Chapter 68: Breach of Contract
The inside of the church was spacious, with scarlet stained glass hanging from the ceiling, reflecting the image of a blood-red moon. In the center lay a pitch-black coffin, empty save for a scarlet gem like a tear, quietly glowing with a tragic, enchanting light.
【Warning: Ancient demigod’s medium detected!】
Looks like that’s the proof of the False King!
Roy felt a stir in his heart.
Nia next to him brightened up, eager to rush over, but Roy grabbed her suddenly.
“Hold on, there could be danger.”
Nia paused, obediently stopping in her tracks.
Of course, with treasure in sight, how could there not be traps?
“Don’t worry, I’ll be extra careful,” Nia said, about to move forward, but Roy still held onto her.
“I’ll handle the treasure; you stay on guard,” Roy explained. “My defense is higher, so it’s safer if anything happens.”
An inheritance from the Blood Clan of the First Era? It’s bound to be dangerous. Plus, with the reverse fate node presence, Roy couldn’t let Nia take risks.
But upon hearing this, Nia frowned—her attitude became even more stubborn: “Not necessarily. If we’re talking, my reaction speed is faster; I can escape danger more easily.”
Roy was here for this practical test just to accompany her; if something really happened to him, she wouldn’t forgive herself.
The two stared each other down, neither willing to back down.
With treasure right in front of them, someone had to take the risk.
With no other choice, Roy proposed a compromise: “How about we decide it by rock-paper-scissors?”
“One round wins it all; whoever wins gets to go.”
“Sure.”
When in doubt, rock-paper-scissors is the answer.
Fortunately, luck was on Roy’s side this time.
“Fine, you go!” Nia cried out, clutching her head dramatically.
Before reaching the bloodstone, Roy casually reminded the girl next to him.
“Just so we’re clear, if something goes wrong, I can’t save you, and don’t come looking for me. If we can escape, one of us has to!”
Though he didn’t know if this was where Nia got severely injured in the original story, Roy had to prepare for the worst.
Nia, holding her head, pouted, not offering a word of response, leaving Roy unsure if she’d even listened.
Roy shook his head and approached the ominous black coffin alone.
The silence around was terrifying, only the scarlet light flickering.
The young boy held his breath, slowly reaching for the bloodstone.
Sure enough, even before he touched it, the entire secret church began to tremble, and then, from the void in front of the bloodstone, a scarlet magic circle emerged.
A torrent of blood-red light rushed towards him, and Roy felt an icy chill run through him; alarm bells rang in his head as he instinctively dashed back as fast as he could.
A massive scarlet scythe flashed before his eyes, sending Roy flying through the air.
In midair, a shadow of a black shield appeared, only to vanish in the blink of an eye—that was the shattered Obsidian Shield.
Within the scarlet magic circle, a silhouette holding a giant scythe gradually took shape; aside from its vague features, it bore a striking resemblance to the short-haired Blood Clan member from the portrait.
Roy knelt on the ground, drenched in cold sweat, feeling as heavy as lead, with a face as dark as night.
Damn, underestimated!
The Iron-Bones were renowned for their high defense, and coupled with the dragon scales as a trump card, Roy had subconsciously grown too confident, overly reliant on absorbing hits.
The earlier attack didn’t deal physical damage; it felt more like some kind of magic. With just one hit, Roy sensed the significant drain on his life force, feeling exceedingly weak.
Fortunately, the Obsidian Shield could defend against magical attacks, so he wasn’t rendered completely immobile.
Even so, another hit like that would finish him off.
That wasn’t the kind of enemy they could handle!
Seeing the Blood Clan figure raising the giant scythe again, Roy shouted out urgently.
“Nia, run!”
Nia instinctively ducked behind a pillar.
Moments later, the scarlet slash tore through the area like a terrifying hurricane, shredding chairs, walls, chandeliers, and glass.
The air was filled with a thick, bloody stench, along with an almost Sequence 6 level of pressure, nearly suffocating Nia.
She couldn’t face it, absolutely couldn’t!
In fear, Nia hurriedly looked to the church’s entrance. They had confirmed earlier that was their escape route.
But just as she was about to flee, she came to an abrupt stop.
Because the Blood Clan figure was dragging its scythe, slowly approaching Roy!
The silhouette moved.
The agile figure crossed the hundred meters in an instant, swinging that deathly scythe toward him!
Roy hadn’t fully regained his strength from the earlier weakness, facing this impending blow; his heart nearly sank.
But just then, a gust of wind sliced through, accurately hitting the side of the silhouette.
The silhouette remained unscathed but slowly turned its head toward Nia.
In that moment, Nia felt a gaze from the abyss, fear crashing over her like a tidal wave.
But when she caught a glimpse of the young boy’s figure out of the corner of her eye, she forced out a defiant sneer, boldly taunting the silhouette.
“Come on, you flat-chested loser! If you’ve got the guts, come get me!”
Whether it was her imagination or not, the silhouette seemed to grow angrier, swinging the scythe with even greater ferocity, unleashing a barrage of scarlet blade light toward the girl!
Nia, relying on her agile footwork, dodged and weaved between the pillars, trying to escape. Yet ultimately, one wrong step led to her being caught by one of the blade strikes, sending her flying.
The blade light didn’t cut through her flesh but felt like she’d plunged into an ice cave, cold and heavy, her vision going dark in an instant.
What terrible luck to run into such a monster during a practical test!
Lying on the ground, Nia chuckled bitterly, struggling to lift her head and look at the terrifying scythe coming toward her, but her first thought wasn’t about herself.
Honestly, I shouldn’t have called Roy over…
But he should have escaped by now…
Yet in the next moment, her emerald eyes widened.
Because the young boy, who should have fled, lunged toward her, shielding her tightly in his embrace, gripping her so hard it hurt.
Roy stared intensely at the incoming scythe, a glimmer of killing intent flashing in his eyes.
The Blade of the Former King contained the dragon’s breath; it was his greatest trump card, definitely enough to shatter the silhouette before him.
Even though the overwhelming power of the dragon could very well cost him half his life, truly a double-edged sword, there was no time to think about that!
But just as Roy was about to gamble everything, a strange sensation washed over him.
The breathing and heartbeat of the young boy and girl melded into one in that moment.
This unfamiliar excitement made Nia let out a delicate gasp, yet it was all too familiar to Roy.
This was Blood Resonance!
In an instant, an unstoppable flow of green energy surged from the two of them, like invisible vines forming an impenetrable barrier.
The pure essence from the forest swept away the bloodiness that filled the church, and the seemingly unstoppable scythe melted upon touching the vine barrier.
The silhouette paused, not even trying to resist, simply standing there, allowing itself to bathe in the pure breeze, gradually fading away.
In just a few seconds, the church fell silent once again.
Only then did Roy finally release the girl he had held tightly, exhaling a long breath.
That time, he truly saved his life.
“Did we… win?” Nia looked up, bewildered, not quite believing it.
Just as a smile began to form on her face, Roy’s voice, laced with anger, brought her back.
“Didn’t I tell you to escape first? Why didn’t you run?”
Faced with Roy’s accusatory gaze, Nia fell silent for a moment, then replied with a playful grin: “Didn’t you say earlier that if one of us could escape, it’d be fine? Why did you come back?”
Roy was momentarily speechless.