Burning with anger, Marc took a step forward, using his Gravity Mecha to shield the trembling Dustminer.
"Since when did faith become divided by class and status?" Marc's voice echoed across the platform. He stared directly at the Lightbearer. "He is only seeking hope. Is that a crime?!"
"Captain Marc, are you intending to defy the Lord's will?"
Charles's voice drifted from behind the crowd. He parted the onlookers and slowly walked forward, his face betraying neither joy nor anger.
His appearance caused the air to stagnate. The surrounding Light and Shadow Church guards tightened their grips on their weapons, the atmosphere instantly turning volatile.
"The Lord's will, or yours?" Marc refused to yield an inch.
Charles's expression finally darkened. Marc's words were tantamount to a public challenge against his newly established religious authority.
"Enough."
Old City Lord Morgan's voice was quiet, yet it overpowered everyone else's. Leaning on his cane, he walked over with the support of two guards.
He first glanced at the Dustminer on the ground, then swept his gaze over the two opposing sides before finally waving his hand.
"Disperse. Let this matter rest for today."
He reprimanded the Lightbearer and Charles but did not press the issue further, simply ordering them to release the man. Then, he turned to Marc, his tone laced with exhaustion. "Come with me."
Inside the City Lord's office, the lighting was dim.
Old City Lord Morgan sat heavily in his chair. He coughed violently, taking quite a while to recover.
"Charles has gone mad." He didn't look at Marc, keeping his eyes fixed on the model of the Lighthouse on his desk.
Marc remained silent.
"The Lighthouse needs a hero, a role model, but it does not need a god." The old City Lord finally raised his head. He looked at Marc, his cloudy eyes revealing the heavy burden of entrustment.
"The future of the Lighthouse rests upon your shoulders, not in the hands of some illusory deity."
Outside the door, Charles pressed his body against the wall. Through a miniature listening device, he heard the conversation inside the office loud and clear.
The old City Lord's words completely snuffed out his last shred of hope.
He clenched his fists, his nails digging deeply into his palms, his eyes flashing with extreme jealousy and resentment.
'That position was supposed to be mine! How could he hand it over to Marc? He's nothing but a brute!'
'Since you refuse to hand over power with dignity, then don't blame me... for helping you do it.'
'Marc, is it? I heard you've been getting quite close to a female Hunter under your command lately!'
'Her name... is Ran Bing, I believe? I wonder if she's ever visited the Dawn Hall?'
He turned and quickly walked away.
No one noticed that among the supplies the Hunters had brought back this time, a sealed metal crate had been sent into the Sector C-4 Warehouse.
In one corner of the crate was an inconspicuous breach where several dormant, crimson Spinebugs quietly lurked inside.
Inside the Light and Shadow Hall.
Charles stood alone beneath the massive symbol of Light and Shadow, an eerie smile surfacing on his face.
He spread his arms wide, as if embracing the ethereal light.
"Oh Lord," he prayed in a low whisper, his tone fanatical and devout. "Since the old order refuses to step down, please cast down your true 'divine punishment' and purge these... heretics who obstruct your glory."
...
The Dustminer hid in a corner, trembling in fear.
Beside him was his close friend, 4068. Although 4068 had seen Captain Marc stand up for him, what he felt most was the disdain the Citizens held for people like them.
'Trash... Filth...'
These words pierced his heart like needles.
He needed to prove himself! He believed that the only reason Hunters like Marc could defeat Pola Beasts was because they relied on their powerful Gravity Mechas.
If given the chance, he could do it too! He could also become a Citizen like Captain Marc!
An audacious thought grew wildly in his mind.
Late at night, 4068 sneaked into the Gravity Mecha docking bay. He stared at the massive steel creation before him, his heart pounding wildly. Imitating the Hunters, he clumsily climbed into the cockpit and haphazardly pressed the buttons.
Piercing alarms instantly blared throughout the entire Lighthouse.
4068 was caught red-handed.
Charles seized this opportunity.
"For the crime of endangering the Lighthouse's safety, and the crime of blaspheming the Lord of Light and Shadow, Dustminer 4068 shall face the highest level of punishment!"
A fanatical Adjudicator loudly announced the sentence, his words broadcasting to every corner of the Lighthouse via holographic projection.
"A public execution! Let this serve as a warning to all!"
At the execution grounds, 4068 was bound to a metal rack. Charles intended to use this exact method to publicly humiliate Marc, the man 4068 viewed as an idol.
Just as everyone's attention was focused on the live broadcast of the execution, the highest-level biological contamination alarm suddenly blared from the Lighthouse's medical bay.
A Hunter who had participated in the previous surface mission violently convulsed on his hospital bed, letting out an inhuman roar.
Under the horrified gazes of the medical staff, the team member's back suddenly arched upward as something frantically writhed beneath his skin.
*Rip!*
Flesh and blood splattered as a crimson Spinebug, covered in hideous barbs, burst out of his body!
With astonishing speed, it lunged at the nearest female doctor.
The female doctor only had time to let out a short scream before she was tackled to the ground. In an instant, the Spinebug burrowed into the back of her neck.
The medical bay instantly turned into a purgatory.
The parasitized hosts displayed strength and aggression far beyond that of normal humans, frantically attacking every living thing around them.
Alarms, screams, and gunshots blended into a chaotic cacophony.
Panic rapidly spread throughout the Lighthouse.
Standing in the Light and Shadow Hall, Charles watched the gruesome scene in the medical bay on the screen. Instead of panicking, a look of wild ecstasy appeared on his face.
He immediately hijacked the Lighthouse's broadcast channel.
"Look! Children of the Lighthouse!"
His voice echoed into every corner, carrying a tone that was both divine and ruthless.
"This is divine punishment! It is the Lord's purge of those heretics who harbor disrespect and question His divine might!"
"Marc protected a blasphemous Dustminer, and at the same time, he brought filth back into our pure home! He is a blasphemer! He is a sinner!"
Under Charles's highly inflammatory words, the public's panic rapidly transformed into anger toward Marc, as well as blind fear and worship of the Lord of Light and Shadow.
At the execution grounds, Marc was trying to break through the Adjudicators' blockade to save 4068, who had already been electrocuted to the brink of death.
It was at this moment that he heard Charles's broadcast distorting the truth, along with the piercing alarms and terrified screams of the citizens coming from the direction of the medical bay.
Then, he saw his fellow Hunters, their bodies taken over by Spinebugs, charging out of the medical bay.
Marc's entire body stiffened.
In an instant, he was plunged into a desperate situation of internal and external crisis, unable to defend himself.
Ten thousand meters in the sky, Ian sat on an invisible throne with his legs crossed, watching the entire farce with great interest.
And floating on the armor stand beside Ian was none other than that set of golden armor!