Chapter 103: Rebirth (12)
The vision grew hazy.
With every breath, searing pain flared up.
Carlos lifted his head.
Not far away, above the gray sky, a floating black sun was wrapped in red lightning, its surface swirling with dark smoke, yet it seemed… still not making a move.
What’s going on…
If you don’t show up soon…
The man gritted his teeth and stumbled to his feet. Suddenly, someone charged at him and hugged him tightly. This time, he had no strength to resist. He let himself be knocked down, his sword, which was full of nicks, clattering to the side as the approaching knight pinned him down, painfully restraining his hands.
“Faith Organization—”
The knight shouted, only to be blasted away by a crackling bolt of lightning breaking through his shield. He straightened up, stifling a grunt of pain, then promptly went limp and flopped to the side.
“Cough…”
Carlos spat out bl**d, struggling to push the knight’s legs off him. As he propped himself up, he noticed more people charging at him. With the clanking of chains, his waist and legs got ensnared, followed swiftly by his right arm.
Buzz—
Above, the golden cross floating in the gray sky shone with a blinding light. Twisted chains coiled around Carlos’s body, binding him tightly. The Captain of Knights seized his remaining free left arm and with a brutal twist, crack, wrenched his elbow out of its socket. Others held down his struggling legs, while someone from behind wrapped their arms around his head, choking him.
“Lock him down!”
“Don’t give him a chance to escape—”
Clankclankclank…
In the chaotic din, the chains writhed relentlessly, hoisting Carlos off the ground. The other end shot up toward the brilliant cross above, one chain, two chains—soon five or six chains had wrapped around it. The Captain and the others quickly let go and stepped back, looking up.
In their sight, the once-mighty and revered Pope Knight now appeared like a tortured sinner, ensnared by golden chains, dangling in mid-air, soon bound to the judgment cross, unable to escape.
bl**d dripped continuously from his body and from his bedraggled hair, plop, plop.
The Captain silently gazed at the scene, expressionless.
Behind him, in the crowd, Cleric Larix couldn’t help but crack a grin.
“Ha.”
Farther off, in the ruins’ periphery, Bishop Aresta clapped and laughed heartily: “Seems like there’s no need to go overboard! I thought he’d hold out longer!”
“He’s worse off than we imagined.” A nearby cleric nodded, “Bishop, what should we do next?”
“Of course, we continue the ‘Chain of Divine Lock’ deployment.” Aresta replied, somewhat excited, glancing at the distant black sun, “That pesky guy has been dealt with, let’s get him out of here… Don’t heal him just yet, let him bleed a little more until he’s completely incapable of resistance… Hmph, what’s a Pope Knight to me? Daring to defy me…”
As he trailed off, lowering his voice, he searched among the knights and pointed towards the Captain: “You go tell him to now, immediately, start the ‘Chain of Divine Lock’—”
Before the young bishop could finish, a thunderous explosion erupted from about 200 meters to his left, where the Third Knight team was stationed.
“…What?”
The sudden blast stunned everyone into silence, the chaotic voices fading away. Aresta’s smile froze on his face, his instinct driving him to look towards the direction of the explosion.
Boom—
At the same time, a second explosion reverberated.
The immense sound made the earth tremble. The knights from the distant Third Team suddenly erupted into chaos, people screaming, the grunts of horned steeds filled the air, and figures soared high amidst the rising dust. A remarkable splash lifted debris nearly ten meters high. Aresta watched as a figure charged through the crowd like a cannonball, wielding a massive hammer and leaping into the air.
Whoosh—
With a fierce wind howling, the figure soared over the heads of the gawking knights, landing with a bang not far from the Captain and others. Through the swirling dust, they emerged slowly.
“Hey, I say… what are you all doing? Huh?”
She spoke, wielding a gigantic, shattered hammer over her shoulder, her bulky form cloaked in black smoke. Her clothing was tattered, every visible piece of skin marred by hideous burn marks, grotesque wounds scorched by infernal flames and rotting from dead smoke. The burn on her right cheek had even penetrated through to reveal her teeth and tongue.
She looked like a monstrosity clawed out from hell, causing everyone to gasp in sheer terror.
“…A-Apheir?”
“Apheir… Ma’am…”
The horrid, bulky old woman limped through the crowd, her movements slow. The knights were in a tizzy; though they recognized her immediately, they instinctively assumed a defensive stance, retreating. Some tentatively asked questions, while others glanced at Aresta, seeming to seek the Bishop’s orders.
Aresta’s expression had darkened considerably, his eyes locked on the approaching demon, malice radiating from him.
“Ma’am Apheir, what’s… wrong?”
“None of your business.”
The old fiend grinned wickedly, her voice raspy and unsettling: “Kid, I’m asking what you’re doing. Why do you have Carlos tied up? Answer me.”
With every hiss emanating from her, the sound as if steam was escaping, her facial muscles twitched violently, portraying immense suffering, her condition indicating she was on the brink of d*ath. Yet the old woman seemed completely oblivious.
Aresta was somewhat rattled.
“Wh-what am I doing… Mr. Carlos was attempting to obstruct our blockade—”
“Didn’t I tell you and your lot not to act without thinking?”
Interrupting him mid-sentence, she snapped, “How dare you let him get this hurt and strung up on a cross? You truly look down on the Pope Knight.”
“d*mn old hag…”
“…What did you say?”
“I said—”
“Bishop!!!”
Suddenly, hurried hoofsteps approached from the left, as several golden-armored warriors on horned steeds galloped through the crowd. One of them shouted angrily, “Get back! She’s lost her mind! She’s gone crazy—”
“Old lady, how dare you k*ll Bernie!”
Buzz—
The miracle’s light surged from the beast’s back, and amidst the roaring wind, the sharp holy lance shot towards the old woman!
