### Chapter 144: Red and Black (Six)
What’s happening?
Eating, of course…
Hoo—
Cardinal Nero’s figure suddenly burst through the dust, wrapped in white light, and zoomed in front of me. He let go of the necklace pendant hanging on his chest, grabbed my face, and shoved his fingers into my mouth, stirring it like he was making a smoothie.
So salty…
“Mmm…”
“d*mn it, d*mn it! Spit it out!”
Dead smoke rose from the dust, slowly wrapping around him, intertwining with golden light, making a hissing sound that just wouldn’t break through his defenses. The Divine Reliquary necklace around Cardinal Nero’s neck trembled slightly even after he let go, its glow clearly dimmer.
Then, I felt the bondage of the muck lessen a bit.
I might be able to move a tiny bit…
But my hands were still like lead weights.
Just as I was thinking of trying to bite his fingers off, Cardinal Nero suddenly had a lightbulb moment, yanked his fingers from my mouth, and reached down to my belly.
With his palm open, a bright white light burst forth.
Sweet cheese…
Boom boom boom boom!
As the white light roared, bright scarlet flames blazed to life within me, engulfing my entire body— the flames flickered in the air for just half a second before solidifying in that intense vibration, as if even temperature propagation had come to a halt.
A sharp pain stabbed through my abdomen.
The tough armor split again under Cardinal Nero’s fierce assault, and with a crunch, it shattered. My body mimicked slow-motion movie scenes, bending at the waist, my feet leaving the ground as I began tilting backward, but I couldn’t budge even a millimeter.
In the next moment, Cardinal Nero lifted his gleaming white palm and smacked my stomach again.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three consecutive slaps.
Armor shards shot towards my face, hovering in mid-air. Cardinal Nero’s eyes went wide with fury, a hint of madness dancing on his face, his glowing white palm tearing into my belly, plunging deep inside.
bl**d splattered below as my insides were violently stirred.
Yow, does it hurt…
Thump thump!
My heart skipped a beat.
“Heh…”
I forced a laugh through clenched teeth, my pitch-black eyes boring into his crazed face. The next moment, the searing heat within me skyrocketed.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle…
“Ah!”
Cardinal Nero let out a horrifying scream, swiftly pulling his hand from inside me.
He stared at me in shock, stepping back two paces, the golden light around him brighter than ever. His remaining hand was a bloody mess, scarlet flames licking from his palm up to his forearm.
Cardinal Nero frantically tried to extinguish the flames. Green light of healing poured out from the golden glow enveloping him, swirling around, but most of it dissipated in the dead smoke. The remaining flickering lights lunged at the fire, only to be swallowed immediately—completely futile.
The power of the Divine Reliquary… So what?
I wanted to see how long you could stand in front of me under the dual siege of dead smoke and infernal fire!
“d*mn… monster!”
Cardinal Nero’s rage grew, his bl**d-red eyes piercing through the golden black mist, casting a venomous glance at me.
“Even if it means shattering the goddess’s judgment, I will… k*ll you—!”
Boom—
The golden light faded, and his bulky figure vanished once more.
“Pfft.”
I spat out a mouthful of bl**d.
The surrounding buildings continued to tremble, and the heavy feeling of being trapped in the muck only grew stronger.
My body slowly landed, bl**d oozing from the shattered openings in my armor, spilling from the wound in my belly. The bl**d was scalding hot, igniting the cobblestones the moment it touched the ground, flames leaping up four or five meters, bursting through the black mist, the momentum suggesting it could ignite the entire sky.
Collapsed buildings erupted in flames, shattered ground turning to lava. The terrifying heat began to devour everything around.
The wound began to crawl and heal slowly.
The pain sent my brain into overdrive.
I could feel the roaring infernal power swelling within me, almost uncontrollable, forming a delicate… balance against the chaotic energy.
Power surged recklessly.
I lifted my right foot, struggling to take a step forward…
The spewing dead smoke intertwined with the scarlet flames, the forces of red and black swirling in the alley, battling and breaking free from the seemingly frozen mire. Brilliant sparks and swirling black mist danced in my vision, converging into a breathtakingly vibrant river of smoke.
Rumble… Crash…
Buildings, roads, wooden stakes, and bluestones— the entire alley was collapsing, being annihilated under the onslaught of flames and dead smoke, disintegrating into dust in a terrible tremor.
I stepped on lava and took another step forward.
Whoosh—
A pale white light burst from my back. The pitch-black flames ignited and rapidly formed wings, extending slowly at my sides…
But I couldn’t flap them at all.
This was a power more terrifying than the Golden Bell.
Caught in this mire, I was unable to move, nearly powerless to resist— even the dead smoke and infernal fire couldn’t break through the shackles. That feeling of grasping at nothing was as if… some sort of “rule” had changed within the entire area, slowing everything down to a crawl.
Even the healing of my wounds was sluggish.
“Nero…”
In the distance, I spotted Cardinal Nero’s figure.
He was standing atop a distant tall building, looking down at me. From here, he seemed just a tiny black shadow… but I recognized him.
He clasped his hands at his chest, looking like he was praying, with a faint golden glow swirling around him.
Rumble rumble rumble…
Suddenly, a muffled thunder rolled across the sky.
The gray mist parted, and golden light poured down like a waterfall, tearing through the heavens, obscuring the sun, instantly covering the smoky, fire-ridden Royal City in a layer of radiant brilliance.
Crack! Boom! Boom!
Amidst the majestic golden light, countless searing bolts of lightning zipped around up high, converging together, intertwining with the golden glow, stirring the heavens, blindingly bright and impossible to look at, causing a tempest to rise in the city, sweeping dust and debris into the air.
A colossal pressure hit me like a freight train.
I remembered this scene.
Back in the town outside the city, to k*ll Margaret, Nero had used a fearsome miracle to wipe out the entire little town… and that seemingly world-shattering force was about to be unleashed in the Royal City again.
But this time, there were a lot of innocent people in the city.
I gritted my teeth and took a third step.
I was still a long way from Nero.
The searing energy surged above, roaring, stirring up a divine miracle that lit up every corner of the Royal City.
A massive force was about to spill forth.
Getting hit wouldn’t be fun at all…
But I had no way to dodge.
With great difficulty, I tilted my head up, summoning all my strength to draw my blazing wings closer to my sides.
“Come… on.”
If it can’t k*ll me…
Then let me eat it.
Bring it on!!!
Tweet—
Suddenly, a loud bird call echoed through the sky.
In the vast white light, a flock of carefree white birds flew from the south, swirling lazily through the rain of lightning, then dove toward Cardinal Nero.
Tweet—
Their melodious cries eclipsed the sound of thunder, rippling through the Royal City above.
That was…
In the next moment, Cardinal Nero’s figure flashed in the golden light and vanished again.
The golden birds lost their target, swirling in mid-air before crashing back into the blinding brightness. They buzzed through the surging energy, scattering white sparks and tearing through the lightning, causing the swirling energy to dissipate and the golden glow to dim.
Suddenly, a silvery ray of white light shot up from beneath the city, piercing the flock.
Two golden birds were instantly shot down, transforming into flickering light points as they fell. The remaining gold birds immediately flapped their wings and dashed toward the originating white light.
The speed of the birds was astonishing, virtually indistinguishable to the n*ked eye, quickly covering half the distance. In the next moment, brilliant light flashed in the distance, as Cardinal Nero shifted shapes, white light firing from all corners of the city.
Golden birds were struck down one after another.
But the massive energy gathering in the sky, that seething silver lightning, gradually faded and began to unravel.
Is someone coming?
The wind began to still.
The binding force shackling me also sharply decreased.
“Ugh—”
I exhaled a deep breath, slowly starting to move my wrists and ankles, then rolled my neck.
Soon, the strange tremor disappeared. The wound on my abdomen healed rapidly, the dead smoke and infernal fire flowing once more.
Boom!
I stepped forward with Moon Step, leaping onto the burning rubble, landing on a bluestone wall slightly embedded in the ground, my gaze scanning the city below.
“Where are you…”
Suddenly, a brilliant blue arc flashed past a tall tower dozens of meters away, like rushing thunder, darting in my line of sight before vanishing into a nearby alley.
…Huh?
Crack!
In the street hidden behind the houses, several arcs of lightning suddenly lit up.
In the next moment, a flash of golden light appeared, revealing Cardinal Nero’s figure atop a house on my left.
He stumbled a bit, looking somewhat ragged. Several arcs of blue lightning flickered around him, which he then dispelled with a wave of golden light. The faint buzz of the miracle still echoed in my ears, lingering.
In the next moment, a silver figure wrapped in arcs of electricity morphed into a darting flash of lightning, abruptly darting toward Nero, poised on top of the roof with one foot, right hand resting on the hilt of his sword, ready to strike.
Clang—
A glint of cold light flashed as the sword slashed toward his head.
In the nick of time, Cardinal Nero raised his arm wrapped in golden light.
Clang!
The sharp sword struck his arm, producing a crisp ringing sound of clashing blades. The cutting edge split the roof in two, with countless arcs of electricity flashing through the newly created gap, causing debris to tumble down with a crash.
Buzz…
As the golden light flickered, Cardinal Nero vanished again.
Then, a fierce wind whooshed from behind me.
I frowned.
“Hey…”
Boom!
The pitch-black wings burst open from my back, fanning out a storm of white flames that surged toward the back. Amidst the fluttering fire, I turned around, staring at the repulsive, yet divinely-lit face, blocked from advancing by the black flames.
“Do I really look that easy to bully? Sneaking up on me now…”
I stepped forward.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle…
Suddenly, blue arcs of electricity surged beside me.
The turbulent air cleaved through the burning black flames, the electric light zipping over the flames, rushing straight for the top of Cardinal Nero’s head. The silver figure flipped in mid-air, spinning the sword into a dazzling display.
Clang—
The cold light flashed again.
Bang!
Dust erupted dramatically, as the bluestone below was sliced in half by a powerful strike.
Cardinal Nero vanished into the golden glow yet again.
The man in silver armor landed in a roll outside the perimeter of the black flames, one foot firmly on a half-collapsed brick wall, his white cloak billowing in the wind.
“Oi oi oi…”
The man turned around, his voice laced with a hint of sleepy nonchalance.
“What a mess… Little Shay.”
