Jay landed on the damp wooden floor of the warehouse's second floor, staring at Lawrence, whose eyes were streaming with tears of blood.
Lawrence was still kneeling, but the faint divine power surrounding him made the candlelight flicker.
The red tears flowed down his cheeks, staining his white robe.
Following the "time-buying" instruction, Sung-jin spoke.
"Lawrence. Are the tears of blood you shed the blood of the god you follow, or the weight of your sins?"
Lawrence slowly raised his head.
"Sin? Only a mere infidel would ask about sin. I am a servant of the great oracle. These tears are a symbol of joy and sacrifice, not sin."
Jay retorted to Lawrence's words.
"Your god seems to be quite skilled at showing illusions. But the blood flowing from your eyes is an illusion caused by pain. Your god has abandoned you. Otherwise, why are you hiding in this old warehouse?"
[Warning: Target's psychological state is unstable (3 seconds before divine power activation threshold). Time acquisition successful.]
[Instruction: Maintain a distance of 2.5 meters from Lawrence, then use a rotational strike utilizing the residual recoil of the 'Joint Control Technique' to destroy the center of the altar.]
Lawrence was violently agitated by Jay's words and raised his hand to activate his divine power.
"God has abandoned me?! You infidel…!"
Just before Lawrence concentrated his divine power, Jay maintained a distance of 2.5 meters and lowered his body to the ground.
His movement looked like he had stumbled, but it was a calculated maneuver by the system to convert the muscle recoil energy from the previously used technique into rotational kinetic energy.
Using his recovered right leg as a pivot, Jay lowered his body, maximizing the leverage of his mass, and explosively generated rotational force using the elasticity of his remaining muscles.
*CRASH!*
The rotational impact, transformed by superhuman strength and the system's precise calculations, struck the center of the altar vertically.
The center of the altar, where Lawrence was concentrating his divine power, couldn't withstand the impact and shattered explosively.
Beneath the altar, a mass of blue-glowing minerals, where the divine power was concentrated, was revealed.
As the altar was destroyed, the energy flow from these minerals to Lawrence was weakly interrupted.
[Progress + 0.0005% (Altar destroyed: Lawrence's divine power connection disrupted)]
Lawrence, his divine power activation hindered, lost his balance and staggered.
Jay picked up a dagger. It was one he had recovered from a previous battle, but its blade was dull and its mass small.
[Instruction: Throw dagger within 0.1 seconds (Target: Lawrence's right eye).]
In that short 0.1 seconds, Jay threw the dagger at Lawrence. The throwing angle and initial velocity calculated by the system precisely targeted Lawrence's right eye.
Lawrence instinctively closed his eyes and tried to form a divine power shield, but due to the destruction of the altar, the weakest point of the shield was around his right eye.
*Clang!*
The dagger struck the weakened divine power shield, and the small, dull dagger bounced off after a glancing blow, failing to penetrate.
Although it didn't pierce the target, blood spurted from Lawrence's eye area, and his concentration of divine power completely failed. Sungjin had lost his dagger, but he had rendered Lawrence defenseless.
[Final Instruction: Physical contact with the target. Subdue the joints within 0.5 seconds and push him down into the building.]
Jay lunged at Lawrence.
The system was calculating the strength of the second-floor floorboards of the old warehouse building and Lawrence's mass.
Jay grabbed Lawrence's neck, where his divine power shield had completely collapsed, and lowered his center of gravity, getting below Lawrence's center of mass. Using the remaining techniques of joint manipulation, he delivered a powerful horizontal impact to Lawrence's body.
CRACK!
Jay's impact pushed Lawrence towards the weakened wooden wall at the back of the building.
Lawrence had no time to resist the impact and crashed into the old wall.
The force of his mass acting on the wall with acceleration completely destroyed the tensile strength of the wall, which Jay had already weakened during his sewer infiltration.
Lawrence fell through the old wall with a scream.
Below was an empty space leading to the sewer.
After Lawrence fell, the red warning in the system window that appeared behind Park Jay was clear. Lawrence hadn't simply absorbed the gravitational energy; he had dispersed the fall energy in a non-lethal direction using divine power, thus surviving.
Jay didn't have the divine power or armor to disperse the impact like Lawrence. All he could rely on was his reaction speed.
[Skill: Explosive Descent]
[Requirements: Minimum 0.1 years of lifespan or rupture of both ankle joints. Effect: Descend at a speed greater than gravitational acceleration for only 0.5 seconds, controlling the landing impact.]
Jay paid 0.1 years of his lifespan. Now, his remaining lifespan was 25.3 years.
[Skill activated. 0.1 years of life force deducted.]
His body descended at high speed, not like a free-falling object, but like a projectile with propulsion. Just before landing, the system instructed him to maintain a foot angle of 12 and an optimal knee joint bending angle of 35.
Thud!
With the sound of landing, sewage water splashed everywhere. Jay managed to avoid joint rupture and absorbed the kinetic energy with the elasticity of his muscles.
Jay stood up in water.
In front of him, in the darkness, Lawrence's shadow was staggering.
Lawrence was severely injured. He was hunched against the wall, holding a stone he had picked up from the sewer floor.
"You... you destroyed my altar...!" Lawrence's voice trembled with pain.
[Warning: Target status (Injury Stage 3). Imminent attempt to escape at short range.]
[Instruction: Combat. Evade the thrown stone with a shock absorption stance.]
The stone Lawrence threw was aimed at Jay's head, but instead of dodging, Jay completely relaxed all his joints and muscles the moment the stone hit his left shoulder. The collision time was slightly extended, and the impact force was dispersed as a bruise.
Thwack!
Enduring the pain, Jay fiercely charged at Lawrence immediately after the stone bounced off.
[Final instruction: Contact with target. Destroy Lawrence's knee joint within 0.3 seconds and subdue his center of mass.]
Lawrence tried to gather his divine power again, but only a weak light flickered. As soon as Jay reached Lawrence, he used the full mass of his body and his momentum to kick Lawrence's knee with the sole of his foot.
*Crunch!*
Lawrence's knee joint shattered, and his body, having lost its center of gravity, collapsed into the murky water.
Jay grabbed Lawrence's neck and completely pressed his head into the muddy ground, ensuring he couldn't get up again.
Then, he forcefully struck Lawrence's incapacitated temple with all his remaining strength.
"..."
The red tears flowing from Lawrence's eyes stopped, and the faint aura of divine power surrounding his body completely disappeared.
His body lay motionless in the stagnant water.
[Progress + 0.002% (Bishop 'Lawrence of the Bloody Tears' eliminated)] [Progress: 3.1355% → 3.1375%]
Jay gasped for breath.
The progress gained from eliminating the bishop was only 0.002%.
It was still a pathetic return for the years of lifespan he had sacrificed.
[Warning: Physical condition (Internal injuries stage 2). Regeneration required for complete recovery (Time required: 0.5 years).]
[Remaining lifespan: 23.4 years]
3.1375%. Returning to Earth was still a distant goal.