With no time to feel the soft body of the girl squirming against her in excitement, Ileya was currently pondering the same question.
The opponent’s ability appeared to the naked eye to be accelerating the decay of objects, but it could also be…
Although this “instant-kill” ability seemed somewhat overpowered, reality was not a game; there was no such thing as a balance mechanism.
Furthermore, this twisted world had never been one to listen to reason.
A Transcendent ability that could accelerate the decay of people or things was not that difficult to understand.
However, the question remained: why hadn’t the opponent turned Holly into ash like the zombie wolf, instead only targeting her clothes?
After thinking for two seconds, Ileya could only come to one conclusion.
Arrogance.
The opponent had not intended to kill Holly immediately, but rather wanted to show off his power.
Yet, in the next second, he had been instantly struck down by the Holy Sword Bearer!
Ileya did not know if the so-called “True God” they worshipped was actually a deity.
However, the Holy Sword in Holly’s hand, [Desire Paradise], was a genuine “divine artifact” obtained from a God of another world. In this world, it could be called a “cheat” artifact.
Thinking of it this way, a realization suddenly dawned on Ileya.
The Transcendent who had been slain by Holly likely possessed that very ability.
And… while fighting Holly, he had been confident enough to apply that “Decay” ability to her clothes and… the Holy Sword.
But the Holy Sword was naturally unaffected by decay. Thus, the blade that should have been reduced to dust had instead swung down without hesitation.
It had sent him straight to meet his “God.”
As she thought of this, the smile on Ileya’s face gradually faded.
Such a way to die was indeed ridiculous and frustrating. However, this comical death also served as a warning to Ileya.
Today, she was just watching a joke. If she wasn’t careful, this could also be her own end.
“The testing ends here…” Ileya spoke softly.
Just as Holly was about to ask what the Lady meant…
“Kill them… Oh, and leave the most cowardly one alive.”
Growl…
As a dull, low growl echoed from the deep darkness, and before the cultists could react, a figure dozens of times faster than the zombie wolf had already closed the distance!
“You—” The cultist with the eyes on his hands opened his mouth.
Before an expression of surprise could even form on his face, his head was seized by a massive, black-armored hand!
The sensation of crushing pressure came from all sides of his head! In that instant, a wave of endless terror surged within him… ‘Help! Someone… save…’
Aside from his ridiculous death, the Transcendent cultist slain by Holly had “told” the Lady one thing.
Their physical bodies… seemed very fragile.
Squish!!
The giant palm tightened, and the terrifying force instantly crushed the cultist’s head!
Thud!
“Great God-Blessed?!”
“How… is this possible…”
As the corpse hit the ground, a one-sided slaughter began in the underground cave!
Under Ileya’s instructions, Insmouth slaughtered the other cultists in the cave using the most brutal methods.
Those who resisted died first, followed by those who tried to flee.
On the contrary, those who were shivering, crying, or had even wet themselves in fear survived.
In the end, one of the final two survivors had his head crushed by Insmouth’s foot after he fainted from terror.
Only one person remained… the one who had appeared at the secret stronghold, sacrificed his own family, and had the chance to become a Transcendent.
Loco.
After this ceremony, he had believed he would have the chance to become a Transcendent existence standing above 10,000 people.
He thought he would become a feared and revered Transcendent, just like the high-ranking members of the Church and the Twenty-Four Divine Guards…
But he never imagined that, even though he was at the final step—as long as they found, no, they didn’t even need to find that Divine Guard, they only needed to scout this cave—he would have been able to go up there and receive the baptism in the ritual!
Why… why was this happening?!
Why was there such a monster in this small underground cave?!
Why… me…
Tap, tap, tap…
In the midst of his despair, a completely different set of footsteps approached.
Summoning his courage, he opened his eyes to see a white-haired girl standing before him with a smile, while the Reanimated stood respectfully behind her.
Loco’s throat felt as if it were stuffed with a large wad of cotton, making it difficult not only to speak but even to breathe.
The creatures they had always thought were wild, accidentally formed monsters… were actually…
“Alright.” Ileya tilted her head with a smile, maintaining a safe distance from the man.
She was ready to hide behind the other Undead at a moment’s notice. “Tell me… everything you know.”
Loco felt that he was truly cursed with the worst luck to encounter such a thing just before obtaining Transcendent powers.
Of course, at this moment… he did not know what was happening above.
……
“Hey! Stop!”
At the main gate of Lande, the Abandoned City, the cultists guarding the entrance—who were currently disguised as members of a trade union—watched the figures in white robes approaching on horseback and hurried forward to stop them.
In the past, they would have welcomed these people inside to increase the number of sacrifices.
However, too many things had happened during this rite, and the Great Priest was already overwhelmed.
Now that the sacrificial rites had begun and the gaze of the True God had descended… they didn’t want to cause any more trouble.
But the people on horseback acted as if they hadn’t heard the shouts. They charged straight toward the gate.
Before the cultists could even identify who the newcomers were, the leader reached behind his back and pulled out a massive axe!
While still on his horse, he gripped the handle and swung it forward!
Whoosh—!!
The giant axe carried the sound of whistling wind, flying toward them like a screaming meat grinder! In an eye-blink, it was upon them!
The group of cultists didn’t even have a chance to react before they were turned into an unrecognizable mess by the flying axe!
Splat, splat… clatter.
Blood and mangled flesh fell to the ground as the giant axe completed a circle and returned to its master’s hand.
Only then did the group in white robes seem to hear the cultists’ words. They pulled back on their reins and slowly came to a halt.
Crackle, crackle…
The moment they stopped, tiny sparks began to fly from the mangled remains of the cultists.
Gradually, the entire collapsed gate of the City of Rand caught fire!
The fire seemed to have the momentum of a prairie blaze, spreading continuously.
It was as if the crumbling walls, the sand on the ground, and even the barrier summoning the evil god were all fuel and firewood for the flames!
Snort…
Even though they were battle-hardened, the steeds the group rode began to snort uneasily.
It was a creature’s natural fear of fire.
Especially this kind of fire, which seemed capable of igniting everything.