Chapter 574
"The divine servant has been killed; the God of the Dead Star will surely be enraged. He will unleash divine punishment, and everyone will be implicated..." Tears welled in the girl's eyes as she bowed her head to Xia'er and knelt down. "Please, take Hei Ni and leave this place... I am willing to sacrifice my life; I beg you to protect her and ensure her safe escape..."
The God of the Dead Star?
Xia'er searched her mind.
She had read extensively in reality and remembered many names of long-lost churches from the scriptures of the Church of the God of Order and the Church of the Goddess of Salvation regarding the Holy War, but none mentioned a God of the Dead Star.
What kind of deity is this? What kind of church does He have? Does He even come down to deliver punishment?
Is this a church that hasn’t even survived to the Holy War?
"Where is this God of the Dead Star?" Xia'er asked the girl, her gaze steady.
"He... He is just outside the village, in the church of the wilderness..." The girl spoke in a hushed tone, as if afraid her words might be overheard by some lurking presence.
Outside the village, in the wilderness church?
Xia'er gently rubbed the scabbed wound on her index finger with her thumb, deep in thought.
Why does this God sound so...
Unremarkable?
A deity ruling over a village, with a church not far from it...
If Xia'er had heard this in reality, she would never have considered it a true god; instead, she might think of it as a "subverter" or some other extraordinary being playing at being a deity in a small village.
But even a "subverter" wouldn’t stoop to such petty games in a tiny village.
Still, Xia'er resolved to remain on high alert—never underestimate any enemy.
"How can I leave?" Xia'er asked without hesitation.
With only three altars and believers, saving one was better than none. If she could escape, Xia'er would certainly prefer that.
Where there’s life, there’s hope.
Just then, a sound of footsteps outside caught Xia'er’s attention. She noticed a faint green light approaching from the door.
"Your Excellency, have you finished your meal? The God of the Dead Star..."
A gaunt man with sunken cheeks, holding a candle that burned with green light, peeked inside.
The moment he saw the dismembered body of the divine servant, his pupils dilated, and his breath quickened.
"Y-your Excellency?!"
"It’s over... it’s over... it’s over!!!"
Trying to run?
Xia'er’s keen senses predicted his intention to turn and flee. Just as she prepared to act and force him to stay for information, the green light of the candle in his hand suddenly extinguished.
Not just the candle in his hand; even the pale green candle that had fallen to the ground went out.
In an instant, Xia'er was plunged into complete darkness, an absolute void enveloping her surroundings.
This was utter darkness... devoid of any light source. It was as if she had been blinded, reminiscent of the dark space she had encountered while unconscious.
This darkness not only robbed Xia'er of her sight but seemed to strip away her hearing as well.
There were no sounds of breathing, no voice from the man, and in this extreme darkness, a strange sensation began to creep over her.
Her spiritual alarm buzzed faintly, and eerie whispers echoed around her, as if the ground were crawling with venomous insects, producing a rustling sound.
This is bad...
Xia'er could feel her sanity gradually eroding...
Crack—
In an instant, her right pupil shifted to a silver dial, the "detective" potion within her rapidly depleting, replaced by the bubbling "subverter" potion.
Snap—
Xia'er quickly snapped her fingers, but to her confusion... no flames appeared.
Where’s the torch...?
I clearly created a torch with the "subverter"...
She could feel the heat of the flames, the wooden handle in her grip, yet no fire emerged...
This was the first time Xia'er faced a setback while using the "subverter" ability.
She exerted a bit of force, and the torch shattered in her hand. In the next moment, a pale green candle materialized, its tip igniting with a faint green flame.
Instantly, the green light illuminated the room, dispelling the surrounding darkness and revealing the scene within.
The man at the door remained, but he, along with the flowers, faced left, completely prostrated, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Through her keen vision, Xia'er could see Hei Ni behind her, shaking all over but clutching the silver rune stone tightly, refusing to kneel.
"(Ansu language) Cheating... so boring..." The terror brought on by the absolute darkness sent Xia'er’s adrenaline soaring. She reached out with her left hand, and a soft rope appeared around Hei Ni, binding her like cargo.
With a gentle tug, Xia'er lifted Hei Ni and dashed toward the door.
They couldn’t stay here... running in the opposite direction of where they were kneeling—go!
The "subverter" never fought unprepared battles; without prior preparation, its power would be significantly diminished.
In times like this, the best choice was to make a swift exit.
Xia'er carried Hei Ni and leaped over the man at the door, sprinting in the direction opposite to where he knelt.
A sci-fi-like, hovering skateboard appeared before her with a hum, and she jumped on, the skateboard blasting off with a tail of flames, propelling her forward.
Outside was a sea of darkness, and the high-speed flight allowed Xia'er to feel the wind whipping against her face. Although the candlelight barely illuminated a short distance, almost colliding with a crumbling mud house every few meters, Xia'er skillfully maneuvered the skateboard, dodging obstacles.
Soon, she pressed down slightly with her back foot, and the skateboard shot upward, soaring over the houses ahead, accelerating forward.
"See you! Haha..."
The wind howled, and Xia'er felt the scenery behind her rapidly receding. She laughed and looked back, but the next moment, her expression froze, her pink pupils revealing a hint of confusion.
Behind her knelt a man, facing away, with a fallen candle beside him.
And next to him was the very house from which Xia'er had just "escaped," the flower with broken arms still prostrated on the ground.
Xia'er... had not moved an inch.
Following the direction of the man's prostration, she slowly raised her head. At the end of the dark path, she saw something slowly approaching her, step by step.
It was dozens of candles burning with green flames.
Those candles were embedded in a grotesque, three-meter-tall, corpulent humanoid creature with a skin resembling that of a dead tree.
Its cracked skin covered its swollen body, with pale green candles sprouting from the fissures, their wicks connected to its fat, quietly burning around its form.
On its almost triangular, fleshy head, branches resembling "hair" were tangled and trailing behind it. Two candles were inserted into its hollow eye sockets, the eerie green glow seemingly its pupils.
Thud—
Thud—
It approached Xia'er step by step, and the closer it got, the louder her spiritual alarm rang in her mind.
The "subverter" ability isn’t working?
But if I release the "subverter" ability, I’ll lose the green candle for light!
Xia'er quickly dispelled the flying skateboard, repositioning Hei Ni in her arms, and charged into the darkness ahead. But just as her gaze left the terrifying creature...
The sound of its massive footsteps echoed right behind her.
Xia'er whipped around, a candle almost as thick as her finger nearly touching her, its flame illuminating her face.
She slowly raised her head, meeting the loathsome visage of the creature.
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