This was a peak so towering that its summit was lost to sight from the base, perpetually shrouded in clouds. Above those clouds stood a massive black castle, its Gothic spires piercing the heavens like a colossal armored knight raising a lance of judgment.
It was a grand cathedral, carved from summit to base with countless crosses, saints, and angels. Its sharp vertical lines and edges gave it a stern, slender beauty. Under the bleak autumn night, cold moonlight showered from above, illuminating a rather unimpressive young figure who appeared especially frail in the chilly evening breeze.
Behind him, researchers in similarly plain uniforms operated instruments, some scribbling notes while others remained silent. A palpable tension hung in the air. When the girl beside him gripped his hand tightly, he reached over and gently patted her cheek, meeting her anxious look with a steady gaze.
"Yixiang, will you really survive this?" the girl asked, staring directly into his eyes.
He nodded.
Her grip loosened slightly. Though aware of what was coming, she instinctively trusted him. At her age, still untouched by worldly corruption, she remained pure as unpolished jade.
Then figures appeared - first several, then dozens - materializing at speeds beyond normal vision.
Front and center stood pikemen in perfect formation, their mithril armor and spearpoints gleaming coldly in the darkness, all weapons aimed at the young pair. Behind them stood priests and clerics in robes, their eyes locked forward, chanting spells with tense muscles, reacting as if confronting the devil himself.
The cathedral now resembled a fortress surrounded by an army.
"Long Yixiang, High Priest of the Creation Domain," declared the lead priest, pointing a cross at the youth. "In God's name, you're under arrest!"
"I was merely conducting scientific research... Technology improves lives..."
"With your demonic heritage, being permitted into the Truth Church was grace enough. Instead of gratitude, you've repeatedly violated prohibitions dealing with forbidden arts. This time, there will be no forgiveness!"
"What unspeakable crime have I actually committed?" the youth named Long Yixiang asked helplessly. "May I call a lawyer?"
"Battle Sisters, seize this heretic!"
The priest could no longer tolerate his tone. Abandoning debate, he directly commanded the soldiers.
The sisters sprang into action like arrows shot from bows. The moment the order came, their muscles demonstrated astonishing power, their ample nun's habits failing to conceal their graceful figures that now radiated lethal intent.
Triangle spikes, twin rapiers, hook claws - one deadly weapon after another surged toward the pair with clear intent to kill. These attackers showed no restraint, apparently unconcerned about taking prisoners alive.
Screams immediately filled the air. The assailants didn't hesitate despite their targets being seemingly defenseless researchers. The scene instantly transformed into a bloody slaughterhouse.
A hook claw clamped onto the girl's shoulder, the force making her lose balance and tearing her away from Long Yixiang.
"Die, fiend."
The attacker raised her weapon and stabbed without hesitation into the girl who was about her own age. The triangular spike pierced cleanly through her heart. Blood sprayed, transforming the lively girl into a corpse within moments.
The entire sequence flowed with practiced ease. The Battle Sisterhood served under the Church's Judgment Domain, whose creed was slaughter - the complete, emotionless physical eradication of heretics. They had fought this way countless times. Enhancement magic from the supporting priests boosted all their attributes while further diminishing their reason, transforming the already highly trained sisters into perfect killing machines, super-soldiers for judging God's enemies.
Without pause, the pikemen advanced in formation. The sharp mithril spearpoints drove directly toward Long Yixiang. This formation, combined with faithful soldiers, created impregnable offense and defense, fearless against any foe. These Judgment Domain guards underwent not only physical training but daily mental and faith conditioning, making them fight fearlessly like weapons possessing consciousness.
On one side: fully armed war machines. On the other: an unarmed youth.
Yet amidst this scene, Long Yixiang calmly flung the weapon in his hand - his first reaction since the slaughter began. Before anyone could clearly see it, the object traced a blue streak through the night sky before falling among the pikemen's ranks.
BOOM!
The neat formation proved useless against the grenade's blast wave and shrapnel that tore through their ranks. Instantly, flesh and blood flew everywhere amid cries of agony. Though faithful guardians, they remained human and felt pain - mental fortitude offered no protection here.
After this single strike, Long Yixiang turned toward the cliff behind him. Whether from the explosion's chaos or because none dared approach, under their stunned gazes he reached the edge and leaped.
His unimpressive frame soared upward before plunging into the clouds and mist below.
That single counterattack was all he could manage. He knew from the start it wouldn't change the outcome. Against this world-ruling organization, any individual was as fragile as a reed in a hurricane. But those who kill should expect to be killed. These people had operated with impunity too long - it was time they paid some price.
The crowd surged forward, peering down from the cliff where Long Yixiang had jumped.
"Is he dead?" someone asked uncertainly.
"Probably... No one could survive that fall, right?"
"Let's hope so."
...
A strand of sunlight pierced his eyes. Long Yixiang struggled to open them, still unaccustomed to the light.
His consciousness had returned to his body ten minutes earlier. It took him that long to mentally prepare before he could move.
The familiar starting plaza, wooden benches, novice warriors with battered copper swords and novice mages with staffs moving through the central square. Occasional vendor calls reached his ears. A sunny afternoon with a gentle breeze - quite pleasant, if one ignored what he'd just experienced.
"Back at the beginning again."
He knew he'd "returned" to the past, to his first moments in this world. Having been warned that death meant starting over, he was mentally prepared, though he couldn't help sighing over returning to square one after all he'd experienced.
But he accepted it philosophically. Like playing a game for the first time - everyone makes mistakes. Early missteps could easily snowball, making later stages irrecoverable. Thus the first playthrough mainly served to gain experience. Starting over to identify and fill gaps would eventually lead to clearing the game.
He didn't know if this was a similar game-like world, but from his current perspective, it felt quite real, possessing all sensations of the real world - pain, fear - things no game could replicate.
Before transmigrating, Long Yixiang had been an ordinary working student living a mundane life of classes and part-time jobs. After crossing over, he'd expected a standard sword-and-sorcery adventure about a hero defeating the Demon King. The reality proved even more... than his original world.
From his experiences so far, he'd gained a rough impression: resembling medieval Europe with magic, but overwhelmingly oppressive. Several kingdoms and empires ruled the continent. But this was superficial - this world contained a religion called the "Cross Holy Church" that controlled all societal aspects in God's name. Countless doctrines permeated every life aspect, these irrefutable tenets weighing on people's hearts like a mountain, constantly suppressing human souls into dormancy. This made the world not only unromantic but somewhat gloomy and unpleasant.
Taking two deep breaths to calm himself, he rose from the plaza bench and walked toward the guild.