When Xia De saw the light ahead once more, he temporarily left the narrow, muddy corridor and entered a wider space inside the temple. This place was probably a library before, as rotten wooden shelves were scattered everywhere in the mud on the ground.
The Merman High Priest, clad in a red sacrificial robe, was currently battling Professor Sanchez, the vice principal of Saint Byron's Comprehensive College. Although the Merman High Priest was only a Nine Ring, its power seemed to be amplified within the temple. Even so, it was still completely suppressed by Professor Sanchez, and the Professor's victory was already assured.
“Who are you?”
Like the Church Ring術士 at the temple entrance, Professor Sanchez also posed this question. However, Xia De still remained silent, intending to bypass them and proceed.
Neither the red-robed High Priest nor the Professor showed any intention of stopping him; the Professor even reminded him:
“It’s more dangerous ahead. The power of the god repels non-believers like us. Whatever you intend to do, for the sake of you being human, I must warn you: if it’s not necessary, do not proceed.”
Xia De shook his head, bypassed the two, and ran forward, holding his fishing rod.
After the tattoo led Xia De into the corridor again, the air noticeably grew heavy. After a few more steps, the air felt like a swamp, hindering Xia De’s progress. A powerful force radiated from ahead, a force Xia De was very familiar with.
Although the temple complex was vast, Xia De finally reached its end by running at full speed.
This was the true Old God's Temple. When Xia De emerged from the corridor exit, his gaze swept past the massive black stone pillars supporting the structure, past the strange and grotesque Merman and Mermaid statues filling the ground, and even past the four individuals engaged in combat. He immediately spotted the Holy Emblem hanging on the deepest wall of the temple.
The light here was dim, yet the Holy Emblem emitted a dazzling golden glow.
At this moment, the bizarre and distorted sensation was only slightly better than being directly stared at by an evil god last time. Upon entering the temple, Xia De even felt his skin wriggling, as if attempting to spontaneously transform into the form of an aquatic creature. However, due to the counteracting force of a powerful energy within his flesh, this transformation could not proceed in the slightest.
The red spiral phantom, accompanied by the double vision before his eyes, became increasingly clear. He vaguely heard prayers, yet it also sounded like someone whispering in his ear. The low, chaotic voices directly poured into his ears; if Xia De hadn't been accustomed to various encounters with deities, he might have collapsed to the ground, twitching, after leaving the corridor.
Among the four individuals engaged in combat, the ugly-looking Merman High Priest was actually a Twelve Ring. Xia De hadn't expected such a Ring術士 to exist within the Scarlet Cult. However, given that the opponent dared to initiate the ritual rashly, it was understandable that such a High-Ring Sorcerer would be present.
Unfortunately, his opponent was a Thirteen Ring Sorcerer. From the Holy Emblem hanging on his chest and his fighting style, this calm middle-aged man in a black trench coat, who manipulated countless tiny brass metal constructs, should belong to the Creation and Destruction Church.
And besides these two, Xia De actually saw Darkness, who had removed his red gloves, and Ms. Hivi Aurora, whose face seemed to be covered in a hazy mist. Of course, because he couldn't see her face and her clothes had changed, Xia De initially wasn't sure who it was, but the warm badge on his chest reminded him that there wasn't a second Great Witch in Coldwater Port.
Xia De immediately took off the golden ring on his hand and put it into his pocket, feeling very fortunate that the red seawater made it impossible to discern the original style of his clothes.
Xia De wasn't surprised that the other three could stand unaffected in the temple, which was strongly influenced by the god's power, but it was somewhat unexpected that Darkness, who was only a Hexacle, could also resist the pressure that felt like being directly stared at by a god.
Except for the Twelve Ring Merman, everyone's power was suppressed.
The battle between Darkness and Miss Aurora was unusually bizarre. The former was hunched over, the Hexacle Destiny Ring of a Six-Ring Arcanist manifested behind him, and around him were swirling black vortexes. His grotesque right hand had swollen into a massive, fleshy, incomprehensibly shaped upper body of a creature, with sulfur and black flames constantly spewing from the monster's cackling mouth.
Miss Hivi Aurora, on the other hand, barely retaliated, not even manifesting her Destiny Ring. She continuously used telekinetic spells to passively defend by manipulating the numerous Merman statues standing in the temple. But there was no reason for this Witch, who was even stronger than Miss Jialinna, to be unable to defeat Darkness. Xia De still remembered that Miss Jialinna dared to try to charge forward when facing an evil god, and she even managed to retreat successfully.
The Witch seemed to be wary of the thing growing from Darkness's right hand, so she didn't attack with full force.
“How did Darkness and the Witch end up here too?”
Xia De wondered, then saw that the bloody Merman tattoo on the fishhook, which had kindly led him here, had actually dissipated.
The dispersed blood dissolved into the temple, drifting into the numerous Merman and Mermaid statues. It seemed that this was the true origin of the Mermaid's curse. Presumably, the original objects that spread the curse, the small Mermaid statues, originally belonged to the temple.
The four people in combat quickly noticed the stranger holding a fishing rod standing at the temple entrance, but no one knew what this person was doing.
“Stranger, help me defeat the Orthodox Church people. When the tsunami floods Coldwater Port, I will give you the Merman's treasure. Elixirs, gold and silver vessels, ancient documents, cult texts, choose whatever you like!”
The Merman High Priest was the first to speak. The degree of mutation on his face, although not as severe as the captain of the Bone Pirate Ship or the oil painting in Mr. Jude's safe, was definitely the most fish-like human face Xia De had ever seen in Coldwater Port.
Its entire body was covered in slimy, wrinkled scales, and the backs of both hands and its forehead were etched with the Holy Emblem of the evil god. Anyone with the qualifications to do this was likely the true controller of the Scarlet Cult.
“Don’t trust these Cultists. The Sea Offering Ritual cannot succeed, stranger. Help me deal with him, and the sacrifices in the City will be fewer. No matter what organization you belong to, we are all humans, and the Church will give you suitable compensation.”
The Church Ring術士, who manipulated brass mechanical constructs, spoke very directly, without using any rhetoric like 'justice' to persuade Xia De. However, his accent was a bit off; he wasn't from Delarion. This one should have been temporarily transferred by the Creation Church from Carson Rick.
“Stranger, help me deal with this person possessed by a demon. Afterwards, an unregistered money order, how about twenty thousand pounds? Banks in large Cities can cash it.”
Miss Aurora also spoke. Although the two sides were very close now, the power of the evil god in the temple was too strong for her to accurately sense what was wrong with Xia De.
“She is a Witch, don't believe her!”
Darkness shouted loudly. His own voice was steady, but the laughter of the demon that his right hand had become was unusually sharp and piercing.
“Aren’t you going to make an offer?”
Xia De's gaze temporarily shifted from the Holy Emblem deep within the temple, and he asked with a frown.
“What?”
Darkness was startled.
“I mean, the other three have all made offers, aren’t you going to make one?”
Xia De repeated, and before the latter could look over, his body suddenly vanished inside the temple.
“Be careful! It’s the power of space!”
Darkness's right-hand demon suddenly roared, its strange, blasphemous language affecting space, but only Xia De and Darkness himself understood it.
The latter instinctively swung his right arm behind him, and the demon's gaping maw bit down hard on the Moonlight Greatsword Xia De swung out from behind him.
The sword body emitted a holy silver light, and the demon's mouth blistered as if burned, emitting foul black smoke.
The power of the Hexacle's strange right hand was originally far beyond what a Two-Ring Xia De could contend with. But before the power of that flesh subsided, Xia De could barely resist.
But that mouth was indeed formidable; in just two or three seconds, cracks appeared on the Moonlight Greatsword. Darkness's left hand was about to reach for Xia De's heart, but another Moonlight Greatsword suddenly slashed down from the void.
A strange dark vortex suddenly appeared in front of the Moonlight Greatsword. The two-handed greatsword, thrust out from the void, plunged into the Darkness and completely disappeared. At the same time, the sword in Xia De's hand was completely shattered by sharp teeth.
He immediately retreated, and Darkness, probably still wary of the Witch beside him, did not pursue.
“Last time you said you were a Hexacle and asked me what Ring I was. Do you have an answer now?”
Xia De asked softly, his eyes glancing at the Holy Emblem on the deepest wall of the temple.
“You—”
The half-demon on his right hand suddenly roared, extending its arm to tear at Xia De, but Xia De's body disappeared again, reappearing at a greater distance.
“It’s you? The person on the rooftop?”
The middle-aged man suddenly realized.
“That tip-off letter with the ‘one shilling’ paper clip, did you write it to the Natural Church? Wait, your signature is—”
The Church Ring術士 with a Carson Rick accent suddenly widened his eyes and glanced at Xia De, but he didn't say the name 'Summoner'.
“You actually reported me?”
Darkness stared intently at Xia De.
“You tried to kill me with the Puppeteer's Script, so I had no choice but to report you.”
Xia De replied.
The look of resentment on Darkness's face intensified:
“You found our location first. How could I possibly let you leave alive? Wait, something’s not right. My companion paid the price of his life due to a clerical error, causing you to encounter a Class 0 relic through bad luck. How are you still alive?”
“Class 0 relic? So, Good Luck is Class 0?”
The image of the monster in the pool flashed before Xia De's eyes, and the corner of his mouth twitched:
“Class 0.”
This was the first Class 0 relic he had seen in this world. Although the other party didn't display any power, considering the strange corruption that could almost melt any soul, and its claim to be 【desire】, it seemed illogical for it to be Class 0.
