“Literally.”
Cistine carefully supported Mu Xuan as she stood up. Feeling Mu Xuan’s body trembling incessantly, Cistine felt a pang of distress in her heart.
This was her fault, after all.
Instead of successfully trapping Lusechi, she had almost cost her own Little Saintess her life.
If possible, she truly did not want her Little Saintess to take this risk.
However…
“Get ready… He is about to awaken…”
Upon hearing Cistine’s words, Lusechi’s brow furrowed even deeper before he suddenly burst into laughter. It had been a long time since he had laughed like this.
He already understood Cistine’s intentions.
“Truly mad… The most powerful Silver Moon Knight of the Church would actually gamble on such an opportunity!” Lusechi slowly raised the shepherd’s crook in his hand and began walking toward Cistine.
“In that case, this old man will join the gamble as well!”
However, Cistine had no intention of letting Lusechi get close. The [Lylasel] in her hand glowed with a soft halo, yet within that radiance hid a chilling killing intent.
It was as if if Lusechi dared to take one more step forward, the [Lylasel] in Cistine’s hand would swing toward him without hesitation.
She would leave no room for mercy, ensuring the other party would be reduced to ashes in an instant.
Lusechi’s expression froze, but he did not say much. He simply stated, “Her Eminence is injured like this. I know what you want to do.”
“Since I intend to join, I naturally won’t be stingy with my mana.”
Forbidden Incantations were things strictly prohibited by all powers across the continent. It was unclear who created them, only that they might have been passed down from the unrecorded first or second eras.
Without exception, they were all extremely dangerous things!
“If I remember correctly, that thing requires at least one Main Celebrant and one Assistant. If you are to be the Main Celebrant, then what about the Assistant?”
Lusechi’s words immediately silenced Cistine.
He was right; this ritual required at least one Main Celebrant and one Assistant to succeed.
The Assistant would only lose the majority of their power, but the Main Celebrant would very likely die… This was why Cistine had exploded with killing intent earlier.
If she died, it would be difficult to ensure that the Lusechi before her wouldn’t act against her Little Saintess.
But… she truly couldn’t find another Assistant.
“What, do you want to be the Assistant?”
“Wait!”
Mu Xuan suddenly spoke up.
She didn’t quite understand what a Main Celebrant or an Assistant was, but it didn’t sound like anything good. She had never trusted the man!
Instinctively, Mu Xuan wanted to stop this behavior.
The light energy she had converted using the Power of Faith was still continuously supplying her, clearing the pollution within her body and mending her wounds.
If the pollution weren’t so severe, Mu Xuan felt she could have already tried to fight again! If Cistine and Lusechi wanted to treat her, Mu Xuan felt it was completely unnecessary.
Lusechi did not stop because of Mu Xuan’s words. Instead, he continued to address Cistine, “No, let me be the Main Celebrant.”
“Stop! I can do it myself, there’s no need for this trouble!” Seeing that they were about to continue, Mu Xuan hurried to stop them. But because she was a bit agitated and her movements were too wide, she pulled at her wounds and gasped in pain again.
It hurt too much!
Tears involuntarily flowed from her eyes due to the pain.
Cistine watched with a heavy heart and said nothing, only using her finger to wipe away the tears from the corners of Mu Xuan’s eyes.
She could feel it, and Lusechi could feel it too. Even if the light energy was constantly eliminating the pollution, it could not fill the massive black hole created within Mu Xuan’s body from gazing upon ‘Him’.
They both knew that Mu Xuan’s physical condition was very poor.
“I understand.” Cistine’s tone was no longer as lighthearted as her previous joking; it was very heavy.
‘He’ had already awakened.
Even for Cistine and Lusechi, two beings who had nearly reached the peak of the Moho Layer, they could no longer disperse the thick black mist surrounding them.
They had to hurry!
“Come on. I wasn’t allowed to use it before, so let me experience the power of a Forbidden Incantation for once.”
It had to be quick!
Lusechi tried to keep his voice relaxed and loud, but… everyone feared death.
Lusechi looked at Mu Xuan, then at the distance obscured by the black mist, and finally nodded to Cistine.
Seeing this, Cistine no longer hesitated. She pulled a parchment scroll from her robes and quickly unfurled it. Then, following the pattern on the parchment, she used light energy to carve it into the ground.
“There’s really no need!” Mu Xuan hurriedly tried to stop them, but the injuries on her body did not allow her to move freely.
When Cistine finished carving the pattern from the parchment, a bloody scent suddenly rushed toward them, as if a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood had appeared before their eyes, with countless vengeful spirits sinking within.
Lusechi stood in the position of the Main Celebrant. Feeling that almost insane tearing sensation, his heart felt slightly uneasy.
‘To think at my age, I still have to experience something like this.’
After silently sighing for himself, Lusechi directly blocked his senses, allowing that mountain of corpses and sea of blood to slowly consume him.
Cistine’s expression was extremely solemn. Standing in the position of the Assistant, her complexion looked quite poor.
This Forbidden Incantation was far more terrifying than she had imagined!
Under the washing of that sea of blood, Cistine’s power rapidly decreased, and her perception of the outside world weakened considerably.
However, weakened perception did not mean she failed to notice ‘His’ arrival…
Thinking of this, Cistine looked at Mu Xuan and smiled slightly with a hint of apology. Then, she directed the output source of the Forbidden Incantation toward Mu Xuan.
“Argh — “
Feeling that tyrannical power rush into her body, Mu Xuan tensed up in pain.
This power was not soft like light energy, nor was it as corrosive and highly polluting as the eldritch things. This power felt more like it existed solely to destroy everything, constantly clashing everywhere inside her body.
But soon, that tyrannical power seemed to be drawn away by something, vanishing completely.
‘Hmm? What’s going on?’
She was confused, but Mu Xuan did not make a sound.
That tyrannical power was still flowing into her body through some channel. Cistine and Lusechi were still transferring power to her, so it was better not to disturb them.
However, Mu Xuan could clearly perceive that the speed at which the light energy in her body was repairing her frame had suddenly increased by a large margin.
Not only were the wounds on her body gradually healing, but even the pain in her eyes had eased significantly.
However, the moment Mu Xuan opened her eyes, a withered corpse, still tightly clutching a shepherd’s crook, fell to the ground.
“Sage… Lusechi?”
Mu Xuan’s voice trembled.
She truly had not expected that such a thing would happen just to transfer this power to her…
For a moment, Mu Xuan felt a surge of self-reproach. In a sense, she was the one who had killed Lusechi… She should have been more firm in stopping Cistine!
Looking at the weakened Cistine, Mu Xuan pursed her lips and pushed the words she wanted to say back into her heart, looking up toward the sky.
‘He’ was here.