“She’s taking Reisha!” Seeing Reisha being dragged into the black forest by Haibi, Green shouted loudly.
“Not so fast!” Ye Chui yelled, clapping his hands together with a snap.
Intermediate Destruction Spell: [Second Battalion Commander’s Italian Cannon!]
A phantom cannon appeared above Ye Chui’s body. With a bang, a flash of fire erupted, followed by a tremendous “boom” as the front of the black forest exploded, half of the sizable forest obliterated in a single blast!
Ye Chui then spread his arms, preparing another shot!
“Shriek!” With a scream, Haibi, still holding Reisha, hurriedly leapt out of the black forest. Though her expression was no longer discernible, her appearance betrayed sheer terror. She let out a piercing cry with her fang-filled maw aimed at Ye Chui, then swiftly changed direction to flee.
Cass leapt forward, swinging his greatsword at Haibi.
But at that moment, with a whoosh, another figure darted out from the side, one of the four mutated followers. Crawling on the ground like some beast, it moved with incredible speed, wielding sharp, sturdy claws as weapons. Caught off guard, Cass redirected his strike, clashing with the crawling follower. With a crash, both tumbled to the ground.
Another follower, its body bloated and covered in grotesque eyeballs, charged at Ye Chui and the others. The countless eyes on its body spun incessantly, instantly overwhelming Ye Chui, Debbie, Green, and the rest with a chilling, dizzying sensation.
This was some form of mental attack.
Under its influence, Ye Chui’s group felt their fighting spirit drain away, overcome by dizziness. Ye Chui’s explosive spell faltered, unable to continue.
But in this moment, Green, who had been mostly a bystander, finally proved his worth. With so many eyes staring at him, how could he not seize the chance to fight in his own style?
His teleportation wasn’t a complex spell, so he could still manage it.
A shimmering teleportation light appeared above the eyeball monster, and a large handful of red powder cascaded down, dousing it thoroughly. This was Green’s specially concocted [Explosive Dust], a name courtesy of Ye Chui, yet to be used until now.
“Shriek!” Even as a monster, the eyeball follower clearly still felt pain. Its many eyes clamped shut, its body trembling violently from the severe blow. When one less-damaged eye finally opened, it saw Ye Chui standing just two or three metres away.
Snap. Ye Chui clapped his hands together.
Lightning and fire energies fused wildly, a torrent of volatile energy rapidly gathering and surging toward the creature.
The eyeball monster sensed danger and tried to flee, but it was too late.
Boom!
From a distance, the towering body of the eyeball monster shattered, blood and flesh spraying backward in a broom-like pattern. Its pitiful life was snuffed out by Ye Chui’s terrifying spell in an instant.
After the blast, Ye Chui didn’t pause, his eyes anxiously tracking Reisha, who was being swiftly carried away. Suddenly, a thought struck him…
“Put her down!” Godo, still in his self-hypnotised heroic trance, swung his sword, unleashing a wave of sword energy toward the nun monster.
Concerned about harming Reisha, Godo tempered his strength, aiming to neutralize the nun monster without hurting her.
However, the last mutated follower, lurking among the horde of beasts, suddenly leapt up. With a crash, it used its body to block Godo’s sword energy, shattering into bloody chunks in mid-air. This gave the nun monster a chance to escape, as countless beasts, seemingly driven by some force, surged toward Godo, preventing further attacks.
Of the four mutated nun followers, Haibi abducted Reisha, while the other three sacrificed their lives to stop the others!
Bang! Cass slew the crawling beast follower with a swing of his sword, panting as he ran to Debbie and the others. “How did these things turn into this? Their target is Reisha, isn’t it? Sacrificing three of them just to take her… Wait?” Cass paused, scanning the surroundings. “Where’s Ye Chui?”
Debbie, Green, and Winsa, hearing Cass, looked around curiously. Ye Chui’s figure had vanished.
“Ye Chui used [Shadow Stealth] to pursue them!” Debbie quickly realised.
[Shadow Stealth] + [Wind God Legs]
[Wind God Legs] naturally granted agility, with effects similar to the enhanced [Wind Walk] spell. Combined with Ye Chui’s [Shadow Stealth], which completely masked his presence, he could silently trail Haibi.
Meanwhile, Haibi, having abducted Reisha, soon arrived before a massive sealed crystal.
Bishop Talbot stood before the crystal, fervently praying. On the ground before him was a vast magic circle inscribed with intricate scriptures and runes, drawn in blood.
Under some force, the red runes flickered with an eerie glow.
Haibi tossed Reisha to the ground, eliciting a soft cry from her. Reisha recognised the circle. “Soul Altar? This, this is an evil formation banned by the Church. Bishop Talbot, what are you doing?” With her Bible destroyed, Reisha was now just an ordinary person, struggling to stand.
“Evil formation? No, it’s sacred, for it will save our God…” Talbot looked frail, the blood for the circle drawn from his own. Only the blood of the most devout could unleash the formation’s full power, and none here were more fitting than him.
He relished the honour.
Smiling at Reisha, he said, “Reisha, you should feel privileged, for you’re about to offer your body to God. I’m so envious of you. You’ll become God’s new vessel!”
“God?” Reisha froze, staring at the terrifying entity sealed in the crystal. That thing was God?
The Soul Altar was a horrific sacrificial magic circle, offering a pure soul to merge a deceased soul into an empty vessel. In some evil cults, followers nearing death used it to gain new bodies, extending their lives. Clearly, Talbot intended to sacrifice Reisha to let the sealed devil possess her body, granting it new life.
Atop the massive crystal, an ancient Bible radiated immense power. Its strength was beyond Talbot’s ability to destroy. Even with the golden greatsword, one of the seals, removed, the Bible’s power still confined the devil’s body, trapping it forever. At most, it could only let its soul escape via the altar.
Thus, the devil sought to use the Soul Altar to possess another’s body.
The prerequisite was a pure body.
The purity required wasn’t physical but spiritual, rooted in faith. All the followers here, including Talbot, had strong faith, but it wasn’t pure. They didn’t truly believe in the essence of their faith, merely wielding it as power. Reisha was different.
From the moment she entered this relic world, the devil sensed her. She was the one with the purest faith!
Only Reisha could break the holy Bible’s seal.
Cracks like sprawling veins appeared on the sealing crystal, and the blood-red runes on the Soul Altar flickered more intensely. With a rustle, a crimson chain shot from the circle, wrapping around Reisha’s body. She struggled, but it was futile, as she was dragged onto the blood-red circle.
Talbot chanted scriptures, activating the Soul Altar’s power.
Haibi stood by reverently.
At that moment, a sudden gust of wind blew through.
Then—
“Da da da da!”
A line of fire erupted out of nowhere, striking around Reisha, sending shards of stone flying. Talbot screamed, stumbling back.
The Soul Altar, deprived of power, halted. The chain binding Reisha vanished, and the blood-red circle was ruined. Ye Chui’s figure appeared beside Reisha.
Reisha, in a semi-conscious state, collapsed softly into Ye Chui’s arms.
“Heretic!” Talbot shouted, flipping through his Bible and charging at Ye Chui.
Ye Chui raised one arm, pointing his index finger at Talbot’s Bible.
Bang!
[Starfire Bombardment]
Talbot instinctively shielded the Bible with one arm, which exploded, his body flung back by the immense force.
On the other side, Haibi let out a raspy roar and lunged.
Ye Chui spun, delivering a kick.
[Wind God Legs] granted both speed and powerful attacks. With a bang, Haibi was struck by Ye Chui’s kick, sent flying and rolling across the ground.
Holding Reisha, Ye Chui glanced at the cracked crystal and the terrifying devil within, preparing to leave.
But then, Reisha, in his arms, opened her eyes. “Little brother, the devil’s about to break the seal…”
“What?” Ye Chui was stunned. He had trailed them, and though [Wind God Legs] was fast, he was slightly delayed. He thought he’d disrupted the altar ritual, so why did Reisha say the devil was breaking free?
Reisha turned to the crystal sealing the devil, her eyes on the Bible atop it. The Bible began flipping rapidly, showing signs of detaching from the crystal. A strange look crossed Reisha’s face. “Little brother, through the altar just now, I formed a connection with the devil’s sealing Bible… It seems to have chosen me as its master.”
“What?” Ye Chui was dumbfounded.
Faith is a two-way emotional bond, involving the believer and the object of faith, be it a god or justice. The Church preached that their god was justice, but since entering the relic world, Reisha’s belief in this had wavered. Seeing that the so-called god was a terrifying devil, her faith in the Church’s teachings collapsed entirely.
Yet her faith persisted, needing a vessel. The Bible sealing the devil was the perfect carrier.
Reisha hadn’t changed her faith; she’d found a new anchor for it.
The Bible’s original master was the Faith Goddess, long dead, leaving it masterless. Reisha’s faith made it choose her as its new master. However, unlike the Faith Goddess, Reisha wasn’t powerful enough to wield the Bible’s full strength, insufficient to keep the devil sealed.
Thus, the devil would break free!
This was unforeseen by anyone, including the devil.
The Bible sealing the devil detached from the crystal, flying to Reisha and landing in her arms.
Cracks multiplied on the crystal, fragments falling.
Ye Chui, momentarily shocked, quickly regained composure. “Then I’ll have to try my new spell!”
Thanks to Godo’s beast kills, Ye Chui had amassed over 4000 points, enough for a random [Insight]. On the way, he’d spent 3000 points on one, anticipating a formidable foe. He chose the most destructive explosion-based magic.
Knowing that explosion scenes in films and anime could be adapted into spells, he selected a movie centred on a catastrophic explosion: *Broken Arrow*.
Many films and anime feature explosions, but with complex elements and random [Insights], who knew what he’d get? A movie about a nuclear crisis was his best bet.
He’d hoped to unlock a nuclear-level explosion spell, but his current strength couldn’t handle that. Still, the spell he unlocked wasn’t bad.
Ye Chui reached toward the devil, about to break free.
“Let’s try my new spell: [Explosion is Justice]!”
