Chapter 481
Chapter 481 - 461: Hidden Motive
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As a half-blood of the Saphire Clan, Catherine T. Dora could only be considered to have just entered her youth.
But she was already a success.
Born a commoner, she easily passed the high mortality rate bloodline test, and while other Holy Fire Knights struggled every year, she seemed to feel no threat at all.
"Perhaps, I am a little different."
Catherine was somewhat proud and arrogant, but she did not take this for granted.
The teachings of the Sun God and the Temple, along with the nurturing of the Knightly’s virtues, made her stand firm in the bottom line of morality and duty, sympathizing with the poor people who, like herself, came from humble origins. But now it seemed...
"...Even my background is a lie, isn’t it?"
Walking through the downward passage, Catherine’s face was calm, but her heart was filled with hardship.
As she delved deeper step by step, she could feel her past memories being awakened, and she had been here more than once.
"Dead end?"
The downward passage led to a small room with only a statue of a praying nun.
"...She will return eventually."
Catherine touched the praying hands of the nun-statue and whispered a secret phrase from her memory. The next moment, the sound of a clicking mechanism rang out again, and the wall below opened up.
Her companions around her.....the Knights, were even more wary of her.
Doubt? Disquiet? Alertness? Judging from the Knights’ past treatment of heretics and apostates, suddenly launching an attack and beheading themselves would be perfectly normal.
Even Catherine herself was full of doubts and confusion, wondering why her memory was so clear...and why she had no previous impression of such a clear memory!
This was not normal, very abnormal indeed!
The Knights stood around her, their sword-wielding arms ready in undisguised defense, just waiting for her to take any suspicious action before launching an attack.
She smiled bitterly, and even she probably wouldn’t trust herself or her memories.
Such caution was well-founded, but as a devout Knight who had dedicated most of her life to the Knight Corps, she couldn’t help but feel heartache...
"Why so serious? Even if this girl is a heretic...what’s the big deal? At this point, what’s the difference between believers of the True Gods and heretics?"
Blasphemous words came from behind her.
The young man from the Foreign Domain laughed while uttering the extremely blasphemous language of the Evil Gods. Even Catherine, the one being defended by him, couldn’t help but be outraged as a devout believer of the Sun God.
How could there be no difference between heretics and devout followers of the Sun God?! The difference...
But the next moment, some believers were still furious, just waiting for a command to tear the Blasphemer to shreds.
Yet some Informed-persons, upon thinking more about it, couldn’t find much of a difference.
Aren’t both just pitiful creatures struggling to survive in the Doomsday? If the stories about the Beast God are true, maybe the followers of the Beast God are even more trustworthy. At least, their Deity is a war-minded one.
"...In any case, we are now partners. Knights, trust your comrades." Knight Ben spoke, and the others had to give him some face.
The gaze from behind felt a little safer, and Catherine let out a sigh of relief while focusing more on the dark passage below.
"...How ironic, an outsider trusts me more than my companions."
Her smile was bitter, but at the same time, a voice suddenly rang out in her mind.
[Hee-hee, maybe the man has taken a liking to you. Haven’t you been given to him by the lord as a gift? Isn’t it perfectly normal for him to defend his own property?]
Catherine roared furiously, looking around.
But strangely, the people around her looked at her with puzzled expressions, as if she had suddenly lost her mind.
[Hee, don’t look, they can’t hear it...]
Catherine stiffened her face, but cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She wanted to shout and act, but couldn’t do anything.
Her feet kept moving forward, but her mouth opened again.
"...Maybe I’m just a little paranoid, always feeling like someone is watching us."
These words could have been said in the past, but they didn’t come from "Catherine".
She was very anxious, very worried, feeling that everything was wrong, but couldn’t say anything.
She seemed to be an outsider, watching herself act, describing how she was brought here as a child by her parents, and how her parents suffered misfortune and unfortunately died of an infectious disease.
"No, no, my parents aren’t dead, they’re still alive and well in the countryside!" Catherine tried to speak, but couldn’t say anything.
[Fool, if you don’t say this, how can you reduce the suspicion about yourself.]
The giggling laughter was still in her ears, as if it was within her own head.
[Don’t worry, don’t worry, I won’t hurt you, how can I hurt you...]
"Who are you?!"
As if her soul had been separated from her body, Catherine was full of fear and confusion but powerless to resist.
[Me? 23 years old, living at 23 Winter Street, 2nd floor, an ordinary Knight who loves dolls and cooking, Catherine T. Dora.]
The voice in her mind, full of laughter, shocked and frightened Catherine. The more this voice described "Catherine’s" hobbies, interests, and even her first love that ended prematurely, the more terrified and uneasy she became...
"Ridiculous! If you’re Catherine, then who am I? I am... I am..."
The initial anger, as it vented, gradually turned into confusion.
At that moment, she hesitated and suddenly remembered something—a memory from her past.
At that time, she was young, and her personality was much more lively and active than when she underwent knight training. Yes, just like that voice, she happily anticipated the future and enjoyed the loving care of her parents...
"Catherine, next, you will infiltrate the Knight Corps, so we will seal your memory..."
Her honest and gentle father had a frivolous smile at that moment, and the magical mark on his hand was complicated and difficult to understand.
But what was even more incredible was her own smile... That wasn’t her at all, that carefree and happy smile was not her at all!
"But don’t worry, once you reach the time when your mission starts and you come into contact with our Lord’s information again, the seal will naturally break..."
Her mother, who was previously loving and peaceful, spoke of her devotion to the Deity, and used a small knife to engrave a series of runes on her forehead.
"...Catherine, our daughter, when you touch this Holy Seal again, the seal will naturally be lifted, and at that time, you will naturally remember who you are and your life’s mission..."
[Yes, Mother.]
"Yes, Great Priest."
Finally, the two voices reached an agreement once more.
When she opened her eyes again, the female Knight had no trace of confusion.
This wasn’t anything like resurrection or possession, nor was it some so-called second personality. As that voice in her head said, she was Catherine, and the female Knight was also Catherine; there was no difference.
What determines a person’s self-awareness? Perhaps there are many answers, but memory is definitely the core component of one’s personality. What we have experienced in the past determines what will happen in the future.
At a young age, little Catherine had used the "Sealing Skill" to seal almost all her memories, allowing her to become a devout follower of the Sun God with a sufficiently blank identity.
Her faith in the Sun God was absolutely real, which was why she was able to withstand the constant tests of the Holy Fire.
And her faith in the Beast God... was also real. It was the foundation of her personality cultivated since childhood, and the result of her entire family’s prayers and studies, day and night, in pursuit of their life’s one and only goal.
"I have a headache..."
At this time, in the female Knight’s mind, the memories from before and after the age of twelve had already been fused... It was just a person who had experienced two completely different lives.
She was hesitant and lost, uncertain of what to do. The situation was now much different than when she first infiltrated the Knight Corps.
She was sent by the Beast God followers to infiltrate the local Knight Corps and the Yang Flame Church to prepare for the revival of the Beast God one day. But now, as the prophecy became a reality, was that "resurrection" in the prophecy really a resurrection? Was the one who came back truly the original Beast God?
Her past devotion and faith did not interfere with her judgment. Becoming a Holy Fire Knight and the knowledge she had gained along the way made her realize that her parents... her entire family’s delusion had become a joke. The dead Beast God was only dangerous debris!
Just like the dangerous Bone Wolf King, the resurrected Beast God was definitely not the War God of the past, and would become a big problem for the whole world... Releasing it prematurely was definitely not a good thing.
"What’s the difference between a True Gods follower and an Evil Gods follower at this point?"
At this moment, Lu Ping’an’s words flashed through her mind.
"...Live for yourself."
— End of Chapter 481 —