Chapter 84: Metamorphosis (6)
East of Meiser Town.
Rushing water flooded the parched dirt roads, drowning and demolishing nearly all the grass huts and homes within a two-kilometer radius. The earthen walls and pillars went “splash splash,” collapsing into the water and quickly turning into yellow mud. Scarlet infernal fire burned on the surface, the flickering flames spewing steam, while thick black smoke continuously surged skyward.
Bang!
With a muffled sound, a half-submerged house suddenly exploded, and amidst the mist, a stout figure slowly stood up.
“…Pfft.”
The figure appeared to spit out some bloody froth, then wiped their face. Gripping a heavy hammer tightly in her right hand, she staggered out of the swirling heat mist, her clothes in tatters with several large holes burnt by the flames. Her wet hair clung to her face, and droplets fell from her red nose.
Although she looked a bit rough around the edges, the expression on the old woman’s face was wild and exuberant, reminiscent of a fierce but aging mother wolf. With slightly tipsy eyes brimming with battle intent, she gazed toward the sky in the direction where the flames had just dissipated, over westward.
After a moment, she instinctively groped at her waist and frowned with dissatisfaction.
“No more booze, tsk… frustrating.”
Boom—
A loud roar suddenly erupted, and the old woman’s rotund figure turned into a whirlwind, creating impressive waves on the water surface. She burst through the turbulent flames, “bang bang,” smashing through two walls, and shot towards the west part of the town like a cannonball.
Meanwhile, wrapped in infernal fire, Miss Ailna seemed to sense something. She turned abruptly, catching sight of a shadow flying in from the distant sky. Her brow furrowed slightly, and her bl**d-red long arms waved once more, summoning a skyful of scarlet fireballs that screamed toward it.
Boom boom boom boom boom…
Intense explosions erupted above the small town in rapid succession. Amidst the cacophony, she saw that shadow breaking through the raging red flames, charged with mist and black smoke, maintaining its swift speed as it closed in within mere seconds. The battle hammer swung, generating a gust of wind, and came crashing down.
“Pope Knight…”
“Heretical Females—!”
Boom!!!
Scarlet inferno and boiling water clashed once more on the western side of the town.
Simultaneously, in the center of the town, that burning bl**d-red sphere was slowly yet steadily rising higher into the sky.
The scarlet flames entwined with flowing bl**d, as twisting dead smoke formed several thick black serpents that coiled around the sphere, writhing and mingling. Soon after, the shape of the bl**d-congealed sphere began to deform from a widening crack, bubbles of boiling bl**d emerged and burst on the surface, a thick, sticky sound that sent chills through one’s scalp could be heard, faintly accompanied by the labored, heavy breathing of a young woman.
To the southeast, among the low earthen houses that remained unaffected by the battle, an azure electric arc crackled “zi zi,” scattering impressive arcs of light as it zipped through the air, then suddenly stopped. A scruffy-looking swordsman named Carlos emerged from the electrical light, halting abruptly, eyes shooting upward.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ongoing explosions from the west caused the ground to tremble. Carlos looked up, murmuring, “Teacher…”
Then, he spotted the bl**d-red fireball rising aloft not far away.
“…What on earth is that thing?!”
His eyes widened in disbelief, exhibiting shock: “Infernal fire… dead smoke?! Why are these two things appearing simultaneously… wait, is that… bl**d? Burning, flowing bl**d?! What’s happening…”
What in the world was going on…
Carlos felt a terrible premonition swelling within him.
He had thought he might arrive to find the townsfolk resisting the Knights Order. If that gluttonous girl was here, witnessing such a scene would surely drive her wild and uncontrollable, leading to irrational actions that would alert the Church, spiraling into a tragedy that couldn’t be undone.
That was his biggest fear.
All the way here, Carlos had mulled over this. Initially, he planned to reach before his teacher acted. Assuming he confirmed that the girl had indeed returned, he would quietly sneak into the town, concoct some feasible excuse to lure that silly girl away as quickly as possible.
But as he approached, he saw the golden streams rising from the western sky, realizing it might be too late.
And that little Shay…
Maybe she wasn’t as easy to fool anymore.
Things seemed to be twisting toward a disastrous outcome. Although Carlos appeared calm on the outside, his heart raced with urgency. Yet with Leah accompanying him, he didn’t want to show his worries, fearing to incite her anxiety.
“Rest assured, I have my methods…”
Though he said that, in reality, knowing his teacher would arrive soon, he felt unsure how things would unfold. He could only take it step by step, waiting to see how things played out before making a decision.
He just hadn’t expected it to escalate into such a bizarre situation.
The Knights Order must have arrived outside the town; his teacher was likely there. It seemed someone was clashing with heretics. The battle appeared fierce, though it seemed there were only two figures… possibly Apheir, although the teacher had also made a strike just now, and everything had gone quiet since then.
He couldn’t see little Shay…
Not a single soul was in town, nor did he hear cries of battle… it was eerily quiet… enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
However, in the heart of the town, there was that bizarre bl**d sphere, entwined with infernal flames and dead smoke… what on earth was that thing…
Did his teacher see what was happening here?
Carlos pondered, his expression suddenly stalling.
…Wait.
Infernal fire…
Dead smoke.
Boom—
From the western direction, surging flames soared once again, the residual force of the battle sending various debris skyward before they burned up in the scorching heat. Carlos observed the commotion, and suddenly, a wildly unbelievable suspicion arose in his mind.
Dead smoke…
And infernal fire…
Zii!
With a flash of electricity, the man’s figure leaped atop a roof, swiftly navigating between the ruins, and in just a breath, he arrived near the bl**d-red fireball, standing thirty meters away amidst the rubble. He lifted his head toward the bl**d-red sphere, wrapped in black mist and crimson flames, still rising.
No way.
No way, no way, no way…
“Hey hey hey…”
The thick, iron-scented bl**d sphere, burning with crimson fire, surrounded by numerous dark smoke serpents—it was a sight reflected clearly and painfully in Carlos’s horrified eyes.
“That thing can’t be…”
It can’t possibly be…
That silly girl…
Though the thought was so absurd it nearly made him laugh.
But things had escalated to this extent, with Apheir already engaging the heretics in the west, yet the townsfolk remained utterly motionless. They likely had no chance to escape; they were probably in grave danger. Yet that girl had clearly returned, but she still hadn’t shown up…
That left only one possibility.
Dead smoke, infernal fire…
Apart from her, who else could conjure these two terrifying forces to coexist in this wretched place?
“Little Shay…”
d*mn it.
She could very well be trapped inside that cursed thing…
“Little Shay!”
Carlos shouted tentatively at the bl**d-red sphere suspended in mid-air.
Pfft—
But the next moment, with a slight sound as if something was splitting open, before he could grasp what was happening, a sudden change occurred right before his eyes.
