Chapter 40: Dark Cultist

Chapter 40: The Black Cleric

Li Wei smiled. "Handled."

Vince shook his head. "It's not over yet. That was merely the weakest kind of nightmare."

Sssshhh!

A scraping sound came from the darkness. Li Wei turned, casting a tiny fireball that lit the path ahead.

Ler, who had been lying on the ground, was now standing.

But something was clearly wrong.

Vince’s face darkened. “Damn it! The nightmare has taken control of Ler’s body!”

Ler raised his hand. Fire gathered before him, forming a small blazing sphere.

Whoosh!

The fireball shot toward the two.

Boom!

A magical shield intercepted it, trembling violently under the impact.

Vince caught sight of a robed figure behind Ler and shouted in fury, “Cursed follower of Yubis!”

He raised his staff, ignoring Ler’s attack, and began to chant.

“Thorned Vine!”

Spiked tendrils erupted from the earth like a giant serpent, coiling around the black-robed man.

Two figures suddenly appeared before the robed man, blocking the vine’s advance. The serpentine thorns halted.

Vince stared at the robed figure, hesitation flickering in his eyes.

The two figures shielding him were apprentice mages from the Mage Tower.

He could not kill them. Dared not.

With no choice, Vince dispelled the spell.

The thorned serpent dissolved into shimmering specks of green earth essence, vanishing into the air.

The robed man gazed at Vince and Li Wei, his voice hoarse. “We both beg for power from divine beings—why do you persecute me?”

Vince snarled, “You worship a false god—one who brings only ruin to this world!”

The robed man laughed bitterly. “How few wars have the Churches of the Gods waged in the name of their deities? How many have they brought suffering to? Yet no one dares punish them.”

He whispered, “So it all comes down to power.”

“Because the Churches are strong, they can do as they please.”

“When the Church of Yubis grows strong, its followers shall be revered by thousands!”

“God! Grant me strength!”

At the end of the sewer, a dim crimson glow ignited.

On the ground, several corpses lay piled—drained of blood, their entrails removed and arranged in a circle.

The red light intensified.

Li Wei and Vince saw the scarlet radiance spilling from around the corner.

A chill ran through them.

Vince cried out in horror, “Damn it! He’s completed the blood ritual!”

Li Wei no longer hesitated.

In less than three seconds, a fireball thrice the normal power shot forth.

Vince stared in shock—never expecting Li Wei to act so decisively, so ruthlessly.

Then he realized—he had misjudged him.

The fireball arced past the two apprentices and struck the black-robed man behind them.

Boom-crash!

An explosion far greater than any zero-tier spell should produce hurled the robed man backward several meters.

The two apprentices were thrown down as well, bruised and dazed—but alive.

The black robes were torn away, revealing a pale, twisted body beneath.

He writhed in the filth, screaming—the left half of his body scorched and shattered.

Vince’s face lit with sudden hope. “Excellent!”

“Leave the rest to me!”

Earth essence gathered before Vince, forming another spell.

A ball of deep crimson light flew from the end of the sewer, plunging into the wounded cleric.

His screams turned guttural. Skin split open, flesh writhed and bulged—within moments, he transformed into a grotesque monstrosity over two meters tall.

His right arm swelled monstrously, pushing his neck and head entirely to the left.

His head hung like a tumor from his shoulder.

“Thorned Vine!”

Again, the spiked serpent surged from the ground, wrapping tightly around the mutated form.

Click-click-click!

Barbed thorns dug deeper as the vine constricted, piercing flesh, crushing bone, warping the creature’s frame.

Riiip!

A massive arm tore through the vine, snapping the thick tendril like a twig.

Shattered vines fell, dissolving into scattered motes of green essence.

Panic flashed across Vince’s face.

“Damn it! He’s broken into the second tier!”

Whoosh!

Another fireball streaked forward, striking the monster.

Boom!

A violent detonation filled the sewer with blinding flame.

Foul, putrid water splashed against the walls.

The stench spread—overpowering, nauseating. Li Wei gagged.

When the blast faded, lingering embers illuminated the creature’s silhouette.

Even that devastating fireball had failed to kill it.

The monster’s right arm was charred black, blocking the attack of the firebolt.

Click, click, click!

Fragments of scorched skin fell away, revealing crimson flesh beneath.

“Graaah! I… will… kill… you!”

The dark acolyte had lost all reason—only bloodlust remained in his eyes, fixed upon Li Wei with mad intensity.

Boom, boom, boom!

The beast charged forward in great strides toward Li Wei.

Suddenly, Li Wei sensed a disturbance in the earth elements around him—a powerful surge of magical energy descending from above.

Boom, boom, boom!

Bricks lining the sewer walls shattered as several massive stone pillars erupted through them, impaling the creature.

Thud!

In an instant, the monster was torn apart by overwhelming force.

Intersecting columns of rock stretched across the tunnel, its mangled corpse crushed between them.

Vince cried out in relief, “Mage Allen!”

Crack!

He heard a sound and pulled the talisman stone from his pocket—the white stone had split apart.

Above them, on solid ground, Allen stood atop the sewer grate, retrieving his staff planted firmly in the earth.

A faint smile touched his lips. “It’s over.”

The talisman’s purpose was tracking. Once the dark acolyte was located, Allen could pinpoint his position and strike from afar.

Even if Vince and Li Wei had fallen into enemy hands, Allen could still eliminate the threat without hesitation.

Li Wei exhaled deeply. Finally, it was truly finished.

But the moment he let his guard down, a nightmare surged up from the filthy water, lunging at him.

Crack!

It slammed into his magic shield—the barrier rippled violently before emitting a breaking sound.

Li Wei’s heart froze.

Boom!

A wave of blue light pressed against his body, trying to force its way inside.

Only the invisible armor held it back.

Seeing this, Li Wei steadied himself.

He cast firebolt once more.

Seconds passed before Vince realized what had happened.

“Li Wei!” he shouted.

Another nightmare? Then he remembered—the one that had possessed Lyle’s body.

A grotesque face pressed close to Li Wei’s, blocked only by the invisible armor.

From within the nightmare came the acolyte’s hoarse screams and whispers:

“I… will… kill… you!”

Staring at the twisted visage before him, Li Wei raised the rapidly swelling fireball in his hand.

Ignoring the spell’s structural limits, he poured magic into it wildly.

“Die!”

Boom!

The fireball exploded, flames consuming both the nightmare and Li Wei.

A self-destructing firebolt—five times the power of a normal one.

Its force rivaled that of a first-tier fire spell!

Crack!

The invisible armor shattered. Hot wind seared Li Wei’s cheeks; his clothes clung tightly to his sweat-drenched body.

The nightmare born from the dark acolyte vanished without a trace.

At last, everything ended.

Vince looked at Li Wei, sitting on the ground, and called out from a distance, “Li Wei, are you alright?”

He feared the nightmare might have taken possession of Li Wei’s body.

Li Wei shook his head, stood up, brushed off the dust, and said, “I’m fine.”

He glanced at Vince, then hesitated, words unspoken.

After killing the dark acolyte, a fragment of memory had surfaced in his mind—one that did not belong to him.

(End of Chapter)