[Chapter 226: Alessa, Why Haven't You Come Out Yet?]
"The devil's followers have snuck in! They carry the scent of heresy! Burn them! Protect the Lord's temple!"
A loud crash echoed through the church.
Dozens of burly cult guards surged out from the shadows, wielding iron rods and makeshift muskets.
Cybil immediately drew her gun, but Daniel pressed down on her wrist. "I told you, bullets are useless."
Daniel glanced around, a cruel smirk curling the corner of his mouth. "Since Alessa can't get in, I'll open the door for her."
The cult guards advanced swiftly, reaching the bottom of the steps within seconds.
"Lord, grant us strength to purify the impure!"
A guard roared, swinging his iron rod with a whistling sound, aiming a heavy blow at Daniel's head.
Daniel didn't dodge or flinch; his right hand shot out, fingers clamping onto the falling rod like iron pincers.
"Crack!"
The once-solid iron rod felt soft beneath his grip, as if made of clay, several finger dents appearing on its surface.
Daniel yanked hard, pulling the guard forward, then struck his chest with his left hand, fingers held tight like a blade.
"Bang!"
There was neither blood, nor scream. Instead, a hole burst open in the guard's chest, revealing not organs, but black ash swirling like smoke. His body rapidly turned transparent, then crumbled away completely amid a high-pitched, ghostly wail.
[Ding! Killed a G-rank Ghost, obtained 300 merit points.]
The System notification chimed in Daniel's mind.
Cybil stared dumbfounded, her finger trembling on the trigger.
"They... they aren't human?"
"They've been dead ghosts for a long time," Daniel said coldly. "In that great fire thirty years ago, not a single living soul was left in this town. Now, they're just 'sinners' raised by Alessa in her sheepfold. Their flesh is sustained only by twisted faith."
"Devil! He is a true devil!" Christabella shrieked. "Kill him! Burn him with holy fire!"
All the townspeople sitting on the benches stood up, their complexions turning pale and purple in an instant. Their eyes clouded over by a thick gray-white fog as they emitted low growls that made teeth ache.
Hundreds of ghosts surged forward, their chilling aura sucking the light from the church.
"Gathering together is just right for clearing the field," Daniel sneered and flipped his hand.
The Dominion Rod materialized in his grip, thunderous sparks leaping wildly along its length.
"Fall!"
Daniel rose tall, his figure suddenly towering as he stepped onto the long altar table. With a fierce swing, he struck the church's vaulted ceiling, covered with murals of biblical stories. The Five Thunder Doctrine combined with the Dominion Rod summoned lightning far beyond normal limits.
Boom-- Rumble!
A bolt of golden lightning, as thick as a serving bowl, exploded from the sky and shattered the church's stained-glass dome.
Debris flew everywhere; the massive thunderous light cut through the roof like a sword of judgment.
A huge hole torn in the dark roof let in black ash and wild winds.
The once-holy, oppressive atmosphere shattered completely.
"Ah!"
The cult ghosts charging forward screamed as they were turned to black smoke by the aftershocks of the lightning.
Daniel stood on the altar, arcs of electricity crackling around him like the Norse god Thor. "Alessa doesn't dare enter because she still clings to a shred of humanity. I dare enter because you fuckers don't even have the right to enter Hell."
"Break, go!"
Daniel wiped his right hand across the copper coin sword, which instantly dispersed. The 365 consecrated copper coins transformed into a fierce rain of small swords, weaving frantically through the church's narrow spaces.
Puff, puff, puff...
The tiny copper coin swords pierced the foreheads and hearts of the ghosts one after another.
[Ding! Killed a G-rank Ghost, obtained 500 merit points!]
[Ding! Killed a G-rank Ghost, obtained 300 merit points!]
System notifications rang continuously in Daniel's mind.
In less than a minute, the crowded church hall was largely empty. The ghosts' souls scattered in the thunderous fire and golden light.
"Bastard! I'm going to tear you apart!"
On the high platform, Christabella finally lost her mind.
Her voice no longer sounded human but carried a sharp, grinding tone like metal scraping metal.
Her body twisted violently.
That gray dress split open from within, revealing nauseating, raw flesh.
She transformed into an incarnation of a monster wrapped in leather-like tissue.
Her head morphed into a grotesque mass of metal blades and steel spikes, stitched together.
Her hands fused with two enormous folding knives, razor-sharp and deadly.
She was a pure killing machine -- blindingly fast and heavily armored.
With a series of bone-cracking, tooth-grinding sounds, Christabella vanished.
In her place loomed a monster over two meters tall, her head encased in bladed metal armor, with grim long blades extending from her arms.
She leapt from the pile of ashes, moving so fast she left several afterimages.
The twin blades crossed, aiming straight for Daniel's neck.
Clang--!
Daniel reached out, meeting the blades with his arm.
Boom!
A shockwave burst outward, shattering the altar beneath them.
"Is that all...?" Daniel sneered, moving like lightning as he spun past the blades' edge.
Boom!
He threw a punch, sending Christabella flying like a cannonball.
Bang, bang, bang!
Anything she struck turned instantly to rubble.
"Mr. Cross, save Sharon!" Rose cried out desperately from the side.
With the church's seal broken, the walls began peeling in large sheets like a snake shedding its skin.
The blood-red muscle tissue of the Inner World crawled in through the cracks.
Monsters that had been barred outside now scrambled down through the roof's holes in a frantic rush.
"Alessa, why haven't you come out yet? What are you waiting for?" Daniel shouted coldly.
At his voice, the chaotic church suddenly fell into a dead silence.
The monsters climbing through the roof froze mid-motion, as if someone had hit pause.
Screech-- Crack--
The ground directly in front of the altar -- rusty wire mesh -- split apart, folding open to reveal a bottomless red light below.
Waves of thick, bloody scent mixed with the smell of burning ashes drifted up from the crack.
Bathed in that red glow, a small figure slowly rose, hovering in midair.
She wore a deep purple dress, her long black hair framing both sides of her face, obscuring much of it.
Though she looked like a little girl of about ten, the pressure she radiated forced the Inner World monsters to bow their heads and retreat.
*****
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