Chapter 201

Chapter 7 of Chapter 173: Bluefire Burns the Moon, Blood Dyes the Royal City

…No wonder.

No wonder I felt like something was missing when I walked out of the bell tower just now… I thought it was just my imagination…

Boswell vanished.

I remember clearly. Before I entered the bell tower, standing on the rooftop of the main building and looking far away, I could still vaguely see that transparent film in the sky. That means… during the time I was inside the bell tower, something happened that caused its failure, or perhaps… it broke down.

Something must have happened… What happened?

Only the Church knows its location.

The Church… Catahoma… Bell Tower… Divine Relic… Spinal Bone… Goddess’s Tear.

These fragmented clues gradually form a line in my mind.

Suddenly, a huge tremor surged from the depths of my heart, quickly spreading throughout my body. I suddenly felt as if I had been electrocuted, feeling numb all over. My dark eyes widened in disbelief as I looked towards Teresa’s direction.

“That blood droplet…”

Click click click.

My left hand reformed into the ice scythe, frost mist rising into the night sky. I took a step forward and shouted at the other figure, “Reckt! What does the shell look like—!”

In the firelight, I saw Reckt shake his head slightly.

“I don’t know… but Teresa is the highest authority in the royal city! She must know—!”

His distant answer further confirmed my suspicions.

I fixed my gaze on Teresa and took a deep breath.

“What is that blood droplet!”

“Who knows?” Teresa laughed happily.

Her lips curled up high under the moonlight and firelight, carrying a cold and clear mood, as if she were a naughty child playing a prank.

“You… better win me first…”

“Hiss,” flames burst forth again from the black blade of the giant axe.

I immediately prepared to attack, but saw Teresa turn her steps. Her damaged nun’s robe left a trail of shadows in the night, and with a swift and fierce assault, she instantly rushed to Reckt’s front.

“…Otherwise!”

A ferocious slash came down with a terrifying wind sound as she finished her last word.

Boom!

In the moment before the slash reached Reckt’s head, a gust of wind rose beneath his feet. His entire body seemed to be blown away by the wind, floating sideways four or five meters, narrowly avoiding this shocking strike. As he landed, he twisted his body, jumped, and lunged at Teresa’s back with his short sword, preparing to counterattack.

The next moment, an unexpected change occurred.

Click click click…

Several familiar sounds of gears turning came from the double-bladed axe in Teresa’s hands.

That…

My heart sank, and I urgently shouted forward, “Reckt, be careful—”

But it was too late.

The double-bladed axe in front of me suddenly transformed. The originally two-meter-long black handle instantly shrunk to less than half a meter, and then with a soft chime, a thin and long blade shot out from the end of the handle, piercing through Teresa’s back and entering Reckt’s right shoulder.

“Mmm!” Reckt groaned.

His momentum halted, and he bit his teeth, raising his right hand holding the short sword. Teresa turned around and grabbed his wrist, squeezing it hard—

Crack.

A faint sound of bone cracking echoed in the firelight.

The incident happened in an instant.

“Aah!” Reckt cried out in pain.

Teresa slowly pulled out the blade, lifted it, and aimed it at Reckt’s neck. In the next moment, my right foot stepped onto her side, and my short scythe slashed upward, bringing rolling white frost, slicing off her arm. With a flash of cold light, my captain’s sword swung toward her head.

Teresa swiftly retreated.

Clang—

The blade cut off a few strands of her silver hair, leaving a bloodline on her face.

Her figure retreated five meters away,

Having steadied herself, she looked over this side and smiled.

“I am quite surprised. After fighting for so long…”

She shook her arm, reversed the axe in her grip, and wiped the blood dripping from its fine edge.

“Did you not recognize this axe?”

“Moonblade…”

I recognized it now.

Burned repeatedly by the fires of sin, yet it showed no signs of melting. The all-black symbol, the hardness that allowed it to clash with Captain Gray several times… There was no other possibility; it could only be a weapon forged from Moon Essence Stone.

“Correct. This is the Eighth Moon. Its name is Requiem.”

Theresa lowered her head and spoke softly to the new arm.

“In earlier years, Duke Scarlajj… Ah, your father. He consecutively presented the Church with three Moonblades. Requiem was one of them.”

“When I campaigned to become a Holy Maiden, there was a year… A severe epidemic in northern Ethenbel, scenes of suffering everywhere. I saved many people at that time, and later, the Pope bestowed it upon me… It’s quite beautiful, isn’t it?”

“…Beautiful?”

I looked at her smiling face, grinding my teeth in anger.

“You used it to kill those children! Those unfortunate children—!”

Clutching Captain Gray’s hand, I trembled slightly.

“Lucas… Abel… So many people… Their fate… was already cruel enough… But even so, aren’t they still… trying to live!”

“On what grounds! On what grounds—!”

Theresa fell silent.

After a while, she raised her head and gazed at the moonlight, sighing lightly.

“It’s just that there was no other way…”

The firelight illuminated half of her face. In the dim yellow light, her crimson eye seemed somewhat sorrowful.

…Perhaps she had her reasons.

But, didn’t those heinous criminals have their own reasons as well?

“Cough, cough.”

My throat was a bit sore from shouting.

“Hu—, hu—”

Rekett beside me was breathing heavily, and I looked over with some concern.

“Are you okay?”

“No problem.”

His face was pale, sweat beads falling from his forehead, yet he forced a smile. “Just a minor injury.”

I took a deep breath, trying hard to calm the grief in my heart, forcing myself to remain composed.

Theresa was strong, so… I couldn’t let my emotions sway me; I had to think carefully about my strategy.

If I failed, in the castle… there might be no one left to stop her.

“Bloody sacrifice…”

If I understood correctly, she absorbed the blood from the pool, which was why she was so powerful. However… like Varal and the others, the flames of sin would consume that blood… As a cost, it must be limited, right?

She wouldn’t restore her body indefinitely. As long as I could exhaust the power within her… I can’t use the power of the Abyss… nor the Frost World… it would freeze everyone nearby…

Let’s see who collapses first.

“Demon, perhaps…”

Hearing Theresa’s almost sigh-like whisper, I kept alert for her while glancing around cautiously.

…By now, the commotion here had grown significant.

Many houses near Cataloma had lit up, and I could hear distant screams and chaos. Such a situation… would surely attract more people soon.

But Theresa, standing before me, wasn’t the least bit anxious… What was she thinking?

Rumble…

The ground beneath us suddenly began to shake violently.

Ding—ding—ding… Clang!

Behind Theresa, the bell tower rang out three times before collapsing with a roar. Dust spread like mist from the center of the tower, rolling towards us, blinding everything in an instant.

Moments later, the lawn underfoot started to cave in.