He didn't take the opportunity to leave Backlund and instead hid near Saint Wind Cathedral. Is he thinking of seeking the Lord of Storms' protection?
Drink Augustus thought this over and, for the moment, had no intention of making a move.
The Loen royal family was currently standing in the eye of the storm. Although killing a young count was not a major matter, killing someone under the gaze of the Lord of Storms would stir up a storm that would not be so easy to calm.
He had to admit that Count Campbell was very clever and knew how to find a path to survival for himself.
But the protection of the storm could only last for a while. Could he really hide inside Saint Wind Cathedral forever?
Drink Augustus also came near Saint Wind Cathedral, but he did not attack. He merely observed Count Campbell from afar as he wandered along the street.
And so, he waited from morning until afternoon, then from afternoon until evening.
Count Campbell showed no intention of leaving Saint Wind Cathedral. His range of activity was also limited entirely to the area around the cathedral, leaving Drink no opportunity to make a move.
When he saw Hastur approach Bishop Ron of Saint Wind Cathedral, strike up a conversation with him, and donate 500 pounds in charity, clearly having made up his mind to spend the night there, Drink Augustus finally lost the patience to keep waiting.
Given the current situation, unless he abandoned the operation, his only choice was to forcibly kill Hastur under the Lord of Storms' gaze.
If he killed him in a single strike, perhaps even the Lord of Storms would not have time to react.
Besides, would the Lord of Storms really descend for the sake of a follower who was not particularly devout?
When Hastur finished speaking with Bishop Ron and stepped out through the doors of Saint Wind Cathedral, Drink Augustus took a single step forward and appeared before him.
Chains of rules around his body moved at once, sealing off the surrounding space.
He raised his right hand slightly.
The chains of rules transformed into countless cold black spears that stabbed simultaneously toward Hastur, who remained standing in place as though frightened senseless.
Drink Augustus didn't know whether it was an illusion, but he saw Hastur smiling mockingly at him, his lips parting slightly as though saying: "You idiot."
Drink Augustus sensed that something was wrong, but the spears of rules had already pierced through Hastur's body and nailed him firmly in midair.
He died just like that? Just as doubt arose in Drink Augustus's heart, the face of Hastur before him suddenly changed into Bishop Ron's!
Drink Augustus's pupils contracted violently.
He had actually assassinated a bishop who devoutly believed in the Lord of Storms, right in front of Saint Wind Cathedral!
How could this happen?
How could he possibly have mistaken one person for another?
Had some kind of power blinded his perception?
Countless questions filled Drink Augustus's mind, but he had no time to think about the answers.
Run. Get away from here immediately!
Without hesitation, Drink Augustus chose to flee. The sky, which had still been relatively calm, suddenly gathered masses of dark clouds. Thunder and lightning surged and brewed within them.
Drink Augustus had already fled from the entrance of Saint Wind Cathedral to the suburbs, yet the mass of dark clouds still hung above his head.
The Lord of Storms was enraged!
He had truly come!
A white bolt of lightning suddenly descended from the dark clouds, followed by hundreds and thousands of thunderbolts crashing down together!
Drink Augustus's mouth went dry. His scalp tingled, his hands and feet turned cold, and his heart seemed to stop for two beats.
But at this point, he could only use everything he had to resist the divine might of the Lord of Storms and hope he could hold out until help arrived.
He took out a sealed artifact he carried with him. A miniature pale-golden kingdom expanded into a golden barrier, protecting him inside.
But after only two seconds, the surface of the golden barrier became covered in lightning patterns.
Crack! It shattered with a boom.
The entire pale-golden kingdom was instantly reduced by the thunder into smoking ruins giving off waves of heat.
Using that brief obstruction, Drink Augustus tore open a doorway to the spirit world and fled, wanting to escape the Lord of Storms' gaze as quickly as possible.
The thunder in the sky did not stop.
Booming rumbles echoed continuously as bolts of lightning stretched toward the spirit-world doorway Drink Augustus had entered like silver-white tentacles.
Even after hiding in the spirit world, the storm's fury was not so easily appeased.
At that moment, a force suddenly emerged from the shadows and helped Drink Augustus block the attack, allowing him to use the spirit-world doorway to escape farther away.
With nowhere else to vent itself, the raging thunder completely destroyed everything in the surrounding area.
Inside the spirit world, Drink Augustus spat out a mouthful of blood. Faint electric currents could be seen flickering within it.
Even from far away, he could still sense the roar of the storm outside.
If someone had not secretly helped him just now, there was no way he could have escaped smoothly into the spirit world.
Damn it! What a vicious scheme!
Drink Augustus was furious, yet helpless.
Assassinating a bishop of the Church of Storms in front of Saint Wind Cathedral was a crime even he could not bear.
Even if he managed to escape punishment from the storm, he would have to conceal his identity and hide in the shadows from now on.
Only after the roaring storm outside gradually faded did Drink Augustus prepare to leave the spirit world and head for Southville County, where he would wait for Hastur to walk into his trap.
At that moment, he saw a small red firebird leisurely flying toward him.
Drink Augustus immediately became wary. Then his expression changed dramatically.
He hurriedly tried to tear open a doorway to the spirit world and escape, only to discover that he could not open one at all.
The surrounding spirit-world space seemed to have become harder than diamond. No matter how much effort he exerted, he could not shake it.
He could only watch helplessly as the harmless-looking little firebird came before him.
Then the firebird, which had only been about the size of a human head, suddenly grew several times larger, then dozens of times larger!
Like an enormous creature, it stared at him with a teasing expression.
Drink Augustus was filled with terror, but his body flew toward the giant firebird beyond his control.
Like a tiny insect, he was caught in its beak. Only then did Drink Augustus realize that it wasn't the little firebird that had grown larger.
His own body had shrunk! What kind of spirit-world creature was this?!
No. This was a deity!
The new Death from the Southern Continent!
Drink Augustus's eyes widened.
He had finally recognized the origins of the little firebird, but it was already too late for him to escape.
This new Death physically existed in the real world, unlike the Lord of Storms, who needed a medium to descend.
Moreover, Death possessed a certain degree of authority over the spirit world. It could even be said that the spirit world was partly an extension of Her divine kingdom!
"This little bug probably isn't even enough to fill the gap between your teeth."
A familiar voice accompanied by a light chuckle rang out.
Drink Augustus struggled to raise his head and look over.
The person who had arrived was none other than Count Campbell, the very man he had been trying to hunt down!
"Chirp." Gregrace held Drink Augustus in her beak, flapped her wings, and landed on Hastur's shoulder as though proudly asking for praise.
"Let me see."
Hastur lowered his head slightly and looked at Drink Augustus, who had been shrunk to the size of a caterpillar.
Curiously, he said, "Why does this little bug look so much like the former Duke of Southville?"
"Who exactly are you?!" Drink Augustus suppressed the fear in his heart and forced himself to ask calmly.
"Guess." Hastur smiled. "I don't want you dying with your questions answered."
As soon as he finished speaking, Drink Augustus didn't even have time to respond in anger before his entire body, along with his soul, was bitten in two.
Then the two shattered halves of his soul were swallowed by Gregrace.
After a while, Gregrace spat out Drink Augustus's Beyonder characteristic and gave it a look of obvious disgust.
Flames surged. The two halves of Drink Augustus's body were completely burned into nothingness, leaving not even a trace of residue behind.
"You worked hard again this time."
Hastur stroked Gregrace's head and spoke softly.
"Chirp." Gregrace happily rubbed herself against Hastur's cheek.
"Burn away all the traces here as well."
"Chirp."
...
At Saint Wind Cathedral, Bishop Ron had been assassinated and left gravely wounded, hovering on the verge of death.
If the Lord of Storms had not cast His gaze upon the place and descended with a miracle, there was no way Bishop Ron would have survived.
A bishop had been attacked right in front of his own cathedral, even provoking the wrath of the Lord of Storms.
This greatly inflamed the anger of the Church of Storms' believers. Before long, using the clues left at the scene, they identified Drink Augustus as the culprit.
In response, the Loen royal family stated that this was Drink Augustus's personal action and had nothing to do with the royal family.
George III flew into a rage over the matter and smashed a large number of antiques.
He stripped Drink Augustus of his status as a member of the Loen royal family and declared that whether he lived or died would be left entirely to the Church of Storms.
But even this failed to extinguish the Church of Storms' anger. Because Drink Augustus had completely disappeared.
The Church of Storms believed that the Loen royal family must have hidden him away, and decided to conduct a thorough search of the residences of every member of the Loen royal family.
The Church of the Evernight Goddess and the Church of Steam and Machinery simply stood silently behind the Church of Storms.
Although neither openly expressed their position, their meaning was already obvious.
In the end, the Loen royal family compromised and allowed the Church of Storms to search wherever they wished.
This development made the already chaotic situation in Backlund even more disorderly.
At this moment, Hastur was selecting a gift, preparing to visit the severely wounded but still living Bishop Ron.
After all, the reason Bishop Ron had suffered this completely unexpected disaster was because Madam Lisa had secretly swapped his fate with Hastur's.
That was why, in a moment of carelessness, Drink Augustus had mistaken Bishop Ron for Hastur.
In other words, Bishop Ron had taken the blade for him.