Chapter 887
Corrupted · Offering of Dancing Feet
Behind Eivass, the real Butterfly of Blazing Flames hovered in mid-air, its wings fluttering.
What was frozen within the ice was merely an illusion!
“How pathetic,” Eivass tutted. “Without resistance to illusions… one is played like a fiddle.”
This Child of the Moon should have been an Extraordinary of the Fourth Tier, or even the Fifth Tier. He was even a Blood Lord, a profession that could fully unleash the Child of the Moon’s power.
Yet, before Eivass and Cardinal Galatea, he couldn’t even unleash a tenth of his strength.
—Aside from the Butterfly of Blazing Flames’ initial attack, everything that followed was his own illusion!
This Child of the Moon thought he had frozen the Butterfly of Blazing Flames, but that was merely a hallucination shown to him by Cardinal Galatea.
His defense was indeed formidable, so much so that Eivass dared not attack him directly.
After all, he had realized an enemy was present from the start and would have been on high alert. His reaction time and focus would have been at their peak, making a sneak attack unlikely to succeed. Especially since this person held the [Dodecahedron of Water], which could instantly encase him in ice for protection.
If he had decided to stay frozen in his icy shell, Eivass might not have been able to break him out.
And when would a person be most relaxed?
Naturally, it would be when they believed the battle was over and they were preparing to collect Spoils of war.
Eivass knew this all too well.
The Priest’s equipment had an effect that automatically healed when out of combat. Priests generally had some life-saving skills and crowd control removal equipment, and their bodies were tough, making them not easy to kill. In game PVP, many stealthy professions would prefer to launch an initial assault, bringing the enemy’s health down to below half, then going invisible and leaving. When the Priest started to heal out of combat, many novices would habitually prepare to regain full health.
At this moment, a rogue or assassin suddenly appearing and launching another assault would shock nine out of ten people. Let alone using crowd control removal, knockback, or control skills, or instant high-tier healing, they might even be stunned for a moment. By the time they reacted, it would be too late.
—This was called a surprise attack after a feigned retreat!
It could only be said that Cardinal Galatea’s illusion abilities were too powerful.
When the Butterfly of Blazing Flames stopped spewing flames and returned behind Eivass, Cardinal Galatea managed to replicate it perfectly. The replicated Butterfly of Blazing Flames continued to spew flames as if the original had never stopped.
As for what followed—being attacked by ice cones, being sandwiched into a specimen by an ice wall, and even being frozen—all of it was an illusion.
The Butterfly of Blazing Flames’ melee combat ability was not weak, and its combat awareness was also extremely sharp.
It could have easily broken free before the ice cones closed in—the Homing Meteor was a skill designed for such charges, not to mention she had other skills. When she was “killed,” she could have self-destructed, and even after death, she could have been reborn from the ashes… However, Cardinal Galatea was unaware of the Butterfly of Blazing Flames’ skills. Fortunately, the opponent was also unaware.
To ensure Eivass could identify what appeared in the illusion, Cardinal Galatea thoughtfully used semi-transparent phantoms to mark the enemies for Eivass. This was to prevent Eivass from accidentally walking into the position of the enemy within the illusion and getting injured.
This was why Eivass was prepared and could directly decapitate the opponent as soon as he removed his invincibility!
The death sentence from Death of Withering was unsolvable for the Child of the Moon.
This Cardinal didn’t even move from her spot the entire time, nor did she say a word. She simply watched as this powerful Child of the Moon was played to death!
“Help me retrieve the jewel from his chest cavity,” Eivass said to Cardinal Galatea. “I’ll go get the other Spoils of war first—”
“Okay.”
Cardinal Galatea nodded and elegantly stepped forward.
She gazed at the headless corpse frozen into an ice sculpture. Suddenly, another person Eivass was very familiar with appeared before her eyes.
It was Cardinal Siegfried!
“Cardinal Siegfried” swung his greatsword, cleaving the corpse in half.
Then, countless iron hammers appeared from the void and struck down consecutively. The severed corpse turned into dust.
“Cardinal Siegfried” then bent down, picked up the water-blue jewel, and handed it to Cardinal Galatea. He then dissipated into a wisp of smoke.
Is this the ultimate illusion…
Eivass vaguely realized that Cardinal Galatea of the Pure White Faction coming alone seemed to make sense.
This super ancient machine girl who had survived since the Amber Era—although she seemed to have been awakened and activated during the Elf Era, her strength appeared to far exceed the average Cardinal.
If she could arbitrarily conjure any other Cardinal with her illusions, even if it was only seven-tenths or three-tenths of their strength, she could arguably be considered the strongest Cardinal!
Eivass shook his head, pushed open the coffin, and began searching for what he needed within the black water emanating a foul stench.
It was clear that this nameless Child of the Moon had not yet completed the ritual to transform into a Corrupted Blood Angel.
This so-called transformation ritual was essentially a process of suicide and rebirth.
It involved using the boon of the Banquet Master’s power with a body sanctified by Sister Sasha, then corrupting and decanonizing it through a blasphemous ritual. In other words, it meant destroying its attributes and traits while keeping it “alive” to restore it to ordinary materials. Then, it would be turned into ash and mixed with his own bone ash for rebirth.
Those nine tortured people were the sacrifices for the blasphemous ritual. This was the most time-consuming part.
The coffin and the blood pool were simply automatic devices for his rebirth. He couldn’t entrust this to anyone, as in his ash state, a cup of Holy Water would utterly destroy him. Therefore, this had to be done by himself, as he couldn’t trust even the most loyal guard.
After Sister Sasha’s feet had their divine nature removed by the blasphemous ritual, he could lie in this coffin with its hollowed-out and ventilated structure. Then, he would ignite a great fire to burn himself to ashes. After the smoke dissipated, the coffin would sink into the blood pool, and the blood would seep in through the openings, allowing him to be reborn.
“Found it!”
Eivass cheered, pulling a pair of severed feet out of the coffin.
They were a pair of feet like works of art. They still felt soft and warm to the touch—and the cross-section where they connected to the calves exuded a crystal-red radiance like a gem. It was as if they were not filled with bone and flesh, but with pink diamonds.
The toenails were also a matching pink, like jewels, and possessed a Jade-like luster. There were no wrinkles or calluses on the skin, making them appear impossibly perfect.
Yet, they were now injured.
Someone had carved runes of blasphemy onto the instep and sole of these feet with a ritual knife. Having been immersed in the black water within the coffin for a long time, they had inevitably been stained. These runes had an ominous jet-black hue, making even their shimmering balance and perfection appear mediocre.
A line of effects also appeared in Eivass’s eyes:
[Corrupted · Offering of Dancing Feet]
[Extraordinary Equipment (Light Purple)]
[Armor – Feet]
[Extraordinary Trait: When you move continuously for three seconds with the Saint’s Skin already active and your HP is not full, gain one stack of Saint’s Skin (can only be triggered by Path of Devotion or Path of Love). This effect can be triggered at most once every thirty seconds; when you move continuously for three seconds with the Sinner’s Skin already active and have not dealt damage, gain one stack of Sinner’s Skin (can only be triggered by Path of Devotion or Path of Love). This effect can be triggered at most once every thirty seconds.]
[Saint’s Skin: Healing amount increases by 30% after each healing. This effect can stack up to three times.]
[Sinner’s Skin: When the equipment’s wearer loses HP while dealing damage to others, increase the current damage by a certain percentage of the current healing increase.]
[Extraordinary Trait (Corruption): This effect has been nullified.]
[Corruption Trait: When you lose HP, you will lose a proportionally higher amount of HP; when you receive healing from others, the healer will lose a certain percentage of the healing amount.]
[Set: Sister Sasha’s Holy Feast (1/4)]
[“—When I take off my dancing shoes, my steps become lighter; when I abandon my feet, my soul becomes lighter.”]
“What is this?”
Cardinal Galatea, holding the blue jewel, leaned in curiously.
Eivass unreservedly handed the feet, emanating a faint smell of decay, to Cardinal Galatea. “These are Sister Sasha’s feet.”
“Ah, I’ve heard of it. The Banquet Master… is now an Apostle of the Banquet Heavenly Envoy.”
Cardinal Galatea nodded slightly. “I heard she removed her own eyes, feet, hands, and skin, becoming a guest of the Banquet Master, and the Banquet Master’s last dish.”
“Yes, but the Banquet Master couldn’t bear to eat them. She merely felt Sister Sasha’s love, so she allowed Sister Sasha to become her attendant for the Holy Feast, gave her better eyes, feet, and hands, and returned these offerings to Sister Sasha after sanctifying them.”
Eivass explained.
Cardinal Galatea reached out and gently touched the blasphemous writing on the feet. “But it seems to have been corrupted. Its power will be greatly reduced… Do you still want to use it? If so, you can give it to Cardinal Aquinas. He is also part of the Ancient Ruins Restoration Society… He is skilled at repairing various damaged mysterious artifacts.”
“Then let’s get it repaired.”
Eivass actually had no intention of using this equipment.
Not only because the Sister Sasha set—also known as the “Excessive Set”—was not meant to be worn with all four pieces, but because he actually intended to gather these four set pieces as a sacrifice for Alistair, the Blood Angel.
However, considering it was indeed corrupted, it might as well be cleaned by a specialist. Although Little Sheep could also do it, her previous success in cleaning the eye pollution was purely due to luck… And the corruption on these feet was clearly more severe.
Just then, the surroundings of Eivass and Cardinal Galatea suddenly blurred.
After a violent wave of dizziness, he found himself back in the Sky-Piercing Tower ruins. Those who had moved far away to avoid mind-reading were now approaching him. For example, Little Cat, Sin (M), and Master Amber were nearby.
They stared, dumbfounded, at the pair of human feet Eivass was holding and the giant blue jewel in Cardinal Galatea’s hands, unable to help but wonder where they had been.
“…Mr. Pope, cough, I mean… Your Holiness.”
The Vagrant, standing far away, hesitated and said, “What are you holding…”
[They’re feet, are you blind?] Eivass retorted inwardly as he glanced at him.
[They’re human feet? I thought they were jewels…] Little Cat’s thoughts drifted as she looked at the severed ends.
[No, they’re Elf feet, human feet aren’t that big.] Eivass added in his mind.
Seeing everyone fall silent for a moment, he quickly added, “These are the holy relics of Sister Sasha, an Apostle of the Banquet Heavenly Envoy…”
The crowd collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
[Scared me to death, I thought…] Little Cat’s thought drifted. She immediately covered her mouth with her hand.
But it was no use; the thoughts still floated out uncontrollably:
[I thought Your Holiness had a particular interest in feet… Eek?! No, no, no… Woo woo woo, Mom, am I going to die…]
“I said they are holy relics!” Eivass said loudly, blushing with shame. But the more he tried to tell himself “don’t think about it,” the clearer his uncontrollably wandering thoughts became—a thought floated into his mind:
[Come to think of it, they are indeed quite… seductive…]
[I don’t want to hear that, Guaah!]
[You have good taste, Your Holiness!]
[I think the shining, pink diamond-like things inside are the prettiest…]
For a moment, everyone fell into chaos again.
Only Cardinal Galatea, who had no “inner voice,” held the jewel, watching everything quietly, a smile on her face, silent.
(End of Chapter)
