Chapter 240: The Savior’s Belief (2)

The room fell silent.

Blauer continued in her calm, unhurried voice.

"They believe that only by allowing the Deep Aberration to consume everything can this false world finally come to an end, making way for a new and true era."

"..."

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Even Ana’s usual lazy smile had disappeared, replaced by a thoughtful expression.

Jake frowned deeply.

’They want to let the Deep Aberration devour the world... just to bring about a new era?’

What kind of twisted belief was that?

Blauer tilted her head slightly.

"Of course, I cannot say whether this was truly the Hero’s original intention or merely how his followers interpreted his words. The memories I inherited don’t contain enough information to answer that question."

She paused, her eyes narrowing faintly.

"What’s even more mysterious is that this belief only appeared after the Hero returned from the Deep Abyss. Before that, he was known as the greatest defender of humanity. Yet afterward, the very idea of destroying the world seemed to become central to his teachings."

Ana crossed her arms, tapping a finger against her elbow.

"So, either something happened to him down there that completely changed his outlook..."

She trailed off, her gaze growing distant.

"...or whatever returned from the Deep Abyss wasn’t quite the same as the Hero who entered it."

The moment she finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room grew even heavier.

But Jake felt a chill run down his spine.

’Wait a minute. Don’t tell me we’re dealing with some kind of impostor?’

He glanced around the room, hoping someone would dismiss the idea.

Unfortunately, judging by everyone’s expressions, nobody seemed willing to rule it out.

The silence lingered for a while, the weight of Blauer’s words hanging over the room.

Just as the atmosphere threatened to grow any heavier, Mita suddenly clenched her fist and slammed it against her palm.

BAM!

"Well, whatever they’re planning, we’ll just crush them!"

Her sudden declaration caught everyone’s attention.

Mita grinned confidently, seemingly unconcerned by the terrifying implications of the Savior’s Belief.

"Think about it! If they’re so powerful, why do they have to hide behind cloaks and sneak around in the shadows? That just means they’re too weak to face us directly!"

She puffed out her chest, looking rather pleased with her own reasoning.

"So what if they’ve survived since the First Era? If they dare to cause trouble for the Alliance, we’ll just beat them until they stop!"

Jake stared at her for a moment.

’...Is it really that simple?’

He wasn’t sure whether to admire her confidence or question how she had managed to reach that conclusion.

Ana, meanwhile, couldn’t help but chuckle.

"My, my. That’s certainly an optimistic way of looking at things~"

"Of course!" Mita declared proudly. "There’s no point worrying about things we haven’t even confirmed yet! Besides, worrying won’t make us any stronger. We might as well prepare ourselves and deal with them when they show up!"

She nodded firmly, as though she had just delivered some profound wisdom.

"..."

Jake found himself unable to argue with that logic.

It was crude, perhaps even a little reckless, but there was something refreshing about Mita’s straightforward attitude.

Vivian sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"You’re making it sound much easier than it actually is..."

"But it is easy!" Mita shot back. "We find them, beat them up, and stop whatever they’re planning. What’s so difficult about that?"

Vivian opened her mouth, then closed it again.

For a moment, she seemed to struggle to find a suitable response.

In the end, she could only let out another sigh.

"...Forget it."

Blauer gave a small nod, seemingly agreeing with Mita’s words.

"She’s not entirely wrong. Regardless of what the Savior’s Worshipers are planning, there’s no point in worrying too much before we have more information."

She gently patted Jake’s waist before finally withdrawing her hand and turning her attention back to the meeting.

"For now, we should focus on what we can do. The Alliance will continue investigating the Savior’s Worshipers, and we must strengthen our preparations in case they make another move."

Her calm gaze swept across everyone in the room.

"As for the Leviathan, we cannot afford to let our guard down. We will increase the manpower protecting it, and I’ll be temporarily stationed in Haunfen City to monitor the seal and ensure those cultists don’t try anything else."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

With that, the tense discussion gradually returned to the meeting’s original purpose.

The members began exchanging information and discussing their next steps, each offering their own suggestions.

Meanwhile, Jake finally let out a quiet sigh after learning about such a complicated piece of history.

But, well, it wasn’t really his problem.

He was just a small fry, after all.

There were plenty of powerful people in this world, people like Blauer, who could handle these matters.

As the saying went, great power came with great responsibility.

And Jake had absolutely no intention of taking on more responsibility than necessary.

He was perfectly happy leaving the troublesome matters to the experts while he focused on growing stronger and enjoying life with his crew.

With that thought in mind, he shifted slightly, trying to get up.

However, before he could got up, Blauer casually wrapped an arm around his waist again.

Jake’s body stiffened.

’...Wait. Why are we still doing this?!’

He slowly turned his head to look at Blauer, only to find her listening attentively to the ongoing discussion with the same composed expression as before.

As if having Jake sit on her lap throughout an important Alliance meeting were the most natural thing in the world.

Jake stared at her in disbelief.

In the end, he could only let out another sigh and give up, leaning back into her embrace.

After all, he had already tried protesting with his eyes several times, and it seemed that Blauer either didn’t understand his silent complaints or simply chose to ignore them.

Still...

Jake couldn’t help but wonder why Blauer had suddenly started acting so intimately toward him.

They had barely known each other for that long, yet she was treating him as though they were already close.

’...Just what’s going on in that woman’s head?’