She never expected this person to be from Ashen Way. The Twilight ascetic was hit directly, and this time let out a shrill scream completely unlike before. The bandages wrapped around the body ignited at once in blazing golden fire, revealing scorched skin underneath that had been stitched together with countless seams, while thick, foul black smoke poured from the mouth and nose.
This was no mere withered human. It looked like a skeleton draped in sewn human skin, with a face that had almost no flesh, exposed gums, and a shaved-down nose bridge. As the burning released blockbuster black smoke, the creature rolled and struggled wildly on the ground, screaming without dignity, utterly unlike its earlier silent and ruthless demeanor, which startled Alba.
"Is it really that strong?"
She felt like she had barely used any force, acting on instinct alone. She gathered another Light Beam with ease this time and shone it on a nearby stone pillar. The pillar was completely fine.
Then she tried shining it on herself, and this time something did change. The scraped knee she had injured while rolling was healed.
So… was she the problem, or was it the other side?
Before Alba could think further, the flames on the burning ascetic finally went out. What remained looked like a charred mummy. She tensed at once, watching as it trembled, swayed in place, and then spewed out blockbuster black fog that even contained wailing human face shadows.
"Ugh… ah…!" "Roaah…!"
Oddly, Alba was not afraid of this grotesque scene. Instead, she seemed to understand what those things were, and realized they were not some final hidden reserve of power. They were pitiful souls locked inside the body, along with years of accumulated resentment and Dark Power. She did not know how she knew this, but the moment she understood, her expression turned ugly.
"I don't know what I am right now, or whether my perception is twisted…"
She raised her hammer with trembling hands, yet her tone was serious as she pointed it at the slowly approaching corpse, now nothing more than a shambling shell. Her voice slowed, moving from resolve to anger, and finally to sorrow.
"But you, whether yourself or the one behind you, are absolutely not something good."
Without waiting for a response, she fired another Holy Light. Black smoke burst out again, and the body collapsed completely, lying still on the ground.
Only then did Alba finally let out a breath. At last, she could…
"Boom!"
A roar sounded, along with flying stone fragments from a shattered Shard. The surroundings activated again, and to Alba's lifeless stare, two more ascetics slowly walked in.
They glanced at the charred corpse on the ground, then turned their gaze to her and, for the first time, forced words out of their ruined throats.
"Target… seek… must…" "… eliminate, cannot let her…"
After confirming something, their bodies began to tremble, followed by the sickening sound of twisting bones. Two barely human figures tore through the outer layer of White Tier cloth, sprouting spider-like severed limbs from their backs. Their hind legs bent and elongated, arms thickened, and they dropped to all fours like beasts, eyes glowing with bloody light as their jaws opened to an impossible angle.
"Roar!"
These two monsters were far faster and stronger than the earlier one she had dropped with two hits, and she barely had time to react. By the time she turned, she was already rolling across the floor, followed by two late but piercing shockwaves. The Holy Light shield held again, but after taking those hits it flickered badly.
This was it. She was done.
Fortunately, after rolling so much recently, Alba adjusted quickly and scrambled up to run without hesitation. Inside, she was ranting wildly, wondering if the ascetics of Church of Holy Light all looked like this.
"If you really are from Church of Holy Light, then the inside of Church of Holy Light isn't much better than a cult either. What is this madness?"
While running, something clicked in her mind. The scattered Shard fragments of earlier events connected together, starting with this invasion. Dozens of Abyss Church had appeared at once without warning. Was Church of Holy Light truly blind? Missing one or two was one thing, but this many moving together made no sense.
Why was the outer city Barrier broken so easily? That barrier was powered by the whole city, and normally Church of Holy Light should have known the moment something went wrong. Cathedral City was also far too important to abandon, and she had heard there were hidden spatial Teleportation routes in the city that could bring elites over immediately.
So why was there no support until Elvin and the others were almost all dead? And why had she seen no other resistance or battles anywhere? Now, a monster that could use Holy Light and looked like a Twilight ascetic was hunting her. Why?
If this was not because they noticed her link to the Evil God, but instead to silence her, then what were they trying to hide?
She had no time to think further. With exits and windows blocked by rubble, her only option was to run upward.
She remembered the voice from before. "Ring the bell…"
"What good would ringing a bell do… but I don't have any other choice!"
It was not just the voice. She herself felt a strange pull toward ringing the bell, as if doing so would solve everything. She did not know why, but the feeling was firm.
"But how am I supposed to do that now?"
She had just reached the stairs to the second floor of the Cathedral when the floor collapsed into a hole. The two Twilight monsters below leapt straight up, reacting even more violently.
"She has a hammer!" "Ring the bell! Absolutely not! No, no, no!"
Their howls grew more frantic, and seeing this reaction only hardened Alba's resolve. If the enemy would not let her do something, then she definitely had to do it.
Still, resolve alone meant nothing. With these two blocking the way, unless someone gave her wings to fly up, there was no chance of moving forward. They lunged almost instantly, claws slashing down as the Holy Light shield appeared again, now visibly shaking with clear Crack forming.
"This is bad… I can't hold much longer!"
She barely squeezed through a gap by rolling and ran with all her strength, but with a normal human body, how could she outrun two enhanced monsters?
"Even with wings, I couldn't escape… ah!"
Another blow sent Alba flying along with her shield, and the monsters closed in from both sides. There was truly no way out, and Alba had no wings.
But someone else did.
"Don't even think about it!"
The wall beside them burst open as extreme heat exploded outward. Black-red flames that burned nearly anything melted a huge hole in the wall in an instant. What followed was a blazing, unextinguished flame sword of judgment.
Forged purely from light and heat, the sword cut through the air, leaving a burning trail. The two monsters roared in terror the moment they sensed the threat and tried to retreat, but it was useless. The newcomer beat their wings, and a single slash cut one monster in half at the waist, flames devouring it before it could even scream.
The other had its head smashed apart by a fist clad in molten armor, its body flying back and smashing through another wall.
"Ha… whew. Made it in time."
The newcomer landed lightly, flames scattering like feathers, carrying intense heat yet causing no harm to anything unintended. Dark, sun-like eyes looked at Alba as she struggled up from the ground.
"Huh?" "Wait, who are you?"
After finally reacting to being saved, Alba looked at her rescuer and felt confused. She should have thanked them first, but the face was far too familiar, throwing her thoughts into chaos.
The figure wore armor like cooled magma, with blazing and dark-gold light flowing through its seams, holding a radiant flame sword. Black-red fire wings folded into a cloak tipped with flames, and even the hair burned like brilliant Crystal crystals.
"Ah, yeah, this look is hard to recognize. It's me. This should be easier."
With that, the figure removed the effects around her head, revealing a familiar face and hair color. Alba's eyes widened.
"El… Elvin?"
Her voice shook as she stared at Elvin, the person she thought had already died. But what was this form? Was this some kind of champion skin? The heat radiating from her felt strangely familiar.
"We can talk later. Right now, what matters more is you."
Elvin spoke calmly, and Alba tensed at once.
"This Cathedral is already surrounded. Those two were just stragglers that slipped in."
If those were only stragglers, then what was happening outside?
"What's going on out there?"
Elvin stayed where she was to tend to the injured, or rather, those who had not woken up but were otherwise perfectly fine. While waiting and offering Prayer, Elvin caught fire. It was literal fire, bursting from her brow and spreading over her whole body without harming her, bringing a strange warmth instead.