Chapter 636: Confrontation

Chapter 636: Clash

Neo entered the cave, its descent not particularly steep but running incredibly deep, enveloped in a total, devouring darkness.

From time to time, a draft would whistle out from within, implying that there was more than one entrance down below; if one were to view this place as a cage, it was truly riddled with holes.

Moving inward for a short distance with a modicum of caution, Neo halted his steps, tilting his head down to peer into the gloom as a faint, eerie green luster rippled across his pupils, reminiscent of a bat.

Beneath his feet should have been an ant nest, the ants here being far larger than those of the outside world, making their mound resemble a human-head-sized ice cream sundae.

Compared to the surrounding hard earth and rocky walls, it was undoubtedly soft and retained a hint of moisture, leaving behind a distinct boot print where it had been stepped on.

Neo crouched down, scrutinizing the mark, and then a smile touched his lips:

"The combat boots of the Order of Knights."

He reached out, giving it a gentle poke; the earth still held a touch of pliability, indicating it had been trodden upon quite recently.

To simplify matters, if one discarded the notion of fugitive or special-assignment knights randomly taking a stroll here, and ignored the possibility of some Order of Knights enthusiast specially mimicking the Order’s attire just to come here for a walk...

Then the only member of the Knights known to have arrived in the subterranean world recently was Commander Daan.

"He sends us here to kill someone, yet he himself was personally here not long ago, sigh..."

Neo let out a sigh; in truth, even before this, he and Garen knew that the target they were meant to eliminate this time would be far from simple, possessing a rather peculiar identity.

From the look of things now, the target’s identity might be even more complicated than what they had initially anticipated.

Therefore, regarding the identity of this apostate, it was best not to know too much; it was wiser to simply treat it as a straightforward execution mission.

Furthermore, once the mission concluded, their side would have to maintain absolute secrecy, ensuring this matter ended as quietly as possible without stirring up any further waves.

"She probably shares a rather intricate relationship with certain high-ranking individuals..."

This was a highly sensitive assignment, though unfortunately, everyone's lips had already been sweetened in advance with preserves.

Neo could not help but think of Kevin; since most of Garen's secrets were laid bare to Neo, Neo knew that Kevin had once served as the white glove for the God of Order.

Now, he and the others were acting as Commander Daan's white gloves.

To be a white glove meant having the awareness of a white glove—the job had to be done cleanly, for a soiled glove was easily discarded.

Giving his neck a slight twist, Neo’s entire form dissolved into a swarm of bats that flew down into the depths, abandoning his previous cautious demeanor for a pure, unadulterated rush of speed.

Since Commander Daan had been here before, the stretch of distance leading all the way to the absolute core should be devoid of any other dangers.

Sure enough, after flying for a time, Neo finally arrived at a flat grotto below, where the visibility was actually quite high due to the crystalline stones embedded in the walls.

Yet at that exact moment, a puddle ahead suddenly refracted a bizarre sheen, and very quickly, the water stood upright, resembling a mirror with dynamic, rippling waves.

...

Deep within the grotto, that colossal red heart gave a gentle, rhythmic throb, and from inside the organ, a woman gradually seeped out, the flesh of her back completely fused with the heart itself.

The Grand Necromancer, Morindi, bore a serene expression as she murmured to herself:

"Have you come, Garen?"

Morindi raised her left hand, slowly curling her fingers into a fist.

...

A black vortex manifested within the mirror before Neo, and a dense aura of death was rapidly coalescing.

By all accounts, foolishly standing in place to wait for the necromantic summoning spell before him to successfully manifest was hardly Neo’s style, but the corners of his eyes had already caught the positions on either side of the mirror.

There, two entities with completely concealed auras were waiting for him to step forward to disrupt the spell, poised to launch a sneak attack the moment he did.

Moreover, the spell before his eyes was clearly being slowed down intentionally; the moment he attempted to strike first, that spell which originally required a minute to succeed might very well transform into a three-second completion.

This apostate was entirely at ease; she faced no crisis of life and death whatsoever, appearing more inclined to slowly toy with these executioners.

Neo tried taking a step backward, and as expected, the gathering of the spell accelerated.

So I cannot even leave?

Such confidence.

"Buzz!"

The spell finished condensing, the black mirror looking as though it had been stained with ink, and a figure stepped out from within, a thick aura of death radiating from his body, though his appearance remained starkly vivid.

This person was... Forden.

The Whipper of the Whip of Order.

Neo naturally believed it impossible for Forden to be dead, let alone dead and summoned by the opponent.

Thus, either the opponent was utilizing this method specifically to humiliate him, or the opponent was very familiar with Forden—at least, they had been familiar once.

Because the Forden before him was visibly much younger than the Whipper who frequently appeared in the Order Weekly nowadays.

Neo pursed his lips; his reconnaissance mission was actually not yet complete at this stage, because factual contact had not been established, and his task was to test just what tier the opponent's strength resided in, given the premise that the imprisonment array had been inversely penetrated and controlled by her. If her strength was absurdly high... then this mission could only be abandoned.

After all, there was no reason to throw everyone’s lives away here; it simply was not worth it.

But if the opponent’s strength fell within an acceptable range, then they would eliminate her if they could, even if it meant paying a certain price.

Neo moved.

He did not charge directly at Forden, choosing instead to bypass him.

Forden remained stationary, not moving an inch, but a crack split open beneath Forden’s feet, and with a sharp "crack," the fissure rapidly expanded, encompassing a massive area.

Cracks appeared beneath Neo's feet as well, and an invisible constriction began to bind him.

This was an utterly inconceivable binding spell!

Before this, Neo had never seen anyone employ it this way in reality.

With his figure shackled, two lizardmen materialized on either side of Neo's body, their frames covered in runes, long since dead and refined into puppets.

The two lizardmen each wielded a blade, thrusting them in a cross-cut toward Neo.

Neo’s hands rose swiftly, deflecting the two blades away from himself, the sheer strength of the lizardmen causing them to plunge their weapons into each other's chests.

This appeared to be a magnificent display of redirecting force, but as their respective blades pierced their chests, the two lizardmen opened their mouths and unleashed a howling roar, their bodies rapidly petrifying as a small, indestructible array slammed shut, locking Neo directly inside.

Right now, he looked as though he were being embraced by the two lizardmen.

Had it been anyone else, they would have been considered captured alive at this point.

Yet Neo’s body underwent a sudden distortion, and the trapped man dissolved into a cloud of black mist; the two petrified lizardmen crashed violently together, scattering the black mist entirely.

However, a plume of bloody mist emerged from the scattered black vapor, and after rapidly breaking free, it recondensed into Neo's figure.

This was an escape accomplished in a short span by exploiting the sole loophole of this locking array; they were, after all, puppets rather than living people, moving only according to operational logic without a human's capacity for adaptation.

Yet just as Neo reformed his body, before he could even catch his breath, a chilling aura had already manifested behind him.

It was Forden.

Neo turned instantly, but his chest was impaled by palms—pierced through by both hands simultaneously, one of which was already clutching Neo’s heart.

"Bang!"

Without a shred of hesitation, it crushed the organ, exploding into a flurry of feathers.

What Forden held gripped in his hand had turned into a cute rag doll.

But the real Neo support himself with one hand and landed in the distance, his eyes filled with shock.

During the previous series of clashes, his operations had been maxed out, and even so, he remained on the edge of walking a tightrope, completely suppressed by the opponent.

Vorden raised his hand and pointed at Neo.

Cracks unexpectedly spread all the way toward Neo from the direction of Vorden's finger, exploding directly midway to form a cage of fractures.

With a flick of his left hand, a black dagger appeared in Neo's palm, but he chose not to use it for an emergency defense, instead driving the dagger into the ground before him while chanting a Vampire incantation.

Immediately after, Neo pulled out the dagger he had just inserted, and blood gushed from the ground, quickly forming a pool of blood beneath his feet.

The pool of blood began to seep, and soon, all the cracks around Neo were drenched in it.

A scarlet gleam flashed in Neo's eyes as he clenched both fists, and behind him, a ferocious, grimacing phantom face emerged.

Neo opened his mouth, and the phantom face did the same, unleashing a fierce shriek.

The blood that had seeped into the cracks began to boil rapidly, surging backward to assault Vorden.

Vorden did not retreat; with him as the center, a void formed around his body, absorbing all the cracks and blood.

This was an utterly unimaginable way of fighting, but next, an even more inconceivable scene occurred.

Inside the massive blood-red phantom face behind Neo, a void unexpectedly appeared as well, and Vorden stepped out from within, raising his head.

"Bang!"

In an instant, the phantom face shattered.

Vorden brought his foot down toward Neo, who flipped his other hand, a blue dagger carving out a piercing sound of friction as it stabbed toward the sole of Vorden's foot.

This was a dagger produced by the Church of Pamireth, possessing the ability to resonate with spatial ripples.

It was truly not surprising at all for Neo to have these trinkets on him; considering he even had the spare capacity to help Karen collect usable weapons, how could he himself be lacking?

However, when this dagger stabbed forward, it felt as though it were pressing against an invisible membrane.

This stomp from Vorden was not an attack, but a sealing array.

"Buzz!"

In an instant, taking the sole of Vorden's boot as a cross-section, a plane burning with the Fire of Order rapidly expanded, and then an immensely vast and terrifying force was applied, threatening to crush Neo beneath it.

With a squelch, he was pressed into the ground.

"Squeak squeak squeak..."

At a position on the ground diagonally ahead, blood oozed out and re-coalesced into Neo's form, but his face was already exceedingly pale.

"Hiss..."

This was a secret Vampire technique that Neo had learned from the old guy, but his current bloodline of the Bloodthirsty Mutant Demon had not yet reached the point where he could deploy it with ease; this time was purely to save his life, though the price of survival was an extremely heavy injury.

The Vampire power inside his body fell into a withered state due to the use of this secret technique, and next, his body's self-healing ability would drop to its absolute lowest point.

"Ah..."

Neo struck his own forehead forcefully, appearing to be in great agony.

However, Vorden suddenly stood there, motionless.

This made Neo, who had deliberately put on this performance, feel a bit awkward, because he was waiting for Vorden to approach for another attack so he could use Light magic to isolate him, forcefully severing the connection between Vorden and the person controlling him; this seemed to be the most effective way to break the deadlock at present, since Light magic and Undead magic were considered two opposing attributes.

During the previous clashes, Neo had refrained from using his most powerful Light strength precisely to wait intentionally for the critical moment.

But the opponent was not giving him the opportunity anymore.

...

"Bloodthirsty Mutant Demon bloodline?"

Above the heart, Molindi frowned slightly; that skeleton had not told her that the one named Karen also possessed the Bloodthirsty Mutant Demon bloodline.

Is it Karen?

Although not being told did not mean he definitely did not have it, when the skeleton spoke to her about the young man named Karen, it frequently used the word "pure";

Molindi believed in the skeleton's intelligence-gathering capabilities, so this person... might not be Karen.

Did someone else come to kill her?

Instead of sending Karen, it was someone else?

Molindi raised her hand:

"Stop for now."

...

Inside the flat layer of the cavern, a bizarrely eerie silence fell.

Neo constantly looked around, searching for the true location of that apostate; as for the Vorden before his eyes, he was instead not the primary focus of his attention.

But one thing that absolutely had to be acknowledged was: had the Whipper-in been this powerful since his youth.

This existence, which could be described as either a puppet or an undead summon, must have been formed in the early days, and perhaps back then the Whipper-in had even specifically granted it a spiritual imprint, which amounted to copying his own magic and combat style into it.

The truth was indeed so; Molindi had been in the same group as Vorden back then, and they had followed Norton from very early on, back when he was not yet the High Priest.

As a necromancer, when Molindi intended to nurture a few special undead summons, her companions were naturally glad to help.

Back when the atmosphere among the group was great, the companions even treated having their own images copied into undead summons here as a fashion show, not only focusing heavily on copying in their habitual magic, but also having extremely high requirements for the appearance and clothing.

Those were also the years that Molindi missed to this day.

If she had not seen through the High Priest's true purpose, she would not have had to be imprisoned here for decades, not only missing the best period for developing her strength, but also missing out on opportunities for career advancement.

Vorden became the Whipper-in, and Daan became the Commander; if she were still in that team, she should also be serving as the chief or deputy chief in some system of the Church of Order by now.

"Take off your mask."

The woman's voice came through, and Neo knew it should be that apostate.

"I don't know what you are talking about, ma'am. I am just an exploration enthusiast who likes to go cave probing and promote environmentalism."

While attempting to lock onto the apostate's position based on the voice, Neo talked nonsense that even he felt was pure garbage.

But just at this moment, around Neo, five black mirrors appeared once again, standing upright there, each containing a figure within.

Wow...

Neo knew it was time for him to slip away.

If an undead summon of the same level as Vorden could step out from each of these five mirrors, then this fight truly did not need to be contested anymore.

It wasn't that there was no chance, but rather that if he insisted on fighting for that chance, a massive question mark would truly have to be placed on how many of the people he brought this time could leave alive.

Not worth it, too much of a loss, not doing it anymore; he would rather go back and be roared at by Daan.

"Take off your mask."

The woman's voice came through once more.

Neo called out loudly, "Then you must at least let me see you, lady."

"As you wish."

A massive red heart shifted outward, and standing upon it was Molindi.

Neo's eyes instantly widened, and in that fleeting moment, his mind began furiously calculating the success rate of a sudden assassination attempt using his powers of Light.

But the moment he sensed the terrifying power concealed within that colossal heart, he immediately abandoned the notion.

A heart, which ought to have symbolized the very essence of life, was instead filled with an incredibly dense aura of the undead; even if he were absurdly lucky enough to successfully assassinate her, his only reward would be instant annihilation by the bursting wave of undead energy.

This was no fun...

Morindi looked at Neo and said, "Your turn."

"How did you know I was wearing a mask?" Neo asked.

"I saw it just now when you used that secret Blood Ghoul art to escape. It was an oversight on your part, if you intend to keep your identity hidden."

"Thank you for the reminder."

Neo reached out and peeled away his own "skin," revealing a raw, blood-red face beneath.

Morindi frowned slightly. "You used your own skin to make a mask?"

Neo replied, "Yes, because for a time I was on the verge of losing myself. I used this method to steel my faith in Order."

Morindi sighed. Once he removed his mask and revealed his true countenance, his age alone made it immediately clear that he was not the outstanding young cultist the skeleton held in such high regard.

Shortly after, Morindi spoke, "Very well, you may leave."

"I can leave?" Neo could hardly believe his ears. He had still been pondering how to slip away, yet the other party was actually being so magnanimous as to let him go.

"Go on, I will not kill you. There are already few within the Holy Church who possess the Blood Ghoul lineage, and those who can elevate it to such a level without losing themselves are fewer still. I have only ever met one before; you are the second.

A talent like you, I am loath to kill. It would be too much of a pity."

Uh, were these really the words of a renegade?

Neo felt that the world had grown a bit too absurd and bizarre.

Still, since she was letting him leave, he might as well go; once he returned, he would simply tell Karen that the mission was off.

As Morindi watched Neo preparing to depart, she suddenly asked:

"What is your name? I wish to know if you are that person's student. That person and I were once good friends."

Neo thought to himself: Then you are bound to be disappointed, for my lineage comes from the First Embrace given by my wife.

Immediately following that,

Neo replied with great politeness:

"My Lord, my name is Karen."