**Chapter 172: It’s Up to You**
“Are we… just… abandoned… pawns?”
In the south of Stag Town, the fiery flames of sin engulfed the trees, melting the frost and devouring everything in the thicket. Under a night sky illuminated by scarlet flames, Daniel, with a gaping hole in his chest and half of his face gruesomely mangled, still clutched Olivia’s hand tightly before it slipped away.
*Bang—*
The man’s body collapsed onto the scorched earth, his wide eyes lost their sparkle, void of life.
“Dan…iel…” Olivia sobbed softly.
In the next moment, a thick, bl**d-red light streamed out of Daniel’s slightly parted lips, his nostrils, ears, from the gaping hole in his chest, and his rotting eye sockets, ‘whooshing’ towards Miss Meiser. Daniel’s body rapidly shriveled away, turning into a sack of bones.
This is…
I blinked in disbelief.
Those wisps of ethereal light rushed into Miss Meiser’s body, her eyes flickering with a bl**d-red glow. The bl**d serpents wrapping around her grew thicker, swirling wildly, flames danced around them, entwined with the divine miracle’s golden radiance, releasing an increasingly bizarre spectacle of light.
It’s the Abyss consuming!!!
No, wait… not the Abyss… but something very similar… definitely not just the power of Sin Fire…
The ordinary man is dead…
A flurry of thoughts blitzed through my mind, chaos reigning over my emotions. I couldn’t sort out Daniel’s final words or the bizarre situation unfolding in front of me. I felt cold and numb, frozen in place.
“Daniel!!!”
Carl, enveloped in golden light, charged in from the side. His bl**d-drenched robes billowed, and the once dashing young man had morphed into a disheveled mess, tears pooling in his eyes, face twisted in agony like a demon. He flashed to Miss Meiser’s side, disregarding the bl**d serpents, hands poised to strike as he shouted at her impassively beautiful face: “What the hell—”
*Boom!*
A golden explosion erupted from Carl’s palms, a blinding light instantly turned the night into day. The two figures nearby were swallowed whole, shockwaves rippled outward, gales howled, and the charred earth shattered above us, causing the ground to heave beneath my feet. I squinted against the onslaught of light, retreating with a leap of Moon Step.
“Carl!”
After retreating several dozen meters, I caught sight of Olivia, who let out a heart-wrenching cry, wanting to rush toward the now-blazing light, but her body staggered in the wild winds, barely maintaining her footing. Suddenly, in a flash of golden light, she teleported to a nearby hillside, about ten meters away.
“Pope…sir…”
The echoes of the explosion faded, the pale-faced woman looked up, her side profile flickering in the radiant light, filled with uncontainable sorrow: “Why… we have followed your will… why… at this moment, won’t you show yourself… have we done something wrong… Daniel is dead… why won’t you appear, why abandon us—”
“Pope! Sir—!!!”
That hoarse cry was drowned by roaring winds, disappearing into the void. Stars of light scattered in the air, drifting dust swirled about as Olivia gazed at the fire and gold light exploding ahead of them, her tears mingling with bl**d and grime, moistening her face.
“Olivia!”
With a tangle of complex emotions stirring inside me, I shouted back, “What’s going on? What the heck is happening?! Angel, what’s up with him—?!”
My head was completely scrambled.
Maybe it was Olivia’s emotional turmoil that sparked the flames of anger and impatience in me. I recalled Daniel’s earlier words, how he said the Pope would show up in time to restrain that dancer named Meiser, yet here we were, and that man had failed to make his grand entrance…
My composure slipped away, thoughts spiraling: if he had come, I could focus on one person, deal with the Jester or Miss Meiser—just take them down one by one—why was I stuck in this indecisive chaos…
d*mn that man, what a j*rk! An idiot! What the hell is he up to?!
Even if something went awry, he could have at least sent Isaac! Or that nameless Young Bishop, either would have been enough to resolve this crisis! Why did he let things escalate like this, what was he thinking?!
The Jester might already be running to the town!!!
*Boom boom boom…*
As if in response to my assumptions, in the distant, deadened night sky, fire suddenly flared up in Stag Town, illuminating flickering lights amidst the silence.
!!!
It’s over…
My heart turned to ice.
If I hurry, can I still make it…
With that d*mn dancer around, can I really make it through…
In my dazed state, I heard Olivia whisper softly: “Miss Silvya.”
I snapped back to reality, shaking myself free of my stupor, shouting back at her: “What’s going on? Where’s Angel?! What’s the Church doing—?!”
The woman didn’t answer my query.
“Just go. Get out of here.”
Her voice was calm but held a deathly resolve, hair dancing in the wind, throat choked: “Carl is still alive. Next, it’ll be up to us two to hold her off.”
“……”
I struggled to respond.
“That relic was fake. It was a bait from the dancer to lure us out. The real bl**d Pearl is probably still in that Jester’s hands; he took it and ran. You have to chase him down.”
We could just chase together…
I opened my mouth, but the words refused to form.
Because it felt impossible.
“You heard their conversation; the Jester took the Pearl. He will definitely k*ll more people, using their bl**d to siphon some energy for the relic, to open the Land of Dragons. We cannot let that happen—absolutely not.”
“Miss Silvya, our task is likely about to end here. And you… you must take our place. Retrieve the relic that has been stolen by the heretics for the Church. It’s critical—this was the Pope’s order… At this point, perhaps you’re the only one who can still do this.”
Olivia’s voice wavered, struggling to suppress her tears: “Let it be for the sake of saving those innocent lives…”
With her hands clasped before her, she emanated dazzling golden light.
*Buzz—*
The sound of miracles rang out, reverberating through the bl**d-red night.
In front of my eyes, the turbulent waves of light and flame began to settle, and amidst the dust swirling in the air, the figure of the dancer in a red dress emerged, dragging the bl**d-soaked Carl behind her, leaving a long trail of dark crimson on the ground.
“You all aren’t going anywhere.”
Miss Meiser’s voice echoed ominously.
“Not necessarily…”
*Buzz buzz buzz…*
On the other side, Olivia’s golden glow intensified, the buzzing and vibrations echoed around us. She pointed forward, and countless beams of light converged into a torrent—golden silk shot towards the woman, coalescing in the night sky and showering down dazzling brilliance.
“Now!” Olivia shouted excitedly.
*Buzz—*
With a tremendous sound, the light exploded ahead, and a vast barrier of light descended, trapping Miss Meiser within. In the next moment, the man she was dragging sprang to his feet with a sharp blade of light forming in his hand, stabbing fiercely into the dancer’s leg.
With a clattering sound, countless bl**d snakes surged out of the dancer’s body, wildly barreling toward the golden barrier, the booming clashes echoing ceaselessly. Olivia’s face contorted in pain as bl**d poured from her nose, mouth, and eyes. She gathered all her strength, her voice hoarse as she roared to me: “We will hold her! At least for twenty minutes! You need to leave! Hurry—”
How can I believe you when you’re in that state…
*Moon Step—*
*Boom!*
I leaped atop the towering ice pillar, activating Moon Step, soaring over Olivia’s head. In my peripheral vision, she, a volatile mess, seemed to smile through her bloodied mouth.
“Leave it… to you…”
“Just stay alive, wait for me!”
I nearly screamed, then without a second thought, I shot up into the higher sky, stepping onto the ice platform that gathered beneath me.
