The locusts, wasps, and mosquitoes sward the Bloodstone.
But their efforts only led to their own injuries as the Bloodstone was simply indestructible.
When it landed, a clear sound rang out as the four wonas well as the deford manstared at the necklace in shock.
"Stephanie, co out!"
Calvin's voice rang out from behind the veil as the Bloodstone shone in a crimson light.
A sinister being slowly erged from the Bloodstone. Her eyes carried with it an intense hatred that could only be abated by slaughter.
The four won felt a chill run down their spines as their knees trembled in fear.
The deford man also stared at the woman who had erged from the Bloodstone in shock.
"You..."
"Stephanie?"
What the deford man got in reply was nothing but a freezing coldness and a fiery ire.
Stephanie let out a shrill scream the mont she fully materialized as wings sprouted on her back. She rushed towards the deford man in a frenzy with her claws, ready to claim the deford man's head.
"Shit... Wasp!" The deford man called out for his companion, but he received no response.
"Wasp?! What the fuck are you doing? Where are you?"
The deford man quickly looked around him. His eyes wanted to peek through the thick veil of insects to no avail, "Where did that bastard go?" Annoyed, the deford man gnashed his teeth and took sothing out of his chest pocket.
The object was made out of steel and it shimred with coldness reflected in the eyes of Stephanie.
Bang!
The barrel of the steel object roared with fire as a silver bullet flew from its depths flying straight towards Stephanie.
But just as the bullet was about to hit her, Stephanie's crazed eyes turned resolute. She trusted her instincts for danger as she raised her claws and instinctively blocked the incoming bullet.
Peng!
The sound of tal clashing against tal rang out.
Amidst a loud noise, the bullet buried itself into the ground as the four won abruptly froze.
They didn't dare to stop their chanting though, for even though they might be afraid of the mysterious woman.
They were more scared at the deford man.
They knew his thods far too well. And as soone who had stayed in this village for an extended period of ti just so he could hold out and complete his plans to perfection.
The deford man was a scarier opponent than the woman.
Thus, the four didn't dare to do anything nor move.
They just kept on chanting as the candles above their heads burned, its wax continuously dripped down their cheeks.
Disfiguring them, all the while also tainting their blood with evil.
These four won felt the pain, but their endurance was noteworthy. Despite the searing heat from the candle burning their scalps and its wax ruining their faces. They gritted their teeth and determined to endure it all for the sake of freedom.
Yes, all of these were for the sake of that freedom that would never co.
Stephanie went on a rampage.
Her vertical mobility as well as her agile practiced movents made it tough for the deford man to hit her with any bullet.
The deford man gnashed his teeth, "This bitch, how the fuck is she even here? I'm sure I sealed her soul in that urn!" Anger filled the deford man's eyes as he stretched his other hand into his chest pocket and took out another pistol from nowhere and pointed it at Stephanie.
Bang!
Stephanie raised her claws once more to block the attack, but her pupils suddenly constricted when she realized that the force within the bullet wasn't sothing that she could block with her claws.
Forcibly turning her body in mid-air, she twisted herself and she barely managed to dodge the attack.
However, this sudden evasive maneuver left her unable to control her body as she crashed onto the ground and created a cloud of dust.
The deford man let out an evil smirk.
He was quick to point his pistols at where Stephanie had crashed as he pulled both triggers.
Bang! Bang!
Two consecutive gunshots rang out.
The bullets pierced through Stephanie's body as her tainted blood scattered on the ground.
"Hahaha!" The deford man maniacally laughed, "Stephanie, Oh, dear... Stephanie!"
"Since you've managed to escape that ceremonial urn, why did you even return? Don't you know that since I am the one that ended your life back then, I could also do it again?" A cocky smile flitted across his lips.
But as the dust cleared up, his pupils widened in shock.
Yes.
The bullets had pierced through Stephanie's chest and stomach.
But the wound it had created was visibly healing in front of the deford man.
"That's... the property of undying! You... just what are you...?" The deford man hissed as he stared at Stephanie.
Stephanie stood up without saying anything.
Frightened, the deford man sent a salvo of bullets in her direction and Stephanie was quick to defend herself from those bullets.
Peng! Peng! Peng!
The sound of tal clashing against tal continuously rang.
Stephanie was unable to completely defend herself from the rain of bullets, but it was understandable since bullets were just too quick when compared to anyone's flying ability.
Even though she was an Aswang, a species of monsters known for their formidable flying techniques...
She still wasn't at her peak.
After all, she was still at the Peak High-Tier.
She hadn't even unlocked her active and ultimate skill yet, unlike the Mortician who was now a Purveyor.
Aswangs were undying beings that could never be destroyed unless their lower body was found. This was a weakness that the deford man could never take advantage of since he was in the confines of his turtle shell known as the Veil of Slaughter.
However, just because Stephanie wouldn't die without her lower body being destroyed didn't an that there was no other way for her to be defeated.
Stephanie might be classified as a Specter, but she still had a physical body in the material plane.
A physical body couldn't possibly function with a central nervous system.
If the deford man destroyed Stephanie's brain stem, then he would imdiately win the fight. No questions asked.
Stephanie was quite intelligent even though she was still so weak.
She knew how to protect herself and that she must guard her brain stem at all tis.
The brain stem of a Corpse Eater was located beneath the tip of their noses. But as for the brain stem of a rare Specter like the Aswang? Honestly, even Calvin had no idea. The Aswang was just so rare that information related to them were scarce or close to none.
The Bestiary had a record of them, but other than a general introduction of their origins and their capabilities. There was nothing else.
Stephanie sent a death glare at the deford man as she flapped her wings and floated into the air. Resentnt-filled Nether Qi gathered around her body and a tornado made out of Nether Qi soon ford in front of Stephanie.
The sharp winds of the tornado quickly colored the deford man's expression green.
He gnashed his teeth in anger and shouted, "Stephanie! Don't you dare force !"
The deford man glanced nervously at the four won.
Upon seeing that the candles on the four won's heads had already stuck to the crown of their heads as if it had been welded with the wax from the candlesa smile erged from the deford man's lips. The ceremony was already in its later parts.
He predicted that if he was able to endure for another half an hour, then the fusion would definitely succeed.
Unfortunately, the later parts of the ceremony might be harder to interrupt, but successfully interrupting the ceremony ant dealing a devastating blow against the Sinister Heart and its vessel.
Since the Sinister Heart was made from the blood, hatred, fury, and resentnt of the sacrifices that it had consud. It ant that at its core, the Sinister Heart wasn't really that sinister considering the fact that its sacrifices were innocent people.
In short, there was a certain amount of rejection that was bound to co at the later parts of the ritual. The deford man considered that rejection as the most crucial stage that the four won had to endure.
They must never stop their prayer chants at that stage, or else everything would be for naught.
Even if the deford man managed to forcefully fuse the Sinister Heart into its vessel.
It wouldn't be as strong when compared to if he had organically fused it into its vessel.
This was why the deford man roared angrily at Stephanie.
"Stephanie! Stop whatever you are doing right now, and I will listen to whatever you want to say! Whatever you want to do to , I'll do it. But you must disperse that tornado, now!"
The deford man was now agitated. His eyes went bloodshot when he saw the four won suffering under the wrath of the piercing winds.
In fact, one of the four won was already on the verge of collapse.
It wouldn't be a problem if she collapsed in the middle of the most crucial stage, since it was a risk that the deford man had expected.
Furthermore, the chant for the corresponding technique was no longer required in that stage.
But before the ceremony reached that part, the deford man had to protect these four won at all costs.
The deford man gnashed his teeth.
Using the abilities granted to him by 'Her Majesty' ant that he must disperse the Veil of Slaughter around them and around the village. But if he did that, then the unique fluctuations of the Sinister Heart would definitely not go undetected in the eyes of the church.
The mont he removed the veil that surrounded the village was the start of a countdown.
A countdown of two hours.
It was because he estimated that it would take at least two hours for the punitive forces of the church to arrive at the scene.
Two hours might not be that long, but it was good enough for the deford man.
If the deford man's enemy was only Stephanie, then he would've removed the veil already.
However, Calvin was still out there with Heisenberg and Ricardo.
Those three might not be able to kill him, but they could surely interrupt the ritual.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" The deford man violently cursed. Left without a choice, his eyes went bloodshot as he spread his arms wide and summoned the countless locusts, wasps, and mosquitos that ford the Veil of Slaughter to his side.
The sight of thousands of pests forming a cloud hovering over the village was a spectacular sight indeed, but it only sent shivers down the spine of those looking at it.
Including Calvin.
But after the initial shock, a smirk appeared on his face.
With the disappearance of the veilthere was no stopping Calvin as he imdiately activated the Emperor's Veil and summoned his golden quill.
"Aspect Transformation."
"Slingshot!"
A golden slingshot manifested in his hands as Calvin randomly took a rock off the ground and fed it to the slingshot.
Swoosh!
A rock instantly crossed the distance of about twenty ters between Calvin and the deford man.
Puchi!
The rock buried itself into the deford man's forehead as the latter turned to look in Calvin's direction in rage.
"How dare you... How dare you insult ?!"
Sum Jing-Woo roared in anger and a cloud of pests flew towards Calvin at breakneck speeds.
"Oh, why are you screaming at like that? Do you feel insulted that I used a rock against you? What? Was it actually painful? Or did I only hurt your ego?" Calvin lightly chuckled.
He turned around and ran in the opposite direction before he scaled a nearby rooftop, narrowly avoiding the cloud of pests.
'Wheeew, that was dangerous.' Calvin comnted to himself.
His golden quill shone in a brilliant light once more as it changed its shape.
From a Slingshot, it transford into a fire thrower that Calvin imdiately used to burn the cloud of pests into ashes.
The sll of burned rotting flesh wafted into the air.
"Ugh... that's actually really disgusting. As expected of Pisti, she sure does stink like she hadn't taken a bath since the beginning of the world." Calvin cheekily whispered.
The Goddess of Pestilence and Famine might be able to hear his words at this mont, but Calvin didn't really care if she got mad.
In fact, if she really got angry and sent an avatar to kill him, then it would be for the best.
After all, Calvin doubted that Grace wouldn't assist him if Pisti went over the line and sent an avatar down the material plane to kill him.
The cloud of pests had burned into ashes and Calvin felt a sense of vertigo assaulting his senses.
'Damn, using my Mana wantonly like this isn't really optimal...'
The foundation of Calvin's Aspect Transformation relied on the art of Mana Manipulation.
Aspect Transformation basically used Mana to instantly mold the shape of one's Aspect according to one's designs. This, in itself, wasn't that exhausting. But Calvin had not only simulated a fire thrower from Earth, but he also made it spew fire.
Turning intangible to tangible was a signature move of those at the Second Ascension Stage.
Calvin was still a Diary-Keeper and this was his class's First Ascension Stage.
If he was already a Scribe, then making that fire thrower spit real fire wouldn't be that taxing.
But since Calvin was still incredibly weak, he had no other choice but to endure the dizziness that tried to overco his senses.
Steadying himself, he glanced at the fierce battle up ahead.
When the deford man sent the cloud of pests after him, he had ignored Calvin's presence and devoted all of his attention to stopping Stephanie's tornado.
But little did the deford man knew that he had just done a huge mistake.
It was because Calvin in his Emperor's Veil was invisible to the eyes of the four won
A smirk appeared on Calvin's face as he crept up to one of the four won.
With a will, a weapon materialized in his hands.
The Soul Reaper!
The jade-colored sickle seed to shimr in a mysterious light amidst the moonless night.
As Calvin walked closer to one of the four won, he set his sights on the candles on the four won's heads. He knew that those candles were keys to the success of the ceremony.
Stopping the ceremony ant destroying those candles.
"All right..."
Calvin took a stance with the Soul Reaper before he sent it flying to one of the candles.
The candles above the four won signified their presence in the ceremony. In a way, it represented their very being.
As the Soul Reaper cut through the air, the deford man finally noticed the disturbance as he turned around and scread.
"NOOO! Get down!"
His urgent scream was so loud that the four won jolted awake from their trance.
Visible confusion was on their faces as the woman who was the target of the deford man's scream trembled in fear.
'Did I do sothing wrong?'
'Wait, Sum Jing said get down...'
The woman furrowed her eyebrows as she continued to chant. But just as she was about to understand what the deford man ant by his words.
Her eyes suddenly went blank.
Her body stiffened as she abruptly collapsed onto the floor.
"NOOOOOOOO!" The deford man roared towards the skies.
The remaining three won stared at him in shock.
"You..."
The deford man said to Calvin in a hoarse voice.
"I will destroy you!"
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