Chapter 46: Cultists are Expendable
Flora’s lips moved silently, a melodious prayer flowing from her rosy lips. As she prayed, a powerful aura locked onto the Priest standing before Abyss.
“A Divine Arts user from the Church? With a necromancer…?” The Priest struggled, but a golden chain materialized around him, tightening and lifting him into the air, suspending him in a cruciform position. It was as if a giant, invisible cross stood behind him. The Priest grunted, and his struggles ceased.
Eternal Chains, one of the Church’s highest-level Divine Arts, could bind a person in mid-air, rendering them completely immobile. The caster had to sacrifice nine-tenths of their life force to use it—of course, Flora, the super-genius blessed by the gods, could use it freely.
“Now is not the time for questions. Tell your followers to back off and not interfere, or my undead army will tear them all to shreds,” Abyss said coldly, staring at the Priest suspended in the air.
He wouldn’t actually kill these cultists. He disliked casually turning the living into the dead, as it would disrupt the balance between life and death. But threatening them was always effective.
When Abyss and Leona emerged from the Shadow Realm with the Priest, the cultists who had been watching them naturally noticed. Already hostile towards Abyss for stealing the Eye of Envy, they were enraged upon seeing their Priest captured. They swarmed in from all directions, unwilling to let it slide. There weren’t many of them, about a dozen, but more figures were approaching in the distance, reinforcements on their way.
The cultists were fast. They quickly surrounded the campsite, brandishing slender, tendril-like daggers. Their round, fish-like eyes glared at Abyss, their gap-toothed mouths wide open, emitting inhuman roars.
“Don’t come any closer! Retreat!” the Priest commanded. “For the Lord of Submergence, obey my orders!”
The cultists looked at each other, confused. They didn’t understand how the boy in the campsite had suddenly vanished and reappeared with their injured Priest, his clothes stained with blood. Nor did they understand why the Priest was ordering them to stay back.
But out of reverence for the Lord of Submergence, they only glared at the trio, no one daring to take another step forward.
“Good. Now answer my questions,” Abyss said, nodding with satisfaction. “Don’t try any tricks. You’re a half-undead now. Do you know what that means? It means that although you’re not dead, you’re within my domain. I can control your soul at any time, make you blaspheme your sacred Lord of Submergence, make you defecate on his statue. How does that sound?”
“You wouldn’t dare!” the Priest roared in anger.
“If you try any tricks, I will,” Abyss said with a chuckle.
“ABC, you’re disgusting!” Leona said, looking at Abyss with disgust.
“Now tell me about your Lord of Submergence. What does he look like?” Abyss asked, casually stroking Leona’s head, his eyes fixed on the Priest suspended in the air.
The Priest hesitated for a moment, then said reluctantly, “My lord possesses the most magnificent form. He is a dark cloud filled with lightning, with an endless void within. Countless tendrils extend from his body, reaching every corner of the world, observing everything. My lord is the salvation of the world. Once he arrives, he will bestow true wisdom upon mortals—and you, foolish heretic, will be punished!”
“What a coincidence. I also want to meet your master,” Abyss said with a smile, sketching something in a notebook he had pulled out at some point. He spent a while drawing before showing it to the Priest.
The notebook depicted a simple cloud with numerous squiggly lines extending from it, looking like a clump of dust.
“Does he look like this?”
“I’ll kill you! Aaaaaah!” the Priest roared, struggling furiously.
“Don’t bother. Flora’s Divine Arts are a thousand times more reliable than you think. Once cast, there’s no escaping,” Abyss said, continuing his interrogation. “Tell me about your Lord of Submergence’s abilities.”
“My lord is omnipotent!” the Priest shouted.
“Then why doesn’t he come and crush my skull?” Abyss shrugged.
“Because my lord hasn’t arrived yet. Once he arrives…”
“So you don’t really know much about your master either,” Abyss said, rolling his eyes. “A priest, and this is your level of knowledge? Your master can’t even casually descend, and he’s omnipotent?”
“Aaaaaah!” The Priest was fuming, but the Eternal Chains were too powerful. His limbs were completely immobilized.
The number of cultists surrounding them continued to grow, now reaching thirty or forty. They all bared their teeth, their wrinkled faces contorted, their round eyes gleaming in the firelight. Their expressions were hostile, their bodies trembling with rage at the Priest’s captivity and Abyss’s mockery of their lord. Veins bulged beneath their aged skin.
“Tell me about your Bishop, the one named Dallan,” Abyss said, putting away his notebook and looking at the Priest with disdain. He was disappointed. He had expected the Priest, as a high-ranking member, to be knowledgeable about the Lord of Submergence, but this was all he had to offer. He couldn’t even articulate his deity’s true abilities. Flora, as a former Saint, was far more competent. She could recite the Nine Gods’ abilities, domains, and a divine decree from each without taking a breath or stumbling.
“Bishop Dallan is a high-ranking necromancer, but necromancy is only one of his skills. He is invincible, regardless of strength. He never loses,” the Priest said, suddenly laughing maniacally. “Necromancer, your power might be great, but you don’t understand the meaning of ‘absolute.’ Those who face Bishop Dallan can ‘absolutely’ not achieve victory!”
“Are you bragging or telling the truth?” Abyss asked, stroking his chin. “If he’s truly absolutely invincible, then I’d love to try my luck.”
“No matter how much damage Bishop Dallan sustains, it will be reset to zero!” the Priest said, his face contorting into a grotesque grin beneath his broken mask. “No matter how powerful you are, your strength will be nullified!”
“I’m looking forward to meeting Bishop Dallan,” Abyss said cheerfully, glancing at Leona and Flora.
Leona also grinned, eager to face a worthy opponent. Flora didn’t react, only looking at Abyss with concern.
“Right, there’s one more thing I need to say,” the Priest suddenly lowered his voice.
Abyss was surprised. “Hmm? Go ahead.”
“I curse you!”
The Priest roared, and a chorus of screams erupted. The bodies of the surrounding cultists withered rapidly, and the Priest’s own muscular frame shriveled into a husk. Abyss noticed with astonishment that the Priest’s soul was also shattering, meaning he couldn’t be resurrected. He had sacrificed his own soul to fuel some kind of magic ritual!
These cultists were ruthless, even towards their own!
An invisible wave of magical energy pulsed outward, reaching thousands of miles before subsiding.
“What was that? Is he insane?” Leona asked, bewildered.
“Oh, he just cursed us using the souls of dozens of people. It’s a very high-level curse. If we were ordinary humans, we’d be severely weakened by now,” Abyss said with a wry smile. “But luckily, Flora is here. Her power completely negated the curse. I didn’t even need to cast a protective barrier.”
Flora pointed at herself in surprise, seemingly unaware that simply standing there had such a significant effect.
Leona tilted her head. “Oh, then it’s fine.”
“He also sent our location to someone. I guess Bishop Dallan will be here soon,” Abyss yawned. “I have a feeling this ‘invincible’ fellow will bring something very valuable.”
“What are you going to do?” Leona asked. “If he’s truly invincible as he claims, it’ll be quite troublesome, won’t it?”
“I have my methods,” Abyss said confidently, looking at Leona.
Leona tugged at his clothes. “Tell me, tell me! I’m curious! What methods?”
“Improvise,” Abyss said, scratching his head. “We’ll figure out how to fight him when he arrives.”
“…Are you brain-dead?”
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