Before long, a woman was dragged into the palace.
After hearing the explanations of Zambesi's leaders, Bruce learned who the imprisoned woman was and where she came from.
Before Zambesi worshipped the Dark Lord, its people had worshipped another god, one who combined the extraordinary powers of three wondrous creatures: the strength of the Wonder Lion, the speed of the Wonder Cheetah, and the flight of the Wonder Eagle.
He had no idea what species these creatures with "Wonder" in their names were, but they certainly were not ordinary animals.
This god had a temple in Zambesi and had long been worshipped by its people as their guardian deity.
Yet when Zambesi suffered through the ravages of war, this god had offered no protection. The people's prayers had gone unanswered.
Rumors had therefore spread that Zambesi's former guardian deity was dead and would neither answer nor protect his believers.
The people of Zambesi had begun to waver in their faith in this guardian deity.
Later, a mysterious man had appeared, displayed his extraordinary powers, and proclaimed that the Dark Lord would soon descend and shelter Zambesi, urging them to embrace the Dark Lord instead.
Under the mysterious man's persuasion, the people of Zambesi had embraced the Dark Lord without a moment's hesitation. The man had even torn down their former god's temple himself without suffering any divine punishment, and he had protected Zambesi for a time.
During that period, the people of Zambesi had felt an immense sense of security.
They had rediscovered their hope of survival. Whether the Dark Lord was righteous or evil, they would worship him without hesitation. All they wanted was for Zambesi to stop suffering the agonies of war. For Zambesi, they were willing to give up everything.
The mysterious man had also told them that as long as they were willing to devote themselves to the Dark Lord, they too would gain the ability to protect Zambesi. Though the process was bloody, necessary sacrifices were unavoidable.
Now, they had truly received a response from their god.
Zambesi would find new life!
As for Zambesi's former guardian deity, they had long since abandoned him. Almost all his former believers had converted to worshipping the Dark Lord.
But one person in Zambesi had remained steadfast in her faith in that god, believing that the Dark Lord would bring about Zambesi's true destruction.
Her name was Amaya, a young woman who had lived in the temple since childhood.
In truth, Amaya could hardly be blamed for her unwavering faith in that god. She had lost her parents as a child, and it was her faith that had given her the strength to survive and grow into adulthood.
Zambesi's leaders knew of Amaya's tragic past and sympathized with her. But she had constantly spoken disrespectfully of the Dark Lord. To stop her from continuing to sway others, they had been left with no choice but to imprison her in the dungeon.
Zambesi's leaders had not expected the Dark Lord to notice Amaya anyway. Unease filled their hearts as they hoped she would not anger him. If the Dark Lord grew angry over this and abandoned Zambesi, they would truly have nowhere left to turn.
Bruce turned his gaze toward Amaya.
Amaya appeared not to have eaten for a long time. She was extremely weak, lying limply on the carpet even after being brought into the palace.
Through Divine Vision, he could clearly see that this woman's spirituality was intertwined with the red gem on her chest, and that the gem itself contained some form of divinity.
Could it be that god's power?
Bruce beckoned, drawing the red gem into his palm.
"No!"
Amaya tried to grab it, but she was a moment too late.
Bruce examined the red gem carefully. No secret could remain hidden under Divine Vision, and this gem was no exception. He soon had his answer.
"Extraordinary Blood."
The red gem was no natural mineral, but a crystallized drop of blood. If his guess was correct, it had been left behind by Zambesi's so-called god.
But Bruce had his reasons for calling it Extraordinary Blood rather than divine blood.
Though the people of Zambesi called this being a god, he had not actually reached that level. He was not even a demigod, merely a powerful Extraordinary nearing the level of one.
The fact that his blood became an extraordinary item upon crystallizing was proof enough of his power.
This blood crystal contained some of that Extraordinary's abilities: strength, flight, and speed.
Bruce did not know what Extraordinary identity he possessed, but it was probably related to beasts.
For an ordinary person, this blood crystal would be an incredibly powerful aid, greatly enhancing their combat abilities. Bruce, however, had no need for such a thing. An aid like this would be of little use in dealing with occult incidents.
Bruce's gaze returned to Amaya.
This woman had a deep connection to the drop of Extraordinary Blood. Unfortunately, she did not yet know how to use this extraordinary item. If she could wield it, she could lend a hand in protecting Zambesi.
Bruce infused a trace of the Dark Lord's divine power into the drop of Extraordinary Blood. It immediately reacted, trembling violently and emitting almost inaudible cries of birds and beasts.
Amaya stared fixedly at the red gem in Bruce's hand.
To her, that red gem was her life. It had stayed with her through countless nights of hardship. Whenever nightmares startled her awake, touching the gem brought her an incomparable sense of peace.
But now, the red gem had fallen into the evil god's hands, and she was still powerless to protect it.
She, too, desperately longed for power.
She had longed for it when her parents were murdered, when Zambesi was invaded, and when its people were beguiled by the evil god. She hated herself so much, hated that she lacked the strength to protect everything she loved.
She was helpless.
Tears blurred her vision as anger, hatred, grief, and other emotions flooded her heart.
Bruce looked down at his palm. He felt the drop of Extraordinary Blood trembling and growing hotter. The bond it had formed with the young woman was deepening by the moment, even becoming viscous.
She longs for power, and the Extraordinary Blood is answering her?
For some reason, that feeling arose in Bruce's mind.
"Interesting."
Perhaps this was fate. Since he was here to witness it, this young woman ought to receive that power.
Apart from obtaining an identity through a Potion Formula and becoming an Extraordinary, using extraordinary items imbued with great power could also grant abilities far beyond those of ordinary people. But this left one heavily dependent on those items. Once they were lost, one would revert to their original state.
Bruce withdrew the Dark Lord's divine power and opened his hand. The drop of Extraordinary Blood shot toward Amaya and hung around her neck once more. An invisible force stirred a gust of wind, billowing the palace's black curtains, while the phantoms of three wondrous creatures appeared around her: a lion, a cheetah, and an eagle.
Amaya rose to her feet, her long hair streaming and her clothes fluttering. Her eyes shone a dazzling silver as she stared fearlessly at Bruce, looking as though she might rush forward and beat him up at any moment.
In fact, that was exactly what she did.
Moments after power flooded Amaya's body, she charged at Bruce, filled with anger and hatred. She would drive this evil god away and save Zambesi.
Empowered by the three wondrous creatures, Amaya launched herself into the air like a hurled warhammer, ready to smash into Bruce.
"Amaya!"
Zambesi's leaders immediately panicked, and the believers below were stunned.
They had never expected Amaya to unleash such power, much less dare show the Dark Lord such disrespect. They wanted to stop her, but there was nothing they could do. They could only watch helplessly as Amaya charged toward the Dark Lord.
It's over. Zambesi is finished.
Despair filled the hearts of Zambesi's leaders. They had offended a god, and all of Zambesi would perish with them!
Smiling, Bruce gripped his scepter and tapped it against the floor.
Ding...