Chapter Nineteen: The Oncoming Darkness

A simple reason set in motion an adventure full of twists and turns—life is often that dramatic.
As the protagonist of this drama, Neo had already realized something when he picked up the “Mind Crystal,” or rather, “Karonper’s Soul Coffin” once again: the devil would not let him go!
An indescribable sense of urgency became unmistakable. Neo clearly remembered the last time he had felt something similar—it was before he was captured and imprisoned in the death cell of Solth City. Last time, he chose to ignore this unfounded sense of unease; this time, he decided to pay attention.
Karonper was now barely alive. Though not dead, his eyes lacked all vitality. Though not explicitly stated, Neo could guess that this barely living body was Karonper’s offering to the devils.
A vicious curse? A flesh bomb? The specifics of the offering, along with many other questions, could be explored at a later time. For now, Neo only wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
Upon leaving, Neo decided to loot Bishop Thelos’s body. The servants of the god Brennes did not wear gold or silver jewelry, but the money in their purses was an exception. Neo took 2 denarii (gold coins) and 4 dirhams (silver coins).
“At least, when making judgments, they won’t easily think they’re chasing a typical pauper!”
Another item Neo took was Thelos’s sacred emblem. The Light Faith’s usual rigor and precision came in handy here. Thelos had given it to Neo during his lifetime to protect him from Karonper’s magical attacks. Even now that Thelos was dead, the emblem still emitted a faint milky glow in Neo’s hands—this was called “compliance.” Without Thelos’s authorization, the emblem would emit a faint blue light, known as “disobedience.” In that case, it would be considered stolen property. But now, it was a good talisman, especially for a death row inmate who understood the terror of a nation’s power.
Leaving the hall, just as Neo emerged from the secret passage beneath the statue, he heard a clicking sound coming from the right wall—it was the platform in another secret passage leading to the surface temple moving. Neo held his breath and rushed out of the room as fast as he could, making sure to latch the door and lock it with a iron bolt.
“Lord Sere, discovering this secret passage this time will surely please the Holy Envoy,” said a black knight on the platform—Beheader Fad. This name was a nightmare that made many people pale with fear. Even among the members of the Dark Sect in the Erdrit lands, Fad was seen as a cold and cruel murderer. Who would have thought that this man, who seemed to suffer from ice skin disease since childhood, could also twitch his pale facial muscles to show an even uglier smile than crying?
“Hmph…” The high demon named Sere grunted through his nose, glancing at Fad. With a flick of his claw in midair, a cluster of poisonous green light with black smoke flickered, and soon a crystal that emitted a dazzling glow appeared in his hand. He tossed it to Fad. “Do your job well. I’m never stingy with rewards.”
Holding the crystal in both hands, Fad beamed with joy and bowed humbly, saying, “I swear to serve my lord to the death!”

The secret passage to the temple was discovered by Fad’s subordinates. With just a few words, Fad quietly credited the merit to Thore. Knowing when to act wisely and being adept at handling tasks ensured promotions and rewards, even when serving demons.

At that moment, Thore frowned slightly as he heard a strange noise. Unaware that the sound came from Nio locking the door, his keen but insufficient vigilance caused him to miss a rare opportunity.

As Fad led the way to push open the heavy stone door of the hall, Nio was trying to lift the lid of the tomb.

Creak… creak…

Nio had done his best, but the friction sound of moving the stone lid still made him nervous. After lifting the lid, he didn’t get up immediately. Instead, he listened carefully and sniffed the air before quietly crawling out. He kept an eye on the outside through the dark, woven iron bars while closing the lid behind him.

It was snowing heavily—flakes like goose feathers, and the sky turned red. Gunfire in the south rumbled like thunder, likely because the energy shield was about to fail, causing such intense bombardment.

Taking a deep breath of the cold air, Nio headed north. Tall trees and high walls couldn’t stop him. He climbed up trees like a monkey, moved along slanting branches, identified his target, kicked aside a few thin branches to clear the path, stepped back, accelerated, leaped through the air, and landed steadily on the top of the snow-covered wall. He stepped forward, twisted mid-air, and gripped the bricks on the wall’s surface to slow his descent. At that point, his feet were just over 2 meters above the ground. He let go and landed, raising only a small puff of snowflakes.

Without stopping, Nio pulled up his mask and headed west through the streets behind the church, through the snow.

A few minutes later, Dantestine arrived at the temple with her subordinates, entering the hall in groups via floating platforms.

Thore stood there with lowered head, serving respectfully on the side, while someone like Fad was only fit to be a guard.

Tap! Tap! Tap! The narrow, shiny hooves with graceful curves made a crisp, rhythmic sound as they stepped on the bluestone bricks. Dantestine swayed her waist as she walked toward Kalonper. Wherever she passed, the air cooled, and the flames of the torches turned a strange blue.

From a distance of over 2 meters, Dantestine stretched out her finger, and an invisible force lifted Kalonper’s head, which was covered by messy hair.

Kalonper’s closed eyes snapped open, and he spat two words at Dantestine through a curse: “Die!”

In that instant, Dantestine didn’t make any special move—only a flash in her eyes. A demon who had been near the door immediately stepped in front of her.

“Ahh! Ahh…” The demon holding back the spell clutched its head and let out agonized screams. Its muscles writhed violently as it shrank rapidly, as if a black hole inside was sucking everything away. In just a few seconds, its body shrank by at least three times.

Dantestine casually threw the demon aside and said to the demons following behind her, “Silence it!”

Immediately, two demons rushed over and swiftly dragged him away. They didn’t know if he would die from this strange curse, but if he stayed here, the noise-sensitive Dantesthene would surely silence him forever.
“Lord Demon Master, please forgive my negligence!” There stepped forward, bowing his head low.
“Why should I punish you? You discovered this place and didn’t act arrogantly on your own; instead, you preserved its integrity. The curse just now is the best proof,” said Dantesthene, pointing in the air. In front of There, the air twisted and then split open, revealing a space rift glowing with black lightning. Magma rolled out of the rift, falling like sludge before gradually revealing a red-hot great sword.
“There, you’ll be in charge here after I leave,” Dantesthene said casually.
“I shall not fail you!” There bowed even lower before reaching out to grasp the red-hot hilt.
Boom! A powerful and wild force erupted from the great sword. The brilliance at that moment made There feel as if he were by the shores of a hellish sea—his hair flying backward, his cloak burning as it rustled. Flames surged across his armor, while black light penetrated his body, continuously transforming his physique.
Aaaah…
With a low growl, flames burst forth. Empowered, There became much larger than before. His armor was adorned with flame patterns, his new flame cloak burned like fire, his horns grew thicker, and his eyes glowed with orange evil light. Flames billowed from his nostrils with each breath…
Hellish weapons were not only amplifiers of power but also symbols of authority and energy relays for dark forces. With them, demons wouldn’t suffer from energy depletion on the surface and could command all dark forces in the area, including those of the same rank.
“Congratulations, Lord There, on receiving this honor!” The demons present cheered respectfully in unison.
Meanwhile, Dantesthene had drawn blood from Karonper and condensed it into a palm-length blood crystal. “Holy Blood Crystal… Hehe, my dear student. All these years, you still only know how to look into the distance, never realizing that some treasures are right here…”
“Lord, footprints were found outside the tomb! Hounds have been sent.”
“Lord, there’s an update from that Darkblood individual!”
The Darkblood individual mentioned was the Darkblood Woman. After trackingNeo’s trail to the church’s backyard and finding it cut off, she returned to her post. Yet, unwilling to give up, she came back again only to run into a demon emerging from the tomb through a secret passage.
After hearing the Darkblood Woman’s report, Dantesthene giggled. “Little wolf, what a wonderfully twisted fate!” With a flick of her finger, a beam of light entered There’s head, allowing him to clearly see how Dantesthene had struckNeo with a soul-curse upon her arrival, yetNeo had survived by transforming into a wolf and escaped…

“Thore, bring him back alive. I like this interesting little guy.” With that, Dantestine turned her head to gaze southward. “The energy shield has broken. Thore, I expect great performance from you.”
“May the Abyss protect you, my lord!” Thore said respectfully.
Dantestine and some of the demons stepped into a blazing green fire magic circle and left Solis. The remaining demons orderly formed a line, and the Black Knight Fad, who was in charge of the gate, also got the chance to join their ranks.
“Fad, I assign to you the task of hunting that werewolf.”
“I shall do my utmost!” Fad stepped forward, knelt, and bowed.
Thore chuckled and swung his hellish greatsword, “Bazanai.” “Follow me into battle!”
Roar! The demons echoed in unison, their bodies enveloped in varying degrees of evil light.
As Thore passed by the kneeling Fad, he patted him on the head. “Black Knight, now you truly live up to the name.”
The power of darkness enveloped Black Knight Fad in a flame-like black light. When he stood up, debris fell to the ground as if he were a guardian puppet resurrected from a stone wall. This was the effect of his armor being tempered. The last trace of humanity in Fad’s eyes vanished, replaced by two cold glows…