Breaker of Order!

"The cycle of samsara for mortals; shipping containers for you." Neo repeated the words, tilting his head to look at Bertha sitting in the corner of the wall. "I can sense my prejudice toward Samsara. Earlier, I didn't understand where this prejudice came from. Now, I understand. It isn't prejudice at all. I simply loathe the entire Church of Samsara." Bertha pursed her lips, uncertain whether she ought to respond. She had already grown terrified of Neo's volatile temper. Neo continued, "As an envoy of Light, you actually climbed into bed with Samsara." Bertha knew the remark was directed at her and immediately said, "I know opinions on the Church of Samsara have always been sharply divided within church circles, but my contact with their people is largely to borrow their power. You might not understand just how destitute our Church of Light has become." "I don't know, but I do know one thing: if Light must rely on filthy methods to descend, then whatever reappears will never be Light." "In the world of the churches, what is ever truly pure?" Bertha gritted her teeth, summoning immense courage. "No matter how holy the Light was, it has perished; no matter how filthy Samsara is, it still stands tall." Yet Neo did not lose his temper this time. Instead, he replied, "It's different. What exists has never been justified simply by existing. Just because it exists now doesn't mean we must scramble to find a reason why it must exist. "Just as even if the Light has perished, as long as mortals still hold a yearning for what is good in their hearts, then the Light is actually still here—it merely no longer exists in the form of the Church of Light." "Then what about Order?" "Order is different." "But how is Order any different from Samsara? Order 'Awakens' the departed, while Samsara summons back the dead. Aren't they the same?" "What Order Awakens is not the soul, but the lingering spirituality upon the corpse. After a person dies, their body is no different from a sword or a blade they wielded in life. Samsara, on the other hand, detains and imprisons the souls of the departed. "Do you know why the First Knights of the Church of Order are called the strongest among the Twelve Knights, feared by every other Orthodox Church? "And why does the Church of Samsara lack such a terrifying legion of guardians? "Because when the Church of Order performs 'Awakening,' the awakened corpses retain their cognition and awareness from life; they possess their own will and choice. "Priests qualified to join the First Knights signed agreements willingly while alive. They were willing, even after death, to dedicate their final ounces of strength to defend Order. "Not a single coffin in the First Knights is bound with chains. In the entire legion, the only living men are porters performing transport and handling—there is not a single living warden. "When the members of the First Knights awaken, they can even organize themselves into combat ranks according to their former ranks and positions. "Would the Church of Samsara dare treat their reincarnated souls that way? "They wouldn't dare, because they know that the moment those detained souls regain freedom, the very first thing they would do isn't charge at the enemy, but turn and tear their masters apart, devouring them alive. "That is where the Church of Order's true power lies. You may see their corruption and decay, but you cannot deny that from the previous era down to the present, across generations, they have accumulated countless souls who truly believe in Order. "The ones truly guarding the Church of Order are those people. "As for the Church of Samsara... I hear many of their mid- and high-level officials refuse to enter a Samsara contract before dying. They just want a clean end, not torture and enslavement after death. "They don't believe in Samsara themselves, yet they preach relentlessly to make mortals believe in the afterlife. "The doctrine of Light cleanses sins so people can face life in a better state. But the Church of Samsara tells mortals that the suffering of this life is an unalterable fate—worship the God of Samsara devoutly, and in your next cycle, you can enjoy a life above all others. "What Samsara preaches is passivity, an opiate. "In reality, if someone urges you to accept your predetermined, unchangeable fate and tells you that you can lie flat by the roadside of life with an easy conscience, there are only two reasons: either he is an idiot, or he takes you for one." "Why... why are you telling me so much?" "I don't know..." Neo shook his head. "Perhaps because of this photo studio, I remembered a lot of things today." "You... lost your memory?" Bertha asked in astonishment. "Not quite lost, let's call it curiosity." "Curiosity?" "Like flipping through someone else's diary—the process of peering into someone else's life is rather fascinating in itself, isn't it?" "I... I don't know." "I want to know one thing: you being so close with her, does it mean the current higher-ups of the Light also maintain close ties with Samsara?" "I'm not sure." "Hmm?" "But I've heard some things. It seems several elders at the central authority advocate using Samsara's power to revive the Light, though there have been no concrete moves within the church hierarchy. My relationship with her was merely personal as an initial contact. So I think the central authority might only harbor the idea, hoping to exploit the friction and rifts between Orthodox Churches to gain support and bring about the revival of the Church of Light." "No, it's not just that." "Not just that? What do you mean?" "The return of the gods..." "I've also heard rumors that the gods will return. In my dreams, I wish for nothing more than the great God of Light to return and save our church. For that, I am willing to offer everything I have!" Neo could tell Bertha had no deceit or hesitation when speaking; deep in her heart, she held absolute devotion to the God of Light. It was an entirely different feeling from the scene earlier when Karen declared his faith in the God of Order. Even though Karen's declaration had felt far more sincere and atmospheric. "As long as the God of Light returns, you'd accept anything?" "Yes, absolutely!" "Then... what if the God of Light walked out from Samsara Valley?" "H-How could that be!" Neo let out a long sigh, murmuring to himself: "I finally begin to understand why Order wants to attack Samsara." ... *Buzz!* Talina's figure vanished from the spot once more. A split second later, she materialized to Karen's left, the black dagger in her hand thrusting toward him. A second time! Even Gray wouldn't use the exact same move twice in a row against him. With the enhancement of the Dark Moon Blade, Karen's speed pushed to its utmost limit. He paid no heed to the threat perceived at his flank, instead bolting straight ahead. After covering a short distance, he dragged his momentum into a sharp diagonal veer, slashing the Sword of Arius in a wide arc. At that moment, Talina's figure appeared directly behind the path of the blade, missing being cleaved at the waist by a mere hair's breadth. She was thoroughly stunned by Karen's speed, but her subsequent reaction was equally swift—or rather, the soul from the Church of Raymond possessing her reacted with startling reflexes. She first shifted away from the direction Karen used to recover his sword, then closed the distance rapidly, stabbing the dagger toward him. Originally, it was meant as a feint to adjust according to how Karen swung the greatsword next, but Talina noticed his sword recovery was a fraction too slow. The feint instantly turned into a lethal strike. The black dagger pierced into the armor on Karen's chest, and the Sea God's Armor rapidly frosted over at the impact point. Once the black dagger embedded itself, the portion outside could penetrate no further, while the section inside was quickly dissolved by the swirling currents within the armor, neutralizing its lethal force. Such was the inherent flaw of non-materialized weapons. But Talina had no choice; Neo had forcibly stripped her pair of daggers, leaving her without any suitable armament. As the Sword of Arius swung back toward her, Talina's body swayed. The fingernails of her other hand slashed open her own palm. As fresh blood welled up, it rapidly coalesced into a crimson dagger, which plunged into Karen's armor once more. This time, it drove noticeably deeper than before. Furthermore, the portion penetrating the armor was not dissolved by the water currents within. Guided by the blood, a new surge of power erupted inside the armor, piercing straight through. *Pfft!* Karen let out a muffled grunt, feeling a sharp, violent pain in his ribs. He was astonished that the opponent could weaponize fresh blood as a hidden assassin's blade, discovering a way to overcome the properties of the Sea God's Armor in a mere instant. This woman—no, this soul from the Church of Raymond—possessed terrifying assassination experience. Having delivered the strike, Talina's figure drifted backward, narrowly evading the returning swing of Karen's longsword. Everything appeared flawless, as precise as toying with prey, neither a fraction of an inch too short nor too far. Yet just as Karen had suffered for not knowing his opponent's capabilities, she would likewise pay a price for underestimating his. The edge of the Sword of Arius swept past Talina's front. The physical blade reached only so far, but a whip-like extension of dark crimson reached much further. In a flash, an extra streak of dark red extended from the blade's tip, striking like the darting tongue of a viper. Having calculated only the length of the greatsword, Talina never anticipated such a trick. A deep laceration was sliced across her abdomen. Landing on the ground, she clutched her wounded belly with one hand as blood began to seep out. Karen did not pause to tend to his wound after swinging the sword. The Sea God's Armor over his chest wound had already frozen solid, stopping the bleeding and purifying the injury in one stroke. Facing Karen's second wave of assault, Talina's figure vanished yet again. Just like the previous two times, murderous intent flared directly behind Karen. This time, however, Karen gripped the hilt with both hands, swiftly twisting it downward to point the longsword behind him while retreating at full tilt. The Talina who appeared behind did not dissipate, meaning she was the real body. In that moment, she was practically throwing herself onto Karen's blade. What she did not know was that Karen had lavishly dispersed droplets of water from the Sea God's Armor around his surroundings to serve as a physical tripwire. Both Gray and Wend had warned Karen that squandering even a shred of one's spirituality in battle was a sacrilege to one's own life. The trouble was, the reserves of spirituality accumulated within Karen's body far exceeded those of ordinary men; he could easily afford such an extravagant fighting style. Left with no alternative, red light surged across Talina's hands as she forcibly reached out to deflect the greatsword's blade. Yet the property of the Dark Moon Blade was at its most formidable during such deadlocks! From merely a brief instant of contact, Talina felt a searing, piercing agony in her hands. In that moment, she bit the tip of her tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood that condensed into another blood-red dagger, aimed directly at the back of Karen's skull. If Karen continued thrusting backward, the Sword of Arius would pierce Talina's body, and a following horizontal sweep would cleave her in two. But Karen's head would also take the hit from that crimson dagger. The previous blood dagger had managed to penetrate his Sea God's Armor; taking it in the ribs was one thing, but taking it to the back of the skull... Karen did not believe the woman herself would dare trade lives with him, but he believed the soul possessing her certainly would! First, as an exceptional assassin, he would stop at nothing to eliminate his mark; second, during their close-quarters clash, Karen had sensed the emotion radiating from him—the soul seemed desperately eager to find release through death. He could not break free of Talina's control, nor could he defy her will, but he did not mind dragging his enslaver down with him in mutual destruction. That way, he too would finally be free. Karen had no desire to trade his life. He could only pivot and retract his sword, delivering an upward diagonal slash in the process as a final, stubborn counter. As Karen turned to evade, the crimson dagger grazed his cheek and shot past, opening up distance between them once more. Almost simultaneously, a black chain emerged beneath Karen's feet. It did not strike toward Talina, but slipped quietly into the distance under cover of night. Since the other side fought this way, Karen had developed an idea of his own. Talina's hands were already dripping with blood, appearing as though they had just been scorched on a branding iron. Yet in her eyes lingered a trace of regret. In the next instant, the dark red bead on Talina's chest flared with light once more. The black shadow cloaking her was swept back inside, and immediately afterward, a woman's silhouette emerged, overlapping with Talina's form. Whether Talina realized the Raymond soul wanted to drag her down with him, or whether she deemed close-quarters combat against Karen too disadvantageous without real weapons, she decided to switch tactics. Talina's eyes shifted from stark white back to normal, then quickly turned white again. Though her hands were mangled and bleeding, she forcefully formed a magic array. A green starburst flared beneath her feet, and the surrounding wind whipped up. Two teal lions materialized at her flanks, roaring in unison before lunging toward Karen. "Order—Guardian Wall!" A massive black barrier materialized before Karen. Yet the violent collision he anticipated never came; the two teal lions passed straight through the barrier, continuing their charge at him. It was a soul attack, not a physical one. A holy radiance swirled in Karen's right eye, and he said in a deep voice: "Light—Soul Cloak!" The power of Light possessed immense effectiveness against all spiritual entities. A colossal cloak woven from white feathers descended before Karen. The two teal lions crashed into it but failed to break through. Green ripples began churning across the cloak, like prey trapped inside a burlap sack putting up their final struggle. "Order—Purification!" The power of purification unleashed, blasting straight into the massive cloak. In the next breath, both the cloak and the teal light enclosed within dispersed into nothingness. "Phew..." Karen let out a long breath. Gray and Wend were no longer a match for him, which had left him unable to gauge where his true strength lay, as his combat power had long exceeded what could be measured by the standard of an "Inquisitor." The opponent before him gave him the sensation of an exhilarating duel. He was well aware that his captain had stripped away her equipment, placing her at an inherent disadvantage and forcibly lowering her combat effectiveness, which bordered on cheating. Yet Karen felt not the slightest guilt, for hadn't she brought in substitute fighters as well? Karen felt that given the rigidity and dogmatism the woman had displayed at the start, he would have won decisively even if she had all her gear intact. Being strong and knowing how to fight had always been two entirely different matters. Still, imprisoning other people's souls and summoning them in battle was truly unexpected. But Karen was certain such arts extracted a heavy toll from the caster—vitality, for instance. Because they were departed souls, manifesting them in the mortal realm inevitably required supplying them with vitality. Yet as an aristocrat of church circles who could casually expend a Samsara Crystal worth three million Order coupons, the dark red bead at her chest likely stored a substantial reservoir of life force. Sure enough, in any circle, background and power always conferred an innate advantage. Talina continued casting. A massive teal python materialized before her. Only a few parts had yet to fully solidify, but its serpentine body was already coiling and swaying. Karen raised his sword and stepped forward. He walked unhurriedly, appearing wary of an attack the teal python might launch at any moment. Yet behind Talina, the black chain that had long since circled around was darting toward her at blinding speed. The teal python's head suddenly whipped around toward her rear, as though sensing the anomaly behind them. But immediately afterward, it turned back toward Karen, letting out a ferocious, menacing growl. Had it not noticed? No. It had noticed, but pretended not to. Just as the departed soul from the Church of Raymond had harbored such thoughts earlier, the female spirit specializing in soul arts currently possessing her made it even more obvious. Perhaps she had been better at concealing it in the past, but this time, she dropped the act entirely. Even with the python sensing the threat behind her, she suppressed its instinct to guard her back, deliberately creating an opening for Karen! These souls bound by Samsara contracts wanted Talina dead even more than her actual opponent did. At last, the black chain reached Talina's feet, plunging directly into her body. "Aaaagh!" Talina shrieked in agony. The dark red bead at her chest began trembling violently, and three figures of different hues manifested around her, screaming alongside her. Two of them Karen had already seen; the third, Talina had not even used yet. That meant she had entered Samsara contracts with three departed souls. Karen felt a violent spasm in his chest, agonizingly painful, but he clutched his chest and held on grimly. The spirituality within his body was being siphoned away at tremendous speed, the sensation strikingly similar to using this chain for "Awakening." At that moment, Karen's black chain began turning white, binding the three Samsara-contracted souls respectively. The bead lost all its luster. Evidently, it had lost all restraint over the contracted souls, replaced entirely by Karen's white chain. "How can this be! How can this be? No, this is impossible, this is impossible!" Talina stared at the scene in sheer horror. Such a turn of events was far more unacceptable to her than the threat of death, for it shattered the faith she had held since birth. The Samsara contracts had severed themselves without her consent as their master. Such a thing had never occurred before, and it signified that the bedrock of the Church of Samsara's greatest pride had cracked! And the person holding that crack stood right before her eyes. She would rather this man defeat and kill her through conventional means than dismantle her pride and faith with chains as he was doing now. Talina panted heavily. At this moment, she found the young man before her far more terrifying than the masked figure in the basement. "Who on earth are you... Why is this happening..." Karen looked at Talina and answered: "The existence of the Church of Samsara has broken the order... that should have existed between life and death."