By the ti Cheng Shi appeared beside Mo Shu's body, Turadin had already left.
For so reason, the man had stripped off his clothes—so when Cheng Shi used the die from his pocket to teleport over, he found not Turadin, but a Scavenger's corpse.
To be precise, he was no longer the Scavenger. Just a heap of identity-stripped flesh.
Mo Shu's duplicate was indeed dead. Killed by Zhang Jizu's scalpel. His flesh vessel died at Turadin's hands.
'All my scheming led to his death, yet sohow... I haven't incurred any karmic debt?'
But not really. Because Mo Shu wouldn't care who ultimately delivered the killing blow. He would only rember who drove in that first, fatal blade.
At this thought, Cheng Shi winced. 'Antagonized a powerhouse over a Clown Substitute. Not the best trade...'
'That Lord was right—greed truly is the path to death...'
'All I can hope for now is that after the trial, my Benefactor will take pity on the hardship of reclaiming His gift and... throw in so extra rewards for my "emotional damages."'
"Looks like he headed toward the church!"
Cheng Shi checked the footprints, hastily buried "Mo Shu," and sprinted after him.
He had ans to teleport directly back to the church—but the reason he steadily followed Turadin's trail was to prevent any mishaps on the way back.
The trial's "biggest threat" was now neutralized. Once he retrieved Turadin, it should be smooth speedrunning from here!
'There shouldn't be any more surprises...'
'Right?'
...
Rewinding slightly further—to the mont Cheng Shi first engaged Mo Shu.
The Theocracy of Growth.
For the church staff, tonight had been a parade of catastrophes. First, the Head of Church's son was kidnapped without cause. Then blasphemous rumors erupted throughout the compound. Then a fire consud the Evil Infant Inquisition. Then heaven-sent thunder obliterated a civilian house.
This chain of events shattered Dolgod's tranquility, painting the thick night with strokes of panic and unease.
Head of Church Berios stood at the Assembly Hall entrance, gazing toward the lingering thunder, his eyes grave.
He'd already heard the worst from his flock. Outside, many were saying the church's harboring of Uma Sinners was the ultimate blasphemy. The rciful Benefactor had given the Theocracy of Growth many chances, but under certain leaders' guidance, the church had never reflected on its past—and tonight, His wrath had finally arrived.
Otherwise, why would the fire burn at the Evil Infant Inquisition—ho of the Uma Sinners? Why would the thunder strike Dolgod precisely now?
Already, voices demanded the Head of Church step down and atone for tonight's deaths. But Berios knew these rumors couldn't have co from ordinary citizens. They had to originate from church leadership, wrapped in manipulated public outrage before echoing back.
Because common citizens had no idea the Inquisition's resident staff were Uma Sinners. Anyone who'd ever shown suspicion had been... quietly dealt with.
So in his eyes, tonight's farce was simply a clumsy power grab by certain factions.
But Berios wasn't worried. In his years heading the church, he'd faced similar crises many tis. What concerned him most was: what role had his heaven-loathing, everything-despising son played in this power struggle? What purpose had he served?
Was his disappearance orchestrated by interested parties? Or... was he one of the architects of this chaos?
Behind him, anxious followers looked to their leader, hoping he'd swiftly restore order. Berios felt the distant thunder's power growing ever more terrifying. His expression hardened:
"Sing the prayers together. I shall invoke the God Descent and purge the heresy."
"Praise the Head of Church! Praise the Theocracy! Praise our Lord!"
"Your devoted followers prostrate themselves here, singing the hymn of birth, beseeching Your gaze, imploring Your protection! Under the radiance of Your glory, may Dolgod be troubled by evil no more! May no corruption hide within the church!"
Waves of fanatical worshippers dropped to their knees and prayed aloud. Carried by their harmonious chorus, Berios ascended the church tower step by step until he reached its pinnacle. He raised the heavy Pontiff Staff and touched it to the towering God Statue atop the spire.
The God Statue—cradling its belly—suddenly blazed with light. Its swollen abdon erupted like a miniature sun, casting rays in every direction.
As searing holy light flooded every corner of the church, the tower's peak split open. From within, an impossibly vast tentacle—covered in countless abyssal black eyes—burst skyward. It stretched and swayed above the clouds, rising high amid the congregation's chanting. Then it transford into a wind-splitting, thunder-sundering whip—and lashed toward the thunder-scorched ruins the Pontiff Staff had indicated.
BOOM—
The ruins where Cheng Shi and Mo Shu had clashed were driven three ters deeper into the earth.
Even the residual thunder echoing through the rubble was scattered by that horrifying tentacle's strike.
At that mont, Cheng Shi was on his way back to the church. He saw an enormous shadow engulfing the sky behind him—and froze mid-stride. He imdiately threw a die, teleported, and stared wide-eyed, his expression turning deadly serious.
'What the HELL was that?!'
'Its Divine Pillar?'
'No—it doesn't feel right. No [Birth] aura.'
'But the shape is way too similar.'
'This is bad. Sothing's happening at the church that I didn't anticipate. But who triggered it—my teammates, or Turadin?'
'Or... sothing else entirely?'
At this thought, Cheng Shi abandoned the footprints. With a snap of his fingers, he teleported directly back to the outer compound where he'd split from the other two. The mont he landed, a sacred, solemn voice broadcast from atop the church tower, its waves rippling across the entire complex:
"Everything tonight was the handiwork of heretics, a smokescreen of deception. I have invoked the God Descent. Under our Lord's protection and guidance, we shall pierce the illusion and vanquish all evil."
"Praise [Birth]!"
"PRAISE [BIRTH]!" The Assembly Hall erupted in thunderous acclaim. Cheng Shi fixed his gaze on the silhouette atop the tower, his expression darkening.
He didn't know whether the Head of Church had discovered anything. He didn't know what that tentacle atop the tower—so eerily reminiscent of [Birth]'s Divine Pillar—actually was. He only knew his speedrun plan seed to have collapsed yet again. Because the Theocracy of Growth clearly possessed powerful ans to eliminate threats.
Under these conditions, even if they spread the word about a [Corruption] Holy Infant, it would almost certainly be whipped to death by that tentacle. And the victim might not be limited to a fabricated infant—it could easily be the unlucky players themselves.
'What happened?!'
Cheng Shi furrowed his brow and began searching for his teammates. Through the frenzied church crowds and the chaotic compound, he searched everywhere—until finally spotting them in a resting hall near the birthing ward. Scorpio and Gao Ya.
Both wore grave expressions, staring at each other. Sothing had clearly gone very wrong.
Cheng Shi lunged forward and patted Scorpio's shoulder. Seeing him return, Scorpio managed a rigid smile.
Cheng Shi's heart sank. But he still smiled and said:
"I have good news. Hopefully I can trade it for good news from you."
Scorpio's face tightened with embarrassnt: "I did have good news. But now... it's complicated."
"?"
Cheng Shi's brow creased. He looked at Gao Ya. Judging by appearances, this [Folly] follower was better positioned to clearly explain what had occurred inside the church while he'd been away killing Mo Shu.
Gao Ya read his intent. She scoffed:
"Our dear assassin teammate didn't want to be dead weight. So he slightly modified the original problem-solving approach—turning what wasn't a terribly complex puzzle into... sothing sowhat more complex."
"..."
Cheng Shi's smile curdled into a cold sneer: "Speak plainly. Otherwise—the cake goes to the Chieftain."
"!!!"
Gao Ya's expression froze. Swallowing every ounce of indignation, she spat through gritted teeth:
"He went to the future and overwrote its projection onto the present. As for what exactly he overwrote—I hadn't managed to get it out of him before you arrived."
"?"
Cheng Shi turned to Scorpio, eyes sharpening: "Don't tell
the church's fireworks are your doing."
Scorpio shook his head stiffly: "Take it easy... The church's display has nothing to do with . But what chain reactions co next—that's harder to say. Because from the future... I brought back a person."
'Brought a person back from the future?'
Cheng Shi blanked, then blurted in astonishnt: "You have that kind of broken talent? Impressive. But... who did you bring back?"
"...Soone who knows when exactly the life that shouldn't be born... will be born!"
"?"
...
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