally the Arabian woman he knew.

"Are the spies having a meeting...?"

The Arans were destined for utter annihilation, and Eric did not want to get involved in their affairs. He also did not intend to go over and greet her at this moment, lest she misunderstand.

Until he discovered that she was not alone, but had a middle-aged man with her.

Eric moved a little closer, and when he saw the man's face clearly, and the confident look on his face as he spoke to Alan, he suddenly felt a little dizzy.

hum-

Amidst the faint ringing in his ears, Eric swallowed.

"...Luca?"

He moved closer and finally confirmed that the man was indeed Luca, the prime minister of the demon race and the only human trusted by the demon king, Latrell.

The Luca he knew from "The Crown of Thorns" was the only human NPC who could stand beside the Demon King after the demons occupied Lutia. He looked quite ordinary and had no strength, but he was quite important in the story and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he represented the Demon King.

He couldn't remember where he had read about Luca's life, but it was said that he was a native of the Empire and a sailor in his youth. Due to greed, he was tricked into going to the Demon Realm to collect a certain specialty spice, but was betrayed. In his moment of crisis, it was the young Demon King who lent him a helping hand.

From then on, Luca stayed in the Demon Realm, wholeheartedly serving the Demon King, offering advice and strategies to help him rise to power, reunify the various demon tribes that had been divided for hundreds of years, and even invade his homeland.

It turns out that before the demon army marched south, he had even personally come to the empire as a spy...

Another question that Eric had been vaguely uneasy about also got an answer.

He was right about Kiraya.

The Little Witch was just a tool; Luca was the true demon messenger who came into contact with Simmagu.

Only Luca could convince him that persuading the paranoid Simmagus wasn't impossible.

After gazing at him from afar for a while, Eric looked at Alan beside him. Judging from her expression of both respect and fear, she clearly knew Luca's identity.

This woman...

Because of the tragic fate of the Arans, he had always intentionally ruled out the possibility that they were colluding with the demons when he thought about it—if they had been colluding with each other, why would the demon army have attacked them when they marched south, or even completely exterminated them?
But now, the facts he witnessed firsthand slapped him hard in the face.

He suddenly recalled the chapel at the Saintess Convent, where they had met privately, and Alan had seemed to be stubbornly putting on a brave front. [“…Imperial people, you will pay the price for your contempt sooner or later.”]

Looking back now, she was clearly deliberately showing weakness to lull him into a false sense of security, making him lower his guard and think that the Arans were nothing special.

This woman!

Eric gritted his teeth.

Then he realized something: this might be his only chance to intercept Luca and personally sever the Demon King's arm.

The Demon Prime Minister had no guards by his side, only Alan, making him practically alone.

Although he was out sightseeing today and wasn't carrying any weapons, Luca was just an ordinary human, but his strength lay in his strategy. If he could get close, killing him would be a piece of cake.

Suppressing his increasingly rapid heartbeat, Eric spurred his horse closer.

As soon as he got close enough, he noticed several pairs of eyes on him from the crowd.

……wrong.

He was targeted.

Eric even felt a sense of fear.

“The curse mark left by the princess will gradually lead him to the place we want him to go, where we can talk undisturbed.”

Luca felt much more relaxed and cheerful now that he had almost accomplished the two things he had come to Lutia for.

“But will the High Priest definitely investigate to the end?” Alan asked.

Luca smiled. "Given his personality, he will."

Alan was about to ask something more when he suddenly noticed someone approaching on horseback and instinctively turned his head to look.

Luca, standing next to her, clearly saw her whole body tremble.

"I thought I was seeing things, Miss Alan, it really is you."

Eric, mounted on his horse, steeled himself and slowly approached. "Didn't you say you were busy today? What, it turns out it was because Eileen and I couldn't get you to come?"

“…Mr. Eric…” Alan spoke, his neck stiff and his voice hoarse.

"Something happened at the venue, and Eileen has already returned to the academy."

Eric remained relaxed, though sweat was trickling down his forehead. "I was just about to head back to the city by myself when I unexpectedly ran into you here."

Seeing Luca staring at him and glancing repeatedly at Eric, Alan's heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

She understood that Luca had recognized Eric as the man who had tried to lift the curse on the Queen—his handsome face and dazzling blond hair were unforgettable—and she hadn't given any indication that she knew him…

Concealment is disloyalty.

Yalan bit her lip hard, using the pain to force herself to calm down.

"I did have something to do today, I just happened to be passing by..."

“Is that so?” Eric glanced at Luca beside her and asked casually, “And this is?”

“I happened to run into my friend's father on the road, and we chatted for a bit.”

He couldn't possibly know Luca, but Luca would definitely care about him. Whatever his reason for being here, Alan just wanted him to leave as soon as possible.

Eric adopted a dignified air, merely nodding to the plain-looking Luke, then glancing at the approaching demon guards before turning his gaze back to Alan.

"It's fate that we met, Miss Alan. Would you mind coming back to the city with me?"

As he spoke, he extended his hand.

"...No, I have other things to attend to. Mr. Eric, please go back by yourself and give my regards to Eileen."

Hurry up, you idiot!

Alan cursed inwardly.

She didn't know that Eric had wanted to run away for a long time.

The demon guards who surrounded them didn't seem like easy targets; they were at least sixth or seventh-tier warriors.

He estimated that if he acted even slightly too aggressively, he would lose his life here.

He was the one who was truly alone.

"And tonight?" To avoid giving himself away, Eric maintained his playboy persona and continued to invite her, "Miss Alan, are you free?"

Alan was astonished.

What's going on? Has he suddenly fallen in love with her?
Aren't we just friends on the surface? A few days ago we were just having a superficial flirtation, why are you suddenly being so persistent today?
Alan could only continue to shoo him away, "No, I've been busy these past few days. Mr. Eric, you'd better not try anything with me."

Eric shrugged, as if to ease the embarrassment of being rejected in front of outsiders, his tone uncontrollably stiff.

"Alright, since Miss Alan won't do me the honor, there's nothing I can do."

He flicked the reins, picked up speed, and headed off in another direction.

He broke out in a cold sweat as he rode past a demon guard and out of the encirclement.

"Who is he?" Luca, who had been watching from the sidelines for a long time, finally spoke up when Alan was on the verge of collapse.

“A noble playboy from Lutia.” She quickly came up with the story she had been working on for a long time. “I have some contact with his sister, and it seems he has taken a liking to me and has been pestering me lately.”

Luca looked at her for a moment. "Why didn't you say anything over there just now?"

Alan lowered his head. "I think he's just an ordinary nobleman, not worth paying attention to..."

"Not worth it?" Luca suddenly scoffed. "He wanted to kill me."

Alan was immediately startled and subconsciously looked up, only to find that Luca's expression was cold and stern, not like he was joking.

"How could that be... He must be meeting Lord Luca for the first time, it's impossible for him to know your identity."

“You’re right, he couldn’t possibly know me. But my intuition is also right; he came here with murderous intent.”

Luca watched the man and horse disappear into the distance. "I'm going to see Simmagu. You don't need to come with me anymore. Go find out why he wanted to kill you, and then find an opportunity to kill him."

"..."

"you are not willing?"

“No…” Alan quickly lowered his head, “I understand.”

“Go after him now,” Luca said.

"……Yes."

Alan could only quicken his pace and chase after Eric in the direction he had left.

Luca glanced at Eric's retreating figure a few more times, but ultimately cared more about meeting Sinmaggu soon, and continued on his way to the designated location.

Eric found it hard to give up so easily, so he didn't ride too fast, but he kept his eyes on the rear.

Then he heard Aran calling his name.

He turned around and saw the Aranian female agent beckoning to him.

Meanwhile, Luca and his party had already headed off in the other direction.

Perhaps because a group of dark elves crowded together was too conspicuous, the guards dispersed and surrounded Luca from a distance, which put him in danger.

With the death crisis temporarily averted, Eric first breathed a sigh of relief, then became wary again: This woman was so reserved just now, what does she want with him now?
He waited where he was until Alan caught up with him.

"Has Miss Alan finished with her business?"

"Yes... I can go back to the city with Mr. Eric."

Eric looked at her for a moment, then smiled. "It's an honor. Mount your horse."

Despite the smooth progress, Alan had mixed feelings.

She would much rather Eric just abandon her and run away now.

She walked over, but he moved back a little. "Miss Alan, please sit in the front."

"..."

Alan looked at him, but Eric's expression remained unchanged. "Don't worry, I wouldn't go so far as to lay a hand on Eileen's friend."

After a few seconds of silence, Alan still took his hand and helped him mount the horse.

Eric reached his hands through her waist, took the reins, and gave a gentle spur, and the horse continued forward.

The silence lasted for a while.

He glanced back, but Luca and the others were nowhere to be seen.

"Mr. Eric..."

"What's wrong, Miss Alan?"

Alan tilted his head slightly. "Why did you make me sit in the front this time? Are you wary of me?"

The person behind her chuckled, "Miss Alan is too direct."

He paused, "After all, I'm riding a horse. If you suddenly pull out a dagger from behind and stab me, it won't be so easy for me to dodge."

"..."

He was more direct than she was.

Alan's heart sank, and a certain suspicion, accompanied by unease, quickly grew.

"...What does Mr. Eric mean by this?"

"Don't you understand?"

Alan suddenly felt a tightness around his waist as he wrapped his arms around him from behind.

She paused, and just as she was about to break free, he quickly raised his other hand and grabbed her throat.

She was unable to move. He whispered in her ear, but it sounded like a thunderclap, "Did Luca send you to kill me?"

"..."

Alan's heart sank completely.

She is going to die.

(End of this chapter)