Clash

Neo entered the cavern. The downward slope wasn't steep, but the tunnel went deep, shrouded in utter darkness. From time to time, drafts of air blew out from within, indicating there was more than one entrance or exit below. If one viewed this place as a cage, it was truly riddled with holes. Advancing inward with a measure of caution for a short distance, Neo halted his steps and looked down. A faint, ghostly green sheen swirled in his eyes, like those of a bat. Beneath his feet lay what should have been an ant nest. The ants down here were larger than those in the surface world, making their mound resemble a human-head-sized ice cream sundae. Compared to the surrounding hard earth and rocky walls, it was undoubtedly soft and slightly moist, leaving behind a clear boot print where someone had stepped on it. Neo crouched down and examined the imprint closely, then smiled. "Boots of the Order Knights." He reached out and poked it gently; it still retained some give, indicating it had been left recently. Simplifying matters—disregarding any knight order members who might have come down here for a stroll while on the run or executing covert operations, and ruling out any Order Knight enthusiasts who specifically tailored replica uniforms to wander about down here... ...then the only knight order member known to have arrived in the subterranean world recently was Commander Daan. "He sends us to execute someone, yet he came here in person not long ago himself. Sigh..." Neo sighed. In truth, even before this, he and Karen had known that the target marked for execution would be far from ordinary, possessing a rather peculiar identity. From the looks of it now, her background might be even more intricate than what their side had anticipated. Therefore, regarding this apostate's identity, it was best not to know too much; they should treat this purely as a straightforward execution assignment. Moreover, once the mission was over, their side would have to maintain absolute confidentiality, letting the entire affair conclude as quietly as possible without stirring up further waves. "She must have rather complicated ties with certain high-ranking figures..." This was an extraordinarily sensitive task, but unfortunately, everyone had already had their mouths sweetened with candied fruit in advance. Neo couldn't help but think of Kevin. Most of Karen's secrets were laid bare to Neo, so Neo knew Kevin had once been the God of Order's white glove. And now, he and the others were Commander Daan's white gloves. To be a white glove, one needed the self-awareness of a white glove: the work had to be done cleanly, or else a soiled glove was easily cast aside. Lightly rolling his neck, Neo transformed into a swarm of bats and flew downward. No longer displaying his previous caution, he focused purely on covering ground. Since Commander Daan had already been here, there shouldn't be any other dangers along the path all the way to the core. Sure enough, after flying for a while, Neo finally arrived at a level karst cavern below. Thanks to crystals lining the rock walls, visibility was fairly high here. Just then, however, a puddle ahead suddenly refracted an eerie sheen. Soon, the puddle rose upright, resembling a mirror rippling with dynamic waves. ... Deep within the cavern, the massive red heart gave a gentle pulse. From inside the heart, a woman gradually seeped out, the flesh of her back completely fused to the organ. Arch-Necromancer Morindi wore a calm expression as she murmured to herself, "Have you arrived, Karen?" Morindi raised her left hand and slowly clenched her fist. ... Inside the mirror before Neo, a black vortex formed, necromantic aura rapidly coalescing. Normally, standing dumbly in place waiting for the necromantic summoning spell before him to finish casting wouldn't be Neo's style, but from the corner of his eye, Neo had already noticed the flanks of the mirror. There, two entities with concealed auras were waiting to launch an ambush the moment he stepped forward to disrupt the spell. Furthermore, the pacing of the spell before him had clearly been slowed down deliberately. The moment he attempted to strike preemptively, the spell that originally seemed to require a minute to cast might finish in three seconds. This apostate was exceedingly composed; she felt no sense of life-or-death crisis at all, acting more like she wanted to toy slowly with her would-be executioners. Neo tested the waters by taking a step back. Sure enough, the spell's coalescence accelerated. *I can't even leave?* *So confident, are we?* *Buzz!* The spell finished forming. The black mirror looked as if washed in dark ink, and a figure strode out from within. Thick necromantic aura radiated from him, yet his appearance was distinct. This person was... Foden. The Whip-Wielder of the Whip of Order. Neo naturally believed Foden couldn't possibly be dead, much less summoned by her after death. Therefore, either she was intentionally using this method to humiliate him, or she was deeply familiar with Foden—or at least had been in the past. Because the Foden before him was noticeably younger than the Whip-Wielder who frequently appeared in the pages of *Order Weekly* these days. Neo pursed his lips. His scouting mission was not actually complete at this point, since he had yet to make substantive contact. His duty was to test what level the target's strength truly was. Given that the confinement array had been infiltrated and seized in reverse, if the enemy's strength was outrageously high... then their only choice would be to abandon the mission. After all, there was no reason to throw everyone's lives away here; it wasn't worth it. If the opponent's strength fell within an acceptable range, however, they would eliminate her if possible, even if it meant paying a certain price. Neo moved. He did not charge directly at Foden, choosing instead to flank around. Foden remained where he stood, unmoving, but a fissure appeared beneath his feet. With a *crack*, the fissure rapidly expanded, encompassing a vast area. Fissures appeared beneath Neo's feet as well, and invisible bindings began locking onto him. This was an utterly unbelievable binding technique! Before this, Neo had never seen anyone use it like this in reality. Beside Neo's bound form, two lizardmen emerged on either flank. Their entire bodies were covered in runes; dead long ago, they had been refined into puppets. Each lizardman wielded a blade, thrusting diagonally at Neo in a crisscross strike. Neo flicked both hands up swiftly to deflect the two blades. The lizardmen's own momentum drove the blades straight into each other's chests. Though it appeared to be a brilliant display of turning the enemy's force against themselves, as the blades pierced their chests, both lizardmen opened their mouths and howled. Immediately, their bodies petrified rapidly, forming a small yet sturdy array that trapped Neo inside. He was now virtually locked in an embrace between the two lizardmen. If it had been anyone else, they would have been captured alive right then and there. But Neo's body twisted violently at that moment. Trapped, he dissolved into a cloud of black mist. The two petrified lizardmen slammed together fiercely, scattering the mist. Yet amidst the scattered black mist, a cloud of blood mist emerged. Darting away swiftly, the blood mist coalesced once more into Neo's figure. This was an escape executed in a split second by exploiting the sealing array's sole loophole. After all, they were puppets rather than living people; they followed rigid operational logic and lacked human adaptability. Yet Neo had barely reformed his body and had not even had time to catch his breath when a chilling aura appeared behind him. It was Foden. Neo spun around immediately, but hands pierced through his chest—both hands plunging through simultaneously, one of them gripping Neo's heart. *Bang!* Crushed without hesitation, exploding into a burst of feathers. What Foden held in his hand turned into a cute doll. Meanwhile, the real Neo dropped to the ground at a distance, supporting himself with one hand, his eyes filled with shock. In that rapid exchange just now, he had pushed his maneuvering to the absolute limit. Even so, he was still walking a razor's edge, utterly suppressed by his opponent. Foden raised a hand and pointed at Neo. Fissures spread all the way from the direction of Foden's finger toward Neo. Midway through, they detonated directly into a cage of fissures. With a flick of his left hand, a black dagger appeared in Neo's palm. Instead of reacting defensively, he plunged the dagger into the ground before him, chanting a bloodkin incantation. Immediately after, Neo pulled the dagger back out. Blood surged from the ground, quickly forming a pool beneath his feet. The pool of blood began to seep inward, soon soaking all the fissures around Neo. A crimson glint flashed in Neo's eyes. Clenching his fists, a hideous, terrifying demon mask materialized behind him. Neo opened his mouth, and the demon mask opened its mouth as well, letting out a piercing screech. The blood that had seeped into the fissures began to boil rapidly, surging backward in a countercurrent toward Foden. Foden did not retreat. Centered on him, a void formed around his body, swallowing both the fissures and the blood whole. This was an utterly unbelievable manner of combat, and next, an even more shocking scene unfolded. Inside the massive crimson demon mask behind Neo, a void appeared as well. Foden stepped out from within and looked up. *Bang!* In an instant, the demon mask shattered. Foden brought his foot stomping down toward Neo. With a flip of his other hand, Neo produced a blue dagger that cut through the air with a screeching friction, thrusting straight at the sole of Foden's boot. This dagger hailed from the Church of Pamires, possessing the ability to resonate with spatial ripples. It was truly no surprise that Neo possessed such novelties—after all, when he even had the leeway to collect viable weapons for Karen, how could he ever lack them himself? However, when the dagger stabbed forward, it felt as if it had struck an invisible membrane. What Foden stomped down with was not an attack, but a sealing array! *Buzz!* In an instant, taking the sole of Foden's boot as a cross section, a plane blazing with the Fire of Order expanded rapidly. A colossal, terrifying force bore down upon it, threatening to crush Neo beneath. With a wet *squelch*, he was driven into the ground. *Squelch, squelch...* From the ground slightly ahead and to the side, blood welled up, coalescing once more into Neo's form, but his face had turned deathly pale. *Hiss...* This was a secret bloodkin art Neo had learned from that old bastard. However, his current bloodthirsty aberrant demon bloodline had not yet reached the point where he could execute it with ease. This time, it was purely to save his life, but the price of survival was a gravely debilitating injury. The bloodkin power within him withered from the casting of this secret art, and his body's self-healing capabilities would plummet to rock bottom for the immediate future. "Ah..." Neo struck his own forehead forcefully, looking thoroughly tormented. Yet Foden suddenly stood there, motionless. This left Neo, who had deliberately feigned the gesture, rather awkward. He had been waiting for Foden to close in for another attack so he could sever the connection using Light magic, forcibly cutting Foden off from the person controlling him. That was the most effective way to break the deadlock for now, since Light spells and Book of the Dead necromancy were fundamentally opposing attributes. During the previous clash, Neo had deliberately refrained from using his strongest Light powers just so he could spring them at the critical juncture. Yet his opponent refused to give him the chance. ... "A bloodthirsty aberrant demon bloodline?" Atop the heart, Morindi frowned faintly. That skeleton hadn't told her that the young man named Karen possessed a bloodthirsty aberrant demon bloodline as well. *Is it Karen?* Although not being told didn't necessarily mean he didn't have it, the skeleton had frequently used the word "pure" when describing the young man named Karen; Morindi trusted the skeleton's intelligence-gathering abilities, so this person... might not be Karen after all. *Did they switch who they sent to kill me?* *They didn't send Karen, but someone else?* Morindi raised her hand. "Halt for now." ... Inside the cavern level, an eerily bizarre silence fell. Neo continuously scanned his surroundings, searching for the apostate's true position. As for Foden before him, he was no longer his primary focus. Still, one thing had to be acknowledged: had the Whip-Wielder... really been this powerful even in his youth? This entity, whether best described as a puppet or a necromantic summon, had definitely been created in those early days. Perhaps the Whip-Wielder back then had even intentionally bestowed a mental imprint, essentially engraving his own spells and combat style into it. And indeed, such was the truth. Morindi had been part of the same circle as Foden back then, having followed Norton long before he became High Priest. As a necromancer, when Morindi planned to cultivate several special necromantic summons, the companions at her side had naturally been more than willing to help. Back when the atmosphere among the group was harmonious, her companions had even treated imprinting their likenesses for her necromantic summons like a fashion runway show. Not only did they take care to imprint their customary spells, but they also held exacting standards for their appearance and attire. Those were the years Morindi still reminisced about to this day. Had she not seen through the High Priest's true purpose, she wouldn't have been imprisoned here for decades, missing not only the optimal period to advance her personal power, but also the prime opportunities of her career. Foden had become the Whip-Wielder, and Daan had become a commander. If she had remained with that team, she would likely be holding the position of top or second-in-command within some branch of the Church of Order today. "Take off your mask." A woman's voice drifted over. Neo knew this had to be the apostate. "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about, ma'am. I'm just an exploration enthusiast who likes cave trekking and advocating for environmentalism." Neo attempted to pinpoint the apostate's location from the sound while spouting nonsense that even he felt was utter rubbish. Right at that moment, however, five more black mirrors appeared around Neo. Standing erect, each contained a silhouetted figure within. *Whoa...* Neo knew it was time to slip away. If a necromantic summon on par with Foden could walk out of each of these five mirrors, there would be no need to continue this fight at all. Not that they had zero chance, but if they insisted on gambling for that chance, a massive question mark would hang over how many of the people who had come with him this time would make it out alive. Not worth it. Far too unprofitable. He wasn't doing it; he'd rather go back and endure Daan's furious roaring. "Take off your mask," the woman's voice came again. Neo called out, "Then you should at least let me see you, ma'am." "As you wish." A massive red heart shifted into view, with Morindi standing atop it. Neo's eyes widened instantly. In that split second, he began calculating the success rate of launching a surprise assassination using his Light powers. Yet the moment he sensed the terrifying power contained within that massive heart, he immediately abandoned the notion. A heart that should have symbolized vitality was packed with an intensely dense necromantic aura. Even if he got miraculously lucky and assassinated her in a blitz, what awaited him was instantaneous annihilation in the detonating blast of necromantic energy. *This isn't fun at all...* Morindi looked at Neo and said, "Your turn." "How did you know I was wearing a mask?" Neo asked. "I saw it just now when you used that bloodthirsty aberrant demon secret art to escape. That was an oversight on your part, if you wished to continue concealing your identity." "Thank you for the reminder." Neo reached up and peeled off his "facial skin," revealing a raw, blood-red face beneath. Morindi frowned faintly. "You used your own facial skin as a mask?" Neo replied, "Yes. At one point, I was on the verge of losing myself to madness, so I used this method to steel my faith in Order." Morindi sighed. With the mask removed and his true appearance revealed, she could tell purely from his age that this was not the exceptional Church youth the skeleton held in such high regard. Promptly, Morindi spoke: "Very well, you may leave." "I can leave?" Neo found it somewhat hard to believe. He had still been racking his brain over how to slip away, yet she was actually letting him go so magnanimously. "Go. I will not kill you. There aren't many within the Church who possess a bloodthirsty aberrant demon bloodline to begin with, and those capable of elevating it to this level without losing themselves to madness are even rarer. I have only ever met one before, and you are the second. "I have no wish to kill a talent like you; it would be far too great a pity." *Uh, are these words coming out of an apostate's mouth?* Neo felt the world had grown a little too absurd and bizarre. Still, since she was letting him go, he might as well leave. Once he got back, he would tell Karen that they weren't taking this assignment. Watching Neo prepare to depart, Morindi suddenly asked: "What is your name? I wish to know if you are that person's student. He and I were once good friends." *Neo thought to himself: Then you're bound to be disappointed. My bloodline came from my wife's embrace.* Immediately following that, Neo replied very politely: "Milady, my name is Karen."