“The Lord Evil God's will is everywhere... Do you think destroying a single clone can stop its descent?” The gaunt, black-robed man was pinned in place, but a twisted smile remained on his face. “As for wanting to know the Lord Evil God's true form... you will naturally find out when it descends.”
His voice grew increasingly hoarse, and his eyes began to glaze over with a murky blackness. A certain cold energy grew denser and denser around him.
“Trying to commit suicide?” Chen Mian stepped forward. A trace of extremely faint mana flickered at the tip of his finger as he slowly pressed it against the man's forehead, letting the mana seep in.
“What are you doing?!” The black-robed man's voice suddenly spiked, his eyes betraying a hint of unease that he desperately tried to conceal. Yet, he could only watch helplessly as that hand pressed down on his forehead.
The moment the mana completely penetrated his mind, he let out a short, muffled groan.
Chen Mian closed his eyes.
Memories flooded into his consciousness like shattered shards of a mirror.
Most of the memories were chaotic, filled with useless information.
However, a few fragments of memory were exceptionally clear.
The first scene was an underground altar covered in black runes. In the center of the altar lay a writhing mass of black shadow, highly resembling the main body of the Child of the Rot that Chen Mian had shattered in the rift of the Forest of Death.
A figure clad in dark-red robes knelt before the altar, speaking in a hoarse and devout voice: “As long as the fragments left behind by the Lord Evil God on this land are gathered together, the Lord Evil God's true body will be able to truly descend. However, the Lord Evil God's fragments are incompatible with this world... We need suitable vessels.”
...
Chen Mian withdrew his hand.
The blackness in the black-robed man's eyes had completely receded. His gaze was hollow, as if his soul had been sucked out.
Through the memories he had just read, the situation was now mostly clear.
Those strange creatures sealed in various places were likely what the Shadow Cult referred to as the Evil God's clones, with the Child of the Rot being one of them. Once these things reached a certain level of strength, they could directly merge. However, the seals on each clone were guarded by powerful experts, making it impossible for the Shadow Cult to break them head-on. Therefore, they could only choose to have the escaped clone fragments host within powerful individuals, using their physical bodies to nourish and strengthen the fragments.
Judging from this black-robed man's memories, many of the high-ranking members of the Shadow Cult had come to power in this manner.
In fact, the Shadow Cult was already under the control of this Evil God's clone.
Nurturing the Evil God's clones, breaking the seals, and allowing the Evil God to descend—this was the ultimate goal of the Shadow Cult.
It seemed he would need to thoroughly wipe out the entities within those seals in the future.
With that thought, Chen Mian withdrew his gaze and looked at the three black-robed figures pinned by the golden patterns.
The gaunt, black-robed man had completely collapsed to the ground, with only faint breaths escaping his throat. The other two had grim expressions, seemingly guessing what Chen Mian had just done.
Chen Mian raised his right hand, palm facing upward, and spread his fingers slightly. The golden magic circle in the sky suddenly flared with brilliant light in response to his movement.
In the next instant, the residents of the entire Royal Capital witnessed a sight they had never seen before. Golden light projected down from the sky.
Golden beams of light fell vertically from the magic circle, scattering in all directions across the Royal Capital of Hella. It was silent, without any sound of explosion or collision.
...
In the basement of a residential house in the eastern district of the Royal Capital, a person dressed as a commoner was secretly stuffing a black crystal into a magic circle. However, just as he reached out his hand, a beam of golden light descended from the sky, piercing through the thick layer of soil and precisely skewering his back.
He looked down at the finger-wide hole of light in his chest, and his entire body collapsed forward.
Similar scenes played out in every corner of the Royal Capital...
Inside the North Hall of the palace, the three black-robed figures were not spared either.
The gaunt, black-robed man looked down at his chest, where a golden speck of light was slowly expanding, quickly spreading to his entire body.
He opened his mouth, a halting whisper rolling in his throat: “The Lord Evil God... will eventually descend...” Then, as if all support had been drained from him, he collapsed forward silently, his body turning into golden dust in midair.
The other two did not even have time to make a sound before they, too, vanished into thin air.
The hall fell into silence.
Chen Mian withdrew his hand, and the golden magic circle in the sky slowly faded, eventually disappearing completely.
The Shadow Cult members detected within the Royal Capital had basically all been purged by the magic circle—about a hundred and thirty people in total.
Hurried footsteps echoed from the entrance of the hall.
Aler entered the North Hall with a staff in hand, followed by a squad of palace guards.
Alan, who was slumped in the corner, was quickly hauled up by the guards, his face as pale as death.
Aler lowered his staff and bowed slightly to Chen Mian. “Lord Chen Mian.”
“You can handle the aftermath yourselves,” Chen Mian said with a calm nod.
Aler nodded, straightened up, and glanced at Alan, then at Loviki. He nodded and stepped aside to clear the way. “I will handle the remaining matters properly.”
Chen Mian nodded and turned to Loviki.
She stood in the center of the hall, her face looking a bit weary, but her eyes held a clear sense of curiosity as she looked at him.
“Can you still walk?”
“Of course, I'm not injured.” Loviki straightened her back, then seemed to remember something. She raised her hand to touch the silver hair clip in her hair, which now had a tiny crack on it.
With that, she began walking toward the exit of the hall. However, after only a few steps, her stride became a bit unsteady. Fighting against a Red Jade Rank had indeed consumed far too much of her mana.
Loviki quietly slowed her pace, which allowed her to walk more steadily.
Chen Mian stood behind her, watching her back with a somewhat helpless expression. “Can you really walk?”
“...I can!”
“I'm asking if walking like that is tiring for you.”
Loviki was taken aback and turned her head to look at him.
“I'll carry you out on my back.”
She opened her mouth, about to refuse out of habit, but she swallowed the words back down. After a brief silence, she said with some embarrassment, “...It's very embarrassing.”
“No one is looking.”
Loviki looked up at him. After hesitating for a moment, she finally stopped being stubborn. She paused and clumsily leaned onto his back, resting her chin on his shoulder. “I-I'm ready.”
Chen Mian supported the back of her knees and hoisted her up slightly before walking out of the North Hall. The sky outside had already darkened a bit; the winter days in the Hella Kingdom were exceptionally short.
Loviki was quiet for a moment, then suddenly murmured, “...I was wondering why you suddenly wanted to give me a hair clip.”
“It's very practical, isn't it?”
“...It is practical... It's just...”
“Just what?”
“...It's a little broken,” Loviki said softly after a moment of silence.
Chen Mian turned his head, catching a glimpse of her slightly reddened ears out of the corner of his eye. His tone carried a trace of amusement. “Then I'll fix it for you when we get back.”
“Really?”
“Of course. When have I ever lied to you?”
“You lied to me just now...” Loviki's voice carried a hint of girlish pout. “You clearly said you wouldn't get involved.”
“If I hadn't stepped in, you would have been hurt.”
Loviki didn't reply. After a few seconds of silence, she lifted her chin from his shoulder, turned her face to look at him, and said softly, “...Then come earlier next time.”
“Didn't you say you didn't want my help?”
“I-I changed my mind.” After saying that, she rested her chin back on his shoulder, her voice muffled. “...None of your business.”
Rate on N.U.
