**Chapter 648: Fury**
Inside the expansive and towering St. Hymn Cathedral, a battle that appeared to be both sacred and profane was ongoing. The ferocious black beast was approaching its end under the pure light wielded by the Nun.
As the Light Spear pierced Duval’s heart and continued to evaporate his flesh, the demon wolf, already ravaged and drained from previous battles, finally reached the end of its life. When the sunlight lance wielded by the white Nun carved through its body, the wolf’s massive, misshapen form crashed to the ground, gradually succumbing to exhaustion.
‘We won!’
Seeing the monstrous scene before her, Vania couldn’t help but feel a moment of joy, but what she didn’t expect was that the supposedly dead body would undergo a sudden transformation.
“Be careful! That guy isn’t dead yet!” At that moment, Dorothy’s voice echoed within Vania’s mind. Feeling a swell of caution, Vania activated her Mind’s Eye and saw one of the demon wolf’s severed arms lunge towards her.
Vania jumped back just in time to evade the attack from the dismembered limb. After missing, the enormous body of the demon wolf, which had been slowly toppling, thrust out its remaining paw at the severed stump, using it to prop itself up. Then, with a squelching sound, a pair of new, hairless wolf claws grew directly from the stump, pushing against the ground to lift its entire body. Vania’s eyes widened at this scene.
‘This guy… is somehow still moving?!’
In shock, Vania swung the Light Spear again at the seemingly revived demon wolf, but the giant creature leapt back, evading her attack and creating distance between them.
What happened next left Vania even more astounded; the evaporated flesh and bl**d on the wolf’s body began to regenerate at an astonishing rate. Both the pierced heart and severed head started growing back rapidly, emerging in a raw, hairless, fleshy form.
Countless bl**d vessels and muscles spread within the hollow cavity of the demon wolf’s chest, ultimately forming a heart exposed to the outside, pulsating and larger than two or three footballs. A new brain began to grow atop what remained of the wolf’s skull, accompanied by a fleshy jaw and sharp teeth. Meanwhile, the wolf’s body became extremely gaunt, with many parts appearing skeletal, as its once robust muscles seemed to manifest on the vaporized organs.
“Roar!!”
With no fur, its brain and organs fully exposed, the single remaining wolf head opened wide and emitted a terrifying roar. The powerful sound surged from its mouth, creating a shockwave that rustled Vania’s clothes, shattering the colorful stained-glass mosaics depicting countless religious scenes within the cathedral into shards that rained down.
This roar was far more fearsome than its previous howl, and being affected at such a close range caused Vania’s heart to waver. Keep in mind, she was currently under the protective focus granted by the cathedral. In response to the overwhelming situation, Dorothy shared the ability of her Black Moon Amulet to resist the effects of “Shadow” with Vania, allowing her to confront this intensified fearsome roar head-on.
Revival Fury… This was the last ability of the Fear-eating Demon Wolf. The moment its body transitioned from near-d*ath to actual d*ath, this ability would be triggered. It harnesses all remaining unutilized spirituality from the wolf’s body and converts it into an extremely potent stimulant, forcing the dying wolf’s body to revive and heal its critical wounds at an extraordinary speed.
Under the influence of this adrenaline-like stimulant, the Fear-eating Demon Wolf’s body would become thin, with all injuries restored just enough to allow movement, and its overall physical attributes would enhance to nearly a golden tier. However, under such stimulation, the wolf would completely lose its reason, becoming a raging monster driven only by insatiable hunger and the urge to k*ll, regaining its sanity only after gorging itself.
The more damage the demon wolf sustained, the harder it found it to suppress its beastly instincts, while nearing d*ath caused its reason to evaporate entirely, plunging it into full-blown rage—this was Duval’s current state.
In this frenzied condition, the demon wolf fixed its brutal crimson gaze on Vania, the nearest living being. Immediately, Vania felt an unprecedented sense of danger; her Mind’s Eye warned her that she was about to d*e.
The Mind’s Eye can see through and even predict the actions of enemies in battle, allowing Vania to strike or evade first. However, in this case, the only prediction returning to Vania was that she would d*e; any attempt to evade or counter would be futile, and in the next moment of the wolf’s attack, she had no chance of survival.
This situation stemmed from an overwhelming physical advantage; the speed and strength exhibited by the frenzied demon wolf surpassed Vania’s limits for response. Before such explosive disparities in their physical stats, no amount of skill or prediction would save her. Although Vania’s body had undergone several enhancements, it was still inadequate to support any actions capable of avoiding the wolf’s attacks. Her Mind’s Eye informed her of how to dodge the wolf’s next strike, but her body simply couldn’t execute those actions.
In the instant where the clock’s second hand had yet to move forward, the revived demon wolf charged. Its limbs propelled it forward, leaving a deep pit in its wake as it rushed toward Vania like a black blur while another smaller black apparition shot from the shadows to strike the wolf from the side.
With its heightened sense of smell enhanced further, the demon wolf detected the ambush launched at it, instinctively swinging its paw to slash at the approaching shadow. In a nearly imperceptible move, it struck, and in an instant, the shadowy figure flickered from existence, dissipating into dark red mist.
However, at that moment, an invisible thread connected the shadow’s essence to the demon wolf’s form. Through this spiritual thread, Dorothy expended a large amount of “Enlightenment” spirituality to control the frenzied wolf, coupled with a small jolt of electricity.
The combination of the spiritual thread’s control, the jolt, and the distraction provided by the shadow allowed Gethsmoor to be restrained for a few seconds. But for a demon wolf fueled by a surge in physical abilities, these influences only briefly delayed it by less than a second. However, that single moment granted Vania a potential opportunity through her Mind’s Eye.
Following this opportunity… Vania would still d*e, but this d*ath offered consequences unlike any other.
With a solemn expression, Vania faced the charging demon wolf rather than retreating. She took a bold step forward, thrusting her Light Spear once again at the wolf.
The massive claws of the wolf slashed toward her, but Vania sidestepped most of the attack. Ultimately, only the small edge of a claw grazed her body, but even that flick flashed through immense power, causing Vania’s left abdomen and chest to vanish entirely, her torso losing a third of its mass. Nevertheless, Vania’s assault did not cease; she continued her advance with the Light Spear pointed at the wolf.
‘Accept… the Lord’s judgment!’
At last, Vania drove her Light Spear into the wolf once more, piercing its heart. The heart, exposed and unprotected, was instantly evaporated by the lance.
In its Revival Fury state, the Fear-eating Demon Wolf was essentially devoid of spirituality, merely jolted full of false life, and in this state, it could not recover from its injuries, let alone mortal wounds. Since its rampage, it had not consumed anything.
Thus, after the heart was once again pierced, the demon wolf’s body lost its last remnants of life. The crimson fury in its eyes dissipated, and its enormous form collapsed at an angle, entering d*ath once and for all.
On the other side, after finally slaying the wolf, Vania involuntarily coughed up bl**d. The Light Spear in her hands dissipated swiftly, her white form, now stained with bl**d, fell weakly to the ground. Having lost a third of her torso and with critical organs like her heart destroyed, even Vania, blessed with enhanced healing, had little chance of survival.
Just as Vania collapsed, a bl**d-red light flickered at her waist. At the top of the grip of a slender sword hanging by her side, a large ruby, akin to bl**d, glimmered with a faint glow that resonated with the damaged areas of Vania’s body.
Similar to the miraculous revival moment of the demon wolf, Vania’s missing flesh began to undergo a miraculous and rapid healing process.
Muscles and bl**d vessels writhed as if driven by their own will, staunching bl**d flow and linking to each other, while new muscle tissues, bl**d vessels, and organs grew over the remaining fragments of her body. Her left lung swiftly regrew, and the heart that had been reduced to half began to beat again.
Nerves… bl**d vessels… organs… muscles… skin… Within just a few dozen seconds, Vania’s missing body parts fully regenerated, leaving only a few damaged clothes as evidence, while her pale and delicate skin remained spotless of bloodstains.
“Ha… Thank you, Lord…
“And thanks to you too… Miss Dorothy.”
Lying on the ground, Vania felt her previously muddled consciousness returning to clarity, her once-labored breathing becoming smooth, and the excruciating pain vanishing without a trace. She let out a long sigh, sincerely grateful in her heart.
“No need for thanks… Everything is as we agreed, right? No matter the situation, I will ensure your safety; that’s my top priority.
“That beast’s revival did indeed take me by surprise, but now it seems this is the end of the line; that was close.”
Still seated within her carriage, Dorothy whispered to Vania in her mind. Duval’s sudden revival had genuinely startled her. Without Dorothy’s intervention, Vania would have been instantly killed before she could react.
Although it seemed as though Duval’s rampage was resolved easily, the danger was profoundly present in that seemingly perilous moment. In his frenzied state, Duval’s strength and speed were immensely heightened. Under normal circumstances, Vania wouldn’t just lag physically; even her thoughts would struggle to keep up with his powerful explosive burst.
The Mind’s Eye could help Vania see through and predict attacks, but that required Vania to process the information in time. The Mind’s Eye was a skill for reading information, not processing it. The explosive burst of the frenzied demon wolf exceeded human thought speed, theoretically able to tear Vania apart in under a second, without allowing her a moment of surprise or time to figure out how to cooperate with Dorothy’s actions.
The reason this did not occur was that Dorothy shared her cognitive power with Vania. With the support of the remarkable computational ability from the Extraordinary Being at the Red Tier “Enlightenment,” both Dorothy and Vania’s thought speeds were significantly accelerated, enhancing their information-processing capabilities. The rapid ability to think allowed Vania to consider more within a reduced time frame, even experiencing a sensation of time dilation where everything moved more slowly, including her enemies and her own body.
Thus, at that moment, Vania’s thoughts outpaced the demon wolf’s explosive charge, while the wolf’s attack exceeded the limits of Vania’s physical movements. Dorothy’s support and control allowed Vania to find an opportunity in front of the frenzied wolf, enabling her sluggish body to produce an effective counterattack that ultimately defeated the wolf. Had her mental speed not surpassed the wolf’s, Vania would have been killed and devoured before she could even realize the wolf’s anomaly, with no chance of rescue from Dorothy or anyone else.
“Well, since that guy is dead now, it’s time to handle the aftermath.”
Dorothy, sitting in her carriage, softly uttered, then the invisible spiritual thread extended from her, reconnecting to the demon wolf’s corpse as she prepared to control it for some follow-up. However, upon sensing the condition of the corpse, she frowned slightly.
“What’s this…”
Noticing the abnormality, Dorothy immediately communicated with Vania’s mind.
“Vania, go over and cut open the wolf’s abdomen, open its stomach; I’ll guide you to the specific location. Be careful.”
“Open the stomach?”
Upon hearing Dorothy’s instructions, Vania, barely having regained her footing, felt puzzled but approached the fallen demon wolf’s corpse nonetheless, drawing her blade from her waist.
After cutting into the wolf’s abdomen, amidst a wash of bl**d, she successfully located the massive stomach. Upon opening it, Vania’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Inside the wolf’s stomach, she observed a gigantic worm, approximately the size of an adult’s arm, coiled up. The worm’s flesh-colored, boneless tail was parasitically attached to the wall of the wolf’s stomach and was covered in slick, disgusting mucus, as it greedily wrapped around an opened book with a dark red cover.
The pages of the book bore countless mysterious writings, and the head of the worm, lacking eyes, used numerous extending tendrils to make contact with the text, scanning a page before rapidly turning to the next and continuing its exploration.
This book was the Secret Transmission “True Crimson Holy Mother,” and that parasitic entity appeared to be reading?!
