Chen Nuo spoke earnestly, "Now it's my turn to ask questions."
"Wait a minute... Why do I feel something's not right?"
"Don't mind the details," Chen Nuo said hastily. "If this thing can split itself... then isn't it impossible to completely kill it? Even if we put all our efforts into searching, as long as we miss one and let it be awakened..."
"Otherwise?" Vanel said grumpily. "Do you think the years of relentless effort our organization has put in, the generations that have strived to do this, were for nothing? If there was a way to quickly and thoroughly kill this thing, would we need to struggle so much?"
Chen Nuo frowned. "But even if it's just killing a split-off... Since you dared to come here to find the Mother, it must not be to awaken it, but to kill it, right?"
"Of course!"
"Then you must have a way to kill it. Even if it's just to eliminate this split-off, you must have a method, right?"
Vanel asked in confusion, "Don't you have a way? What method did your great Sect Hierarch use when he killed a Mother?"
Chen Nuo looked devastated, his voice heavy with sorrow. "After our Sect Hierarch killed the Mother, he himself was seriously injured. Otherwise, how could he have been caught by the police and imprisoned? Moreover, due to the severe trauma, he has lost his mind. He can't convey any effective information, so I don't know how he managed to kill the Mother."
"Lost his mind?"
"Yes, to put it simply, he turned into an idiot."
"...Wait, wait a minute. Why do I always feel something's not right..."
"I've told you not to mind these details," Chen Nuo said quickly. "Tell me, how do you plan to kill the Mother here? If you tell me, then I can help you."
But Vanel didn't give an answer. He stared at Chen Nuo for a while. "You need not know the answer to this question."
Alright then.
But at least he could be sure that this guy had a way to kill the Mother—if there really was a Mother here.
After looking at Vanel again, Chen Nuo suddenly frowned and asked, "How did you get caught? Where are the others?"
"...I don't know," Vanel said in a low voice. "It was chaos in the camp; everyone was fleeing. I felt the mission might fail, so... I let myself be captured on purpose!"
"To... sneak in here this way?"
Chen Nuo and Vanel's expressions changed drastically at the same time!
That voice was Gray Cat Black's scream!
"Go check it out!" Vanel said immediately.
"Okay!"
Chen Nuo agreed, and both of them jumped out from behind the statue.
A thought crossed Chen Nuo's mind. He suddenly darted over, swiftly reached out, and grabbed the cat sitting on the statue!
The cat let out a startled MEOW but was grabbed by the scruff of its neck by Chen Nuo and lifted. Holding the cat, he quickly followed Vanel out.
「At the top of the pyramid.」
On a platform about one hundred and ten square meters in size, beneath the towering black stone pillar at the center, stood a square stone platform.
On either side of the stone, a row of stone stakes stood, each about two meters in height.
And on those stakes, Sea Monster, Bonfrey, and Golden Bird were tied.
Each one looked drained and seemed very weak.
In front of the three captives, on that stone platform, lay the pitiful Gray Cat Black.
The poor fellow was spread-eagled.
His hands were splayed out, with a thick iron nail hammered into each palm!
The same was done to the soles of his feet!
Blood gushed from Gray Cat Black's palms and soles, then dripped down the stone slab.
Grooves were carved into the ground around the stone slab, and the blood flowed into them, quickly forming streams that followed the grooves and then poured into a hole in the ground...
Standing at the edge of the stone platform, a figure in a black cloak held a hammer, his face twisted into a grotesque grin. His eyes, mostly white, glinted as he let out a sinister laugh.
Bonfrey, Sea Monster, and Golden Bird all stared fiercely at the man with the hammer, their faces showing not just horror, but also rage.
"Junker!! Are you fucking mad?!"
Sea Monster roared in fury, "It was my stupidity to have spared your life!"
Golden Bird seemed very weak, coughed twice, and said in a low voice, "Sea Monster, you fought him years ago. You should have killed him."
The only one who didn't lose his composure and scream was Bonfrey.
Instead, he shook his head and sighed, "You two still haven't realized... he's not the Professor! This guy, he's taken over the Professor's body."
The Professor, standing before the stone slab, suddenly turned his head toward Bonfrey!
He slowly walked up to Bonfrey, extended his left hand—the one not holding the hammer—and, with a chilling chuckle, grabbed Bonfrey's chin.
"You're wrong, my dear Mr. Bonfrey! I am the Professor."
"..." Bonfrey stared at him in shock, his face contorting slightly before he asked, "Why did you betray us?"
"Betray?"
The Professor laughed, a zeal surfacing on his face. "Betray? What are you joking about, Bonfrey!"
Golden Bird shouted angrily, "Isn't it a betrayal? We were comrades on a mission together, yet you plotted against us... When the camp was attacked, we didn't forget to carry you out with us!"
The Professor burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Bonfrey frowned. "The Red Mist attack on the camp... It has something to do with you, right, Professor! No, you don't have the ability to suppress the powers of so many of us! And that strange and terrible Red Mist definitely isn't something you're capable of!"
"Of course it wasn't me." The Professor shook his head, the fanatical look on his face intensifying. "That was the power of the Deity!"
"Deity?" Bonfrey laughed. "A tomb raider, and now you believe in gods?"
"Why not believe?" The Professor flashed a twisted smile. "To subdue so many of you at once... if not a godly power, then what?"
Sea Monster suddenly asked, "When did you join these monsters? The night you were attacked, wounded, and fell unconscious? Or... from the very beginning, did you join our team with ulterior motives?!"
But Bonfrey immediately said, "That night's attack was fake, wasn't it, Professor? Moreover, to have disrupted all of our minds with mental powers... That kind of strength isn't something you could have achieved."
"I told you it's divine power! How could you, a mere human, possibly understand!" The Professor suddenly shouted in anger, then slapped Bonfrey across the face.
Five red finger marks promptly appeared on the handsome, noble-looking man's face.
But Bonfrey only smiled faintly and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. "What, can't I even ask one question, my old friend?"
The Professor's body shuddered. He then raised his hand to point at Bonfrey, and then at Sea Monster and Golden Bird.
"Enough talk! You're all going to die here! The nutrients of your lives will be drawn by the noble Deity, becoming the nourishment the Deity needs! You should feel honored by this!"
Having said that, the Professor turned around and walked back to the side of the stone platform.
Atop the stone platform, Gray Cat Black was bleeding profusely, his screams of agony continuing unabated.
The Professor let out two cold laughs, then pulled a thick, long iron nail from his person.
With a hammer in one hand and the nail in the other, he viciously drove it toward Gray Cat Black's heart!
THUD!!
After the nail was hammered into its heart, Gray Cat Black, lying there, twisted its body frantically for a few moments before lying completely still, motionless!
More and more blood poured from its body, filling the air with a pungent, metallic scent. The ever-increasing blood flowed to the ground, following the grooves to pour into the hole...
The Professor immediately turned and knelt, facing the towering stone pillar in the center, murmuring some strange language...
After a moment, the Professor shivered, then closed his eyes, adopting a look of fear and deference, as if listening to some silent voice...
"How is this possible?!" The Professor suddenly leaped to his feet!
His eyes, now mostly white, bulged as he howled in rage, "How could it be useless!!! I followed every step strictly!!"
He pointed to the already dead Gray Cat Black. "He was an Ability User; his blood should have been useful!!"
At this point, the Professor seemed as if an invisible hand was clutching his throat, trembling as he knelt there. "I, I was wrong! I'm sorry, I was wrong!! I will offer the next sacrifice immediately!!"
As he spoke, the Professor leaped up, his gaze sweeping over the three people before settling on Bonfrey.
"You then, Order Keeper Bonfrey! You're from the Mentality Series; your blood is the finest nourishment for the Deity!"
Bonfrey exhaled, watching the Professor approach, then suddenly sighed, "We really are fools."
"What?" Sea Monster was still trying to struggle against the ropes binding him. "Bonfrey, what are you saying? Think of something quick!"
But Bonfrey stopped struggling, shaking his head. "Actually, Harvey had already seen the problem long ago. Did you realize? Harvey said the one who went to check the bodies of the dead mercenaries is definitely the traitor, and also definitely an Ability User, right? It's ridiculous that at the time, we all thought we had alibis because we were together, which made us overlook the biggest doubt! So... the one who dug the grave was you, wasn't it, Professor! We all overlooked the fact that in the camp, apart from us, there was another Ability User – it was you, Professor! We all just thought you had fallen into a coma and were immobile, so we didn't suspect you."
Watching the Professor step closer, Bonfrey's expression stiffened more and more, and he kept provoking the Professor with a loud voice, "Plus, you joined this mission with ulterior motives from the very start, didn't you! I saw it at the meeting that day! You clearly knew the name John Sterling! But you pretended not to! Professor, I've known you for many years! I can read your expressions! When you heard the name John Sterling, you were fiddling with the buttons on your coat! You only do that when you're nervous! We've been friends for years; I know this habit of yours!"
The Professor had already started to untie the ropes binding Bonfrey.
Bonfrey's voice began to shake, but he relentlessly continued to goad the Professor, "You've been hiding the truth from all of us from the start... Junker! For the sake of our many years of acquaintance! Allow me an answer before I die! Why!"
The Professor grinned. "An answer? Ask your God when you're dead!"
With those words, he tore the ropes apart, grabbed Bonfrey by the hair, dragged him onto the stone slab, and threw him there.
Bonfrey seemed completely drained and limp, unable to struggle as he was thrown onto the stone slab, lying there like a dead fish.
He lay beside the already expired Gray Cat Black. Then he watched as the Professor came over, pulled out the iron nails from Black's hands and feet, lifted the corpse, and dumped it over the edge of the pyramid!
As the Professor walked back to the stone slab, Bonfrey suddenly shouted loudly!
"Professor! You are actually John Sterling, aren't you!!"
Seeing the Professor remain silent, Bonfrey's eyes darted around, and he bellowed, "Even if you're not John Sterling! You must be someone related to him!!"
"Bonfrey, there's no use trying to enrage me... you don't stand a chance. And there's no need to curse me like that... The Cultivator Association has done its fair share of disgusting things! You Cultivators have always liked to hunt and kill telekineticists as your food! Today, it's your turn to become nourishment for the Deity!"
Bonfrey, sweating profusely, tried to argue weakly, "Wait, wait a moment, Professor, we can talk this out..."
"Just give up, Bonfrey. You used to treat others as food and nourishment. Now you've become food and nourishment yourself – it's only fair!"
The hammer pressed down on a nail that had already pinned one of Bonfrey's hands. The Professor whispered, "Out of respect for our many years of friendship, I'll make your death a little less painful."
Fear finally appeared on Bonfrey's face, and he screamed, "Golden Bird!! If you have any tricks left, use them now!!"
"I, I don't have any tricks left!" Golden Bird yelled angrily.
"Bichi! Didn't you lie that a lion killed your son immediately, and that's why you attacked our companions?! Damn it, tell me, how can a 'woman' like you possibly have a son?! You're another one with ulterior motives! I don't care if you have any tricks left! If you don't use them now, we're all going to die here!"
Golden Bird's face turned ashen with rage. "Bastard!! Bonfrey, I..."
"Stop acting! You're next after I die! We lose strength with every person that dies!!!"
Bonfrey bellowed at the top of his lungs, "And you, Sea Monster!!! You're in cahoots with Bichi! Don't let me die; at least if you make your move, I'll still be a valuable ally!"
Sea Monster was also pale with anger. "Bonfrey, you're talking nonsense!!"
Watching Sea Monster's angry and confused expression, Bonfrey was taken aback, then suddenly burst into maniacal laughter.
"You don't know? You don't know? You really don't know?? HA HA HA HA HA! Sea Monster! Don't tell me you've actually fallen for this old woman!!!"
A flicker of struggle and unease flashed through Sea Monster's eyes.
Seeing this, Bonfrey laughed even more furiously. "Damn it!! A bunch of madmen!!! You, Sea Monster, are the biggest fool!! I thought you had some trump card you hadn't played! You can't possibly be genuinely in love with this woman, to have taken care of her all this way, can you?! You idiot!! Don't you know that she's actually not even a woman?!"
Holy shit, this is too explosive...
Hiding at the foot of the pyramid steps, Chen Nuo nudged Vanel's shoulder and whispered, "Hey! Are we saving Bonfrey or not?"
Vanel rolled his eyes. "Does it even matter? Even if he makes it out alive today, Golden Bird and Sea Monster will surely kill him to silence him."
"Then we won't save him."
"Save him! Gray Cat is already dead! If we lose Bonfrey as well, our side will be even weaker!"
Chen Nuo glanced at Vanel. "Who said Gray Cat is dead?"
"He stopped breathing! His heart was pierced by a nail!"
"The one who died isn't Gray Cat Black! This guy is a real master of disguise!" Chen Nuo smirked, then held up the gray cat he had captured from the inner hall. "Idiot, this is Gray Cat Black's true form! This guy specializes in shapeshifting! The cat is his true form! That human body was transformed from the cat! It's his pet!"
As Chen Nuo spoke, the cat in his hand suddenly shuddered and let out a scream, "MEOW," as if its fur stood on end, but it was clutched tightly by the scruff of its neck by Chen Nuo, unable to struggle free!
Chen Nuo sneered, suddenly leaped up, and bellowed, "Professor!!!"
This shout startled the Professor, who was standing beside the altar at the top of the pyramid!
But before he could react, Chen Nuo swiftly flung something fiercely at the Professor!
Cat: MEOW MEOW MEOW??
Vanel was stunned. "What are you doing!!"
"A comrade's sacrifice to heaven grants boundless magic power!"
[A quick note: Bad news, I have to take a day off tomorrow, Monday, due to some family matters.
It's just one day off, and I'll resume updates the day after tomorrow.
Note that this chapter is 5,200 words long. What does that mean? 520, right!
It means: Every leave of absence is just another way of saying I love you guys!!
PLEASE VOTE WITH YOUR MONTHLY TICKETS!!!!!!!!!]