The Rula evil spirit circled endlessly over the bodies of the master and mistress of the house. Wisps of mist, interwoven with blood-red and pale blue, rose from their bodies and were sucked into the spirit's form.
Priests were forever the finest nourishment.
If ordinary mortals were like grain in the fields, then the purified bodies and faith-blessed souls of priests were like steaming, fragrant staples served right at the dinner table.
Yet for most aberrant demons and similar entities, they would rather gnaw on raw grain than touch what was readily served. After all, when choosing between being able to eat every meal and having only one good meal, they knew full well which to choose.
In truth, the Rula evil spirit was reluctant to nourish and recover herself in this manner—especially in Wien, the Church of Order's traditional domain. Outside, the dragnet for her had long since been underway, and she faced the danger of being captured and destroyed at any moment.
Yet she had no choice. She could only cling to Mrs. Sidra, and to exact her vengeance, Mrs. Sidra fed her nothing but Order priests.
To the Rula evil spirit, every meal now was an exquisite delight, because she treated each one as her last supper.
Mrs. Sidra sat on the steps, the two children laid out flat behind her. She did not look back at them, nor did she display any trace of "maternal affection." Her gaze remained unwavering—a resolute, hollow emptiness.
Just then, a ring of light manifested in the living room.
The Rula evil spirit instantly abandoned her feast and pounced toward the ring of light, but Mrs. Sidra stepped in front of it first. Seeing this, the evil spirit realized the newcomer was not an enemy, turned her head, and resumed feeding.
A black-robed figure emerged from within the ring of light, his face completely concealed under a deep hood.
"You've gone mad."
Mrs. Sidra spread her hands. "As you can see."
"Venting pure fury achieves nothing of significance. Its end can only be absolute emptiness."
Mrs. Sidra smiled as if hearing a joke, pointing at herself. "Do you know how much I despise that sort of preaching? I have already fallen to this point, yet you stand there telling me to be rational?"
"Shouldn't you be?"
"Could this world no longer turn if someone abandons reason?"
"It could, provided you have earned the privilege of acting on your whims after abandoning it. When your temper flares, can you truly overturn the table in front of you—or are you merely taking a dinner knife and slashing wildly at your own wrists? That only makes you look pathetic."
"Thomas, did you come here just to lecture me?"
"My appearance here means your location has already been discovered. I risked exposing my identity to buy you a little more time."
Hearing that, the Rula evil spirit began devouring even more frantically, knowing it was time to move.
Mrs. Sidra asked in confusion, "Why help me? I did attend your organization's reading group, but I made it clear that I had no interest in your theories or your cause. And now, I stand in complete opposition to the Church of Order."
"The Professor learned of your plight."
"The Professor..." A masked man's figure surfaced in Mrs. Sidra's mind. She was deeply grateful to him; his words and comfort had once offered her tremendous solace. Though she had never known his true identity, she had sensed that beneath the mask was not a youthful face matching his physique. "The Professor sent you?"
"The Professor said he understands your anger and considers this your form of rebellion. The Professor also said the genesis of this entire affair stems from the deification movement jointly undertaken by the Church of Order and the Church of Principles.
"Have you not noticed? What we oppose is the very thing fueling your fury. All this calamity originates from the current high-ranking leadership of Order straying from the original intention of the God of Order."
"What else... did the Professor say?"
"You can join us. We can resist together and strategically accomplish our goals, sweeping away the corrupt dust clinging to Order. That is the only effective path."
Mrs. Sidra pointed at herself, then looked toward the Rula evil spirit gorging on the last remnants.
"But I can no longer stop."
"The Professor said he has a way."
Hearing this, the evil spirit turned around in alarm. "Mother, do you wish to abandon me?"
Thomas looked at the spirit and spoke: "I assume you have no desire to die here either. If you are willing to submit to restraint for a time, we can send you back to the Gangsen Peninsula and return you to the totem of the Rula tribe."
The evil spirit sneered. "Is this an attempt to use me? I cannot trust your promises."
Thomas nodded. "I know. But you want even less to remain here indulging her madness, only to meet a swift end."
"You're right. I am willing—but first, you must change my mother's mind."
Thomas turned back to Mrs. Sidra. "Madam, allow me to take you away from here."
Mrs. Sidra raised both hands. "From the beginning until now, I have understood what you seek to do. I understand your objectives, and I understand your ideals. But since I refused to join you back then, it is even more impossible for me to agree now.
"You wish to transform the Church. You hope it will become the righteous form you envision in your hearts.
"As for me, I no longer possess the will to change it. I have grown numb to it... indifferent to it.
"Standing on the shore, I cast off my shoes, discarded my hairpin, and walked into the sea. I do not care if my clothes get soaked, for I never planned on returning to dry land."
"Very well, Madam. But I have one suggestion, and that is—"
Thomas's voice cut off abruptly. With a flick of his palm, a chain of Order lashed toward the window curtains.
*Crack!*
The curtains shattered, revealing Neo's figure. He reached out and grabbed the chain, unbothered as the Fire of Order clinging to the metal scorched his palm, refusing to let go. Frowning slightly, he surveyed the two people and the evil spirit in the living room.
"There shouldn't have been a second person."
Fixing his eyes on Thomas, Neo asked, "Were you tipping her off? Is that why reinforcements are arriving later than I calculated?
"Oh, how intriguing. I originally suspected some colleague in the Church had lost their mind and embarked on a string of revenge killings. But I truly never imagined others would be involved. Are you an organization?
"Running experiments? Conducting research projects?
"Playing such high stakes right here in York City?"
Neo's instincts had always been sharp. Had it not been for special circumstances, he would never have wasted so much time in Sangpu City.
"Madam, go quickly. I'll hold him off for you."
With that, Thomas turned toward Neo and said, "I will wait here with you for ten minutes. After ten minutes, we each go our own way, and I will pay you fifty thousand Order coupons."
"My apologies. If one of my subordinates hadn't been put into an eternal slumber, I might have accepted. But now... impossible."
The next instant, the Rula evil spirit retreated into Mrs. Sidra's body, and her form dissolved into black mist, scattering away.
Instead of chasing after Mrs. Sidra, Neo lunged at Thomas.
Thomas shifted aside without making any attempt to block him, graciously giving way.
His attack cleanly dodged, Neo halted his momentum and looked at Thomas.
"Aren't you companions?" Neo asked.
"I invited her, but she refused. Therefore, we are companions no longer. Just now, I was actually worried you might agree. I would truly hate to waste fifty thousand Order coupons on someone who isn't an ally—it would break my heart."
Neo nodded. "Understandable."
"So, will you pursue me or her? If you chase me, once we leave this area, I can simply discard my disguise and reveal my true identity. Without evidence, you cannot convict me of any crime. In fact, I could even claim that you were the lady's accomplice and that I was here to apprehend you.
"I already know your identity, whereas you have no idea who I am. Which do you choose?"
"You make a fair point. I'll chase her. However, my intuition tells me that I'll catch you sooner or later as well."
"For that subordinate of yours who won't wake up?"
"No. Because the tone of voice you just used made me very uncomfortable. Grinding someone like you into the dirt beneath my boot heel will certainly bring great joy to my heart and mind."
"I understand. Heh."
In the next instant, Neo and Thomas darted in opposite directions.
The moment Neo bounded out of the house, he received a transmission from Fanny: "Captain, the target is moving fast! Wend and Paige have already pursued her, heading southwest!"
At that moment, Fanny was standing on the rooftop of a distant building, gripping her pistol in her left hand while holding the conch shell against her ear with her right.
Earlier, to avoid alerting the murderer inside, Neo had not ordered his subordinates to set up a close-range perimeter. Besides, if reinforcements could be summoned to handle the matter, why sacrifice his own people?
Yet when the reinforcements were delayed, Neo immediately realized something was wrong and intervened in person.
Consequently, when Mrs. Sidra broke out, the rest of the squad had no time to cut her off and could only give chase.
"Fanny, report to higher-ups that this killer has an inside informant who can interfere with the dispatch of reinforcements."
"Understood, Captain!"
Neo pushed his speed to the absolute limit.
Before long, he caught up to Paige.
"No need to keep pursuing. I'll leave markers. Go meet the reinforcement units and guide them along my trail."
"Yes, Captain!"
A quarter of an hour later, Neo caught up to Wend. In the Hound Squad, Wend was renowned for his speed, and he had been tailing Mrs. Sidra the closest.
Now, however, blood was trickling from the corner of Wend's mouth, clearly having taken a retaliatory blow from Mrs. Sidra during the pursuit.
"Will you die?" Neo asked coldly.
"No, Captain. I managed to sprinkle scent powder on her."
"Well done. Stand down and rest."
"Captain, she's far stronger than I anticipated, so..."
Neo let out a laugh.
"What a coincidence," he said. "So am I."
***
"Mother, why don't we simply leave this place? Leave a dangerous place like York City behind."
"You underestimate the power of the Church of Order. Only by relying on the dense population of this city can we remain hidden. If we leave the city, we will be pinpointed very quickly."
"Mother, someone is still pursuing from behind."
"Conceal our aura."
"All right, Mother."
Mrs. Sidra dropped to the street. Cloaked by the Rula evil spirit, she assumed the appearance of a streetwalker. While Mrs. Sidra walked at a normal pace, to outside eyes she seemed like a red-haired soliciting woman, wobbling along with a cigarette between her fingers and reeking of alcohol.
The black mist that Neo had transformed into drifted across the area. At this moment, he lost the trace of her scent, yet he was certain that the scent had vanished right here.
*Tsk, playing hide-and-seek? How entertaining.*
Neo's gaze swept over the surroundings. Then, the black mist he had become drifted past the streetwalker along the road, vanishing at the end of the street.
"Mother, we evaded him. Let's find a place to sleep comfortably. I need to digest."
"Good."
The "streetwalker" turned into an alleyway beside her.
Right at that moment, six bolts of Order fire descended from above, slamming toward Mrs. Sidra from different angles.
Mrs. Sidra took a step forward, stomped down onto a manhole cover, and plummeted into the opening below, casually waving her hand to deflect all the Order flames away.
Beneath lay the heating pipe network, a spacious subterranean cavern that vagrants fought over tooth and nail in winter.
Mrs. Sidra shuttled swiftly through the passage, but before she could move very far, the manhole cover ahead slammed down with a resounding *thud*, and Neo's figure materialized.
"Madam, this is an industrial district. How could the residents here ever afford someone like you?"
Mrs. Sidra offered no reply. A yellow luminescence flared in her eyes. Clapping her hands together, she sent a violent shockwave forward. Instantly, dense vegetation erupted across the concrete brick walls, surging madly toward Neo to hem him in.
The moment they constricted Neo's room to maneuver, every leaf and branch began secreting a terrifying, corrosive poison. That section of the pipe wall was instantly pitted and corroded, and even more venom vaporized into a toxic mist, pressing in on Neo.
Neo cracked his neck, raised a hand, and muttered in a low voice:
"Light—Incinerate."
Flames of Light surged forth from beneath Neo's feet, sweeping rapidly outward in all directions. The toxic mist and creeping vegetation were baked into nothingness.
"Mother, it's the power of Light!"
"Who on earth are you?"
Neo did not deign to answer. Having exposed a trump card he shouldn't have revealed without a moment's hesitation, he swept his right hand across, condensing a greatsword of Light.
*Anyone who dares cripple my people pays with their life!*
*Hum!*
Neo appeared directly before Mrs. Sidra. The light in Mrs. Sidra's eyes shifted, her lips parting slightly as terrifying murmurs flooded into Neo's mind.
Yet the anticipated hesitation never occurred. The man before her did not even flinch; the sword of Light slashed down in an instant!
*Slash!*
Mrs. Sidra retreated, but a gash was still carved across her chest.
Mental attacks—especially this kind of "confusion" mental attack—were utterly useless against Neo. He had spent years enduring far worse; now that he no longer had Philias chatting away in his head and was left with only that old bloodthirsty aberrant demon ancestor, he actually felt rather lonely.
"Mother, I'll help you!"
The evil spirit's power rapidly counteracted the spreading Light energy around the wound, suppressing the injury.
Neo pressed forward. The woman herself possessed decent strength, and bolstered by the evil spirit that had gorged on the blood and souls of so many priests, she was even more formidable.
However, she had not yet learned how to wield this power skillfully—a clumsy sensation Neo found quite familiar, as it frequently manifested in Karen.
"Are you a remnant of Light?" Mrs. Sidra demanded once more.
Neo answered with another downward cleave of his sword.
"If you are a follower of Light, why hunt me?"
"My faith belongs to Order!"
"Do you honestly believe that? You call this faith in Order?"
"I believe it, and Order believes it too."
After several successive sword strikes, Mrs. Sidra began retreating rapidly, only to realize that her retreat had fallen entirely into his tempo. Although he had not managed to wound her further, their auras had become thoroughly intertwined.
In other words, he could anticipate every single move she made, steadily suppressing her step by step—a situation that would only grow more dire over time.
"Mother, we must break his rhythm, or we're finished!"
Mrs. Sidra opened her mouth and let out a low roar. Her skin took on the rough hue of elm bark, granting an extra surge to her speed and strength. Yet she chose not to use this transformation to strike at Neo; instead, she sought to flee.
Neo bore down on her, but just as he pressed forward, the woman's body suddenly broke apart, scattering into a shower of fallen leaves and withered twigs.
Behind Neo, Mrs. Sidra's figure materialized in an eerie fashion. A wooden sword appeared in her hand—crude and rough, as though hastily carved from a branch, yet its edge gleamed with an icy, biting sharpness.
Neo smiled. He did not turn around, for there was no time. He did only one thing: he shifted the position of his heart.
*Thwack!*
The wooden sword pierced through Neo's chest, obliterating the "heart."
Gripping the sword of Light with both hands, Neo drove it straight back into the very wound that had just impaled him!
*Thwack! Thwack!*
The sword of Light pierced clean through Neo's chest and plunged deep into Mrs. Sidra's chest as well.
"Mother, he's a devil!"
"You..."
Neither the Rula evil spirit nor Mrs. Sidra had anticipated that Neo would attack in such a suicidal manner.
A remnant of Light disguised as an Order priest, pursuing a killer of Order priests, had resorted to mutual destruction right from the start!
Even a genuinely devout priest of Order wouldn't have made such a decision so decisively!
Neo's eyes turned pure white. He opened his mouth, and a dense, radiant fire of Light condensed on his tongue.
Then,
he twisted his neck.
*Crack! Snap! Crunch!*
His neck bones snapped,
and Neo's face rotated completely around to face directly behind him. Locking eyes with Mrs. Sidra, Neo gave her a wink.
Immediately after,
flames of Light erupted from Neo's mouth, sweeping over Mrs. Sidra's entire body.
"Sigh, what a wonderful demonstration. Too bad you weren't here, Karen."
Chapter 430