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Chapter 67: Chapter 67: Divine Grace
With the activation of CidiHypnosis, this little Demon was even weaker than the adult human from before. Its resistance was almost nonexistent, and in just a moment, it was successfully hypnotized.
Thus, it became the first Demon to join the new Cidi cult.
At this moment,
As a CidiBishop, Ashu interrogated, "Tell me, how did you come to the human world?"
Under the effect of Hypnosis, the little Demon couldn’t lie. It answered, "I... was really summoned by a Mage."
Ashu frowned. That was exactly what it said before.
Could there be something wrong with Hypnosis?
No, that’s not right. It only said two sentences just now — maybe it was half true, half false?
"Aren’t you looking for your Summoner Lord?" Ashu asked.
"I... I was abandoned. The Summoner Lord despised me for being too weak," the little Demon replied.
"Then, answer me: who is your Summoner Lord?"
Upon hearing this question, even in a hypnotized state, the little Demon’s spirit seemed to suffer immense pressure.
With a painfully strained expression, it finally said, "It is, it is a devotee of the evil god. I don’t know his human name, only that he has this kind of curse mark on his hand."
As it spoke, the little Demon drew a pattern on the ground.
That pattern was different from the Cidi mark, but it was also a circular shape with some strange symbols inside.
"Why did your Summoner Lord summon you Demons?"
"To... for the soul of Cardinal’s son," the little Demon answered. "His soul is held by a great Demon. Cardinal once drove that great Demon away. That Demon takes pleasure in having his son’s soul. I, such a weak Demon, cannot snatch the soul back from the great Demon, so I was abandoned."
Hearing this, Ashu pieced the situation together.
Cardinal Kakarim could not resurrect his son through the Divine Mother Goddess.
Because for this matter with the Divine Mother Goddess, Ashu’s forgiveness was needed.
Therefore,
There was only one other way left — to seek help from the evil god. For example, Carol in the past — her soul was pulled from the River Styx with the help of the Cidi deity.
Ashu still had one last question. He asked, "Is your Summoner Lord Cardinal himself?"
"No, no, I’m afraid of that Cardinal... my Summoner Lord is just a devotee of the evil god," the little Demon answered shakily.
"A cooperative relationship?" Ashu murmured, then immediately ordered, "Then lead the way. Take us to your Summoner Lord."
"I, I, I..." The little Demon looked terrified. "I dare not. If my Summoner Lord finds out, I will definitely be crushed to dust. Even if I return to Hell, he can still summon me to torment me."
Just as the little Demon finished speaking,
A Demon Hunter Arrow, shimmering with a cold light, was aimed at its bare head.
Vivita said coldly, "I can crush you to dust right now. And if I kill you, you will have no chance of resurrection. Your soul will be scattered to the winds."
Once the Demon Huntress Nun’s presence was unleashed, it was even more terrifying to the Demons than the Cardinal himself.
The little Demon was about to cry. It was so weak, yet it kept running into one terrifying heavyweight after another.
The Summoner Lord was one thing—that was its direct summoning connection.
But now, a "luminous saint," a Demon Huntress Nun—this was far beyond what it could provoke.
The little Demon just wanted to survive, even if only for a little while longer.
Under Vivita’s threat, the little Demon could only lower its head and reply, "Alright, I’ll lead the way. But I have to warn you in advance: I can sense where the Summoner Lord is, and naturally, the Summoner Lord can sense my location as well. When we get close, the Summoner Lord will definitely notice."
At that moment,
Anna said, "Enough nonsense. The rest is none of your concern."
The little Demon glanced back at Anna. It couldn’t figure out who Anna really was, but anyone who could be with a "luminous saint" and a Demon Huntress Nun had to be a formidable figure.
Ashu lifted his foot, and the little Demon could only pitifully crawl toward the branch of the tunnel on the right.
The three immediately followed.
The space in the branch tunnel wasn’t very wide. The three had to crouch low to avoid touching the disgusting growths on the tunnel walls.
Not only that, Anna also summoned Magical Essence to form a protective shield, preventing any of the attachments above on the tunnel ceiling from falling due to gravity.
The three moved stealthily for a long time. The tunnel walls blocked the sunlight, so it was impossible to tell the time. This difficult maneuver made time seem to slow even more.
Ashu felt like nearly a century had passed.
Finally,
Anna couldn’t help but ask, "Little one, is that moving north your Summoner Lord?"
The little Demon’s expression changed sharply. It looked back and said, "My Summoner Lord is very skilled at hiding. How did you know?"
"Stop wasting words. Is it or isn’t it?"
"If... if you mean the same one, then yes. He is indeed moving in that direction, putting distance between himself and me."
At this very moment, within the vast "Kakase," no one knew how many people were moving north.
There was a high chance of misjudgment.
But Ashu trusted Anna.
He was also sick of crawling through sewers.
"We’re pursuing!"
This was a great opportunity to earn Divine Points, and also a good chance to seize the Cardinal’s weak spot.
While Vivita was still in "Kakase," Ashu had to deal with the Cardinal’s problem quickly.
Otherwise, if headquarters issued a transfer order and took Vivita away before the Cardinal was dealt with, things would become dangerous.
"Little Demon, stay here."
Ashu gave the order, and the three immediately followed Anna’s guidance, heading north in pursuit.
Soon,
The three emerged from the sewer and arrived at the northern outskirts of "Kakase."
Following Anna’s Twelfth Stage of Spiritual Perception—her super-strong sensing ability—Ashu saw a secret base disguised as a farm.
Vivita’s gray eyes scanned it and she immediately said, "I see it. Truly skilled at hiding. When I passed by here before, there was no one. He got lucky."
"Catch him first, then talk!" As soon as Ashu spoke, Vivita shot out like a cannonball.
Her figure smashed directly through the railing, and the aftershock sent several cows grazing on the farm flying. One of them crashed into a wooden hut.
The wooden hut exploded on impact, as if hit by a high-speed train.
When the dust from the broken hut settled, Vivita was already holding a devotee of the evil god by the neck, lifting him high into the air.
From a distance, Ashu could see even from far away that the man’s eyes were bloodshot—clearly a seasoned devotee of the evil god.
Unfortunately, under the absolute dominance of the Demon Huntress Nun, he was nothing more than a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
"D-Die..." the devotee of the evil god managed to curse hoarsely through his throat. "How could this be... Demon Hunter, Nun..."
Ashu walked over.
He didn’t ask questions at first. Instead, taking advantage of Vivita holding him up, Ashu moved behind the man and immediately condensed Magical Essence into a blade, carving the Cidi mark onto his back.
Sensing Ashu’s action, the man struggled fiercely.
He swung his right hand, trying to attack Ashu.
"Damn it! Stop, stop! Goddamn... I have sworn loyalty to ’Byron,’ never to defile my faith! You damned... Cidi lackey!"
"Byron?" Anna stepped forward, hearing the name, and explained to Ashu, "One of the evil gods. It is said Byron knows all things ancient and modern, can predict the future, grants wisdom, and allows one to become invisible."
"That’s right! The great ’Byron’ has long been above all of you!" The red-eyed Byron devotee gritted his teeth.
"I don’t care about your this or that."
Ashu said as he finished carving the Cidi mark. Then he came to stand in front of him.
The red-eyed Byron devotee glared at Ashu and sneered, "You think that carving the Cidi mark on me will make me worship Cidi? Byron would abandon me? Impossible! You’re too naive! Damn fool!"
Ashu didn’t bother to retort. He directly activated CidiHypnosis and began forcibly ’reforming’ him.
He used it five times in a row, but the man remained unmoved.
Helpless, Ashu condensed Water Bullets and began piercing the man’s body.
Hole after hole formed, entering through the front chest and exiting the back, accompanied by some blood and occasionally bits of internal organs.
People often say the mind and body are separate, but when the body weakens, the mind suffers greatly as well.
When the red-eyed Byron devotee was covered in wounds and near death, he no longer had the strength to resist with words. The CidiHypnosis quickly succeeded.
With Ashu feeling a slight increase in his Cidi Evil Power, the man officially became a Cidi Devotee.
"Now?" Ashu signaled Vivita to release him. The man collapsed weakly to the ground, barely able to open his mouth, no longer able to speak.
Seeing this,
Anna promptly threw out a ball of green glowing light.
[Anna·Kagreia, acquired: Healing Light of Life]
[Critical Return! Vessel acquired: Divine Grace!]
While the green glow was healing the man, Ashu took the opportunity to check the newly gained skill in his mind.
Divine Grace is an advanced version of Healing Light of Life, with its healing effect increased by nearly thirty times.
The method of casting is similar, allowing for both remote healing and close-range healing.
With this skill, Ashu could confidently and boldly use torture when capturing Cidi Devotees alone in the future.
Coming back to his senses,
under the green glow, the man gradually regained some color and barely clung to life.
At this moment, Ashu asked, "Tell me, what is your name?"
"Sion..."
"Then, Sion, what is your relationship with Kakarim?"
Before hypnosis, Sion would only curse, but after hypnosis, he answered honestly:
"I’ve always been hiding from that Cardinal. He executed many of the evil god’s devotees, but last night, he found me alone and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse."
