NOVPUBPerlman’s voice was low and dangerous, like the calm before a storm,
"You shouldn’t have interfered in this battle, even if you witnessed it, you shouldn’t have appeared."
"..."
Yet Loren himself still stood atop the distant high-rise, silent as if waiting quietly for something.
After a few seconds, he finally spoke.
"What else is there to say? You don’t think I could just stand by and watch this disaster unfold, do you?"
His voice cut through the torrential rains of the Poson Demon World, lingering around Perlman.
Whether it was rain or falling petals, in the Great Priest’s eyes, they were all filled with compassion.
"I will give you a chance,"
He slightly lifted his palm, as if caressing the curtain of rain, or as if cradling moonlight,
"A chance to challenge me."
At the same time, he was looking at Perlman.
The Talia in Lanci’s heart didn’t know what to say anymore.
This guy from the other side really dared to act.
And in her memory, Loren was not so showy.
Yet Lanci was particularly familiar with Loren, whether it was his demeanor or his mannerisms, he particularly resembled Loren.
Even the students from Ichrite Academy would have a hard time distinguishing the two.
As for the Immune Field tinged with the glow of the Divine Era, even Loren probably couldn’t do it; it came from Cat Boss’s Wind-attribute Epic-level equipment.
[Break of Dawn Storm]
[Category: Equipment Card]
[Grade: Orange Epic]
[Level: 8]
[Effect: Can be triggered upon casting Wind Magic, consumes mana to create an additional absolute Immune Field, can be triggered up to three times every twenty-four hours.]
[Note: The raging winds of dawn covered helpless reason on the pitch-black snowfield, sweeping the faith known as light towards every witness.]
Any Wind Magic could trigger it, and he could use it twice more today.
From now on, in the enemy’s intelligence reports, Loren might have to be considered with three extra lives.
The downpour was still raging violently.
The atmosphere on the battlefield of Poson’s 10th district became even tenser.
"Perlman."
Loren began to speak, his voice like the gospel from Heaven, cutting through the fierce winds and heavy rains,
"The belief you hold dearly that ’humans and the Demon Race can coexist’, I can understand it all—the growth you experienced, your accomplishments, your close success until you were completely betrayed by humanity, incurring irreversible losses. The more tenacious and firm you were, the more extreme you became once your belief betrayed you and you recognized the facts. Now, you are completely different from your former self, hatred has clouded your reason, leading you to make irrevocable mistakes."
This speech was also like a judgment upon Perlman.
Hearing this, Perlman actually started to laugh.
As if he had never thought there would be a human who understood him so well.
"If I’m not mistaken, Great Priest Loren, you must be a very steadfast person as well. If you were in my shoes, what would you choose?"
He asked for advice, while simultaneously questioning.
Looking up at the black-robed figure on the high building, his eyes burned with resentment and anger.
"I think, I do not have the right to stand on the shore and tell a drowning creature in the river how I would choose in this situation."
Loren was indifferent to Perlman’s question, like an eternal lighthouse, responding to lost souls in the darkness, 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"But I can understand you."
When he spoke again, his voice remained as gentle as a spring rain nurturing life.
"Good, such an answer is enough for me."
Perlman started to laugh again at these words, but soon, he put his arrogant mask back on, with even a hint of sternness appearing at the corner of his mouth.
The Great Priest made his point clear.
Understanding is one thing, but the battle must go on; they were now enemies who must fight to the death.
"It seems, to fight against you, an unwelcome visitor, I must use something I didn’t plan on using today."
Perlman’s voice rumbled like a whisper from Hell.
He reached into his bosom and pulled out a crystal stone as black as the dead of night.
The crystal’s surface was reflective but exuded an aura that surpassed even what he had given to Nigel with [Parlony’s Shadow Weaving Record].
Perlman took a deep breath and slowly pressed the crystal against his chest.
In an instant, the black crystal began to melt, turning into a thick, pitch-black liquid that seeped into Perlman’s flesh, his body starting to undergo a frightening transformation.
His originally lean and strong limbs began to turn a deathly grey, with nauseating blood-red lines surfacing on his skin, writhing and churning like the lava in the depths of Purgatory.
His eyes became bottomless black holes, unfathomably deep.
Even though Perlman’s appearance had completely gone Berserk, his mannerism still maintained a strange gentility, as if he were not a wild Demon.
Instead, he was like a Hellish gentleman who embodied both brutality and grace.
"Now, we can decide life and death,"
Perlman raised a hand, the blackened telekinetic force condensing between his fingers, spinning and dancing in midair.
Even though using [Parlony’s Grudge Record] required burning his life and the time of rational enhancement was limited, probably still not as strong as Great Priest Loren, under the Berserk state, the pressure of his telekinesis had reached a level that could barely compete with the Cardinal Bishops.
Great Priest Loren, even targeted by the newly transformed Perlman, remained unflinchingly still.
He calmly watched Perlman’s transformation without a hint of surprise or fear on his face.
"So strong,"
Lanci pondered,
"But even so, I wonder how long you can hold me back?"
He asked with unruffled composure.
