Karl slowly curled his lips, revealing a profound smile: "Continue."
Chris's expression was tense, afraid her conjecture would be confirmed, yet eager for the truth: "You weren't simply moving items yesterday; you... stopped Time."
Her tone revealed fear of an unknown power, each word cautious, as she stared intently at Karl, trying to read something from his expression.
Karl merely smiled, as if playing a game.
Chris took a deep breath: "Yesterday, when I examined the injuries, I found that those wounds... were tears that would only occur from repeated friction."
Karl's eyes narrowed. This beautiful Saintess was far more perceptive and courageous than he had anticipated.
Even facing an unbeatable enemy, she was still trying to subtly probe his limits through words.
Karl knew that if he showed any weakness in front of Chris, this fragile Saintess, he would truly be no match for this healer.
He couldn't follow Chris's rhythm.
He slightly curved his lips, smiling eerily: "A Saintess who has lost her chastity has no place in the Church. But I can give you a home; you Will get everything you truly desire."
Chris, hearing this, showed a flicker of surprise.
After a brief moment of astonishment, she looked steadily at Karl, her tone incredulous: "You... are a demon?"
Karl didn't understand what a demon was; he just looked at her indifferently.
Seeing that he didn't admit it, Chris felt a little regretful, then shook her head: "A Saintess's purity comes from the soul, not merely the body. When all this is over, I Will confess to the Church and accept the appropriate punishment."
"A pure soul, hahaha!" Karl's face flashed with a cunning smile after hearing this.
He laughed heartily, as if he had heard an excellent joke: "It seems you don't truly understand yourself, Saintess Chris. So, how about we play a game?"
He leaned slightly forward, his voice low and seductive:
"I Will accompany you, and in this process, you Will rediscover your true self through physical pleasure. As a rule of the game, I Will not harm your companions."
"The deadline is seven days. If, within these seven days, you can still uphold your so-called pure soul, I, Karl, Will leave this world."
Chris, hearing this, showed hesitation in her eyes. She knew she couldn't fight Karl.
If this game could win a glimmer of hope for herself and her companions, she was unwilling to give up easily.
She gazed at Karl: "Why should I believe you Will keep your promise?"
Karl smiled and raised a finger, a movement that made Chris tremble.
She seemed to sense what was about to happen, and a look of terror appeared on her face as she blurted out: "Don't..."
The next second, the entire world fell still.
Time was stopped by Karl.
Karl slowly rose from the throne and walked in front of Chris. His fingertip lightly traced her face, taut with fear, and the delicate touch made him exclaim:
"I must say, you are truly beautiful."
What followed was familiar; this time, he didn't have to be as restrained as yesterday. He easily tore open her beautiful nun's robe.
"It's already healed."
Karl traced with his fingertip. Having healing magic was good; yesterday's injuries were severe tears.
He picked up Chris's slender body and began to practice. With yesterday's experience, today was much smoother. It seemed the healing magic didn't have a tightening effect.
"Phew..."
Karl actually wanted to try some other positions, but his three-meter height and the huge difference in size with Chris made it difficult.
He could only sit on the throne, playing as if holding a doll.
At most, he could choose to hold her from the front or from the back.
"The Saintess is truly moist."
Karl sighed, narrowing his eyes in enjoyment.
Time Stop ended.
"Don't." Chris finished shouting, only to feel her body lighten, followed by a soreness all over. Her legs gave way, unable to support her body, and she sat heavily on the ground.
Her gaze fell on her nun's habit, scattered nearby. The symbol of a Saintess, now lying on the ground like discarded rags.
Chris gritted her teeth, looked up at Karl: "I accept the wager."
Karl narrowed his eyes, looking deeply at Chris.
This Saintess was indeed not simple.
After recognizing reality, she could quickly adjust her mindset, flexible and adaptable, not bound by dogma.
Karl smiled slightly and announced: "The game begins."
Sylvie and Will stood quietly at the door. They didn't wait long before they saw Chris come out.
"Chris?"
Her voice was worried.
No sooner had she spoken than she saw Karl leisurely follow her out.
Seeing this, Sylvie's face immediately showed a mixed expression of wariness and surprise.
Karl's face showed a half-smile: "Miss Chris and I have reached an agreement. I Will travel with you, but no matter what happens, I Will not intervene."
This was his true purpose: to use these heroes as cannon fodder to find that Cthulhu monster.
Making Chris fall was just an excuse he found.
With this wager, he could explore some different ways to play beyond Time Stop.
He glanced at Chris, who was trying hard to walk without showing any abnormality, especially since she had two gems inserted.
Chapter 11: Gems
The four of them walked upstream along the winding creek. Sunlight filtered through the treetops, dappling the water and adding a touch of vitality.
However, the atmosphere among the four was exceptionally subtle.
Sylvie and Will constantly exchanged glances; they were clearly skeptical of the so-called "agreement" between Chris and Karl.
Chris's condition was clearly not right. Even if she tried her best to hide it, the three were teammates and could see the abnormality in her walking posture.
Sylvie was filled with unease, constantly wary of Karl's every move.
She had been thinking about Karl's true intentions.
But the disparity in strength between them meant she could only take things one step at a time.
Karl had been observing Chris. The fact that she could endure walking with two gems rubbing inside her body showed her willpower was truly strong.
Karl gently raised his finger.
"Time Stop."
The entire world froze at that instant.
Karl walked in front of Chris, looking at her tightly furrowed brows and her face, slightly pale from pain.
He reached out and unbuttoned her nun's robe.
His gaze fell on the area where the gems were inserted; faint traces of blood were seeping out.
"As expected, I lack experience." Karl used his finger to retrieve the two gems. Because of their irregular shape, they had rubbed against each other while she walked, scratching her:
"She can really endure pain."
Chris, afraid of being noticed, didn't dare to use healing magic and just endured it.
Karl was not a complete demon. After putting away the gems, he took out a relatively smaller and rounder one, placing it in the front this time to prevent further injury.
Karl tidied her clothes, looking at her small, very tempting lips.
Time began to flow.
Chris suddenly felt an inexplicable swelling deep in her throat, as if an indescribable stickiness was climbing up her esophagus.
She instantly realized what had happened before, her face changing dramatically as she gritted her teeth.
She was afraid the contents of her mouth would gush out.
She was overwhelmed by shame and helplessness, but thinking this was part of the wager, she told herself she had to persevere. Gritting her teeth, a low "gulp" sound came from her throat, and she forced the stickiness back down.
Intense nausea and revulsion assaulted her senses; her stomach churned.
But just as the discomfort slightly receded.
Chris suddenly discovered that the painful wound in the back no longer hurt as much. The strange sensation also disappeared, leaving only a hollow feeling.
Although there was a strange sensation in the front, it was significantly smaller and rounder, and at least it wouldn't cut her again.
For a moment, Chris felt a strange sensation: Karl wasn't that bad after all.
Karl's eyes were clear now, devoid of any worldly desires. He had arrived at the place where he had encountered the Formless last night.
Looking around, the monster's figure was nowhere to be found.
"Be careful, there's a smell of blood." Sylvie's sense of smell was exceptionally keen. She frowned slightly, her voice wary, her gaze fixed on a dense patch of woods.
Will and Chris immediately entered combat readiness.
Karl voluntarily stepped back, watching the three cooperate tacitly. He couldn't help but sigh, they were indeed strong, worthy of being a team that dared to challenge him, a seventh-tier Evil Dragon.
Most importantly, they were vigilant enough.
Sylvie gripped her longsword, her steps light, cautiously approaching the source of the bloody smell.
As she neared the patch of woods, she suddenly signaled to Will.
Will immediately raised his staff, and over a dozen water arrows materialized out of thin air, shooting towards the direction Sylvie pointed her sword with fierce momentum.
The water arrows cut through the air, making whooshing sounds. One of them accurately struck a large tree, as thick as a man's embrace. The trunk was instantly pierced, and wood chips flew everywhere.
Immediately after, a scream came from behind the tree, and a fat Goblin stumbled out.
The next second, its head was pierced by a water arrow, and it fell to the ground.
Just then, a series of fiery orbs suddenly flew out of the bushes, aiming directly at Sylvie.
Chris clasped her hands together, bowing her head as if in prayer.
Sylvie's body gradually became covered in a layer of silver-white armor, like a war god descended. She rushed into the man-high grass like a bolt of lightning.
Sword light flashed, and screams constantly erupted.
In less than three minutes, the battle was over.
Sylvie emerged, holding a Goblin's head, and frowned: "It's the Goblin King. Strange, why would these timid creatures leave their cave?"
After she finished speaking, her gaze turned to Karl.
It was Karl who had led them to this area.
However, Karl stood quietly to the side, a mysterious smile of a sage on his face, as if telling Sylvie: The answer you need to find yourself.
Sylvie had no choice. Seeing her teammates, she said: "Let's go check the Goblin's lair. The Goblin King shouldn't have left the lair, and their behavior is very unusual."
Will and Chris agreed.
Chris, with only one gem inserted, gradually got used to it and didn't show any abnormality, at least not on the surface.
So they began to follow the footprints left on the ground.
Karl walked at the very back of the team, secretly startled.
Through his observations just now, he had roughly understood the strength disparity between himself and the others in the team.
Sylvie was a sixth-tier hero, and the other two were only between fifth and sixth-tier.
The good news was that his seventh-tier physical strength was not as weak as he had previously imagined; at least he wouldn't be instantly killed by Sylvie.
The bad news was that with the tacit cooperation and strength of Sylvie, Will, and Chris, Karl would be utterly helpless if they knew his true strength.
The range of his Time Stop ability was limited to within 110 meters.