The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 1040: Still Can Be Saved

"Are you really Marquess Beruin?" Aldrian asked with a smile.

That question alone was enough to make Marquess Beruin’s heart skip a beat, and he felt his body turn cold. His mind instantly thought about whether he should launch a surprise attack and kill Aldrian at this moment, but he held himself back.

’Could this guy tell that I’m different? No, that is impossible. I’m different from those spies. Whatever this man’s ability is, there is no way he could tell that I’m not the real Marquess Beruin. My body is his real body after all,’ he thought.

However, he still tried to adjust his body’s metabolism and reactions so as not to make Aldrian suspicious.

He frowned instead. "What do you mean, Sir Aldrian? Of course I’m real. Why are you asking me like that? Are you suspecting that I’m not real and that I’m a devil spy?" His expression clearly showed that he felt truly offended.

"Ah, no, Your Excellency. I’m just joking. Just like I said, I like to joke around. I’m just that type of guy. Even when I’m facing my prey, I’m still joking with them or teasing them. It’s just my habit, which is difficult to erase. So my apologies if I offended you," Aldrian replied with a smile, and his tone sounded as though he was truly remorseful.

Marquess Beruin truly couldn’t tell whether Aldrian meant what he said or not, and that was one thing that made his heart even more unsettled. Normally, he could fool anyone with his words and natural acting, but he was not sure if he could fool Aldrian.

He did not know the extent of Aldrian’s ability or what Aldrian was thinking, so it made him always feel on edge.

"You better not always joke like that, Sir Aldrian. You will offend many people if you keep doing that," he said, still wearing a frown.

Aldrian still smiled and nodded. "That’s true, Your Excellency. Well, I’ve already offended many people in the past anyway, and luckily I’m still alive today."

Marquess Beruin released a sigh and calmed his expression. "You better not make that kind of joke in front of me, Sir Aldrian. That is a bad joke for me. I don’t like to be mentioned in the same sentence as those devil bastards."

Aldrian nodded. "I will keep that in mind."

There was a slight silence before Marquess Beruin continued. "Anyway, I’m really curious. How could you find out about the devil spies? They were truly cunning and slippery. They used a kind of unknown method that made them no different from us and unable to be detected by any artifact. Is this your innate ability or something?"

Aldrian smiled. "Well, I just know that they are devils. I cannot explain it, as it is difficult to describe, but I can differentiate devils from others. No matter how deeply they try to hide themselves from me, I can still tell that they are devils." He said it while his gaze looked directly into the marquess’ eyes.

The reflection of the marquess could clearly be seen in Aldrian’s eyes, and the marquess slightly averted his gaze. He felt nervous inside, but he masked it with a knowing expression.

Marquess Beruin nodded. "I see. From the looks of it, Sir Aldrian truly has sharp instincts toward devils, and maybe that is your innate ability. That is a truly useful ability against any devil, which makes them unable to hide among us." He then sighed.

"I’m glad that we have someone like you, Sir Aldrian. We already had a big headache because of the spy problem, and it seems the heavens sent you to us to solve it."

"I just want to help the alliance, and although I’m late, it seems I still came at a good time," Aldrian replied.

There was another moment of awkward silence before Marquess Beruin spoke.

"Anyway, I will have to go for now. I need to return to my family’s troops in another region," he said as he stood up.

"It’s been truly a pleasure to meet you, Sir Aldrian, as I could finally see for myself the person who has become the hot topic among the alliance troops. I hope that Sir Aldrian can keep supporting us." He offered a handshake.

Aldrian also stood up. "Of course, Your Excellency. I will keep helping the alliance until there are no devils left in this world—no, even until there is no existence called devils anymore." He said it as he took the handshake.

"That is a good spirit, Sir Aldrian."

A moment later, Marquess Beruin had already stepped out of the tent and walked away with a fast pace. Sweat finally fell from his forehead as he felt his chest was about to burst from all the nervousness he had been holding back.

’Fuck, to think that I would feel nervous in front of someone,’ his eyes glistened and he gritted his teeth inwardly.

’That guy is dangerous, truly dangerous! I need to do something about him, or we might face a threat never seen before in this world!’

Aldrian, who was still inside the tent, smiled as he thought about his conversation with Marquess Beruin. He had also finally learned what truly happened to the marquess after observing him thoroughly.

It was true that the marquess was the real one. He was not a devil, at least not physically.

What Aldrian sensed inside the marquess, more specifically inside his soul, told him otherwise. A foreign influence was covering it, making his soul look foreign inside his own body.

His soul was like that of a different person placed inside the marquess’ body.

There was also a foreign karmic thread connected to the void, which should not have been there.

Those signs made Aldrian think of one thing.

Possession.

The marquess’ body was being possessed by a devil, and the devil itself was in a different location.

’It’s no wonder he dared to meet me. He thinks he is different from those spies and believes that I will not find out,’ Aldrian thought. With the discussion about him being able to find the devil spies, the most reasonable decision for the devils would have been not to meet him at all.

However, Marquess Beruin came to him on his own, which showed his confidence in his possession trick, which was unfortunately useless in front of Aldrian.

He guessed that in the past, Marquess Beruin must have touched something that became the medium through which his soul could be possessed by a devil.

As he was still thinking about the marquess’ situation, Kuartin entered the tent. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"My apologies, Sir Aldrian, but how is it? Is he really a devil?" he asked after entering the tent.

"Well, no and yes," Aldrian replied, which made Kuartin confused.

"What do you mean, Sir Aldrian?"

"His body itself is Marquess Beruin. There is no doubt about that. However, someone is taking control of his body, or what you call possession. From what I sensed in his soul, it is clear that there is a devil’s trace there," Aldrian replied, which made Kuartin surprised.

"Possession?" Kuartin narrowed his eyes. "Then what about Lord Vergas’ true consciousness? Can he still be saved or...?"

"He still can be saved. Although his soul is under the devil’s influence, I can still sense traces of Marquess Beruin’s true consciousness. That means what this devil did to the marquess is not total possession that kills the host’s consciousness, but only seizes his body and influences his soul and mind," Aldrian said.

Kuartin couldn’t help but release a sigh of relief. "I see. That’s great. At least there is hope to save him, although it is still uncertain." But then he looked at Aldrian with a confused gaze.

"Sir Aldrian, if you know that Lord Vergas is possessed by a devil, why are you letting him go? Isn’t it dangerous if we just let him be? What if he is planning something against you after this?"

Aldrian smiled. "I let him go so as not to alert the other spies who are like him. I suspect that there are others like him, and it is much better if we do not alert them for now. This is to prevent any desperate measures from those devils that could cause harm to the alliance troops."

"Let them think whatever they want about me. If they make me their primary target and make their move, then let them come. I will gladly receive them. How could I not be happy if the devils come on their own without me having to look for them?"

Kuartin sighed. This was the first time he had heard someone sound so relaxed and even happy about becoming the target of the devils. With how many tricks and how cunning the devils were, becoming their target was a nightmare.

But seeing how powerful Aldrian was, he thought that he had the right to be that arrogant. Maybe those devils would use cunning methods to harm Aldrian because they did not dare to face him head-on, but he felt that Aldrian must have already anticipated that.

After they finished discussing Marquess Beruin’s matter, Kuartin left the tent.

After this, they needed to pack the entire camp, for their troops would advance forward to a much deeper position inside the devils’ occupied territory. They would build a new base that would push the front line much further from the current position.

As they were still preparing, General Zordan suddenly approached the Lion Brigade, who were still packing their tents. This caused the troops to stand at attention as the general passed by them.

Aldrian, who could sense the general coming toward him, stopped what he was doing. He had been helping with packing the tent and turned to look at the general.

Zordan smiled at him.

"My apologies if I have to disturb your activities, Sir Aldrian, but there is someone who wants to meet you."