Chapter 89: Volume 1: Chapter 90 - A Desperate Power-Up? No, It's a Delivered Cheat Code
The moonlight was pale, and the beasts roared wildly.
The foul black sludge spread across the land like a tide, and a chaotic aura filled the air, making even a single breath feel unnaturally heavy.
Nero Chaos stood at the center of the tide. He raised a hand, and in an instant, all 665 beasts, along with the tentacle-like, freely morphing black sludge, swarmed toward the boy who was at that moment in mid-air, his body gradually descending!
—This is bad!
Watching this scene, Touko, who had suffered some magical feedback from her ward being corroded and destroyed, subconsciously tried to mobilize the power of the land's ley lines to activate another barrier.
But at that moment, she discovered that her connection to the ley lines had been completely severed, as if blocked by something.
With no time to use other magic, or even to shout, the girl could only watch with a hint of despair in her eyes as the swarm of black beasts lunged at the boy's body.
Sensing the ferocious auras closing in on him in an instant, the sword light on Aozaki Rin's arm flickered continuously.
But for every few beasts he cut down, new ones would immediately pounce, and the ones that were destroyed would instantly be reborn from the black sludge and rejoin the assault.
For a moment, he was completely unable to cope with the overwhelming beast tide. Aozaki Rin's heart began to pound faster, and a strange feeling spread through his body.
However, before this feeling could spread through his heart, at that very moment, dozens of Black Keys, flying from an unknown location, pierced directly through the heads of the beasts that were about to kill him from all sides, creating a gap in the encirclement.
Seizing this opportunity, the boy, without hesitation, kicked off the body of a beast, adjusted his posture in mid-air again, and flew backward, heading for the edge of the black sludge tide.
But it was clear that the beasts had no intention of letting their target go so easily. They continued to swarm forward in pursuit of the boy, but at that moment, countless more Black Keys were thrown from a distance.
One after another, they continuously pierced the bodies of the beasts. Furthermore, they were inserted into the black sludge in a specific sequence, and in an instant, a circle of Black Keys had surrounded the ever-expanding sludge.
Immediately after, using these Black Keys as a link, an invisible, squarish barrier instantly unfolded, trapping the black sludge, the beasts, and Nero Chaos himself inside a "transparent box."
"A Pseudo-Cathedral... You 'flies' really do appear out of nowhere whenever you smell blood."
Recognizing the nature of the barrier that had trapped him at a glance, Nero Chaos's crimson eyes swept his surroundings.
Just as he had said, in the middle of the country fields, one Executor after another was converging on his position. And as one of the first to arrive, the golden-haired priest beside Eiri Fumizuka—Bestino—with a scripture-casing equipped on one hand and a Mystic Code gauntlet on the other, took a step forward and said with dignity.
"This is as far as you go, Nero Chaos. Even as an [Ancestor], you will not be able to move an inch when faced with this number of Executors. If you understand the situation, then surrender peacefully."
Estimating that the number of arriving Executors was at least eighty, Nero Chaos was slightly surprised in his heart, not understanding why the Church's pursuit was on such a massive scale this time. Was it just because he was operating on the land of a Magician?
And at that moment, as he was still somewhat confused, he stared at the golden-haired priest who seemed to be the leader for a while. As if discovering something, Nero Chaos was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"I was wondering why the Church's response was so fast this time. So it was you pulling the strings? What, how does it feel to have turned your body into this state by trying to replicate the 'Serpent's' research out of greed, Bestino?"
"You spoke so righteously before, but in fact, you probably didn't bring so many people here to subjugate me, but rather to capture that fellow, the 'Serpent', right?"
"...Heh, who knows." As if his sore spot had been hit, Bestino gave an order, and the surrounding Executors immediately began to prepare their chants of Holy Words and Baptismal Rites outside the Pseudo-Cathedral barrier, clearly intending to launch an all-out assault on Nero Chaos the moment the barrier disappeared.
And under the watch of so many Executors, Eiri Fumizuka also broke away from the group and came to the side of Aozaki Rin, who seemed to be somewhat surprised by the situation. He pushed up his glasses and said.
"Don't be surprised. That guy wasn't hiding his aura during your fight, so of course the Church tracked him quickly. But thankfully, we were just in time. Any later and it might have been really bad."
"Father Fumizuka, I..."
Aozaki Rin was just about to say something, but Eiri Fumizuka just turned around, looked at Touko who was anxiously running toward them, and shrugged.
"Some things don't need to be explained so clearly. After all, you are an Aozaki. Besides, you really gave me a fright. You know, according to our intelligence, that [Ancestor] must be killed 666 times in an instant to truly end his life. The fact that you could hold out until we arrived puts you on par with some of our most elite Executors."
"But in the end, we stand on different sides. Let's just pretend tonight never happened. That's the most I can do."
Aozaki Rin blinked, was silent for a while, then spoke his thanks.
"I understand. Thank you, Father Fumizuka."
"Rin!"
A worried voice sounded in time. Touko arrived at Aozaki Rin's side and, after checking that the boy was not injured, let out a heavy sigh of relief.
But she immediately turned her head, looked at the actions of the Executors not far away and Nero Chaos trapped in the barrier, and asked with some unease.
"Are you sure you can handle that guy?"
"Rest assured, most of the people who came are elites directly under the Holy See. They're not fragile guys like me; each and every one of them is a monster."
Although he had just been exuding an aura as sharp as a blade, Eiri Fumizuka now seemed like an ordinary priest, answering with a confident smile on his face.
"Unless that guy has some trump card he hasn't shown yet, this time, it will certainly be the Church's victory. But according to our intelligence, what he's shown is the limit of what he can do."
Hearing Eiri Fumizuka's guarantee, Touko finally felt a little more at ease. But just then, Aozaki Rin, who had also thought the matter should be settled, suddenly sensed something. His unfocused eyes couldn't help but look at the man in the barrier.
"Greed truly makes one resort to any means... In that case, since I was planning to destroy this thing anyway, I might as well just use it myself."
His crimson eyes glanced at Bestino outside the barrier. Nero Chaos spat a piece of amber from his own body and held it in his hand.
In the next second, he raised the amber without hesitation, crushed it directly, and opened his great mouth, as if wanting to devour something.
However, amidst the scattering fragments of amber, that one bead of blood, circulating with a strange radiance, did not fall into his mouth under the pull of gravity. Instead, it was as if it were drawn by some kind of force.
In an instant, it broke through the barrier of the [Pseudo-Cathedral], flew toward the boy in the distance, and merged directly into his body.
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