The gray-eyed envoy's icy pupils suddenly contracted, his gaze like a solid icicle, instantly piercing Alfonso.
For the first time, his dry, hoarse voice carried a clear emotional fluctuation—the judge's aversion to blasphemy.
"Commander Alfonso! As the commander of the Thirteenth Holy Knights, a newly promoted legendary paladin! How dare you harbor and protect such a person who shows heretical tendencies and blasphemes against the essence of the Holy Light under your command?"
"This is the most serious stain on the doctrine of Holy Light! You must explain this! Otherwise, the court has the right to add you to the review list!"
Raymond immediately took over the conversation, his voice booming as if he had occupied the absolute moral high ground, and began his carefully prepared performance:
"Your Excellency is wise! In order to carry out missions in complex environments, each Holy Knight Order can indeed recruit some non-official members who are not purely believers in the Holy Light, but yearn for the light and are willing to fight for order!"
"This is an open secret among all the Holy Knight Orders! Even the Inquisition has its own unofficial henchmen!"
His gaze swept over the escorting "Monica," "Anna," and "Enzo," with deliberate contempt:
"This shadow elf, this human female assassin, and this lava dwarf covered in dark energy!"
"Their power may be somewhat dark, but as long as they act within the rules and there is no direct evidence that they have betrayed humanity or sided with the Abyss, we can tolerate them for the sake of their service to the Church! This is a temporary measure!"
His tone abruptly shifted, like a drawn sword, striking with overwhelming force at the puppet playing Mark:
“But! He—Mark Stu!” Raymond’s voice was filled with deep-seated anger and indignation. “He awakened to be a clergyman! A member of the sacred profession of serving the Holy Light and guiding believers! One of the symbols of the Holy Light on earth! Look at what he has done to the Holy Light?!”
"In full view of everyone, on the sacred battlefield, he actually corrupted the holy light, devouring the life force of his enemies for his own use like a demon from the abyss! What an evil and blasphemous act this is!"
He abruptly turned to Alfonso, pointing his spear and shouting angrily, his spittle almost splashing onto the other's cold silver armor:
"Alfonso! You can use the unspoken rule of 'outside the official ranks' to cover up your gathering of heretics and shadow walkers! But a priest who should represent the purity and redemption of holy light is using such evil and forbidden power that connects to the abyss. This is no longer a simple matter of being outside the official ranks!"
"This is the most thorough betrayal of the essence of the Holy Light! It is utter heresy! And you, as its leader, not only did you fail to discipline or clean house, but you also sheltered it under the wing of the Holy Knights and brought it to a strategically important location! What exactly do you intend to do?!"
"Has the glory of your Thirteenth Regiment fallen so low that it needs to rely on heretical and evil magic to maintain itself?!"
Raymond's every word struck like a hammer blow to the hearts of everyone present.
The gray-eyed envoy exuded an increasingly chilling aura of judgment, and the shadow beneath his hood almost solidified, clearly indicating that he had been thoroughly enraged by the fact that "the clergy used abyssal evil power."
The envoy with the ebony staff had deep eyes and a furrowed brow, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Alfonso and the escorted "Mark".
Count Ferdinand also abandoned his spectator attitude, his gaze becoming extremely serious. He knew that Raymond had indeed found a fatal opening this time.
A "fallen" clergyman is a devastating blow to the honor of the Church of Holy Light.
All eyes in the banquet hall were focused on Alfonso Lin, and the air felt as heavy as lead.
The question remains: how will this rising legend respond to this devastating accusation, and how will he explain the "blasphemous" figure in his ranks?
Alfonso remained seated, his silver armor gleaming coldly under the lights, like an unchanging iceberg.
Despite Raymond's roar and the almost tangible pressure of judgment emanating from the gray-eyed envoy, his expression remained unchanged.
Those silver-gray eyes calmly swept over the six "team members" being escorted by the Iron Guards and gray-robed secret guards.
Finally, the gaze fell on the "priest" who was playing Mark and was now bowing his head in "shame".
He did not immediately refute Raymond, nor did he explain to the envoy.
Instead, he slightly turned his head and, facing Elliott who was as silent as a shadow beside him, gave a seemingly unrelated but astonishing instruction in a flat, cold tone.
“Elliot, conduct an examination. Take a look at this ‘heretic clergyman’ whom our Lord Raymond, loyal to the Holy Light, and his staunch Inquisition allies, have painstakingly captured…”
Alfonso paused, a barely perceptible, almost mocking glint in his eyes, "Look... how much 'purity' is left in the holy light within him?"
Elliott stepped forward expressionlessly, his movements as precise as a machine.
He didn't even look at Raymond's face, which suddenly became filled with surprise and uncertainty, nor did he pay attention to the gray-eyed envoy's gaze, which suddenly froze.
His withered fingers swiftly traced a holy light rune in the air, radiating a pure, probing energy. The light was gentle yet possessed an irresistible penetrating power.
This is a holy light detection spell commonly used by the Inquisition to detect heresy. It can detect even the slightest trace of blasphemous magic in the person being investigated!
Of course, it only detects magic with negative properties.
Buzz!
The rune instantly transformed into a streak of light, precisely piercing the chest of the mascot dressed as Mark!
The next moment, something happened that shocked everyone, especially Raymond and the gray-eyed envoy!
Within Mark's body, a pure, powerful, warm, and sacred light, like the awakened morning sun, suddenly burst forth!
The light was not dazzling, but it carried a majestic and righteous aura originating from the source of holy light, instantly dispelling the coldness and oppression in the banquet hall caused by the confrontation!
The purity and richness of this holy light far surpassed that of ordinary clergy, and even faintly carried a trace of... the rudimentary form of legendary pressure.
Or, to the point that even the legendary experts present were somewhat unwilling to admit, it was that the holy light emanating from Mark, who was suspected of being a heretic, seemed to be purer than that of everyone else present!
After all, they are clergy, chosen by the Holy Light as their representatives in the mortal realm!
Seeing the scene before them, most of the people in the room comforted themselves with these words.
They naturally didn't know that this pure holy light, in its essence, actually came from the seraphim in the Holy Kingdom of Light!
Elliott's investigative magic flowed smoothly through the doll's body. The holy light emanating from "Mark" blended perfectly with the investigative magic, without a trace of darkness, chaos, or the evil aura of the abyss!
Genuine Holy Light!
Moreover, it is holy light of extremely high quality and extremely pure!
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