Chapter 96: End Yourself, Outsider

Su Lihua eventually entered the Cathedral after all.

After all, the Devils here all worship the Lord they serve— the evil god [Zoa Sagg].

For believers of an evil god, refusing to enter the Cathedral would be far too strange, no matter how you think about it.

“It’s so… red in here.”

Upon entering the Cathedral, Su Lihua looked at her surroundings.

After holding it in for a long time, that was all she could say.

It really was red in here.

Everywhere looked as if it had been splashed with blood.

If Su Lihua hadn’t noticed the lack of the rotten stench of blood, she would have really believed the color came from actual blood.

But it was normal.

After all, the name of their cult was Blood Banquet.

Of course, there had to be something bloody.

The man in the suit seemed to have heard Su Lihua’s remark, but also seemed not to have.

After entering the Cathedral, his expression became solemn, as if he were a devout ascetic.

Following the suited man’s steps, Su Lihua walked past the seats for worship, arriving before the altar on the east side.

There, as always, was a sea of blood-red.

Dozens of Devils knelt reverently on the crimson floor tiles, praying to the Deity Statue before them.

This scene unexpectedly gave Su Lihua a slight sense of sanctity.

But in that bloody environment, that sanctity took on an indescribable, mysterious feeling.

She looked at the object of those Devils’ devoted prayers—the Deity Statue at the center.

It was at this moment that Su Lihua noticed something different here, apart from the blood-red environment.

There was something else unlike a normal Cathedral.

It was not a statue of God, or Jesus, or any figure from Christianity, but a goddess statue whose face was obscured.

Her figure was graceful, but beneath her gown, bizarre tentacles crept forth.

Beauty and eeriness coexisted.

That was Su Lihua’s first thought upon seeing the Deity Statue.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed even more details.

Although the statue’s face was obscured, its eyes were clearly visible.

A pair of bright crimson eyes, as if carved from the most flawless rubies.

The moment Su Lihua saw those eyes, her gaze was involuntarily drawn in.

And so, she met those blood-red eyes.

Su Lihua: “???”

Wait, do those eyes move?!

Su Lihua was horrified to discover that the eyes seemed to notice her gaze.

The bloody eyes rolled wildly, as if they intended to break free from the statue and devour her.

Su Lihua stumbled back a step in fear.

But thankfully, eyes were still just eyes.

They couldn’t break free from the statue, and could only gaze at her greedily and cunningly, full of ill intent.

Su Lihua: Is it still too late to leave now?

She really wanted to say that, but it was clearly too late to retreat now.

So where are Ling Xiaoyou and Bai Shuanglian?!

Save me!

Su Lihua’s desperate calls in the ‘Channel’ didn’t stop, but neither of them responded.

As she was furiously bombarding the ‘Channel’, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Su Lihua shivered, startled by the sudden touch.

She immediately turned her head, only to see the suited man looking at her strangely.

He asked,

“Why are you just standing there like an idiot, Danni? Aren’t you going to pray with everyone else?”

Pray?

Su Lihua froze.

Then she saw the suited man kneeling on the ground, praying reverently to the Deity Statue like the other Devils.

She immediately understood.

All the Devils here were believers.

Of course they would pray before the Deity Statue.

Su Lihua looked at the Devils kneeling all around.

But I’m not a believer in this evil god at all!

No way am I kneeling to something this scary and evil-looking!

Su Lihua might be a bit dumb, but she had her own pride!

So—

She sat down on her butt, hugged her knees, closed her eyes toward the Deity Statue, and began mumbling as if chanting something softly.

The suited man beside her, who had opened his eyes at the sound of her thump, stared at her in confusion.

“What are you doing?”

He asked, his expression odd.

“I’m praying too!”

By this point, Su Lihua could lie without blushing or skipping a beat.

Perhaps her lying potential had awakened.

“I was attacked by an Exorcist outside once and took an arrow to the knee.

Since then, kneeling has been impossible for me.”

But weren’t you completely normal just a few days ago?

The suited man looked at the utterly serious Su Lihua with suspicion.

He found it strange but didn’t bother to argue.

Because the sacrificial ceremony was about to begin!

He could already sense the Bishop’s presence.

He had arrived!

The suited man closed his eyes again, beginning to pray to the Deity Statue like a devout believer.

Good thing he didn’t ask more, or I’d have a hard time explaining.

“Explain what?”

Su Lihua let out a breath of relief.

Then, Ling Xiaoyou’s crisp voice rang out again in the ‘Channel’.

“You finally revived! Where did you two run off to? I’ve been calling for ages!”

Su Lihua exclaimed in delight, hurriedly sending her divine sense into the ‘Channel’ to ask.

“Sorry, sorry! We were delayed while relocating and couldn’t receive your messages.”

In the alley outside the Cathedral, Ling Xiaoyou scratched her cheek sheepishly, her tone lacking confidence.

Beside her, Bai Shuanglian let out a light laugh, earning a glare from Ling Xiaoyou.

If Bai Shuanglian hadn’t insisted on carrying her all the way here in a princess carry after landing, Ling Xiaoyou wouldn’t have been too embarrassed to answer Su Lihua’s messages!

Bai Shuanglian even tried to justify it as saving Ling Xiaoyou’s strength.

She totally didn’t buy it!

Ling Xiaoyou seriously suspected Bai Shuanglian just enjoyed carrying her.

“Oh, right. Let me remind you, Su Lihua.”

Ling Xiaoyou suddenly remembered something and spoke hurriedly in the ‘Channel’.

“Bai Shuanglian has been monitoring the Devil Bishop’s location with her divine sense.

If she’s not mistaken, he should have arrived where you are by now.”

“…I wish you’d mentioned that sooner.”

Su Lihua’s panicked voice came from the other end of the ‘Channel’.

Ling Xiaoyou froze.

“The Bishop’s already there?”

“Yeah.”

Su Lihua looked at the Bishop who had appeared before the Deity Statue at some point.

He now wore black priest’s robes and held a Gospel of Blood, shouting loudly:

“Behold, comrades! The Lord is pleased with our previous sacrifices!”

“He has opened His eyes to us, willing to let our humble forms be reflected in His holy gaze!”

Su Lihua looked at the Deity Statue and its swirling blood-red eyes.

She felt nothing sacred—only fear.

“Comrades! I would like to begin the sacrifice to our Lord right now, but unfortunately, an outlier has infiltrated among us, which would displease the Lord.”

…Is he talking about me?

Su Lihua felt that now was the time to panic.

She shrank her neck and tried to scoot behind the others.

“The Lord does not like excessive theatrics before feasting…”

But the Bishop, standing before the Deity Statue, suddenly turned toward her.

His gaze pierced straight through Su Lihua, who was desperately trying to lower her presence.

With an expression of pity, he spoke:

“So end yourself, foreign soul.”