“You’re just going to let her go, Mirexia? She nearly caused you to fall under the control of the Demon Pillar,” Vinny asked in the student council president’s office that evening, now empty except for the two of them.
“It’s fine. That girl isn’t some evil mastermind. She was forced into becoming a pawn of the Demon Pillar. I’ve already reported the incident to the academy. They’ll keep an eye on Zoe and give her a chance to redeem herself,” Mirexia replied.
Still, even if Zoe managed to make amends, it was unlikely she could remain at Carillian Academy.
Once she returned to the empire, she would be under constant surveillance. After all, for human nations, any association with the Demon Pillar was the ultimate taboo.
Those who crossed that line rarely survived, so keeping her life and freedom intact was already a mercy.
It was widely accepted that humans who had contact with the Demon Pillar were rarely mentally stable. Even if there were exceptions, no one could afford to take that risk.
“Vinny, do you think my approach is wrong?” Mirexia paused and asked.
“No, what can I say? You were the primary victim. If you’ve decided to give her a chance, who am I to object?” Vinny shrugged.
“Still, those Bronze Blood guys are disgusting. They have potions that can turn humans into monsters and even summon the Demon Pillar’s minions. It’s horrifying,” Vinny complained.
“This isn’t anything new. The followers of Erunes aren’t the first to do something like this. The combat style of the Bronze Blood heavily relies on their bizarre alchemical potions. Backed by the Alchemical Demon Pillar Erunes, as a Demon Pillar, it has to provide conveniences and combat power to those who serve it.”
“Luckily, among the Demon Pillar cultists who ambushed us, there were only Sacrificers, no Martyrs,” Mirexia said.
“Martyrs? What are those?” Vinny was hearing this for the first time, that the Bronze Blood cultists were divided into such specific roles.
“Martyrs are another type of follower of Erunes. Their status is far above that of the Sacrificers, the ones who drink potions to become semi-minions,” Mirexia explained.
“According to the records of the Demon Pillar cultists in the Kingdom of Camella, Martyrs hold a much higher position within the Bronze Blood than Sacrificers. Their conditions for becoming one are extremely strict. From the moment they’re born, they must be indoctrinated by Erunes, meaning their families must have served Erunes for generations.”
“Erunes uses alchemical power to mark them with crimson patterns, which they call the ‘Blessing of Truth.’ These patterns spread across their entire bodies, but for the sake of concealment, they’re invisible to the naked eye. °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Martyrs can easily blend into crowds.”
“But when they unleash their combat power, the crimson patterns become visible.”
“Sacrificers can only drain their future potential by drinking potions, transforming into monsters with dozens of times their original combat power. But these monsters aren’t even considered minions. Martyrs, on the other hand, can directly transform into Erunes’ second-tier Fanatics. According to the kingdom’s records, Fanatics are terrifyingly destructive. Even two Masters working together might not be a match for them.”
“That powerful?” Vinny swallowed hard, considering that he was currently at the Artisan level, and Fanatics could even overpower Masters.
It was a good thing they hadn’t encountered any this time, or Vinny felt he and Mirexia would’ve ended up with a “defeat CG.”
“Indeed, they’re powerful. But as I said, Martyrs are rare. They must be blessed by Erunes and indoctrinated from birth. You could say their ‘production rate’ is low. Plus, they have a fatal weakness,” Mirexia pondered.
“A fatal weakness?”