When Ruby's eyes swept over Mark, the strong disgust from the depths of her soul that she had felt before the Seraph came surged again!
Although there was only a weak fluctuation of the holy light shield on his body at the moment, that feeling... was lingering!
The image of the Seraph's final "mark" beam piercing his chest was deeply seared into Ruby's mind.
There is definitely something wrong with this "priest"!
Otherwise, Lord Seraph would not have specially marked him!
"A bunch of...heretics!"
Ruby's voice was weak as if she had just survived a disaster, yet extremely clear and filled with undisguised hostility.
She struggled to stand up from Kyle's arms. The flail pendant re-condensed in her hand. Although the bright white holy light was no longer as vast as when the Seraphim was there, it was still pure and dangerous.
"Use dark magic! Control the power of shadows! And you..." She pointed her finger directly at Mark, "You... even marked the Seraph himself! What's the difference between you and the monsters of the Enlightenment Society?!"
"Hey! Bitch!" Enzo's temper was instantly ignited.
He took a sudden step forward, his mithril breastplate clanging, dark magic like molten lava surging on the rune hammer, his small eyes burning with anger of being wronged.
"Who the hell almost got himself burned just now? If it weren't for our leader's quick decision, Anna's archery prowess, and Monica's sharp eyes that found the dragon's vital point, would you still be standing here spouting filth?! You and that stupid dragon would have been reduced to ashes long ago! You ungrateful thing! Is this how your Church of Holy Light produces indiscriminate lunatics like you?"
"Enzo, shut up!" Mark shouted to stop Enzo's verbal humiliation.
Although he felt a little unhappy with Ruby, she was Kyle's person after all.
He and Kyle were comrades who had lived and died together. There was no need to turn a friend into an enemy just for the sake of verbal skills.
As long as Kyle didn't fight him, there was no need for him to go to war with them directly just because of Ruby's hostility.
Kyle supported Ruby, who was shaking from anger and weakness.
His brows were furrowed, and his handsome face was filled with fatigue and deep embarrassment.
"Ruby, calm down! They...they just helped us!"
Kyle's eyes swept over Team Mark.
Enzo's dark magic is indeed pure and powerful, incomparable to ordinary heretics, and more like some kind of unique inheritance.
Monica and Anna's shadow power is pure, but contains no evil or resentment.
As for Mark…Kyle had the most complicated feelings.
Mark's magical properties are indeed weird. He had clearly released colorful black light before, but he exuded the aura of holy light. Even though he had the mark of a Seraph, in his perception, Mark was a priest.
Moreover! Team Mark's actions, from the beginning to the end, were all aimed at disrupting the evil rituals of the Enlightenment Society!
They killed Spin Campbell, an important cadre of the Enlightenment Society!
What they did objectively maintained the stability of Osborne Town and even the wider area, and was in line with the doctrinal foundation of the Holy Light Church of "loving others" and "protecting order"!
The Church of Holy Light is no longer the extremist organization that rejected all non-holy light forces hundreds of years ago.
The Magic Association, arcanists trained by major kingdoms, natural druids of the elves, and even some schools that study elements and astrology.
As long as they do not openly oppose the Church of Holy Light, do not conduct forbidden human or soul experiments, and do not endanger the stability of the kingdom, the church usually adopts an attitude of observation and limited cooperation.
Individuals like Enzo who use "non-holy light" powers but whose actions are not particularly evil, and who may even be meritorious.
Although there are controversies within the church, directly labeling someone as a "heretic" and purging them is definitely not a mainstream practice, and it also goes against Kyle's inner commitment to "loving others."
He, Kyle, is not a fanatical extremist like some leaders of the Holy Knights. He will not indiscriminately define people as heretics.
"Sir Kyle! Don't you see?" Ruby's voice was shrill with excitement as she pointed at Enzo. "Pure darkness! That's the domain of the God of Darkness! And them!"
She pointed at Monica and Anna again. "Shadow magic! That's the power of a thief who walks in the shadows. He even dares to steal from the gods. How could he not be a heretic? Not to mention the one marked by the Seraph himself..."
She looked at Mark with eyes filled with extreme disgust: "His very existence is a blasphemy against the Holy Light! 'Loving' is not unprincipled tolerance! Purifying heretics and maintaining the purity of the Holy Light is also 'loving'! Sheltering these filthy beings is nurturing future disasters!"
"Shelter? Why do I need your protection?" Enzo scoffed, his hammer clanging against his breastplate. "Ruby Montoya, huh? Nice name, but your heart is stinker than the mud in the Rot Dragon Swamp!"
"You keep talking about purifying heretics. You're so capable, but why didn't you purify that wolf cub Warwick just now? How did you almost purify yourself?"
"Oh, right, it was us 'heretics' who saved you! Now that you've recovered, you're turning your back on us? Why is the Church of Holy Light always producing ungrateful people like you who eat from a bowl and curse after putting it down?"
"You—!" Ruby was shaking with anger, an abnormal blush appeared on her pale face, and the holy light on the flail became unstable again.
"Enough! Ruby!" Kyle's voice suddenly rose, carrying unprecedented majesty and a hint of tired anger.
He exuded a higher level of holy light affinity that belonged to a clergyman. Although it was not strong, it effectively suppressed Ruby temporarily.
"Now is not the time for internal strife! Although the Enlightenment Society's conspiracy has been thwarted, Warwick's whereabouts are unknown, and the escaped miniature rot dragon is a huge hidden danger! The crisis in Osborne Town has not yet been resolved! What we need is information sharing and tracking down clues, not a fight among ourselves!"
He took a deep breath, forced himself to suppress his surging emotions, and looked at Mark with a complicated look: "Mark...Sir. In any case, thank you for your help at the critical moment."
"We need to talk about Osborne Town... and everything that happened here. And..." His eyes swept over Enzo, Monica, and Anna, with a hint of pleading, "Please... restrain yourself for a moment."
If Kyle hadn't held her shoulders tightly, she would have rushed forward recklessly.
Monica didn't say anything, but her figure seemed to blend more into the surrounding shadows, like a cheetah ready to pounce.
Anna raised her longbow slightly. Although the arrow tip was not pointed explicitly at Ruby, natural magic was already flowing through the string.
Xiao Mu curled up in Mark's arms, his pink eyes staring at Ruby warily, making a subtle "mumu" sound.
Mark covered his still aching forehead, feeling the burning brand of [Seraphim's Gaze] deep in his soul, and looking at the tense situation in front of him, he felt helpless.
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