Mind Blast

After rummaging through the room, Priest Green returned to the table with a bottle of mead and two cups, then poured the drinks himself. "Try this."

"Thank you, sir." Raymond thanked him between wolfing down food. He took the cup, drank half the mead in one go, then continued tearing into the meat.

Priest Green poured Gagnor a cup as well and said with a smile, "Gagnor, you should try some too."

Gagnor glanced at the mead in his cup but did not drink it immediately. Instead, he suddenly asked, "By the way, sir, what was that spell you used to kill the Fire Wolf?"

"Mind Blast." Priest Green's gaze drifted slightly. "It works very well against beasts."

"Why?" Gagnor asked.

Priest Green turned and pointed at the Fire Wolf's corpse, launching into an explanation. "Beasts without intelligence usually do not possess powerful souls, so they have a hard time resisting the power of Mind Blast. But humans—even ordinary people—are almost impossible to kill with a single Mind Blast..."

In the instant Priest Green turned away, Gagnor casually touched the mead in his cup with a finger.

Item: Mead

Item: Nightshade Pollen

Nightshade Pollen?!

Gagnor's heart jolted. When he looked again at the talkative Priest Green, the man's expression was clearly becoming more strained, and he was trying to conceal it by talking incessantly.

What was Priest Green planning?

Gagnor's thoughts raced.

He could not guess Priest Green's intentions, but there was no way he would drink mead laced with Nightshade Pollen.

At that moment, Raymond drank the remaining half cup of mead.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Priest Green's forehead. With a stiff smile, he said, "Gagnor, you should try the mead too. It tastes quite good."

Raymond chimed in, "Yeah, it's good!"

"..." Gagnor had no words. He merely looked silently at Raymond.

Over the next dozen seconds, both Gagnor's and Priest Green's expressions grew increasingly rigid before finally turning cold.

Raymond noticed nothing. He continued eating the roasted wolf steak by himself until he suddenly yawned and said groggily, "Huh? Why did you both stop eating? If you're full, I can help—"

Before he could finish, he toppled face-first onto the table and lost consciousness.

The air fell utterly silent.

Only two minutes later did Priest Green's gloomy voice break the silence. He stared directly at Gagnor and asked, "How did you find out?"

Gagnor calmed himself. "It seems you never realized how strange you've been lately. Especially today. You've smiled more than you did in the past three years combined."

Another silence followed.

Gagnor asked, "Sir, can you tell me what your plan was? I doubt your goal was merely to help Raymond get a good night's sleep. He certainly does not lack sleep."

Beneath his pristine white sleeves, Priest Green seemed to clench his fists. His expression shifted uncertainly for a long while before he finally said, "I was just... lonely."

"?" Gagnor was utterly baffled.

Priest Green continued, "The church forbids intimacy between men, so I had no choice but to use Nightshade Pollen, something that makes people completely unconscious."

So he meant... gay sex?

Gagnor felt as though ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through his heart.

But he quickly recovered and realized Priest Green might not be telling the truth.

If it was not the truth, Priest Green likely harbored an even more dangerous motive. Even if it was true, it was still terrifying enough.

After all, homosexual acts were a grave crime in Mosaism. Even an attempt would bring harsh punishment from the church. Having caught Grimm with such a huge weakness, there was no way Grimm would simply do nothing.

After agonizing over it, Gagnor finally made up his mind. He splashed the mead into Grimm's face, then bolted out the door.

Run!

He did not think he could defeat Priest Green. Since it was nighttime, perhaps he could escape under cover of darkness.

However, the moment Gagnor ran outside and looked up, his heart sank halfway—tonight was a full moon!

The moon hung huge and round in the sky, illuminating everything clearly. There was no possibility of hiding in the darkness.

Still, he could only force himself to flee.

At the same time, Priest Green emerged from the room.

Instead of pursuing Gagnor, he formed a triangle with his hands. Golden light rapidly gathered between them, forming a mysterious Rune.

The mysterious Rune flashed out of existence the moment it formed.

As Gagnor sprinted desperately away, his head suddenly buzzed. He was instantly dizzy and disoriented, collapsing to the ground.

He tried to rise, but the spinning sensation would not fade. He could barely tell which way was which, let alone stand.

Mind Blast!

Gagnor realized Priest Green had used Mind Blast on him.

Just as Priest Green had said, Mind Blast found it difficult to kill a human in one strike. Gagnor's spirit was strong, making it even less likely that he would suffer serious harm. He would probably recover after a while.

But right now, he did not have "a while."

What should he do?

Right, Feign Death!

Gagnor had no other choice. His body was difficult to move, and the only thing he could do was use Feign Death.

If he was lucky, perhaps it could give him an unexpected opportunity to turn things around.

With that thought, he immediately activated Feign Death. His heartbeat and breathing stopped, and he lay motionless on the ground.

Priest Green walked over, looked at Gagnor on the ground, and sneered. "You think you can get away?"

Gagnor gave no response.

Priest Green continued, "Don't worry. In the end, you will become a respected martyr in a fabricated story. I'll also give your family some money. After all, I am—"

As he spoke, he suddenly sensed something. He hurriedly bent down to check Gagnor's breathing, then widened his eyes in disbelief. "Dead?!"

"This kid doesn't look like someone with a weak soul. How could this happen..." He furrowed his brows and muttered to himself.

He then felt Gagnor's chest.

After confirming that there was no heartbeat either, Priest Green's face darkened completely. Silence followed.

"Ah!" At last, he let out a heavy sigh and dragged Gagnor back to the cabin.

Back in the cabin, he still refused to give up and checked Gagnor's breathing and heartbeat again. He discovered that not only had Gagnor stopped breathing and lost his heartbeat, but even his skin had grown a little cold.

This time, Priest Green had no choice but to accept the fact that Gagnor was dead.

He tossed the "dead" Gagnor into a corner of the room, then sat down alone in a chair with his head lowered. He was clearly in a heavy mood, though no one knew what he was thinking.

What he did not know was that at that very moment, Gagnor was trembling as he took faint, shallow breaths.

Damn it, I almost suffocated to death!

Six minutes is a little too short... After releasing Feign Death, Gagnor carefully concealed his breathing to avoid being discovered by Priest Green.

Fortunately, Priest Green was immersed in negative emotions and did not notice.

Only after quite a while did Priest Green raise his head and turn his gaze toward the unconscious Raymond. "If that's the case, then I'll sacrifice one..."