The Attack

"Crimson Moon..."

Aaron murmured. He had seen many terrifying beings in this world and heard the mutterings of the many evil gods at their births, but Black Sun and the Crimson Moon were the most unnerving of them all.

The reason was simple: all you had to do was look up to see them. That showed just how terrifying their influence on the Mortal World was. Everyone in this world, even those who were sane, carried a latent potential for madness, making them especially vulnerable to the influence of Black Sun and the Crimson Moon.

At that moment, he saw a tinge of crimson in Lin's eyes. The little girl's throat bobbed as she swallowed, her small face full of longing—or rather, hunger!

She stared hungrily at Aike, who was sleeping inside the cottage, barely able to suppress some desire within herself. She wanted to devour his flesh and blood with pleasure, to savor their sweetness and succulence.

A crimson hue flowed in Lin's eyes.

Yet in the end, she managed to suppress her desire through sheer force of will.

The little girl finally turned away. As she walked, she became a pool of crimson blood and disappeared into the darkness.

Behind her, Aaron watched it all and murmured to himself, "The being on the Crimson Moon—the Mother Tree of Flesh. Could its domain be flesh and motherhood? Its followers do seem very interested in devouring flesh. As for anything else, I'll need to keep observing."

The next day.

Aike got up and found Lin lying beside him, fast asleep. A faint smile lingered on her slightly chubby little face, as if she were having a pleasant dream.

He walked out of the room, only to find the atmosphere in Black Sun Town unsettling.

People had gathered in tense groups, while squads led by the Sons of Burning hurried about everywhere.

"Uncle Igo, what happened?"

Aike spotted someone he knew and hurried over to ask.

"Intruders. There were intruders in town last night!" Igo had a thick beard, and his face was grave. "They might even be heretics who worship other evil gods! One of them—or several—attacked our people. Poor Banji and Meili were completely destroyed..."

"Heretics!"

Aike drew in a sharp breath, then his expression turned fervent. "The High Priest will take care of them."

The High Priest had accomplished his great deed and become a being beyond mortal limits.

"But... the High Priest has entered deep seclusion..." A bitter smile appeared on Igo's face.

Aike stood there, stunned.

He couldn't help thinking that he had offered up everything to help the High Priest become a Dark Beast because he'd hoped to gain his protection.

And now, the High Priest's choice said it all!

The High Priest didn't care about a few mere cultists—not Xiu, nor him!

By the time Aaron 'logged in' again, the situation in Black Sun Town had grown dire.

Every night, cultists were going missing. Judging by the traces at the scenes, they had suffered unimaginably brutal treatment. They might even have been eaten alive!

Even though the middle-ranking members of the Black Sun Cult were doing their best to maintain order, nothing helped.

By now, Aaron had even heard people say that someone in the cult had defected!

No one wanted to stay in a place with man-eating monsters!

"Still, the High Priest has stepped in. Lin's in trouble..."

Aaron watched a large group of cultists escort a bald old man into a crime scene and couldn't help sighing.

In his eyes, although the High Priest still maintained a human appearance, he was nothing but an illusion.

His true form was still that of a beast with a human head, his whole body wreathed in black flames, hiding in the 'High Priest's' shadow.

"So he went into seclusion just to make himself a human appearance?"

Aaron followed the High Priest into a murder house.

Bloodstains and scraps of flesh remained on the floor, and the air was thick with an unsettling atmosphere.

"The killer can completely control their own flesh and pores. We can't even smell the slightest trace left behind by an outsider!" one Son of Burning reported with a bow.

"Though the attacker erased all the traces, such traces are very difficult to eliminate through occult means..."

A faint smile appeared on the High Priest's face. "Prepare the ritual for me. I'll use the dowsing-rod method to find the attacker directly! They'll face the Black Flame's punishment and die screaming in agony!"

The black-robed cultists looked excited and began preparing the ritual.

"I beseech my Lord... Lord of the Eclipse, God of Black Sun..."

At the center of the ritual lay a freshly broken piece of wood. As if touched by some mysterious force, it stood upright. The High Priest grabbed it in one hand.

Smack!

The stick fell, pointing in a certain direction.

This kind of high-level divination was something only the High Priest could perform in the cult! Even the Dark Seeker would be affected by interference!

"Let's go!"

The High Priest followed its direction without hesitation. When they reached a crossroads, he dropped the stick again.

Aike had blended into the crowd. At first, he was excited and had even thought about lighting the heretic's pyre himself.

But little by little, his expression changed.

Why was that direction taking them closer and closer to his home?

Smack!

The stick came to rest again, pointing at a small cottage.

"Whose home is that?"

Black flames poured from the High Priest's nose and mouth.

"It's Aike's house!"

In that instant, Aike felt as if he had fallen into an abyss!

The High Priest rushed into the tiny house without a moment's hesitation.

Whoosh!

Thick black smoke and flames immediately poured out of the windows and door, with the faint roar of a beast rising from within.

Aike fell to his knees, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Soon, a monster wreathed in black flames came running out, a small, thin figure clamped in its jaws.

Smack!

Lin's body hit the ground, like a rag doll tossed aside.

Yet even as the black flames scorched her, her expression remained blank. Before long, the color drained from her skin, and she turned into a mass of flesh.

"A flesh puppet? This is blasphemy!"

The High Priest's human head roared, "This is the path and power of my Lord's mortal enemy! The blasphemer isn't dead yet. Catch her! Catch her!"

In a dense forest.

Many of the trees had turned bone-white, some even translucent and illusory.

Aaron strolled through them at his leisure, admiring the scenery around him.

"This world is becoming more and more mysterious and fantastical... Is this the influence of the sun and those beings? They're unconsciously reshaping the world... For now, only the scenery is changing, but later, even the laws and order of time and space may become chaotic..."

He quickened his pace and saw Lin up ahead.

The little girl had seemingly undergone accelerated growth, becoming a fit young woman brimming with wildness and allure.

Even before the High Priest had gone to the cottage, Lin seemed to have sensed danger. She had left behind a flesh puppet and begun to flee...