Countless bats gathered outside the stone door, relentlessly slamming into it or trying to find a way to open it, but this was clearly no easy task. After repeated failures, one of the bats immediately flew away from the spot and returned to the hall above.
The Dome Palace had already descended into chaos. The palace guards lay scattered on the ground, defeated. These guards were no ordinary men; anyone capable of maintaining order in a place like this had to possess considerable strength. Unfortunately, for the current Random Magic Guild, every adventure they undertook was something other guilds might never encounter in a lifetime. Not to mention Guni; even Grean’s brick had long reached the level of mastery. Dealing with a few swordsmen here was more than enough.
Debbie, ever the picture of cool composure, continued sitting in the armchair in the living room, calmly sipping a cup of coffee. She cast an indifferent glance at Lady Rose, who had long since lost her former seductive charm out of sheer terror. Debbie cleared her throat, slowly set down her coffee cup, and prepared to deliver a few more pretentious lines.
But at that exact moment, with a wet splat, a bat suddenly dropped from the ceiling and slapped itself right onto her little face.
Debbie jumped in fright, nearly leaping off the chair. She flailed her hands across her face a couple of times, causing the large fake moustache she had been wearing to fall off. Finally, she cupped the bat in her hands.
“What the hell are you doing? Can’t you see I’m in the middle of acting cool here!!!” Debbie yelled at the bat in her palms.
The bat stood upright in her hands and let out a rapid series of squeaks: “Kah kah, kah kah kah…”
“What are you trying to say? Spit it out clearly!” Debbie realised this might be something important and hurriedly asked.
Standing nearby, Lady Rose grew even more terrified. Anyone witnessing a person arguing with a bat would be frightened out of their wits. This had to be a lunatic. No wonder they started trashing the place the moment they arrived…
Grean and Guni quickly rushed to Debbie’s side and looked at the bat. Grean said doubtfully, “Is the boss telling us to follow him somewhere? No way, has he actually run into trouble?”
Upon hearing Grean’s words, the bat immediately nodded vigorously, flapped its wings with a whoosh, and flew ahead to lead the way.
Debbie, Grean, and Guni hurriedly followed.
Seeing them heading towards the rear of the Dome Palace, Lady Rose paled in shock and tried to intercept them, but the moment she saw Grean wave his brick at her, she froze on the spot, not daring to make another move.
…
In the underground chamber.
The boy Ye Chui stood rigidly inside the blood magic array. He appeared to have completely lost consciousness, yet strangely, his body remained upright.
Caesar coughed up another mouthful of blood. He wiped the corner of his mouth with a white handkerchief, swallowed a dose of magic medicine, and then sneered coldly. “As expected of the Omnimagister, there is indeed something peculiar about him. Under the assault of the original sin of lust, an ordinary person would instantly turn into a desiccated corpse. Yet he has lasted this long. His willpower must be extraordinarily strong.”
The attack method of the original sin of lust was to infinitely amplify the lust within a person’s body, causing them to burn themselves out until their flesh withered and lost all vitality. Within the consciousness world, time passed extremely slowly. Though only a few minutes had elapsed outside, Ye Chui had probably been resisting the original sin of lust for over an hour inside. His current power had clearly encountered some problem, rendering him unable to use magic. He had relied purely on his willpower to endure this long, but he would not hold out much longer.
Caesar had even ordered the believers to remove the holy word chains that had been binding Ye Chui. Those chains were forged through special methods and were extremely precious. He did not want them damaged by the power unleashed when the original sin of lust devoured Ye Chui. In any case, Ye Chui was already doomed; restraints were now meaningless.
After taking the magic medicine, Caesar felt the pain in his body ease somewhat. A cruel smile appeared on his pale face as he turned to look at Honeygo, whose eyes were blood-red and expression vacant.
They had spent enormous time and effort summoning the original sin of lust. Now, the one who would perish beneath this immense power was none other than the Omnimagister himself. This was truly a blessing from God. Yet Caesar felt puzzled. How had Ye Chui discovered this place?
It should have been extremely well-hidden. Apart from a few members of the church and the Cullin family, no one knew about this dark altar… Suddenly, his mind flashed to his nephew, the Third Prince.
The Third Prince was infatuated with Honeygo. He had heard that after returning from the secret realm, the Third Prince’s attitude towards both the Cullin family and the church had undergone a dramatic change. Could he have struck some deal with Ye Chui and betrayed them?
While Caesar pondered these matters, he completely failed to notice that Ye Chui, who had been standing rigid, was now slowly opening his eyes. The original sin of lust seemed to have had no effect on him whatsoever. There was even a faint trace of disappointment in his gaze…
He turned his head slightly and spotted Caesar standing defenceless beside him.
In the next instant, the cold edge of a blade suddenly pressed against Caesar’s throat.
Caesar’s heart jolted. A moment later, Ye Chui’s childish voice rang out. “Do not let me feel even the slightest tremor in your throat, or the tiniest movement from your body. Otherwise, my knife will plunge in immediately.”
The other believers instantly grew alert, staring in shock at Ye Chui, who was standing on tiptoe holding a dagger to Caesar’s throat. He had actually shaken off the original sin of lust?
The dagger in Ye Chui’s hand had originally been tucked at Caesar’s waist; Ye Chui had stealthily taken it without anyone noticing. Because he was so short, he had to stand on tiptoe to reach Caesar’s neck, but the threat was highly effective. No matter how powerful a warrior, a slit throat meant certain death. Caesar was a believer, not a swordsman; his physical toughness was far from enough to withstand a sharp blade.
“You… how are you unaffected by the original sin of lust? Why? How can you resist it? You cannot use magic. I checked; you have no magical artefact on you that can defend against mental or spiritual attacks. How did you resist the original sin of lust?” one believer asked in a voice filled with terror.
“How did I resist it? Well, if I had to say, it comes down to a difference in experience.” Ye Chui smiled as he explained.
The original sin of lust was indeed terrifying. If it had been any other man, Grean for instance, he would have succumbed instantly and never awakened. After all, the sight of that flawless woman dancing seductively was enchanting to the extreme. But for Ye Chui, who in his previous life had seen every kind of resource imaginable, a perfect female phantom dancing was nothing more than some exquisitely rendered CG footage. It had zero impact.
It was like the difference between ancient erotic paintings and modern multi-gigabyte torrents. They simply were not on the same level, alright?
At first, Ye Chui had indeed been slightly drawn in, but after just ten minutes or so he had snapped out of it completely. Back then he had even thought to give her a chance to perform properly, but in the end she just kept dancing the same routine over and over. Come on, no matter how good a CG dance video is, you get tired of it eventually, right?
There was simply no challenge.
“This thing you call the original sin of lust is no big deal. I did not feel a shred of lust. All I felt was second-hand embarrassment. Are you sure you can’t make it try a bit harder? The service is seriously unprofessional!” Ye Chui offered his feedback very earnestly.
All the believers: “…service?”
Ye Chui glanced up towards the spiral staircase. His bat split-bodies had already led Debbie and the others to the stone door. They were just waiting for Guni to break it open so the remaining bat split-bodies could fly back into him. In his current state he was far too weak, little different from an ordinary boy. Though he appeared calm on the surface, he was actually quite tense inside.
At that moment, the hand holding the dagger felt a slight tremor in Caesar’s throat.
Ye Chui had warned Caesar not to let his throat tremble even slightly because trembling meant he was about to speak, and the power of believers relied on words to manifest. Detecting Caesar’s movement, Ye Chui did not hesitate. He thrust the dagger forward with force, stabbing it deep into Caesar’s throat.
Blood spurted out.
At the same time, with his dying breath, Caesar managed to shout a garbled sentence. It was a single phrase, slurred into one sound and nearly unintelligible, yet the holy word effect it carried was undeniably real.
In the next instant, countless cracks appeared on the statue of the original sin of lust in the underground chamber. The chains binding Honeygo turned blood-red and began tightening further. Honeygo’s body was dragged upward until her feet left the ground. Red cracks spread across her face and skin. She let out silent roars as her body began turning to stone, starting from her fingertips and toes…
Caesar knew he had been careless and missed the best chance to kill Ye Chui, but his unwavering loyalty to the church had long prepared him to sacrifice his life at any moment. With his dying effort he recited the holy verse, fully awakening the original sin of lust!
The trace of original sin he had previously introduced into Ye Chui had been minuscule. The original sin of lust itself was a conscious demonic entity that required a medium to fully revive. Now the original sin of lust accumulated within the statue began pouring continuously into Honeygo’s body. Honeygo was transforming into the demon.
The remaining believers ignored the dead Caesar and continued chanting holy verses to accelerate the demon’s transformation.
Ye Chui glanced at Caesar lying on the ground, gripped the dagger, and looked towards Honeygo. He wanted to do something, but in the end he clearly recognised how powerless he was at present and quickly ducked behind a protruding rock.
Peering out from behind the rock, he saw Honeygo completely petrified. Then the stone shattered and fell away. A brand-new body appeared in mid-air, enveloped by a pair of black wings. The wings slowly unfurled, revealing a bewitchingly beautiful figure.
She bore a faint resemblance to Honeygo, yet was entirely different. The figure appeared masculine yet possessed a feminine allure. Long white hair cascaded over the shoulders. The expression was arrogant, the eyes blood-red, the skin pale. Bare feet slowly descended to the ground as three pairs of wings fully extended behind.
This was the original sin of lust, somewhat reminiscent of a divine domain valkyrie, yet far more malevolent.
The believers all prostrated themselves on the ground.
Original Sin opened its palms and examined its hands, a trace of confusion on its face. “Power… it is not complete…”
“Bishop Caesar was unable to summon your full strength. In desperation, he could only awaken you prematurely…” one believer said with a trembling voice.
Original Sin glanced at Caesar’s corpse. There was no pity in its eyes, only a hint of anger. It suddenly let out a long howl and waved its arms. The prostrated believers screamed in agony as streams of blood energy were forcibly drawn from their bodies and absorbed into Original Sin. In moments, these devout followers were reduced to desiccated corpses. Strangely, smiles of bliss adorned their faces, as though they had experienced the ultimate ecstasy of this world.
Yet Original Sin was still unsatisfied. In its view, its current power remained pitifully weak. Its gaze suddenly fixed on the rock behind which Ye Chui hid.
It waved a hand.
Boom!
The rock exploded into debris.
Ye Chui hurriedly scrambled away through the cloud of dust.
Original Sin waved again.
Cracks ripped open beneath Ye Chui’s feet with terrifying speed. He cried out in alarm and rolled to the side.
Original Sin looked at Ye Chui and shook its head regretfully. Just a child; not even enough to become a part of its power. It waved once more.
The suspended spiral staircase in the underground chamber suddenly shattered. Sections of stone steps plummeted down towards Ye Chui.
Crash after crash.
Dust quickly covered the area.
Original Sin paid no further attention. It surveyed its surroundings, considering where it was and what it should do next. The one who summoned it was dead, yet it seemed to sense a purpose. Of course, its first priority was to replenish its missing power and restore itself to full strength as quickly as possible.
Its body slowly began to float upward, preparing to leave the chamber.
But at that moment, it suddenly sensed something and looked towards the pile of fallen stone steps. Amidst the dust, the boy was laboriously crawling out. He looked dishevelled and covered in grime, but he had no fatal injuries. Against all odds, he had managed to avoid the most lethal impacts of the falling stones and emerged relatively unscathed.
Original Sin could tell this boy was merely an ordinary child, yet he had evaded its attacks three times. This bred a sliver of displeasure… Perhaps its current power was simply too weak? It decided to personally wring the boy’s neck.
Its wings flickered slightly as it flew towards Ye Chui, extending a slender, beautiful hand that, with its long fingernails, appeared somewhat horrifying.
At that very instant, a tremendous boom echoed from above in the underground cavern. The stone door connecting to this place had been forcefully blasted open.
Flap, flap.
Bats poured down from above, swarming onto the boy and merging with him.
And thus, the boy was ordinary no longer.
A man blazing with fury appeared before Original Sin.
Original Sin was momentarily stunned.
In that instant of shock, Ye Chui’s palm had already seized its beautiful face. The hand instantly enlarged and turned green, grabbing the face and slamming it from one end of the underground chamber straight into the opposite wall.
BOOM!
The body crashed into the stone wall with such force that a violent tremor nearly collapsed the entire underground space.
