Chapter 154: The Holy Relic Doesn’t Lie [Part 2]

Darius narrowed his eyes. "Are those Light Magic gloves? Remove them."

I raised my hands slightly. "What? I’m not allowed to wear gloves now?"

Darius’s expression hardened. "Put them away, Rey."

I stared at him. He’d taken the bait. I allowed my smile to disappear. "Why?"

His eyes narrowed further. "Why are you refusing?"

"Because I don’t particularly appreciate being ordered around."

"They’re just two gloves."

"Then why are you making such a fuss about them?"

Darius stepped closer. "Are you afraid?"

I remained silent.

He continued, his voice becoming louder. "What are you hiding beneath them, Rey?"

The nearby crowd began whispering.

"Black veins?" Darius asked. "Signs of corruption? Perhaps you’re trying to conceal the dark power leaking from your body."

I tightened my jaw. A little. Just enough.

"Or," he continued, glancing toward the relic, "are you afraid the Holy Relic will detect something?"

I let my expression darken. "Darius... Do you really need to push me like this?"

His answer came immediately. "Yes." He placed one hand upon the hilt of his sword.

I lowered my gaze toward his hand. Then looked back at his face. "I see." My voice became quieter.

"So that’s where you want this to go."

Darius didn’t answer. He simply watched me, apparently convinced he’d discovered something suspicious.

I slowly reached for my right glove. The courtyard grew quieter. I pulled it free. My bare hand emerged beneath the afternoon sunlight. Perfectly ordinary skin. No black veins. I removed the other glove as well. Then turned toward the enormous ceremonial fire basin burning beside the staircase.

Without hesitation, I tossed both gloves into the flames. The white fabric caught fire immediately. Golden flames curled around the crystal decorations, swallowing them beneath a bright burst of heat.

I watched them burn for a moment. Then turned back toward Darius. "There." I extended my bare hands. "Happy?"

His eyes moved across my fingers and wrists. Darius studied me for another moment before finally relaxing his grip on his sword. "Good." He gestured toward the golden pedestal. "Now touch the Relic."

I took a step forward, deliberately keeping my expression tense. I slowly extended my right hand toward the crystal. Elia watched me with her usual gentle smile, although I noticed how closely her eyes followed my movements. Darius stood beside her, his attention fixed on my fingers. Even the nearby priests seemed to be holding their breath.

When my fingertips were only a few centimeters from the Holy Relic, I quietly activated the A-Rank bracelet hidden beneath my sleeve.

[Light Mana Crystal Bracelet Activated]

A thin layer of concentrated Light Mana spread across my right hand, wrapping around my skin like an invisible glove. The enchantment was subtle enough that nobody noticed the activation. To an ordinary observer, my hand remained completely bare.

And then...

I touched the crystal.

Nothing happened. No ominous glow. No violent rejection. The Holy Relic continued emitting its usual soft, golden radiance, as though I were nothing more than an ordinary visitor touching a particularly expensive decoration.

Elia blinked. For the briefest moment, her serene expression cracked. Her eyes widened slightly before she recovered, replacing her surprise with another gentle smile.

Darius, however, wasn’t nearly as talented at controlling his face. "Impossible..." he muttered.

I tilted my head innocently. "Is something wrong?"

He didn’t answer. His eyes remained fixed on the crystal. Well, I could hardly blame him. During our previous encounter at the hunting grounds, I’d deliberately demonstrated enough unusual magic to make my former companions suspicious. The traces of corruption had been obvious. Unfortunately for them, suspicion wasn’t evidence. They couldn’t simply announce that Rey Valen had become a corrupted monster without presenting something convincing to the public. So they’d brought me here. To the Holy Relic. A perfect instrument for exposing a villain or so they believed...

What they didn’t know was that Evan Veyr had already experimented with this exact principle thousands of years in the future. The Holy Relic was extraordinarily sensitive to foreign magical energy. Dark Mana, corrupted energy, necromantic residue, and several other incompatible elements could trigger its defensive mechanisms.

However, its detection system had one rather amusing weakness. It relied on the magical signature of whatever made contact with its surface. If that contact was completely insulated by an uninterrupted layer of compatible Light Mana, the relic couldn’t distinguish the concealed energy beneath it. It was the magical equivalent of wearing a thick silicone oven mitt before picking up a scorching baking tray.

The heat still existed. Your hand was still there. But the protective layer prevented direct contact. Which was precisely why I’d spent so much time preparing those bracelets. My beloved research always saving me from troublesome idiots.

I withdrew my hand. "There." I turned toward Darius. "As you can see, I’m clean."

Elia and Darius stared at me. The surrounding priests exchanged uncertain glances. I could practically hear the gears turning inside their heads.

Darius finally spoke. "Try again with your other hand."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Just to make sure."

I looked at him for several seconds. Then sighed. "Fine."

I extended my left hand. Naturally, the second A-Rank bracelet activated beneath my sleeve. The same invisible layer of Light Mana formed around my fingers. And when I placed my palm against the crystal... Nothing. The relic remained perfectly calm. And that was why I’d created two bracelets. Because when dealing with suspicious bastards, redundancy wasn’t paranoia.

I withdrew my hand. "Satisfied?"

Darius’s jaw tightened.

The crowd began murmuring.

"Does that mean Lord Rey isn’t corrupted?"

"Of course he isn’t! He helped defeat the Dark Lord!"

"But the rumors..."

"Perhaps they were wrong."

Public opinion was such a fragile little creature. One moment, people were convinced you were a monster. The next, they were questioning whether the accusations had been justified. And all it took was a single failed examination.

Darius clearly noticed the changing atmosphere. His expression darkened. "Both hands."

I blinked. "What?"

"Put both hands on the Relic."