Chapter 18: It Burns

Randy's smile froze. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Wu Chang, his originally pale-blue pupils instantly turning a deep, abyssal black.

Whoosh— Every oil lamp in the hall went out at once. Dark clouds gathered swiftly above the sanatorium, and everything plunged into darkness.

"Crack!"

Accompanied by the burst of sparks, the oil lamps reignited, the yellow lamplight replaced by crimson blood-flame.

Bathed in the red glow, Wu Chang saw that the zombies slain in the hall, and Wolf killed by the demon-breaking crossbow bolt, had all now taken a posture of prostration and worship.

They were arranged in concentric rings, layer upon layer, surrounding Randy and him at the center.

The death of the many and the life of Randy formed a painting of stark contrast.

The faithful offered up everything, only to welcome the rebirth of their lord.

Randy, like a child who had found a new toy, asked curiously, "How did you figure it out?"

Wu Chang rubbed his chin, paused for two seconds as if recalling, then answered, "From the very beginning."

"Oh?" Randy grew interested. "Tell me in detail."

"The first discord came from the Tranquil Church in town." Wu Chang began slowly.

"They had the power to control White Stone Town, the power to control every townsfolk, the power to infiltrate the Moonlight Sanatorium and plant eyes around Director Randy—yet they never made a move against him personally."

"Randy may be a fierce fighter, but he never awakened his family's bloodline talent, and he's been plagued by delusional disorder. There are far too many ways to take him out."

"So the Tranquil Church deliberately left Randy alive, to monitor him, to control him—or even to pen him up like livestock."

Randy said noncommittally, "Continue."

Wu Chang walked up to Wolf, pulled the demon-breaking crossbow bolt slick with resentment from the back of Wolf's head, wiped it clean with his clothes, tucked it into his chest, and went on:

"The people of the Tranquil Church have been waiting for an opportunity, waiting for someone to come along and push Randy to full maturity. And I just happened to be the one they were waiting for."

"Someone tipped me off: to pick out a worthy chess piece, you need an excellent screening mechanism. The flashy, high-profile Jindon was the perfect prop for that screening. Take out Jindon, and under that invisible guidance, following the vine you naturally find your way to Wolf."

"Then I heard a bowdlerized version of the story, and went off to awaken the bloodline heir of the legendary hero—Director Randy."

"Just because you suspected, you didn't awaken Randy?" Black-eyed Randy spoke of Randy in the tone one uses to describe someone else.

Wu Chang: "Human cognition is one of the sources from which the occult exists. That's the First Law of the Occult, as summed up by the Arcane Knights. Old Anderson would rather let his heirs become ordinary people and squander the family fortune than let them learn the occult. There must be a special reason."

"The evil god Leiman's vindictiveness and nasty tastes are legendary, so I figured—maybe letting Randy know everything would actually help the evil god resurrect."

Randy raised an eyebrow. "To be able to sum that up, mortals are cleverer than I imagined."

"So I turned the tables, tried to make Randy think it was all hallucination, to deal with Wolf using just his talent. Unfortunately, I still miscalculated." At this, Wu Chang clicked his tongue.

"Let me think—where did it go wrong? It must have been when Randy used the golden crossbow. Old Anderson may have sealed his heirs' talent, but he would certainly have left a contingency, so his heirs wouldn't be helpless when facing danger. The golden crossbow that symbolizes the Anderson family probably has some kind of power sealed within it."

"The moment Randy used the golden crossbow, it would trigger his awakening to occult talent. The trigger for the awakening, I guessed, was Wolf's bewitchment of Randy when he burst from his cocoon."

*Clap clap clap. *

Randy applauded, praising, "Magnificent. Worthy of the envoy chosen by the King—truly meticulous."

Wu Chang frowned, puzzled. "You think I'm the envoy?"

"Aren't you?" Randy was caught off guard by the question.

Wu Chang glanced at the hall strewn with corpses, and his heart skipped a beat. Damn—

Zhu Li's every move had perfectly overlapped with Wolf's, making him think Zhu Li was also one of the Tranquil Church's people, so before making his move he had deliberately not called her.

But now it seemed Zhu Li and Leiman weren't in the same group—he seemed to have screwed over his own teammate. Hopefully she was okay.

After a brief two seconds of guilt, he quickly adjusted his mindset.

It's all Leiman's damn fault.

Just you wait—I'll avenge Zhu Li! Leiman, feeling the hostility Wu Chang had conjured out of thin air, slowly produced a question mark.

Wu Chang opened the golden pocket watch again, glanced at the time, and said softly, "It's about time."

"About time for what?"

"Exorcism time."

Wu Chang pinned the Arcane Badge to his chest, gave the badge a swipe with his thumb, and the dingy emblem, rusted through centuries of burial, blazed with dazzling radiance.

A formless power rose from underground, enveloping the entire Moonlight Sanatorium.

He activated the purifying force within the exorcism array.

Unlike the array's power Randy had unconsciously triggered, the fully activated exorcism array was more than ten times stronger in both pressure and ability.

Randy, possessed by Leiman, let out a muffled grunt, and a pure-white flame ignited above his head.

The flame seared Randy's soul, and seared the Leiman within Randy's body. The fire burned fiercer and fiercer, and in the blink of an eye had spread across half his body.

The spirit wracked by raging flames twisted Randy's face into an expression of agony, but the Leiman sharing the same body appeared perfectly at ease. He let out a long sigh, the kind one makes when first slipping into a hot spring, and drawled, "A little trinket made by human mages—you think you can kill me with this? All this does is speed up the death of the original soul in this body, and help me take over this body faster."

Wu Chang did not panic at Leiman's composure. He said unhurriedly, "Don't rush. This is only the beginning. When one of you—either you or Randy—is burned to ash by the flame, the Purifying Flame will swell dozens of times over, its power surpassing the limits of a spirit-body, and burn reality itself."

"So what? Once you've burned out the original soul and let me be reborn completely, I only need an instant to snuff out this little flame—I won't let it damage my new body."

"I don't mean burning your body. I mean—when Randy's soul is on the verge of collapse, the Purifying Flame will become very painful." Wu Chang corrected.

Another question mark floated up over Leiman's head. Was this human's brain broken? Leiman didn't understand what Wu Chang meant, but he would soon feel it firsthand.

The white flame quickly spread across Randy's whole body, indicating Randy's soul was nearly gone—only a few embers remained.

The flame suddenly surged, the outer blaze standing four stories tall, shooting through the breach in the roof of the sanatorium.

Once the last ember of Randy's soul went out, the white flame would burn his flesh.

But that very last ember, as if it had a cheat-mode lock on its health, refused to go out no matter what.

Feeling the searing pain, Leiman lost his earlier composure and demanded furiously, "What did you do?"

Wu Chang looked at the golden pocket watch and said, "Didn't you ask me earlier why I kept checking the time? I can tell you now—I was waiting for the drug to take effect. You've been keeping me company chatting this whole time—what were you waiting for?"

Leiman: "I—"

"Wait, time's limited. Let me add some fuel first—we'll talk while the cremation's happening."

Wu Chang raised a hand to cut Leiman off, placed the King's Badge on the other side of his chest, and activated the linked special skill between the King's Badge and the Arcane Badge.

"Special Skill: Final Purification." (King's Badge unlocked)

"Skill Description: By burning the entire formation, unleash power that surpasses the formation's limits."

With a boom, the white flames became a sea of fire, setting the entire Moonlight Sanatorium ablaze.

"Lord Lehmann, do you feel it burning?"

(End of chapter)