Chapter 149: Red and Black (Dissolution)
“Ahem!”
Dust danced around as I lay amidst the rubble in a cozy living room, choking on the debris. I pushed aside a hefty wooden beam that had found its way onto my abdomen and clutched my chest, scrambling to my feet.
That old geezer…
I shook my head and stumbled a bit.
A sliver of weak sunlight poured in through a hole in the roof and illuminated my weary face.
I’m so tired…
The fatigue in my body was palpable now.
Waves of Dead Smoke swirled around me, intertwining with the scattered Scarlet sparks, slowly becoming thinner and less fluid, giving me a delightful sense of “totally out of control.” It felt like they were in a delicate “adjustment phase.”
It was like two cranky neighbors suddenly forced to coexist and awkwardly trying to “play nice.” That described it perfectly; I could feel it in my bones.
For now, this little experiment was making both forces incredibly unstable, leaving me feeling all sorts of “not smooth” when using them, unable to unleash the full might, and with time, my body grew increasingly fatigued.
I really just want to catch some Z’s…
Boom—
Suddenly, a flash of white light erupted ahead, and the walls of the home were blown apart. As the bricks flew, Cardinal Nero burst into the room, surrounded by a hint of golden light, rushing straight towards me.
“Mad dog…”
Bam!
A thick cloud of Dead Smoke burst from beneath his feet, instantly filling the room with dark energy. At the same time, I stepped forward and threw a heavy punch right at the golden light.
Bam!
Cardinal Nero didn’t budge, taking my hit straight on his forehead. Flames exploded from my fist, but they fizzled like they’d run out of gas, only managing to spit out a few weak sparks, followed by a soft thud.
What the…
I blinked in surprise and looked up.
The Infernal Fire scattered from my view, revealing Cardinal Nero’s ugly mug beneath the contrast of golden light and Dead Smoke.
He was in pretty bad shape.
His hands had been severed at the wrists, and his once dazzling golden armor was now crisscrossed with cracks and sword marks, nearly unrecognizable. bl**d oozed from the fissures, staining his chest and arms. The golden aura enveloping him became flickering, and the Dead Smoke wafted in, seeping through the cracks, accompanied by the unsettling “sizzle” of his flesh being eroded, releasing a stream of white smoke from his body.
That charred darkness spread like a virus, creeping toward the only part of his face that still looked intact. The skin visibly shriveled away.
It was like he was on the brink of d*ath.
Yet, he stood before me like a mountain, his terrifying visage sending chills down my spine, eyes bl**d-red, lips missing, as he uttered a rusty, ghastly voice that barely resembled human sound.
“Monster… d*e…”
Buzz—
The sound of a Divine Miracle trembled subtly in the thick Dead Smoke.
In the next instant, a brilliant white light exploded from above.
“Ughhhhhhh!!”
Cardinal Nero let out a beast-like roar, spewing a mixture of saliva and bl**d all over my face. In an instant, the Dead Smoke enveloping me was shattered by the white light, and I stepped back instinctively, my heart racing as the blue glow from my right hand flared up. Rolling white mist billowed out like steam, wrapping the entire right side of my body.
Crack, crack…
The icy scythe formed in my palm, and I swung my arm forward.
Crash, crash, crash, crash—!
In an instant, jagged ice sliced out from the space at my feet, whirling with countless ice flakes, as it shot toward Cardinal Nero like lightning. But he bent low and ducked under, slipping through the gaps between several ice shards, closing the distance between us once more.
The ball of light above still gathered energy; my heart raced in my chest.
d*mn that old man…
I raised my left hand, aiming forward.
Boom—
A storm of Ice Mist erupted from my palm, enveloping everything in front of me.
Not enough.
“Yaaaaah—!”
Boom, boom, boom—!
Crackling sounds echoed…
A terrifying force burst forth from my palm again and again, half of the cozy home collapsing under the rampaging frost, Bluestone and wood splinters flying everywhere, and even the lingering Dead Smoke was blown away. The air turned icy, Cardinal Nero’s figure, along with the glowing orb, became buried in frost, leaving only the white expanse before me.
“Ha—ha—”
I panted heavily, retreating a few steps, my eyes wide, suspiciously eyeing the movements in the mist.
Suddenly, a strange exhalation echoed from within the Ice Mist.
“Ha… ha…”
That sound was like laughter, mixed with the breath of some ferocious beast. As the noise hit my ears, I felt a shiver run down my spine, with a vague, trembling dread creeping in.
The next second, a frost-encrusted right leg, still wearing shattered armor, suddenly stepped out from the Ice Mist.
Followed by his body.
And that grotesque, monstrous face.
“Hrgh…”
Frosty mist slowly poured from Cardinal Nero’s mouth.
His tongue frozen, vocal cords clearly damaged, he could no longer produce a normal sound. Chunks of ice fell from his armor with each step, and the exposed remnants of his two severed arms were blue and lifeless, bl**d frozen into chunks.
Waves of Dead Smoke coiled around his broken body, gnawing at the last of Cardinal Nero’s vitality. His face, completely shriveled, was like a gnarled old tree full of holes, the only remaining eyeball was severely shrunk, leaving two hollow sockets that had completely lost their sight, his body shaking violently.
Yet he still stepped forward with resolve.
Rattle…
One step.
“Hrgh… h- honor…”
Rattle…
Two steps.
His shattered chest armor began to crack, bursting apart with a loud pop, revealing countless blackened, rotting wounds along with writhing dark smoke oozing from the openings.
Rattle…
Three steps.
Cold sweat dripped down my cheeks.
Do something…
But the fatigue in my body, along with the overwhelming shock, left me feeling paralyzed and I stood there like a deer in headlights, my hand clutching the scythe trembling.
Rattle…
Cardinal Nero took a fourth step.
The extreme cold glued his foot to the ground, and suddenly there was a crisp snap as his left leg broke at the ankle. Frigid flesh fell away, and his body wobbled for a moment, but he regained his balance and precariously hopped forward on one foot, inching closer.
Right in front of me.
His blue-purple, frozen arm rested gently on my shoulder.
His head jerked back abruptly.
I jolted awake from my shock, my scattered consciousness tightening again.
He’s done for…
“Ah—!!”
With a shout, I swung the scythe upward from below, its blade glimmering with cold light, and with a clang, it sliced through Cardinal Nero’s shattered abdominal armor, embedding deep into his ribcage.
Simultaneously, he slammed his forehead hard against my head.
Bam!
A dull thud resounded.
Then came the sickening crack of my skull as his forehead drove into me, creating a deep dent.
Why…
I let go of the scythe trapped in his breastbone, stumbling back two steps, my vision filled with bright stars as a wave of dizziness hit me, making my weary body nearly topple over.
Buzz—
In the next moment, countless blazing white orbs erupted from the Ice Mist, swirling around me at breakneck speed, forming a cage from all directions.
Thud.
Cardinal Nero’s legs gave way beneath him, and he sank to his knees in front of me.
The golden light enveloping him, now nearly transparent, finally transformed into specks of starlight, drifting away. That powerful state that had shielded him from Carlos’s sword and the Dead Smoke Infernal Fire… had come to an end.
He could no longer withstand the encroaching frost.
“Hrgh…”
Dark brown bl**d, mixed with loathsome black sludge, slowly oozed from Cardinal Nero’s nose, mouth, and ears… from every orifice in his body, slowly solidifying, his body swayed, on the verge of collapsing. Yet his trembling arm was still lifting up at an agonizingly slow pace.
Why…
Won’t you just d*e!!!
Buzzing—
The orbs began to tremble.
Whoosh—
Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind from above struck Cardinal Nero hard.
Boom!
His golden armor shattered instantly.
Ice crystals and bits of flesh exploded, that wind blade obliterating half of his shoulder into fragments.
No bl**d flowed.
Crack, crack…
His raised arm froze in mid-air, his body turning into a lifelike ice sculpture, frozen in place right before me. Those hollow, dark eyes continued to stare me down.
The numerous floating orbs, accompanied by the soft hum of the Divine Miracle, gradually dispersed into the chilling wind.
I took a deep breath, my lips trembling slightly.
“Old…”
That old geezer finally didn’t make it out. I stood there, gazing at the ice sculpture for a long time, then lifted my right fist and smashed its head into oblivion.
That ugly face vanished entirely from sight.
