Chapter 82: You Silenced Me

Mr. A laughed heartily, extremely pleased. It had been a long time since anyone had dared to assassinate him, especially in such an overt manner.

"Tap, tap!"

Footsteps echoed outside the room, drawn by the enemy-luring skull. But they never managed to enter the room. Two pale, jellyfish-like spirits had silently appeared in the shadows. Soon after, frantic screams and cries of pain erupted from outside.

"Interesting," Mr. A noted the commotion outside with a slight smile. "It seems you have other helpers. But are you so confident that you can—"

Slash!

A blue sword sliced through Mr. A's neck, sending his head flying with an expression of shock still on his face. Mr. A was dead. But also not dead.

"Did your god never teach you to let people finish speaking?!"

A chilling, furious voice emanated from within Mr. A's body. The headless corpse's abdomen tore open, and two blood-soaked arms extended from inside. Through the gaping wound, the source of the arms was clear—a grotesque, humanoid creature made entirely of skinned flesh.

This was the real Mr. A!

Already familiar with the "Secrets supplicant" pathway from the Church of the EverNight, Ashes immediately recognized the ability.

At Sequence 6, a "Rose Bishop" specializes in flesh magic. Each "Rose Bishop" is an expert in this art, able to transform into pure flesh and burrow into other bodies, avoiding various forms of detection. This ability might be why Mr. A had evaded the numerous Beyonders in Backlund.

But there was a drawback: emerging from a host would kill the host. And he needed to quickly replenish his flesh to fully utilize his supernatural abilities.

"Jingle!"

Ashes quickly pulled out the sacred bell gifted to him by the Dragon Maiden and gently shook it. A series of strange, purple rings emerged from beneath his feet, quickly enveloping his body. The same happened to the flesh creature still halfway out of the headless corpse.

[Silence Edict]

A miracle passed down by the black-haired witch Belgar.

It can seal the spells of those nearby, including the caster themselves.

Belgar, though a heretic, was highly influential among the gods due to her vast knowledge of ancient and modern secret arts.

"…"

Mr. A fell into instant silence, even his attempt to emerge halted.

"Need any help?" Ashes asked, almost too considerately.

Mr. A, now a flesh creature, felt a chill down his spine—or, more accurately, through his flesh. He was, after all, just a mass of exposed flesh without skin, vulnerable to the cold. But worse than the physical cold was the chill in his heart.

The "Secrets supplicant" pathway lacks powerful offensive abilities at low sequences and is considered one of the weakest sequences. However, once reaching the mid-sequences, their power dramatically increases. For instance, a Sequence 6 "Rose Bishop" is proficient in various forms of flesh magic. A Sequence 5 "Shepherd" can devour the souls of other Beyonders and gain their abilities, making them almost invincible at their level.

But only if they can use their abilities.

And now, he had been silenced—literally.

An unknown spell had manifested as a purple array, binding Mr. A completely. The array didn't restrict his movements, but it entirely prevented him from casting any spells. This left him unable to transform back into human form, stuck as a grotesque ball of flesh with two arms.

In this state, despite his terrifying appearance, he was probably weaker than a low-sequence Beyonder. But what scared him most was that he couldn't hear his god's voice.

"Run!" The long-forgotten fear gripped Mr. A's heart, leaving him with only one thought.

Thud!

The blood-red mass of flesh dropped to the ground, using its hands to push against the floor, propelling itself forward and rolling rapidly out of the room. Despite its grotesque form, it moved with surprising speed, crashing through the door in an instant.

But Ashes didn't rush to pursue Mr. A. Instead, he calmly walked out, seemingly unafraid of losing him. After all, though Mr. A had disappeared, he had left behind a trail of sticky blood that marked his path on the ground.

As Ashes exited the room, the connecting hall had transformed into a grotesque paradise of flesh—there were no bodies, only grotesque creatures formed from twisted, melted flesh. These were Mr. A's servants and also followers of the "True Creator." In death, they had revealed their "true" forms.

"Swoosh, swoosh."

The half-human-sized jellyfish floated gently to Ashes side, making soft sounds.

"I understand," Ashes replied, gently patting the jellyfish's head, "Please take care of it."

"Swoosh, swoosh."

The jellyfish leaped happily, releasing large amounts of "fog" that gradually spread throughout the hall. Upon contact, the fleshy masses that lined the walls and floor dissolved almost instantly.

When it came to cleanup, the jellyfish was a professional—there wouldn't be a drop of blood left behind.

Ashes continued to follow Mr. A's trail. He hadn't fled outside, as that would have been suicidal. Though the house held a deadly assassin, escaping outside would have exposed him to the many churches' gaze. Even as a Sequence 5, or even a demigod, survival would be unlikely.

He had no choice but to flee to the basement, where his last hope lay.

"Tap, tap!"

Following the crimson trail, Ashes stepped over the broken basement door and descended the stairs. When he reached the dimly lit basement, he found two figures in a standoff.

One was the flesh-ball form of Mr. A. The other was a young man in a linen shirt.

[True creator Follower] Lanrwust. (TL/N IDK who this is probably lanevus maybe it's him)

However, as Ashes arrived in the basement, the two figures, previously in a standoff, suddenly became rigid.

(End of Chapter)