On Blue Road Street, the Black Gold Flame Dragon had roared past earlier, overturning a group of Dark Magic Mentors, most of whom were knocked flat on the spot. However, some survived. Old Merlin, Ross’s mercenary team, and a few town guards following Cass were busy clearing out the remaining Dark Magic Mentors.
Ordinary civilians, trembling with fear, finally dared to peek out from their homes. But when they saw the blood-red rift in the direction of the church and the monster crawling out of it, their faces turned pale, and they hurriedly hid back inside.
The residents of the frontier town were not entirely ignorant, but the existence of an Apostle was beyond their wildest imagination.
Ross and Gayton worked seamlessly to take down a Dark Magic Mentor wielding a corrosive black water spell. Panting and supporting each other, they looked up just in time to see the terrifying monster, its head mostly emerged from the rift, surrounded by writhing, dreadful tentacles. Despite their combat experience, they felt a chill of fear in that moment.
What surprised them was that Ye Chui was currently facing this monster, and they almost blindly believed he could resolve this unprecedented crisis in the town.
“Ahh, I’ll kill you all!” From a nearby crate, a bloodied swordsman suddenly stumbled out, attempting to ambush Ross and Gayton while they were distracted.
Ross and Gayton snapped back to attention, quickly adopting defensive stances.
However, as the swordsman closed to within two metres, a loud clang echoed. A blue shimmer appeared behind him, and a chair was flung out, striking him square on the forehead. He staggered and collapsed in front of them.
The chair vanished with the shimmer, and Old Merlin’s figure appeared, still holding the chair in the pose he had used to strike. This combat technique was clearly second nature to him.
“Don’t let your guard down. These Dark Magic Mentors care nothing for the honour of combat,” Old Merlin warned them.
“Yes, Mr. Merlin,” Ross replied quickly.
Old Merlin glanced at the blood-red rift and the monster crawling out, a hint of worry in his eyes. This thing was no easy foe. Could Ye Chui and his group succeed?
…
Inside the church, Ye Chui stood beside Rosia. He did not attack the frail old nun. Summoning the Apostle seemed to have cost her dearly; she now looked decades older, crouched on the ground, gasping for breath. Even if Ye Chui did nothing, she likely had little time left.
Ye Chui had tried using spells to attack the blood-red altar formed by the mist, but it was futile. Once the summoning ritual began, it was beyond anyone’s control. The only way to stop the Apostle from emerging was to defeat the terrifying monster and force it back into the rift.
“You’re wasting your effort. It’s all in vain. The entire town will perish under Adams’s wrath. It will drain the flesh and magic of everyone here, growing stronger. It will harbour endless hatred for the church that sealed it, ending its vile rule…” the old nun rambled in a venomous tone.
Ye Chui stopped trying to destroy the altar, slightly out of breath. He glanced at the time on his iPad spellbook: 11:57. Three minutes until midnight. He turned to Rosia with a smile. “You might not believe this, but I’m not remotely worried about the Apostle you summoned. Even if it fully emerges, I have ways to crush it and stuff it back.”
Rosia’s aged face twisted with disdain. “No one in Stan Town can do what you claim, not even you.”
“Is that so?” Ye Chui leaned down, looking at the old nun. “Do you know why I haven’t killed you yet?”
“Why?” Rosia paused, confused. She knew this young man was not afraid of killing and had every reason to end her.
“Because you’ve killed too many people, and you tried to sacrifice me. Being taken in by the church was just a ploy, which I’m not happy about. So, I won’t let you die satisfied. I’ll show you what despair looks like,” Ye Chui said coldly.
Rosia stared at Ye Chui, bewildered. She sensed he wasn’t bluffing, but what gave him such confidence?
At that moment, a “jiya” cry rang out. High above, the Valkyrie Jiji was struck by a flailing tentacle. Her body plummeted, crashing through a pile of prayer chairs, reducing them to splinters. Half-crouching, wings spread, she looked exhausted, not physically, as heroic spirits don’t tire, but from the overwhelming challenge of the monstrous foe.
Yet, as a guardian of the gods, born for battle and unyielding, the Valkyrie let out a fierce “jiya,” rallying her spirit. The shattered chairs scattered as she prepared to fight again, upholding her indomitable reputation.
Then…
“Ouch!” Debbie, hiding nearby, nearly choked on her jam bread. Even with Lesha’s magic-restoring blessing, Jiji’s “burst of aura” had drained her magic several times over. The girl shouted in frustration, “Fight properly. Why are you copying someone’s aura burst?”
“Jiya?” The Valkyrie turned to Debbie with an apologetic smile. She had forgotten that Debbie’s magic supply was stretched thin, sustaining an epic heroic spirit like her was no small feat.
Seeing the tentacles above about to strike, she prepared to charge with her light sword. But with a “pop,” the majestic Valkyrie shrank into a four- or five-year-old girl, clutching a toy-like light sword, her tiny wings flapping, making childish “jiji yaya” sounds. She looked down at her white-dressed body, stunned.
“Ji? Back to this?” she said, looking at Debbie.
“I can’t keep up…” Debbie’s forehead was beaded with sweat. Jiji’s minutes-long clash with the Apostle, far stronger than the Red Demon, had drained her magic immensely, even with Lesha’s help.
Just then, a tentacle slammed down toward Jiji.
“Jiya!” The little girl, forgetting she could fly, ran barefoot toward Debbie, tripping over a piece of broken wood. As she scrambled up, she was on the verge of tears.
Ye Chui, Debbie, Lesha, and Green’s faces paled.
In that critical moment, Debbie, as Jiji’s summoner, tapped into her potential. Clutching her summoning key, a summoning gate flashed beside her. A blue magical creature poked its head out, only to be yanked by its unscrupulous master and hurled at the Apostle.
Having done this countless times, Debbie’s throw was practiced and fluid.
With a loud “Your grandpa’s back!” the blue blob, Xiululu, smashed into the Apostle’s massive, swaying eyeball.
Xiululu’s limbs spread, clinging to the strange eye. The cat was utterly baffled. What in the world was this!?
The Apostle, despite its fearsome presence, couldn’t be harmed by a nearly powerless magical creature landing on its eye. But just as a fly can’t hurt a person, yet even the mighty Saitama is tormented by a mosquito, Debbie’s quick thinking saved little Jiji. Several tentacles, including the one targeting Jiji, curled back to swat at Xiululu.
To the Apostle’s giant, ten-metre-wide eye, Xiululu was like an ant to a human. The tentacles tried to sweep or crush him, but in this crisis, Xiululu unlocked a new talent. Screaming “meow!” he darted across the slick eyeball, somehow managing to harass the monstrous Apostle.
Ye Chui, Debbie, Lesha, and Green were speechless, awestruck.
Even more astonishing was that Debbie had summoned two heroic spirits simultaneously. As a novice summoner, she could only summon one spirit, regardless of its size. Yet, in this critical moment, she had broken through, summoning both Jiji and Xiululu.
Green, risking being crushed by tentacles, rushed to the dazed Jiji, scooping up the little girl and bringing her back to Debbie.
Xiululu kept scrambling across the eyeball, maddening the Apostle, whose shrill cries echoed from the rift. Time ticked on, and Ye Chui watched the clock on his spellbook.
Finally, with an enraged roar, the Apostle flung Xiululu off. The blue blob, honed by Debbie’s relentless “training,” dodged the massive tentacles and scurried back to Debbie, panting and glaring at her with resentment.
“Hehe…” Debbie gave an awkward laugh.
“Swoosh!” Several tentacles, now furious, roared and lunged toward Debbie and the others.
Enraged, the Apostle intended to crush them into pulp, trap their souls in eternal torment, and…
Suddenly, it saw a bald head emerge in front of Debbie and the others.
