Erasing Memories

Alvin had not necessarily died from the Spellblade piercing wound.
At the very least, before he suffered the fatal injury, he had already been poisoned.

It was a highly lethal toxin capable of dismantling mana and corroding life itself.
The sudden collapse of his mana was most likely the moment the poison took effect.

With that realization, Black was just about to explain everything to Kristine when he suddenly noticed something terribly wrong.

Purple mist began to seep out from Kristine’s body, and even her pupils turned an abnormal shade of violet as she muttered under her breath,
“I killed Father… I killed Father.”

Even worse, faint purple dragon scales began to surface along her bare arms.
It was exactly the same state as when Leonard the Dragon-Corrupted had catalyzed her transformation back then.

She was beginning to dragonify.

“Kristine!”

Black didn’t hesitate for a second.
He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, immediately taking out a potion with calming and mind-clearing effects from his ring and forcing it down her throat.

After she swallowed it, the dragon scales temporarily receded.

Black stared straight at her face and shouted each word with force,
“Look at me, Kristine! Your father was poisoned to death—he wasn’t killed by you!”

But it had no effect.

Kristine showed no reaction at all.
Her delicate face was deathly pale as she stared blankly at the blood on her hands.

Perhaps due to emotional overload, she soon lost consciousness.

Looking at the devastation all around them, Black’s gaze gradually turned icy.

He had still been one step behind.

What happened today had been a carefully planned murder.
The target was not him—but Alvin.

And Alvin had to die in front of Kristine.

By doing so, they would indirectly drive Kristine insane and accelerate the awakening of the Dragon King’s soul within her.

The Swan Lake invitation.
The deception aimed at Alvin.
The psychological trap laid for Kristine.

All the clues pointed to the same two figures.

Randolph.
And the Silver Dragon.

But everything was not yet lost.

As long as Kristine’s memory of this event could be erased, there was still time.

And the only ones capable of doing such a thing were Emperor-Tier Sages.

That meant he had no choice but to seek out Noa.

With that decision made, Black hoisted Kristine onto his back.
Just as he recalled the Demon-Cleaver, he sensed several powerful presences rushing toward the area.

The intense fluctuations from the earlier battle had clearly drawn the attention of nearby knight orders.
They were already very close.

If they were seen here, there would be no way to explain anything.

Without hesitation, Black equipped the Nightwalker’s Mask, then collected the basket and food Kristine had dropped earlier to ensure no traces were left behind.
He quickly slipped into the nearby forest, heading straight for Dragon-Slaying Guard Headquarters.

Almost the moment he disappeared, the knights arrived.

Staring at the devastated ground before them, the members of the knight squad were stunned.
Swan Lake was strictly forbidden territory for combat.
Yet judging by the scene, the battle had been extremely fierce, with no regard for law or order whatsoever.

The squad captain frowned and stepped forward a few paces.
Then his eyes caught sight of a corpse, and he immediately raised his hand.

“Corpse discovered! All units, stay alert!”

The other knights instantly tensed, channeling their energy and scanning their surroundings.

The captain approached step by step.
When he finally saw the face of the body clearly, his expression changed drastically.

“This is… Count Alvin?!”

****

Relying on the effects of the Nightwalker’s Mask, Black avoided all pursuit and successfully left Swan Lake.
He moved nonstop through the shadowed streets, carrying Kristine on his back as he raced toward Dragon-Slaying Guard Headquarters.

Kristine lay curled against him, her breathing steady, though her body trembled faintly from time to time.

Only when the outline of the headquarters came into view did Black finally allow himself the slightest relief.

Stopping before Noa’s door, he felt a moment of disorientation.
Barely half a day had passed, yet he had returned here again.

He took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock.

“Ah.”

The wooden door opened on its own.

Black didn’t hesitate.
Carrying Kristine, he stepped inside.

Noa stood by the window, seemingly lost in thought.
When she heard him enter, she turned, her gaze immediately falling on the figure on his back.

Her expression paused, and a soft, knowing sigh escaped her lips.

She didn’t ask any questions.

“Randolph has made his move again,” she said calmly.
“Judging by the situation, they succeeded, didn’t they?”

Black lowered Kristine from his back and held her horizontally in his arms before looking at Noa, surprise flashing in his eyes.

“My lady… you already guessed?”

Noa stepped closer.
She first carefully examined Kristine’s condition, then looked back at Black and explained,

“This morning, after I handed the shadow-recording stone to Her Majesty, she immediately approved Randolph’s arrest.
But by the time I arrived at the Creation Temple, Randolph was already gone.
Even the bishops he regularly commanded didn’t know where he had gone—only that he had left without a word.”

Her tone turned cold.

“For a former pope to deliberately erase his tracks and retreat into the shadows, it can only mean one thing:
he has resolved to do something that will invite retaliation from both the Dragon-Slaying Guard and the imperial family.”

“So I deduced that they would likely take action to advance their plan.”

Her gaze returned to Kristine’s pale face.

“I just didn’t expect it to happen this fast.”

Noa reached out and took hold of Kristine’s wrist, closing her eyes as if sensing something.

After a moment, her brows knitted slightly.
When she opened her eyes again, they were filled with gravity.

“Dragonification has already begun?”

She looked at Black.

“What exactly happened at Swan Lake?
Tell me everything.”

Black did not dare conceal anything and recounted the events by the lake as concisely as possible.

Even with Noa’s composure, she fell silent for a brief moment after hearing it all.
She slowly shook her head, her voice icy.

“Mana collapse, fragrant blood, extreme corrosiveness…
That would be the lethal poison **Blood-Erosion Incense**.

“Forcing the Saintess to kill her own father in order to shatter her mental defenses and pave the way for the Dragon King’s awakening—
what a truly vicious method.”

“My lady,” Black said urgently, tightening his hold on Kristine.
“Her dragonification has only just begun. It can still be suppressed.”

“Please erase the memory of her killing her father.”

Noa was silent for several seconds, then nodded.

“Lay her on the inner room’s bed.”

Black followed her instructions and gently placed Kristine down.

Noa stepped to the bedside, extended her index finger, and a faint silver glow gathered at her fingertip as she touched Kristine’s forehead.

“Forget,” she whispered, her chant light and distant.

As her voice fell, silver light flowed from her finger in thin streams, seeping into Kristine’s brow.
Noa’s aura deepened and expanded, as if resonating with some invisible law of the world itself.

To erase memories was nearly an act against heaven.
Even for an Emperor-Tier Sage like her, it was anything but easy.