The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　Since we're already here, we should definitely bring back some local specialties to make up for our lackluster Christmas presents.

　But just as he had this thought, a shadow suddenly crept up from the street corner, and a maid in a tight black dress emerged from it, appearing before him as if in a flash.

　Although he couldn't recall her name, he recognized her at a glance as one of the maids from "Scorpio Palace".

　Before the maid could say anything like "Greetings, young master," Dark waved his hand and said, "Get in the car."

　The maid immediately boarded the carriage, and after a slight hesitation, sat down next to Dak.

　Dark said, "Tell me about what has happened these past two days."

　The maid's lips moved slightly, a wisp of magic rippled out, and her voice quickly disappeared, her lips closing tightly.

　But a clearer voice reached Dark's ears directly. Dark listened quietly, gradually gaining a detailed understanding of what had happened in the past few days.

　First, December 24th.

　The events that occurred in the City of Freedom that day largely matched the information he had received. Although there were some minor differences in details, they were not significant.

　And on December 25th, which is Christmas Day.

　The city of freedom is not peaceful.

　Attracted by the Christmas activities, large crowds continued to pour into the city even on Christmas Day.

　The Liberty City on December 25th essentially mirrored what happened on December 24th.

　The remnants of the demon race, who were still not extinct, and the evil cultists who had lost their minds, used all sorts of means to launch an attack on the City of Freedom.

　However, these superficial offensives were instantly thwarted by the Christmas event, the "Exorcism Tournament".

　Personnel from various factions became active again, arresting and killing those people.

　Even though some of them might successfully summon an "evil god," the "demon-slaying team" would always deal with it in time.

　After the first day of "training," the "demon-slaying team" became more proficient in purifying evil gods, which is hard to say whether it's a good thing or not.

　But during this process, some people gradually discovered that some "familiar people" appeared among those "cult members".

　At first, they thought it was just those "familiar people" who had been misled by the cult.

　After all, everyone knows how effective cults are at brainwashing people.

　But as more and more "familiar faces" appeared, the leaders of the various factions became uneasy.

　Because some of those "familiar people" were even their "colleagues," if they continued killing like that, they would be "killing themselves." This was clearly unacceptable to all parties involved.

　As a result, the leaders of all parties were forced to order that the main objective for that group of people be "captured alive," and immediately began expedited interrogations of the "familiar people" who had already been captured.

　This increases the difficulty of the task.

　But the forces gathered in the City of Freedom were simply too powerful. Even so, they were clearly holding on.

　This allowed the entire Free City to continue its "Christmas celebrations." The most dangerous moment, however, was at midnight on December 25th.

　…”

Chapter 1412 Darkdemon and Three Inferences (4k)

　At midnight on December 25th.

　While Dark is fretting over what to do with Christmas presents, a "dance of the evil gods" is unfolding in the Free City.

　A total of twelve evil organizations completed the "summoning of the evil god" at the same time.

　By this time, the Christmas festivities were drawing to a close, many shops had closed their doors and lights were out, and people who had been excited all day were heading home, leaving only litter and a few scattered pedestrians on the streets.

　Although the members of the various factions were still making final preparations, exhaustion and the thought that "it's about to end" made them relax.

　Then, as if by prior arrangement, the evil organization launched a final riot.

　A total of twelve auras of evil gods erupted instantly from twelve different locations in the City of Freedom.

　Members of the various factions were awakened in that instant and were then forced to split into twelve forces, rushing towards the places where the aura of the evil gods was erupting.

　Their response, though hasty, was not chaotic.

　Among the twelve forces, some were strong and some were weak. The weaker ones were mainly responsible for holding back the evil gods, while the stronger ones were responsible for attacking and purifying the evil gods as quickly as possible. At this moment, those who had been hiding in the rear were also forced to take action. Principal Arte descended into the night sky like a meteor the moment the twelve evil god auras erupted. The twelve star-shaped magical spirits she quickly summoned dragged endless streams of light as they rushed towards the nearest evil gods. Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Magic Alliance, the alliance members from other races no longer stood by as bystanders.

　An ominous cloud hung over the entire city of freedom; if the campaign against the evil god failed, none of its inhabitants would escape unscathed.

　Among the adventurers were also powerful individuals who, upon sensing that terrifying aura, rushed out of their houses without hesitation and joined the ranks of those fighting against the evil god.

　But most of them were people who trembled with fear because of that terrifying aura and chose to flee.

　Fear spread rapidly to every corner of the Free City. One after another, people emerged from their homes, and even those who didn't flee instinctively stood outside, gazing up at the various phenomena unfolding in the distance.

　The city of freedom at that time was truly like the end of the world.

　Listening to the maid's account, Dak asked directly, "What happened after that? Since the Free City is still peaceful, it means that the riot that night has been resolved and did not cause too many casualties."

　The maid then said directly, "In the end, it was Miss Aurora who took action and suppressed those evil gods at the fastest speed."

　Dark nodded slightly and continued to ask, "And then what?" Aurora's attack was actually Nix's attack.

　The evil gods summoned through those cruel and twisted rituals are ultimately just mindless remnants of certain evil deities.

　Although Nix is ​​only a newly born god, even a new god is still a true god, and she is definitely not someone that can be matched by just one or two remnants of evil gods.

　Since Nix is ​​willing to take action, and with Principal Arte present, dealing with those twelve evil gods as quickly as possible shouldn't be too difficult.

　In fact, the power gathered in the City of Freedom at that time was truly formidable. If the opponent had continued to attack head-on like that, they wouldn't have posed a significant threat. The simultaneous summoning of the twelve evil gods was like a final struggle, fleeting and ephemeral.

　What Dark was more worried about was the hidden hand lurking beneath the surface. The maid said, "After that, the entire Free City fell into peace. Apart from the subsequent pursuit, there has been no unrest, and it hasn't happened since."

　Dak nodded and asked, "What about the interrogation? Has there been any result?" At this point, the maid's expression turned slightly somber: "There is a result, but you could also say there isn't."

　Dark: "Hmm"

　The maid continued, "We found traces of edited memories in their brains, but we didn't find any clues about who was behind it."

　Dark said, "So, the riots that have happened these past two days were premeditated."

　The maid said, "After investigation, it is true that most of the actions were premeditated. They were either guided by others or some members were directly brainwashed, which is why they eventually gathered in the City of Freedom."

　"So, what about their purpose? Are there any clues?" asked Dak. The maid shook her head and said, "Nothing has been found yet."

　Dark frowned. Since even the "Scorpio Maid Corps" hadn't been found, it basically meant that there were indeed few clues left.

　What is the purpose of this sudden mobilization of so many people to die in a city?

　If it was to complete some kind of ritual... the time for Christmas has passed, so even if that was the original purpose, it is no longer possible to achieve it.

　But if it's not for this reason, what exactly can the other party gain from this behavior?

　Dak really couldn't understand it.

　Seeing his worried expression, the maid transmitted her voice again: "Although we have no clues, we have discovered some anomalies."

　Dark's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "What's wrong?"

　The maid said, "Those who were caught, the brainwashing traces in their minds are of two kinds."

　After gaining a more detailed understanding of what had happened in the past few days, Dak became less anxious.

　He even chose to get off the train and walk into a bustling street. Then, humanoid magical spirits emerged from the carriage and, amidst the slightly surprised gazes of those around him, began strolling through the street with a group of magical spirits.

　He gradually heard from the conversations of the passersby around him...

　Some things related to what happened in the previous two days.

　For example, the headmistress of St. Marian Academy who appeared out of nowhere. For example, the girl who wielded a giant sword to slay an evil god.

　Because Nix looks extremely similar to Aurora, many people mistake her for Aurora.

　He heard many mixed-race people boasting about how powerful their young city lord was, and couldn't help but smile slightly.

　After this battle, the residents of the Free City will likely have more confidence in the city.

　But although his steps slowed down, his steps on the other side did not.

　More and more maids emerged from the shadows and joined the group.

　Some of them were responsible for guarding, while others were responsible for paying the money.

　When the magical spirits want to buy something, it's time for them to step in.

　On the streets teeming with adventurers, no one dared to lay a hand on these beautiful maids.

　It is clear that the reputation of the "Scorpio Maid Group" has spread in the past few days.

　But the more people there were, the more attention he attracted, and Dak gradually became unable to shop normally.

　This was also what he expected.

　With the arrival of Aurora, Ollie, and the others, Dark ended his rare shopping trip and headed to the city lord's mansion with them.

　Upon arriving at the Lord's Mansion in the City of Freedom once again, Dark naturally received a warm welcome.

　He carried his luggage to the room he had stayed in before, and after Ollie and Chris, who was hiding in her shadow, also came in, he casually closed the door.

　"Come out," he said as he put his luggage away. Chris emerged from the shadows and greeted the young master.

　Dark asked, "Have you found anything about the brainwashing traces?" Chris waved her hand, casting shadows over the room, before whispering, "We've found some. The two types of traces are very similar, but one retains an extremely faint trace of divinity, while the other has none at all. I suspect that the trace with divinity originated from an evil god, while the trace without divinity originated from the demon race!"

　"Demons?"

　Dak took "Shemi" off his head and threw it on his pillow, then fell into deep thought.

　The demons' involvement in this matter was already an open secret. After all, a considerable number of demon remnants had been killed or captured in the past two days.

　But if it were really that simple, clues should be found in the minds of those captured demon remnants.

　But it doesn't.

　This suggests that the brainwashing traces originating from the demon race are very likely not from the remnants of the demon race who moved to the Free City for refuge.

　There are demons hiding deep within, manipulating, or rather, interfering with the entire event.

　Considering that another trace of brainwashing originated from an evil god, the probability that the whole thing was orchestrated by the demon race is relatively low.

　Dark is more inclined to believe that some demons are hiding behind the scenes, taking advantage of this incident to make a profit.

　The true mastermind remains the evil god.

　Among the evil gods, only one possesses such a mind and rationality—the "Black Goat Evil God," who has yet to be captured.

　The inferences drawn by Ollie and Chris are no different from those drawn by Dark. As more clues are discovered, the scope of the final inferences will only narrow, and the probability of arriving at the same result will increase infinitely.

　After sitting down and talking with them for fifteen minutes, Dak learned the rest of the story.

　After Christmas, the captured remnants of the demon race and members of the evil organization were divided into several parts and shared among various forces.

　Yesterday evening, the first night after Christmas, they gathered for a meeting to share their findings and then discuss them together.

　That was the purpose of the meeting, but since everyone belonged to different factions, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they all had their own ulterior motives.

　Just like the Valkyrie faction, they did not publicly disclose the clues they found regarding "brainwashing traces".

　This suggests that there must be other factions hiding things as well. However, that meeting was still useful.

　At least all the forces have reached a consensus.

　The one who orchestrated the entire event is most likely the "Black Goat God".

　This is basically certain.

　After confirming that the mastermind behind the scenes was the "Black Goat God," they began to express their opinions and discuss its purpose based on its "identity."

　Ultimately, several conclusions were drawn.

　"The Holy Church believes that the 'Black Goat Evil God' deliberately guided the remnants of the demon race and evil organizations to summon the evil god. They then used this opportunity to gather information related to the summoning. In other words, the entire event was an experiment created by them for a specific purpose. The City of Freedom was merely the experimental platform they ultimately chose. And the 'Black Goat Evil God's' ultimate goal was to summon its true form."

　Chris spoke in an extremely calm tone.

　After careful consideration, Dark said, "That is indeed a possibility. The 'Black Goat God' was originally just a remnant of some evil god. It's quite normal for it to develop a desire to return to its original form after gaining rationality."

　Chris nodded and said, "The Holy Church's deduction is indeed based on evidence. They have the most contact with and the deepest understanding of the 'Black Goat God,' so their conclusions are quite credible."

　Dark asked, "So, what about the royal family? I remember the leader on their side is Charles, right?"

　Chris said, "It is His Highness the Prince."

　Dark nodded and said, "He shouldn't be injured, right?"

　Chris said, "I heard that he was hiding behind Noah Sharp the whole time, so he wasn't hurt."