Four Split Personalities

From this, it was clear that since that thing had been contained until now, its strength definitely wasn’t that strong. Anything that couldn’t break out of this cell for months, a single blow from my staff should kill at least two!

So Cordova was neither panicked nor scared, apart from occasionally shivering a bit, incessantly steaming from the back of his neck, and belting out heroic tunes to embolden himself, he remained utterly composed and calm.

Then, a few hours later, at game time AM 11:07, when he suddenly discovered the black mist beginning to solidify into a humanoid shape and felt the temperature around him plummeting rapidly, Cordova stood up leisurely, "Ah!!!!!!"

The monster roared, "Ahhh ahhh ahhh!!!"

Cordova was shocked, "Ah!!!!"

The monster lunged, "Ahhh ahhh ahhh!!!"

Then ensued the scene that concluded the last Chapter, with the monster being repelled back by the arcane restraints at the front of the cell.

"Phew... scared the hell out of me."

Cordova, still with a racing heart, clutched the Staff of the Punisher and cautiously took a couple of steps forward, squinting as he scrutinized the face of the disheveled, frenzied humanoid creature.

"Ahhh ahhh ahhh!!!"

There came another outraged roar from the creature as it charged at him.

"Holy mother!"

Cordova deftly leaped back with agility, and then saw the monster getting bounced back by the fleeting divine restraint, with a couple of wisps of blue smoke rising off it.

"Wow, try to scare your brother Yu, will you!"

Cordova cleared his throat, and after rigorously confirming that the other really couldn’t break out and truly was very weak, he swaggered forward again and flipped the middle finger at the person: "Lulululu~~~"

"Ahhh ahhh ahhh!!!"

The latter charged, repelled again.

"Spit spit spit~"

Cordova attempted to spit at the other (since the Rune Body had no saliva, so it was an ’attempt’).

"Ahhh ahhh ahhh!!!"

The latter attacked again, repelled yet again.

"You’re nothing!"

Cordova disdainfully folded his arms as he observed the other, "Cool it, kiddo."

The other naturally had no intention of heeding his words, simply growling and continually charging at the cell.

Amid this process, Cordova got a clear look at him...

Though a thin layer of black mist covered the humanoid creature’s face, its height, physique, and facial contours were indeed very similar to Motan, but its aura was worlds apart.

Of course, although worlds apart in temperament, it had nothing to do with Motan himself; the humanoid creature in front of Cordova was simply too brutal and insane, a complete madman beyond communication. Moreover, with the ability to turn into a black mist, calling it a monster wasn’t far fetched.

Beneath that maniacal veneer, however, there was a chill that Cordova found eerily familiar. Despite its tenuity, it persisted firmly, giving Cordova, who had unpleasant memories, the creeps.

So, after squatting and observing for about ten minutes in front of the cell, Cordova took a deep breath. With the mindset of ’it doesn’t hurt to try’, he pulled out a Revelation Crystal from his knapsack. With his depletion along the journey, besides the 89% remaining energy in the crystal on the Staff of the Punisher, these rechargeable treasures brought from Sky Pillar Mountain were down to the last two.

However, as long as the other wasn’t any part of the Apocalypse shadow in the sunlight, the crystal would show no damage, so it was harmless to test it out. Now that two Lights of the Apocalypse had been found, and one Shadow previously identified, if he were to stumble upon the last Shadow by sheer dumb luck, then Cordova’s mission would be considered directly accomplished!

The reason to use a new crystal from the knapsack was because only when a crystal’s energy was at 100% could it fulfill its identification function. This feature acted as a safeguard; otherwise, among other things, if Cordova and Mo spent time together, they wouldn’t do anything else, just shatter crystals all day long.

Meanwhile...

Shaven Empire, Royal City Turen, Sin Duke’s Manor

"Hm?"

Motan, who was sunbathing in the courtyard, suddenly chuckled inexplicably, then closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair to feign sleep.

...

Game time AM 11:18

Holy Land, City of Light

"What is that..."

As she was in audience with the Pope along with Yu Chen, Xia Lian suddenly stood up and abruptly turned to look towards a certain direction.

"Eh?"

Yu Chen was startled for a moment and subconsciously asked, "Saintess sister, what did you sa... Uh."

Before she could finish speaking, she received a brief message from a friend in Cordova, which contained only four words—’Big trouble!!!’

"There is an unpleasant aura to the east, but the distance isn’t very far."

The current Pope of the Church of the Dawn, Pope Saint Ambrosio Ashir, also slowly stood up and looked out the window along with Xia Lian, speaking in a grave tone, "That aura does not carry the sense of desecration; rather, it seems more like... a warning."

Pope Ambrosio was a nearly two-hundred-year-old lizardman, short in stature, hunched in form, draped in a magnificent robe interwoven with pure white, dark gold, and bright silver colors, wearing a crown so large that it made people worry about his neck, holding a white gold scepter over two meters tall, topped with a colorless triangular Revelation Crystal. His voice was gentle and benevolent, his demeanor not reminiscent of a Pope of significant authority but rather more akin to the retired old man from next door who had been out of work for seventeen or eighteen years, or maybe the aged librarian from a local library.

In fact, Ambrosio was indeed the keeper of various scriptures for the Church of the Dawn before taking up the papacy and being graced with the title ’Saint’ in his name. Saying that he was a librarian would not be an overstatement.

"Your Holiness, could you please say something that Wang Yu and I can understand?"

Xia Lian glanced at Ambrosio behind her without much patience. Despite her respectful language, the tone lacked any reverence, which made Yu Chen, who had met the Pope for only the third time, very nervous.

But Pope Ambrosio had no objections to Xia Lian’s attitude; instead, he just smiled wryly and shook his head, "Can’t you give me a little face in front of little Wang Yu?"

"How old are you already, and you’re still concerned about saving face?"

Xia Lian pursed her lips, gesturing with her hand, "Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to save face for you at other times. It would be exhausting to always put on airs even in front of my own apprentice."

The Dawn Pope chuckled bitterly twice, then sat back down on the high-backed chair behind him and made a ridiculous face.

To clarify, it wasn’t that Pope Ambrosio’s style was out of place; in fact, from all aspects, His Holiness seemed to be a conventional Pope—powerful, wise, erudite, steady, calm, and aged, fulfilling most people’s fantasies of what a ’Pope’ should be. He was not like Xia Lian, someone who could shatter nearly everyone’s fantasies of what a ’Saintess’ should be.

There was a reason for this scene...

As is commonly known, lizardmen have an average lifespan of about 150 to 200 years, not unlike dwarves, slightly longer than gnomes and humans, shorter than half-dragons, and elves... well, elves are incomparable.

And Xia Lian was an elf, an elf who had been a Saintess for the Church of the Dawn for several hundred years.

What does this imply?

Let’s put it this way, Ambrosio, who grew up in an orphanage under the Church of the Dawn, became a Priest before reaching adulthood, and then spent around a hundred years to rise to the position of Pope, had been beaten up small and large nearly a hundred times by Xia Lian.

This was quite... awkward.

Although the current Pope Ambrosio’s strength and status were higher than Xia Lian’s, it was clear that their relationship was unlikely to become that of a typical Pope and Saintess.

It couldn’t be helped; it wasn’t just Ambrosio, even the predecessor Pope often fought with Xia Lian; the two had always been close buddies (with Xia Lian as the ’bro’).

"So what exactly is going on over there?"

"You want me to speak plainly?"

"Speak plainly!"

"I don’t know, but it’s probably not a heretic or an Evil God, nor is it a chaotic or evil-aligned powerhouse. I’ve never seen such a nature of power before."

"Hmm, so what on earth is it..."

Xia Lian rubbed her head irritably.

Then...

Yu Chen, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, "Apocalypse."

Both of them immediately looked at her, puzzled.

"It’s the power of Sky Pillar Mountain... Sister Xia Lian, Cordova asked me to tell you to rush to the Trial Court immediately!"

Chapter 521: The End