Chapter 595: An Offering of Apology
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 595: An Offering of Apology
"I finally... caught you."
Threads of rain mingled with the water streaming down, soaking his robes.
The petite little girl lay quietly on the ground, looking like a discarded cloth doll.
Muen gazed at that pale little face. The madness at the corners of his mouth faded, replaced by a return to calm.
But within this deathly silence, accompanied by the grinding of a majestic sun wheel, pitch-black flames silently surged.
They rose from Muen’s pupils.
And they rose from the pale eyes of the little girl staring back at him.
"Wu..."
The little girl finally seemed to realize her situation. She began to struggle violently, the stitch marks across her body snapping and tearing as if she intended to disintegrate and flee just as she had last time.
But this time, Muen would not let her have her way. The pitch-black flames spread around them like a net. For a technique as incomprehensible as hers, it wasn't difficult to crack as long as one was prepared.
Most importantly, this time, Muen held the girl’s head in a death grip.
Sizzle.
The faint sound of flickering flames echoed, but it did not come from this rainy night. Instead... it came from atop that fragile, tender soul.
"Wu... ah..."
Her cries grew sharper and more agonized. At times she wept; at others, she bared her teeth at Muen like an abandoned puppy or let out terrified whimpers.
She looked utterly pitiful, enough to move anyone to compassion.
But the hand Muen had clamped around her neck did not loosen in the slightest. While letting her endure the pain of a burning soul, he forcibly overtaxed his mental strength to control several other strands of black flame. Bit by bit, they slithered into the stitched cracks of her body... burrowing into her flesh.
It was as if he intended to incinerate her completely, from the inside out.
"Ah... gu-gu... gu... ah..."
The girl’s struggles grew more frantic, even spasmodic. Her limbs flailed like those of a puppet with severed strings, and tears of blood streamed from the corners of her eyes.
"Stop!!!"
Finally, thunderous lightning carrying a terrifying killing intent roared toward them, sweeping across from the other side of the city in an instant.
The Indra King, having rushed over upon hearing the cries, saw the little girl being gradually consumed by black flames. The corners of his eyes cracked with rage. He threw a punch from a distance.
A mountain-toppling force descended from the sky. The earth split apart toward Muen like a magnitude-ten earthquake. Before the destruction even reached him, several city blocks had already been ground into flat land.
Fortunately, this was the Upper District, and the population was not as dense as the Lower District. Otherwise, this single strike would have caused hundreds, if not thousands, of casualties.
"Hey, hey. Slipping away in the middle of a fight isn't what a real man does."
Another Adolf stepped out from beside Muen, his hand forming a strange mudra.
Countless points of starlight rose, connecting to one another to construct a magnificent star chart.
The star chart was brilliant, radiating endless ethereal light.
The force that had been shattering the earth vanished into the star chart, causing only a few ripples in that radiant river of stars. Adolf pressed his hand against the star chart and flew forward, taking the initiative to meet the Indra King.
"Get... lost!"
Seeing that one punch had failed, the Indra King raised his hand and threw another.
The Ninefold Black Ring rotated around his crown as countless eerie runes flickered, coiling around his fist. The Indra King descended like a demon god. At this moment, he ignored all technique, smashing his fist directly into the star chart.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
The sound of countless bubbles bursting echoed. It was as if myriad stars within the star chart were being ground into dust. Adolf’s face turned deathly pale almost instantly.
The star chart was on the verge of shattering. Adolf was heartbroken at the loss, but he didn't even have the chance to curse, for the Indra King closed the distance and threw yet another punch.
Dark clouds loomed; the rain poured.
Lightning that illuminated the entire world descended from the heavens, caught in the Indra King’s fist as he smashed it toward Adolf.
"God says: the insincere shall not worship."
In Adolf’s moment of crisis, a holy light suddenly descended, neutralizing the lightning. An invisible boundary pushed the Indra King and Adolf apart. Archbishop Canterbury arrived swiftly, chanting a divine edict that caused the punch to strike empty air.
Even so, the sleeve on one of Adolf’s arms was shredded to pieces, and his hand trembled uncontrollably.
"You're a lifesaver..."
Adolf rubbed his arm, grimacing in pain. "Dammit, we're both Crown Bearers. Why is he so much more of a monster?"
"Because he has cultivated bitterly for a hundred years, and his worn-out straw sandals could be piled into a mountain," Canterbury replied. "Whereas you have spent most of your life's 'training' grinding that thing of yours against women."
"...That’s why I hate these stubborn brutes!" Adolf’s expression stiffened as he squeezed out the retort.
"Don't let your guard down. It's not over yet."
Archbishop Canterbury floated beside Adolf, the two facing the enemy side-by-side. In another direction, Professor Prang had produced an alchemical puppet patterned with colorful strawberries from somewhere. Relying on the puppet and his own magic, he was actually managing to temporarily stall the other two.
The situation had turned into a one-versus-two and a two-versus-one.
"You people..."
The Indra King temporarily halted his assault, standing still.
He looked at the two men blocking his path, yet his clouded pupils did not reflect their figures.
The world was dim, the cold rain swaying.
Only those whimpering cries of pain lingered in his ears, hooking into his soul. Only that petite figure pinned to the ground, being gradually consumed, could manifest in his vision, shaking the resolve of a man who had spent his entire life in bitter cultivation.
"I told you... all of you... GET... OUT OF MY WAY!!!"
The Indra King’s face twisted into a hideous mask as he slammed his palms together.
The Ninefold Black Ring suddenly contracted, merging into that brilliant crown. The eerie patterns on the Indra King’s steel-like muscles began to writhe and flow as if they were alive, making him look truly as terrifying as a demon.
As Archbishop Canterbury and Adolf stood ready for a life-and-death struggle, his aura surged step by step, reaching a peak he had never before attained!
"Die!"
The Indra King swung his fist once more.
"God says: this place shall be a sanctuary!"
Holy voices echoed as the Sacred Domain Projection descended once again.
But before the Goddess’s majesty could even manifest, the flawless, immaculate holy land was instantly torn asunder by a crimson astral wind generated by the punch!
"What?"
Canterbury’s expression changed as well. He hadn't expected the Indra King to be this terrifying. He only had time to erupt light from his Authority Ring to protect himself.
On the other side, Adolf’s expression was uncharacteristically solemn. He pulled a card from his breast pocket and slowly turned it toward the Indra King.
The card was... blank.
It had no numbers and no suit. When the blank face of the card pointed at the Indra King, the world fell silent in an instant. Everything above and below turned white. The Indra King floated aimlessly, as if trapped within a mirror.
"Sigh, to think I’d have to use this. I’m really losing my shirt on this job."
Adolf pinched the card between two fingers and pulled it into his palm.
The card was no longer blank; it now bore the lifelike sketch of an enraged old man.
"According to my calculations, this should trap him for five minutes. In the meantime, dealing with those other two should be enough—"
Crack.
Adolf’s expression froze.
Crack. Crack.
He stiffly lowered his head, looking at the trembling surface of the card.
As the cracks multiplied, the old man on the card grew even more furious, to the point where his rage seemed to turn physical, threatening to burst into flames.
"No way..."
Logically, it was a five-minute restraint... but it couldn't even hold for five seconds?
Just as the thought crossed his mind, the card shattered completely. A blazing, destructive light erupted from the void, pulverizing the strange poker card along with Adolf.
Another Adolf appeared in the distance, coughing up blood in a disheveled state.
But the Indra King, who was now also covered in blood, did not press his advantage. In his eyes, there was only one place...
The rain continued to fall.
Muen was still pinning the little girl down, sending the eerie black flames that consumed all into her soul and flesh, completely ignoring his surroundings.
The girl’s cries were growing faint.
Watching this, a surging fury instantly swallowed the Indra King’s heart. At this moment, not even a single thread of rain dared to stand before the old man.
The light of the world dimmed.
Only the roar of the heavens collapsing remained.
The ground was instantly torn apart, and a rift appeared in the clouds above. The Indra King blurred into an ink-like afterimage, aiming at Muen as he swung that unstoppable...
Suddenly.
On the ground.
In the pool of blood.
At that very moment.
That tiny, pale, powerless little hand... gave a soft, slight twitch.
Like a person in a long coma finally waking up, five small fingers slowly contracted and stretched, finally moving fully.
And then, just like that, the hand rose with difficulty through its trembling weakness. The fingers spread, pointing toward the Indra King.
【Don't.】
The Indra King’s movement came to a dead stop.
The heavy rain fell, soaking the Indra King’s hunched frame.
The punch that no one could stop had been halted before it was even thrown.
He lowered his head blankly, looking at the little girl.
No words were spoken, yet the meaning expressed by that raised little hand was so incredibly clear.
The Indra King snapped out of his daze, only then realizing that what flowed from the corners of the girl’s eyes was no longer tears of blood... but crystal-clear, warm tears.
"Heh... so what if it's the desire of the Source Blood?"
Muen’s expression was currently no better than the Indra King’s had been. The veins on his forehead pulsed, blood trickled from his nose, and his face was as white as paper.
He stared into the girl’s eyes and smiled.
"Who do you think you're facing?"
The black flames flickered, weaving through the girl’s soul and body.
And within Muen’s consciousness space, that pitch-black sun wheel was slowly turning like a giant eye, looking down coldly at the churning desire within the girl’s body.
The desire came from the Source Blood, possessing a terrifying power that could cause countless people to undergo beastification and go mad.
However, what operated within the Sacred Crown Black Sun was divinity born from the fusion of several evil gods. Though it had not yet fully matured, it was genuine... divinity.
Before divinity, so-called "desire" was nothing more than a slightly prickly... snack.
...
The Indra King remained silent for a moment, then suddenly turned and flew off.
"Indra King, you've come at the perfect time!"
Gui Xueji and Herman, who were locked in a fierce battle with Professor Prang, were overjoyed to see the Indra King approaching. They thought he had defeated the other two in a one-versus-two fight.
"Quickly, this old thing is almost out of strength, you—"
However...
Pfft.
The crimson light in Gui Xueji’s eye sockets flickered. She lowered her head with great difficulty, looking in disbelief at the arm piercing through her abdomen.
"Wh... why? This isn't what we agreed on..."
Foul-smelling blood splattered. Before Gui Xueji could even counterattack, she was torn apart by the Indra King.
On the other side, seeing the Indra King suddenly turn on his own allies, Herman’s face paled. He no longer dared to tangle with Professor Prang and turned to flee.
However...
Herman, who was already at the end of his natural life, was no match for the Indra King.
Thus, under the bewildered gazes of Adolf, Professor Prang, and Archbishop Canterbury, the Indra King carried the heads of Gui Xueji and Herman and walked to Muen’s side.
"This is an offering of apology."
The Indra King lowered his head, his eyes fixed intently on Muen.
"I beg you... heal her."