Chapter 531: Then... Advance!

Chapter 531 Then... Advance!

It was indeed a scene that blended the subversive with the absurd, a circumstance that had never once occurred within the space of Karen's consciousness.

Neo had joked more than once that the things in Karen's soul were rich enough to open a grocery store, but for a very long time, these "pendants" within Karen's soul had never clashed; they had even staged a quite thorough process of orderization inside the Gate of Samsara with the help of the phantom of the Throne of Order that suppressed Rielsa, and even his grandfather's phantom had been clothed in the elder's divine robes of the Temple of Order.

The scene at hand actually had nothing to do with internal strife or conflict either; it was purely a forced activation by Karen in order to suppress his own hunger addiction.

Yet the effect of this did not seem very good; the more violently you wished to resist and reject, the greater the resulting backlash became instead.

This logic appeared very comical, but in truth, it was a kind of inevitability.

Because the forces of both suppression and resistance originated from himself, Karen was now effectively engaged in a bout between his own left and right hands.

This also made Karen realize that whenever he encountered such an onset of hunger addiction in the future, the most direct method would still be to lock himself down and just endure through that period of time.

Furthermore, in the future, he had to try his best to avoid this kind of situation where food was placed right at his own doorstep.

Otherwise, what should have been a situation where he easily killed someone else would inexplicably transform into a situation where he was roasting himself.

However, these were all matters to note and prepare for subsequently; the situation at hand had to be resolved first.

Since this strength had already locked horns, it was impossible to stop.

The right hand of Dis's phantom pressed down on Karen's shoulder, and he was exerting force, wanting to suppress Karen back down.

But along with the momentum of Karen rising becoming more and more obvious, black flames began to burn upon Dis's phantom; this was not a form of incineration, but rather a form of assimilation.

Because although this figure represented the Inmeres family belief system—Dis having stripped his own source of power from the Church and transformed it into the family inheritance—in essence, they still shared the same origin.

Consequently, once this confrontation arose, only two possibilities could happen.

Either the Inmeres family belief system would assimilate the Order belief system, or the Order belief system would assimilate the Inmeres family belief system; clearly, the former was impossible, so it could only be the latter.

Therefore, if the situation continued and the hunger addiction could not be successfully suppressed, while Karen still allowed his family belief system to act as a ballast stone, then the family belief system grandfather had gifted him might very well be normalized back.

This was the assimilation of systems and sequences; an orthodox Church, in the course of its development over who knows how many years, would certainly absorb and integrate many external branches—it could be the absorption of other Churches, or the absorption of external families or even individuals—and then melt and develop them into one of the sequences under its own system.

The heritage round shield and short knife deep within Muri's soul were actually a type of this integration; the ancestors of the Benda family had integrated their own family sequence into the Holy Church of Order, and in subsequent developments, they obtained the hereditary position of the captain of the High Priest's guard for generations.

Something that had been gouged out with so much effort would have to be patched back in; Karen would not do this kind of losing business.

If it really turned out like this, that would be failing the painstaking care his grandfather had spent on him.

The Goddess of the Dark Moon stood on the other side of Dis, her hand also pressing down on Karen's shoulder, and at this moment, a cluster of black flames appeared on her body as well.

Unlike the assimilation targeted at Dis, to the Goddess of the Dark Moon, this was true melting and dissolution.

So this was why, in the eyes of ordinary people, having many other things extra within the soul was not a good thing, and why very few people would feel envious about it.

The various arduous struggles Neo had waged over those past ten years were the best proof.

Karen could originally pacify them, but this did not mean they could really coexist as a matter of course.

And along with the black flames on the Goddess of the Dark Moon growing more and more intense, the pain at the location of Karen's chest ribs was also rapidly intensifying, as if they were about to crack open one by one.

If such a situation were to continue further, then the mark left by the Goddess of the Dark Moon in Karen's soul would be completely erased—not changing a layer of skin, but eradicated from within.

The shackles formed by the Gate of Samsara were currently being gradually forced open; clearly, its bearing capacity had also reached its limit.

The Armor of the Sea God had already completely vanished, merging into the black phantom upon Karen's body, losing its capacity to resist.

The only one truly able to maintain the suppression without showing an obvious sign of decline was the Belief Dharma Body of the God of Light.

His hand pressed against Karen's forehead, the power of light continuously releasing, only to be pushed back time and again by the black flames; yet when the flames attached to his body, they quickly disappeared—no, it was more like being absorbed, converted into his power, and applied back once more; at the God of Light's place, resistance and suppression formed a small closed loop.

This made Karen unable to help but recall his experience during the last execution of Viclai, when his hunger addiction broke out and he used the flames of order to suppress his own soul, only to cause the effect to deteriorate; it seemed that the power of light was currently the best choice seen to suppress the instinct of the laws of order.

In fact, several times before, Karen had toasted his own soul with the fire of light to distract his attention.

It seemed the coffin Alfred had prepared still needed to be altered a bit more; some arrays of light had to be carved upon it.

A low growl issued from Karen's throat; his current state was very strange—clearly he was at the absolute center of this contention, yet now his perception had a feeling of floating up, and instead he himself seemed like an outsider.

There was actually nothing to be proud of in this "transcendence of material things"; in fact, it meant that as the true subject of consciousness, you had already been marginalized.

The losing of themselves by the vast majority of believers actually came about this way; the soul consciousness was already governed by instinct, and the person themselves no longer held dominance.

If the situation at hand could not be resolved further, then Karen would degenerate into an appendant existence to himself, with not even the margin of a seam left over.

Bishop Dolph, sitting on the chair, had already had a numb expression for a long time; his brain was already unable to continue working, only feeling that the scene witnessed before his eyes was so fantastical and so unbelievable.

He was even already doubting whether he had died long ago, and what he was seeing now was a phantom witnessed after his eternal descent into the abyss of death.

Thousand Charms entwined itself upon the Progenitor Allen, but its attention was not on Karen's body; it was up above, as it could perceive the location where the true Karen was now.

Looking back again, deep within the shadows behind, there was faintly the phantom of a magic cube, and red silk threads were also looming indistinctly.

Thousand Charms felt that it should do something now; after all, it was different from the other "pendants"—the other "pendants" were all soul marks or belief marks and possessed no autonomous consciousness, but it did.

It resided within Karen's body as a subject possessing self-consciousness, which was to say that this Progenitor Allen beneath it could do nothing at all, because his actions were inherently controlled by Karen;

Whereas it needed to make some display of performance, otherwise even Thousand Charms itself could not find a reason why it should continue to exist here—could it be merely to grow a pair of wings for Karen to help during battle?

In fact, without its blessing, Karen could also turn into black mist and fly.

Therefore, what use was it exactly?

The body of Thousand Charms circled once around the neck of the Progenitor Allen, then lifted up, and from the emotionless eyes of the Progenitor Allen, it saw its own reflection.

Oh no, it could be of no use.

But on the basis of being useless, it could still display a little bit of value; in this world, things that were useless yet possessed value were plenty!

After figuring this point out, Thousand Charms suddenly saw the light; it immediately withdrew from the Progenitor Allen, flew above the chair, and began to dance around the position where Karen's consciousness currently existed.

It knew Karen was right here; at this moment its head faced outward, like a loyal servant protecting its master, staring alertly at the surroundings, though regarding the situation, it indeed lacked the ability to change anything.

"You..."

The sudden appearance of Thousand Charms gave Karen a slight surprise as well, and then he only felt it a bit amusing.

But the matter to be done next, Karen had already thought through clearly.

He began to silently recite the incantation for the Black Prison Castle—not in order to condense the Black Prison Castle, but in order to stimulate the Scythe of War.

Don't you like appearing in my dreams very much?

Fine then,

This time,

I am bringing you into the world of my consciousness.

In reality, Bishop Dolph still sat on the chair, that Spear of Punishment thrust into his chest, and Karen stood before him holding the long spear.

However, inside the basement hall, a wind blew up.

The mark symbolizing the *Scythe of War* at the back of Karen's right hand was stimulated into emitting a faint light.

...

"Buzz!"

As if a piece had been forcefully sliced off from the scene before his eyes, replaced instead by a Scythe of War that exuded a daunting aura.

When it appeared, the expression on Bishop Dolph's face became even richer; not only was there no terror, but instead there was a bit of a feeling of being overwhelmed by favor.

To be able to die beneath such a scythe, there would probably be no regrets left either.

But what happened next sent another shockwave through Bishop Dolph’s already borderline-comatose mind.

He had thought too much; why would Karen summon the Scythe of War specifically to finish him off? He simply did not merit such a high-profile execution.

The Scythe of War began to tilt, but its trajectory was aimed at Karen himself—and simultaneously at the majestic, black manifestation of the God of Order’s faith enveloping him.

Thousand-Charms was utterly paralyzed with fear. As the scythe descended, its form was pinned to the spot by a terrifying force, facing the imminent threat of being severed in half.

Yet, guided by Karen’s shifting consciousness, the path of the falling blade altered slightly, allowing Thousand-Charms to escape by the narrowest of margins.

Puff!

Ultimately, the scythe pierced straight into Karen’s chest.

In that instant, it was as though a pause button had been pressed on the surroundings, freezing everything into absolute stillness.

The manifestation of the God of Order shrouding Karen began to fade. Its rising momentum was checked entirely, and Karen sat firmly back down into his chair.

The phantom of Dis withdrew his hand, the phantom of the Goddess of the Dark Moon withdrew her hand, and the God of Light withdrew his hand as well. The three figures retreated backward in unison, vanishing into the darkness.

The Gate of Reincarnation and the Armor of the Sea God dissipated along with them.

Left in the chamber were only two individuals, each remaining in their respective chairs.

One stared blankly ahead, while the other, with a scythe embedded in his chest, sat motionless.

After a long silence, Karen reached out a hand to grasp the edge of the scythe. Then, he slowly lifted his head, his gaze filled with profound exhaustion, though it had at least cleared.

The Chains of Order that had previously bound Bishop Dolph had completely retracted, swirling around Karen once more as if licking his wounds;

Even though this particular wound was entirely of Karen's own making.

Hiss...

Enduring the immense agony, Karen began to slowly draw the Scythe of War from his body. Looking ahead, the Chains of Order seemed tempted to strike at Bishop Dolph once more.

But Karen had no desire to let them go. He had managed to suppress that ravenous hunger with great difficulty, and he did not want his hunting rifle to provoke the food again.

Yet Bishop Dolph had to be dealt with; he was only one final blow away from the end.

"Thousand-Charms, go. Devour him."

Thousand-Charms, who had been scared into the shape of a coiled mosquito incense earlier, instantly revived. It bolted toward Bishop Dolph and began to gnaw at him.

Bishop Dolph chose not to resist. After witnessing the previous scene, he knew resistance was pointless; the sheer magnitude of his shock had eclipsed the dread of his approaching demise.

"Who on earth are you..."

Compared to his inevitable death, Bishop Dolph’s thirst for knowledge was stronger now.

Karen ignored him.

"The Whip of Order has a ceiling. The higher you go, the fewer positions are available. If you want your future development to go smoother, you should take up other roles concurrently. It’s best not to walk this single path entirely."

Karen still ignored him.

"How I wish I could give you something now in exchange for your protection of my family."

Karen replied:

"Keep dreaming."

"Then my last question, I hope you can answer me..."

Bishop Dolph ignored Thousand-Charms, who was frantically devouring him,

"Dalis... is he a curse?"

Karen answered, "He will be like it, eating the Norton family completely clean."

Hearing this, Bishop Dolph actually smiled and said:

"Then I am glad I held back from killing him. At least the Norton family still has hope, don't they?"

Karen was tired and closed his eyes.

All around, only the rustling sound of Thousand-Charms chewing echoed continuously. Bishop Dolph no longer screamed, but occasionally let out intermittent laughter.

After a while, the laughter faded entirely.

Thousand-Charms flew back heavily, coiling itself before Karen in a highly ingratiating manner.

However, while its naturally slender body used to look like a neat mosquito coil, it was now bloated and un-degraded, making it resemble a pile of...

Karen exhaled a long breath. In the future, if there were any more executions or killings to be done, he would leave them to either Neo or Alfred; he would try to avoid participating himself.

After this incident, it would likely take a long time for the injuries to his soul to heal.

Karen looked up at the Scythe of War in front of him. He wanted to move it out of his consciousness space again, but the base of the scythe seemed rooted there, entirely immobile.

It had already signed a contract with Karen, but before this, Karen had never allowed it in. Now that it was inside, it would be very difficult to remove.

This was an unstable factor beyond his control, but Karen had no energy left to think about how to handle it now, so he could only leave it be for the time being.

The next moment,

Karen leaned his body backward.

In reality, Karen opened his eyes. Bishop Dolph, who sat before him, was devoid of life. He was dead, completely dead, with no trace of spiritual energy left to be sensed within his corpse.

This meant Thousand-Charms’ cleanup operation was as thorough as a purification spell.

...

In the study upstairs, Bishop Byrne opened his eyes.

"It’s over."

Promptly, Bishop Byrne’s figure vanished from the study.

The next moment,

He appeared outside the barrier at the edge of the basement hall, the pendant emitting a faint sound.

Bishop Byrne did not disturb Karen, choosing instead to observe silently. He watched Karen step forward, expecting him to close Bishop Dolph’s eyes, but instead, Karen merely raised his hand,

Slap!

He delivered a smack to the back of Bishop Dolph’s head, forcing his face downward.

Immediately after, Karen covered his mouth and let out a string of coughs.

"Cough, cough... cough, cough..."

When he lowered his hand, he saw the bright crimson in his palm.

Bishop Byrne frowned slightly. He received the blessing, yet he was wounded?

Did the blessing fail?

As a veteran conspirator, Bishop Byrne’s observation and intuition were not something a bishop of Dolph's caliber could match.

...

Dolph was dead, and he had opened his eyes. Karen did not look back, nor did his consciousness attempt to permeate the barrier, but he knew very well that Bishop Byrne had in all probability appeared outside and was watching him.

Toward this Bishop Byrne, he felt no hatred, but Karen knew clearly that they were not the same kind of people. This man was even somewhat repulsive; it would be best to stay away from him in the future.

Ultimately, he was someone who could scheme against and manipulate his own son from childhood. How could there truly be room for genuine warmth toward anyone else in his heart?

Until his own strength and status surpassed the man's, he could afford no illusions about his better nature.

"Cough, cough..."

Staring at the fresh blood pooling in his palm, Karen shook his head in a fit of helpless resignation. For a long time to come, he would have to nurse his wounds and stay as far from combat as possible.

A low hum resonated.

The barrier dissolved.

Bishop Bern asked as he strode into the room, "Karen, how are you faring now?"

My Lord Bishop, you certainly are impatient.

Karen sighed inwardly, turning around to offer his reply.

"My Lord Bishop, Bishop Dolph did not intimidate me. Instead, he bestowed his blessing upon me, channeling the entirety of his power into my form, including the very nascent sprout of his faith."

"And yet, you seem to have sustained injuries?"

"My Lord Bishop, have you ever tended a vegetable garden?"

"Hmm?"

"Anyone who has tilled the soil knows one thing: if you apply too much fertilizer all at once, you will burn the roots. Bishop Dolph gave me far too much. I could not stomach it, and a great deal went to waste. Even so, I can already feel myself bloated to the point of injury. It is rather painful and distressing."

"Bloated to the point of injury means you must have had your fill, correct?"

"Yes, My Lord Bishop."

"And having had your fill, there ought to be some result, shouldn't there?"

"Yes, there should be."

"Come, let me examine your body. I hope no irreparable damage has been done."

Bishop Bern reached out and grasped Karen’s wrist. Karen offered no resistance, only letting a faint smile touch his lips.

Just as Bishop Bern prepared to thread his consciousness through the point of contact at the wrist and into Karen's body for inspection, a surging, tempestuous torrent of power rippled outward from within Karen, completely repelling his consciousness.

In the next breath, a solemn, ancient Inquisitor's divine robe—jet black with edges bleeding into crimson—manifested before Karen. The aura enveloping him began to escalate at a staggering pace, welcoming this transformation of realm.

To Bishop Bern’s watchful eyes, this did not look like the arduous struggle of breaching a bottleneck. It seemed more like a matter of course, an exceptionally stable and perhaps even casual step forward.

Bishop Bern nodded in silence. It appeared Dolph's blessing had produced a highly conspicuous effect, directly assisting Karen in breaking through the threshold of the Inquisitor rank.

Very well, My Lord Bishop. Since you wished to examine me, I shall take the initiative to help you confirm it.

Yes,

Let us... advance.