Chapter 32: Mutation

The blood-splattered fabric, jars, eggs, and other items, and the strong, fishy smell permeating his nostrils didn't cause the slightest change in the expression of the parish priest Guillaume Bery. He turned his body and looked toward a certain place in the church, his blue eyes reflecting Lu Mi's figure running wildly.

The parish priest's pupil color then turned light, blurring until it seemed transparent.

In his eyes, one after another mercury-colored complex symbols appeared around Lu Mi. They were like small rivers winding around themselves, and Lu Mi himself was running in an illusory river formed by these symbols, shimmering with faint waves, with more blurred tributaries ahead.

Guillaume Bery reached out his right hand, grabbing at a mercury-colored symbol around the target from the air.

Lu Mi stepped forcefully with his right foot, preparing to throw his body toward the stained glass in front, crashing directly out of the church.

Just then, his foot slipped, and he couldn't exert full force.

His body flew up in a wretched posture.

Amidst the sounds of "bang," "whoosh," and "crack," Lu Mi crashed into the stained glass depicting Saint Siss, but couldn't penetrate it, stopping inside the church.

Multiple cuts caused by the glass shards appeared on his body, and bright red blood overflowed rapidly.

At this time, the shepherd Pierre Bery, who had chopped off Ava's head with an axe, locked onto Lu Mi.

He still had a gentle smile on his face, but his blue eyes were filled with ferocity, as if he had untied some seal in his body at some unknown time, revealing his true self that had been hidden.

Pierre Bery dragged the axe and strode toward Lu Mi.

With every step he took, his body seemed to become taller and stronger, even though he was actually the same, but he had the temperament of a giant.

Lu Mi was facing away from this cruel shepherd, leaning against the broken stained glass window.

He had just struggled free from the pain of falling heavily and being stabbed, and was about to support himself with both hands to forcibly roll out of the church when he suddenly felt an abnormally dangerous sensation.

Someone behind me... Lu Mi's thought flashed. He continued to press against the window frame full of broken glass, ignoring the stinging pain of the wounds and the blood flowing out, and made a gesture to roll out.

This action was just a feint. He quickly retracted his body, not advancing but retreating, and fell backward.

Bang!

An axe smashed into the window frame that only had glass shards left in a sweeping posture, splitting it away from the wall and flying out of the church.

And Lu Mi rolled backward, narrowly crossing past Pierre Bery's feet, dodging this incomparably violent blow.

He didn't feel any celebration or joy about this, because he had been completely forced back into the church, and the fastest escape route was completely blocked by the shepherd Pierre Bery, who had undergone an obvious mutation.

Although Lu Mi had read many novels, he didn't hold the naive idea that he wouldn't be hit as long as he kept rolling. As soon as he brushed past Pierre Bery, he supported himself with his elbow, used his waist, and sprang up.

He scanned his surroundings and found that apart from Little Guillaume and a few others, the remaining young people seemed to have been affected by something, all losing their sanity and becoming lunatics.

They ignored Ava's headless corpse and the blood sprayed all around, shouting excitedly:

"Send the 'Spring Elf' away!"

"Send the 'Spring Elf' away!"

"..."

Little Guillaume and the few others were also completely stunned. They stood there, looking at Ava's wide-open, slightly smiling eyes, motionless.

Their faces were full of fear, confusion, and disbelief, as if they were in a nightmare they couldn't escape.

And Pierre Bery was clearly still as tall as before, but gave Lu Mi the illusion that he wasn't much shorter than the dome.

This shepherd missed his blow, quickly pulled back the axe, turned his body, and slashed at Lu Mi not far away. Lu Mi hadn't stood firm yet, but had already run forward, successfully dodging this blow.

Scram, scram, scram!

Lu Mi fully utilized the speed and agility of a Hunter and ran wildly in an arc.

Target: Parish Priest!

His experience told him that in such times, one must catch the leader among the enemies. No matter how others deal with you, just hit him, showing a fierce attitude of either letting me go or the two of us dying together.

Only in this way can one create a miracle in a very unfavorable situation.

The shepherd Pierre Bery didn't chase Lu Mi. Holding the blood-stained axe, he stood in front of the wall that had lost its window frame and reached out his left hand toward the target's figure.

The entire church suddenly became dim, and the area around Lu Mi became even more so, a piece of deep darkness.

This deep darkness seemed to have its own vitality, shaking gently.

It seemed to be just a curtain, with one after another pale, pitch-black, strange arms hidden behind it, about to grab out.

And in the eyes of the parish priest Guillaume Bery, which had faded to near transparency, Lu Mi's figure was still submerged in the illusory river formed by mercury-colored complex symbols, shimmering with faint waves, while ahead were similar, but more illusory, tributaries that seemed to symbolize future events.

Guillaume Bery's right hand, after a period of attempts, finally grasped the key pattern composed of multiple symbols.

As long as he reversed it, all of Lu Mi's efforts would be rendered invalid, and the future fate would inevitably be rewritten.

Suddenly, the parish priest's gaze froze.

"Ah!!!!"

He shouted loudly, his two eyes tightly closed, shedding bright red blood and turbid tears.

Amidst the echoing screams, Guillaume Bery's body expanded, as if someone had poured a large amount of gas into him.

Rip!

His white long robe with gold threads couldn't bear it and burst open rapidly.

His skin had stretched to near transparency, and the eerie symbols that had been covered by clothing were revealed.

They were one after another black things similar to seal marks. They were connected to an indescribable world, bringing an extremely terrifying aura.

This aura instantly filled the church. Those young people who were still seeing off the "Spring Elf" fell into a state of incomparable fear. Some ran around the offerings, some knelt on the ground, and some crawled on the ground, not daring to raise their heads.

Little Guillaume and the few others who were already scared silly fainted directly, their lower bodies wet, and a foul smell spread.

The shepherd Pierre Bery was about to perform a secret technique to grab Lu Mi, but at this time, he also dropped the axe, knelt on one knee, lowered his head, and didn't make any more movements.

Inside the entire church, the only one who was fine was Lu Mi.

He was actually affected too, his head stinging abnormally, but compared to the mysterious voice that could make him enter a near-death state directly, this aura was still quite far behind.

In addition, he felt a burning sensation on his chest, suspecting that the black thorn chain symbol had protruded, perhaps plus the blue-black symbol suspected to be an eye and a worm.

Lu Mi couldn't care about checking his physical state or understanding why he had suddenly occupied the advantage, and continued to run toward the parish priest Guillaume Bery.

As long as an opportunity appeared, he couldn't let it go!

As the distance got closer, he saw those seal-like black marks clearly:

They seemed to be composed of unique text and strange symbols.

In the rapid scanning of his gaze, Lu Mi discovered something familiar.

On the chest of the parish priest Guillaume Bery, the black symbol like a thorn chain drilled out from the inside and wrapped toward his back!

This was exactly the same as the one on Lu Mi's chest, just much fainter.

"He has it too?"

Lu Mi's heart shook.

"Is this the root of the anomalies in the village?"

"Why do I have it, and when did I get it?"

"..."

One after another, thoughts floated rapidly in Lu Mi's mind, but they didn't affect his actions.

He ran in front of Guillaume Bery, stretched out his right arm, and wrapped it around the enemy's head.

Immediately after, he didn't stop and moved forcefully behind the parish priest.

With a "crack," Guillaume Bery's head "turned" in a direction, facing his own spine.

Whoosh... Seeing this, Lu Mi breathed a sigh of relief quietly.

The biggest trouble was solved. He had to hurry home, escape with his sister, and leave the rest to those three outsiders!

Just at this moment, Guillaume Bery, who should have died, opened his eyes.

His pupils were a sea of blood.

Buzz!

Lu Mi's head felt as if it had been split in two by an axe, and the intense pain made him unable to even scream.

Everything he saw instantly shattered, becoming incomparably dark.

He lost consciousness.

Pain!

Very painful!

Lu Mi sat up abruptly, opened his eyes, and rubbed his head.

He then saw the wooden table by the window, the chair placed at an angle, and the wardrobe and small bookshelf on both sides.

He was very familiar with all of this.

This was his bedroom.

"Was I saved by my sister? How long have I been unconscious? How is the situation in the church?" Lu Mi couldn't care about thinking more. Remembering what had happened, he immediately rolled out of bed, covered his head, and rushed out.

Soon, he found Aurora in the kitchen on the first floor.

Aurora was wearing a light blue long skirt, seriously preparing dinner.

"Aurora! Sister, hurry and escape!" Lu Mi shouted loudly, "The parish priest and many people in the village have gone crazy. They killed Ava at the end of the celebration!"

He wasn't sure if his sister knew exactly what had happened. After all, there were many ways to save someone, which didn't mean she had to be at the scene. So, he simply stated the key point to avoid delay.

Aurora turned around and asked with a look of confusion:

"Celebration?"

"The Lenten festival celebration?"

"Yes." Lu Mi nodded forcefully.

Aurora laughed:

"The story you just made up is really good. In just two sentences, you outlined a weird event, making people feel scared involuntarily."

"But next time you make up a story, please do some research. The Lenten festival is still several days away."

"..." Lu Mi was stunned.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 33 =====