Chapter 88
Xia'er took a step forward, grinning widely. "It's you, Jidi."
"My potion was given to me by you, my resurrection ritual was completed with your help, and those spiritual notes were shown to me by you because you mistook me for the bishop."
"It’s you who ruined everything."
"Right now, you’re just dreaming, imagining that your subordinates can escape, imagining that the news can get out."
"And you, you’ve already had half your face blown off by my bullet, lying there, barely alive in the underground chapel..."
"You destroyed everything; you brought shame upon the Mother Goddess."
"Do you see that what I say is all true?"
Xia'er staggered to Jidi's side, reaching out to grab her hair, lifting her head bit by bit.
"Do you know why you’re going to die?"
Xia'er looked into Jidi's vacant eyes and slowly said, "Because your plan has disrupted my normal life..."
"Remember this name, Xia'er."
"My name."
"Your judge."
Xia'er opened her palm, and Jidi's head fell limply. Her white figure could no longer support her body, and she collapsed to her knees at Xia'er's feet.
Xia'er slowly raised her right leg, grinning as she brought it down.
Brain matter splattered.
Black flames surged around Xia'er, completely enveloping her.
~~~~~
Chapter Seventy-Five: "The Judge" Xia'er and Zero-Pound Purchase.
Behind the figure engulfed in black flames, another silhouette trembled slightly.
It was Yulisi, also a "missionary" like Jidi.
Was this really the same girl who had spoken so coherently just moments ago, appearing quite reliable?
Yulisi didn’t even notice that her own feet had instinctively taken a half-step back.
Just now, she had felt a fear she hadn’t experienced in a long time...
Yes, from deep within her heart, she sensed a fear that made her liver tremble.
This feeling left her limbs stiff, like a fawn encountering its natural enemy.
Though she couldn’t see the scene before her, the emotions Yulisi felt were almost identical to Jidi's.
Whether it was Xia'er's calm tone, the information she tossed out one after another, or her leisurely recounting of the brutal killings of cultists... even mere descriptions could evoke waves of nausea.
Could this person really be the Saintess?
Even the cultist missionary Jidi had nearly been driven mad by her devilish words.
And recalling how Xia'er had effortlessly killed the guards at the door without a hint of hesitation...
Though faint, Yulisi could clearly sense that when Xia'er killed, the emotions she displayed were relief and enjoyment...
As if she had been suppressing a desire to kill all along.
Did she... really have to bind her to the Holy See?
No...
Did she... have the ability to bind her to the Holy See?
Until she had thrown that bottle of restorative potion to Xia'er, Yulisi had still believed she could control the situation.
But now, she had lost that confidence.
Yulisi looked up, facing Xia'er.
Though she couldn’t see what was happening ahead, she could sense a powerful spiritual flame burning in front of her, and she could distinctly feel that the violent energy of the potion was catalyzing an even more ferocious emotional entity, growing stronger by the moment.
Had she... created a monster?
Why was it that after killing just a few people, Xia'er’s resurrection ritual feedback was so exaggerated—there shouldn’t be such fluctuations even if she had killed a second-tier "missionary."
There were only two possibilities.
Xia'er had completed this resurrection ritual more than once—meaning she had killed many more people in this way.
Or the other possibility was that Xia'er was indeed the chosen Saintess, the chosen "Avenger" path Saintess.
Yulisi controlled her white figure to slowly distance itself from the burning spiritual flame, clenching her fists as a drop of sweat slid down her temple.
Which possibility was it?
Did she... need to sabotage this ritual?
Before it was too late...
In the end, reason triumphed over fear, and Yulisi slowly relaxed her clenched fists.
Completing the resurrection ritual multiple times?
That was impossible.
Xia'er had only recently obtained the potion and the resurrection ritual; she definitely didn’t know what the "Judge" resurrection ritual entailed.
Earlier at the inn, Xia'er had even asked her how to increase the success rate of the resurrection ritual, proving that this was her first time performing the "Judge" resurrection ritual.
Moreover, Yulisi had only seen such a commotion from a resurrection ritual twice before.
Once was when the Saintess drank the "Ascetic" potion for protection, and the other was when a nearly 90-year-old priest drank the "Ascetic" potion.
The Saintess needed no further mention; the simplicity with which she completed the resurrection ritual was unmatched by anyone else—she was fed by the goddess herself.
As for that 90-year-old priest, he had diligently spent nearly his entire life repeating the "Ascetic" resurrection ritual, constantly suffering to help others bear their pain, and only when he was on the brink of death did he drink the "Ascetic" potion at the urging of the Holy See, creating a commotion that seemed miraculous.
If all of this could be quantified and converted to the opposite "Avenger" path, under the premise that Xia'er was not the Saintess, she would have had to kill at least tens of thousands of people in a resurrection ritual aligned with her beliefs...
How was that possible? How old was she? Even if she killed three people a day, it would take her ten years—had she been killing since she learned to walk?
Yulisi let out a slow breath.
She had convinced herself.
Xia'er was indeed the Saintess.
She needed to persuade her to join the Holy See of the Savior Goddess.
Otherwise, with Xia'er's abilities, left unchecked, what kind of disaster would unfold in the future? Yulisi truly had no confidence.
Unlike Yulisi, who was caught in a whirlwind of inner turmoil and rapid brainstorming, Xia'er was struggling in a space engulfed in flames.
Before her lay corpses, brain matter, carpets, and luxurious decorations—all covered by black flames.
Her clothes were torn apart in the fire, and the bandages on her hands turned to ash, revealing the still-healing burns beneath.
Her already burned arm suddenly ignited in the black flames, the black blood seeping from the cracked wounds acting like an accelerant, causing the flames to grow fiercer.
This felt entirely different from the previous experience of becoming an "Avenger."
Before, in the sea of flames, the physical pain and burning had nearly drowned out the chaotic murmurs in her mind and other extraneous thoughts, leaving her consumed by the fire of revenge.
But now, she felt a pain as if her very soul was being scorched.
A wave of maddening whispers bombarded her brain, the black flames seemed to merge with her flesh, continuously burning and remolding her body.
In the black flames, her side exploded in a mist of blood, black blood splattering out like a demon eager to escape its cage, burning as it surged from Xia'er’s body.
Sizzle—
Parts of her body kept bursting open, shadows made of black blood flailing their arms, trying to break free from her, the intense pain briefly restoring Xia'er’s sanity.
What... is happening...
Xia'er forced herself to look down, and she saw an arm made of burning black blood struggling to emerge from her abdomen, waving toward her chest.
The direction that arm pointed to was...
The system!!!
Xia'er nearly shouted in her mind with all her might, the 【Pages of the Otherworld】 pressed against her chest vanished in a flash of silver light, returning to her storage.
Instantly, Xia'er felt a sudden release of pressure in her brain, and the black arms that had been wildly flailing around her body seemed to lose their target, beginning to sway erratically.
Give me... back...
Xia'er struggled to lift her arm, pressing down on the black arm that had pierced through her abdomen, slowly pushing it back inside.
Boom—
At the moment the arm was forced back, the black flames ignited at her abdomen, sealing the wound and reconstructing her flesh.
Back...
Boom—
Boom—
Xia'er mechanically pressed the arms back in, again and again, each time forcing an arm back into her body, resulting in a powerful explosion of black fire.
Gradually, Xia'er’s strength was being drained, and she could no longer lift her arm.
Thud—
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