Chapter 162 162 – From The Leaders

Adrian had opened his mouth again to speak, but he seemed hesitant.

"What are you waiting for, Adrian?" I crouched beside that man. "Doesn't Velvet have the right to know what really happened? She's indeed a prophet, but she is also your friend. Do you want to let her continue to sink into this lie?"

Adrian still didn't speak and instead looked down again.

I brought my mouth to that man's ear and whispered. "This is the future when you are dead. You don't have anything anymore. Why are you still hiding this?"

He choked. Velvet lifted that man's face.

"Please, tell me what really happened." The prophet asked while sobbing.

"I-is this really in the future?" Adrian Gulped. "The last thing I remember was being in a dark place, and suddenly a yellow light appeared around me."

Velvet's tears continued to flow freely. "I don't even understand what's going on…."

"Am I really dead?" And he cut off the prophet's words.

"That's…." Velvet closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then answered. "Yes, you're already dead. I've seen your corpse…. However, I only saw your face that time."

"I see." A bitter chuckle left Adrian's mouth. He was silent for a moment, then sobbed too. "Every time you visit me, they torture me afterward…. Those people from the government…. I can tell by their uniforms…."

"What?" Velvet was bewildered. "Why? Why did they do that?"

"They think I'm your love interest. And I don't deserve to be with a prophet like you…."

"But we are just friends…."

"They don't think of it that way! They think our meetings will be seen badly by the people. And they're also worried about me impregnating you!!!" Adrian's tone rose. "So, whenever you come to me, they visit me afterward. Their torments are a warning to me, so I don't see you again... Therefore, I always ask you not to meet me, but you don't want to listen…."

Adrian kept on sobbing, while Velvet could only freeze in silence.

"Why don't you just run away from your village, then?" I asked that man.

"Candice asked me to stay." Adrian wiped his own tears. "She said that you need support from me, Velvet…. I have a big dilemma because of that…."

"Candice knows all this?" Velvet looked even more shocked.

"She has done various ways to keep me safe. She has tried to convince the higher-ups, but to no avail." Adrian continued in a firmer tone. "She has also tried to hide me several times. However, they always managed to find me. They thought I would meet you secretly somewhere else, so they ended up torturing me again…. Please, don't blame Candice. She tried so hard."

Velvet's body became shaky and limp, making her sit on the floor.

"And if they kill you, Velvet will be sad. She couldn't focus on her tasks." I made a guess. "Stupid government. If they don't want you to impregnate Velvet, killing you will be easier, Adrian. And you will not suffer for years like this."

Adrian then looked at me. "Are you the one who brought me here? Do you know why they ended up killing me?"

I shook my head. "Well, they had no intention of killing you. They want to give a more harsh punishment so that you really stay away from Velvet… Maybe it's too harsh that you can't stand it."

"I see." Adrian closed his eyes again. "Yeah, they were so cruel… They did really inhuman things to me…. Sometimes, I think death would be better."

"Why?" Velvet shook her head. "Why didn't you and Candice tell me about this?"

It took a few seconds for Adrian to answer. "That's because I don't want my torment to get worse. If you know about this, you might start a fuss…."

Adrian stopped his words because Velvet sobbed even harder.

"I'm really sorry, Adrian! I'm so stupid!!! If you suffer like this, I better not become a prophet!!! I've traveled a lot to save many people, but I can't save you!!!"

The prophet's tears fell so much that some dripped onto the floor. Adrian just looked down again, unable to respond to his friend.

Well, I did feel bad seeing her become emotionally damaged like that. Her heart must be in a lot of pain. However, this had to happen for my plan to go smoothly.

I waited until the prophet's cries subsided before continuing. "All this time, you were under evil's control, Velvet. A holy prophet was working for bad people."

Her eyes opened so broad they looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. Her breathing also began to get out of control, and her mouth opened even wider.

"I didn't say my ways were holy. Well, I did various questionable things." I hissed, this time bringing my mouth closer to her ear. "However, I won't do anything so cruel to an innocent person. I would never torture people unless they deserved it."

I saw her expression getting tenser.

"And this is just one sin of your leaders, Velvet Byrne. I can point out their other crimes. You won't believe how bad the people who lead you are."

Slowly, she lowered her head with a stiff motion.

"Now, I will ask you the important questions." I continued my speech with more and more enthusiasm. I know that soon she will be in my hands. "Actually, what is your main task as a prophet? Is it exterminating the demons?"

She still didn't respond.

I chuckled. "No, Velvet. According to the holy book, your main task is not necessarily to fight our kind. You are a servant of God whose job is to eradicate evil. Now you know the real evil. Evil doesn't have to look like us demons."

And she started sobbing again.

I turned to Adrian. "Thank you, Adrien. You have helped me to make Velvet see the real truth. Unfortunately, you can't stay here long. You have to go back to your past."

That man's mouth opened wide for the umpteenth time.

"No…" Velvet let out a sound like a groan of pain. "Adrian will suffer again if he returns to that time."