The sun over the sea was slowly starting to rise, and the conversation between Cecia and Vesper quickly came to an end.
Cecia cleaned up the Starfolk corpses along the shore while mentally planning her next move.
Tomorrow was the Tide Festival, and high tide would arrive tonight. Once Vesper guarded the Starfolk on this final day, her primary task would be complete.
Cecia decided that even if she didn't kill Robert, she should at least break his legs and force him to maintain the barrier. Once the final wave of Starfolk came ashore tonight and Vesper perfectly completed her mission, Cecia would go settle scores with him.
Even if Robert wasn't the mastermind, Cecia had more than enough reason to get rid of this accomplice.
Beside her, Vesper had grown hungry again and was currently eating a Starfolk corpse.
But there was no rush. First, they had to clean this place up.
Cecia also began to perform the Burnt Offering.
Soon, the two of them finished resting, and Vesper had eaten her fill.
Cecia also gained a tiny bit of spiritual energy, though she had no idea how much more she needed to gather before she could keep the sun burning fiercely.
The two of them continued walking along the beach.
They also cleared the stretch of beach that Lan and Fekro were defending.
...
Located at the very center of Tide Town, the tall white tower of the church was the town's most iconic landmark.
It was always so brightly lit, as if no evil or filth could ever hope to invade its grounds.
Robert, a priest of the Church of the Holy Light, spent his days maintaining Tide Town's barrier.
Two figures lurked silently in the darkness.
An eerie shadow plunged the entire church into darkness. A strange gale blew violently, extinguishing all the illuminating candles around them.
This only added a layer of chilling gloom to an already damp, cold day.
The old priest, Robert, paused his work. He looked around suspiciously before striking a match to relight the candles.
But just when he thought it was nothing more than an ordinary gust of wind—
The shadow beneath his feet suddenly came alive.
A massive, tentacle-like shadow crashed down toward him.
Clang!
The 【Protection of Light】 on Robert's body instantly shielded his entire being, a product of his defense specialization with the Aegis of Light.
Robert was a Rank Two priest.
Vesper, the girl whose eyes were covered in a white veil, appeared at the entrance.
The shadow tentacles beneath her feet, laced with the chaotic aura of the Starfolk, lashed out at Robert.
It was Level 3 【Shadow Strike】.
Vesper's skill was clearly weaker than Robert's. After several exchanges of blows, she failed to achieve any visible results.
The Abyssal tentacles imbued with the aura of the Starfolk were completely countered by his Level 6 【Protection of Light】.
The two of them were simply locked in a battle of attrition.
Robert repeatedly dodged and fired flashes of light, but every single one of them was blocked by Vesper's pitch-black tentacles.
Seeing Vesper's attacks suddenly slow down as if she was exhausted and needed to catch her breath, Robert prepared to speak and talk things out.
Robert intended to open his mouth and negotiate:
“Hey, Miss Potato, I think there is a slight misunderstanding between us...”
At the exact instant Robert opened his mouth, Cecia, who had been hiding all this time using 【Shadow Moon】, made her move with ruthless precision.
The full effects of 【Shadow Moon】 erupted. With 【Aegis of Light】 and 【Holy Flame】 coated on the blade of 【Starhunter】, the sharp dagger carved out a flawless, silver crescent moon in the air, stabbing straight toward Robert's vulnerable chest.
The 【Protection of the Blazing Sun】 on Cecia instantly activated, carving a crack straight through the otherwise impregnable 【Protection of Light】 surrounding Robert.
Vesper did not remain idle either. The 【Shadow Swamp】 beneath her feet began to spread, trapping Robert inside as several pitch-black tentacles coiled tightly around his ankles.
Just as success was within reach, several gunshots suddenly rang out from the shadows. The bullets struck Cecia's 【Starhunter】, and the powerful impact knocked her blade off course.
Cecia's hand shook, almost losing her grip on 【Starhunter】. Quickly adapting, she drew 【Flintfire】 from her waist in one fluid motion.
The short, sturdy staff instantly condensed an explosive fireball that roared straight toward Robert's arm.
The explosive fire magic looked as though it wanted to incinerate everything in existence.
The massive fireball, trailing a wave of scorching heat, blasted toward Robert's face.
Stone bricks exploded. Robert instinctively shielded his face with his arms, barely saving himself from a fatal blow. However, his scorched arm and the shattered remnants of his 【Protection of Light】 made him realize he could not afford to take a second hit.
He struggled to stand up, but the surrounding shadows tightened rapidly, pinning the old priest ruthlessly to the ground.
Cecia activated 【Flintfire】 once more, condensing a Fireball in her hand and compressing it continuously.
【Fireball: Compression】
Though it wasn't a specialized skill, its power was not to be underestimated. Combined with Cecia's Fire Element Affinity, the raw force of this single strike was already terrifying.
Robert had no way to fight back.
Everything had happened too quickly.
The priest class was fundamentally a support role; its head-on combat capability was simply too weak.
If only he had time to chant...
The fireball in Cecia's hand began to flicker and wobble unstably.
“You really are a maniac...”
For that explosive fireball was clearly conjured with the intent of mutual destruction.
The fireball was unleashed exactly as intended.
Yet, several more gunshots rang out from the darkness, precisely striking the mana core of the Fireball.
The explosive fireball detonated in the air before it could even touch Robert.
Robert's right palm and half his arm had turned into a mangled mess of bloody flesh, and from within it crawled a long, thin serpent.
Though referred to as a single serpent, the way it coiled made it look less like one snake and more like countless snakes sharing a single head. But as it fully detached from Robert's arm, it slowly merged back into a single serpent.
It appeared chaotic and twisted, pieced together segment by segment.
Chaos and evil—it was like a viper that infinitely expanded its own boundaries.
That was Cecia's very first impression.
“Holy shit, this old priest... his body has long since been taken over by evil. He fucking abandoned the Goddess of Holy Light ages ago.”
Spinning an alchemical revolver, a figure stepped out from the darkness.
It was Fekro.
“Yo, Fekro, long time no see. Is this the 'ridiculous thing' you were talking about?”
“What are you talking about? I don't understand. I'm just a good-hearted fellow acting out of righteousness for a bounty.”
Looking at his slick, glib attitude, Cecia could hardly tell if he was putting on an act or if he was truly just greedy for money.
If not for the Philosopher's Stone still radiating warmth against her chest, Cecia would have doubted this guy long ago.
Cecia waved her hand, signaling Vesper to withdraw.
Vesper cast a glance at the venomous snake and murmured quietly:
“Traitor.”
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