Our Family Has Fallen

This is my fucking house!

"I’m coming in~"

After Lance slaughtered his way through, he started turning back, pushing open each door with his knife in hand.

Most were empty, but some contained cultists who hadn’t managed to escape or were too scared and hid again.

Some tried to struggle and launch an attack, some collapsed questioning the Ascension, and some witches loosened their already flimsy clothes trying to seduce him.

But in the next second, they all became the dead under his knife... no, they didn’t even have souls left.

Lance cleared the way back, too pressed for time to loot in detail, just taking out the hiding cultists for sacrifice.

He quickly met up with the rest of the squad, who had been busy on the other side for half the day, but now they completed one side’s sweep in just ten minutes, an efficiency that seemed somewhat outrageous.

Having experienced the recent battle, Audrey realized that the records in the memorial inside weren’t fake; the Lord could indeed slaughter a street full of bandits.

She also finally understood why the Lord said this place was exciting, but it wasn’t fun at all because she was hurt.

First affected by some sorcery, then attacked by a hidden cultist, even though her instinctive reaction was quick enough, the dagger still left a wound on her body, with her flesh torn and blood soaking her clothes.

Lance, without a word, waved his hand to use Flesh Reconstruction to smooth the wound.

At the same time, he blessed everyone, refreshing the fatigue and negative curses suffered earlier.

Because the cultists didn’t give them any breathing space; those guys had used their lives to delay long enough for the cultists on the other side to arrive.

Lance didn’t care about all the other miscellaneous stuff, but behind these guys was a tall but thin weird fellow.

Tousled hair, a skeleton mask on his face, not clad in a black robe; instead, his upper body was bare, showing a torso devoid of muscular build, just skin and bones.

What was eerie was that his skin was covered with many indescribably strange patterns, and even more unsettling was his back skin being torn and stretched out to look like wings.

But that was skin...

The peculiar cultist had a long wand in hand, but hanging from it wasn’t an incense burner; instead, it was a fist-sized bell.

In just a moment, he activated his power first, waving the magic wand that sent a crisp bell sound, looking like he was possessed by a spirit.

Invigorating Bell!

The bloodlust within those cultists surrounding him intensified into a frenzy as they shouted nonsensical slogans and charged at Lance.

"The voice of the Cardinal guides us!"

"Let us step into Ascension guided by the bell sound."

"..."

But this wasn’t the power of the spellcaster the cultists referred to as the Cardinal. He hadn’t ceased performing the spell. His frantic stomps suddenly paused, waving the wand pointing to Lance and his team.

Thundering Bell!

The piercing bell instantly bypassed the air, flooding their minds, exploding like pots and pans crashing in their heads, making them clutch their skulls and wail from agitation, disgust, and nausea.

Even Lance was affected, but as the other three were mired in chaos, he quickly broke free from the oddity.

The power of will is as sturdy as iron!

Lance wasn’t surprised by such auditory manipulation, it’s not like only you can do this.

Lance took out the Siren Conch and blew it, the reverberating force shattering the opponent’s spell instantly, while the grand sound awakened the burning passion in their hearts.

Rousing!

Boudica was the first to break free, and the power within her bloodline erupted under the push of rage, muscles swelling as vessels expanded visibly, and she brandished her weapon, rushing towards the cultists.

Amanda and Audrey quickly regained their senses, picking up weapons to engage with approaching cultists.

The cult Cardinal was a bit shocked, not expecting his power to be broken.

But he didn’t give up; instead, he drew more power.

Here, their spellcasting abilities are enhanced, not to mention this one was already terrifyingly powerful, with manipulation ability on par with the Mendicant Monk or Wandering Mage, such Legendary Casters.

The wand suddenly stilled; the dormant bell didn’t sound off intensely as before, only making a single sound, albeit one that the small object could emit like a grand bell’s resonating boom, akin to the chimed death knell.

Dark Death Knell!

In Lance’s eyes, he even saw black soundwaves rippling like waves through the air, containing eerie and terrifying power.

Lance was confident he could withstand it, but he wouldn’t risk Boudica and the others to test the power, immediately blowing the Conch with full force, driving all its power to counteract.

The two invisible soundwaves clashed in the air, bursting with explosive booms, causing shock waves in the indoor environment, the stirring wind a testament to the intense confrontation of the energies.

But Lance wasn’t specialized in such abilities, and he fell to a disadvantage in the clash, though he shattered the main force; the lingering power still spread to the few in the front.

Boudica and the others had barely made initial contact with the enemy when they suddenly heard the deafening bell.

Instantly they seemed controlled, their minds turning abnormal, with despairing emotions flooding and condensing into despair, trying to consume their souls.

Boudica and Amanda were better off.

One was countering with a wrathful will, the rage almost intent on burning everything to ashes amid stimulation.

The Seeker of Omens had higher resistance to supernatural power, being from an extraordinary force and armed with ritual implements that function effectively.

But Audrey, this one who roamed the world relying on treachery, pursuing thrill with a twisted psychology, already harbored numerous emotions built over time.

Perhaps they didn’t matter before, but amplified by a Legendary Caster, they would consume her soul in an instant.

Audrey felt her surroundings morph—no old mansion, no cultists in sight.

Instead, a sinister passage gave her a feeling both familiar and alien, as if she’d been here but couldn’t recall.

"It’s so cold...cold as...a tomb."

She suddenly realized this was like the tomb path she had walked countless times!

Suddenly came some movement, and Audrey saw the path’s walls and floor were made entirely of piled corpses, which then started moving.

Distorted faces seemed to question her grave-robbing and desecrating acts, and arms reached from the walls seemed to drag her into hell, into eternal damnation.

Audrey’s will was being tested... Madness!

Realizing the oddity, Audrey immediately wanted to escape, charging forward.

But in reality, she kept babbling and lunged toward the cultists, anyone could see she was breaking down.

Boudica didn’t notice, but Amanda did.

Despite hoping she’d die among the cultists, Amanda didn’t hesitate much and reached out to grab her.

"Fool! Don’t go die there."

However, to Audrey, it seemed like a wall-hand grabbed her shoulder, shocking her into hysteria, grabbing her flying dagger to slash without hesitation.

"No! Don’t touch me!"

Amanda didn’t expect Audrey to be this hysterical but being no ordinary person, she let go and dodged the sudden dagger swing.

However, Amanda didn’t intend to let her off so easily now she found an opportunity but gave her a resounding slap instead, just to see if she’d snap out of it.

"Smack!"

One wasn’t enough, Amanda’s vengeful intent peaked, completely ignoring the ongoing battle; she unleashed a flurry of slaps with full force, a barrage from both sides.

"Smack smack smack!"