Inside a warehouse in the Docklands where a sacrificial altar had been set up.
When the thick smog spread out, Xio seemed to see one shadowy, translucent figure after another—each filled with bitter resentment—rushing forth in a ceaseless stream toward a certain place, coalescing into something terrifying and unknown.
With the occult knowledge she had mastered, Xio instantly realized that these deceased souls had very likely secretly believed in the "True Creator," or at the very least, had recited His name… Now, their lingering spirits and grievances were being sacrificed by the members of the Aurora Order to bring about the descent of the "True Creator"!
Fortunately, their ritual is still missing something—otherwise, it would've already succeeded!
As this thought crossed Xio's mind, she looked toward the concealed altar in the warehouse, once again confirming its crucial role.
—The numbness, despair, pain, and hatred that had accumulated over the years in the factory district, Docklands, and East Borough were indispensable components of the Aurora Order's ritual. And thanks to Her Highness Vera's earlier arrangements, all of that extreme emotion had been absorbed into this place, delaying the descent of the evil god.
But the Aurora Order would never let such a rare opportunity slip by… Just as that thought formed in her mind, the shadow at Xio's feet suddenly came alive, grabbed her ankle, and surged upward like water, wrapping tightly around her.
Xio's heart instantly tensed. She wasn't unfamiliar with this ability—Baron Conva had used it when they fought. She had only later learned from Ebner that this was the "Dominate Shadow" power of Sequence 4 "Dark Knight" on the Secrets Supplicant Pathway.
A demigod of the Aurora Order had arrived! As that realization flashed through her mind, Xio was just about to use the demigod-level artifact Her Highness had lent her, the "Fang of the Stars," to sever the shadows, when a majestic female voice rang by her ear:
"Deprive!"
In an instant, those animated shadows seemed to be stripped of their souls and collapsed to the ground, returning to ordinary shadows.
At the same time, a man wearing a long black clerical robe slowly stepped out of the darkness.
He appeared quite young, with refined features, though his face seemed veiled by a faint, almost imperceptible shadowy curtain.
On the other side, Vera, who had just "deprived" the enemy of their shadow-controlling ability, didn't seem surprised by his arrival. She said confidently, "Dark Saint Kisma."
"A Saint of House Augustus? According to the agreement, you're not supposed to be here." Dark Saint Kisma scrutinized Vera for a few moments, seeming to find her appearance acceptable, and thus didn't strike immediately.
Of course, that was also because all the other ritual setups besides this main altar had already been destroyed by him. The remaining negative emotions that could be absorbed here were limited—at most they could delay the descent of the Master, but they could no longer stop it.
"They are them. I am me..." Vera remained unmoved, gave a cold smile, and said, "Besides, they don't really want the 'True Creator' to descend either. They've at least tacitly approved my actions."
"I understand." Before Kisma even finished his sentence, he transformed into a tall knight clad in full black armor and raised a long, wide greatsword to strike at Vera.
At the same time, a twisted and wavering black shadow rose from a corner—it was a soul Kisma had "pastured," a powerful vampire from the forsaken lands, a Sequence 4 "Shaman King" of the "Moon" Pathway.
—If a Shepherd is pasturing a being at the demigod level, their solid soul can be directly released, but only one at a time—unless the Shepherd has reached Sequence 3: "Trinity Templar."
At this moment, the twisted "Shaman King" shadow transformed into moonlight and instantly "blinked" behind Vera. Then, he reached out and gouged out one of his own eyes—an illusory, crimson eye.
That eye radiated a clear yet crimson brilliance, instantly illuminating the entire warehouse, as though a red moon had descended here.
In its pupil, Vera's heroic figure was reflected. The hand holding the eye closed into a fist, and the crimson "moon" was completely swallowed by darkness.
As this happened, thick, congealed darkness emerged around Vera, binding her in place as if she could only watch helplessly while the Dark Knight's greatsword drove toward her.
But Vera showed no trace of fear. A puff of white mist suddenly emerged around her body—then vanished as quickly as it appeared. The darkness that had bound her melted like ice tossed into boiling water. She then raised her left hand and made a grasping motion toward the approaching figure of the armored knight.
It was "Imprison"—a spell of the Imperative Mage!
Though the exchange sounded complex, it had all happened in the blink of an eye. The tide of battle had completely reversed. At this moment, Xio also snapped back to attention. She raised the "Fang of the Stars" dagger and pointed it at the "Shaman King" shadow that had just tried to act, stating solemnly:
"Decree:'No ghosts allowed in this place!'"
With her proclamation, the star-like lights on the translucent dagger brightened. An invisible force wrapped around the shadow of the "Shaman King," interrupting his spellcasting.
"Violation of the decree warrants 'banishment'!" Without hesitation, Xio activated another function of the "Fang of the Stars"—to exile any target that disobeyed a decree to the coordinates "recorded" by the corresponding star.
And the coordinates she had set for the "No ghosts" decree was the front of the Sacred Wind Cathedral...
On the other side, a "door" appeared beneath the "Shaman King" shadow's feet. As it struggled against the decree's power, it was dragged into the door.
But unfortunately, it was not a truly free "ghost," but a poor soul being pastured—so it didn't reach the Storm Church for redemption. Instead, before the "door" closed, it was recalled and absorbed back into Dark Saint Kisma's body.
Kisma had already freed himself from Vera's "Imprison" using his shepherding abilities, but the brows hidden beneath his helmet were now deeply furrowed—this female Saint of House Augustus was far more troublesome than he'd anticipated…
Most of her attention seemed focused on the altar… Yet even so, she had easily dispelled my attack… and that "Imprison" just now—was that really something an Imperative Mage could manage?Also, she had a companion wielding a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact…
Thinking of this, the troubled "Dark Saint" Kisma was about to pray to his Master, asking for temporary power to eliminate the enemies and destroy the altar...
But at that moment, the souls and emotions that had been gathered from the East Borough, Docklands, and Factory District suddenly dissipated...
The ritual for the descent of the Master had been interrupted!
How could it be interrupted?
What did that useless fool do to mess it up?!
Kisma's handsome face twisted beneath the black armor, but his spirituality was suddenly stirred—he sensed danger approaching. Without any hesitation to continue entangling with Vera, he slipped directly into the shadows and fled at high speed, erasing all traces along the way.
Half a minute later, an elderly man with a beardless face and deep-set eyes entered the warehouse. He glanced at the intact altar and slightly sighed in relief.
"Your Highness Vera, thank you for preventing the descent of the evil god."
But Vera shook her head.
"Sir Saint Anthony, someone else must have disrupted the ritual. We only delayed its progress."
The setup in the Docklands had been arranged jointly by Vera and the Church of the Evernight Goddess. Knowing the importance of this place, Anthony had come to provide support as a priority.
"Yes... There was not only a hero who disrupted the evil god's ritual… but also a 'hero' who stopped the Great Smog from spreading further..."
Saint Anthony solemnly nodded.
The 'hero' who stopped the evil god's descent and the Great Smog... was it Mr. World? Or was it Ebner?
Compared to them, I'm the most useless one… I might as well die...
That thought turned over in Xio's heart, and she subconsciously picked up her dagger and slashed toward her neck.
But her movement was restrained by Vera, who had already been prepared.
—After activating a "Decree," there would be an intense urge to commit suicide lasting for an hour... This was one of the side effects brought by the "Fang of the Stars."
.....
A few minutes earlier, inside a hall with a sacrificial altar, Mr. A, hoarse-voiced, laughed at Klein who had charged forward and fired at the altar. His tone was mad:
"It's useless, you little reptile! The ritual has officially begun. With your power, you can't break or interrupt it—not even a Sequence 5 Beyonder can do that!
"But you're also lucky. You'll get to witness the descent of my Master while still alive and be absorbed into His body.
"The Master who created all things;"The Sovereign behind the veil of shadows;"The depraved nature within all living beings.
"Your devout follower humbly prays for Your descent;"I am willing to offer up my body as a vessel to carry Your great will!"
As the prayer rang out, a radiance from an unknown source suddenly descended above Mr. A's head, enveloping him completely.
Seeing this, Klein's thoughts spun rapidly as he reviewed the items he had on hand—was there anything that could turn the tide...
In the end, he pulled out a brass-colored key... It had come from a young member of the Abraham family who had drunk a potion while listening to Mr. Door's murmurs under the full moon.
Thump, thump, thump!
Klein charged forward a few steps, swung his arm, and hurled the key from his palm. It flew into the overlapping layers of light within the altar.
Within the glowing layers, the brass-colored "Master Key" began to break down, and began to melt.
And once its outer shell disappeared, the curse hidden within revealed itself directly—connecting to the unknown being known as Mr. Door.
In just a second or two, Klein saw a stretch of illusory, distorted crimson...
That crimson hue struggled violently as it faded—then suddenly exploded!
Immediately afterward, the entire light structure around the altar warped and collapsed.
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted from the center of the altar, sending out terrifying shockwaves.
Crack! The four massive stone pillars closest to the center snapped instantly. Klein, still at a distance, had only enough time to roll away before being flung by the blast.
Bang!
He slammed into a wall—his body flattened like paper.
That paper figure was then shredded by the ensuing storm of wind, scattering in all directions.
Once the gale had somewhat calmed, Klein—who had survived thanks to his "Paper Figurine Substitute"—took out a cone-shaped "gem" and aimed it at Mr. A, who was kneeling before a collapsed pillar, his body leaning forward.
He activated it.
It was the "Mind Breath" talisman he had purchased for 3,000 pounds from "The Tower!"
As a Shepherd, Mr. A had formidable regenerative abilities. If Klein didn't take advantage of the injury to strike him down, once he recovered, Klein would never escape!
And after throwing the talisman, Klein didn't even look at the result—he turned and ran without hesitation.
It wasn't that he didn't want to seize the chance to kill the enemy, but considering the many abilities of a Shepherd—and the fact that this was still enemy territory—he knew better than to get greedy. Escaping came first!
(End of Chapter)