I Did It

Bram's eyes widened, revealing a look of fear.

He was not unaware of what was happening before his eyes.

After all, Bram was very popular in the Parthian Ancient Kingdom and Star Antimony, and had many friends of high status... Although the abilities of the Pope Guard were a secret to most people, he happened to be one of the few.

The next moment, his body suddenly exploded. He transformed into countless screaming, fluttering bats, dodging several oncoming arcs of light.

Where he had just disappeared, a gray cocoon bulged out of the void, with countless threads bursting out in all directions, attempting to control the Pope Guard whose cloaks had turned blood red.

The gray lines that burst forth in all directions easily pierced through the walls of the house, and dust rose everywhere in an instant.

—But this kind of damage and control is completely useless against the Pope Guard.

A phantom light shield appeared on their bodies, blocking all the incoming attacks—it was the protection of the pure Saintess.

When the first attack failed, the gray cocoon began to swell, emitting a dangerous aura.

Just then, Iver suddenly made his move.

As he waved his scepter, flames coalesced into a golden-red butterfly, which flew toward the table where the old troll sat cross-legged.

Pure White's gaze followed instinctively, and he saw the disheveled Bram holding the glass of wine on the table, tilting his head back and drinking it all in one gulp.

—It was only then that she realized there was someone squatting there!

Bram's stealth abilities weren't particularly strong, otherwise he wouldn't have been discovered so quickly. But the constantly erupting and mutated gray cocoon subconsciously attracted the attention of the others.

Whether it was the bats or the gray cocoon, it was all just a smokescreen... He was one of the bats, and while people were focused on the gray cocoon that appeared after the bats dispersed, he had already run to the table.

This stealth was not achieved through Extraordinary Skills, but through psychological techniques!

In fact, even Iver didn't notice it immediately.

The first to notice something was wrong was actually Lily —the instant Bram disappeared, she immediately grabbed Iver's wrist, gesturing for him to look to the side.

It was thanks to her quietly reminding Iver that he was able to notice someone over there.

Under Iver's watchful gaze, the Flame Butterfly had already flown past the old troll who sat cross-legged on the ground without uttering a sound, and was flying towards Bram, gradually becoming brighter.

By this time, Bram had already finished his drink.

His pupils had turned a dark red, and clumps of dark red gel had formed on his skin.

From the moment Iver made his move until now, only a little over a second has passed.

At that moment, the Flame Butterfly suddenly erupted—

A scorching, fiery vortex, like a tornado, expanded from the cracked Flame Butterfly, binding Bram tightly! At this moment Iver no longer cared about the fire damage harming the Sacred Tree—he could only stop Bram first.

The roaring, expanding flames instantly attracted the attention of others.

But in the next moment, an unusual expansion suddenly appeared in the firestorm.

A gigantic arm with bright red skin emerged from it and tore the flames apart!

The man's body swelled rapidly, his eyes were bloodshot, and he let out a roar like a wild beast.

In the blink of an eye, his body surpassed all the elves, even reaching the ceiling. His height soared to over eight meters, and his skin flowed with a murky, liquid-red blood. This blood, like leaping flames, burned a hole through the surrounding time-slowed field, preventing it from affecting his rage.

He let out an angry, hysterical roar, and large patches of runes suddenly appeared on his skin.

Imaginary red shackles immediately appeared on his limbs, as smooth and warm as jade.

But then, they spontaneously combusted and turned to ashes.

An overwhelming aura swept over them. That terrifying power made the entire building collapse with just a casual swing of his fist. He easily ripped off the burning roof, sending it flying like a meteor into the distance.

For a moment, Chunbai hesitated.

She stared in astonishment at the crimson giant, as if she had just realized something.

The younger Pope Guard, however, showed no reaction whatsoever.

They immediately formed ranks, letting out a sharp, explosive roar, "--Damn it, it's a remnant of the Titans!"

"Your Excellency Archbishop, please step back!"

"Protect the civilians! Protect Saintess Highness!"

"You protect the archbishop, I'll take over!"

In just a moment, the four guards split into two groups. One group continued to fight the giant, while the other group immediately retreated and protected Iver and Pure White.

In that instant, Iver's eyes widened.

He knows this guy!

—This is a high-difficulty boss in the later stages of Version 2.0, "Wildfire Giant Utgarda-Loki"! However, it looks shorter than the real "Wildfire Giant Utgarda-Loki"... and much weaker in terms of its world-destroying demonic aura.

But why...?

Isn't "Red Wine Mister" Bram Stoker?

The moment he entered the room, Iver saw it clearly. It was indeed the appearance of a human youth, and his age matched what Sherlock had described as Bram.

"It's that glass of wine!"

Iver immediately thought of the cup of Blood Wine he had just drunk.

He had clearly used cunning tactics to distract others when he was attacked.

But his first reaction wasn't to run away; instead, he came over and drank that glass of wine...

Bram had just drunk the wine when he instantly transformed into a giant; he had also briefly turned into a bat, which was clearly the ability of the Child of the Moon; he could also use gray spider silk, which was a power Path of Adaptation... In addition to his identity as a writer and his background as Law Mage... this already puts him on several levels of the path!

"... is the power of 'stealing' to Path of Adaptation."

At this moment, Pure White finally realized. "Don't be nervous, he is not a real giant."

As she spoke, Pure White extended her right hand toward the giant-like Bram.

The next moment, an old, dilapidated wooden door suddenly appeared in front of her.

As the wooden door creaked open, a gust of pure white, cold wind instantly filled the entire room.

Accompanied by the angry roar of a dragon echoing from afar, an icy wind poured out of the door, covering the entire house with a layer of frost. Even the flames burning on the ground, which Iver had just ignited, were extinguished.

The giant maintained his clenched fist as he aimed at the Pope Guard, but his movements became visibly slower and slower. What was originally a split second of motion stretched to half a second, allowing his attack to be easily dodged.

An arc of light flashed through the air, and the giant's right arm was severed!

His clenched fist, like a pillar, flew into the sky and shattered into countless tiny gray worms in mid-air. His second punch became increasingly slow, until finally the entire giant was frozen in place.

The giant's body shattered instantly. Countless tiny gray winged insects scattered in all directions and disappeared into the air.

—It was all just a lie.

Bram, now back in human form, stumbled forward a few steps before being bound hand and foot by a dozen or so threads of Lines of Light, leaving him suspended in mid-air.

"Damn it, if we had come any later..."

His eyes were filled with resentment. "I wasn't ready, how could this happen—"

"—Behave yourself!"

An enraged Pope Guard punched him in the face. Bram swayed violently, swinging wildly in the air like Doll on a rope.

Sherlock, standing nearby, realized. "It's that glass of wine!" If he were prepared, he wouldn't have left the wine untouched. That can only mean his ritual isn't complete yet—

"Saintess Highness, is he the Curse Master who set the trap?"

Another Pope Guard turned around and asked warily, "Be careful of his accomplices!"

Bram was taken aback when he heard this.

He suddenly looked at the old troll who had been sitting quietly in the corner.

Even right after he transformed into a giant, the guy sat motionless in the same spot, slowly eating fried chicken.

The old troll slowly raised his eyelids and glanced at Bram.

He remained completely calm and composed, as if he had expected this all along.

He just slowly raised his head and straightened his hunched back a little.

"Puff."

The old troll spat out two broken chicken leg bones. The broken bone, mixed with foul-smelling saliva, flew onto Bram's face, who was hanging in the void.

"It's me, I'm turning myself in."

Then, the old troll spoke in perfect Elven Language: "It was my cursed Zumai Di."