Decapitation

At the urging of the dead, Yi Chen rose to a height level with Art.

Yi Chen, who rarely initiated conversations, suddenly spoke. "This isn't a stance you developed yourself, is it? Was the inspiration from beyond the domain?"

Having acknowledged the young man before him, Art told him without reservation where this stance, which resembled Pontiff Stance, had come from.

Or perhaps Art regarded this inserted explanation as part of the performance, allowing the audience to feel more immersed.

"That's right... Back when I was still a wanderer, I happened to encounter a strange group of invaders.

"They called themselves some kind of religious order. They marched in formation, carrying curtains as they traversed the land of the Old World. In the very center sat their so-called pontiff on a white chair.

"They rang bells while saying something about purifying this sick land of ours.

"I found such a procession fascinating. I even couldn't help laughing madly. But back then, I was still far too weak to confront them head-on. The slightest mistake would have gotten me killed.

"So I secretly followed them. After determining which settlements they would pass through, I infected all the Sick Ones in those settlements with my tumors in advance.

"As they carried out their so-called 'purification,' the religious order gradually became infected with my tumors as well.

"My Malignant Tumors weren't so easy to remove. Once they all broke out, I slaughtered them in one go and absorbed them into my body. The scene was truly spectacular.

"The entire religious order transformed into a river of pure, white tumors and flowed into my body!

"And that so-called pontiff was even more interesting than I expected. His memories contained something about heavenly deities, which gave tremendous support to my current form."

As he spoke,