Chapter 539: Melee

Kelei En, sprinting down the street with Miou Jierxi Aisi, was also divided by a chessboard made of silvery white filaments.

He looked around bewildered, lifted the dark copper lantern in his hand with Miou Jierxi Aisi, and tried to warp the surrounding space to free himself from the strange effect.

In the dim lantern, the amber flame flickered a few times then steadied, and the surroundings remained unchanged.

"It won't work; this must be a powerful seal object controlled by the Storm Church, and its effect somewhat suppresses the Black Emperor path."

After muttering to himself, Kelei En walked at a steady pace into a nearby shadow, with Miou Jierxi Aisi following; the lantern's amber glow quickly illuminated the shadow.

This miraculous item is too conspicuous; with Jierxi Aisi I can't hide at all. After a moment's hesitation, Kelei En decided to abandon any plan to conceal himself.

As long as the two miraculous items carried by Miou Jierxi Aisi retain their spirit and I don't directly encounter a demigod, my safety can still be assured.

While he was conflicted, a squad of Punisher agents suddenly appeared in the segmented chessboard space, along with several bewildered eyes. They wore only a simple inner garment of an Extraordinary; two of them were completely naked, embracing each other as if they had just been sleeping in a warm blanket the previous second. They were all nearby Extraordinary who had just been affected by the Storm Church's seal object.

The audience's gaze instinctively fixed on the two naked individuals; feeling the surrounding stares, the two, still dazed, locked eyes with the crowd for a moment before hurriedly covering their private parts.

Everyone is an adult, and it's late at night, so Kelei En could be understood nodding inwardly while averting his gaze.

Wait, there's no Red Theater nearby, and since they entered while hugging, they aren't companions heading to a Red Theater but rather a bedmate on a ship with pirates and sailors having a wild time!

The other Extraordinary caught up and the Storm Church's Punisher squad also seemed to consider the issue, redirecting their previously averted gazes back.

Unable to bear being examined with mocking, curious stares, the stronger of the two naked men—a man in his thirties—glared angrily at the crowd and shouted, "What are you looking at? Never seen a man as strong as me before?"

His dark green hair hung like seaweed, his wheat-colored skin tinged with red, and his muscles, tightened by anger and shame, resembled a beast ready to strike.

When angry, his physical strength seemed to increase—a possible 'Raging Folk' of the Sailor Path? Kelaen examined him uncertainly.

Beside the middle‑aged man, a noticeably younger man shifted, blocking Kelei En's view and glared at him.

Uh, did he misunderstand me? Should I explain I'm not interested in his bedmate? Never mind, that might look more provocative. With that thought wavering, Kelei En turned his gaze toward the Punisher squad across the street.

If possible, he wasn't eager to clash with the Storm Church's Punishers; the alias GerMan·Sparro being wanted didn't matter, but revealing his true identity would be trouble.

In his view, the leading Punisher far away produced a deep‑black, heart‑shaped object, and a bagpipe‑like sound rang out.

The sound carried a tranquil, serene tone, echoing in his ears; Kelei En instantly felt his emotions grow indifferent, his whole being drifting toward a desire‑free calm.

Before anyone could fully react, a layer of serene darkness descended, within which pure light flickered like stars strewn across the night sky.

Kelei En was momentarily spaced out, but quickly regained awareness, watching the unchanged street while consciously realizing he was dreaming.

Fortunately he could stay lucid in the dream; otherwise, upon waking he might already be in the Sea Wave Cathedral's basement. A thought flickered, he snapped his fingers, his clothes ignited instantly, and flames engulfed his body.

Elsewhere, unable to hide in the spirit realm, Lei Ni Te·Ti Ni Ke Er and Jie Ke Si darted through the lightning storm, chasing each other.

Miss Messenger's elaborate black court gown bore many tears; the four heads she carried vanished, and as she spread her hands upward, layer upon layer of heavy ice crystals materialized around her, repeatedly shattered and reformed by lightning.

Above her, four blond, red‑eyed heads clamped onto Jie Ke Si's limbs, imprisoning him like a human shield against the relentless falling lightning.

The Prophet's avatar and the Singer of God, Ai Si·Si Nei Ke, in the chessboard space, were battered by howling winds that whirled, rubbing the air with explosive sounds like air cannons capable of capsizing ships.

The avatar's eyes glowed with a pale blue light, reflecting a symbol composed of countless illusory gates.

In the space now lit only by silver‑white lightning, a reflected river of stars seemed to shimmer; the avatar's figure repeatedly 'flashed' through this stellar river, effortlessly evading each descending silver bolt and air cannon.

"Hmph!" Ai Si·Si Nei Ke snorted coldly; the howling wind eased slightly, and a sudden downpour began, the swirling gusts rolling on, obscuring vision while conducting electricity.

The rain gathered under the gale, swelling into wobbling water spheres, with silver‑white lightning darting among them.

On the compressed front‑line of my survival space, the Storm Path's Disaster High Priest dwarfed the Prophet, leaving me to rely on keen intuition to anticipate and dodge his attacks. The avatar glanced toward Ai Si·Si Nei Ke's direction, then 'flashed' away again.

The moment his form vanished, a thick silver bolt struck his former spot, splattering mud and stone; fragmented silver electric snakes slithered outward along the rain.

Boom! Boom! The lightning striking from the sky grew faster and denser, the tiny silver electric snakes nearly covering the entire ground.

These arcs carried a strong paralyzing effect; during each 'flash', the avatar's body inevitably absorbed some current, making it increasingly heavy.

In the gale and rain, a deep, weighty song echoed in his ears, striking the soul; each beat seemed to pound the heart. Boom! Boom! Boom! His heart raced unnaturally, blood surged wildly, and his brain swayed from over‑circulation.

The avatar's pale‑blue glow grew uneven, his head grew heavy, his body numbed by the rain‑mixed current, and his 'flashing' frequency dwindled.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Thin, razor‑sharp wind blades sliced the air, firing from various directions toward the avatar's location.

After completing a 'flash' and evading several wind blades, his body was instantly pierced by a teal‑tinged wind blade.

The moment the blade pierced him, his body thinned and became brittle, finally turning into a crudely cut pale‑yellow paper figure.

The paper avatar was shredded by the relentless wind blades into tiny scraps, which fell to the ground mixed with rain.

After employing the 'Paper Avatar', the Prophet's avatar seemed to vanish, not reappearing nearby.

In midair, the wind‑borne Ai Si·Si Nei Ke paused, then raised his right hand, pressing the eye symbol on his palm to his forehead.

The next instant, a hint of meaningful pale‑purple flashed in his electric‑tinged azure eyes, deepening his gaze with extraordinary penetration.

His eyes briefly became full 'Seeker Eyes', allowing him to perceive unseen things and notice overlooked details.

In this state, he saw the Prophet's avatar hidden in the rain‑formed mirror, its smiling mouth whispering something to him.

"I know the Seeker better than you do, and understand the Seeker's Eye more."

As the avatar silently uttered words, his eyes suddenly deepened, the speckling pale‑blue glow tinged violet, like a vast, profound galaxy.

It seemed his eyes reflected another pair—cold, detached, eyelash‑less eyes filled with countless brilliant stars.

Ai Si·Si Nei Ke's intuition faltered; he instinctively wanted to close his eyes, but the Seeker's Eye's peculiarity already showed him the avatar's intended display.

Through successive layers, he gazed upon the 'Hidden Sage', and in that instant endless knowledge and madness flooded his mind.

The downpour, gale, and lightning froze for a second, then erupted into chaos and madness.

Ai Si·Si Nei Ke's body plummeted uncontrolled from midair; the black glove on his hand twisted into an eye radiating malice and madness, spreading over his body.

Under the black robe embroidered with storm symbols, transparent viscous liquid mixed with rain dripped; between his fingers grew webbing like that of amphibians, the phantom scales beneath his skin became evident, breaking through the epidermis, and his whole body began mutating toward a marine creature.

He clutched his head in pain with both hands, rolling on the ground as cracks opened in his scales, from which eyes sprouted.

Within a hundred meters, the puddles on the ground rippled with a deep blue sheen, forming an illusory 'gate'; the Prophet walked calmly out of the mirrored world behind the 'gate'.

His eyes' radiance reflected a scale‑like symbol, and his voice, full of authority, intoned: "Storm is forbidden here!"

"Lightning is forbidden here!"

As the binding spell solidified, the surrounding howling wind eased to a mere rustle of clothing; the heavy storm clouds, once crackling with errant lightning, were swept away by the wind and vanished quickly.

The Prophet's avatar calmly watched the suffering, rolling Ai Si·Si Nei Ke, the Singer of God, on the ground, a strand of light flickering in his eyes like lightning from deep consciousness.

「Spirit Pierce! 」

His spirit rapidly condensed, like an invisible blade, piercing Aisi·Sineke's spirit body, directly attacking his 「spirit body」.

Aisi·Sineke, writhing in pain on the ground, suddenly came to a halt, his mouth wide open, yet unable to make a sound, as scarlet blood gushed from his mouth, nose, and ears.

Striped and slick tentacles protruded from beneath the black robe embroidered with storm symbols, swaying on the ground covered with a layer of rainwater.

Although his simulated 「Spirit Pierce」 could not reach the original level, it still exceeded the strength of Sequence Five; Aisi·Sineke, whose condition had severely deteriorated from gazing upon the 「Hidden Sage」, at this moment stepped onto the brink of uncontrollable madness.

Glancing at Aisi·Sineke, the Prophet's avatar looked toward the distant Sea Wave Church while retreating two steps.

He did not intend to kill a Storm Church saint now, for that would provoke a fiercer reaction from the Storm Church, even drawing divine punishment from the Storm Lord himself.

(End of Chapter)