This is a sparse forest.Within the forest, a dilapidated wooden house looms faintly among the bushes.
Inside the wooden house, Sebastian is half-lying amid the weeds, his face pale.
He is covered in blood, his elegant tailcoat already tattered. The left half of his sleeve is even more empty, as his entire left arm has been cut off from his shoulder by a sharp weapon.
The trickling blood flows down his wounds, gathering beneath him into a small stream.
As an ancient flame elf, he keenly feels his life force rapidly draining away.
Struggling to lift his head, Sebastian looks towards the window.
A golden energy shield has already enveloped the wooden house.
He recognizes it as one of the signature divine magic of the Holy Court, a sealing spell used to imprison divine beings.
This complex and intricate divine magic is usually only used when sealing off large forces. But now, it's being used on him alone.
"Heh, they're using the Judgment Prison directly. The Grand Knight really thinks highly of me."
With a smirk, Sebastian laboriously raises his right hand, skillfully retrieving a goblet from his storage space and pouring the last drop of red wine from the bottle into it.
Elegantly lifting the goblet, he takes a gentle sip.
"Sebastian, you're surrounded."
"The Grand Knight said, if you voluntarily surrender and seal your own power, the Inquisition can spare your life and give you a chance to reform!"
"Are you still waiting for someone to come and save you? The Inquisition has already initiated the sacred judgment against Rose Society. I'm sure Rose Society is now completely finished."
The shouts of the Judgment Knights come from outside the wooden house, urging Sebastian to surrender.
Sebastian scoffs.
"Surrender? Join the ranks of the Judgment Troops as cannon fodder?"
"I've even betrayed Luna Island. No one can force me to do something I don't want to do!"
"If you're capable, come in yourselves!"
Surrender?
He is a proud flame elf. In his dictionary, the word surrender has never been written!
Sebastian's proud and disdainful words resonate from the wooden house.
Around the wooden house, the Judgment Knights look at each other.
"Grand Knight, he refuses to surrender... Should we launch a strong attack? He's already heavily injured. Even if you don't intervene, he won't be our match."
The Judgment Knight who shouted respectfully asks the Grand Knight behind him.
The Grand Knight is a middle-aged man who looks to be in his forties or fifties, with a standard square face, stubble, sharp features, and a stern expression.
However, unlike his rugged appearance, his eyes have a different calmness.
Looking at the wooden house in the Judgment Prison, he shakes his head gently.
"No need..."
"Sebastian Flameheart was once a high elf just one step away from being a legendary. Every elf is a natural magical creature, able to resonate with elements at the cost of their own soul."
"Someone like him, even if heavily injured, can still take a few with him before he dies."
"Since he refuses to surrender, then let's set it on fire. I want to see if this so-called flame elf is afraid of flame..."
The Grand Knight says lightly.
He doesn't hide his voice. His calm words enter the wooden house, causing Sebastian, who is sipping wine lightly, to sigh inwardly.
The Judgment Knights are always fighting against the enemies of the Holy Court, surrounded by danger at every turn throughout their lives.
To rise from the smallest trainee Judgment Knight to become a Grand Knight suppressing one side, besides powerful strength, calmness and caution are necessary.
Sebastian knows that his idea of taking a few Judgment Knights down with him has failed.
The Judgment Knights quickly take action.
They take out buckets of grease and bundles of dry firewood, pouring them towards the wooden house and stacking them up.
Watching the actions of the Judgment Knights through the window, Sebastian can only sigh lightly.
He is too heavily injured, really too heavily injured.
The magic power in his body has long been completely exhausted, his entire left arm has been severed by a sword, and even the pair of legs under him has been rendered useless under the the Grand Knight's Sacred Fury.
He can no longer use any magic. All he can do is wait for the Judgment Knights to approach, burn his soul, trigger an elemental storm, and perish together.
However, even this is no longer possible now.
"Lord Sebastian, wake up! The Blood Demon Cult behind you has already abandoned you. They won't come to your aid."
"Now surrender, while you still can."
After stacking the firewood and pouring the oil, the Judgment Knights shouted again.
"I have no interest in living a life of compromise!"
"Furthermore... don't insult me by mentioning the Blood Demon Cult! That bunch of trash, I don't even care about them!"
Sebastian mocked.
Upon hearing this, the Grand Knight frowned slightly, then ordered.
"Ignite it."
With his command, the Judgment Knights raised torches burning with the flames of judgment and set the pile of firewood ablaze.
The fire quickly spread, engulfing the entire wooden house.
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"Is it over..."
Watching the thick smoke spreading around him, Sebastian muttered to himself.
There's some reluctance in his heart.
He never expected his life to end here.
However, it was his choice, and he must bear the consequences of his choice.
I wonder...
What is the Lady of the Night doing now?
I haven't returned for so many days, is SHE worried about me?
Upon hearing the news of Rose Society being judged by the Holy Court, will SHE stand up for Rose Society?
At this moment, Sebastian's thoughts slowed down infinitely, thinking about many things.
But soon, he felt that thinking like this was childish and ridiculous.
"What are you thinking? SHE's the Lady of the Night, SHE's a true God."
"Although SHE has not regained her power now, although SHE looks like a mortal now, but... how could SHE really be a mortal?"
"Gods won't mistreat their followers, but Gods also have their own indifference and calmness..."
"Now, what qualifications do I have for HER help and rescue?"
"Perhaps in the Lady of the Night's eyes, I... am just a waste."
Sebastian sighed lightly.
He knew he had never truly gained the Lady of the Night's complete trust.
Because he had never truly devoted his loyalty to the Lady of the Night.
As an elf with a long lifespan, he had seen too many stories about Gods and their followers.
And in every story, when a God chooses their followers, the first question they ask is "What do you want"...
But the Lady of the Night never asked.
He didn't believe that the Lady of the Night, such an ancient God, didn't know this "unspoken rule".
He believed even more that the other party had already seen through his thoughts and was waiting for him to speak first. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ N0vᴇlFire(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.
But he didn't dare to speak.
To follow a God in order to become a God?
Such a selfish and disrespectful purpose, I'm afraid no God would approve of it, right?
In history, the followers of those Gods were all fervent believers.
Becoming a God was a gift they received from the God they follow.
Rather than the direction they strived for.
Sebastian knew that he couldn't gain the Lady of the Night's approval for this reason.
So, he had never dared to tell the Lady of the Night proactively why he pledged allegiance to HER.
But he knew that the Lady of the Night must have already understood.
However, knowing and not saying it was two different concepts for Gods.
He was afraid, he was uneasy, he was worried...
So, he repeatedly performed in front of the Lady of the Night.
He wanted to prove himself, prove his strength, prove that even if he didn't reveal his heart, he still had value to the Lady of the Night.
Prove that he had the ability to become a God's follower.
He believed that this was a tacit transaction between himself and the God.
"Perhaps... deep down, I am still very proud."
"No... this is not pride, but arrogance."
"Even though I decided to follow a God, I have always had the mentality that I can eventually follow the God and become a God myself, and I have never genuinely felt awe for the Gods."
"Such a person like me, I'm afraid I have never truly entered the Lady of the Night's view..."
"Heh heh, looking at it this way, I am indeed a foolish person, proud yet humble, arrogant yet self-deprecating..."
Sebastian self-mockingly said.
There are still many things he can't let go of.
Luna Island, Rose Society, his lost homeland...
He also really wants to go and see the scenery from a higher place.
However, he can't go that far anymore.
He didn't give his sincere heart.
And when the crisis came, he would inevitably be abandoned.
The temperature in the wooden house began to rise, and the smoke became thicker.
Under severe injuries, Sebastian's consciousness became increasingly blurred.
In the haze, his vision seemed to be filled with crimson flames.
A familiar voice sounded in his ears.
"Sebastian, you look quite miserable today."