Cruno's face paled slightly. After blocking a punch from Mondreton, he knew just how immense his strength was. He immediately retreated half a step and stirred the air around him, channeling an invisible force until a barrier woven from silver threads sprang into being.
This was an energy only the Extraordinary could wield, known as Spirituality Power.
He abandoned his attack and devoted all his attention and strength to defense.
"Mondreton. To think it was him."
Cruno was no stranger to the name Mondreton.
The name had appeared in the Church's scriptures.
It was no exaggeration to say that almost every believer in the Goddess of the Night Church knew that name, because Mondreton had once belonged to the Church himself.
Unlike ordinary believers, Mondreton had held a far higher position. He was the son of a divine servant under the Goddess of the Night. Though not a god himself, he possessed divine blood and had been born with extraordinary abilities, rather than having to acquire them like ordinary people.
One of the divine servants of the Goddess of the Night was named Dream.
The Goddess of the Night, worshipped by the Goddess of the Night Church, was a great deity who had existed since ancient times-a primordial god present at the very birth of light and darkness. She possessed boundless might and governed the power of order within the night.
Under the Goddess of the Night were more than a dozen divine servants, including Blood Moon, White Moon, Star Cluster, and Dream, each governing the laws beneath the night. Dream controlled the dreams of all living beings and, within those dreams, could also control their life and death.
As the saying went, living in a drunken haze, dying in a dream.
Mondreton was one of Dream's sons and likewise possessed the power to manipulate and weave dreams. Whether they were sweet dreams or nightmares was his to decide. He was simply weaker by comparison, lacking the authority to directly determine another person's life or death.
The Goddess of the Night could be called a god, but Dream could not. Dream could only be called a demigod.
As the son of a demigod, Mondreton possessed only a fraction of divine power and naturally could not be called a god either. People could address him by name and look directly upon his face.
Gods, demigods, children of gods-these lofty beings could all be killed. They were not invincible. The Church's ancient records described several major incidents in which demigods had been slaughtered.
So how had Mondreton, the son of Dream, a demigod under the Goddess of the Night, become a mortal enemy of the Goddess of the Night Church?
There was a story behind that, too.
According to the Church's records, although Dream was a demigod, ascension to full godhood was possible. Dream had wanted to leave the Goddess of the Night's Divine System and establish an independent pantheon as the god of dreams.
Naturally, the Goddess of the Night had permitted this.
Gods never restricted the advancement of those serving under them.
But an accident had occurred while Dream was completing this new Divine System.
As for what that accident had been, mortals like them had no way of knowing such secrets. They knew only that Dream had lost control, that divine power had been corrupted, and that Dream had descended into evil, ultimately becoming a God of Fall.
Dream had six sons in all, and the power in their blood had been corrupted as well. From then on, they became fallen children of a god.
Dream and all six offspring were cast out of the Goddess of the Night's Divine System, and the Goddess of the Night herself had sealed them completely within the Pillar of Corruption.
Countless fallen gods and their offspring were sealed within the Pillar of Corruption, rather than being erased or destroyed.
That was all Cruno knew about Mondreton.
Mondreton's true body must still have been sealed within the legendary Pillar of Corruption. What had appeared here could therefore only be a summoned Spirit Body avatar of Mondreton. Otherwise, Cruno would not have survived even a single blow.
Night Watchers varied in strength, and Cruno knew he was not particularly powerful.
Even if this was only a Spirit Body avatar, it possessed formidable supernatural power. That was hardly good news. Given the evil influence of his Fallen Bloodline, his very presence posed an enormous threat.
Mondreton attacked Cruno's defensive barrier like a madman,
utterly unconcerned by the blood already spraying from his hands. This was not his body, so there was no need to care. Cracks spread across the Spirituality Shield, and Cruno's face grew ever paler. The Spirituality Power within his body was being steadily drained, while recovering far too slowly. Sooner or later, he would be unable to hold out.
"Defense alone won't work. I have to make a move." Cruno gritted his teeth.
Cruno removed the Crescent Moon pendant from his wrist and wrapped it around his hand.
"Crescent Moon!"
With a bang, a powerful blast of air erupted from Cruno. Mondreton took the brunt of it, the gust striking his face and forcing him to narrow his eyes. Sensing a hint of danger, he immediately flew backward.
A sharp streak of silver light sliced through the spot he had just occupied.
Mondreton focused his gaze. Silver chains as thick as a thumb now coiled around Cruno's body, slithering like snakes. A crescent-shaped blade roamed through the air, ready to strike at any moment.
"A Beyonder weapon?"
Mondreton was no stranger to such weapons. He had suffered at their hands before. They were forged by a particular class of Extraordinary, the only ones capable of such work. They could even mass-produce weaker Beyonder items.
"A Beyonder weapon forged by an artisan. Interesting, but it's nowhere near enough to hurt me."
Mondreton licked his lips. It was merely borrowed power, and power this feeble did not impress him. He kicked off the ground and charged at Cruno again.
"You're nothing but a petty descendant of a God of Fall, and a mere avatar at that. You're nowhere near enough either."
As Mondreton charged at Cruno with all his might, he failed to notice someone emerging swiftly from the darkness-a young man carrying an umbrella.
With one tiny step, the young man was already close at hand.
His short gray hair fell softly around his head. He wore full-rimmed, silver-framed glasses, and his Church attire was immaculately clean and tidy.
Another Night Watcher, and a stronger one.
Mondreton's pupils contracted slightly.
Night Watchers possessed the ability to move stealthily and conceal themselves in the darkness. This one had hidden his presence exceptionally well, and his strength could not be underestimated. At the same time, Mondreton sensed several more Night Watchers approaching.
I'll finish one off first!
Mondreton did not slow down. He charged at Cruno with even greater force.
Cruno naturally struck back with everything he had.
Although his companion had arrived, he could not afford to let his guard down.
The nimble crescent blade slashed at Mondreton, but his figure flickered, leaving several afterimages as he evaded it completely. Then he darted straight through a gap between the blade's passes and appeared right in front of Cruno.
With a cruel, contemptuous smile, Mondreton crouched slightly, curled his right hand into a claw, and reached straight for Cruno's heart.
Cruno had no time to protect himself.
Yet the young man holding the umbrella moved faster. Seemingly with just a single step, he arrived in front of Cruno, and the smooth canopy of his umbrella opened before Mondreton's eyes.
Mondreton slammed bodily into the umbrella's canopy. An invisible force hurled him back, pain wracking his entire body. His illusory Spirit Body expanded and twisted wildly, half of it even coming free of Jessica's body before finally managing to squeeze back inside her.
"A Beyonder weapon imbued with an artisan's heart!"
"Night Watcher!"
Mondreton roared in fury.
His roar frightened quite a few others. The Vengeful Spirit Doll hiding beneath the floorboards shuddered all over. Its recently installed eyeballs nearly fell out again, but fortunately, it caught them in time.
The mirror on the dressing table nearly toppled over.
Danvers frowned, rolled over, and sat up. She rubbed her eyes, then lay back down.
Only Bruce remained sound asleep, not stirring at all.
The young man closed his umbrella. A faint smile played at the corner of his mouth as he calmly regarded the Spirit Body avatar before him, which had nearly been dispersed. He showed no intention of attacking.