### Chapter 161: Long Night Dark Fire (Eight)
“Let… us…”
“Play… something… fun…”
Twisted, bl**d-red chunks of flesh squirmed together like a spaghetti mess of oversized maggots and bizarre creatures, all tangled up. Fractured bones jutted out, and at the front end of this meaty monstrosity, a hairy mess lifted slightly—seemingly its head—but there was no face and no mouth. Yet, the unsettling sounds came from that very spot.
Crack, crack… gurgle, gurgle…
Along with that horrifying and nauseating sound, a second dried bl**d-red hand, about five meters long, suddenly sprouted from the top—or back, depending on your perspective—of the flesh mass. In that instant, my scalp tingled, almost like I was zapped by a bolt of electricity. A chill ran down my spine, and I instinctively took two steps back, goosebumps crawling up my arms and back.
“d*mn it…”
I could crush him easily… he had no power to fight back…
But even with all my might, channeling the Frost Order to its absolute limits, to the point where I almost couldn’t control it myself, I still couldn’t k*ll him…
“Monster…” I gritted my teeth.
This was a problem.
The fire before me grew more intense. Scarlet flames erupted from the mass of flesh, spreading to the surrounding land, dissipating the ice mist and melting the frost. The yellow earth cracked as it got damp, and the air temperature skyrocketed.
And the night sky to my right gradually turned crimson.
The next moment, the ground began to shake.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom…
…Oh no!
The instant the tremors began, the crimson light in the sky burst forth like a second sun, illuminating the night. I turned to look, eyes widening, as towering flames surged like a monster parting the clouds, rolling and swirling thousands of meters above. Underneath, the silhouette of Stag Town, along with the refugee camp outside of it, was bathed in a scarlet glow. I could vaguely hear countless voices crying out.
Oh no, oh no, oh no…
He wasn’t targeting me; he was after everyone in that little town!
The blazing light seemed ready to melt the entire silver ground away. What started as white snow transformed into a bl**d-like red. A massive fiery meteor formed in the tumult, booming ominously.
Ahead, the grotesque mass of meat, engulfed in flames, “stood” up. Two gigantic hands pierced the ground to support itself, its twisted body writhing and making disgusting sounds. The mass lacked eyes, but I felt a strange sensation that it was somehow looking at me.
“Hil… Viga.”
The raspy voice, as if something sticky was stuck in its throat, echoed again, amplified by the crimson light and fire, giving it an eerie vibe. Despite the grotesque metamorphosis, I could still faintly recognize that it was the voice of the Jester.
“You have… thirty seconds… to k*ll me, to stop this… disaster, and save… the townspeople…”
d*mn…
“Ugh—”
The moment the words left its mouth, my eyes suddenly shone with blue light as I thrust my hands forward. A violent cold wind erupted once more, swirling with countless ice spikes and frost, tearing through the yellow earth and breaking through the flames, slamming into the grotesque mass ten meters away!
Bang, bang, bang, bang—
The barrage of icy blasts pounded against the mass, a dozen ice spikes instantly piercing into it. bl**d flowed out, ignited by infernal fire, melting the spikes away. At the top of the mass, fiery red hair grew and spread like a beast’s fur, gradually engulfing the bloody flesh. Amidst the roaring cold wind, its bizarre taunts continued, crystal clear.
“Once thirty seconds pass… divine punishment will descend, and the raging flames… will burn all there… without leaving a single one…”
Not on my watch!
Buzz—
My fingers spread and closed again, unleashing the frozen world once more. The once-scorching air suddenly turned cold again, mist rising from my body. In the next instant, the burning crimson flames halted as if time itself had frozen. The flames, which had already grown waist-high, diminished with a whoosh.
The already melted earth was re-frozen, frost spreading rapidly. It climbed the monster’s hands, turning the fire into ice, consuming it again and again, but the mass’s writhing slowed, although the hair continued to grow.
“Take that!”
I shouted, channeling all my frost power and forming an almost two-meter-long, thick ice spear, launching it at the monster with a swoosh! At the same time, I spun on my heel and activated Moon Step, racing toward Stag Town!
Thirty seconds…
I couldn’t k*ll him…
But with all my strength, I could smash that fiery meteor to pieces!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The wild wind howled by my ears as my petite figure flickered across the frozen scarlet ground like a ghost. Suddenly, with a massive explosion, an enormous ice pillar shot up from the ground, launching me into the air, and I soared thirty meters high!
The next moment, darkness loomed above me as a giant bl**d hand came crashing down!
Thud!
The strike came silently and out of nowhere. I was completely unprepared, getting smacked directly by the searing palm. My freshly launched body plummeted like a cannonball back to the ground. My head buzzed; I wasn’t sure if I hit it, but I struggled to get up, feeling a sharp pain in my left ankle as soon as my foot touched the ground. My vision swayed, but I managed to look up—there, the meat mass hovered in mid-air, amidst the cold wind, its enormous body looming like dark clouds overhead.
The mass… no, it was no longer just a mass of meat.
bl**d-red hair fully enveloped it, and a head began to form—an ugly visage, somewhat resembling a deer, with its cheeks bristling with spikes and a pair of twisted horns atop. Its gaping maw was filled with savage fangs, and aside from its two bl**d-red arms, its body was completely hidden in a dense mane of fur.
Chunks of frozen frost continued to melt and fall from its body, glittering fragments raining down, evaporating into the air. On that fiery mane, flickers of flame danced, and overhead, the night sky glowed more crimson than ever, resembling a doomsday scene.
“Twenty seconds…”
The demon-like raspy voice boomed from above.
“You have twenty seconds to k*ll me.”
Half-angel…
In an instant, visions of Teresa Monster hatching back in Royal City flashed through my mind. I recalled the “live meat” I’d seen among the heretics’ corpses in the Southern Territories, and not long before, the woman named Mase, along with her ominous and mysterious servant, had shared ominous terms and admonitions with me…
Some things suddenly became clear in my mind.
The Gate of Truth…
“Heretic!!!”
I roared at the sky, my throat almost breaking in my attempt to unleash my pent-up emotions—but deep down, I knew that killing him would be difficult, especially before that fiery meteor fell.
The power of the Frost Order alone wouldn’t be enough…
But if I couldn’t do it, the town’s people would d*e.
Daniel had said the Faith Organization could barely withstand another catastrophic inferno like that.
“Goat Cheese!”
I called out to the night sky again, but this time, it wasn’t to vent my feelings.
“GOAT! CHEESE—”
“Caw!”
In the fire-red night sky, a pitch-black raven swooped down, cawing.
The Jester, transformed into that monster, immediately noticed, tilting his head slightly, showing no sign of concern. A fist-sized fireball shot out from the swaying mane, whizzing through the chilly wind and precisely striking the speeding Goat Cheese. The flames exploded, and the raven let out a dreadful cry, dropping some feathers before vanishing in a puff of black mist.
The dim-witted bird was sent flying, but quickly regained its flying posture and swooped down toward me with greater speed. Moments later, it landed on my shoulder, its wings flapping unharmed. Its scarlet eyes gleamed with a strange brightness, and after giving me a long stare, it fixated its gaze on the hovering monster above.
Alright, let’s see what happens…
“Jester!”
I called out to him.
And then, the raven’s eyes shone with bl**d-red light.
—Oblivion.
