Chapter 96: Nero’s Divine Reliquary
After the hurricane calmed down, the dirt and debris that had filled the sky began to tumble back to earth. The dust was lingering, blocking my view, and visibility was still low—hardly anything was clear beyond a few meters. Only vaguely could I perceive a faint golden glimmer shining from the direction of a distant town, where flames flickered.
DONG—
The heavy bell rang again.
In front of me, shrouded in the glow of the Golden Bell, Bishop Nero fell flat on his face with the second toll.
His overbearing body had vanished…
An opportunity!
Realizing this, I quickly focused, my right hand squeezing the trigger of Captain Gray’s weapon. The gears turned with a clanking sound as the black chains were rapidly retracted into the scythe handle. The sharp black blade transformed back into its giant scythe form, and in the next moment, I hoisted Captain Gray high above my head.
SWISH SWISH SWISH…
The air whirled into a gust, causing the dust around to rise up again. A thick torrent of black mist surged from within me, climbing the scythe blade and condensing at its tip. Captain Gray trembled excitedly in my hands, buzzing like an angry bee.
Compress…
Even more compress…
Feeling that I was close to the limit, I stepped forward and swung the giant scythe down towards Bishop Nero.
Chop!
SWOOSH—
The crescent-shaped black blade foamed like a whirlwind as it slashed down, carving a deep ditch in the scorched earth, enveloping the bursting mud and dirt, and in the blink of an eye, it descended like a meteor into the golden light, aimed at the struggling Bishop Nero still lying on the ground.
In a hair-raising moment, he sensed the danger and let out a desperate roar while awkwardly rolling to the side. The sting of the black blade grazed past him, shrieking into the night.
“Aaaaaah—”
bl**d splattered amidst the golden glow as Bishop Nero released a wretched howl.
Looks like he’s in trouble!
A gleeful feeling bubbled in my chest.
Suddenly, that slightly chubby figure vanished from the golden light.
Where did he go—
VROOM!
The air before me twisted violently, a blinding light flashed right in front of me, and before I could react, Bishop Nero appeared mere inches away.
He was soaked in bl**d.
His bare upper body was marked with wounds of all sizes, and a half-finger-wide gash on his neck was gushing bl**d but slowly healing. The blade had sliced open the area from his left chest to his lower abdomen, revealing fat and raw meat, exposing several ribs. I could even faintly see his insides slightly writhing.
Black Dead Smoke hissed from his wounds, continuously gnawing at his flesh with a nauseating ‘sizzle’ sound, and even half of his face was shrouded in the ominous mist. This Dead Smoke was fiercely resisted by the weak golden light swirling around him, failing to penetrate any further.
His hair was still laced with frost, his mouth frothing with bl**d, his face contorted with rage—he emanated an aura of ferocity. The eye that wasn’t covered in Dead Smoke glimmered with a wild, beast-like panic.
“WHITE—! NIGHT—!”
Bishop Nero screamed.
You would think he was trying to impersonate a banshee.
The tension peaked; in a flash, Bishop Nero grabbed my throat with a bl**d-soaked hand. His palm met my armor, and I heard a sizzling sound from my neck—as if wet meat was tossed into a frying pan. But Bishop Nero didn’t care. He squeezed with enough strength that, combined with my slow reaction, I stumbled back two steps.
A golden glow erupted in front of me once more.
What’s he planning?!
As the black mist erupted from beneath my feet, I raised Captain Gray and swung down hard at his head.
“AHHHH!”
I’m not afraid of you!
The blade glimmered menacingly, cloaked in dark mist and wind, slicing toward Bishop Nero, just as his fingertip rested on my forehead.
Oh no…
In an instant, a wave of intense danger washed over me, icy fingers creeping up my spine while my hair stood on end. I jolted, using every ounce of strength to j*rk my head to the side—just hearing a ‘whoosh’ as a blazing light barely grazed my cheek and shot behind me.
That hurts!
It felt like I had pressed my face against a hot iron; the unbearable burn made my lips twitch. The pain faded quickly, leaving my right cheek numb and devoid of sensation.
At the same moment, Bishop Nero ducked, narrowly dodging the attack of my scythe. The blade skimmed over his head, slicing off several needles of hair. He gathered a surge of golden light in his right hand, and with a whoosh, he threw a punch straight at my face. I switched the scythe to my left hand, preparing to counterattack at his side.
Dead Smoke and golden light pulsed around us.
Then, as I bent low to dodge his punch, the golden light exploded in front of me.
BANG—
The dazzling brilliance struck my face in an instant.
I felt no pain, just an inability to open my eyes.
Then a tremendous sound came from below.
KABOOM!
A heart-wrenching twist gripped my stomach as my body was sent flying.
SHRACK… CRACK…
I flipped and crashed into the ground, only to bounce again, the only sound in my ears being the crackling of breaking branches. I felt my insides churning like a storm; it was as if my intestines were knotted, and I nearly lost control from a surge of urgency, not knowing how far I’d flown or how many meters I skidded before finally stopping, with dirt and sand in my mouth.
Dad…
“Ugh—”
Before I could even get up, I hurled.
It hurts…
It hurts so much!
I couldn’t help but reach for my stomach.
My palm no longer felt as cold and flat as before; instead, I felt hot cracks. I quickly looked down—the Abyss Mud armor had begun to crack from where I was hit on my left side. Numerous cracks bloomed like petals, extending erratically around, all the way up to my chest.
I felt several pieces fall into my palm.
Hot!
I swiftly dropped the still-smoking shards on the ground.
The armor is breaking…
Thank goodness the inner soft mud layer is unscathed; otherwise, I’d be toast…
“Ugh…”
I endured the searing pain and struggled to stand up.
In the next moment, a gust of wind, accompanied by a shockwave, rushed towards me at terrifying speed.
Bang, bang, bang—
I…
Moon Step!
As my feet kicked off the dirt, I teleported ten meters away to the grass and turned around—scarlet fire tore through the sound barrier, accompanied by continuous booming sounds, slicing through the air and zooming past where I had just been standing.
That fiery line was like a dragon’s breath, scorching everything in its path; it looked no thicker than a thumb, but the suffocating heat was enough to make me, already far out of harm’s way, feel the danger still lingering. I executed Moon Step again, retreating another twenty meters.
That’s…!!
The fiery line surged past, just a meter above the ground, shooting towards the distant darkness until it faded from view. Where it passed, mounds of grass, dirt, and debris were lifted five or six meters into the air, ignited like bl**d-red flames, swiftly disintegrating into ash and dust, leaving a long, deep scar in the ground.
The scorching heat hit me head-on, making my cheeks sting.
This power…
Just by watching, I could tell if I got hit by it, I’d definitely… was that what hit me earlier?!
It probably was…
What kind of divine miracle is that?!
Suddenly, a ridiculous thought bubbled up in my mind: this was the Sin Fire of the Gate of Truth.
But I quickly dismissed it.
No, that can’t be right…
It might look similar, but this power is magnitudes greater… the color is darker, too… enough thinking, focus!
WHOOSH—
The black flames surged again around me.
My head throbbed like it had been stabbed.
I gritted my teeth, massaging my temples as I stared at the distant Bishop Nero, wrapped in golden and crimson light, burning the soil beneath his feet.
He raised his right hand in my direction, and it seemed that from his thumb, scarlet flames engulfed his whole palm.
At the same time, black flames started swirling around me, a blue arm reaching out from within the flames, crashing down toward the ground.
Give it your all, take him down…
BAM—!
Grass, ash, and dirt mixed together, soaring into the air.
Countless fiery orbs filled with black flames surged skyward, whistling into the night, soaring past the sun standing in the fields under the moonlight.
“Nero…!”
At that moment, from the distance of the burning town, I heard a weak, intermittent female voice calling out.
…Margaret!
“How dare you—how dare you violate the doctrine… Without permission! Recklessly using the power of the Divine Reliquary! Have you gone mad?!”
…!
What does she mean by that…
Is that the Divine Reliquary?!!
The fireballs whistled through the night, closing in on Bishop Nero.
“Stop it—”
Margaret continued shouting as her voice drew nearer.
“Otherwise, I will also use the Divine Reliquary… to impose judgment upon you!”
As those words resonated, the scarlet glow around Bishop Nero gradually dimmed, and the flames were extinguished within the golden light.
In the next instant, a torrent of black fire rained down.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—
The explosive sounds rolled over the fields endlessly, like secret blossoms bursting open in the distance, shaking the ground beneath me. The shockwave hit my face, and strands of hair whipped past my lips. I wiped my mouth and squinted my eyes.
Turning toward the source of the voice.
Beneath the night sky, illuminated by the faint moonlight, a graceful figure rode a magnificent white horned horse, galloping toward me across the tattered terrain. She raised one hand as she clutched the beast’s back, a dazzling radiance bursting from her palm. As the iron hooves stomped through scorched earth, life surged forth around her; where she passed, flowers bloomed, and the ground came back to life.
She resembled a goddess of life in legends, revitalizing all things.
So beautiful…
A sudden gasp of admiration rose within me.
I lowered my gaze at my hands encased in black armor, glanced at the menacing blue arm beside me, and at the swirling mass of black flames and thick smoke that represented d*ath, suddenly wanting to hide my hands behind my back.
The blue arm complied, retracting swiftly into the flames.
I sighed in relief.
I didn’t want her to see this…
Then I looked up and saw Bishop Nero’s figure emerging from the flickering golden light not far to the left of the explosion. Before he could steady himself, countless slender vines burst from the ground beneath him, latching onto his body and immobilizing him.
Nice work!
Seeing this, I scratched my itching cheek and tightened my grip on the scythe, charging forward.
But just as I took a few steps, a radiant white light erupted from the vines, indiscriminately shooting in all directions. The light was sharp as blades, slicing the vines encircling Bishop Nero into several pieces. The vines lost their life force instantly, falling quiet at the Bishop’s feet, giving him a chance to slip out of the severed straps.
As he took a few steps, Bishop Nero stumbled, barely managing to stand.
!
The chubby guy’s on the edge…
I inhaled deeply, bent my knees, and jumped high.
I guided the black flames, quickly gliding towards him.
On the other side, in my peripheral vision, Margaret was getting closer once again, once more emanating golden light.
Bishop Nero lifted his right hand toward me… but then suddenly turned toward Margaret.
“Watch out!”
I yelled out loud.
But a moment later, he lowered his hand.
Then he stood still, turned his head, and looked at me deeply.
That glance sent chills down my spine.
What is he planning…
VROOM…
In the next moment, the golden light flashed, and Bishop Nero vanished from sight.
!
I immediately tensed.
Then, far off, at least a hundred meters away in the wilderness opposite Margaret, I caught a glimpse of shimmering golden light that quickly disappeared, darting into the distance.
…He’s trying to run!
Frustration and urgency filled my heart.
This chubby guy is so fast!
Realizing this, I immediately directed the flames in the opposite direction, ready to chase him down with all my might.
“Don’t… don’t chase him!” Margaret suddenly shouted.
“Why not?!”
I turned around.
Suddenly, I saw her sway and tumble off the beast’s back.
