Chapter 83: Death
The weather above the fortress changed without warning, dark clouds spread across the sky and covered the morning sun, turning the light over the battlefield grey.
Wind rushed through the streets, tearing loose tiles from the roofs as lightning moved continuously inside the gathering storm.
The clouds began rotating above the inner city, within several breaths they had formed an enormous cyclone centered over the cathedral district and its descending winds pulled dust, broken stone and loose objects from the surrounding streets.
Everyone upon the fortress walls noticed it and the soldiers and participants looked back toward the city, while even the beasts outside slowed beneath the sudden pressure spreading from the storm.
The two commanders fighting above the battlefield separated after another collision. The fortress commander turned toward the cyclone and his expression changed when he recognised that the disturbance had begun inside the city.
He immediately moved toward the fortress, but the enemy commander crossed the distance and blocked his path.
The living weapons covering his arms struck toward the commander’s chest, forcing him to stop and defend instead of returning to the walls.
"You are fighting me," the enemy commander said. "Whatever is happening behind you is no longer your concern."
The fortress commander forced the weapons away with his spear, but his opponent remained between him and the city. Another pulse rose from the cathedral district, and the cyclone descended farther as dark lightning spread across the clouds.
Inside the courtyard, Xingluo drove her sword against the weapon of the masked man before her.
Wuxia’s shadows closed around the other Church members while Han Zhen and Miao Tianhe attacked from opposite sides, preventing any of them from leaving.
The four masked men suddenly stopped resisting and their bodies began swelling beneath their clothes. Dark veins spread across their exposed skin, while their arms and necks expanded unnaturally as mana gathered inside them.
Wuxia felt the instability first. "Get away from them."
His shadows pulled Xingluo back as Han Zhen and Miao Tianhe retreated and the remaining participants barely cleared the courtyard before the four Church members released a single distorted scream and exploded together.
Blood and torn flesh spread through the courtyard, but the cyclone immediately pulled everything upward.
Their remains twisted into the storm and their screams continued echoing inside the clouds even after their bodies had disappeared.
The group remained still only long enough to protect themselves from the blast. "They sacrificed themselves to the formation," Han Zhen said as he looked toward the cathedral.
Xingluo had already begun moving and Miao Tianhe and the others followed while Wuxia sent several shadows across the rooftops ahead of them.
The wind grew stronger as they entered the cathedral district. Lightning struck between the surrounding buildings, and the storm above them continued drawing mana from the formation nodes hidden throughout the city.
Xingluo tried contacting Su Lan and Ruan Mei through the shared channel, but neither answered.
They reached the cathedral steps and found the main doors closed, Han Zhen struck one side with his weapon while Miao Tianhe attacked the other and Xingluo kicked through the weakened centre before the doors could resist again.
The scene inside stopped them at the entrance, bodies covered the cathedral floor between the crystal coffins.
Most of the children, elderly residents and disabled people who had taken shelter there had been slaughtered,while blood ran between the stones and gathered around the lower steps of the altar.
The Saintess had been pinned against one of the pillars with her own staff driven through her stomach. Her head hung forward, but the slight movement of her body showed that she had not completely died.
Ruan Mei lay slumped near the throne with blood across her clothes, she was not moving.
The Lesser Holy Son stood before the empty throne, one of his hands remained wrapped around Su Lan’s neck, holding her above the altar steps. Her arms hung weakly at her sides, though her eyes remained open.
The gold-and-white mask turned toward the entrance and his gaze met Xingluo’s.
She froze; those eyes were familiar, she had seen the same calm expression watching her at the university, during the competition and every time Qin Haoran approached her while pretending to be gentle.
A scream rose through her thoughts as she understood what was about to happen.
No.
Su Lan’s eyes moved toward her and for a moment, the fear inside them weakened as though she believed Xingluo had arrived in time.
The man’s fingers tightened and a sharp crack passed through the cathedral.
The remaining warmth disappeared from Su Lan’s eyes, and her body became loose in his grip. He released her without looking down allowing her to fall across the altar steps.
Xingluo’s mind went blank, she stared at Su Lan’s body without moving, unable to hear Han Zhen or Miao Tianhe beside her. Even the storm and the tolling bell disappeared beneath the emptiness spreading through her thoughts.
Wuxia called her name through their connection, but she did not respond, he struck the soul mark with enough force to shake her consciousness.
Xingluo, wake up, Ruan Mei is still alive.
Her fingers finally tightened around her sword; she dragged her gaze away from Su Lan and looked toward the Lesser Holy Son again.
The gold-and-white mask shifted across his face and its surface folded inward before dissolving into pale light and revealing Qin Haoran beneath it.
Han Zhen’s expression changed, while several participants behind him stopped in disbelief.
Miao Tianhe stepped forward with his sword raised. "I knew you were a piece of trash, but I never thought you would betray humanity."
Qin Haoran looked at him without concern. "I betrayed nothing."
"You joined the Church and slaughtered people who could not even defend themselves."
"I left behind weakness and accepted the truth." Qin glanced across the bodies surrounding the altar before returning his attention to Xingluo. "Power was always the only thing that mattered, the Alliance simply taught all of you to pretend otherwise."
Miao Tianhe’s mana rose around his sword. "You murdered children for that power."
"They were sacrifices required for something greater." Qin’s voice remained calm. "You and I have always belonged to different worlds Miao Tianhe, you were simply too blind to understand it."
Xingluo stepped into the cathedral.
Qin’s gaze shifted toward her, but she did not look at his face again, her eyes remained fixed on Su Lan’s body as the mana surrounding her sword began rising.
Wuxia felt the rage passing through their connection and remained close to her. Ruan Mei was still alive and the Saintess had not completely stopped breathing.
They could not allow Qin Haoran to finish what he had begun.