Loenke couldn't help but sneer, "You people are really something. The followers of the Church believe in the goddess, who they say exists, and you call that ignorance. Yet, you are so devout to the elusive 'Gate of Truth.'"

"Enough talk! Vera, come here quickly, don’t test my patience. Stop fantasizing. This man is all talk now! He’s already beyond saving, and now he can't even protect you."

Upon hearing this, Loenke immediately stepped in front of Vera, "I’m going to protect her today! Not just her, but everyone here, from top to bottom, inside and out—I’ll protect them all! Don’t even think about it! Not even a chicken will die here!"

"The Lord of Truth coming won't change anything! I said so!"

"Scoundrel! How dare you even mention the Lord of Truth!? Fine! I’ll kill the Earl now and see what you can do!"

"No! Don’t!"

Havier raised his staff, the tip gathering a fierce wind that transformed into a spearhead, aimed straight for the Earl's temple.

In that moment of crisis, a thick holy shield rose around the Earl, blocking the deadly strike.

The shield then shattered into a flurry of arrow-like light, raining down toward Havier.

Quickly, Havier spun his staff, the wind at the staff's end forming into a round shield, blocking most of the light arrows. But several still pierced through, leaving scorched holes in his body.

Even so, the wounds began healing rapidly, visible to the naked eye.

Havier was sent flying back, panic in his eyes as he looked at Lord Lawrence, then at Loenke.

"How is this possible! You’ve been sealed from using divine magic! This Holy Seal Scroll, created by my teacher, couldn’t be wrong!"

"I get it now! You must have placed a divine spell on the Earl! Damn it, why didn’t I detect it?"

Loenke laughed heartily, "You’re half-right. The divine magic on the Earl, indeed, was placed by me beforehand.

But, I wasn't sealed by your pathetic Holy Seal."

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With that, Loenke raised his hand, five fingers gathering the Holy Light, which transformed into five chains, shooting out and directly binding Lord Lawrence.

This sight stunned Havier, who stood frozen. Loenke handed Lord Lawrence to Vera, but not before throwing in a sarcastic remark.

"See, this is the most interesting thing about members of the Tower of Truth. They pride themselves on seeing the true nature of the world, but the moment something outside of their understanding appears, they fall into deep self-doubt.

In that state, they are no different from clueless fools."

Havier gritted his teeth, looking at Loenke with hate in his eyes, "You! How did you do this?"

"Why don’t I tell you how I did it, and you tell me, what’s your purpose behind all of this?"

Loenke's hand was constantly changing the Holy Light, subtly guiding Havier with his obsessive thirst for knowledge.

"You have an apple, I have an apple. If we exchange, we still each have one apple.

But if you have knowledge, and I have knowledge, if we exchange, we each have two pieces of knowledge.

As a member of the Tower of Truth, should you really give up the chance to seek the truth?

Or perhaps, you have no confidence in the ten-year plan you so carefully laid out?"

Havier hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and finally said, "Fine! In the name of the Gate of Truth, I make a pact with you!"

Loenke extinguished the Holy Light in his hand, "According to the rules of the Tower of Truth, your thirst for knowledge outweighs mine, so you speak first."

Havier's expression turned grim. He took a deep breath before slowly speaking, "The reason I’ve done all this traces back to a secret plan from the Tower of Truth.

Its code name: Witch."

Loenke narrowed his eyes, "Witch? Don’t make things up, you old fool."

"I’m sure you don’t know. This is classified in the Tower of Truth! Only the three great sages and the thirteen members of the Truth Council know about it."

Havier seemed to take pride in possessing such a secret. "This was an experiment that could overturn the world! And its true horror is that it has already succeeded!

Unfortunately, the great Tower of Truth was attacked by ignorant fools like you.

You should be thankful that the Tower of Truth at that time focused most of its energy on verifying knowledge and truth.

Otherwise, you’d have never stood a chance!"

Loenke sneered, "When the heavens wish to destroy someone, they first drive them mad. The fall of the Tower of Truth was self-inflicted; its end was destined. It was just a matter of when.

But hearing you out…"

As he spoke, Loenke pressed Vera’s head down, "Is this one of your Tower of Truth’s witches?"

"No! This can’t be!"

Lord Lawrence, in panic, shouted out. Though somewhat conservative and cowardly, he wasn’t foolish. He quickly sensed that his daughter might be in danger from the conversation between the two.

"Vera is my daughter, my own flesh and blood! She’s from the Lawrence family, not some witch! Holy Knight, please see reason!"

Havier sneered, "She’s indeed not a witch. Or rather, she is merely a part of the witch. And my purpose in all of this is to steal the witch’s power!

Now, I’ve said my part. It’s your turn."

Loenke raised an eyebrow, "Playing word games? How childish."