Foolish Game of the Chapter 580: Something Is Wrong with Order

"Grand Investigator Lid Yara—I must ask: have you, in your lofty positions, forgotten what the Cri of Blasphemy ans?

No matter how deep your doubts about your Benefactor, surely you wouldn't confront him openly. With your power and status, you had more than enough ans to build alliances, marshal every available force, and slowly overturn—no, correct him.

Why not choose a steadier approach?"

Cheng Shi's point was valid. But Lid Yara's eyes flickered, and she refuted him in a voice thick with complexity:

"Because La Quis was... the Grand Justice!

If even the Grand Justice cannot defend justice openly and righteously, then how can Order be called order?"

"..."

Cheng Shi fell silent. What an unadorned, straightforward reason.

In that mont, a trace of genuine respect crept into his gaze as he looked at the old man hanging between the others.

And yet...

'Heh. How absurd. The most devout, most revered follower of Order is locked inside the most impregnable, most soul-crushing prison of Order.'

"And what about you?" Cheng Shi asked again. "Grand Investigator Lid Yara—were you thrown in here because you publicly backed La Quis's views? Or because you chose to investigate alone after his imprisonnt—and got caught?

I'm guessing the latter. And you actually found sothing, didn't you?

You discovered that the Grand Justice had been telling the truth. That your Benefactor—the one who bestowed the Iron Law upon the Grand Tribunal—had long since ceased to be orderly. Am I right?

What a sha your investigation was discovered. And so here you are, sharing a cell with this poor Grand Justice."

Lid Yara gave a bitter, self-deprecating press of her lips: "Who... are you? You're not a follower of my Lord."

"Devout to the end. Even after falling this far, you still call him your Benefactor." Cheng Shi gave a soft clap and smiled. "You're right—I'm not his follower. But I appreciate order. Or rather, when I'm not the one making the rules, all I can do is appreciate order.

So rest assured. At least on the road of 'correcting' Order, we're walking the sa path."

Lid Yara studied Cheng Shi for a mont and nodded.

Cheng Shi blinked. "You believe ?"

"You're not here to correct Order. You have other motives.

But I can tell—what you want to do doesn't conflict with our goals. So I think you can be trusted."

'Impressive!'

Worthy of the Grand Tribunal's greatest expert in evidence-gathering and interrogation—able to see through a person's intentions from only a few words.

"Fair enough. Regardless, trust is the foundation of cooperation.

Since Grand Investigator Lid Yara is willing to cooperate, why not start by sharing what you know? Once I've cross-referenced your information with mine, perhaps we can reach so interesting conclusions.

And those conclusions will be crucial references for our next steps."

Cheng Shi spoke in a patient, persuasive tone. The Grand Investigator lifted her gaze to him, neither refusing nor imdiately agreeing. In a feeble voice she said:

"First, tell

what you ant by Order's 'last ember.'"

'Oh? Starting to negotiate?'

Cheng Shi grinned—genuinely pleased.

As long as the other party was willing to negotiate, the conversation ahead would flow much more smoothly. Because in this intelligence exchange, Cheng Shi's hand was overflowing with chips.

He had no obligation to be responsible to a figure long vanished into history. Even if she was a devout follower of Order—by all accounts a good person in the broadest sense—that good person was dead, lost in the currents of ti past.

He didn't even need to wager real chips. A handful of virtual tokens reeking of Deceit would be more than enough to extract genuinely explosive material from her.

Because he had Master of Deception!

Cheng Shi spoke, and from the very first word, the lie was unabashed.

"Your path of Order has not reached its end.

Perhaps in your eyes, Order has strayed from its own will—like an aging man shuffling off course. But all of that is an illusion.

And I happen to be soone who excels at discerning truth within illusions.

I have good news for you: the Order you've seen—the one sheltering the Grand Tribunal yet clearly compromised—is, in fact, not your Benefactor at all.

Don't be shocked. This ans Order still exists. Perhaps he has never strayed from his own will.

But there's bad news too. You know how it is—fortune and misfortune always go hand in hand.

The bad news is that the real Order... is trapped.

Just like the three of you—confined in a place outsiders cannot reach."

"!!!"

The mont he finished, a blazing intensity erupted in Lid Yara's eyes. As if strength had returned to her from nowhere, she jerked her head up, her raptor-like eyes locking onto Cheng Shi as she spoke, word by deliberate word:

"What you're saying... is that true?!"

"Of course..."

Cheng Shi nodded with a smile, though inwardly he added:

'...it's a lie.'

Yes, Cheng Shi was lying. He had absolutely no idea what had beco of Order.

All he knew was that Iron Law had usurped Order's Divine Throne, and that an entity called "Order (Fear)" had taken Order's place within the trials.

As for where the real Order had gone...

Who the hell knew?

Probably trapped sowhere. If he weren't imprisoned, why would he have abandoned his followers?

So this was all Cheng Shi's speculation—speculation he'd presented to an Order follower as established fact.

The Order follower believed it. What she didn't know was that the truth Cheng Shi had spoken was actually a lie—yet this lie happened to be the actual truth.

And so, in this particular mont and circumstance, a small joke of Fate completed its loop.

Lid Yara's "final burst of radiance" lasted only an instant before she weakened again. But the tenacious Grand Investigator forced herself to remain alert, and in a trembling voice managed one more question:

"Where... is he?"

Cheng Shi was moved for a mont by the depth of her devotion—but as an emotionally detached con artist, he declined to answer.

"One question, one answer. It's your turn now, Grand Investigator.

Start by telling

how you discovered sothing was wrong with him."

"You already know he's not really him. What use is learning how we found out?"

"It matters greatly. Most people care only about results, but I'm different—and so are the people behind . We care about the process.

To achieve our vision, understanding everything about them is an essential step.

And by 'them,' I an entities like the one that replaced Order."

Lid Yara's gaze sharpened with alarm: "Who are you people?"

"God Upholders.

We acknowledge that every Divine Throne has its rightful occupant. We firmly believe that the gods of this universe are irreplaceable.

We are zealots who worship the divine—and cleaners who sweep the path to the Divine Thrones, clearing away all impostors."

'God Upholders...'

Lid Yara repeated those words several tis under her breath, then gave a weak nod, and began her account.

"It all started when La Quis noticed sothing abnormal about Lo Yat..."

Cheng Shi didn't know who Lo Yat was, but that didn't stop him from listening patiently.

Before long, he'd pieced together the full chain of cause and effect.

Setting aside the political scheming and treacherous hearts involved, the matter was actually quite simple.

The Grand Tribunal's Supre Court typically operated on a rotation among three Supre Inquisitors. During their rotation, they reviewed new legislation and promulgated new policies. But for unknown reasons, one of the three Supre Inquisitors—Lo Yat—had vanished.

The Supre Court entered a two-person era, rotating between Esa Res and Keinlaur.

This was a constitutional violation under Grand Tribunal law. The Grand Justice raised the issue multiple tis, but each ti was rebuffed by the other two Supre Inquisitors, who claid Lo Yat was carrying out a divine oracle.

Until one day, the Grand Justice attempted to bypass the Supre Inquisitors entirely, remove the Iron Law, and petition Order directly for a demonstration of justice. It was then that he discovered the Iron Law—the divine artifact bestowed by Order—had vanished from its place.

Realizing sothing was wrong, he began searching the Supre Court where the Iron Law had been enshrined.

Soon, he found the missing Iron Law. And the missing Supre Inquisitor, Lo Yat.

But when the Grand Justice discovered "It" and "him," the two were locked in a standoff.

Lo Yat's eyes were bloodshot, his breathing ragged, fragnts of broken Law Chains still clinging to his body. From his appearance, he seed to have been trying to tear apart the holy codex bestowed by Order.

He was committing blasphemy! La Quis made that judgnt instantly.

And the blasphed one was using supre Order power to suppress Lo Yat's frenzy.

Witnessing this mad scene, the Grand Justice froze where he stood.