God, I Have Sinned!

If Neo had been able to speak, he would probably be laughing his head off by now, laughing until his Adam's apple cramped. Karen smiled wryly himself. It was indeed awkward. He looked down at Kanna, whose hand he was holding. The little girl wore no expression; whenever she was with Karen, she was always very grave. Unlike Philomena, however, she had no psychological issues—because so long as one possessed no psychology to speak of, there could be no issues. The woman standing before Morindi spread her arms wide, and over a dozen massive appendages burst from her body like spider legs. The overall impression she gave right now was that of a human-faced spider. This was likely not the effect of some secret technique; she was probably a monster beast in her own right. Within the Church of Order, there were precedents of monster beasts obtaining legitimate status. The most common was the temporary aberrant demons that Inquisitors were permitted to hire. In earlier days, Alfred had held this very post on Mink Street, which remained one of the glorious exploits he took the greatest pride in looking back upon. After all, not just any aberrant demon was qualified to work under Master Diss! There were higher-ranking examples as well. Different systems and departments conferred official status, though rarely at the core level. Lady Augie was a case in point; her status was technically very high, and by rights, even the current Karen ought to address her honorifically as "Lady," yet within her own echelon, her standing was quite lowly. The highest tier would be those Faith-guarding Divine Beasts in the history of the Church of Order. But frankly speaking, while those divine beasts were supposed to be on par with branch gods, their standing at that level was likewise the lowest. Neo's eyes showed a glimmer of contemplation. *Was this spider woman also a member of the High Priest's founding entrepreneurial circle back in the early days?* *Once we get back, I can comb through the files to see which system's leader she is. This identity of hers must be classified, which makes it perfect for buttering people up using an information gap.* Of course, that was provided he could make it back alive. Red threads radiated from the spider woman, inherently razor-sharp, weaving into a gigantic web that swept over toward Karen. Little Kanna let go of Karen's hand and took two steps forward. Her body transformed into a small bone dragon. Claws slashing, she used her own frame to forcefully block the dense web in its entirety. At the same time, undead aura began surging back along the webs, locking her and the spider woman below in a stalemate. Karen wasn't idling either. With Kanna shielding him, he openly began channeling a spell, the surging magical aura immediately brewing to life. Continuing to brawl one-on-one against the opponent's summons was not only exhausting, but also horribly inefficient. Neo had already set an example: the wisest choice was to attack and weaken Morindi herself. Otherwise, heaven knew how many more summons she could churn out, like a queen ant laying eggs. On Morindi's side, incantations began as well. Before long, a cluster of black rings appeared before her. Out of each ring, an undead creature slowly emerged—every variety imaginable. It felt as if her elite summons had run dry, and she was resorting to ragtag rabble to make up the numbers. Then again, it was also possible this was an impression she had deliberately staged. Karen finished gathering his spell and intoned in a low voice: "Order—Despair's Devourment." Starting from Karen's feet, a layer of black rapidly spread outward. With a wave of Morindi's hand, the freshly summoned undead rushed forward to intercept it. Most of them were swallowed up like debris caught in a mudslide the instant they touched the blackness, yet more undead creatures continuously materialized from the rings, throwing themselves into the blockade. Karen's gaze hardened, and he began widening the spell's range. Soon, an even greater wave of the black mudslide surged forth, but Morindi actually increased the number of black rings, maintaining a higher output of undead to feed into the mudslide. Karen expanded the spell's scale once more, and Morindi matched him again. Across the cavern floor, half the area was covered in black mudslides and wave after wave of undead charging in to be engulfed. The violent magical clash set the cavern shuddering anew. Was she trying to engage him in a war of attrition? And that while her heart was already damaged to such a state? Or was her goal the same as his—preparing a decisive finishing move? Karen believed it was the latter. Beside Karen, the Rubik's cube had stopped spinning once the defensive formation had stabilized. In reality, however, another cube had been turning wildly inside Karen's sleeve without a pause. He was laying out the next array; the stationary one outside had merely been set there as a decoy. In all likelihood, the enemy was planning the exact same thing. He couldn't let her carry on preparing so comfortably; he had to disrupt her. Karen began preparing to forcefully abort both the spell at hand and the array in progress, planning to draw his sword and charge forward unencumbered, betting that she was too bound by her own preparations to react in time! In the darkness, Alfred gave an order through the mental link: "Philomena, go! Ventura, get ready to support her retreat!" Alfred had also noted the unusual dynamic. Arriving at the same deduction as his Young Master, he had taken the initiative to act first. Philomena moved. Gripping the Dream Demon Blade, she appeared like a wraith less than three meters from Morindi. She had been exceptionally talented to begin with, had received her grandmother's "inheritance," and in recent days had taken daily walks with Madame Tangli. Not long ago at the Wien restaurant, her ambush had put the skeleton in serious distress. Excluding Neo, Philomena had now become the most lethal damage dealer in Karen's small squad. Even Karen, if struck by Philomena's assassination attempt while not wearing the Dragon God Armor, would find himself in a wretched state. An assassin's fighting style inherently magnified the lethal yield of an attack; otherwise, why bother with ambushes instead of fighting in the open? Morindi merely smiled. She had sensed Philomena's appearance, yet made no other defensive moves, seemingly tied down by Karen's magic. Yet leaving herself wide open like this caused Philomena's eyes to flicker. She couldn't gauge the archmage's true intentions. Her instincts told her a trap lay ahead, yet she couldn't simply pull back and abandon this ambush. Flashing forward, Philomena crossed the final distance. The Dream Demon Blade in her hand traced a chilling glint, slicing straight for Morindi's throat. Morindi casually raised her left hand. *Smack!* Her hand actually caught Philomena's wrist. Applying a sudden twist of force, she tore the Dream Demon Blade from Philomena's grip, sending it clattering to the floor. For an assassin, such a development meant utter failure. Philomena had never imagined an archmage could pull off a maneuver like this. Never mind being gravely injured—even in peak condition, no mage closed in on by an assassin should have been able to handle it so effortlessly. Yet that was precisely what had happened. Karen, still channeling his spell, narrowed his eyes. In the darkness, Alfred's mouth fell slightly open. The turn of events had come too swiftly, catching everyone completely off guard. Philomena chose neither to passively struggle free nor retreat. Instead, she closed her eyes directly in front of Morindi: "Dream..." Morindi yanked her hand downward, slamming Philomena's body toward the ground. *Boom!* It was blisteringly fast and unfailingly precise. Philomena slammed heavily into the ground. Morindi stepped off her heart and pursued instantly, shutting down every angle of escape in a split second, bringing the edge of her hand down toward Philomena's head in a vicious chop. It defied all reason. Before Morindi, Philomena looked like an innocent, ignorant little girl. Alfred suddenly understood and shouted, "She is—" Karen, who was forcefully collapsing his array, responded, "I know..." "Succubus Eye!" Alfred activated the Succubus Eye, pushing the illusionary power to its limit. In Morindi's vision, everything shifted. Yet Morindi simply closed her eyes and let her hand-blade continue to fall. Even so, seemingly swayed by Alfred's interference, the chop originally aimed at Philomena's head struck her chest instead. *Crack...* The edge of her hand sank inward. With an added jolt of force, Philomena's body convulsed, blood seeping from her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. "Roar!" The bellow of a giant echoed as Ventura, transformed into a stone giant, leaped into the air and brought his weight crashing down toward Morindi. His original role had been to support Philomena's retreat after her strike, but he genuinely hadn't expected her to be tossed aside so easily, so his entrance had been slightly delayed. Morindi opened her eyes. A distinctive luster churned within her pupils, bearing down on Ventura like a physical weight. In an instant, Ventura's furious mind spun violently, his surroundings upended completely. Alfred snapped his eyes shut in profound shock. The illusionary effect he had inflicted on Morindi had somehow been transferred onto Ventura. The disoriented stone giant landed off-balance. Morindi appeared atop him, lashing out with a kick right to the back of the giant's neck. *Bang!* Ventura's massive frame pitched forward as though struck by lightning. Upon landing, Morindi opened her left palm, conjuring a black Spear of Judgment. Just as she was about to plunge it into Ventura's back, Alfred forced his eyes open once more. Morindi swept her gaze toward him. The terrifying mental pressure stirred a sense of despair in Alfred's heart. He couldn't fathom what kind of monster he was dealing with. *Thud!* Alfred dropped to his knees. Morindi appeared before him. Alfred tried to raise his head to resist, but Morindi gave him no opening whatsoever, driving her knee straight into his face. *Bang!* Alfred flew backward through the air. Morindi opened her right hand, coalescing an orb of black lightning in her palm, intending to hurl it at Alfred while he was still airborne. However, she halted. She sensed that Karen had forcefully aborted his spell and was charging straight at her. Smiling, Morindi spun around. With a flicker of movement, she slammed the black lightning orb into Karen's chest—yet before the orb could detonate, Karen's figure dissolved into thin air. Morindi halted, scanning the room. At last, her gaze locked onto Karen's position. Karen stood directly above her heart, dense flames of the Fire of Light blazing from both hands. Neo had already proven how effectively Light countered Necromancy. Could this withered, blackened heart endure another scorching wave of the Fire of Light? Blood seeped from Karen's eyes—a backlash from forcefully terminating the spell midway through its invocation. Yet Karen said calmly, "You won." Morindi shook her head. "No, I lost." Karen pursed his lips and glanced down at the heart beneath his feet, which still oozed foul pus. "I truly didn't expect that your strongest undead summon was the you standing before us the entire time." Hearing this, Morindi smiled again. "Are you allowed to deceive me, while I'm forbidden a little cleverness of my own?" As it turned out, the Morindi who had stood upon the heart all this time was herself a summoned being. And the real Morindi... From the shriveled heart beneath Karen's feet oozed a woman covered in rancid pus. Aside from her face, the rest of her body was severely shriveled like a dried corpse. Her face was identical to Morindi's, but this was the true Morindi, preserved within the heart all along. In the distance, the Morindi standing there pointed at Neo sitting slumped against the wall. "My true body was nearly blown to pieces by him. I had no choice but to place it inside the heart and switch this one in." Karen shrugged and asked, "Then this summon of yours is...?" "Care to see?" Karen nodded. "Yes." "Very well, I'll indulge you." The skin on Morindi's face began melting away like wax, revealing a brand-new face. It was a face Karen was not unfamiliar with—more accurately, one that no devotee of the Church of Order would fail to recognize. He was... Norton. So the undead summon she had used was High Priest Norton. No wonder she had swatted Philomena aside with ease, kicked Ventura to the ground, and directly crushed Alfred on the mental plane. Foden and Daan had been formidable enough, but this figure stood a whole realm above them—perhaps several realms above. His appearance was a dimensional-reduction strike. "I'm curious, why didn't you use him earlier?" Karen asked. Morindi shook her head. "Because when this summon draws upon his true power, he can only fight for one minute. I've never been able to control him properly. "The High Priest must have already been extraordinarily powerful back then. The gap between him and us was like the gap between you and your subordinates—or perhaps even wider. "I was never able to create a perfect replica of him in the first place. "In truth, everything could have been so simple if you had been the first to come down, or if the scout you sent hadn't been so resourceful and scheming. "I could have killed you in the safest, most reliable way. "Heh, I lost long ago. Once you came down, the little bone dragon stayed by your side. With her protecting you, even if I had activated the High Priest's summon immediately, you might not have been able to defeat him, but you could have dodged and endured that brief duration. "So, my final struggle of clashing spells with you was merely to feed you an opening to strike quickly—just as you tried to trick me into closing the distance earlier. "Yet she..." Morindi looked at Philomena, who was coughing and twitching in a pool of blood. "...is an exceptional assassin." Morindi then looked at Alfred lying prone on the floor. "He is quite impressive as well." Finally, Morindi looked back at Karen. "My acting was subpar, wasn't it?" "Not at all. You played your part brilliantly; you fooled all of us. For you, this was never a fair duel to begin with." Morindi shook her head. "I never expected a fair duel, nor do I harbor any bitterness. I can no longer move." The waxy substance on Morindi's body fell away, fully exposing the youthful visage of High Priest Norton, which continued to melt down—proof that this undead summon had reached the end of its lifespan. Meanwhile, the spider woman who had been locked in combat with the little bone dragon halted all movement as well, standing motionless in place. Morindi sighed. "You may kill me now." Karen withdrew his hands, and the blazing Fire of Light went out. Morindi frowned in confusion. Karen said, "Once I return, I will report to higher-ups that the mission failed, and let them send someone else to finish it." "You should know what consequences follow failing a mission like this." "Terrible consequences. I know." "If you had chosen to give up from the start because you thought it impossible or because it would cost too high a price, I could understand. But right now, you have already won. All it takes is dropping those flames, and my true body will be burned to ash. Why?" Karen cast his gaze toward Philomena, Ventura, and Alfred lying on the ground. "Because you didn't kill them." "Hm?" They were all severely injured, but none had died. She had held the chance to slaughter every single one of them with her Norton summon just moments ago, yet she had held back. That hand-blade chop, for instance, could have decapitated Philomena, yet she had struck her chest instead. Morindi chuckled. "Heh, what an odd one you are. I simply couldn't bring myself to kill them; I had no intention of trading that for a favor. Put your misgivings aside and strike." "I cannot strike, because it would feel pointless. I must take my people back for medical treatment. Farewell." "Listen..." Morindi called out to him. "I could change my mind." Karen asked in puzzlement, "What?" *Hum!* The shriveled heart suddenly unfurled, unleashing a terrifying magical array that instantaneously locked down any possibility of Karen dodging or retreating—and framed Morindi's true body within it as well. The voice that spoke next came not from the "Norton" standing in the distance, but from the mummified Morindi lying in the foul pus beneath Karen's feet: "I am sorry. Your decision to stay your hand and spare me truly moved me. I could have changed my mind about killing you—had you not used magic of the Light. "Now, however, I have no choice. I must act against you; it is my duty as a believer in Order. "Yet, setting aside our allegiances, I feel indebted to you. If given the chance, I would gladly make amends. "Alas, I am dying, so there will be no opportunity to make it up to you. I am deeply sorry." Immediately after, Morindi intoned in a heavy voice: "Life Sacrifice—Forbidden Curse: Seal of Tyrannus!" On the perimeter, behind the nearly half-melted "Norton," a towering phantom materialized. The silhouette was practically identical to that of Lord Tyrannus upon the murals, all but confirming the speculations regarding the current High Priest's true identity. Yet right now, none of that seemed to matter anymore. Beams of majestic light shot from "Norton's" eyes, engulfing the trapped zone where Karen stood. Above the sealed area manifested a colossal shadowy form of Lord Tyrannus, his hands intertwining as he enacted the sealing. The little bone dragon charged forward like mad, but was powerless to stop it in time. A terrifying sealing power instantly locked Karen's body, then seeped into his soul. Everything, down to the last thread of existence, was about to freeze into eternal stillness. Such was the power of a forbidden curse. At the brink of death after sacrificing her life, Morindi looked up at Karen standing motionless above, her eyes laced with remorse. Yet in her dying moments, she was suddenly seized with horror as she saw the shadowy form of Lord Tyrannus above—which had already enacted the forbidden curse and begun dispersing—slowly sink to its knees in a bizarre posture. The kneeling silhouette of Lord Tyrannus intertwined its hands once more, beginning to unravel the forbidden curse's seal. From somewhere beyond perception, Morindi even heard a voice—one that should have sounded majestic, yet was now trembling with profound humility: "God, I have sinned."