Chapter 2044: Chapter 2044

"Miss Fabry, I haven't had the chance to thank you yet," Miss Stevel began. "You truly kept your promise, securing the right for us allies to proselytize in the next epoch."

Although Miss Stevel felt a knot of anxiety in her stomach and was deeply wary of Miss Fabry—another woman of considerable influence—she initiated the conversation with practiced ease.

"There's no need for thanks," the woman playing Miss Fabry replied. "We had an agreement, and it was only natural to see it through."

Princess Sophia had no idea who stood before her, but just as Jenkins had surmised, it hardly mattered.

"Even though Mr. Candle is gone, our pact still stands. Since the Believers of Lies fulfilled their promise, we will fulfill ours and continue to support you... But I never imagined things would end up ."

It has come down to a duel to determine the true Savior, which means all those who were rallied to support the Believers of Lies are now of no use.

"Everyone feels quite guilty, you know. You've done so much and made such sacrifices, only to be forced by the Orthodox Churches to fight a duel for a title that should have been yours by right. Here, this is for you..."

Most of the cults supporting the Believers of Lies honored the spirit of their contracts. Having received what was promised, they now genuinely hoped for a victory for the Believers. To that end, they secretly contacted the Music Cult, their closest associate, and asked them to deliver this aid into Miss Fabry's hands.

It was a small pouch, filled with an assortment of peculiar items: a compact mirror, a dinner knife, and even a silk handkerchief:

They were all numbered items; the pseudo-god cults were not without their own collections. Miss Stevel had initially considered hiding them or swapping them out for ordinary objects before the delivery, but she wasn't ready to abandon the position she had painstakingly built within the Music Cult over so many years. So, this time, she held nothing back.

She had already cataloged every item, passing the intelligence on to the Church. They would, in turn, devise countermeasures for Jenkins.

Princess Sophia's mental script did not include a scene titled 'a stranger arrives with aid,' but she had clearly adapted completely to her current role. In fact, she was delighted to continue the performance, finding the whole affair immensely amusing:

"How could you possibly do this?!"

Her tone was one of righteous indignation, her voice deliberately raised so that those nearby would hear and turn their heads with interest. Before Miss Stevel even had a chance to react, Princess Sophia, now fully caught up in her performance, boomed out her next line:

"You are insulting me!"

Miss Stevel instinctively took a step back, her mind racing. Her wariness had been justified after all.

"This is a fair and just duel. How could I possibly rely on outside help to win?"

With that, she thrust the pouch back into Miss Stevel's hands and lifted her chin slightly. "I appreciate your kindness, madam. But you clearly don't know the kind of person I am. The purpose of this duel is to determine, through strength, who is the more suitable candidate for Savior. If I were to cheat, would that not be making a mockery of the world's future? How could I be so selfish?"

For a fleeting moment, an emotion akin to shame pricked Miss Stevel's conscience, but it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared:

"This is her scheme."

Though Miss Stevel had never dealt with Miss Fabry directly, she knew what a cunning woman she was. To associate a word like 'integrity' with Miss Fabry was nothing short of a joke.

"She's saying this on purpose, knowing the Church will provide aid to Jenkins as well. The help she could possibly receive from a few pseudo-god cults pales in comparison to the support Jenkins will get from the established Churches. So she makes this grand, righteous display, forcing Jenkins to also refuse aid from the Church to avoid looking bad. It's a ploy to level the playing field—a situation that ultimately benefits her."

Having thoroughly overanalyzed the situation, Miss Stevel was convinced she had uncovered the truth. Feigning embarrassment, she quickly took the pouch and departed. From across the field, Princess Sophia shot Jenkins a wink, a small gesture to show off her superb acting. Jenkins offered a polite nod in return before turning to Sigrid.

"You see? Princess Sophia's performance was quite good, wasn't it?" he remarked.

He had already told Sigrid who was playing the part of Miss Fabry, since she was already aware that he was a Believer of Lies.

"So," Sigrid asked, "are you going to accept this extra help or not?"

The Nature Church had sent her to give Jenkins a single flower petal.

"Of course not," Jenkins replied with a wry smile. "She's made such a show of it. Am I to appear less righteous than Miss Fabry?"

Sigrid covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle, then turned and walked away. Jenkins gently stroked the small head of Chocolate, who was perched on his shoulder. The cat let out a low purr—not a sound of anger, but one of pure contentment.

This arena within the Gate of All Things had never truly been a place for negotiation. Jenkins's first impression—that it was a colosseum—had been the correct one all along.

Therefore, once both sides had finished their preparations and only Jenkins and 'Miss Fabry' remained standing on the field below, the smooth ground beneath their feet gave a sudden, violent shudder. For a moment, Jenkins thought the Difference Engine had broken its promise and was raising the ninth tower. But instead, dozens of purple columns of light erupted from the seams between the floor tiles, soaring into the air. Jenkins's vision blurred, and a wave of nausea washed over him.

It was the telltale sign of a spatial shift. Even now, he remained acutely sensitive to such changes, a remnant of his experiences entering Mysterious Realms. This was obviously not a Mysterious Realm, but rather a bizarre spatial transformation of the colosseum floor, expanding the already vast arena to nearly a hundred times its original size.

A moment ago, he could clearly see Princess Sophia's expression; now, she was but a dark speck in the far distance.

"Well, this way I can really let loose," he mused. "And I imagine the amount of destruction it can withstand has been raised considerably as well."

He scanned his surroundings. The 'spectators' seated in the high stands now seemed as far away as if they were perched on a distant mountaintop.

The Church's preparations were certainly thorough. Of course, Jenkins and Princess Sophia had no intention of actually fighting. If they did, Jenkins would have to worry about a silver dragon's breath suddenly descending from above.

The vibrations in the ground eventually ceased, and the shifting spatial environment finally stabilized. The final duel, which would determine the true Savior of the Eighteenth Epoch, had begun.

Dolores, sitting beside her father, whispered the question to her tutor. Behind her, the eldest princess strained to eavesdrop, only to find that while she could see her younger sister's lips moving, she couldn't hear a single sound.