Chapter 460
“Pope Osirama…” Cardinal Madeleine, standing before the Holy See, cautiously spoke as she watched the Pope of the Church of Order at the center of the sanctuary.
The Church of the Savior had been severely damaged by the loud sounds of chaos, and Eleanor couldn’t understand why no reinforcements had arrived after all this time.
In Cardinal Madeleine’s eyes, the Pope of Order was clearly the one who would emerge victorious from this conflict.
If she were to be killed by Madeleine now, the Church of the Savior would be completely eliminated, and the remaining scattered members of the sect might split again, weakening further until they vanished from the pages of history.
“I have no intention of fighting you right now.” The green flames flickered in the gaps of Erigama’s armor as she reached out, directly grasping the iron chains behind the steel cage that held the loud one, dragging the heavy iron block upward.
She pulled the iron cage along, heading toward the door, the solid iron cage making a jarring sound as it scraped against the ground.
The once-mighty loud one was now being dragged away like mere luggage.
As she reached the doorway, she looked at the dark green-haired maid surrounded by knights in the center and raised her hand, pointing at her.
“Child, take me to that adult.”
Clang—
She lifted the chain in her hand and added, “The task is complete.”
...
In the rainy night, a girl’s figure flickered, finally settling into a pair of black pupils.
The black voids within the girl’s eyes transformed into dark purple crystals, breathing in rhythm, shifting between the black bone structure and the dark purple crystals.
“Finally, it’s quiet…”
Xia’er turned her head, surveying the corpses strewn around her.
The “Subverter” archive had proven to be the most unreliable one… The knight order that could have been dealt with swiftly had, under the influence of the potion, tempted Xia’er to torment them one by one, letting them die in obscurity, wasting a considerable amount of time.
Fortunately, the time distortion eventually shifted to the “Judicator” archive, freeing her from the potion’s effects, allowing her to swiftly eliminate the last “Crown Guard.”
However, it had taken far too long, nearly dragging the forty-five minutes of time distortion to its end… but perhaps that was a good thing.
She wondered how things were faring on the other side.
Xia’er looked up at the archbishop’s residence, completely shrouded in black and white curtains.
Compared to the beginning, the two curtains seemed to have faded a bit.
Is that Duke Russell really that troublesome…?
At some point, the virus should have completely spread from the West District… Even if the loud one managed to pacify the West District, the surrounding infections wouldn’t be easily controlled.
Even if she left Ansu right now and waited for the remaining time to pass, she would likely earn a considerable amount of fate points as a reward.
Just then, Xia’er felt several gazes from afar, seemingly directed at her.
Soon, a shadow emerged from behind her, transforming into a white figure. Tara’s silhouette appeared beside Xia’er.
“Lord Xia’er, it’s done…” Tara slightly bowed her head as she spoke.
She noticed that several different corpses had appeared at Xia’er’s feet… It seemed that while she was away, Lord Xia’er had gone through another battle.
“Thank you for your hard work.” Xia’er looked at Tara and said.
“It wasn’t hard…” Tara lowered her head, feeling guilty for not being able to help.
Clang… Clang—
The sound of chains dragging something grew closer. Xia’er looked up toward the end of the path, where a towering figure in armor, over two meters tall, was dragging a heavy iron cage toward her.
The iron cage, scraping against the ground, crushed the cobblestones beneath it, plowing through the stone path and dirt.
It was the Pope.
Then what she was dragging couldn’t possibly be…
So soon?
Pope Erigama approached, dragging the cage, and stopped in front of Xia’er, releasing the iron chain and glancing at the surrounding corpses.
“Looks like there were quite a few who didn’t know their place.” A metallic hum emanated from the Pope’s armor as she fixed her gaze on Xia’er, patting the iron lump beside her, and said, “I’ve brought the thing.”
“As you requested, I left it breathing.”
Xia’er didn’t move closer; instead, she slowly raised her right hand, pointing at the cage that faced away from her.
The crimson fungal carpet on the ground began to crawl toward the iron cage, slowly covering it from all sides.
Following Xia’er’s command, the scarlet fungi directly burrowed into the cage, filling every gap that remained.
The mycelium entered through the loud one’s wounds and mouth, completely enveloping him inside and out, yet it made no attempt to infect him.
This was merely a precaution, ensuring that the loud one would become a living, yet entirely incapacitated, “flesh sculpture.”
He wouldn’t even be able to starve, as the crimson fungal carpet would provide him with sustenance.
Xia’er wasted no time. She looked up at the Pope of Order and said, “Paper, pen.”
Xia’er had no intention of helping them complete the ritual; she didn’t want to engage with the otherworldly realm again, at least not for a while.
She simply wanted to kill a few more “Crown Guards” and rack up some more “kills.”
The Pope was already prepared for this. She raised her hand, and several knights holding umbrellas stepped forward, presenting a notebook and pen to Xia’er while shielding her from the rain.
Rustle, rustle—
Xia’er quickly sketched on the dry paper.
This was the blood array she had successfully summoned the white armor from before, slightly modified from the summoning array of the Dark Worm.
However, without Xia’er’s blood, she had no idea what would be summoned—whether it would be the Dark Worm or the white armor.
But that no longer mattered to Xia’er.
She thoughtfully wrote down the materials needed for the sacrifice and added a few more “Crown Guards” as materials to ensure the ritual would proceed smoothly.
Finally, she meticulously inscribed the cumbersome incantation using phonetic symbols.
“Done.” Xia’er set down the pen, watching as the knight handed the items to the Pope.
“I need to remind you,” Xia’er said, looking at the Pope holding the notebook, “I’ve never used this blood array without my own blood, so I can’t guarantee it will summon Him.”
“Also… while He can communicate, He seems to harbor quite a bit of hostility toward you all… Your years of constant intrusion into His territory have made Him weary.”
The Pope tucked the notebook away, looking in Xia’er’s direction, and nodded slightly. “Thank you for the reminder.”
“Additionally, if you need to ‘create’ ritual sacrifices, you can come to me…” Xia’er smiled, “I can exchange blood for it.”
“No need to trouble yourself, we will prepare the sacrifices ourselves.” The green flames flickered on the Pope’s mask as she regarded Xia’er and said, “But if it fails… I hope you can come to guide us.”
“Of course…” Xia’er replied. “When do you plan to start?”
Xia’er certainly didn’t want to help them complete the ritual; she had no desire to engage with the otherworldly realm in the near future.
She simply wanted to kill a few more “Crown Guards” and rack up some more “kills.”
“Let’s wait until you finish your business.” The Pope nodded slowly, seemingly in no hurry. “I’d like to know what your plans for Ansu City are…”
Xia’er, standing before her, clearly intended to wipe Ansu out completely… Was it just her imagination, or did Erigama feel that…
Lord Xia’er didn’t seem to be here for any particular purpose in her slaughter… but rather, purely for the sake of slaughter.
It felt as if she was reveling in the act of killing, and the more she killed, the better. Even the sacrifices, she seemed eager to execute herself.
Even after living for so long, Erigama had never encountered such a… um… pure…? killer.
Now, Erigama wanted to understand Xia’er’s next moves.
If Xia’er lost interest in Ansu after her killing spree, Erigama could smoothly allow the Church of Order to take over all of Ansu and the United Kingdom of North Ansu, presenting themselves as the saviors.
“No rush,” Xia’er shook her head. “Once the death toll is high enough, I’ll wrap things up… I have no intention of controlling Ansu.”
Table of Contents
