The second heretic!

Instead of the human face of the small boy she was expecting to see, she saw something sinister… something corrupt.

A dark being with no features or expressions was looking down at her with a gaze that sent shivers down her spine.

Its very presence seemed to warp the air around it, shadows dancing unnaturally at its feet. His entire body radiated a corrupt energy she had never felt before, and just being in the presence of that 'thing' made her want to kill herself.

A torrent of negative, evil, and loathing feelings kept assaulting her brain, all of which were trying to convince her to commit suicide right in front of the being standing before her.

Shivering, she lowered her head to his feet, touching the ground with her forehead.

"P-Please…" she choked out; her voice could not be any worse at the moment.

She regretted ever coming to this place, she regretted ever choosing to go east over west, she regretted attacking those kids…

She did not need to think anymore, she could feel it inside, that she was no match for the power before her. He was not a simple kid, not an ordinary exorcist, she knew it. Just the overwhelming power radiating from him was enough to make her realize where she stood as things were.

She should have never come to this place, no, she should have never joined the sect.

Had she never joined the sect and turned heretic, she would have never come across this being of corruption.

Her thoughts were turning against the very sect she belonged to. She had realized that other than begging for her life, there were no other options left. And even if there were, she could not think about anything at the moment.

She begged, drawing out as much of a voice as she could, "P-Please… please… s-spare… my life…"

Oliver looked down at her, his eyes holding a trace of surprise at the current state of the woman.

Just before, he had used [Sovereign Strike of Infinite Freedom] intending to take her down by surprise, but she was able to counter him in the nick of time.

But he already had other plans, and the moment she looked back at him, he had activated the third ability of the [Cosmic Void Gaze] in that second.

[Enshrouding of Death] instilled a deep fear directly into her mind, penetrating all her mental defenses.

This time, he had used the ability to a deeper and higher extent ever since he had acquired these special eyes.

Even when he fought his second brother, he had barely used it in case he killed him, but this time, since the opponent was a heretic whose intention was to kill him, he did not hesitate and used it properly on her.

If he had dared to care about not killing her, then he could have died instead. Thus, he dared not take any risks and used the ability to the proper extent.

His mind was also feeling quite exhausted after using the ability. He would need to give himself some peace of mind to use this ability again. It was just too draining!

He looked down at the woman with cold eyes. He wanted to know what their intentions were and what he had that they used to track him down.

He bent down slowly, crouching to the woman's level as he asked, "If you tell me what thing you all are after, then I will spare you."

While he had said it in a normal voice, to the woman's ears, it was as if someone was shouting inside her mind, trying to shatter her will.

She trembled even more. The voice—it was as if countless ants were crawling on her back with each word the being spoke, making her extremely uncomfortable physically.

"E-Egg…" she choked out, wanting to hold onto the hope to live. The being had promised her that he would spare her if she told him.

If she told him everything, then he would let her live. If she revealed everything, then she could live. If she sold out her comrades and sect, then perhaps she could even get the being's grace.

The desperation in her voice was palpable, each word dripping with frantic hope. It could be seen how affected she was that she did not even care about anything anymore. She was willing to sacrifice her comrades, sell her clan out, and reveal everything just to obtain a sliver of his grace. The will to live overshadowed everything for her at this moment.

She did not care about her sect, nor about her loyalty, or turning into a traitor.

"Egg?" Oliver asked further, making the woman's spine crawl as she shifted uncomfortably hearing the voice in her ears. It was as if someone was scraping at her brain the more she heard his voice.

"B-Beast e-egg…" she said in broken phrases, making him frown.

"D-Disaster… G-Ghost…"

She kept stammering, her words incoherent as she seemed unable to even formulate normal sentences on her own.

However, Oliver, who processed her words, suddenly widened his eyes the moment he heard the word 'Ghost.'

How could he not know about the old demonic ghost he had exorcised last time in the forest using Abyss energy?

'Fuck!'

He immediately retrieved the storage bracelet from his undercoat and quickly threw it in his mind space, cutting off any or all connections it had or carried to the outside world, disabling all tracking marks or anything associated with it.

'So they were tracking using the ghost's storage artifact, some sort of beast egg inside the bracelet they are after? What is it?'

He thought about what sort of egg it was for them to be so desperate about it.

'Is it the egg of a disaster beast?' he joined her words and naturally arrived at the conclusion.

'Damn, how did the ghost even manage to get his hands on such an egg?'

Oliver could not help but exclaim internally about the absurdity of the situation.

He knew how rare and terrifying a disaster beast was from the novel.

A certain face flashed through his mind when he thought about disaster beasts.

He shook his head, dispelling the intrusive thoughts and refocusing on the task at hand. He decided to think about it later. He had pressing matters to deal with at the moment.

Since they had come personally to such a place, taking a huge risk, then it could only mean that the thing he possessed was of very high importance to these heretics and their sect.

They could not have attacked him inside the Mystic Purge Clan unless they had a death wish, so they chose to wait. And when they realized he had come far from the clan to the mountains to train, they took action.

He did not know what the woman who was shivering beneath him was seeing or feeling, but for a moment he felt that it was a scene similar to when Nadia had lost control in the car when she used her special eyes to see him.

Although he was curious to know what it was and how it was affecting her, he did not have the time to inquire. Evelyn would be here soon, and there was another man who was chasing after others.

'Wait, weren't there three of them? So why have only two of them come?' he frowned as he thought about the third heretic.

It looked like he was guarding the entrance to prevent or stop Sigfor in case he returned.

Then he had to hurry up. 

He looked at the woman trembling under his gaze. His eyes were cold. He had no intentions to spare her after she had tried to kill him.

He could not hesitate. His morals had long changed ever since he came to this world, shaped by this world's cruel customs. If he wanted to live, then he could not spare his enemies.

A red spear appeared in his hand. He was about to strike when he suddenly jumped backward and dodged a terrifyingly fast flying sword that grazed past his head.

Drip.

Blood dripped as Oliver slowly touched his forehead. He had just dodged a deadly attack from the flying sword, and he realized that his forehead was starting to bleed from the small contact.

His skin, which was as tough as stone, was almost sliced like that, and so easily? Had he been a moment late, his head would have been sent flying.

He turned his head towards his right, where he heard footsteps from.

His eyes widened as he saw a short man in dark robes walking towards him. The man had a wrinkled face and gray beard, looking quite old. However, his eyes were sharp and vigorous.

The old man wielded a gleaming silver sword, its blade inscribed with ancient runes that seemed to pulse with a faint, ominous light.

It was not that Oliver was looking at the man's aged face, but what he had in his hands.