This tremendous upheaval and the dazzling light caused Hel’s expression to tighten, and he subconsciously took two steps back.
His fingers grew stiff, yet they kept trembling.
Hel instinctively wanted to retreat even farther, but he knew deep down that he could not let Mu Xuan continue any longer. If the power of the scepter was truly being exhausted, then even if Mu Xuan handed the scepter to him, he would be unable to wield it.
But… if the statue could be…
Two conflicting thoughts crashed relentlessly in Hel’s mind, his crimson-black pupils darting wildly within their sockets. The veins on his forehead bulged so violently that they seemed ready to burst through his skin.
As for Hel’s reaction, Mu Xuan had no energy to spare for it.
Though the black mist could no longer affect Mu Xuan beneath that radiant light, he could feel the power within the statue becoming even more sinister and terrifying in that instant…
It was as if, at this moment, a true black hole had swallowed up every ounce of strength Mu Xuan poured in.
This made Mu Xuan realize that directly infusing power was almost pointless.
He did not persist any further; instead, Mu Xuan swiftly withdrew the scepter, stepping aside in an instant. Right where he had been standing, a jet-black spike suddenly shot up from the ground.
The statue’s twisted head let out a bizarre laugh at that moment, as if mocking Mu Xuan.
Mu Xuan’s brows knit tightly, but he was unmoved by the laughter. He had already expended a wisp of Faith, most of it neutralized by the black mist, a small part devoured by the statue, yet it did not inflict any visible harm.
The black mist could no longer neutralize Faith, but if he could not find the statue’s weak spot, the next wisp of Faith would also be wasted.
“Shuu—”
As Mu Xuan swiftly summarized the situation, several more jet-black spikes shot toward him. Dodging two in a rush, Mu Xuan suddenly felt a stinging pain on his cheek.
Reaching up, he saw black blood on his hand.
These spikes carried corruption!
Without hesitation, Mu Xuan quickly channeled Light into the wound on his cheek, halting the spread of corruption. At the same time, he knocked aside an even faster blood-red spike with the scepter.
Facing the statue’s twisted and eerie visage once more, and hearing that ear-piercing screech, Mu Xuan’s lips curled slightly.
Do you know why the statue’s head fell to the ground?
The statue seemed to sense Mu Xuan’s thoughts. In the next instant, dozens of spikes shot toward Mu Xuan all at once.
Mu Xuan’s senses were indeed sharp, but his body could not handle so many spikes at once. Even though he dodged most of them, his abdomen was still pierced through by a jet-black spike.
“Hss…”
A wave of intense pain shot through him, and Mu Xuan gasped sharply.
But there was no time to recover. He quickly smashed the tail of the spike with his scepter, and, enduring the agony, moved swiftly toward the statue, the spike still lodged in his abdomen.
At this moment, the statue also stopped holding back. Its twisted limbs instantly grew longer, stretching out like tentacles and lashing toward Mu Xuan.
No more holding back!
With this thought, a wisp of Faith instantly surged out from the scepter, forming a brilliant shield that wrapped Mu Xuan tightly inside.
At this moment, only three wisps of Faith remained within the scepter.
Mu Xuan’s eyes flashed, and at lightning speed, he thrust the scepter at the statue’s fallen head on the ground.
All three remaining wisps of Faith were poured without hesitation into the statue’s head.
This time, it was no longer an unfathomable abyss—he could feel a clear response.
The statue’s body convulsed violently in that instant, twisting again and again. Countless cracks spread across its form, chunks constantly falling away.
And the statue’s head finally revealed its true shape. Countless eyeballs opened upon it, bloodshot and bulging as if about to fall out. It was as though the wails of thousands burst forth at once, and with a sickening splatter, black liquid gushed from its mouth.
Mu Xuan’s gaze hardened, and the pain in his abdomen made his grip tighten, pouring Faith in even faster.
The distant black mist tried to surge closer, but the dazzling light incinerated it the moment it drew near.
Very soon, as the radiance slowly faded, the statue’s body dissolved into a pile of sludge, while the head pinned by the scepter became nothing but an ordinary skull…
When the light flared, Hel had hidden off to the side. His arm was gripped so tightly it turned bright red, as if he had just endured excruciating pain.
Seeing the light gradually fade, Hel shook his head, the scarlet in his eyes finally being slowly suppressed.
Then, Hel looked toward Mu Xuan, who sat collapsed on the ground, clutching his abdomen and gasping for breath, and slowly walked over.
“Your Eminence… you…”
Faced with the scene before him, Hel did not know how to begin.
Mu Xuan gritted his teeth, his knuckles white from the pain.
“Hel… how long before the black mist covers this place again…”
Within the courtyard and its immediate surroundings, the black mist had been dispersed by Faith. Yet, farther out, the endless black mist still loomed. At any moment, it could come surging in and engulf everything…
“Your Eminence… at least three days…” Hel pondered for a moment before answering.
Looking at Mu Xuan’s abdomen, soaked with pitch-black blood and still impaled by the black spike, Hel suddenly felt much less anxious…
“Hah…” Spitting filthy blood from his mouth, Mu Xuan’s eyes grew dazed. “Then, can you lead them forward…”
Mu Xuan’s tone was desperately weak, as if he might die at any moment.
“Your Eminence, before that, I want to ask… Has the statue really been destroyed?” Hel did not answer immediately, but instead asked about the statue.
“Heh… It’s destroyed! There’s no way it isn’t!” Mu Xuan’s voice grew suddenly agitated, but quickly faded again.
“I see… Your Eminence, then my answer is, yes!” Hel’s reply left Mu Xuan stunned, followed by a wave of absurdity.
Perhaps because of the corruption, hazy memories flooded his mind. In his eyes, Hel’s figure almost overlapped with that of another young man standing before the statue…
“So… your true goal… is the scepter, isn’t it?” Mu Xuan, feeling his strength slipping away, asked.
“Your Eminence, you’re very clever… but your time has come…” Hel’s voice grew colder, perhaps because he knew Mu Xuan’s death was imminent, so he admitted it directly.
Seeing Hel like this, Mu Xuan smiled. He did not know Hel’s motives, but his suspicions had been confirmed.
“No, Hel… The one whose time is up is you…”
As Mu Xuan’s words fell, Hel’s body instantly froze, black blood streaming down his robes.
“Archbishop Hel… you should die now!” Buzhaji’s voice slowly rang out from behind Hel.
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