### Chapter 167: Azure Fire Burning the Moon, bl**d Stained Royal City (Part One)
Whoosh—
The wind loomed overhead.
In an instant, I reacted. There was no time to look up, so I bent my waist down close to ninety degrees and steadied my stance like a horse, ready to meet Captain Gray’s blade against my taut back, bracing for the powerful blow coming my way.
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG—!!!
The clang of weapons clashed like thunder in my ears.
“Ugh!”
A force I couldn’t resist slammed against my back and engulfed my entire body in an instant. I was stunned, my entire back lost its sensation, and I couldn’t help but grunt, teetering on the brink of being flattened against the ground, gritting my teeth to withstand the terrifying power.
CRACK!
The rocky ground beneath me shattered. Debris flew, pinging off the walls around me.
Thud.
A figure dropped beside me.
Due to my position, I could only see her from the thighs down. Still, I instantly recognized who had just attacked me by the billowing black robe of the nun.
In the next moment, the immense pressure on my back suddenly disappeared, and I felt a wave of relief wash over me. However, an unprecedented sense of crisis coursed through my body, and my scalp tingled. I instinctively wanted to retreat, but my feet were already too slow to react—
THUD-CRASH!!!
I took that force again, and finally my knees couldn’t hold up anymore, and I went half-kneeling.
I can’t be knocked down…
“Ah—!” a furious shout erupted.
I bit my lip, swiftly pivoting to the side, shifting the force of the black axe away, which then thudded onto the ground with a resounding crash. I redirected my scythe’s handle to brace against the rocky surface beneath, aiming the blade towards my opponent, and pulled the trigger with my left hand.
ZING—
The blade transformed again into a spear, forcing that figure to stumble backward and take two hasty steps back. Taking advantage of the moment, I pulled the trigger again, turning Captain Gray back into a scythe and swung it toward her feet.
She immediately leaped back, easily dodging my attack.
But you won’t have a second chance!
I quickly shifted my stance, charging forward with my petite frame, raising Captain Gray high and swinging it with all my might toward her head.
“So beautiful…” the nun exclaimed softly.
CLANG—
She raised her terrifying dual-bladed axe beside her, blocking my attack with the handle and quickly formed a fist with her other hand, sending it hurtling towards my face with the force of a whirlwind. Just the sound made it clear what a disaster this punch would be if it landed.
My pupils contracted, my focus sharpened, and I tilted my head to the right, narrowly avoiding the blow, glaring at her gentle face with venomous intent, biting my lip until it bled.
“W-H-Y—!!”
As I shouted, I pressed my body against hers and landed a punch squarely in her abdomen.
WHAM!
Her body bowed forward.
With an icy mist swirling from my fist, the force expanded rapidly outward, ripping through her nun’s robe with a series of explosive sounds, quickly coating it with a thin layer of frost. Her black-and-white veil was blown away, cascading her silvery locks down. She was propelled off the ground, inertia sending her flying back.
Suddenly, pain shot through my scalp, causing me to scream uncontrollably: “Ah—!”
My hair was being pulled…
My body instantly became unsteady, staggering forward a few steps, and my eyes burst with blue light.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—
Countless sharp ice shards erupted from the ground, freezing everything before me.
A surge of bl**d glimmered as Teresa’s legs and waist were pierced directly. She remained frozen mid-flight, unable to move.
I took a deep breath and swung Captain Gray upward from below.
CRACK.
I severed the hand that was tugging on my hair cleanly at the elbow.
That alone isn’t enough…
My arm powered up again. In the next second, Captain Gray was raised high once more, plummeting down—
THUD!
The pitch-black dual-bladed axe, along with the slender arm holding it, crashed to the ground, producing a dull thud.
“Impressive…” she said.
Her tone remained as soft as ever, her face devoid of any sign of pain.
“Truly deserving of being… a hero who slays the Abyss alone.”
I glared at her through clenched teeth.
“Did you do all this…?”
“Yup.”
Teresa curled her lips, a light laugh escaping her. Her smile was still so comforting, pleasing to behold.
But in my eyes, she was no longer the gentle and reliable nun I once knew.
She was a downright demon.
“Maniac… maniac…”
The tumultuous emotions roiling within me made me want to swallow her whole, to shred her to pieces.
“You psycho!!!”
“Ah—!”
With a scream that tore through my lungs, I clenched my fists and unleashed a flurry of punches against her face.
BAM! BAM!
“Why—!!”
“Why are you so cruel—!!”
BAM! CRACK!
I shattered her facial bones, broke her nose, and blinded her eyes.
bl**d splattered onto my face. Even so, it did nothing to quench the fury and sorrow burning in my heart.
“A demon in human skin—! d*mn her, a heretic!”
“Ah—!!!”
I pounded her face till it was a bloody pulp.
Yet Teresa remained silent, smiling. With her slightly trembling, ravaged lips, she spoke through bl**d: “I… regret that we cannot… be… friends…”
…Friends?
I raised Captain Gray high above my head.
“I will never become—friends—with a monster—!”
Swoosh!
I aimed for her neck and swung down with all my might.
bl**d burst like a fountain, drenching my dress.
My hands shook slightly.
Gurgle…
Teresa’s head rolled off and landed at my feet.
Her once beautiful silver hair now stained with bl**d, she was unrecognizable.
I trembled all over, my chest heaving violently. The aching pain in my back finally crashed over me.
“Cough cough.”
I couldn’t help but cough a couple of times, slowly turning around to face a stunned Charles. After a brief moment of eye contact, it was as if he snapped back to reality.
“Miss, save them, please! There are still living children!”
Still… living children?
“Over there!”
He struggled to stand, leaning on the ground, but it seemed his leg was broken. After a few futile attempts to get up, he raised his hand and pointed frantically behind the pool of bl**d, shouting, “Right behind there! Please, save them—!”
Finally, I got it together and hurried to the back of the bl**d pool.
One… two… and five more kids. Their heads were all intact, quietly lying on the ground.
Their minds were still alert. Upon seeing me, their terrified little faces pleaded for help. Among them was a tiny girl, her dirty face scrunching up as she burst into tears the moment our eyes met.
That’s… Aili… she’s not dead… she’s alive…
I felt an almost instantaneous sense of weakness, my legs giving way. Captain Gray clanged to the ground.
My legs shook.
I cautiously walked over, crouching down in disbelief to pick up her tiny body.
“You’re still alive…”
“Thank goodness… Aili… I thought… you were gone too…”
Aili’s eyes widened as she looked at me, a faint scent of alcohol wafting from her exhale. Tears streamed down her trembling pupils, her mouth opening in a silent wail.
She seemed unable to move…
“What’s wrong?”
Suddenly, I heard a strange sound, like something cracking, that ‘crack’ echoed from the pool of bl**d beside me.
I shifted my gaze.
The orb hovering above her spine was now glowing ominously, radiating a bl**d-colored sheen.
A bad premonition surged in my heart, and I instinctively set Aili down gently and stood up.
Whoosh—
Faint, dark brown flames flickered to life in the bl**d pool.
Before I had a chance to comprehend what was happening, the flames zipped into the bl**d orb and vanished.
“The Goddess’s Tear… is complete.”
A voice tinged with delight came from Teresa’s head.
