Chapter 69: Purification (Requesting Monthly Votes)

Seeing that Ryan Cos not only didn’t flee but stood at the tower entrance with the “Dawn Sword,” the woman in the gray-white long dress immediately felt a bad omen.

She swiftly reversed the massive scissors, clamping them around her own neck and giving a light slash.

Bright red blood gushed out, and with a shrill cry, it flowed rapidly in all directions—up, down, left, right—covering her entire body as if alive.

It was as if the woman had donned a suit of blood-colored full-body armor.

As she did this, Ryan Cos knelt on one knee, gripping the “Dawn Sword” with both hands backward.

With a wet thud, he plunged the double-handed sword of condensed light into the stone floor before him.

The giant sword immediately shattered, dissolving into countless specks of dawn-like light.

They were countless, densely packed, forming a shimmering, furious hurricane that surged forward.

Where the storm of light passed, the stone floor was shaved thin, stairs flattened or cracked in exaggerated splits, and the woman had no time to dodge—she was utterly engulfed.

Her blood-colored armor held for one second, then shattered completely, dissolving into the light.

This time, having left the special environment of the third floor and entered a place alive with vitality, she could no longer use those pale, translucent faces to shift positions; she could only watch helplessly as fine crimson cracks appeared one after another on her body.

The cracks widened rapidly, transforming in an instant into grotesque wounds that sliced through the woman.

Amid her screams echoing through the air, her body split into chunks, and even those chunks and her spirit continued to be ravaged by the storm of light until the hurricane subsided—her flesh reduced to finer fragments, her spirit vanished entirely.

Although Ryan Cos strained to contain the “Storm of Light” from affecting other directions, his full-power attack still fell short, damaging the side walls and the stairs behind; had Lu Mi, Lyra, and Valentine followed his instructions and prepared cover beforehand, they would have suffered injuries of varying degrees.

“Wah!” “Wah!” “Wah!”

The bird-clawed children clinging to the walls screamed in terror.

This made Lu Mi’s and the others’ ears ring as if assaulted by a sonic blast.

“Go!” Ryan Cos turned his body and slammed into the nearest wall, the most severely damaged.

Crash! The wall shattered, and large chunks of stone tumbled downward.

A large enough opening appeared, allowing humans to crawl through.

When Valentine and Lu Mi arrived, Ryan Cos grabbed one of them by each shoulder and leapt straight from over ten meters high toward a tree outside the castle.

Thud! Mid-air, he kicked the tree, shifting his fall from vertical to a diagonal flight, landing far from the castle.

Lyra jumped on her own, using protrusions along the castle’s outer wall to descend swiftly layer by layer, reaching the ground in one or two breaths.

As the tree shook violently, Ryan Cos, Lu Mi, and Valentine waited a few seconds for Lyra, then joined her and sprinted toward the rear of the hill, escaping the same way they came before the other servants could catch up.

…………

Less than a minute later, beside the shattered hole at the tower entrance.

Madame Pualis, in her loose gray-blue long dress, stood expressionless, surveying the surroundings.

The children clinging to the walls cried out frantically, “Mama!” accusing the intruders of brutality and savagery.

Madame Pualis said nothing, her face as still as water.

…………

Inside the woods beside Cordu Village.

Lu Mi and the others stopped, turning back to gaze at the castle.

Lyra was about to speak when she suddenly frowned.

“I heard a baby crying—very close!” she turned to Ryan Cos and the others, “Did you hear it too?”

Lu Mi was startled and listened intently.

Faintly, he heard the wailing of a baby, but not as near as Lyra described—it seemed distant.

“I heard a little,” Ryan Cos admitted honestly.

Valentine’s expression changed instantly as if he’d just realized something.

Almost simultaneously, Lyra’s face twisted in pain; one hand instinctively pressed against her lower abdomen—there, a clear swelling and pulsing.

Valentine hurried over and placed a hand on Lyra’s head.

Then, in a low voice, he uttered a word from Ancient Hermes she had just learned:

“Sun!”

Drops of golden, semi-transparent liquid materialized out of thin air and rained down upon Lyra.

Immediately, phantom black smoke rose from her skin, her expression alternating between distortion and normalcy.

Finally, her lower abdomen returned to its original state, ceasing its movement.

“Phew…” Lyra exhaled, “Almost became a cheap mother to a monster—thankfully we acted in time; it hadn’t rooted yet.”

She smiled, showing no fear or unease despite having just endured something so strange and terrifying.

After her sigh, Lyra turned to Lu Mi, Ryan Cos, and Valentine:

“Would you like to be purified with holy water too? I’m afraid you might unknowingly become mothers.”

“Yes!” Lu Mi answered without hesitation.

But Valentine didn’t move toward him; instead, he went to Ryan Cos’s side and placed his hand on his head.

“Sun!”

Again, the same Ancient Hermes word, again, drops of golden liquid coalesced.

As the holy water fell, Ryan Cos showed no abnormality.

Valentine then purified himself—no phantom black smoke emerged.

After tending to his companions, he stepped to Lu Mi’s side and pressed his hand against the “Hunter’s” skull.

“Sun!”

As the Ancient Hermes word echoed and the semi-transparent drops fell, Lu Mi suddenly felt pain.

The pain came from his heart—as if a snake were wriggling inside, trying to escape.

Each twist sent his heartbeat speeding up or stalling, excruciatingly unbearable.

The next instant, he faintly heard again that mysterious voice—seemingly from infinite distance, yet right beside him.

Fortunately, it wasn’t as clear as in his dreams; it didn’t push Lu Mi into near-death.

Just as Lu Mi was about to collapse, Valentine stopped the purification and nodded coldly:

“You’re fine too.”

Phew… Lu Mi exhaled quietly, feeling as if he’d danced on the edge of death and been pulled back.

At that moment, he understood what had just happened:

According to that mysterious woman’s words, he was a person heavily corrupted by a hidden dark god, kept normal only by the timely sealing of that great being.

For someone like him, holy water purification was like a demon’s corpse embracing holy light—it would inevitably cause problems.

In short, he himself was a pollutant of the dark god that needed purification.

Thank goodness, thank goodness—if Valentine had persisted a moment longer or applied more force, even with the great being’s seal, I would have revealed my abnormality… I can never accept purification again, nor seek exorcism—I am the evil that must be exorcised… Lu Mi felt immense relief, hiding the lingering pain from his face.

Seeing his companions had all been purified and their risks eliminated, Ryan Cos immediately said:

“Let’s go now to the edge of the village—the place that triggers the loop.”

“If Madame Pualis finds clues and chases us, and we can’t fight, we’ll try to escape and restart the loop.”

Seeing Valentine clearly confused, Ryan Cos added:

“I’m worried that if we die once inside the loop, problems might arise after it’s broken—so for now, we should avoid death if possible.”

“Agreed,” Lyra answered before Valentine could launch into one of his fervent speeches.

Seeing both companions had reached the same decision, Valentine could only nod.

At that moment, Lu Mi glanced at them and waved his hand:

“You go ahead—I’m going home!”

“Aren’t you worried Madame Pualis will come after you?” Ryan Cos frowned in confusion.

Lu Mi smiled:

“I’m not like you—I entered the tower and kept avoiding the monster children’s sight; they never saw me. The midwife who saw me was completely destroyed by you, even her spirit can’t communicate—how could Madame Pualis suspect that such a sophisticated infiltration team includes someone as ordinary as me?”

“Think about it—before you came to Cordu, no one ever tried to sneak into the castle. The moment you arrived, something happened—whose fault would you suspect if not yours?”

“If I run with you, I’ll be dragged down with you!”

Ryan Cos, Lyra, and Valentine fell silent.

This kid had planned the whole operation—why, at the end, did it seem like he had nothing to do with it?

Had they just taken on all the blame?

“Goodbye! If Madame Pualis dares not confront you official Exemplars and the loop doesn’t restart, we’ll meet again at the Old Tavern tomorrow!” Lu Mi waved as he ran toward the forest’s edge, warning them, “Take care, my cabbages!”

Stepping out of the forest, Lu Mi’s expression turned grim.

His reason for not fleeing with Ryan Cos and the others wasn’t just what he’d said—it was mostly an excuse.

His real goal was to return home immediately and reunite with Aurora.

As soon as Aurora invited Madame Pualis for afternoon tea, someone sneaked into the castle—it was an obvious suspect.

Lu Mi had to warn his sister: if Madame Pualis came to interrogate or eliminate her, don’t resist—betray the three outsiders immediately, accept Madame Pualis’s imprisonment, and use valuable secrets to bait her for a while, preventing her from killing on the spot.

As long as you live, there’s hope!

Even within the loop, never die lightly—lest something terrible happen after it’s broken!

And if Madame Pualis catches up to Lyra and the others—if she wins, one of Ryan Cos’s group will trigger the loop and “erase” memories; if she loses, what’s there to worry about?

Thud-thud-thud, Lu Mi forced himself forward despite the pain in his calf, sprinting through the village streets back to his home.

Seeing Aurora waiting at the door, alive and well, he finally exhaled in relief.

“Are you okay?”

“Are you okay?”

The brother and sister asked each other at the same time.

PS: Requesting monthly tickets~

(End of chapter)