The night had ended, and the morning sun was rising.
The increasingly strong sense of fear caused Pao to tremble uncontrollably. She had experienced something similar before. When she was a child, she had personally witnessed her parents being killed by two guests who had been invited for a talk. After killing Pao’s parents, they had searched the entire house for something while disguising the scene to look like a robbery. At that time, she had tried her best to curl up and hide inside the partially sewn corpse of her mother. It was only in that place that she could avoid the ritual’s detection, and because it was too bloody and filthy, it wouldn’t be investigated closely. She hadn’t dared to make a sound then, biting her teeth hard, yet her body trembled uncontrollably. The fear at this moment was exactly the same as it was then.
Pao didn’t dare to move at all, not even daring to make a sound when breathing. It felt as if any slight movement would transgress some forbidden boundary. It was like standing on a single-plank bridge over a cliff. Even though her legs were weak, she had to stand still – even though she rationally knew this would only stiffen her legs and make subsequent actions more difficult, she simply couldn’t move her legs. If she hadn’t become an Extraordinary, she might have been scared to death. It wasn’t because she was particularly timid – quite the opposite, being able to maintain reason in such a situation indicated she was a rather brave and calm person. This was because the increasingly intense Fear Aura had already permeated from the deep crimson egg.
The next moment, the deep crimson egg suddenly cracked. Lancelot, who had been looking up at the sky, closed his eyes as if bathing. The clothes on his upper body had become bare, his skin covered in savage purple battle markings. His originally fair skin had turned a tanned brown, as if from prolonged sun exposure, and his hair had turned blood-red. One could clearly see a red “Zero” shaped ring on his chest and a purple “Infinity” shaped curved ring on his back. A storm as scarlet as blood violently spread out from him in all directions – the already darkening midnight sky became turbulent with a storm. In just a few breaths, a hurricane with a bloody scent began to sweep across the entire Glass Island. The sky at this early hour turned an ominous dark red, a radiance like embers, like burning coals.
“Hiss…” Lancelot slowly inhaled, making a sound like he was smoking. He slowly opened his blood-red pupils. As he inhaled, the storm grew stronger. They spread outwards, beginning to extend beyond the Glass Island. At this moment, Pao saw that Eivass, who had originally been enveloped, had completely disappeared at some point. There wasn’t even a corpse. “…Torn to pieces?” Pao’s lips moved, uttering a helpless sound only she could hear. Being caught in such a grand ritual probably meant only melting. And she would die here too…
*Clang.* The sharp blade of the holy sword was inserted into the ground by “Lancelot” without any regard for it. At this moment, “Lancelot” was no longer holding the Arondight Dagger in its dagger form, but had restored it to its long sword form, the “Holy Sword Arondight.” It had a beautiful blue-green blade, like a lake surface, or like an exquisite sapphire. Catching the faint candlelight, one could see a gradient from deep blue to dim yellow along its side.
“—It’s not convenient.” He let out overlapping sounds. Pao keenly distinguished – it was a triple voice, overlapping Eivass, Lancelot, and a female’s voice. And “Lancelot” at this moment slowly turned his head. Just being stared at by his scarlet gaze made Pao tremble uncontrollably and feel an intense suffocation. The fear that numbed her brain rendered her completely immobile, and her body twitched – she actually wet herself.
“Heh.” Lancelot let out a sneer. His scarlet gaze was full of mockery, “Cowardly pig.” This was the Fear Aura. An ability that could directly scare a mortal to death and paralyze those much weaker than oneself. Such a bullying Extraordinary Power was precisely one of the unique symbols of the Path of Power.
The next moment, he reached out, grasping in the void, and dragged something invisible out. From its silhouette, it looked like a hammer, or an axe, or perhaps a fan. Just swinging it directly stirred up a storm within the small chapel – the howling storm echoed within the building, causing the entire structure to shake violently and the glass windows to shatter instantly.
“【Formless One】…” The knowledgeable Pao immediately recognized this distinctive weapon. This was the weapon of Enyo, the goddess of vice who delighted in slaughter during war! The goddess who, after victory, would revel and freely destroy and kill in conquered cities – this was considered a ritual to serve Enyo, and it provided an excuse for undisciplined irregular troops to vent their beastly desires. And at this moment, Enyo seemed to be in a rather bad mood.
“Lancelot’s” body disappeared in an instant, and with a pungent bloody scent, he instantly appeared before Pao. A wicked and tyrannical expression appeared on his face as he raised his right hand high. But at this very moment, the expression on his face and the movement of his hand froze. To speak disrespectfully… but that feeling reminded Pao of a hunting dog on a chain. The moment it charged forward roaring, it froze in place because it reached the end of the chain.
The next moment, “Lancelot’s” left hand stiffly lifted “Mycroft’s” collar and directly threw Pao out. Pao flew high into the air, spiraling past the already shattered windows, and instantly flew outside the small chapel. Although “Mycroft’s” body, as round and fat as a ball, had his clothes and body cut by the shattered glass shards as he passed the windows, he had at least safely left the scene. She enclosed herself in a force field ball in the air. This elastic ball, like rubber, bounced up instantly upon landing, bouncing back and forth on the street at high speed. And “Lancelot” looked at the Butterfly, which was quietly flying in the air.
“Are you the one trying to stop me?” “Lancelot” curled his lips slightly, mockingly laughing, “Little lady, don’t go to war if you’re wearing a skirt.” “My Master, my father… is inside you.” The Butterfly said calmly. Hearing this, “Lancelot’s” expression suddenly turned grim. “So that’s how it is.” The knight, whose skin had turned tanned brown and whose hair was red with blood-red eyes, casually hammered the holy sword stuck in the ground backwards. It didn’t bend or break, but it instantly lost its gem-like color. The Butterfly witnessed this scene, its pupils flickering. “Lancelot” didn’t utter any threats. He simply stretched his neck and, without any warning, charged towards the Butterfly – and then, wielding his giant hammer, he smashed down with all his might!
The Butterfly’s four wings behind it suddenly converged into a shield. These seemingly incredibly thin wings forcefully blocked the hurricane! Naturally, the ground shattered. The spreading cracks tore apart the entire small chapel, the ground caved in and broke layer by layer. Mud and gravel burst and exploded, the storm roared out, and the entire small chapel was blown away! The high-quality roof maintained its complete form as it flew outwards, rotating wildly in the air. The next moment, the Butterfly flew into the night sky. As if in an apocalyptic judgment – twelve slender yet extremely long scorching beams swept back and forth rapidly. These casual sweeps were like a net gathering from all directions, converging towards “Lancelot” from the edges. They easily tore through the storm, the furthest strike even tearing through the dark clouds in the sky and the distant Silver and Tin Hall! As the beams swept by, explosions followed. And when they converged into a single point, the fiery beams became extremely scorching and bright.
“Lancelot” was immediately pushed back by the flame stream, crashing through the wall and being blown away! Facing an attack of this power, “Lancelot” had no choice but to cover his face with both hands. Dense white smoke steamed from his body – his flesh had become scorched and foul-smelling, and viscous flames could still be seen burning on his skin, like ignited metal.
…Such strong firepower. “Lancelot” felt somewhat apprehensive. The small chapel, along with the surrounding Great Cathedral of the Candle Holder, had turned into ruins. The buildings pierced by the beams were cut like butter with a hot knife and then exploded. The remaining structures were still burning. Even the distant Silver and Tin Hall had been split obliquely by a distant strike from the Butterfly!
“…Is that all?” “Lancelot,” whose entire body was steaming with white smoke, gritted his teeth and said, word by word. The flames had indeed caused him damage, but it wasn’t fatal. Well, it was just right, the Butterfly couldn’t follow up immediately after blasting him away… If it happened a few more times – Just then. He suddenly sensed something and turned his head. An old man in a black robe stood near the Silver and Tin Hall, observing him from afar. It was indeed very far – at least two kilometers away. He was cautiously watching “Lancelot,” his brow deeply furrowed. Looking at this face, it felt somewhat familiar… But the next moment, when “Lancelot” turned his head to look at him, young Fernando’s eyes, already not large, suddenly widened, and his scalp tingled. Without a second thought, he was about to flee, but “Lancelot” directly rushed over! His initially stiff movements gradually became fluid – Eivass’s control over the body was weakening. He brandished his giant hammer, and charged over, wrapped in a storm!
But running away was definitely impossible… In his haste, young Fernando reached out and touched the ground. A more solid force field barrier than Pao’s instantly formed and began to reinforce layer by layer in an instant… At the same time, he forcefully threw out a strange eyeball from his chest. Before it could land, it began to petrify the surrounding ground, its dim yellow light illuminating the entire space like stars. —But it was completely useless. “Lancelot” completely ignored the petrifying demonic eye, leaped high, and brought down his hammer! The barrier was no stronger than a cardboard box in front of the iron hammer. Upon contact, it shattered. And Fernando’s instantly petrified body was smashed like tofu by the hammer! A high-level Phantom Demon of the Sixth Tier wielding a Divine Artifact, and a Fifth Tier Human… there was at least a two-Tier suppression difference between them. The result was that Fernando couldn’t even last one move, and was smashed into powder from top to bottom, starting from scratch!
The intense killing intent allowed “Lancelot” to further improve his control over the body. “Don’t you regret it?” “Lancelot” mockingly sneered at “himself”: “You used your precious control to save your enemy – she should be your enemy, right?” Naturally, Eivass couldn’t say anything. He kept suppressing Eivass’s will – like struggling by the lake, constantly pushing the face of the other person who was desperately struggling underwater, making them choke and suffocate. A mortal soul could not compete with an Apostle who had clear hostility, even killing intent. In this fierce conflict, it would only be gradually torn apart. However, Eivass’s will had not yet given up.
“Lancelot” sneered, “What are you still waiting for? Let me tell you, I’m here to kill you, Eivass. I will never let go of you until I completely tear you apart – and you still dare to actively enter this body to try and interfere with me? I don’t know where you got the courage – look clearly! You think you caught me? Wrong, I caught you! I am the strong one!”
At this time, the Butterfly, having finally arrived, flew over, enveloped in golden-red flames. This was the golden-red halo of flame condensed from life force – a surging heat roared out. …Dawn Fire? “Lancelot” of course recognized this skill. Burning life to exchange for a purer flame of devotion, thereby increasing the penetration ability of all fire-element abilities, making enemies who would not normally be harmed, be harmed. —If “Lancelot” was too active, it would cause him to constantly suppress Eivass’s soul. It was enough to make him unable to distract himself to suppress Eivass!
“Sorry, Father. Although you said not to let me use it, the situation is special this time…” Leah, the Butterfly, her dark red pupils gradually igniting and turning into flowing liquid gold: “I just want to try… …what level I can reach.” As she said this, the scorching halo of flame suddenly expanded, enveloping “Lancelot” within it. It was like an invisible deep crimson barrier, and everything contained within began to burn – even “Lancelot” was no exception. This was the power of “Dawn Fire”! And at this moment, “Lancelot” had guessed her intention. But just as he was about to leave, his body froze again.
【Of course…】 Eivass’s faint voice echoed in his ear, calm and firm. 【—Of course, I caught you.】
On the other side. In that terrifying, thunderous thunderstorm, the Grand Guardian was charging towards the Gargoyles. But it was not a charge towards death. It was a charge towards hope— He directly broke through the dark clouds! And Isabel’s small boat was suspended in mid-air, enveloped in a silver light, closely following behind. Shafiya noticed what the Grand Guardian was doing in the distance. Without hesitation, she removed the invisibility spell and cast with all her might to make the boat fly! The bow of the boat tilted slightly upwards, like a silver comet, arcing towards the sea area where the Eternal Holy Kingdom was located.
But the Gargoyles had no time to pay attention to them. They rained down barrages of attacks on the Grand Guardian, but gradually extinguished in the dense thunderstorms. The White Gryphon, flying downwards, and the boat, rising from below, met in the air, noticing each other’s presence. Shafiya, holding her staff, looked up and met the gaze of the Grand Guardian, who was looking down at the boat with a look of pleasant surprise. Isabel, leaning on the mast, also had bright eyes, confident and full of hope. Stranger looked at this scene, his brain seemed to have stopped. No… it wasn’t an illusion, it had stopped. A rough, hoarse voice echoed in the ears of all survivors: “Princess Isabel has arrived at the designated location. The necessary mission is complete, and the ritual is settled in advance.” At this moment, in the east of the seaside, in the direction of Avalon, a sliver of fish-belly white appeared. —The night had ended, and the morning sun was rising.
(End of Chapter)
