Chapter 345


    Jonathan turned to look at Vananeru and asked, “What about you? Are youing with us, or do you


    have other ns?”


    Although he had lied to her before, he no longer felt any guilt toward her, for he reckoned they were


    even now that he had saved her life.


    Besides, the whole ordeal was caused by Wretched''s release. It had nothing to do with Jonathan and


    Mabel. Although the two sympathized with the tragedy that had befallen Celestial Sky Monastery, they


    felt no guilt over it.


    It didn''t matter that helping others was a core value to being a fighter, for they were powerless when it


    came to going against Wretched.


    Furthermore, in their mind, being a fighter doesn''t mean they could save the whole world, or that they


    should condemn themselves just because they failed to be the hero of the day.


    Vananeru trained her sorrowful gaze on Jonathan and implored, “Can you save my father?”


    Jonathan sighed softly before saying, “I don''t need to. Wretched won''t kill him. Even if Wretched didn''t


    capture your father, there''s nothing he can do but watch it kill others. This is the result of his actions.”


    Mabel chimed in, “Vananeru, I''m sure you saw with your own eyes how we couldn''t do anything to


    influence Wretched.”


    Vananeru lowered her head. However, a momentter, she looked up and blurted, “I''ming with


    you.”


    “All right. Let''s go, then,” Jonathan responded.


    The three of them promptly left the ruined Celestial Sky Monastery.


    Even though Wretched did not start killing people, Jonathan and Mabel dared not let their guard down


    yet, for as long as the matter with Wretched stayed unresolved, they would treat it as if it was a ticking


    time bomb.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    After they left Celestial Sky Monastery, the weather began getting hot.


    It was noon when Jonathan and the others found a hotel to put their feet up.


    In the suite, Mabel gave Jeff a call and put it on speaker mode.


    She reckoned it was fine since Vananeru couldn''t understand Chanaean.


    The call went through quickly.


    “Mabel, what''s the situation now?” Jeff asked.


    He was aware that Mabel had been giving her report to themander about this.


    Noticing the concern in Jeff''s voice, Mabel replied in a low voice, “Don''t worry, Jonathan and I are fine.”


    Hearing that, Jeff heaved a sigh of relief before uttering, “That''s great, then.” After a pause, he


    questioned, “But how are you guys okay? Did Gd let you go? What about the cacodemon?”


    Mabel exined, “Gd is no longer a threat, but the situation''s gotten even worse now. The


    cacodemon has regained its original form and has identified itself as Wretched the Great. Wretched


    razed Celestial Sky Monastery to the ground and massacred more than three hundred monks. At the


    moment, Gd has been captured by Wretched and it has threatened to go on a rampage, killing


    anyone in its way. What we need to do now is toe up with a way to stop it. Otherwise, it won''t be


    long before the roads of Thymion are bathed in blood.”


    The color drained from Jeff''s face as he stammered, “I told you before to get rid of the cacodemon,


    didn''t I? Now that it has be a walking disaster, it''s all toote.”


    Mabel retorted, “That''s where you''re wrong. The cacodemon is a mutant, to begin with. The more you


    oppress it, the more it will mutate. If we hadn''t stopped it at that time, the cacodemon would have


    already regained its original form. Besides, even Gd—being the mighty warrior that he is—failed to


    kill the cacodemon and instead forced it to turn into Wretched the Great. Do you think you''re stronger


    than Gd, Chief Yount?”


    Jeff was at a loss for words.


    He then let out a sigh andmented, “Is this really God''s will?”


    Mabel fell silent at that.


    After a moment, Jeff added, “Didn''t Jonathan have a good rtionship with the cacodemon? Can''t he


    stop it?”


    Jonathan piped up, “Now that the cacodemon has regained its original form, it no longer identifies itself


    as a cacodemon but Wretched the Great. Even though it still recognizes me, the rtionship we had


    only spanned for a few days. The memory it had of me is nothingpared to its thousand years of


    memory. In fact, I reckon it doesn''t have too much affection for its mother, Zoe, as well.”


    “So, does that mean you''re nning to stop the cacodemon?” Jeff probed.


    In response, Jonathan said, “There''s no denying the fact that we''d yed a role in the awakening of


    the cacodemon. Besides, even if it had nothing to do with us, we can''t just sit idly by and watch as


    Thymion falls into ruin.”


    He wasn''t trying to be noble by saying that. Instead, it was the instinctivepassion that all living


    creatures were born with thatpelled him to take action.


    Moreover, he saw no reason to give up on saving a life if he had the means and capability to do so.


    Of course, there was another reason why he wanted to do something about the cacodemon, and that


    was so that he could have peace of mind.


    He thought that if he simply went back to his country without doing anything, the guilt would probably


    eat him for the rest of his life.


    Naturally, Mabel felt the same way as well.


    Just then, she remarked, “I''ll make a request to themanders to send some elite fighters over to


    help stop Wretched.”


    To that, Jeff said, “Even Gd himself can''t handle Wretched, so we must n carefully before we


    make our move. I suggest that the two of youe back first. Before going against Wretched, I need


    you to find out who Wretched the Great actually is. This way, we''ll have a higher chance of winning.”


    “Do you know nothing of Wretched the Great, Chief Yount?” Jonathan inquired.


    “No,” came Jeff''s reply.


    Jonathan divulged, “Wretched the Great is from Thymion, and since that''s the case, I think it''d be better


    if I stay here to look for more information. Why don''t Mabel go back first to enlist the help of those


    fighters while I continue my investigation of Wretched the Great here? Besides, I''m acquainted with it,


    so it''ll be easier for me to stop it.”


    Both Mabel and Jeff thought that Jonathan''s suggestion was sound.


    “Let''s go with your n, then,” Jeff said.


    Mabel added, “All right, I''ll set off right away.”


    After everything was settled, Mabel ended the call with Jeff.


    She then said to Jonathan, “We''ll inform the authorities in Thymion of your identity so that they''ll


    cooperate with you. Be careful, you hear?”


    Jonathan nodded before shing her a bitter smile. “I thought we''d end up dead this time. I never would


    have expected things to turn out this way. That being said, the future is still a mystery. Although I have


    no wish to see Wretched killed, I don''t want it to butcher any innocent people either. I just feel like we''re


    all so helpless in the face of what is happening.”


    “Where there''s a will, there''s a way. I''m sure everything happens for a reason,” came Mabel''s


    response.


    Jonathan muttered, “Could it be that Wretched''s birth is part of Heavenly Law''s n to clear the earth


    of pests just like how an anti-virus software kills its host''s viruses?”


    Mabel began, “I have no idea if that''s the case, but I do know that Wretched thinks it has reached


    divinity, and that it understood what the will of the Heavenly Law is.”


    Jonathan''s heart sank. “There has been no shortage of cruel zealots throughout history, but none of


    them have a good ending. I do not want Wretched to meet the same fate.”


    Mabel sighed. “Let''s just do our best to prevent it, then.”


    Soon after, Mable left Mapleton and returned to Yaleview.


    As for the spiritual imprint left by Gd, she had already purified it.


    The only reason why she was able to do so was that Gd''s energy had been exhausted, so his


    spiritual imprint was no longer as strong.


    After Mabel left, Jonathan exchanged nces with Vananeru.


    It was rather awkward for the two to be left alone together.


    Earlier, when Jonathan was talking to Mabel, Vananeru didn''t understand a word they were saying, nor


    did she want to understand it.


    Sucking in a deep breath, she asked, “So, what are you nning to do now?”


    “I''d like to meet with the king of your country. Do you have any idea how I can do that?” Jonathan


    asked.


    Vananeru mused, “I don''t, but I do know of a man who might be able to help with that.” A momentter,


    she questioned, “Why do you want to meet with the king anyway?”


    In response, Jonathan said, “We''re all trying to find a way to stop Wretched from killing people, but


    before we can do that, we need to know what makes it ticks in order to have a higher chance of


    winning. Wretched mentioned that it has existed in this world for thousands of years. This means that


    Wretched''s akin to a thousand-year-old demon. So right now, I need to meet the king to see if I could


    find any information about Wretched''s origin.”


    Realization dawned on Vananeru when she heard that, and she eximed, “I''ll contact that person right


    away, then.”


    Jonathan bobbed his head in agreement.


    After taking out her phone, something urred to Vananeru and she cocked her head, asking, “Why


    did you save me when Wretched tried to kill me?


    Stunned by her question, Jonathan exined in a serious tone after a moment, “Because you''re a


    beautiful and kind-hearteddy.”


    “Just because of that?” Vananeru pressed on.


    Jonathan added, “Well, you''re as beautiful as a blooming flower, and men can''t help but want to protect


    you.”


    “Actually, I''m well aware that you were lying when you said you liked me before. Nheless, I feel like


    I still need to hear you say it yourself so that I can give up,” Vananeru uttered.


    Jonathan fell silent at that. He then blurted, “I had no choice but to approach you then, and I know that


    my action has caused you a lot of harm. For that, I am sorry!”


    Naturally, Vananeru had no use for Jonathan''s apology. Despite so, she still felt a stabbing pain in her


    heart. Smiling wryly, she said, “Now that my father has been captured and Celestial Sky Monastery


    demolished, I am but a homeless orphaned girl. Nothing matters to me anymore.”


    With that, she started making the call.


    The person she was trying to contact was a senior officer in Thymion named Samson.


    Samson was a man in his forties, and he was Gd''s devout follower, visiting and worshipping him as


    often as he could.


    Because of this, he treated Vananeru very kindly as well.


    At the moment, the public had no idea about what had happened to Celestial Sky Monastery, but the


    same could not be said when it came to the royal family.


    Perhaps Samson had gotten hold of some news, he was beyond ted when he received Vananeru''s


    call, asking repeatedly, “Ms. Vananeru, where are you? Are you all right? The king is looking


    everywhere for you, worrying about how you''re doing.”


    In response, Vananeru replied calmly, “I''m fine, Uncle Samson. I have a friend here who would like to


    meet with the king. He has a certain rtionship with Wretched, and I''m sure he''ll be able toe up


    with the best way to stop it.”


    Stunned, it took Samson a while to say, “Ms. Vananeru, the king would like to see you, but in order for


    your friend to meet with His Majesty, he would have to provide his identity first and get clearance from


    our department that he has no malicious intention toward His Majesty. This is the one and only way


    he''ll be granted an audience with the king.”


    “Then, can we meet first? Let''s talk when we meet,” came Vananeru''s reply.