Nozarashi 2

Bai Zhu raised his blade to block the silver staff.

Clang!

His arms went numb from the impact.

He immediately confirmed one thing.

This guy's strength was not absurd, but his technique was polished. He was different from the other guards and priests—he was someone the system had contacted about Nen.

Trading blows head-on would put him at a disadvantage.

He had to fight dirty.

The silver-robed bishop brought down his staff a second time.

Bai Zhu ducked low and kicked a piece of rubble at the man's knee.

The man lifted his leg to avoid it.

That was exactly what Bai Zhu had been waiting for.

"Hado #1: Sho."

A burst of Reiatsu exploded along the ground.

The silver-robed bishop lost his footing and swayed.

Bai Zhu immediately rushed forward and swung the back of his blade at the man's ribs.

The silver-robed bishop forcibly blocked with his silver staff.

Bang!

He was knocked back three steps.

The surrounding guards tried to surround him.

Bai Zhu flicked his fingers.

"Bakudo #4: Hainawa."

This time, he was not binding anyone.

Yellow light coiled around the severed arm of a fallen statue.

Bai Zhu yanked hard.

Half the stone arm was dragged up and smashed toward the advancing guards.

"Holy shit!"

Milluki shouted through the earpiece.

The statue's broken arm swept through the crowd, throwing the guards into disarray again.

The silver-robed bishop finally realized that this guy might not be overwhelmingly powerful in a frontal fight, but his moves were too bizarre—and he had no sense of fair play.

"Don't get close to him! Keep your distance and use the Holy Rings!"

The four priests immediately spread out and pressed their palms to the emblems on their chests.

The moment Bai Zhu saw their movements, he retreated.

"Milluki, what is this thing?"

"Nen fluctuations detected in sync. It looks like a combined attack."

"Can you interrupt it?"

"You're asking me? I'm at the hotel!"

Seeing symbols light up in four directions, Bai Zhu decisively raised his hand.

"Hado #4: Byakurai."

A Reiatsu barrier unfolded at his side.

The next moment, four Nen lines snapped toward him from different directions. White Lightning struck the barrier with a series of rattling impacts.

Bai Zhu's feet were pushed backward.

The silver-robed bishop seized the chance to step forward, thrusting his silver staff straight at Bai Zhu's chest.

The strike was fast.

Just as Bai Zhu was about to dodge, Milluki's voice suddenly rang out in his earpiece.

"Upper left! The tip of his staff will change direction!"

Bai Zhu did not hesitate and forcibly twisted his body to the right.

The silver staff indeed veered midway, grazing past his clothes.

Bai Zhu grabbed the shaft with his backhand.

The silver-robed bishop pulled hard.

It did not budge.

Because Bai Zhu's other hand was already pressed against the tip of the staff.

"Hado #4: Byakurai."

Silver-white lightning erupted from his palm.

The silver-robed bishop's arm went numb, forcing him to let go of the staff.

Bai Zhu took the opportunity to toss the silver staff far away.

"Confiscating the weapon used in the crime."

The silver-robed bishop's expression finally changed.

"Who exactly are you?"

Bai Zhu looked at him, then toward the underground elevator.

More footsteps were already approaching from that direction.

Good.

The fish had taken the bait.

"Me?"

Bai Zhu lifted his Zanpakuto again.

"Just a helpful citizen passing by, specializing in treating unlicensed medical practice."

Milluki nearly burst out laughing on the other end.

But halfway through his laugh, he abruptly fell silent.

"Bai Zhu, something's changed underground."

"Talk."

"Over on Illumi's side, I'm about to send the plan."

In the private underground ward.

Illumi leaned against the headboard, still maintaining Ella's appearance.

Three medical staff members were preparing a new dose of medicine.

The two guards at the door had switched positions.

Urgent footsteps echoed from outside in the corridor.

The disturbance above had already spread downstairs.

The silver-robed bishop had personally gone to the core area, apparently to report to the elders.

Illumi did not move.

He was waiting for Milluki's signal.

Soon, the Mechanical Spider hidden inside his clothes began to move.

It crawled down along the fabric, its movements exceedingly light.

Illumi had no reaction at first.

Until the spider reached his waist.

Then its mechanical legs began to scrape rhythmically.

Once.

Twice.

Stop.

Three times.

Illumi's fingers lightly clenched the bedsheet.

Milluki was using a Skin Touch Code rarely used in family training.

This method relied neither on sound nor signal lights, making it suitable for conveying short messages in a monitored environment.

Its drawback was equally obvious.

If the placement was wrong, it could make the recipient want to kill someone.

The spider shifted a little farther to the side and continued scraping.

Illumi lowered his head and drew in a faint breath.

The nurse immediately came closer.

"What's wrong? Does your stomach hurt?"

Illumi spoke softly in Ella's voice.

"It's a little... itchy."

The nurse frowned.

"A reaction to the holy water?"

Another nurse checked the instruments.

"The readings are still fairly stable."

Illumi lowered his head, pressing a palm over his abdomen. Beneath the blanket, his fingertips tapped twice.

Received.

Continue.

The spider's legs began moving again.

[The surface is already in chaos.]

[The real Ella is standing by.]

[The Holy Advent Ritual has been moved up to tonight.]

[Escape after the core area deploys its personnel.]

[Bai Zhu is creating a disturbance.]

When Illumi read the last line, his movements paused for half a beat.

Bai Zhu was creating a disturbance?

That guy actually dared to charge into the surface church alone.

Interesting.

The silver-robed bishop's voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Everyone, prepare to transfer Number Fifteen. By order of the elders, the Pre-Sanctification Descent process will begin in half an hour."

The medical staff in the ward immediately became busy.

Illumi raised his head, his voice carrying just the right amount of panic.

"Where are you taking me?"

The nurse grabbed his wrist and fastened a restraint around it.

"The Lord has chosen you. This is an honor."

The Mechanical Spider was still clinging to his waist.

One final hurried touch code came through.

[Milluki: Big Brother, Bai Zhu just shouted Nozarashi. It was so cool.]

Illumi froze.

He lowered his head and glanced at the spider beneath his clothes.

Then he tapped a reply with his fingertips.

[Explain after the mission.]

At the hotel.

Seeing the returned message, Milluki's chubby face went pale.

"I'm done for."

Ella looked at him nervously.

"What's wrong? Did something happen to Mr. Illumi?"

Milluki slowly raised his head.

"Something might happen to me."

At the surface church.

Bai Zhu had just kicked a guard into a snowdrift when he heard Milluki grit his teeth through the earpiece.

"You got me killed."

"What did I do now?"

"Big Brother told me to explain Nozarashi."

Bai Zhu nearly got hit by the silver-robed bishop's fist.

He quickly sidestepped and drove the man back with a slash.

"You can carry that blame yourself. You were the audience. You cheered. And you were the one who told Illumi."

"I didn't cheer!"

"The system said you did."

"What system?"

Bai Zhu immediately shut his mouth.

He had nearly let it slip.

He coughed.

"What I mean is, the people's eyes are clear."

"What kind of nonsense is that?!"

The silver-robed bishop grew more irritated the longer they fought.

The intruder before him was clearly surrounded, yet he kept spouting nonsense and became harder to pin down with every exchange.

More troublesome still, reinforcements had already come up from underground.

But the surface was in chaos—the believers were running everywhere, the bell tower was on fire, and the statue had collapsed.

If this dragged on, the whole town would be alerted.

The silver-robed bishop raised a hand.

"Forget about taking him alive. Kill him!"

Hearing that, Bai Zhu immediately backed away.

"You should've said so earlier."

He pointed toward the choir stand.

There, the red light on the second Exploding Mosquito lit up.

Milluki's voice instantly exploded in his earpiece.

"Bai Zhu! That's just a backup detonation point!"

"It's been promoted to the main one now."

Boom!

The base of the choir stand exploded.

Flames and wood chips erupted upward, and half the main hall shook.

The believers screamed as they shoved toward the exit.

At last, an urgent alarm rang out from the underground elevator entrance.

Bai Zhu looked at the silver-robed bishop.

"Your headquarters is about to boil over. Still want to fight?"

The silver-robed bishop glanced at the main hall, then back at Bai Zhu, his expression ugly.

Just then, Milluki's lowered voice came through the earpiece.

"The core area is moving."

"The elders sent people to pick up Big Brother."

"And—"

Milluki's typing suddenly stopped.

Bai Zhu frowned.

"And what?"

Milluki's voice tightened.

"Ella's stomach just moved."

In the hotel room, Ella braced herself against the table, her face frighteningly pale.

On the screen, the black crystal in the underground core area was pulsing in sync.

Milluki stared at the instrument readings, his voice dropping.

"Bai Zhu, on Ella's side... it might have sensed her."