Chapter 360

Chapter 8 of Chapter 146: Red and Black

I was instantly alarmed, hurriedly wiping away my tears with the back of my hand, ignoring the blood flowing from my nose, and immediately raising my head.

On the rooftop across the street, Cardinal Nero, standing at the edge, was trembling all over. The air around him was unusually distorted. He held his necklace tightly in one hand, and the radiant white light emanating from it grew even more dazzling. That unusual sense of security still lingered in my heart, but I wasn’t ensnared by it…

It was as if… the power Nero unleashed had trapped himself within. He seemed unable to move, soon unable to produce even a faint sound, his entire body stiff, frozen on the rooftop.

What happened…

I was puzzled, looking at the empty street before me, stepping forward a few steps. My flame wings flickered and then retracted into my body. I extended my finger, frost gathering at the tip, ready to shoot forward.

“Little Hil, step back.”

Crash!

A flash of lightning appeared to the right, and Carlos’s figure materialized in my peripheral vision. His hand, still crackling with lightning, pulled me back two steps, shaking his head slowly.

“Don’t move forward anymore.”

Then, he reached into his chest armor, pulling out a clean white handkerchief, which he offered to me. I took it, roughly wiping my face to clean the blood from my nose and carelessly tossing it to the ground.

The bleeding stopped quickly. After the pain subsided on my face, the tears no longer flowed. I sniffled and turned my head, meeting Carlos’s sapphire eyes, my eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“What happened?”

Carlos shook his head, not speaking, only directing his gaze toward the distant horizon beside me.

Following his gaze, I looked back.

At the end of the street to the right, a tall, slender figure was walking toward us.

“Oh, Carlos~”

He greeted us. His voice, slightly teasing, carried far and sounded familiar.

His left hand was held horizontally in front of him, palm facing upward, a faint golden light swirling around him like a snake. A fist-sized golden sphere hovered above his head, illuminating his disheveled blonde hair even more vividly.

And his right arm seemed to be holding a woman. Her water-blue short hair spilled out from the thin golden light, obscuring her face.

“Ah ha! Little ~ charcoal ~”

Buzz—

The figure vanished in the golden light.

In the next moment, a face so handsome it seemed unbelievable, smiling, appeared right in front of me.

“Thank the gods for letting me see you again, adorable and whole~”

He put the sphere away, reaching up to touch my head.

SLAP!

I instinctively pushed his hand away, not paying attention to his crestfallen expression, my eyes fixed on the woman he casually held under his arm.

That was Margaret.

Her blood-stained clothes had been cleaned somehow, though her white nun’s habit was tattered, the fabric looked unusually new. Even her hair had become clean and soft, hanging loosely at her side as the man held her around the waist, her head and legs folded down, still unconscious.

I bent down, extending two fingers to probe under her hair-covered face, checking her breath.

…Just like before, there was no breathing.

“Relax, she’s fine.” The blonde man said to me.

I frowned at him tightly.

“Little Margaret’s healing miracle is incredibly powerful. Her understanding of life surpasses your imagination. This isn’t the first time this has happened, she won’t die, she won’t die~”

The man waved his hand, still grinning.

“Pope, hurry up.”

Carlos watched Cardinal Nero, who couldn’t move, urging him impatiently.

“Don’t rush, little charcoal hasn’t even properly greeted me yet… How have you been, little charcoal? Any discomfort in your body? Once I finish dealing with these trivial matters, I’ll check on you~” Pope Angel smiled at me.

Although he was still wearing a sleeping robe, his hair looked as if it hadn’t been combed since yesterday, his speech

The aura was as rough as those ruffians in the night alleys, yet he was indeed the Pope of the Holy Church.

A terribly messy person…

Even being the Pope couldn’t elicit any respect from others.

I pursed my lips, not wanting to respond to him.

That sphere had disappeared in a blink, and I hadn’t seen where he put it… What was that thing?

“Angel!” Carlos slightly emphasized his tone from beside me.

“Okay, okay, I know…”

Angel raised his hands in surrender, looking at me somewhat aggrievedly before handing Marguerite to Carlos.

Carlos reached out and carried her up with one arm: “This… is the Holy Maiden?”

“Yes.”

Angel turned and walked across the street.

“How did this happen… Where are your accompanying monks?”

“They’re waiting far away. I don’t want them coming over here to die…” Angel shook his arms, and with a flash of golden light, he instantly appeared on the roof across the street. “Really… one by one, all together they’re almost a thousand years old, all stubborn old men… Hey Nero, can you hear me? You need to learn to keep up with the times…”

Cardinal Nero remained motionless, his eyes wide open, staring straight ahead, as if he were unaware of the Pope’s approach.

I stood shoulder to shoulder with Carlos in the middle of the street, looking up as Angel walked to Nero’s side, intending to pat his face but quickly retracting his hand, looking disgusted.

“Woah, transformed into such a disgusting state… Speaking of which, you won’t live much longer, right? Little Charcoal, you sure dealt a heavy blow.”

“He wants to kill me.”

“Then just get rid of him.”

“Margarite won’t allow it.”

“Tsk.” Angel clicked his tongue, shaking his head lightly. “Little Margarite, so rigid-minded… no matter how many times I tell her, she still doesn’t listen.”

Oh~

So the Pope isn’t as well-behaved as everyone thinks…

I laughed: “So should I kill him now?”

“No.”

Before Angel could speak, Carlos spoke up first: “First, bring him to the underground prison; there are still things to ask.”

I turned my head, meeting Carlos’ slightly startled gaze.

“Little Xier, you…”

“What?”

I felt a bit unhappy, squinting at him.

“…No, nothing.” After a moment of hesitation, Carlos slowly shook his head, then changed the subject. “Are you really not hurt? Your complexion looks terrible, like you’ve lost too much blood.”

“Is it that obvious?”

I couldn’t help but touch my cheek.

Hearing him say that, a faint sense of drowsiness suddenly surged… The energy inside was still subtly surging, not particularly intense, just clearly different from usual.

I had thought it was due to having swallowed the karmic fire, but I hadn’t fully adapted yet. With the urgency of the situation, after the burning sensation subsided, I didn’t pay much attention to it, nor did I consider swallowing the ring much. Now, I felt a slight discomfort in my stomach… It felt a bit like indigestion.

Since coming to this world, I hadn’t experienced this feeling, my appetite was surprisingly good.

But now, there was indeed some.

The two energies inside were still undergoing unknown changes, and it was precisely this change that made me feel tired… Realizing this, I swept my silver hair aside and sniffed it lightly.

There wasn’t any special smell…

Was this change simply due to absorbing Yilu’s power, or was there another reason…

I didn’t know.

Forget it…

Let’s see what Angel is going to do first, then find an opportunity to kill that old man when they’re not paying attention.

As I thought this, I suddenly heard Carlos’ slightly astonished voice: “Xier, your eyes…”

I looked up at him, tilting my head.

“Eyes?”

“Your eyes are turning red…”

Buzz—

In the next moment, golden light came rushing over.