The black-gold flame dragon let out a terrifying roar that echoed through the night sky. Yet, its massive form seemed small compared to the towering blood-red crack in the heavens.
The tentacles extending from the crack quickly sensed the approaching danger. Several lashed out with a whistling gust, wrapping tightly around the incoming dragon. But soon, black-gold flames erupted from the tentacles, riddled with protrusions and vein-like patterns. Amidst the flames and dragon roars, Dragon Baby broke free.
Its claws gripped the edges of the void crack, its head nearly plunging inside, pouring torrents of dragon flame into it.
A piercing screech, sharp enough to rupture human eardrums, erupted from the crack. In the flames, more tentacles lashed out, knocking Dragon Baby’s body far back.
Flapping its wings, Dragon Baby deftly dodged the tentacles’ attacks, preparing to strike again. But its form began to fade rapidly.
With a reluctant roar, it vanished into the air.
Its summoning time was up.
Due to certain unique circumstances, Dragon Baby could be summoned by Ye Chui, but its power relied on its dragon soul. This soul energy could regenerate in the spirit world, but in the mortal realm, once depleted, Dragon Baby would be pulled back. Each battle allowed it roughly ten minutes.
Though Dragon Baby had vanished, its final clash provided Ye Chui with clear insights. The full power of the First Apostle Adams was uncertain, but this partial manifestation wasn’t invincible. Dragon Baby had damaged it, though the effects seemed minor, with incinerated tentacles quickly regenerating. Still, this proved the Apostle wasn’t entirely unbeatable.
“Let’s assume the First Apostle’s combat strength is about ten Jijis,” Ye Chui muttered, glancing at his iPad. 11:49 p.m., eleven minutes until midnight.
“Teacher Saitama’s power must be at least ten Jijis, right?”
“We head to the church to try stopping Luoxia,” Ye Chui said, leading the way.
Daibi, Leisha, and Green hurried after him.
This continent had seven nations, but the Church was the most powerful force, with supreme authority across them all. Every city, town, and even some villages boasted grand, historic church buildings. Stan Town’s church, long tended by Sister Luoxia alone, was no exception.
Despite being managed by one person, it was vast, its marble cathedral the tallest structure in Stan Town.
On their way to the church, Ye Chui’s group encountered no more dark magic instructors, likely all sent to Lando Street by Luoxia. They did, however, find bodies lying in pools of blood: magic instructors, swordsmen, and ordinary civilians. The day’s horrors were unimaginable.
The church was brightly lit, but the once-holy and sacred place now resembled a hellish nightmare. People lay sprawled across the floor, pale and trembling, barely alive. Each had a faint blue, illusory tentacle extending from their body, like a power cable, draining their magic and turning them into living batteries. The energy converged into a blood-red mist on the church’s high platform.
The mist seemed to form an altar, above which the blood-red crack extended, piercing the cathedral’s dome. From the doorway, they could see the tentacles, covered in protrusions and veins, up close.
They writhed and swayed, evoking the deepest nightmares.
Before the blood mist stood the hunched figure of Sister Luoxia. Compared to when Ye Chui last saw her, she seemed decades older, her face etched with wrinkles, her grey hair hanging in disarray. Her bony, claw-like hands were clasped at her chest.
Her eyes were closed, lips moving as if chanting. Hearing footsteps, she opened her eyes, her aged face showing brief surprise upon seeing Ye Chui’s group, then twisting into a cold sneer. “You’ve come. I was wondering what just happened.” Her cloudy eyes turned icy. “Wade, you killed my son and still dare to face me!”
“If I hadn’t killed him, he would’ve killed me. It was fair,” Ye Chui said warily, shaking his head. “Besides, your son was long dead.”
“No, he wasn’t dead! He was alive, and he would’ve gained a new body soon. You ruined it all!” Luoxia screamed, as if deranged.
“Sister!” Leisha stepped beside Ye Chui, her face urgent and sorrowful. “Please stop this. Give up what you’re doing. I’ll plead for you with the Church.”
“Plead?” Luoxia cut her off coldly. “To be locked in the Church’s sunless purgatory, tormented every moment until my last breath, my soul forever trapped in its painful punishments?”
Leisha’s expression faltered. She knew the Church’s purgatory, where Luoxia, for worshipping evil spirits and summoning an Apostle, would face endless torment.
“I’d rather fall into hell forever, cursing the shameless Church. I won’t abandon what I’m doing!” Luoxia shrieked hysterically, waving her hand towards the blood-red crack above. “My summoned Apostle, punish and ravage them with your wrath. I offer my most devout prayers.”
Tentacles surged towards Ye Chui’s group like a frenzied tide.
“Jiji!” The Valkyrie instantly transformed into her adult form, clad in holy armour, wielding a supreme light sword. With a soft cry, she charged at the oncoming tentacles.
“Six minutes left,” Ye Chui said, checking his iPad, a flicker of worry in his eyes as he watched Jiji. He didn’t expect her to defeat an enemy potentially ten times stronger, but she needed to hold out for ten minutes.
Jiji clashed with the Apostle’s tentacles, accompanied by the crack’s ear-piercing screeches. A massive, fleshy orb emerged, a head at least ten metres wide, textured irregularly. A single eye, occupying nearly half its surface, opened, its black pupil twitching as it surveyed the world.
Its body crawled out bit by bit, growing stronger and more uncontrollable with each passing second.
The Valkyrie struggled against the tentacles, weaving nimbly around them. Her light sword, less potent than Dragon Baby’s flames, still inflicted significant damage. Severed tentacles fell, turning into foul-smelling ash.
But Jiji was clearly outmatched, struggling under the ferocious assault.
Daibi’s face paled from magic drain. Leisha began chanting scriptures to restore her magic, while Green found his purpose, despite not knowing why he’d tagged along. He pulled a stool from his spatial magic book for Daibi to sit on and began preparing jam sandwiches to restore her stamina.
Ye Chui, meanwhile, had vanished.
Luoxia gazed with satisfaction and awe at the emerging Apostle, her eyes filled with hatred for the world. But a knife suddenly appeared at her throat.
She trembled, then looked at Ye Chui, emerging from the shadows beside her, her aged face sneering. “Wade, you’re much stronger than I expected.”
“Luoxia, Sister, stop this, or I’ll have to kill you,” Ye Chui said coldly.
“Poor child, haven’t you noticed? From the moment that crack opened, I lost control. It’s climbing out on its own. No one here can stop it, not even me,” Luoxia said coldly, sitting down as if exhausted, ignoring the knife. Her nun’s robes clung to her frail, skeletal frame. She gazed fanatically at the Apostle, now more than half-emerged.
“I’ll curse this world with my most venomous hatred. Wade, you couldn’t revive Xiusi, so join me in death.”
