Staring at the ghostly blue barrier before him, Mu Xuan hesitated.
Mosen’s tone was obvious—he had absolutely no hope in the Church. Since he didn’t trust the Church, then why open this barrier and let Mu Xuan in?
In the end, Mosen didn’t trust Mu Xuan, and Mu Xuan didn’t trust Mosen.
The script only hinted at it—in that story, Ke’ersa had spoken about the actions of the Mage Association. So even with Qiansteline present, Mu Xuan still harbored suspicions about Mosen’s motives.
But right now, there was no better path to take.
Clenching his teeth, Mu Xuan decided to trust Mosen for now. He followed after him, stepping into the barrier as well.
A wave of dizziness swept over him. When Mu Xuan opened his eyes again, he found himself inside a vast blue space. Whenever his feet made the slightest movement, ripples spread out beneath him.
“Your Eminence, this is the space created by the Tear of Alrus.”
Mosen stood before Mu Xuan, planting his staff into the ground. At once, cracks began to spread out from where the staff struck the floor.
What the heck is he doing!?
Watching the ground fracture like glass, Mu Xuan instinctively took several steps back. In his previous life, seeing glass shatter had already become a conditioned reflex to dodge.
There was no doubt—no one would stand atop a glass floor and not fear the sight of cracks spreading beneath their feet.
“Your Eminence, you should have heard of it, right? The divine name of Alrus.”
?
Why ask this all of a sudden?
He didn’t know! He didn’t have the full memories of any former Pope, and that dark-hearted goddess hadn’t bothered to explain anything to him—how was he supposed to know?
Mosen didn’t seem to notice Mu Xuan’s bewildered expression. He simply continued, “Kaliphotemilshux—this is His divine name. His honorific is the God of Crystal and Solitude.”
“This quasi-artifact is the last tear He shed before His fall. That’s why it’s called the Tear of Alrus.”
“Oh, that’s right. You’re not that Pope anymore, so telling you this doesn’t really mean much.”
Glancing at Mu Xuan, Mosen let out a slightly forlorn sigh. Of the people from his generation, most had died in that calamity.
By rights, with his power, he could have lived another five centuries, but alas… By now, who knew how many of the old geezers were still alive…
“So where are they?”
Since entering, Mosen had simply kept talking, leaving Mu Xuan little chance to interject. The space wasn’t as large as he’d imagined, and behind Mosen stood a blue crystalline wall gleaming with a cold light.
It was completely different from the floor.
Mosen knew what Mu Xuan was anxious about, but still…
“They… are just behind that wall…”
Huh?
What does that mean?
“Heh… They’re all in a state of death now. Many have already mutated…”
“What exactly are you trying to say…” After all this, all this back and forth, and then you tell me they’re dead.
Would it kill you to speak more plainly!?
Mu Xuan really couldn’t stand Mosen’s roundabout ways.
“Your Eminence, as I told you, the Tear of Alrus is the last tear of the God of Crystal and Solitude, so of course some divine power remains.”
“Unlike the worldwide pollution, the outbreak here happened earlier. This strange force drew the covetous eyes of three factions. Nyx and that old Ke’ersa—just for that power, they practically turned this place into their backyard.”
“This force does not belong to our world. I reported it to the Church right away, hoping they’d take it seriously and seal off the mine. But… heh…”
As he spoke, Mosen rapped his staff against the ground. With each knock, the cracks widened and multiplied—clearly, he was striking with great force.
“When they detonated this power, it swept through the town with a speed more terrifying than any plague. Almost everyone underwent irreversible distortion.”
Sighing again, Mosen slowly drew his staff from the ground. The cracks instantly healed, and once more, the floor rippled like the surface of a lake.
Then, Mosen flicked his staff and turned to face the crystalline wall. With a faint wave of the staff, the wall became transparent in an instant.
“This is…”
Mu Xuan’s pupils shrank as he looked at the scene beyond the transparent wall.
All those people were sealed inside the wall, utterly motionless.
Just as Mosen had said, they had all been polluted…
Some had extra eyeballs here, others extra arms there. There were even worse cases—their bodies twisted into pretzel shapes, eyeballs bulging grotesquely.
Just as Mu Xuan’s stomach was about to rebel, Mosen waved his hand again, concealing the ghastly sight behind the wall.
“As you can see, that’s the situation… If it hadn’t been for Qiansteline suddenly smashing my Mage Tower, I wouldn’t have had time to seal them all in here.”
Hiss…
Qiansteline was that fierce?
Hearing that Qiansteline had smashed a Mage Tower, Mu Xuan couldn’t help but wipe the cold sweat from his brow.
He remembered hearing tales of Mage Towers. Supposedly, every Grand Magus’s Mage Tower could withstand three Supreme-rank spells cast by Sage-level beings.
And yet… it had been smashed by Qiansteline?
“That woman is terrifying. Even if you’re the Pope, don’t expect her to show you any respect. And it seems she doesn’t even worship your Goddess of Light.”
Glancing at Mu Xuan’s uneasy expression, Mosen gave a chuckle.
Mu Xuan fully agreed after hearing that. Even now that he’d taken on the appearance of the Pope, Qiansteline still hadn’t shown him the slightest courtesy.
But… she doesn’t worship the Goddess? If not the Goddess, surely not the Saintess either?
He smiled wryly in his heart, but didn’t agree with Mosen’s latter statement. For someone as powerful as Qiansteline, who could even wield one of the Church’s artifacts—how could she not believe in the Goddess?
“So, what exactly are Nyx and Ke’ersa trying to do…”
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Mu Xuan felt that every time Mosen heard Ke’ersa’s name, his fist would clench tighter.
“They… are trying to use this power to create a god…”
Hiss…
“So that presence in the mine…”
“Yes, that was the result of their failed attempt to create a god. [Lailacel] was shattered into ten thousand pieces, and I used the Tear of Alrus to form this space…”
So, the destruction of the town outside was all the fallout of Nyx and Ke’ersa’s attempt to create a god? If Ke’ersa was the massive shadow in the black mist that caused ‘Milly’s’ death, then where was Nyx!?
Mu Xuan looked at Mosen and couldn’t help but ask.
“What happened to Nyx in the end?”
“Fused with that thing in the mine…” Mosen raised a hand, stopping Mu Xuan from asking more.
“That’s enough questions. I know why Qiansteline sent you here. If you can really do it, I won’t mind sacrificing the Tear of Alrus. But… there’s one condition…”
“What condition?”
“Kill that monster Ke’ersa turned into.”
Mosen’s words left Mu Xuan bewildered. Wasn’t that thing supposed to have been killed by Qiansteline? Otherwise, how did Qiansteline save him?
“Did you really think Qiansteline could kill that thing?”
“Heh… The pollution erupting from the mine has established extremely powerful rules in this area, continuously pouring energy into those abominations.”
“If you don’t purify the mine with purest Light, at best, Qiansteline can only drive the monster back.”