/
[TN: The term previously translated as “cup” will be standardized as “grail” from this chapter onwards. This includes changing “Cup-holding Lady” to “Grail-holding Lady.”]
When Lin Yiyi realized that “the Man Against Himself” would join her team, she realized that the players probably wouldn’t need to be hands-on in this mission.
It felt like having a professional player carrying the team.
The players could challenge difficult games with the “carry’s” presence.
Though, would the players care about the “carry’s” feeling?
No! They would be more focused on their benefits.
Those were likely the internal monologues after feeling blessed having the carry…
*Thwack*
This combat approach differed from when he was “fighting” with Jiu Er.
The red spear transformed from Henry Worden’s right arm had sharp thorns reminiscent of a beast’s fangs.
When the spears penetrated the enemy’s body, the enemy lost the ability to struggle.
*Swoosh~*
As the rigid spears rapidly softened, they began to emit a screeching rustle. The slender, red tentacles, which had spread throughout the alley, quickly melted away, withdrawing back into Henry’s side and transforming into his right arm.
Those impaled victims found themselves being reeled back amidst their screams. Their bodies produced squeaking and creaking sounds as they were compressed and crushed by an invisible force, disappearing into the red torrent formed by the tentacles.
—The magic hand had seemingly devoured them.
The blood and pieces of flesh in the alley were seemingly licked up and swallowed by an unseen force, leaving not a trace behind.
Let alone a corpse; not even a drop of blood remained on the scene.
The only evidence that a fierce battle took place here before was the holes and scratches left on the wall.
“Are we the villain here?” Citalopram complained.
Lin Yiyi shrugged, “It’s not a big problem. Brother H is the protagonist.”
“Are you saying, Brother or Uncle?”
“It doesn’t make any difference. Henry is our boss now.” Lin Yiyi complained, “These people are the protagonists with the face of a villain…”
“What are you guys chatting about?” Henry Worden leaned over curiously and asked lightly, “Are you saying I look like a villain?”
His voice and eyes emanated a gentleness contradictory to his brutal combat approach.
It was as if he had not torn apart the bodies of his enemies with the spear that his right arm had transformed into… but rather, as if he was gently touching a butterfly’s wings.
“Sir, we’re just saying the way you fight is kind of cool.” Jiu Er tried to diffuse the tension, “Isn’t that so?”
Instead, Henry was amused, “Why are you asking me?”
“However, Saint…” Citalopram, in the form of a spirit body, spoke in an ethereal voice with an echo, “Don’t we need to leave a survivor for questioning?”
When Citalopram asked this question, Henry showed an eerie smile.
At that moment, Suuankou felt the air getting stuffy and sticky. He instinctively touched his face and looked at the back of his hand, only to realize that there was no blood or sweat on his face or body.
The others didn’t seem to notice it.
This former Holy Grail Knight, Goddaughter of the Cup-holding Lady and now the Sacrifice Saint, lowered his eyes. There was a sense of compassion in them.
“Don’t worry about it.” He repeated.
Whether it was the various types of wounds covering his body, his clear eyes that were as transparent as light golden liquor, or his gentle tone… they all emphasized a sense of harmlessness and compassion.
He slowly closed his eyes as if tasting a mellow wine.
However, the words he uttered gave people an unpredictable sense of danger, “I have kissed their blood, and I have tasted their desire.”
Following Saint Henry’s words, all the wounds on his body began to bleed.
“Your Excellency?!” Lin Yiyi exclaimed, “Are you injured?”
“—No, he sensed our arrival.” What responded was the immature voice of a boy.
The players didn’t see the source of the voice at all.
However, the voice seemed so close, as if it was a whisper in the ear.
However, in stark contrast to this voice was the rationality and wisdom in his words, “No secrets exist in front of a Bloodseeker. After all, ‘secrets’ and ‘desires’ are intimate sisters.”
“That’s all for now.” Henry said softly.
When Henry opened his eyes again, “the Man Against Himself” gave off a different air.
The pupils of Lin Yiyi and Suuankou shrank. They vividly felt their hearts racing. The thumping of their heartbeats was so wild that it was buzzing in their ears.
Immense fear surged into their hearts for no reason.
Their knees trembled… their backs were so taut that they felt like they were about to snap, and sweat was seeping from their palms.
The effect occurred, although the players weren’t in confrontation with Henry.
Simply being in Saint Henry’s presence… no, more accurately, just catching a whiff of his presence was enough to instill this instinctual fear in them.
However, why did Jiu Er not feel anything?
Lin Yiyi looked at Jiu Er curiously.
The excitement and curiosity of potentially witnessing a clash between deities overcame her fear.
Enduring the intense discomfort in her heart, Lin Yiyi sent a private message to Jiu Er.
“—How do you feel now? Is there any discomfort?”
However, Jiu Er did not response.
“Jiu Er?” Lin Yiyi suddenly realized something was wrong.
Jiu Er’s pupils had turned scarlet at some point.
She raised her head and stared at the sun… She muttered something in a low voice.
“No need to panic, Miss Yiyi.”
The Sacrifice Saint said softly, “She is summoning the Cup-holding Lady for me.”
“[The Flesh of Sacrifice] suppressed my divine art, so I can only find another believer of Cup-holding Lady to help me complete the ritual…”
“Did this happen when they attacked Jiu Er?” Lin Yiyi realized it.
Henry must have buried something under Jiu Er’s skin during that time.
She frowned immediately, resisting the fear in her heart, raised her head, and looked directly at Saint Henry, “You…”
“—Shh.” Saint Henry lowered his eyes and put his hand before his lips.
As the thunderous heartbeat sounded on Jiu Er, the surrounding world was dyed pure scarlet in the blink of an eye.
It wasn’t the blood splashing out of her body… Instead, the sky “dome” of the above-ground world turned into a dark red abyss.
That’s the mouth of the grail.
Lin Yiyi, who had experienced “Ritual: Roaring Heart”, recognized it immediately.
“What a treasure…”
Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
“That’s really good stuff.”
There came an old, frail voice that sounded like he had exhausted all his strength just to speak, “The saint’s blood… Do you want to hand over the sacred bone to this child?”
Only nine seconds had passed since the surprise.
Thunder roared again from Jiu Er’s body.
That was the sound of a heartbeat amplified thousands of times.
Despite Lin Yiyi having the physique of a Silver Rank, she couldn’t muster any strength in front of the loud noise, and she was shaken to the point where her body went numb.
Given this amplitude of power, the passers-by must be…
…Huh?
Lin Yiyi suppressed the dizziness and looked around.
Unbeknownst to them, the players seemed to have left from the previous alley.
There were no buildings beside them. Instead, the players found themselves in the middle of a crimson plane.
This was a vast crimson prairie. Each blade of grass seemed to have absorbed the crimson sunlight, turning into an incomparably pure shade of deep red.
“—Damn, are we within a barrier?” Suuankou blurted out.