“What have you done to me??” Mirexia lay on the ground, gasping for breath, but still managed to coldly interrogate.
“Hehe, we did nothing. This is simply the consequence of you defying our master, the World Purifier, Erunes!” The purple-robed man raised the magic stone in his hand.
“Because of your stubbornness, our master has revoked your right to use the [Dragon’s Eye] and the blood of dragons. Once you attempt to use [Soul Armament] or [Divine Blessings], you will feel weak and your limbs will go limp.”
“How could this be??” Mirexia clenched her fist. She didn’t believe that Erunes, who was in a different plane, had the ability to revoke her Soul Armaments and Divine Blessings.
The abilities of the Bronze Blood were nothing more than poisoning. These treacherous individuals must have done something to her.
However, Mirexia couldn’t figure out when they had poisoned her. Besides, she had never experienced poisoning before and didn’t think she would ever have the chance to.
The blood of dragons made her immune to almost all toxins, and alchemical potions rarely had any effect on her.
Who would have thought that one day she would actually be poisoned??
When did they poison her? They didn’t have any opportunity to do so, did they?
“How did you poison me??”
“My princess, you might want to think about what you’re saying. Our master is Erunes, the great Alchemy God! In the face of our master’s supreme alchemical power, you are merely more resistant to poison than ordinary mortals, far from being completely immune.” The purple-robed man shrugged, then stepped on Mirexia’s hand as she tried to grasp her sword hilt.
“Ugh!”
“Stop struggling, my princess. This is [Dragonfall Poison], colorless and odorless. Once consumed, as long as I activate the magic stone, the alchemical power of our master, Erunes, can penetrate the barrier of Terraria Continent and take effect on you, rendering you unable to use the [Dragon’s Eye] and [Wrathful Golden Dragon Blessing].”
Consumed??
Wait, when did she consume such a potion?? She had no memory of it.
“You all, exactly...” Mirexia watched helplessly as the black-robed men approached her, while she didn’t even have the strength to stand up.
“Now, do you still think you can resist the great World Purifier? Princess of Camella?”
“Well, it’s time to offer you to our master. Don’t worry, after our master thoroughly purges the sins from your body, you will awaken completely and devote yourself to our master.” The purple-robed man chuckled.
—
“Hmm??” Vinny, lying on a tree, suddenly lifted his head and looked around.
He had been sleeping when he suddenly shuddered, almost falling off the tree.
What was going on? What had just happened? Why had he shuddered so suddenly? Was something big about to happen, triggering his danger radar??
But what could possibly happen? Vinny remembered clearly that in the original story, this mid-term monster extermination had gone smoothly, with no unexpected incidents or major events.
Well, it was probably just his imagination.
So, Vinny lay back down as if nothing had happened, only to be met with a sharp flick on his forehead.
“Ouch!”
“Brat, everyone’s busy, and you’re just lying here relaxing on a tree??”
Vinny looked up and saw it was Franklin, so he jumped down from the tree.
“Teacher, don’t misunderstand. I just thought this tree was shaped perfectly, like a bed, even more convenient than a hammock. It’s rare to find such a tree, so I thought I’d take a nap. Isn’t it a waste not to?”
“Stop with the excuses, kid. Everyone else is either setting up tents or gathering firewood, and here you are, lounging around. Doesn’t seem right, does it?” Seeing Vinny get down, Franklin leisurely lay down on the tree himself.
“Uh...” Vinny pouted. He wanted to say that Franklin wasn’t doing anything either, but he held his tongue.
“‘Uh’ what? If you have nothing to do, go find something to do. Are you here on a picnic?” Franklin rested his head on his hands, chewing on a blade of grass.
Seeing Franklin take over his tree-bed, Vinny was furious but didn’t dare to speak up.
“What else is there to do? Everything that needs to be done is already being done.”
“Who told you that everything’s being done? The area around the camp isn’t confirmed to be safe yet. There might still be monsters around. As the leader of this team, how can you just laze around? Take your token and go patrol.” With that, Franklin waved Vinny away, clearly eager to get rid of him.
“Got it.” Vinny pursed his lips and left, carrying his spear.
This guy really doesn’t act like a teacher at all.
Vinny complained in his heart.
He walked around the perimeter of the camp with [Frostfang], strolling as if on a casual walk.
This was the very edge of Reiswyn, where the pollution zone was shallow, and most of the nearby monsters had already been cleared. It was unlikely that any more monsters would appear.
Vinny’s mood was relaxed because, in his memory, this mid-term monster extermination in the original story had gone off without a hitch.
Although the current situation had deviated significantly from the original plot, since nothing had happened in the original story, it was impossible for something to just appear out of thin air, right?
Vinny strolled leisurely, enjoying the scenery, even though there wasn’t much to see in this demon pillar-polluted land. The soil itself had an unnatural dark hue.
At a glance, there were no monsters in sight, everything was clean. But he still had to put on the act of patrolling.
Surely nothing would happen. If something were to happen, it would be to Aesphyra, the protagonist with the uncanny ability to attract trouble wherever he went. It certainly wouldn’t be Vinny, an NPC who was completely irrelevant to the main plot.
He was now far away from Aesphyra, that jinx.
“Sniff, sniff...” As he walked, Vinny suddenly caught a whiff of an unusual scent.
“What a strange smell, what is it?” Vinny pinched his nose. The smell was hard to describe. It wasn’t exactly foul, but it made him feel extremely nauseous, as if every pore in his body was rejecting it.
It was as if something existed that made him feel utterly uncomfortable and sick just by its presence.
Weird, what was going on? What was wrong with him??
Vinny frowned.
The smell constantly ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) irritated his nerves, making his scalp tingle.
No, calling it a smell wasn’t quite accurate. It was more like a sensory perception, closer to an instinctive feeling.
Was this the scent of some monster?
His intuition told him it wasn’t the scent of any monster. He wanted to ignore it, but the echoes and instincts from his bloodline urged him not to let it go.
This was too strange. What was going on? Should he go back and get Franklin to take a look?
That guy might be unreliable, but he was still a teacher at Carillian Academy.
Just as Vinny hesitated, he felt the smell gradually fading, as if the sensation it had brought him was just a fleeting moment, gone in an instant.
No, if he didn’t follow this scent now, it would be too late once it disappeared.
Vinny’s intuition told him that this stimulation from his bloodline was no small matter and couldn’t be ignored. Otherwise, he would surely regret it.
He had to hurry. The scent was so strong that even Franklin, that bastard, should be able to detect it, right?
Thus, Vinny followed the repulsive scent.
—
“Indeed, even without [Soul Armament] and [Divine Blessings], we still can’t underestimate you, princess.” The purple-robed man chuckled coldly as he watched Mirexia, who had taken advantage of their carelessness, wield her greatsword with a few flourishes to push them back and then move to a distance far from them to resist.
“Bronze Blood, you have quite the audacity. Do you think this is your territory, where you can do as you please?” Mirexia gasped weakly, her cold tone laced with exhaustion.
“Sorry, princess, but this is indeed our territory.” The purple-robed man chuckled.
“I suggest you start thinking about how you’ll explain your crimes to the teachers group and the church knights later.” Mirexia took out a token and crushed it.
The token released a stream of light that exploded in the air, creating a dazzling firework.
“Otherwise, you won’t even have a chance to escape.”
“Pfft, hahaha...” The purple-robed man burst into laughter, and the other black-robed men joined in.
Mirexia frowned. Were these [Bronze Blood] members not afraid of the teachers from Carillian Academy and the church clergy stationed nearby??
“Princess Mirexia, you are too naive. Think about it, since our master has sent us to invite you as a guest, do you think we wouldn’t have considered such a simple problem??”
“The foolish and unteachable remnants of the empire from Carillian Academy won’t come. They won’t receive your signal.”
“As for the church knights and clergy? Hehe...” The purple-robed man let out a few ambiguous chuckles.
“Oh? Are you sure? The annual monster extermination in Reiswyn is led by the Church of Radiance. This place is filled with Church of Radiance clergy and patrolling [Holy Radiance Cross Knights], even several Archbishops have come to keep a strict watch. You’ve set up so many traps and ambushes here, prepared so much, and lurked for so long. Do you think the Church of Radiance clergy and knights wouldn’t notice??”
This was one of Mirexia’s sources of confidence. The monster extermination was organized by the Church of Radiance. Reiswyn was filled with patrolling battle priests and nuns, and even many [Holy Radiance Cross Knights].
Hearing the name of the Church of Radiance, how could any demon pillar believers dare to cause trouble here??
“The Church of Radiance? Hehe, haha.” The purple-robed man laughed with confidence. “To be honest, we don’t take the Church of Radiance seriously at all.”
“Also, take a good look around you. Is this still the Reiswyn you know? Is this still the Terraria Continent you’re familiar with??”
Mirexia suddenly realized something and looked around. The sky had turned blood red, and the dark red soil seemed stained with dried blood. She was in a dilapidated courtyard, with thick thorns covering the black iron fence and a white, crumbling bell tower.
This place resembled a ruined temple, but there were no temples in Reiswyn??
In Mirexia’s memory, various nations had built their fortresses in Reiswyn, and the Church of Radiance was no exception, but there were no churches or temples.
Moreover, the colors of the sky and the earth were eerily crimson, as if they could drip blood at any moment.
Finally realizing that her location had been altered without her noticing, Mirexia’s pupils contracted.
The style of this ruined temple was strangely familiar. Only when Mirexia saw the half-standing statue in front of the temple did she recognize that this temple was none other than the standard layout and style of the Church of Radiance.
However, all the buildings were in a state of desecration. The crumbling bell tower, the ruined hall, the half-standing statue of the goddess, the upper half of which had fallen to the ground, its wings and body entangled with thorns. Even the white stone used to construct it appeared dull and faded. The courtyard was overgrown with weeds, and dark thorns had spread beyond the walls.
“Is this... [Another Plane]??”
“Princess Mirexia, you are indeed clever. Yes, from the moment you stepped here, you entered the ‘birdcage’ we prepared for you.”
“[Another Plane] creation, by you??”
“No, no, this is not an [Another Plane] created by us. This is the original plane of our master, Erunes.” The purple-robed man took out a bottle of blood-red potion.
“Princess Mirexia, do you know what this is?”
“This is the reward our master gave after sacrificing over a thousand people, [Blood of Erunes], the authority of our master, Erunes. It can purify any land tainted by the demon pillar’s magic into our master’s original plane.”
“To obtain something so vile, you sacrificed a thousand people?... A group of heinous beasts.” Mirexia stared at the purple-robed man, enunciating each word.
“In other words, you are now under the watchful gaze of the great Erunes.” The purple-robed man spoke passionately. “Praise the boundless authority of our master!”
“Now do you understand? No one will come to save you, little princess. You are at the end of your rope.”
“Those who oppose our master will pay a heavy price for their past disrespect!”
The black-robed men threw fire potions at Mirexia’s feet. Mirexia mustered all her strength, her greatsword cutting through the air, slicing the potions apart. The explosions sent flames soaring, blocking the view of all the black-robed men.
The black-robed men were stunned. They hadn’t expected Mirexia to be so ruthless as to use her weapon to slash the fire potions.
The flames engulfed the girl’s figure. In an instant, a golden flash emerged from the flames.
“To kill you, I don’t need Soul Armament or Divine Blessings.”
Mirexia, enduring the burns from the flames, swung her sword and sent three black-robed men flying. She then kicked another black-robed man to the ground, stepping on his chest and raising her greatsword.
“May the Alchemy God, Erunes, bless me!” The black-robed man suddenly shouted madly, then quickly drank a bottle of gray-black potion.
Indeed, as a member of the [Bronze Blood], his potion-drinking speed was impressive. Just as Mirexia’s sword was about to strike, he finished drinking.
“Crack!” A crisp sound rang out. Mirexia felt her greatsword didn’t easily pierce through the villain’s chest. Instead, it felt like she had struck something hard, making it difficult for her sword to penetrate further.
Mirexia knew the destructive power of her sword well, so she was shocked by this feedback.
“Ahhh!” The man beneath her feet grew black, keratinous skin. These hardened layers formed rough, tough keratinous armor, making it impossible for her sword to penetrate further.
Moreover, there was another bad news. Her sword had struck just before the cultist transformed into a monster, causing her sword to get stuck in the monster’s skin, making it impossible to retrieve.
“Oooh ahhh!” During the transformation, the cultist screamed as if his personality was fighting with another emerging personality for control of the body.
“Oh, so beautiful, so wonderful!” The purple-robed man and the other black-robed men were entranced.
“Yes, this is the moment, when one offers their soul and everything to our master, dedicating everything to the purification of the world. This moment is truly beautiful!”
“Praise the boundless divine power and wisdom of our master!”
Seeing that she couldn’t pull out her sword, Mirexia had to retreat.
The black keratin covered the cultist’s entire body, erasing any trace of his humanity. His face had no features, only densely packed red compound eyes.
His feet turned into four spider-like keratinous limbs, and his chest bore a giant face filled with pain and distortion.
The monster, about two meters tall, stood up. Its large mouth, filled with sharp teeth, dripped green saliva, and it made inhuman noises.
“You all are truly a group of insane pests that are both terrifying and disgusting.” Mirexia’s calm, lifeless eyes watched the cultist transform from a human into a monster.
They had created an alchemical potion that turned humans into monsters, yet they still believed it was the sublimation of the soul and the evolution of the body.