TBR CH39

At the heart of the Holy See, layers of pure white curtains draped over the central spring. A boy with a face as delicate as a rose opened his eyes, looking at the empty space beside him. A barely noticeable trace of disappointment flashed through his eyes.

Indeed, he was that noble figure whom the Church had spared no effort to save—Holy Son Noah.

At this moment, the boy frowned slightly, making him appear even more fragile and in need of protection in the eyes of outsiders.

Yet there was no one by his side.

Noah asked the system in his heart, “Has He left?”

The mechanical voice of the system echoed in his mind:

“Detection shows that the God of Light has already left. Also, Host, I must remind you that the God of Light is not part of this conquest mission. Please do not lose focus. Understanding why the Dark God attacked you is the key priority.”

Noah bit his lip until it turned a beautiful shade of red.

He had to admit that the system was right in some aspects, but he was unwilling to fully acknowledge its authority.

Earlier, in his near-death, half-dreaming state, he had seen that tall and handsome god. The moment the god laid eyes on him, a flash of astonishment had appeared in His gaze—Noah was certain he had not misread it.

Even the God of Light could be influenced by the Heartthrob Aura.

And to conquer such a supreme and revered deity was an irresistible temptation for Noah.

Of course, Noah’s real name was not Noah. He came from another world, but after his death, he was bound by the “Villain Redemption System.” The system had promised that if he completed the so-called conquest missions, he could be resurrected in his original world.

Of course, if he wished to remain in the conquest world or continue to the next one, that was also his choice.

For Noah, the first option was out of the question.

In his previous world, he had been sentenced to death, his reputation was in ruins, and countless people hated him to the bone. If he were resurrected, there would be no benefit whatsoever.

His previous profession could be summed up as fraud—using sweet words to swindle people’s money, using enticing rhetoric to amass enormous wealth… He considered himself someone who had already tasted the most extravagant pleasures of that world and had stood at its peak.

He enjoyed the thrill of navigating such situations and prided himself on his abilities. Unfortunately, in the end, he had left behind a fatal flaw and was thrown into prison.

That wasn’t his fault.

It was only after obtaining the Heartthrob System that Noah finally understood—he had simply lacked the perfect tool to fully unleash his potential.

This was the most ideal form of deception—no cost, no need to even think, yet he could fulfill all his desires.

However, the system placed many restrictions on him. Even though he could easily have everyone around him wrapped around his finger and drained them of everything they owned, he was forced to obey the system’s instructions and was urged to conquer the so-called designated targets one by one.

Noah closed his eyes again and said in a low voice to the system:

“You’ve never mentioned what happens if I fail a mission. But when the Dark God attacked me, you sounded terrified, even wanting to flee.”

“My guess is that you’re not actually afraid of me being killed by the Dark God, but rather of certain external forces intervening. But you didn’t really escape. Why is that?”

If the system had a face, it would probably look utterly shocked at this moment.

“The current situation must be quite bad for you, right?”

The Heartthrob System, of course, had no ability to influence itself. At this moment, as it observed the boy’s slightly twisted expression, it couldn’t help but feel that events were slipping into an unforeseen direction.

“You are very weak. Naturally, we should cooperate, but I want you to admit—right now, the control is in my hands.”

If the World Consciousness knew that its arch-enemy was also struggling with an uncooperative partner at this moment, would it feel a hint of comfort?

But Tarksius… no, the demon now calling himself Tal remained as composed as ever.

The summoning he spoke of had not yet occurred, and the Black Book anxiously flipped through its pages, despite the fact that there was no wind in the temple at all.

A contract engraved directly onto the soul could even evade the prying eyes of the world’s origin.

“Don’t be anxious,” Tal comforted it.

“Besides, we have a guest arriving soon.”

A guest? The Black Book finally quieted down slightly before it suddenly flapped its pages wildly, flying up to the demon’s face.

Apparently, it hadn’t paid much attention to other matters before, but for the Black Book, the world was just a book that could be easily referenced. A quick glance was all it took for it to understand exactly who the visitor mentioned by the Dark God was.

The ink on its pages was so deep it almost seeped through the paper.

“The Black Dragon Adelaide is about to arrive at the Temple of Darkness?!”

Indeed, the imminent visitor was one of Holy Son Noah’s previous conquest targets—the colossal being known as the Abyssal Dragon, Adelaide.

Legend had it that when Adelaide spread his wings, twenty city-states around him would immediately lose daylight, completely shrouded in shadow.

The Church could not hide the news of the Holy Son’s attack. After all, he had been teleported to the cathedral in broad daylight. Although most of the witnesses were members of the clergy, a few outsiders had also been allowed in to pray.

By now, this news had already spread to every corner of the continent.

Of course, tied to this information was another urgent announcement released by the Holy See regarding the attacker:

A pure and terrifying darkness—the Church described it as the very embodiment of evil.

The implication was clear.

To be fair, the Dark God, Tarksius, had taken the blame for many things that had nothing to do with him. But he had never really cared.

However, this time, he had indeed been the perpetrator, and the consequences were already spiraling out of control. The enraged black dragon currently storming toward the Temple of Darkness was a prime example.

From its perspective, the Holy Son was already its lifelong mate—only separated due to status constraints. Now that its partner had been attacked, how could it not confront the alleged culprit and demand an explanation, or even start a fight?

Sigh.

The demon’s crimson eyes showed indifference and mockery. This was exactly the kind of foolish thing that dragon would do. Even knowing it couldn’t win the fight…

Tal lowered his gaze to the Black Book. Large drops of ink dripped onto its pages—the World Consciousness seemed caught off guard by this development. After a long pause, it finally wrote:

[When encountering a Fate’s Chosen’s conquest target, proceed with extreme caution. Use every method available to expose the outsider’s true identity—]

With a deafening crash, the main gates of the Temple of Darkness were violently smashed open, collapsing with a devastating roar.

The Black Book’s writing stuttered to a halt, struggling to continue.

Tal reassuringly brushed his fingers over its pages. He curved his eyes into a sly, effortless smile.

“Adelaide appearing here is actually to our advantage. Besides, weren’t you worried about whether I could act well enough?”

“Well then—watch carefully.”

The black dragon’s tail lashed out, its scales overlapping like blades, so sharp that almost no spell could pierce through this thick, armored shield. Its massive body barely fit through the doorway. As it swung its tail in rage, another section of the temple wall came crashing down.

What followed was an entangling binding spell—the very one Tarksius had built into the temple to prevent interruptions.

However, it was a hastily made formation and only managed to restrain the dragon for a fleeting moment. It still bulldozed its way through, knocking over countless obstacles before finally crashing through the doors of the main hall in fury.

Naturally, upon arriving here, even Adelaide could not destroy many things.

Considering the possibility of receiving guests, the space within the Dark Temple stretched infinitely in all directions. Towering pillars supported a pitch-black sky, finally relieving the black dragon of its previous sense of constraint—it could even fully extend its wings.

It let out a ferocious roar, though it was somewhat posturing.

“Tarksius, I heard that you—”

Its golden vertical pupils rolled as it searched the temple for the Dark God’s presence. Yet, the moment it finally laid eyes on his current form, its voice abruptly stopped, and its massive dragon face twitched.

Adelaide appeared to be in a state of confusion at this moment. That was the only conclusion to be drawn.

What was going on? Within the palace of the Dark Temple, the high-and-mighty, ill-tempered god was nowhere to be seen. Instead, in his place stood… a low-ranking demon?

“…Me?”

A young demon with soft black hair stood there, stunned. His eyes—just the kind the dragon liked the most—shone like glittering garnets. He looked truly beautiful…

No, something was wrong. Adelaide began to feel confused. He had never seen this demon before, yet there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

The demon pointed at himself and asked uncertainly,

“I’m not Tarksius, sir. My name is Tal. Are you looking for me? Do you perhaps know why I’m here?”

…What?

The black dragon let out a bewildered snarl and leaned in to sniff the demon who called himself Tal. Its dragon breath, like a miniature storm, sliced across the demon’s face like knives. Fortunately, Tal managed to stand his ground.

How to describe it? The scent was both unfamiliar and oddly familiar, leaving the dragon deeply perplexed. However, it noticed something else.

That sulfurous scent lingering in the air—could it be the remnants of a time spell?

Adelaide was a black dragon from the Abyss, and the ancestors of dragonkind had once interacted with the Lords of Time. The mother of this black dragon before him was none other than the legendary temporal dragon, Fia, who had perished at the hands of humanity’s purge. However, her child had still inherited her talent for sensing time.

Only dragons could precisely detect traces of time’s currents without any instruments. To others, there was no sulfurous scent—only the distinct and unpleasant smell of dragon breath.

Still, Tal remained polite, appearing rather friendly as he inquired,

“Perhaps you could help me understand the current situation?”

The dragon inched closer, its tail pulling back slightly. Adelaide hesitated, staring at the demon with its beast-like pupils—unblinking, as if studying some kind of dangerous object.

“Have you ever heard the name ‘Tarksius’?”

“I quite like that name.”

And that was it.

The demon made no effort to conceal his confusion.

After living for thousands of years, Adelaide knew that one must always be cautious when dealing with demons, no matter how weak they appeared. And if this demon before him was not some illegitimate child that Tarksius had fathered somewhere, combined with the traces of time’s current… then there was only one terrifying possibility.

He was… the Dark God from some point in the past.

Adelaide had never heard of the Dark God’s past. Of course, they had interacted before—one could barely call it an acquaintance. Perhaps the black dragon had even slightly overestimated their friendship.

But there were countless legends about the Dark God’s origins, none of which truly explained his existence. None were widely accepted as a reasonable account of his past.

He seemed to have simply appeared one day—possessing divinity, wielding godhood, with unparalleled strength, and an absolutely terrible personality. The Dark Temple, infused with immeasurable magic, slowly rose to the heavens, casting a shadow over the light from that moment onward.

Although Adelaide had originally come here to seek revenge for his lover, his attention was now captured by something even more intriguing.

What a major event—the Dark God had been caught in a temporal current, becoming the first unlucky god in centuries to be sent back into the past.

And at this moment, he wasn’t even a powerful demon.

For some reason, the black dragon reached out a claw to pin Tal down, but the demon nimbly dodged. Though he hadn’t put in much effort, Adelaide still felt a little frustrated at his failure—especially considering how weak Tal was right now…

A flicker of crimson spread across Tal’s eyes. Clearly, avoiding the dragon’s attack had cost him a great deal of energy.

He cast a wary, hostile gaze at Adelaide.

The black dragon sheepishly retracted its claw. He had no intention of taking advantage of the situation and causing unnecessary trouble—he would rather wait for the Dark God to return to his true form before seeking revenge.

Besides, he wasn’t all that interested in the idea of killing the Dark God. Though, if this information got out, many would certainly consider it.

Tarksius had once done him a favor—he wouldn’t repay kindness with betrayal.

Even if his quest for vengeance had been interrupted so absurdly.

“Uh…”

The black dragon’s pupils shifted slightly before he forced himself back on track, barely managing to ask his original question:

“Have you seen a very beautiful human? One who carries the aura of light?”

“…I have.”

Adelaide was completely stunned—he hadn’t expected an actual answer. After a moment, he continued,

“You… you didn’t actually hurt him, did you?”

Tal looked somewhat troubled.

“I don’t know him, but he suddenly appeared in front of me, so of course, I attacked. I think that was quite normal, considering that the power of light isn’t exactly pleasant for our kind.”

Well… that was reasonable.

Adelaide felt full of restless agitation but had nowhere to direct it. He flapped his wings irritably, only to hear the demon before him quietly add,

“But… my power felt rather strange at the time.”

Strange?

Adelaide was just about to question him further when Tal suddenly looked puzzled.

“Wait,” he said. “Someone is summoning me?”

What followed was about a single second of silence.

A brilliant red light flashed, and in the blink of an eye, Tal vanished from the Dark Temple—completely gone.

“…What the…”

The black dragon stared at the now-empty temple, suddenly feeling a deep sense of helplessness. He sorted through the chaotic mess of thoughts in his mind and guiltily glanced at the destruction he had caused here.

It felt as futile as trying to scoop water with a sieve.

Without looking back, he squeezed through the hole he had entered from and flapped his massive wings, flying in a particular direction.

That direction, of course, led to the heart of the human royal city—where the Holy Light Church, the Crown of the World, was located.

As a responsible partner, Adelaide could not be missing when his lover needed him.

At the same time, several others who shared his thoughts were also making their way toward the Holy Light Church.

Though their journey carried a certain level of risk, the Saint Son had once tearfully told them that, due to his responsibilities, Noah could only secretly pledge his heart to them until his duties within the Church reached their end.

But even just seeing him once would be enough.

With this thought, the uninvited guests arrived in the capital, stirring the winds and storms that would soon sweep across the entire continent.