"Promise me, Karen, that once you advance to Inquisitor, this will be the first spell you learn. Entering as black mist, leaving as black mist—it has such an aesthetic flair."
"Can an Inquisitor learn it?"
"It should be a spell meant for Adjudicators, but with your background, you ought to be able to learn across ranks."
"Didn't Diss ever show it off in front of you?"
"He was always an ordinary Inquisitor."
"Heh."
"Most importantly, even if he cast a forbidden curse, it felt perfunctory and dull. Life, spells, and faith all need ritual and refinement. That is the true path!"
With that, Purr raised a paw and pulled the brim of her hat down, covering half her face.
They arrived at the gas station. Karen parked the car, reached into the glove compartment to take out his handgun, and slipped it into the inner pocket of his coat.
"You're actually still carrying that? Karen, believe me, I will never worry about you dying of carelessness, because I really have never seen anyone more cautious than you."
"A long time ago, I wanted to experience what it feels like to carry a gun."
Karen pushed open the car door, got out, and walked toward a diner. Just as he was about to push the door open, a tall-and-short duo walked out from inside.
Both were dressed in casual clothes, but Karen noticed that both wore black-and-white rings on their fingers.
Ever since he snapped the plastic ring the captain gave him, Karen realized he subconsciously paid extra attention to rings in daily life.
Black and white were the favorite color pairing of the Church of the Abyss, symbolizing the grand feat of their god connecting Hell and Heaven.
So, people from the Church of the Abyss were here?
Or was it just a small handful of them who happened to be here?
Just as Karen was about to pretend not to notice and sidestep into the diner, the tall man suddenly reached out to stop him and asked, "Did you come from that direction?"
Karen frowned, shoved his hand away angrily, and said, "Yes."
The tall man seemed amused by Karen's reaction and asked with a laugh, "Is the road over there easy to pass?"
"Heh, a truck overturned on the road! My car even got scratched trying to squeeze around it. Now get out of my way!"
The tall man pulled back his hand and said to the short man, "Did you hear that? That's the spot. We've already fallen behind. Let's hurry over, or Elder Merkle will really punish us."
"If you hadn't wasted time, would we need to panic like this? It's all your fault. When Elder Merkle blames us later, I'm definitely saying it was on you."
"Fine, fine, fine. Let's go."
The two walked outside, while Karen stepped into the diner and stood before the counter.
"Sir, what would you like to order?"
Karen looked up at the menu board above. The most expensive set meal was 38 riels, including drinks.
"That set meal, fourteen orders, please."
"Alright, sir. That comes to 532 riels in total."
The captain hadn't given him enough money.
Karen said, "Five hundred riels."
The cashier smiled and nodded. "Alright, sir."
Karen handed over the 500 riels.
The cashier said apologetically, "Sir, since you ordered quite a few portions, we'll need some time to bring up ingredients from the storeroom."
"No problem. Get the ingredients ready first. My friends haven't arrived yet; start cooking once they get here."
"Understood, sir. Please let us know in advance. Here is your receipt."
Karen took the receipt. Looking out through the window, he saw the tall man and short man heading toward his secondhand Ponce sedan. Karen immediately pushed open the door and ran over.
***
"Can't you even tell the difference between running out of gas and an engine breakdown? Damn it, you're as dumb as a utility pole!" the short man cursed. "And here I was pushing the car with you for so long!"
"Alright, alright! I don't know how to fix cars, so isn't it normal that I didn't know? We can just borrow one. Look, this one's pretty good. A Ponce, heh, I like this model. Ooh, look! There's a cute little cat inside. Haha, I like black cats. Oh, wow, and a golden retriever. I like golden retrievers too. You know, whenever I go to a café, I always ask the waitresses to wear lingerie in those two colors."
"I have no interest in hearing about your kinks!"
*Click!*
"Hey, look, the door isn't locked, and the keys are still in the ignition. Let's take this one for now."
Purr leaped into the back seat.
The golden retriever leaned forward, shielding Purr behind him, baring his teeth and letting out a low growl of warning from his throat.
"Heh, this dog is pretty fierce. His coat is so beautiful—his meat must taste even better. You know, every time after I eat dog meat, I feel like I can down three more cups of coffee."
"Moron, just get in! Stop wasting time!" The short man had already slid into the driver's seat.
"Hey, that's my car!"
"Of course! We're only borrowing it for a bit, and we'll return it to you right away—including the cat and dog inside." The tall man chuckled and moved toward the passenger seat, not taking the car's owner seriously in the slightest.
The short man immediately shouted, "Watch out!"
*Bang!*
Yes, Karen fired.
When two strangers suddenly tried to hijack your car, with two vulnerable family members inside, what choice would you make?
Karen's marksmanship was not great, but the distance was too close. The bullet punched through the passenger door glass and struck the tall man in the shoulder.
"Holy shit, he shot me!"
Clutching his shoulder, the tall man instantly crouched behind the car.
The short man quickly ducked beneath the dashboard and rapidly chanted an incantation.
Karen approached with gun raised. Hearing the chanting from inside the car, far from panicking, he felt a strange sense of reassurance.
Because he had experienced this sort of situation before. Needing to chant a long incantation and being incapable of instant casting meant they were very weak. In that department, Karen had plenty of firsthand experience.
A gray screen of light appeared over the car window. The short man straightened up, glared furiously at Karen, and began chanting another spell.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Karen fired three consecutive shots at him, but every bullet was deflected by the gray screen of light.
It seemed to be a defensive spell similar to the Church of Order's Guardian Wall.
Just as Karen moved sideways to shoot at the tall man, the short man swept both hands. The road beneath Karen's feet bulged, and a python formed from soil burst out from the ground.
Karen emptied his gun at it, but it was completely useless.
"Damn it! What the hell?!"
Karen seemed visibly terrified by this bizarre scene. Tossing aside his empty gun, he turned and sprinted toward the woods across the road, glancing nervously back over his shoulder as he ran.
After chasing for a short distance, the earthen python dissipated; evidently, the short man's abilities could not sustain it over a long distance.
The short man immediately went to check on the tall man. The tall man pulled out a small vial and poured the liquid inside over his bullet wound. A layer of ice instantly formed over the wound, stopping the bleeding.
"I'm going to kill him!"
The tall man smashed the vial against the ground, rose to his feet, and gave chase in the direction Karen had fled.
The short man wanted to say something, but seeing the tall man rushing off heedlessly, he could only get out of the car and follow.
In the back seat, Purr poked her head out from behind the golden retriever and remarked, "I bet Karen is thrilled right now."
The golden retriever nodded. "Woof."
***
After running into the woods, Karen did not go too deep, worried the two would not be able to keep up.
He stopped and waited for a moment until he caught sight of the tall man, who also spotted him.
"I'll show you what happens when you mess with people you shouldn't!"
The tall man began chanting. Soon, two clusters of gray flame formed before him and hurled directly toward Karen. Even though numerous trees stood between them, the two clusters of gray fire dodged them on their own.
If an ordinary person were hit, the flames would quickly cling to them and incinerate them until their body turned black as charcoal, yet their clothes would not bear a single scorch mark.
Karen stood motionless. As the two gray fireballs drew near, as if anticipating that Karen might run, they rapidly split apart to flank him from both sides.
"Order—Guardian Wall!"
Now, he was already capable of instantly casting low-level spells.
Two black walls materialized, blocking the fireballs. The fireballs splashed and burned, while the walls, backed by Karen's continuous supply of spirituality, reformed after cracking.
"The Church of Order!" The arriving short man froze at the sight.
He truly could not understand why a priest of the Church of Order would first shoot at them with a handgun, then flee in terror upon seeing an elemental summoning spell.
Couldn't this all have been settled if the guy just said "Praise Order," and they replied with "Praise the Abyss"?
"Wait, why would someone from the Church of Order be out here?!" The short man quickly realized the crux of the matter. "Hurry, find a way to notify Elder Merkle!"
The tall man was also dazed by Karen's spell. When he thought his opponent was an ordinary human, he dared to teach him a lesson; but once he realized the opponent was also a priest, his arrogance instantly withered. Hearing the short man's shout, he instinctively began to back away.
Karen saw an earthen-yellow bird form from the soil beneath the short man's feet—he was trying to send a message.
While continuing to infuse the clay bird with spirituality, the short man kept his eyes on Karen, who was walking toward them from higher up the slope.
When he saw a suit of blue armor materialize over Karen, his expression froze. And when two blood-red scimitars appeared in Karen's hands, pure disbelief washed over his face.
He desperately wanted to scream in grievance: *Why the hell did you use a gun in the first place?!*
Karen broke into a sprint.
"Stop him, quick!" shouted the short man.
The tall man immediately began chanting, and three layers of earthen walls rose before him.
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
Clad in the Sea God's Armor, Karen smashed through the three earthen walls in an utterly unreasonable manner. The sight terrified the tall man out of his wits.
In truth, Karen hadn't intended to charge head-on like that. But with the dual agility buffs of the Sea God's Armor and the Dark Moon Blade stacking together, combined with running downhill, he couldn't rein in his speed or change direction at all. He had no choice but to brace himself and barrel through with his shoulder.
Fortunately, the Sea God's Armor completely absorbed the shock of the impacts. Bursting through the third earthen wall, Karen saw the tall man right before him. Forgetting about swordsmanship or blade forms, he simply slashed wildly in front of himself.
Several red lines appeared across the tall man's body. He looked down at himself in shock, and then his body split into multiple chunks, slumping to the ground.
The sight even caused Karen a slight pang of visceral discomfort. He had long grown accustomed to dead bodies, but this fresh manner of death carried far more visual shock than any guest at the funeral parlor.
The short man slumped onto the ground in despair as the earthen bird took flight.
Karen looked at the bird climbing into the air and instinctively raised his hand. The scimitar in his right hand instantly transformed into a crimson whip.
*Crack!*
The flying bird was struck midair, exploding into a burst of dirt.
Karen was very satisfied with this move, but at the same time felt a lingering chill. He didn't know if things were going smoothly on the captain's end, but if his lunch order had caused the message to leak and spoiled the trap, that would have been an awful shame.
The short man had fallen into despair. He prostrated himself before Karen. "Please, my lord, please spare me! Spare me!"
Karen walked up to him, looked off to the side, and swung the scimitar in his left hand straight down.
*Squelch!*
The short man's upper torso was sheared apart, blood splashing everywhere. But the blood that landed on Karen was instantly cleansed and repelled by the Sea God's Armor, leaving Karen himself unstained.
Karen was very fond of this feature—after all, he was someone who loved taking baths.
The Sea God's Armor faded, and the Dark Moon Blade dissipated. Because the duration had been short, Karen didn't feel much fatigue.
Looking at the two piles of mangled corpses on the ground, Karen frowned slightly.
*From the look of things, can I kill anyone below the Inquisitor rank in the orthodox church hierarchies at will?*
Because people at this tier cast spells slowly, basically relied on beginner spells, and couldn't cast several at once like he used to. With the Sea God's Armor and Dark Moon Blade, he completely hard-countered them.
What about one rank higher? Karen instinctively compared them to Mr. Pavaro. Mr. Pavaro wasn't skilled in combat, yet the flames released from his hands carried immense power. Could his Sea God's Armor withstand that?
*No, I could use other defensive spells to block, saving the Sea God's Armor to absorb damage during the final sprint. I’d have a real chance of cutting down Mr. Pavaro.*
*So, right now, do I already have a shot at killing an Inquisitor?*
Karen wasn't sure, but he was in no hurry. Once he returned to Allen Manor, he could spar with someone like Mr. Mike, who was at Tier 3 of the family faith system.
Finally, Karen couldn't help but marvel at how practical the two spells Purr and Kevin had carefully selected for him truly were.
Hesitating for a moment, Karen bent down and searched the clothes among the two piles of remains.
He found three small vials containing unknown liquids; a few other vials had been shattered by his blades. In addition, he uncovered over four hundred Abyss coupons.
Next, Karen spread his hands and chanted, "Order—Purification!"
The light of purification washed over the two piles of corpses, wiping away the spirituality lingering on them. Although being chopped to pieces like this made Awakening impossible anyway, Karen didn't want to leave behind any other traces.
Karen felt no moral burden about killing them. Under Wien law, when someone attempted to seize your private property right before your eyes, you had the right to self-defense. Besides, with those two fireballs the tall man conjured earlier, had Karen been an ordinary person, he would have been burned to death long ago. Karen wasn't going to be squeamish about this.
*Should I bury them?*
He stamped his foot against the ground. Though spring had arrived, the weather hadn't warmed up yet, and the dirt underfoot remained hard.
After a moment's thought, Karen stood up.
Gradually, a white glow emerged over his body: "Light—Flame Radiance!"
A ball of fire landed amid the corpses. Flames flared up, consuming only the bodies without spreading elsewhere.
Soon, both corpses were reduced to blackened charcoal.
*If I'd known, why bother using Purification earlier?*
Karen recalled the efficiency with which Neo's Whip of Order squad had destroyed bodies and eliminated evidence that night at the funeral parlor. That was true professionalism; he still had a long way to go.
When Karen returned to his parking spot, he saw two police officers standing in front of his car.
"Officers, this is my car." Karen peeked inside the car as he spoke. Seeing Purr and Kevin still sitting safely inside, he breathed a sigh of relief, then continued to the officers, "Officers, two men just tried to hijack my car. I had no choice but to fire in self-defense. Once I ran out of bullets, they chased after me to kill me. I ran into the woods over there and managed to lose them. There should be plenty of witnesses around here; you can ask them."
The policeman looked at Karen and asked, "Done talking?"
"Yes."
"Then head inside and eat."
"Huh?"
Karen turned his head and saw Neo sitting by the window inside the diner.
The policeman said, "The captain ordered fourteen meals. I wondered why there was an extra portion—turns out it was for you. I had no idea our squad gained an auxiliary member right after transferring to York City. Let's get acquainted. I'm Marlo, and this is Zema."
Beside him, Zema, also in a police uniform, whispered to Karen, "The ring the captain gave you... was it plastic too?"
Karen nodded.
Zema let out a long breath. "Now I feel better."
*So the rings the captain hands out... are all made of plastic?*
"Go on inside. The captain's waiting for you. The others finished eating and took that Church of the Abyss bunch back. We noticed the signs here." Marlo pointed at the furrowed marks in the road where the earthen snake had erupted, then pointed at Karen's bullet-shattered window. "We'll help you claim compensation for your car."
"Thank you."
Karen entered the diner and noticed several tables with finished plates that the waitstaff hadn't cleared yet. Before Neo sat an untouched meal.
"Captain."
Karen walked over to Neo and took a seat.
"Eat."
"Yes, Captain."
Karen picked up his knife and fork and began cutting into the chicken cutlet.
Neo took out three 10-riel bills and two coins, placed them on the table, and slid them over to Karen.
"Rule is, the first meal after a job is on me."
Karen shook his head. "The diner gave a discount. It only came to five hundred."
"Oh, alright."
Neo pulled back the thirty-two riels and asked, "Those two Church of the Abyss guys who chased you—where are they now?"
Karen put a piece of chicken cutlet into his mouth, chewed, swallowed, and finally replied, "Both dead."
"Sigh." Neo sighed. "You shouldn't have killed them."
Karen set down his knife and fork. "Captain, I acted rashly."
Neo leaned back slightly and chuckled, "Dead is dead. Next time, try to take them alive. Taking them alive means we can make them pay coupons for ransom."
Chapter 165