Chapter 73: Rebirth by Fire (5)
The woman reached out with her flawless, jade-white right hand and slowly touched the flowing liquid on the bl**d egg.
“But you’re different. You stand out.”
The thick bl**d instantly soaked her slender fingers, turning them into a nauseating dark red.
“Your current body has already been refined by the essence, a pure deity body. Although you still need some time to adapt to it and get used to your newly restructured flesh, until it’s strong enough to bear the complete power of the deity…”
“I initially wanted this process to be gradual. I’ve got two months to gather enough bl**d to help you digest the power of sin completely, solidifying your new body. Then, with your chaos, you can devour that completely insane essence… the essence of the Goddess of Sin. You need to erase it entirely and make it your sustenance…”
“Silvya, you’re the only one who can do this, not me, not anyone else, just you—with your mother’s chaotic power. But right now, we can’t afford to take it slow…”
“Unfortunately, the Church has already found this place. I don’t have the time or the ability to take you away from here. I couldn’t face that Sword Saint and escape. So… I have no choice but to resort to this plan. Tonight, I’ll k*ll everyone in the town. I’ll wipe them out, using their bl**d to nourish you before those knights arrive, allowing you to be reborn and awaken as a true deity body. That’s the only way I can do this… And all I might be able to buy for you is one night.”
The woman’s single eye hidden beneath her hood flickered red. Moments later, she drew her hand out of the flowing bl**d.
“For just tonight, before dawn breaks, you must constantly maintain your sense of self in the chaos, keep your mind steady, don’t let the essence replace you, swallow it, and then… survive and change something.”
“This indeed is a gamble with no other options; the success or failure… depends on whether you can endure tonight. If your consciousness is ultimately swallowed by the essence, or your body melts away, dying here, then this world…”
The woman paused.
“Let it be.”
She murmured, her body swayed slightly as if she couldn’t stand steady, one hand on her forehead, her face pale beneath her hood, as though she had lost too much bl**d, staring at the floating bl**d-red sphere, staggering back two steps, suddenly remembering something.
“Ah, you can’t hear me right now…”
After a moment.
The woman named Ailna turned her head toward the golden light on the distant horizon.
On the other side of the small town, there were also noisy voices, gradually gathering toward the commotion…
…………
Thirty kilometers east of Meiser Town, the Bearded Swordsman Carlos sat with his back against a sandstone, resting his eyes, when he suddenly lifted his head.
In the night sky above, a large area of swirling golden light flickered into view.
“…Leah, Leah.”
He patted the seemingly sleeping Lapria next to him. Starting from the ground, he stood up suddenly. The woman rubbed her sleepy eyes, her voice sticky and dissatisfied as she asked, “What now…”
“Don’t sleep; look over there.”
Carlos replied, and the woman followed his pointed direction, staring blankly for a moment, then stood up: “That’s…”
“It’s the teacher and the others.”
The man bent down to pick up a package beside him, not looking back as he continued, “That’s a teleport node from the Church. The teacher and the others have already started moving. It’s likely the ‘Grace Scales’ guys are heading this way. We need to hurry, at least get there before they do—”
“Are we really going? Hey!”
Lapria suddenly grabbed his arm: “What do you want to do? Isn’t it already too late?”
Carlos’s footsteps hesitated slightly, but he still didn’t turn around: “It’s not too late.”
“Carlos! What exactly do you want to do? Is just passing a message that simple? What’s the point now? Can you still run away?” The woman glared at his back, her eyes a bit red as she spoke through clenched teeth, “Or are you planning to confront the Church here, standing against the teacher and everyone? For what? For a little girl without a chest or b*tt?!!”
“…You misunderstood, Leah. I’m not just doing it for a girl, nor am I planning to stand against everyone.”
The man gently freed himself from Lapria’s grip: “There’s no need to worry. I just want to go check it out. If there’s danger, I won’t act recklessly. You know I’m not rash, so there won’t be any problems. You don’t need to follow me; it’s unnecessary and unsafe. You can’t do anything there… okay?”
He stepped forward.
After a short while, the sound of “shhh” footsteps came from behind again.
“I’m worried about you.”
The woman’s stubborn voice came from behind: “Let’s go together. Besides, I also want to see what the teacher and the others plan to do.”
The man suddenly turned around: “Leah, you—”
“Carlos, don’t forget, I’m also a Pope Knight.”
He saw her eyes shimmering, blooming a smile in the desert.
The smile was beautiful.
…………
West of the desert.
Hundreds of Golden Armored Knights marched across the Huangshan Ridge in the night, led by the young Bishop, who turned his head to look at the old man riding beside him, a swordsman with closed eyes, his brow furrowed. After a moment, he said, “Sword Saint, are you sure we’re only surrounding the town and not attacking? If we don’t take the chance to raid in the dark, we might give those heretics a window to exploit…”
“……”
The old man didn’t say a word.
The Bishop hesitated for a while, feeling it was not quite right. He couldn’t help but add, “You say most of them are civilians… how can we be sure of that? After all, that female heretic is hiding here; I believe it’s very likely that the town is the new gathering place for the Gate of Truth… Why don’t we take the initiative and control the situation before they can respond—”
“Aresta.”
The old man, known as the Sword Saint, suddenly opened his eyes.
“The last time I saw you was in the Holy City, wasn’t it? That was many years ago… you were just a kid, always following your older brother around.”
The young Bishop named Aresta was slightly stunned.
“Yes, Sword Saint… I didn’t expect you still remembered me… what an honor…”
The old man waved his hand: “I remember you once swore in front of me that when you grew up, you would become a guardian of the deity like your brother, a powerful figure who never backs down from evil… a warrior beloved by the people, a remarkable hero.”
“Y-yes, I can’t believe you still remember that… I’m really… sigh, too bad I don’t have my brother’s talent…”
“Talent is not the most important thing.”
The old man turned his gaze to meet Aresta’s eyes: “What’s most important is that, whether you have that talent or not, you must have a heart willing to protect your people, a passionate heart. Aresta, does that heart still beat within your chest?”
“……”
The young Bishop was somewhat stunned.
He watched the old man’s figure gradually fade into the distance, his gaze flickering and lost in thought.
…………
Above the sky, the thin light dispersed and re-gathered, clouds rolled, stars shifted, and a flock of red birds whistled away from Huangshan.
Not long after, the scarlet sun slowly rose from the east.
A new day was about to dawn.
