The Villain Saint is my secondary account

"'Outposts' belong to the 'Sages' of the gods, who seem to be engaged in intelligence analysis and collection. Lately, I've only heard that they're tinkering with some kind of 'anti-entropy fragments'."

"The last one is the 'Pioneers,' which has an extremely small number of members. I don't know what this department does, and I've never heard of the code name of the god to which they belong."

The fake saintess paused, "But I heard that in the war that is taking place over Aslan, the commander of one of the legions is a member of this faction."

"...That new Demon God of Wrath, Samael?"

Ella pondered.

"That seems to be the name."

The fake saintess nodded. "The members inside all seem to be extremely powerful deities."

Chapter 146 Interrogation

After listening, Ella pondered for a moment. Just when the fake saintess thought she had some profound insights, Ella spoke up:

“I feel that you are also a powerful deity, so why are you in the Operations Department, which sounds like a department that assigns small fry?”

"..."

The fake saintess's lips twitched.

"The differentiating point of the four factions is not in terms of function or strength. If we have to say, the 'Pioneers' may be different from the other departments."

"Moreover, even in terms of strength... I am not a powerful god. I was not even born properly. Apart from authority, I do not have the most basic divine kingdom and people of a god in the present world."

Ella nodded. "Is there any other information about Caesars Corporation?"

"There are still some details to discuss. If you're willing to listen patiently, I'm happy to."

The fake saintess glanced at the night outside the window.

"What, do you need to sleep?"

Ella chuckled, picked up her teacup, and took a sip.

"That's not it."

The fake saintess gently shook her head. "If our esteemed saintess were willing to spend her time recording my ramblings, I would be quite honored."

"I understand what you mean,"

Ella casually pulled out a few empty parchment scrolls, rolled them together, and handed them to the fake saintess with her tentacles. "Then please write the rest of the contents on this when you get back."

“And next, I think we need to continue talking about what you did in Stormport and Holy City.”

Changing the subject, Ella flipped through the parchment, took out a monocle, and hung it on her nose.

His serious demeanor was just like that of a homeroom teacher preparing to interrogate a student.

However, because she looks so young, her demeanor makes her seem like a naive young girl trying to pretend to be mature.

However, the fake saintess did not underestimate the other party's attitude because of his youthful appearance. The atmosphere in the room became noticeably heavy, causing her to sit stiffly.

"Let's start with the events at Stormport. Six months ago, you instigated Beverly, the former bishop of the Stormport Ocean Sanctuary, to plot a blasphemous act against the sea goddess Undine and to establish the Pisces Cult."

Ella spoke as she turned the pages of the book.

"You directly or indirectly caused the deaths of more than three thousand people, including citizens of Stormport, priests of the Ocean Sanctuary, members of the Fourth Knights, villagers of Horn Village, members of Earl Malz's mansion, and so on. Do you acknowledge this?"

The fake saintess pursed her lips, placed her hands flat on her knees, and nodded.

"In addition, it caused economic losses of over 1.52 million gold pounds to Stormport and damaged important Imperial facilities including Windseeker's Keep, the City Bridge, and the Dead Sea Prison..."

"Uh, wait, wait a minute... what's going on with the Dead Sea prison? I didn't ruin that place, did I?"

The fake saintess paused, then shakily raised her hand, "I've never even been to that place..."

"You did it, don't try to deny it."

Ella frowned.

The fake saintess shut her mouth in grievance.

Ella continued, enunciating each word clearly, "And afterwards, in the Holy City of Morning Star Ridge, you impersonated a saintess and illegally infiltrated the White Tower, conspiring with the Rossia family to overthrow the Holy Temple, joining forces to murder my servant knight Ye Xiao, and falsely issuing an imperial decree to forcibly dispatch Augustus and the Fourth Knights to fight against overwhelming odds in order to slaughter loyal and virtuous people. Do you admit to this?"

“I…I didn’t order Augustus to leave that day…”

The fake saint couldn't help but speak, but her voice grew softer and softer. After meeting Ella's stern gaze behind her glasses, she finally shut her mouth again.

“According to both Imperial Law and Holy Law, I should have executed you.”

Ella took a sip of tea to moisten her throat.

"But on the second day of the Holy War, when the Holy City was hit by a man-made flood, you took the initiative to help about 212 citizens survive. Before your servant knight Ye Xiao returned to the Holy City to help, you faced off against Isabella, the head of the Rosian family, and risked serious injury to buy me enough time to find the true body of the Rosian family head, ultimately preventing the destruction of the Holy City."

Hearing Ella say this, a glimmer of light appeared in the false saintess's dimmed eyes.

"However, this does not mean that your merits and demerits cancel each other out."

Ella's serious tone caused the fake saintess's somewhat relaxed expression to tense up again.

"Life cannot be measured by value. Regardless of how much you contribute to the Holy City compared to the damage you caused to Stormport, the innocent people who died in the Stormport incident will never come back. The shadow you cast on the local residents, those broken families, will not be improved because of your personal change, and the harm they suffered can never be made up for."

The fake saint swallowed hard, her face turning pale.

"However, before I read out your verdict, I would like to know what exactly caused your change of mindset."

Ella adjusted her glasses.

"It should be because I know that after the fall of Light, the target was lost..."

"The fake saintess murmured."

"Just putting aside revenge shouldn't change your previous arrogant attitude of disregarding life."

Ella snorted coldly.

"It can't be that bad, can it..."

The fake saint tried to be stubborn.

"Your arrogance always makes you care about those trivial ants."

“I will find those mortal beings you saved and make them, along with your avatar, perish.”

"Do you really think that any god besides yourself would care about those pathetic ants?"

"..."

Ella turned the pages. "You called the innocent victims ants, didn't you?"

"Stop reading, stop reading..."

The fake saintess covered her face with her hands, "Back then... I admit, I wasn't thinking clearly..."

"So what changed your perspective?"

"Ella asked."

She asked this question mainly to figure out what the false saint's change of stance really stemmed from.

After all, the psychological trauma this guy inflicted on everyone was considerable, whether it was the Seven Stars Society or the Loren Empire.

If this guy's change is just because of a whim, or some other strange factor, then what if he doesn't get punished this time, but then suddenly changes again and wants to do something bad? Wouldn't that be a ticking time bomb?

Ella cannot tolerate the existence of such an unstable factor. If this guy simply thinks it's fun to change sides, then he is essentially no different from before. Even if he is not executed directly because he saved the Holy City, he must be suppressed in the underground prison as a precaution.

On the other hand, if the other party has indeed changed, no longer disregards life, and truly possesses some moral concepts worthy of guidance, then Ella has no reason not to use such a powerful ally.

Therefore, Ella's final decision on how to deal with this guy will depend on the other party's response.

Chapter 147 The Saintess's Past

"I……"

The fake saint's throat moved slightly.

To be honest, if she really thought about it carefully, she still couldn't quite explain why she had changed like this.

When did she stop regarding ordinary people as ants and begin to value each and every vibrant life?

Perhaps it was when the man smiled and handed her that large bouquet of purple orchids from the carriage;

Or even earlier, when she saw those snotty-nosed kids smiling and thanking her.

Even though she didn't do those things, it made her realize that, oh, she could also be someone who is needed.

This might be... the key.

The fake saint suddenly realized something.

What was the source of her deep-seated hatred in the first place? Perhaps it was related to the instigation of those bastards in the company, but at a deeper level, it was still her own fault.

"I should have told you... I was born into this world alone."

The fake saintess spoke slowly, recounting her past to Ella.

She was born alone, even as a stillborn rather than a complete life, appearing lost in a desolate land.

Her early life was filled with suffering; she didn't know where she came from or where she was going.

She instinctively manipulated divine power to continuously infuse herself with divine energy to sustain her life. It felt like she had to keep running since birth, and if she stopped to catch her breath, she would face death.

Even though she has become accustomed to this way of maintaining her existence, it still makes her feel tired and tormented from time to time, and sometimes she thinks it would be better to just give up and end it all.

And amidst this indescribable torment, she was accompanied by endless loneliness for the first half of her life.

She did not belong to any group, and the monsters feared her power and dared not approach her. When she arrived at a human fishing village, the people there worshipped her as a goddess.

The local villagers established a sect led by her, and the so-called priests used her name to embezzle and accept bribes, abduct women, and kill whomever they were told to kill.

Although she didn't understand and only instinctively felt that it was ugly, it was still the only place that accepted her existence, so what choice did she have?

Then, the villagers, who had been oppressed by that nameless sect for a long time, contacted a group of outside helpers to rebel, kill the priest, destroy the sect, and attribute the source of all evil to her.

She didn't know if it was right or wrong, but in any case, the villagers who had once worshipped her would simply use pitchforks to send her fetal-shaped body to the fire.

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, the outside helpers hired by the villagers were called "Plague Hunters".

Plague Hunters are an organization affiliated with the Full Moon Order, whose worshipped moon goddess, Renata, is a member of the Caesar Corporation.

The false saintess recalled the distant past and roughly understood why she initially viewed humanity as so ugly.

“Exploitation, betrayal, hatred… among these beings I saw, there were only such ugly relationships. Therefore, at that time I thought this was the baseness of mortal beings born of their nature.”

"Of course, there may also be some ideas instilled in me by the company—that the world is dirty and that destruction and reconstruction are the only way to get everything back on track."

"Although I think their so-called 'reconstruction' is just another ugly act disguised, 'destruction' itself fits my understanding of this world."

"After that, from the intelligence gathered at the outpost, I learned about my origins, the existence of the God of Light, and His second daughter, Lydia."

"I?"

Ella pointed to herself.

"Hmm... I understand that you were born into the family of a duke in one of the three great empires, born with a silver spoon in your mouth, and were even crowned by an angel sent by Him, chosen as the Holy Maiden of Light, and loved by countless people."

"At first I thought the world was a filthy lump of mud, but after seeing the information about you, I realized that it's not the whole world that's full of filth... but only my world that's full of filth."

“They are all offspring, but I am stillborn, born in a desolate place. I have to rely on divine authority to keep myself alive every moment, and everyone I meet harbors deep malice.”

"You are His chosen Holy Maiden of Light, born into the wealthiest noble family in the empire, possessing wealth that others can only dream of and the adoration of countless believers from birth."

"If before I was just trapped in confusion and pain, then it was probably at that time that I completely broke down, and the pain turned into hatred for the light..."

"Um... Lydia, I'm not saying this to excuse the crimes I've committed. I'm just trying to honestly tell you why I've become the way I am today."

"I know."

Ella nodded gently.

"Then came the change... well, the change..."

The fake saintess paused, then slowly pondered.

This was perhaps the first time she had spoken so much to someone since birth, and Ella wasn't in a hurry to urge her, but simply drank her tea and waited quietly.

"As for the change... it probably started from the day you killed me in Stormport."

The fake saintess continued speaking.

"Even on my deathbed, I was still filled with confusion and resentment, but when I saw the holy light leaving me at the last moment, I felt a mix of indescribable emotions."