Chapter 357

Chapter 5 of Chapter 143 – Red and Black

The tremendous impact sent his head reeling as he was thrown backward, engulfed in swirling flames in an instant. In the blink of an eye, the golden aura around Cardinal Nero flickered sharply, and his figure distorted and vanished amidst the surging tongues of fire.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Crimson flowing fire, carrying rubble and soil, carved a blazing red trench on the ground as it rushed away from the street. The temperature in the air suddenly rose, making the street scorching hot. In front of my line of sight, several nearby houses that were half-blackened by fire were ignited once again.

I tilted my head slightly.

Did I hit him… or did I miss? Did I hit him just a little bit?

Why does the flame feel a bit “unsmooth”? It’s not as easy to control as frost order or dead smoke, nor is it as easy to manage… Is it because I’m not skilled enough, or because my body hasn’t adapted yet?

It seems like that old pervert managed to escape…

He reacted quite quickly.

I became slightly more alert, my eyes darting around, scanning the buildings on the street, then looking up at the sky, ears pricked to listen carefully, but there was no sign of movement.

I held the severed palm in front of me and examined it closely.

Cardinal Nero’s hand wasn’t as delicate as I had imagined, with its luxurious lifestyle. Instead, it looked like that of a hardworking farmer, rough-skinned, with prominent veins and large knuckles… At first glance, one could tell he was a practical person who didn’t know how to enjoy life.

Dark red blood flowed down from the severed wrist, its scent entering my nose… It felt oddly strange.

But this wasn’t what I was focusing on.

All my attention was concentrated on the ring on his thumb. I blinked repeatedly, staring intently at it.

This…

The ring was bone white, polished smooth and shiny. There were no intricate patterns engraved on it, no decorations at all. At first glance, it was unremarkable, a very ordinary pure white signet ring.

Yet, I could faintly sense the immense energy surging within the ring, which was awe-inspiring… yet also carried a hint of resistance.

A subtle sense of resistance rose within me, inexplicably making me feel extremely annoyed. But this emotion came and went quickly. The power of the internal fire surged, and within half a second, the unpleasant feeling was suppressed. In its place, a faint joy and excitement arose regarding the signet ring.

Is this… a divine relic? I can’t tell what the ring is made of. Could it be dragon bone?

The unusual itching sensation in my chest gradually subsided.

I lowered my head, absentmindedly glancing at my chest.

The wound seemed to have healed completely.

On the black armor, the last crack was rapidly repaired under the writhing of the abyss mud. The tightly sealed metal plates interlocked layer by layer, with dark red, blood-like patterns flowing across them, flickering on and off, becoming increasingly profound in color.

I lightly tapped my left palm against my chest, the corners of my mouth curling upward.

There’s no pain anymore…

What terrifying healing ability.

That strike definitely injured my heart, but I wasn’t affected at all… Even without being in the Abyss form, this body has already transcended human limits, much like those creatures from the Doors of Truth. I wonder how far this goes—whether I can still recover if my head is smashed…

Perhaps Cardinal Nero was right.

It seems like I really have become a formidable monster…

…Thinking about it, isn’t it kind of interesting too?

With a jumble of thoughts in my mind, I lifted my foot and walked forward, expanding my perception to search for Cardinal Nero’s whereabouts, while struggling to remove the signet ring from my thumb. I released a fierce flame from my palm, igniting the severed hand and letting it burn to ashes on the ground before slipping the ring onto my finger.

Ring finger, middle finger, thumb…

I tried each finger. However, the signet ring was too big, and my fingers were too slender, even with the armor covering them, making it impossible to wear. This made me somewhat frustrated.

How the heck do you use this thing…

Click.

Suddenly, from about thirty meters to the side, behind the collapsed small building,

The faint sound of shifting stones echoed.

“Kiki~” I couldn’t help but laugh.

I found you…

With a “boom,” I raised my left hand and shot out scarlet flames that turned into a blazing fireball, roaring towards the direction of the sound. In an instant, the rubble was set ablaze.

At the same time—

Bam!

Amidst the crumbling debris, I stepped on Moon Step, carrying a strong wind, leaping over the burning flames. I landed steadily in front of the small building, then jumped high, soaring over the broken walls and the burning smoke, landing with a “pata” sound in the narrow alley behind the building.

Thin black mist rose from my body, and my eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“Hmm?”

Where did they go…

The winding path was empty, except for a few bloodstains on the ground, which stood out sharply.

They disappeared again…

Teleportation is indeed a convenient ability.

I raised my left hand in front of me, fingers curling slightly.

There’s still something lacking with this new power…

I instinctively turned around, looking at the raging scarlet flames in the ruins behind me.

Just now, when I launched that distant attack, I intended to condense and compress the flames into a fireball, creating a larger area of intense heat and explosive impact, maximizing the damage. But thinking about it is one thing; I can’t yet freely control this power, so I only managed to shoot out the flames.

Something feels off…

Buzz—

Suddenly, a deep, trembling hum came from behind, far away. That familiar, comforting feeling surged instantly into my heart.

Rumble rumble rumble…

In the next moment, the ground began to tremble.

Debris flew up from the surrounding buildings and ruins, dust rising mysteriously into the air, reaching four or five meters high, scattering rapidly into the alley, enveloping it in a gray haze.

“Cough cough…”

It was quite choking.

I wanted to leave here, but my body felt as if it were stuck in mud, unable to move at all, not even able to raise my hand to cover my mouth and nose.

“Ugh… hmm…”

My mouth wouldn’t open, and I couldn’t speak.

Then, a golden light flashed in the corner of my vision, and Cardinal Nero’s voice came from above.

“I was careless, too eager to kill you… Instead, I fell behind. You actually took ‘Goddess’s Judgment’… How embarrassing…”

A bulky figure gracefully descended nearby, the cloak of the Papal Knight flapping in the wind amidst the dust.

“I shouldn’t have underestimated someone like you… I made a serious mistake.” Cardinal Nero said in a hoarse voice as he walked toward me, “But I will never make the same mistake twice.”

Buzz buzz buzz…

Margaret’s necklace hung around his neck, the bone pendant in his hand emitting dazzling gold light.

Cardinal Nero slowly materialized amidst the flying dust.

In the golden light, emerald-green wisps flowed around his severed right wrist, the terrible wound already healing significantly, no longer bleeding.

“Your strength is very powerful… stronger than most of the abyssal beings I’ve killed. But… just this much is not enough to defeat me… Don’t underestimate a cardinal. I’ve killed monsters stronger than you before, and after you die, I’ll continue to kill others like you… In the pure power of the gods, such half-hearted beings are absolutely powerless to resist… Well, give me the ring.”

He walked up to me and slowly extended his left hand.

… Want to take back the ring?

“Hah…”

I trembled as I exhaled, using all my strength to slightly part my lips.

“Ugh ah…”

My fingers trembled violently.

Held tightly in my palm, the ring moved slightly with my trembling fingers, sliding onto my thumbnail, touching the bent index finger lightly.

Move…

I strained to flick my thumb upward.

“You…”

The pale ring flew high in front of me. In Cardinal Nero’s stunned moment, I “gulped” it down in one bite.

Gulp.

Swallowed it down.

“…Damn!”

“What did you do—!!!”