The flame was dark red and black in color, a form that was not allowed to exist under natural conditions. It was also extremely stable and was not affected by the breeze at all, burning almost straight.
There was no sound, no heat, as if it was just an illusion.
However, Buck's body quickly turned black, white, twisted, and shrank under the burning of this illusory black and red flame. In the blink of an eye, it cracked and shattered into fine ash.
However, his clothes, the tuxedo, shirt and trousers that were torn into rags, showed no sign of being affected and lay limp on the ashes in their original state.
"What happened?!" Seeing such a strange change, Nancy immediately felt something was wrong.
As an official supernatural being, she had access to far more knowledge and information about the supernatural field than any wild adventurer. At the same time, her extensive field experience also gave her some irrational but mostly reliable intuition.
The moment the strange black and red flames rose from Buck's body, she realized something was wrong.
Normal psychic behavior would never work like this!
"fine……"
Qi Ji shook his head and waved his hands to indicate that he was fine.
Then he lowered his head slightly and began to think.
That scene in the psychic world...
She certainly wasn't stupid enough to think that the Archbishop's face was really a black geometric shape, because when Buck's spirit showed that scene, its state was obviously not right.
Some kind of power originating from within his spirit and mind was trying to destroy himself. If Qi Ji had not suppressed this power in the "Sea of Spirit", Buck's soul would have been completely destroyed the moment she asked the last question.
But even so, she still failed to keep it when it came to the core information of the "Archbishop" himself, such as his appearance.
"What are these..." She closed her eyes slightly and rubbed her forehead.
When she saw the "Colorful Glowing Icosahedron", she felt an extremely huge amount of information pouring out of it, which instantly exploded Buck's soul, completely destroyed his "Sea of Spirit", and also impacted Qi Ji's own thinking.
This wave of information is so huge that it is hard to describe. Moreover, it has no meaning at all! It is just pure "garbled code" and the information entropy is so low that it is close to zero.
Qi Ji was stunned for a moment, and failed to react in time to try to interrupt the collapse of the "Sea of Spirits".
Of course, she was not hurt at all, but she had never encountered such a sudden and huge wave of information, and she was a little confused for a moment.
...It's not that she has never seen this before. For example, when she came into contact with the divinity of the "First Creator" in Stio and some of her memories were awakened, the amount of information that flooded into her mind was far more than just now.
The only difference is that one time it was spontaneous, gradual and accumulated; the other time it was "invaded" from the outside world, and all at once.
It’s like seeing a sentence that contains a lot of information, and your brain suddenly gets stuck and you become speechless.
It is understandable that there is some haste in a short period of time.
"If it were an ordinary person, or a normal extraordinary person, they would probably die on the spot. The best outcome would be dementia..."
Qi Ji nodded her chin thoughtfully, realizing that the matter might be more complicated than she had originally thought.
This "colorful shining icosahedron" is no ordinary "magic".
In other words, it simply did not possess any of the supernatural powers that she knew of.
It is just a special geometric shape, without spirituality or divinity, just a pure "picture", a normal pattern, no different in essence from the doodles on a notebook.
But it can release an unimaginable impact of information the moment it is seen... It's really a bit weird.
"I originally thought it was just a small fight between a group of cultists, but it seems to involve some mysterious organization, a mastermind, or a god or angel... Tsk." She couldn't help but laugh at herself.
"Do I have a 'big conspiracy attracting physique', so I encounter big things wherever I go?"
"Well, did it trigger some defense mechanism set up in his spirit?" Looking at Yao Liuliu's sullen face, Nancy couldn't help but ask a question with more concern.
Nancy herself doesn't know much about psychicism, but there is a dedicated psychic in her team, and relevant knowledge can be found in public information, so she knows a lot of basic common sense in this field.
It was obvious that the spiritual communication of Yaoliuliu just now triggered the restrictions in Buck's body, which led to the sudden change.
Generally speaking, the activation of the prohibition will backfire on the psychic himself, causing his spirit to suffer a shock. In severe cases, he may even become insane or even die on the spot.
Considering Yaoliuliu's current condition...it's hard for Nancy not to worry.
"Yeah." Qi Ji nodded in affirmation, and then restored his usual calm and leisurely tone:
"His spirit is completely gone, but I also learned a lot of interesting things... How about we take Daisy and the others away first, and then talk about it slowly on the way?"
Nancy thought for a few seconds and said "hmm" to indicate that she had no opinion:
"That makes sense. If you stay here for too long, you'll easily be found by other members of this cult."
Only Buck came to this operation of the Church of Life. It was a bit strange for such a large organization to let the leader act alone, so Nancy felt that there would definitely be follow-up personnel arriving.
I have been delayed here for almost ten minutes. If I don't leave now, I will collide with them. By then, I will be the only one with fighting power, and I will have to protect three ordinary people... It will be difficult to avoid accidents.
——Nancy doesn’t know that Daisy has obtained magical powers, and subconsciously excludes Qiji from her “combat power”.
"Then let's..." Qi Ji suddenly raised his head and turned to look towards the east before saying this.
At this time, the incomplete sun had begun to sink into the horizon, and in the distant east, a bright, pale "silver moon" poked out an arc.
However, the moment Qi Ji turned his head, the "Silver Moon" that was as pale as snow was suddenly tinged with a strange color.
There were dozens of thin, winding lines, a dark red color, like dried blood.
These evil lines appeared from the edge of the "Silver Moon" and spread towards the center at an extremely fast speed, converging in the center of the moon in less than a breath.
This made the originally pure and bright "Silver Moon" become like a huge bloodshot eyeball, looking down at the earth with an evil and crazy will, making people feel cold all over.
At this moment, Qi Ji suddenly felt a gaze filled with malice and blasphemy coming from the crimson-stained "Silver Moon", which instantly crossed an unknown distance.
The target... is exactly where Qi Ji is!
“…We have to move quickly.”
Qi Ji didn't understand what was going on for the time being, but he had a feeling that it was not a good thing. He made a prompt decision and warned Nancy in a low voice.
Chapter 177 Leaving
Nancy noticed her movements and subconsciously turned her head to follow her gaze.
But all I could see was the horizon gradually becoming hazy, and a round, pale, clean, and huge "silver moon".
There was nothing abnormal, and those dark red, blood vessel-like curves seemed to be just an illusion.
Qi Ji did not explain any more and walked towards the wreckage of the carriage. His pace was much faster than before, as if he was urging Nancy.
Nancy withdrew her gaze in confusion, looked at Qi Ji's back, opened her mouth in confusion, and wanted to ask something.
But her identity as an official extraordinary person made her instinctively choose to trust her teammates, so she didn't waste time asking questions, and followed Qi Ji's footsteps and quickly walked to the carriage.
——Although her fate with Qi Ji has only lasted a few minutes, out of guilt and sympathy, she still regards this "genius girl" who is suspected to be a warrior as her temporary "teammate".
Qi Ji jumped onto the carriage with light movements, turned his head and said to Nancy:
"Please take the driver's seat. There is no room left inside."
This carriage rented from a Loen City trading company could only accommodate four people. Daisy and her brother Youer were relatively small in size, so they could be considered one person. Together with the couple and Qi Ji himself, the interior space was completely occupied.
Nancy, who arrived later, had to sit in the driver's seat outside if she didn't want to walk.
"Uh, we're going to... take this car?"
Hearing Qi Ji's words, Nancy, who was walking next to him, suddenly had a strange look on her face, and her eyes kept scanning the carriage that was so broken that only its frame was left.
When Gary and his wife rented a carriage from the company, Qi Ji specifically emphasized that there was no need to hire a coachman because she could use magic to temporarily control the horses, so there was no need to involve an innocent person.
This is because Qi Ji had already anticipated that this journey would definitely not be safe and that something unexpected would most likely happen.
Now, after being crushed by the initial wave of black puppets, not only was the carriage twisted and deformed, most of the structure was completely damaged, and even the horse was dead, its neck instantly broken by the unreasonably powerful tentacles.
In short, this carriage was definitely completely unusable. Nancy heard that Yaoliuliu seemed to be in a hurry to leave, and had originally planned to use some of her special techniques to help the group get on with their journey.
"Of course," Qi Ji smiled and raised his eyebrows, "I'm too lazy to walk."
"You... have a way to make use of this broken car?"
Nancy seemed to understand something. Although there was still a hint of doubt on her face, she obeyed the other party's arrangements and sat in the driver's seat at the front of the carriage without any delay.
"It's comfortable to work with straightforward people..." Qi Ji nodded slightly, feeling very comfortable.
Although strictly speaking, the relationship between her and Nancy is not "cooperation", after all, the gap between the two in all aspects is too big. Compared with "cooperation" in the ordinary sense, it is more like fighting alone. They just happen to be active in the same place.
But no matter what, don't talk nonsense, don't be pretentious, don't waste time, and give the other person a certain degree of trust when necessary... People with these qualities are difficult to dislike in any situation.
After Nancy sat firmly, Qi Ji pointed the palm of one hand at the floor, and after a subtle and complex spiritual fluctuation, he released several black chains, which pierced under the carpet with red flames as sticky as liquid.
The majestic, restrained and condensed spirituality spread out and enveloped the dilapidated carriage.
Countless dark-colored plates with a metallic luster emerged from the red flames and were spliced and filled around the leaky areas of the carriage, fitting together tightly. Soon, a new carriage with a peculiar shape and a strange temperament was constructed.
The chains burning with red flames penetrated deep into the board, continued to extend to the outside, and then whooshed towards the horse's body.
A creepy red light shone from its eyes, and its gradually freezing body was infused with vitality again. It slowly stood up and turned into an undead horse.
"This is... Life Alchemy?!"
Nancy, who witnessed all this, widened her eyes and exclaimed in disbelief.
"No, it's not just life transformation... it also includes some kind of energy-shaping spell... something I've never seen before..."
Gently stroking the dark metal plates that appeared out of thin air, her expression became more and more solemn.
"Isn't she... a warrior?"
...Magic fighter? Impossible, this is close to the level of a magician! At her age, a warrior can have a righteous mind. Even if she is favored by the gods, how can she also have the strength of a magician... Is she still human?
"Could it be that this is also the effect of spiritual equipment? Then she... is too rich! To be able to afford so many high-level spiritual items..."
The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. She felt that the mysterious aura around this cloaked girl who came from nowhere was getting stronger.
While she was lost in thought, the undead horse with red flames on it started to move, pulling the oddly shaped carriage towards the far end of the road with the rapid and rhythmic sound of its hooves.
Less than ten minutes after they left this tragic place filled with gunpowder smoke and the smell of sulfur, about ten meters above Buck's body, there was a sudden "crack" and a vertical crack appeared.
A crack appeared directly in the void, as if space was a very brittle piece of glass.
Two pale hands stretched out from the center of the crack, grabbing both sides and pulling.
“Kacha, kacha…”
There was another series of crackling sounds, and the crack that was originally only a few centimeters wide was opened to more than one meter, revealing a dark, twisted, strange, and blurred color, as if countless horrible and deformed creatures were lurking in it.
The owner of the palm emerged from it.
This is a tall, thin, middle-aged man with a slightly sickly pale complexion, stern facial features, and deep, sinister eyes.
Supported by an invisible force, he slowly floated down, landing right next to Buck's horribly twisted corpse, standing on the edge of the shallow pit.
“I felt the Lord’s gaze…”
He stood straight with his head slightly lowered. He glanced coldly at the horrible corpse at the bottom of the pit for a moment, then his eyes moved away to the east.
It was fixed on the "Silver Moon" that had long since returned to normal.
At this moment, his stern face suddenly froze, and then he tilted his head slightly, as if listening to something.
"...Yes...it has arrived...
"…confirmed death…homicide…
"...I sensed a residual scent, which might have been left by the murderer...
"...It's the breath of 'Sea God' Deka...
"...There are also remnants of spells from the fields of 'Mutation', 'Giant', 'Mind', and 'Flame'..."
He muttered vaguely in a voice almost at a whisper, as if responding to some hidden being. The frost in his eyes had completely melted away, leaving only a devoutness close to fanaticism.
"… Don't worry, I've caught those people. Their level of erasure was so crude that it made me laugh…"
A few seconds later, his expression turned cold and gloomy again. The pale-skinned middle-aged man walked along the road, looking in the direction where Qi Ji and the others left:
"Recently, more and more nameless people have attempted to prevent our Lord from coming...
"Ha ha……"
Chapter 178 Gifts and Transformation
The undead horse, burning with dark red flames, ran wildly on the bumpy road, its four legs alternating at such a speed that afterimages appeared and it barely touched the ground.
The road conditions on this stretch were average, and the carriages of this era did not have shock-absorbing mechanisms such as pneumatic rubber tires and suspensions. Driving at such a crazy speed would usually cause great bumps for the passengers on the carriage.
This is especially true for those sitting in the driver's seat outside. If they are not careful, they may be thrown out.
