Chapter 412: Chapter 348: Rune [1]
The lingering, scorching heat made pieces of wood crackle and pop.
Faint cries of agony could be heard in the distance.
The air was thick with the acrid stench of burning.
Looking down from high above,
one would see that the entire massive city had been reduced to ruins.
A massive, charred handprint was seared into the landscape.
Xi Zhongsi lay right in the very center of this handprint.
’So close... I was so close...’
With his one remaining eye, he stared up at the desolate, gray sky.
More precisely, he was staring at the spot where the giant face had vanished.
His gaze was filled with venom.
A moment ago.
In that instant.
’If it hadn’t been for the last wisp of my Lord’s Divine Power protecting me, coupled with some kind of protective measure that seemed to have been placed on this body...’
’...I would already be dead.’
And yet, he had still been caught in those bizarre golden flames.
As it was,
the body he had so recently possessed was now ninety percent covered in burns, and some parts of his tissue had even carbonized.
Those flames seemed capable of burning away his very Life Force and soul.
If this mortal vessel were to die and his soul were touched by those flames, what awaited him was true annihilation of both body and soul.
Although he had been lucky enough to survive,
he was now on the brink of death, plunged into a state of unprecedented weakness.
He had considered that his opponent wouldn’t give up.
But he had never, ever imagined that this person could actually break through the restrictions of a world of this level to attack him.
’For me, Xi Zhongsi, one of the four Archangels under the White King, to fall to such a state...’
’This is an absolute disgrace.’
’Fortunately, although recovery will be troublesome, it’s not impossible. All is not lost. And this body’s status is quite high... perhaps I can...’
A series of thoughts flashed through Xi Zhongsi’s mind.
Just then,
TAP... TAP...
the sound of footsteps approached from the side.
Realizing this,
his heart leaped in alarm.
However, between the recent possession and the grievous injuries his body and soul had suffered, he was completely immobile. Even his senses had grown incredibly faint.
He could only observe with his eyes.
He swiveled his only mobile eyeball toward the source of the sound.
Faintly,
he could make out the newcomer—a blurry, dark-skinned figure.
However, from his vantage point,
he couldn’t see the figure’s face clearly, only make out that it was a man.
"Your Highness Gewel, are you alright?"
The voice then rang out beside him.
It was the voice of a young man, speaking in a peculiar language native to this world.
Hearing this,
Xi Zhongsi let out a small sigh of relief.
’It seems this person must be an attendant or subordinate to this body’s former owner.’
He tried to say something,
but he found his vocal cords were destroyed; he could only manage a faint, rasping hiss. "Hhhh... hhhh..."
"Your Highness, don’t move. Let me help you..."
The voice was low, seemingly laced with a hidden meaning.
As he spoke, the footsteps drew closer.
Suddenly,
THUNK!
A black shadow flashed past like a phantom.
Immediately after,
the sound of a sharp blade sinking into flesh echoed, shockingly abrupt and jarring in the quiet ruins.
Xi Zhongsi’s one remaining eye bulged from its socket, the fine blood vessels on its surface looking as if they would burst.
His body went rigid in an instant, like a stiff marionette.
"Hhhh..."
A faint sound escaped his throat.
Blood from his forehead trickled into his eye.
The world before him was slowly stained crimson, his vision blurring.
Just as his consciousness began to fade, a face appeared before his eyes.
It was an utterly ordinary face—thick eyebrows, large eyes, nothing special at all.
Yet, the eyes on this face were now icy and indifferent, looking down on him from above.
The man held a black Dagger tightly in his hand, its entire blade buried in Xi Zhongsi’s forehead.
Only then did a calm voice drift over, unhurried and slow.
"So, you really were at your limit..."
Hearing this, Xi Zhongsi’s body began to tremble violently.
"Hngh..."
The next second,
a cruel smirk touched the dark-skinned Young Man’s lips as he gripped the Dagger and gave it a vicious twist.
Xi Zhongsi’s body convulsed twice, then fell completely still.
At the same time,
a nearly transparent Light of the Soul detached from the corpse, trying to flee.
The Young Man, however,
seemed to have been prepared for this.
From out of nowhere, a Damaged Black Banner appeared in his hand.
The moment it appeared,
he gave it a gentle shake.
The Light of the Soul, which had been about to escape, was dragged directly into the Damaged Black Banner.
With that done, the Young Man stood up and prepared to leave.
But he had barely taken two steps.
The next second—
WHOOSH!
An explosive sound of tearing air rang out.
Less than a meter in front of the Young Man,
the ground was instantly ripped open, leaving a trench several meters long with charred earth curling at its edges.
"I’ll ask you this: have you seen His Highness Gewel?"
Suddenly,
a voice rang out from the side.
At the same time, a powerful presence locked onto him.
The Young Man stood his ground and turned around.
There, off to the side, a tall figure had appeared at some unknown moment.
It was a woman in a black combat suit.
The woman was bald, with a scorpion-like tattoo on her head.
Her body was powerful and she stood a full two meters tall, her clothes stretched taut over her physique.
A cross-shaped scar marked her right cheek.
Her eyes were sharp and fierce.
In her hand, she held a long, black whip, its length seemingly fashioned from interlocking vertebrae.
