Chapter 774: Curse

The courage to fight against heaven and earth, to raise a sword against true gods, flooded Lumi'an's entire body; he straightened his back instantly, gazing steadfastly and fearlessly at the ruined palace complex within the Pale Realm.

At that moment, his eyelids involuntarily drooped, covering his eyes.

Almost simultaneously, the voice of the "Knight of Swords" echoed again in his ears:

"The target is Oseto's child, not the corpse of the Ancient God."

This was preventing Lumi'an from gazing directly at the corpse of the Ancient Death God across the Pale wasteland.

"There's nothing to fear!" Lumi'an responded swiftly.

His voice, once leaving his mouth, was also "infected" by the Pale that ruled this realm, growing faint, hollow, and devoid of emotional tone.

The "Knight of Swords" earnestly advised:

"But this will hinder our battle with Oseto's child—we must resolve it quickly."

"Once this goal is achieved, you may do whatever you wish."

Lumi'an fell silent for a second, then said:

"Alright."

In truth, as an undead being wearing the Golden Mask of the Egges family, he felt a bloodline-originated terror and helpless reverence toward the corpse of the Primordial Phoenix on the roof of the Death God's palace—this fear had not been dispelled by courage; on the contrary, it had weakened courage considerably, creating a balance.

Had it not been for this, Lumi'an wielding the "Sword of Courage" would never have been so reasonable!

Lumi'an immediately ignited blazing white flames, transforming them into a bright, spear-like lance, hurling it toward the still-intact buildings at the edge of the palace complex.

As the flame-lance pierced the sky, it was rapidly eroded by the Pale, fading and dimming faster and faster, causing Lumi'an to travel only half the intended distance.

Finally, the Pale fire extinguished; Lumi'an materialized midair and plummeted straight to the ground.

His feet landed firmly on the wasteland, producing only a faint snap—the surrounding silence was absolute.

The blazing white, magnificent flame-lance rose again.

After repeating this five times, Lumi'an finally reached a tall tower adorned with numerous golden patterns, standing atop it, the silhouette of Oseto's monstrous child growing sharply clear in his eyes.

Though the opponent showed no signs of the incomplete mythic creature form it might possess, merely seeing its twisted human limbs, its head fused from several infant skulls, and its half-Pale, half-brownish-feathered wings extending from its back caused Lumi'an to dizzy, accompanied by convulsive pain.

Moreover, something within his body seemed to be calling, slowly gathering toward his abdomen.

That was Eumibela's bloodline!

Lumi'an did not feel fear because of this.

Wasn't this inevitable?

The next instant, two figures appeared before his eyes.

One wore a black Gothic court gown, a matching small soft hat, and a pale gold chignon; the other had messy hair, a white shirt paired with the most traditional black vest.

Sharon, the Half-God of Temperance, and Marich, a member of Temperance and holder of the Minor Arcana card "Knight of Swords" from the Tarot Society!

As they neared the primary target, they finally detached from Lumi'an's body, preparing for battle.

Of course, the colors on Sharon and Marich originated from impressions left by Lumi'an earlier; they had not truly manifested, and now both appeared pale and dim.

Moreover, their bodies were in a transparent, illusory "vengeful spirit" state.

Had they not been so, they would have died instantly, becoming mindless true undead.

The Oseto child, circling near the abdomen of the Ancient Death God's corpse, also sensed Lumi'an's approach; it turned half its body, over two to three thousand meters away, fixing its twelve clustered eyes upon them.

Lumi'an immediately felt his spirit and consciousness, protected by the Egges family's Golden Mask, along with the life force hidden deep within them, beginning to unravel.

In his eyes, Sharon, the Half-God of Temperance, used the mirror-like surface of pure gold to flicker twice between the crumbling palaces and towers, arriving only three or four hundred meters from the Primordial Phoenix's corpse.

She opened her mouth toward Oseto's child and emitted a piercing scream.

This was the first time Lumi'an heard Sharon's voice.

After being eroded by the Pale over two thousand meters, the sound reached Lumi'an's ears as only a faint whisper, like an illusion.

Oseto's child did not think so; its half-Pale, half-brownish feathers rapidly fell off, its clustered eyes burst one after another, and its exposed flesh rotted away, revealing bone beneath.

It seemed to have been struck by a powerful curse!

Seeing this, Lumi'an, unafraid, transformed again into a flame-lance and hurled himself at the monster; the "Knight of Swords" flashed forward across various reflective surfaces.

Oseto's child let out a wail.

Though distant and eroded by the thick Pale within the Death God's palace, the scream reached Lumi'an's ears as faint as a whisper, yet still made him momentarily dazed; a stench of rotting blood surged into his nostrils, forcing him involuntarily out of his flame-lance state.

With that howl, Oseto's monstrous child became a writhing, twisted, colossal Pale bud; its burst eyes, rotted flesh, and shed feathers were all sucked into the bud.

In an instant, the bud, dripping wet, bloomed open, giving birth to two children.

One was black and dark red, swollen and rotting, quickly ceasing its struggles, turning Pale, and falling toward the ground; the other was a fully formed, enormous bird-clawed infant.

Through this method, Oseto's monstrous child shed its curse and gained rebirth.

But Sharon's figure seized the opportunity, appearing within its twelve clustered eyes.

Oseto's monstrous child froze midair, its back mere dozens of meters from the roof of the Death God's main palace, where the Primordial Phoenix's corpse lay.

Within those twelve luminous, beautiful eyes, Sharon's silhouette, wearing the small soft hat, flickered faintly, then was suddenly illuminated by blazing white fire.

A magnificent flame-lance shot forth with extreme flamboyance, striking a nearby half-collapsed ancient tower.

As the fire faded, Lumi'an appeared, one hand gripping the "Sword of Courage."

He did not hesitate, nor did he fear; he endured the dizziness and convulsive pain in his head, turning his eyes iron-black.

The iron-black hue had barely appeared before being eroded by the Pale, no longer discordant with this realm.

This did not hinder Lumi'an from observing the target's weakness—but the problem was, every color he saw was Pale.

Lumi'an could only rely on the "Hunter's" acute sense for weaknesses, selecting from among those Pale hues the one that looked most pleasing and stirred his battle fervor most.

He transformed once more into a gradually Pale and dimming flame-lance, flying above Oseto's monstrous child.

His figure materialized, both hands gripping the "Sword of Courage," its blade blazing with white-and-blue flame, plummeting like a boulder toward the monster's body.

As the two drew near, Lumi'an slashed downward with his large straight sword, now stained Pale, aiming for the bird-clawed infant's abdomen.

He used his own "Reaping."

Before this, the "Knight of Swords," Marich, who had appeared atop the half-collapsed tower, slipped on a ring carved in the shape of the Sun God's bird.

In his hand, a clear, luminous spear of pure sunlight rapidly coalesced.

This caused the nearby Pale to recede slightly, shadows to vanish, and the "vengeful spirit" form of the "Knight of Swords" to slowly melt inch by inch, dripping faint, dim droplets like a candle placed in a fire.

Those droplets evaporated swiftly, leaving only a trace of dust, drifting slowly away.

Enduring the melting of his right side, the "Knight of Swords," Marich, his expression twisted and frenzied, hurled the sunlight spear toward Oseto's monstrous child.

Knowing Oseto was a Witch-King of the "Moon" Path, Temperance had prepared a "Sun" Path seal item in advance—unexpectedly, it proved useful now!

This seal item, in both effect and nature, inflicted severe damage upon "vengeful spirits."

The clear, blazing flame-lance became an anomaly in this Pale world.

It too was being eroded, but it was also dispelling the Pale, appearing capable of piercing the target's body before Lumi'an's "Sword of Courage" struck.

Though Oseto's monstrous child was possessed and forcibly controlled by the Half-God of Temperance, Sharon, it was not entirely turned into a statue, helpless and passive.

It struggled against the "vengeful spirit" influence, slowly retracting its "reborn" body as if returning to an embryonic state, seeking its mother's embrace, while simultaneously unfolding its "Otherworld."

The Pale wasteland swiftly engulfed the surrounding ruined palaces and half-collapsed towers, also drawing into its influence the few corpses of the Death God's followers slain in this area.

In deathly silence, a terrifying giant serpent—its body reduced to white bone and scraps of rotting flesh, adorned with exaggerated wings—shot from the collapsed palace into midair, blocking the sunlight spear.

Blinding sunlight erupted, filling Lumi'an's vision.

His motion of slashing with the "Sword of Courage" did not slow; he struck down with unwavering resolve.

The sunlight blackened his Pale, dim skin, raising scorching smoke.

A faint "clang" rang out as Lumi'an's "Sword of Courage" struck the serpent's head, cleaving the target—already weakened by the sunlight's full force—into fragments.

With barely perceptible sound, the serpent's bones either evaporated or shattered, losing all support, raining down like raindrops to the ground.

Having used the bone serpent to block the blow, the Oseto monster, controlled by Sharon, retracted even further.

Its half-Pale, half-brownish wings and twisted limbs had fused into its body, forming a sphere; only its head, fused from several infant skulls, remained exposed.

Its "Otherworld" now encompassed the entire Death God's main palace and the Primordial Phoenix's corpse.

(End of Chapter)