The freezing wind across the snow whipped at the Holy Son of Extinction's robes, but to Anello, that chill did not exist; everything was kept completely at bay.
Taking his time, he savored how their expressions shifted in reaction to his words.
Although Sigrid's gaze had shown no sign of surrender from the start, her ragged breathing could no longer conceal her body's weakness and exhaustion.
Yet the expression of the Holy Son of Domination beside her did not leave Anello entirely satisfied.
Showing not the slightest stir of emotion over the Bishop of Domination's condition was indeed fitting for the cold detachment of a Sealer.
Through communications from the Northern Border Province, the orders Anello had received from Bishop of Extinction Askesan were crystal clear.
Though the Bishop of Extinction had not disclosed much, he had warned Anello that the Holy Son of Domination was also a Sealer, and an exceedingly bizarre one at that.
From Askesan's sparse words, Anello could roughly deduce that the Holy Son of Domination likely possessed some sealing art that even Bishop of Extinction Askesan was wary of.
Of course, such a terrifying power was bound to have numerous limitations, and likely could not be used again anytime soon.
"Holy Son of Domination, though I don't know who you truly are beneath that disguise spell, have you ever considered that if you kill the woman beside you, you could become the new Cardinal?"
Anello, the Holy Son of Extinction, asked with great intrigue.
Throughout their long flight, the Holy Son of Domination surely had countless opportunities to kill the Bishop of Domination.
And one major property of the Proof of Resurrection was that any bearer who killed a Cardinal would become the new Cardinal!
No Resurrection Church cultist could resist such supreme power or a divine artifact like the Proof of Bishop—comparable even to an Original Slate—not to mention that the Bishop of Domination possessed an Original Slate of her own.
When two rats were trapped in a single cage, driving a wedge between them was always delightful entertainment.
"..."
Sigrid showed not the slightest hint of wariness toward Lanqi over Anello's words; on the contrary, she leaned even closer to him.
"I have no interest in being a Cardinal. My original intention was purely to research an academic topic. Then, through a twist of fate, I met a trustworthy friend and traveled with her all the way here. That's all."
Lanqi looked at Anello and answered calmly, as though sharing his personal journey of hard work since arriving in the Northern Continent with a student.
He had genuinely come to the Northern Continent to pursue his academic topic. He was no cultist, but a steadfast scholar devoted to academic pursuit.
It was merely that along the way, due to the turbulence of the times, the ideals of love and peace, and his deep affection for the Protos Empire, his plan of action had undergone progressive updates, until it had drifted just a tiny bit from where he started.
Yet he had never forgotten his initial aspiration. His academic faith remained unshakable, and his ultimate goal was still to observe the Original Slate - Seal.
As for becoming a Cardinal or something, he had zero interest.
Never in this lifetime would he become a Cardinal of the Resurrection Church.
"..."
The Holy Son of Extinction fell silent for a long while.
He could not tell whether this young man was serious or just playing games with him.
Speaking with the Holy Son of Domination always gave him the feeling that the fellow thought his intelligence was low, as if looking down on him from the bottom of his heart.
"Hand over that secret of yours that makes even Askesan wary, and I might just grant you an easier death,"
Anello said coldly, having no intention of continuing to converse with the two of them.
"Of course, I have plenty of ways to make you beg to hand it over willingly."
"..."
Lanqi merely smiled faintly at his words.
"Holy Son of Extinction, Anello, I won't bully you. I swear in the name of the Goddess: as long as you can run to the Snowfield Province before the sun fully rises, I won't kill you."
Lanqi raised his left hand and pointed directly south, offering Anello what seemed like one final sliver of mercy.
"The Goddess..."
Anello lowered his head and chuckled at Lanqi's provocation.
"Usually, only those fools from the Church of the Goddess of Fate keep 'the Goddess' on their lips day and night."
Did you think repenting to the Goddess now would save you?
When Anello looked up again, his eyes were stripped of all patience!
This pretentious charade disgusted him. The Holy Son of Domination's unflinching demeanor, looking down on him like a superior, made the Holy Son of Extinction itch to snap his neck on the spot!
The magical energy radiating across the distant sky grew denser and denser, causing the surrounding snowflakes to tremble in its wake.
Thick black clouds gathered overhead, drawn by the mana, rapidly churning and coalescing into a vortex. Heart-shaking fluctuations pulsed from within, weighing heavily upon the surrounding air.
Anello reached out. A dark red magical sigil surfaced in his palm, expanding relentlessly like a black hole devouring all ambient light and energy. Between heaven and earth, all sound and color were swallowed by this magical sigil, leaving behind only dead silence.
Standing far away, Lanqi and Sigrid could barely sense their own existence in this mana storm. Everything around them blurred, their vision slowly being engulfed. This strike might not kill them, but it would certainly plunge both into agonizing torment and strip away any ability to resist.
"It's over."
Anello murmured coldly. The magical sigil in his hand unleashed a colossal beam of black light shooting straight into the heavens. The beam blossomed in the sky, forming a pitch-black magic circle that loomed above Lanqi and Side.
Then, deep gray streams of magic burst from the magic circle, transforming into an expanding rain of light. They plummeted from the sky toward Lanqi and Side, intending to seal them completely into statues.
Even Sigrid knew that whether they could survive this strike rested entirely upon her Holy Son.
In this moment between life and death, she had grown remarkably calm.
She gazed closely at Lanqi, her pupils reflecting his figure.
In Lanqi's helpless smile, a faint look of apology emerged.
It was as though, when the true decisive moment finally arrived, it was difficult to explain much to her, and he merely hoped she wouldn't be terrified along with everyone else.
Yet at this moment, Side felt not a shred of panic.
Her lustrous purple eyes, shimmering like the surface of water, were filled with relief and gentleness. Reaching forward, her hand caught Lanqi's cuff. Her softly parting lips seemed to tell him that having already faced death with him once, she would have no complaints even if she died by his side now—and so, she trusted him.
Time seemed to accelerate in an instant. Monstrous mana surged toward them, crashing down from the heavens to envelop their silhouettes!
In the middle of the stillness, a shocking boom erupted across the vast expanse draped in deep gray snow. Like a thousand claps of thunder roaring together, the deafening blast woke the entire snow domain in a flash, making all creation tremble.
"Hahaha."
Just as Anello sneered, watching everything in the distance be drowned out—
In the very next second—
The entire snowy domain was engulfed by a sudden gale, quivering as if the end of the world had arrived!
The gale began as a tiny whirlwind, yet in an instant, it expanded into a tempest capable of tearing all creation apart.
Beneath this frenzied wind magic, every sealing spell—including the gray spatial lines Anello had laid down earlier—turned as flimsy as paper, blown apart with effortless ease!
Sunrise broke over the snowfields, echoing with what sounded like the roar of a holy dragon.
The soul-striking splendor embodied the primal forces that composed the world itself. The radiance of the divine age danced across him. He steered the drifting clouds, reshaped the sky, and pierced the firmament with the distinct breath of the wind. As the wind gently caressed the earth, the drifting snowflakes froze midair for a single heartbeat, then soared upward against the sky!
In legends from antiquity to the present, the Wind God governed the direction of the wind; his voice was a gentle whisper, yet also an edict of thunderous decree.
And the figure standing at the center of the storm was the very deity who held dominion over the wind!
He looked down upon Anello with boundless benevolence and pity, accompanied by a touch of sorrow.
It was the signal that the game had ended.
"Ah... ah..."
Anello's spell halted abruptly. His lips trembled, and his face drained of color in an instant. A thick blanket of terror choked his pupils, hanging like a black cloud over his reason and courage, completely shattering his former composure and confidence.
Inconceivable dread permeated every limb and bone of Anello, the Holy Son of Extinction.
He could not comprehend why High Priest Loren was here—or how he had disguised himself as the Holy Son of Domination, fooling everyone!!
Chapter 345