Chapter 341

Spiritual contamination—within this world, it was no different from a terminal illness.

But such contamination had always been something that only afflicted those who advanced their class prematurely. Never—not once—had Kanzaki Rei heard of it infecting someone who had completed a normal class advancement.

Luluvi...

Wasn’t she supposed to be a normal class advancer?

In Kanzaki Rei’s memory, Luluvi had said that she completed her class advancement on the very day she came of age at sixteen.

"Rei..."

Luluvi opened her eyes and slowly came to.

At that moment, her gaze was clear—utterly unclouded, with none of the murkiness one would expect from spiritual contamination.

She simply let out a faint sigh."Just as I thought... there’s really nothing I can do against you."

"I lost to you again."

Kanzaki Rei steadied his emotions before speaking in a calm, grounded tone:

"Luluvi, your spirituality has been contaminated."

He paused briefly.

Then added, more deliberately:

"Do you... know that yourself?"

Luluvi visibly froze, her pupils tightening ever so slightly."Rei... are you saying my spirituality has been contaminated?"

Rei nodded steadily."Yes."

"...Are you joking with me?"

Rei shook his head."I’m not."

"Luluvi... I’m being completely serious."

"Your spirituality has been contaminated."

"What you were doing just now... was excessive. You were preparing to attack civilians who had nothing to do with any of this, weren’t you?"

Luluvi seemed momentarily dazed, as if replaying everything she had just done in her mind.

"No."

"I wasn’t thinking that at all!"

Her voice rose sharply, agitation breaking through. Under the dim light, her chest heaved with intensity.

Rei could tell—the agitation wasn’t fake.

But her words were a lie.

"Luluvi."

"Do you truly not know that your spirituality has been contaminated?"

This time, Rei’s tone grew far more severe—nothing like the casual way he usually spoke to her.

It carried the weight of authority.

Like an interrogation.

In the dim light, a flicker of fear surfaced in Luluvi’s eyes.

But it vanished just as quickly.

"No... I don’t know."

"My spirituality... how could it possibly be contaminated?"

She didn’t know.

There was no deception in that statement—Luluvi genuinely had no awareness of her own contamination.

It seemed that those who were contaminated simply couldn’t perceive the change within themselves.

If that was the case...

Rei paused, turning his thoughts inward.

Have I... ever done anything that reflects a drastic shift in my own nature?

"Rei... what you’re saying—is it really true?"

Luluvi asked again.

"...Yes. It’s true."

Her expression clearly carried both shock and a deep sense of loss.

At that moment, a shadow in the corner of the room began to writhe.

A figure emerged.

Shin Kiyomi had arrived.

"I heard everything."

She manifested fully from the darkness—but before she could say anything further, Rei suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Kiyomi raised her eyes, confusion flickering across her face.

But almost immediately, Rei released her.

She was fine.

Her spirituality showed no signs of contamination.

So it was only Luluvi.

And as for himself...

Rei examined his own spirituality—there was no abnormality. Even when he checked himself through direct contact, all the information remained perfectly normal.

And yet...

A faint unease lingered.

Am I really normal?

Rei shifted his gaze toward the threads of future fate.

In every projection he could perceive, there was no sign of mutation or deviation in his future self.

"I..."

Luluvi opened her mouth, trying to say something—but the words wouldn’t come.

"Luluvi... for now, I can’t allow you to act alone."

If she were left on her own, there was a real chance she would commit irreversible slaughter.

And if that happened...

How was he supposed to deal with her?

Kill Luluvi for the sake of strangers?

Rei knew himself well enough to answer that.

He wasn’t that righteous.

He had no habit of avenging people he didn’t even know. Even if Luluvi truly crossed that line, at most, in his eyes, she would become nothing more than a heinous criminal—a wanted fugitive.

But even then...

He had no obligation to hunt her down.

And yet—

Ignoring her entirely...

That wasn’t something he could do either.

Could this be why Luluvi’s lifespan was destined to end in just thirty years?

As speculation churned in his mind, Rei drew out a Fate Card. The card spun lightly between his fingers.

It was the night of April 30th.

The peak of chaos’ influence.

Attempting divination at a time like this...

The interference would be overwhelming.

Better to wait for the few hours of a pure moon before conducting any readings.

The first divination result always carried the greatest weight—subsequent readings would inevitably be influenced by the initial outcome.

"...Alright. I understand."

Rei could sense the hollowed, distant emotion emanating from Luluvi.

"Ansu."

"Her spirituality has been contaminated. What do you think caused it?"

Ansu, sharing Rei’s perception, was already aware of everything that had transpired.

What it didn’t understand was how Rei had even detected Luluvi’s contamination in the first place—once such corruption took root deeply, it was almost impossible to notice.

"Spiritual contamination isn’t caused solely by premature advancement."

"Do you know what the source of contamination is?"

Rei responded inwardly,"I have a rough idea... the Source Nest of Filth?"

Ansu felt another flicker of surprise.

This guy... even knows about the Source Nest of Filth...

Seems like the amount of hidden knowledge he possesses is far from small.

"Heh... if her contamination happened recently, then the possibilities are numerous."

"You remember what kind of month this is, don’t you?"

At that reminder, Rei immediately grasped part of the issue.

"You mean... contamination through exposure?"

The month of chaos and madness—during this time, simply reading certain knowledge could lead to contamination.

It was the one month where studying anything was most dangerous.

Though the probability of being contaminated was still low—and Rei himself was immune to knowledge-based contamination—he had never truly felt the side effects of this month.

"You’re saying Luluvi was contaminated during this month?"

"It’s possible she came into contact with something she shouldn’t have," Ansu replied.

"But it’s not certain. It’s also possible she was contaminated long ago."

"The method you’re using to detect contamination—can it uncover hidden corruption?"

Rei paused.

The ability of [Hidden Origin] leaned more toward tracing—retracing connections and extracting related information. But it didn’t guarantee exhaustive detail.

Which meant...

There was no way to be certain whether Luluvi’s contamination had begun much earlier.

And as Rei pondered this—

Luluvi herself felt her mind go strangely hollow.

My spirituality... contaminated?

Why would he say that?

Just because of what I did earlier?

But I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?

I was simply upholding my principles...

What’s wrong with killing those who deserve it?

Luluvi looked at Rei, confusion and frustration mixing in her gaze.

Is he the only one allowed to grow stronger?

And when I do... it becomes a sin?