"Haha.. Stop thinking and surrender! You two will never be able to escape from our grasp."

Cardinal Hildred laughed.

"Why? Cardinal Hildred, why are you doing something so sinful?"

Saintess Amelia asked. She couldn't believe that one of the most powerful figures in the Church was a traitor.

"Why you ask?"

Cardinal Hildred sneered at the question.

"It's simple! For more power."

Cardinal Hildred said.

"What? That's absurd! How can betraying the Church give you more power? Even if you did, how could you easily betray the people who believed in you?"

Saintess Amelia almost shouted. For her, it was inconceivable how one could harm others just for power.

"Humph! What would you know? You are simply an obstacle on my path. Everyone! Capture the Saintess."

Cardinal Hildred ordered all the people who had been mind-controlled to capture the Saintess. While the two Rank-S Holy Knights were cautiously approaching Zero.

Despite Zero being in Rank-A, they didn't underestimate a guy who is said to have killed Rank-S Devil Contractor.

"..."

Saintess Amelia didn't know what to do. She felt immeasurable anger inside her because Cardinal Hildred was ordering people to do something against their will. Among the people, there were also Zain and Adeline who were trying to catch her.

Zero, on the other hand, remained calm as he faced the approaching Holy Knights. It was neither unexpected nor was it an uncommon thing.

Even if the Pope had decided to kill Saintess, Zero wouldn't have been surprised much less Cardinal Hildred who was blatantly showing disdain toward Saintess.

Now the problem was what to do next.

He had failed to capture Cardinal Hildred which meant that he could not blackmail her to turn the people back to normal. Without first defeating those two Rank-S Holy Knights, it would be impossible to capture the Cardinal.

It was even more impossible to win against two Rank-S Holy Knights. Moreover, his priority was Saintess Amelia's safety. If he kept fighting with them, it was certain that Saintess Amelia would be killed.

So, the only solution was to run. Zero knew that he had to first escape from this situation and then think about a possible solution.

"Amelia, right now it is better for us to escape!"

Zero said.

"Don't think about running away! If you do, I swear that I will kill every last one of them. Just surrender and you will be saving a lot of lives right now."

Cardinal Hildred threatened. She knew that if Saintess Amelia escaped, her mission would fail and her life would be in danger. So to make sure that Saintess Amelia didn't run away, she threatened her with the people who she had mind controlled.

She knew that a girl as kind as Saintess would rather die than abandon people.

Saintess Amelia hesitated. She couldn't possibly abandon innocent people just because she wanted to save herself.

"Jester, run. I'll hold them off!"

She said with determination. She knew that Cardinal Hildred's goal was to kill her. Zero could still survive.

As long as she doesn't hold back Zero, she believes that Zero could easily escape from that place. She would feel much better if one of them at least escaped.

Zero looked at Saintess Amelia with a mix of concern and determination in his eyes. He understood her selfless nature, but he couldn't let her sacrifice herself for the sake of others.

As much as he would like to save others, right now he needs to guarantee Saintess' safety. For him, her safety was more important than others.

He knew that Cardinal HIldred was playing mind games with Saintess Amelia. Even if Saintess Amelia surrendered herself right now, he knew that there is less chance of people being brainwashed to be able to survive.

"Amelia, I won't leave you behind," Zero said firmly. "We can find another way to save these people. But right now, we need to get out of here!"

But Saintess Amelia was not willing to listen to Zero.

"Thank you for your concern. However, I can't escape knowing that they are going to be killed because of me."

Saintess Amelia said helplessly.

Zero knew that saying anymore wouldn't be able to convince her. He forcefully took her hand and started to run away.

Despite Saintess Amelia's initial resistance, Zero didn't let go of her hand as he pulled her along. He also used ice energy to slowly make Amelia unable to resist him.

( If the word doesn't work then just use force! )

He didn't know how to pursue someone and he didn't want to either. So he just did what he had to do. And if the Saintess hated him because of this, he didn't mind either.

!!!

"Quick! Capture her!"historical

Cardinal Hildred said after recovering from being stunned. She thought that her words were working and the Saintess would surrender herself. Never did she expect that a servant (Zero who she believes is just some kind of servant of Amelia) would not listen to the Saintess and forcefully take her away.

Judging by his actions, she believed that Jester was someone who didn't care about the lives of innocent people. In this case, she didn't even threaten him with others but instead ordered everyone to capture Saintess.

-WHOOSH!

"Please let go of me! I can't let those people die because of me."

Saintess Amelia said her voice was desperate. She didn't know what she wanted to do but she knew that she couldn't run away.

"Listen carefully! If you get captured by them, you would shorten the time that they get killed."

Zero said while keeping an eye in front of him. He couldn't afford to look away because currently Zain and Adeline were in his path.

However, he took time to explain why she shouldn't listen to Cardinal.

"Right now, Just trust me and stop thinking about others' lives!"

-CLANK! -CLANG!

Zero deflected their attacks. With their mind being controlled, even though they still have the same strength, their attacks, and movements were simple.

However, Zero was being held back. And two Rank-S Holy Knights and many people were quickly approaching Zero and the Saintess.

After listening to Zero, Saintess Amelia didn't know what to do. If she didn't surrender, people would die and now Zero was telling her that even if she surrendered, they would die. However, she decided to trust Zero.

She had no choice but to trust Zero. She didn't resist, although she already couldn't because of Zero's ice energy.

Seeing that Saintess Amelia had calmed down to a certain extent, Zero decided to escape. However, before that, he thought about something.

-CLANK! -BANG!

Using his full strength, Zero first knocked back Zain by overwhelming him with his strength.

[ "Shadow Dance" ]

Zero used Shadow Dance and then appeared behind Adeline. Adeline couldn't react and with her mind being controlled, even when she detected Zero behind her, she could not respond.

-TUCK!

Zero swiftly struck Adeline with a precise and powerful blow, knocking her unconscious. He caught her before she fell to the ground. Then he quickly took her and the Saintess's hand.

[ "Dual Art: Shadow FrostWing" ]

The ice crystals on his wings grew sharper and more menacing, while his shadow seemed to envelop him like a cloak, enhancing his speed and agility even further.

"Attack them!"

Cardinal Hildred after seeing them fly. If they flew, she knew that none of them had the capabilities to catch up to them.

[ "Sacred Slash Wave" ]

[ "Sacred Slash Wave" ]

The two Rank-S holy Knights immediately used their long-range attack. The Holy Knight performed a swift and precise sword slash, sending out a wave of sacred energy that traveled through the air toward Zero.

[ "Icy Shadow Wall" ]

Zero conjured many huge Dark Ice walls to protect them.

-CRACK!

However, the attacks from two Rank-S Holy Knights were not to be underestimated. The impact of the "Sacred Slash Wave" was powerful, shattering Zero's "Icy Shadow Wall" and hitting him with the force of sacred energy.

Even his Rank-A artifact was destroyed. His body got hit by an incredible force.

-SPLURT!

Zero grunted as he was momentarily knocked back, the sharp ice crystals on his wings cracking and splintering from the impact. His wings were almost shattered, but he managed to reform quickly, enhancing his speed and agility as he regained his footing.

"ZERO!"

Saintess Amelia shouted with concern. Even though Zero acted as if he was fine, his whole back was bleeding, and even his mouth.

[ "Luminescent Aurorisea" ]

Saintess Amelia immediately used her healing spell. Zero injuries were healing, however, very slowly because the injury was from a powerful Rank-S and it was very severe.

"Quick! Please heal quickly!"

Saintess Amelia prayed. Even though Zero was not in any kind of danger, she knew that it was painful to endure such injuries.

While Saintess Amelia was healing, Zero was still paying attention to Cardinal Hildred and others. He had no time to care about injuries as he would be dead if he didn't do something.

While he survived after having gotten hit by the attack of two Rank-S Holy Knights, it was partly because of his artifact and the other was because his body was strong.

Now, with his artifact destroyed and his body in a vulnerable state, he knew that he could not afford to be hit by another similar attack.

[ "Blizzard Storm" ]

Zero immediately used a Blizzard storm to cover Sanctum Aurea. With this, he believed that it would be harder for the enemies to hit him. And it would also make it difficult for him to be tracked.

Cardinal Hildred fit in anger. She knew that she had lost that chance to track the Saintess or the Jester. However, she had not yet lost.

"Saintess, I will give you one day to make your decision. If you don't appear at the Sanctum Aurea Holy ground at the exact time as now, I will kill everyone starting with your precious Holy Knights captain."

Cardinal Hildred yelled.

Saintess Amelia's expression turned grim as she listened to Cardinal Hildred's ultimatum. She continued to heal Zero while Zero took them out of that area.