Sufferer

As soon as he felt the light dim, Lumian quickly opened his eyes.

The black Robe worn by the "Invisible Man" lay prostrate on the Altar, its surface covered in scorch marks, but it did not stop, struggling to stand up again under the Golden Flame created by Valentine.

The transparent faces, including Raymond's, kept disappearing and reappearing, as if returning from a destroyed "Future" to a peaceful "present."

Upon seeing this, Ryan immediately whispered:

"Crouch down!"

Without hesitation, Lumian bent his knees and squatted down.

If he hadn't been in such a hurry, he would have even wanted to lie down on the ground.

Lya and Valentine weren't much slower than him; they also squatted down.

At the same time, Ryan planted the "Dawn Sword" in the center of the Altar, embedding it into his black Robe.

Silently, the greatsword of light shattered into countless fragments, transforming into a dazzling Dawn Storm within the Altar, tearing and destroying everything in its path.

When the Hurricane of light subsided, Lumian looked up and saw that the entire Altar had shrunk by a third. All the Thorn Symbol, Candle oil, and black Robe had vanished, turning into powder that drifted in the air.

That was a really powerful move... Lumian had been thinking the same thing yesterday afternoon.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Lya stood up and spun around once, the four Silver Bells on her veil and boots jingling once more, neither gently nor intensely.

"There's still Concealment danger," she reminded Ryan and Valentine, then muttered to herself in confusion, "The Altar's gone, so where does the danger come from?"

As she spoke, Valentine created Golden Flames, which floated into the air and illuminated the surroundings.

At the edge of the Basement, there was nothing but piles of human skeletons and a few Sheepskin; the ceiling was simple and plain, without even a chandelier.

Lumian exclaimed "Huh?"

"No Beyonder Characteristic?"

"They might have been sacrificed," Ryan said simply. "Or perhaps they didn't receive many ' Gift ' at first, and their strength was weak, so they could only capture Ordinary Person as Sacrifice. Only when they gained considerable Extraordinary Ability, like this time, did they start targeting those Beyonder."

It's clear that they are not unfamiliar with the phenomenon of receiving "Gift".

Ryan then added, "We haven't found anything else yet. Let's leave. There's no need to confront the Concealment danger head-on."

Lumian didn't react. He looked around again, searching for any hidden doors or Secret Door passages.

The answer is no.

He led the way, guiding Lya, Ryan, and Valentine along the safe route to the Basement exit.

Just as he emerged and returned to the narrow, steep stairs, Ryan suddenly groaned in pain.

His body flew up on its own and crashed into the brown Wooden Door of the Basement with a bang, causing a noticeable tremor in the stairwell area.

"Puff"!

Ryan's chest felt as if it had been pierced by an invisible spear, revealing an exaggerated wound that pinned him to the wall, blood gushing out.

If he hadn't reacted extremely quickly, instantly shifting his waist and back and Distortion his body, this blow would definitely have pierced his heart.

However, despite having her "Spirit Vision" activated the entire time, Lya couldn't find the attacker at all!

It's like Ryan is being punished by the Deity.

Before they could find the Source of the problem, Lya's ever-smiling expression instantly Distortion into a grimace.

Her arms bent backward on their own.

With a crack, her bone broke, and her arm went limp and fell to her side.

Immediately afterwards, a noticeable dent appeared in her abdomen, as if she had been struck by a huge fist, causing her to involuntarily take a step back and bump into the wall to the side.

Valentine screamed in agony before he even reached the steps.

His ribs buckled inwards one by one, as if he had been struck heavily with a giant hammer.

With a series of soft thuds, bloody wounds appeared on the abdomens and chests of both Lya and Valentine, the wounds penetrating their bodies and embedding themselves in the stone wall.

Lumian was somewhat stunned, bewildered by this inexplicable Change, yet relieved that he seemed to have escaped this strange attack.

Did that Black Thorn Symbol protect me? The thought had barely crossed his mind when he suddenly felt himself being pushed by an invisible force, and he slammed against the wall beside the stairs.

In his "Spirit Vision," there was nothing in front of him.

Thinking of what Ryan and the others had gone through, Lumian immediately shifted his body to the side.

Intense pain instantly filled his mind; the skin on his right chest ripped open, flesh torn open, and the lung inside was vaguely visible.

Lumian felt as if a solid, rod-like object had pierced through him and pinned him to the wall.

As his bright red blood flowed out, Ryan filled the area with points of light like the Dawn, which effectively dispelled evil and broke illusions.

However, the four of them still couldn't see anything.

Bang!

Ryan felt an invisible hammer blow to his chest, causing it to cave in deeply.

As the Silver Bells on Lya's veil and boots jingled violently, her fingernails were pried open and pulled out one by one by an unseen force, staining them with Blood-Colored.

The indescribable Pain made her unable to control her expression; her face Distortion with terror.

Valentine opened his arms, allowing the Sacred Pillar of Light that appeared out of nowhere to fall directly upon him.

The Sun's rays suddenly burst forth, cleansing away all evil and igniting Valentine's body.

But even under the "Sun's" rays, his hands involuntarily stretched backward and pressed against the wall.

Two Blood-Colored holes immediately appeared on his wrists, pinning them to the wall.

When the light subsided, Valentine's face was covered in charred patches, his skin being peeled off inch by inch, bit by bit.

Seeing their plight, Lumian couldn't help but feel pain for them.

Whether it was the Black Thorn Symbol that worked or not, he wasn't in such a bad way. He was just being slapped repeatedly by an invisible force, once on the left, once on the right, once on the left, once on the right, until his face was red and swollen, his Teeth were loose, and he couldn't even speak.

As a new attack was about to strike, Lumian's vision blurred, and he saw a desolate Wilderness.

In the distance are mountains, and nearby is Wilderness in green grass.

Two Devil creatures with ram's horns pulled a dark red, open-top carriage shaped like a conch shell, quickly arriving in front of Lumian and his companions from afar.

Sitting in the car with the book was a Women dressed in Fresh Green Dress and wearing Flower Crown. Her long brown hair was tied up high, her brown eyes were bright and watery, and her temperament was dignified and noble. She was clearly a much more mature Madame Pualis.

She kept her promise and offered some help? Lumian was first surprised, then delighted to find that they were no longer attacked by that invisible force.

For some reason, he never felt that the woman before him was Madame Pualis, or rather, not entirely Madame Pualis; she was like an unnatural product of Madame Pualis stitched together with some kind of will.

In comparison, Lumian preferred to call her "Night Lady".

Unlike when they met in the Otherworld, Madame Pualis was now holding an Oak Tree branch with Mistletoe Entanglement its tip in one hand and a small bowl made of green Jade in the other.

The small bowl contained a liquid that shimmered with light.

Madame Pualis dipped the Oak Tree twig into the liquid in the Jade bowl and sprinkled it on Lumian and the others.

After she sprayed it three times in a row, Lumian found that the wound on her chest began to heal rapidly, the redness and swelling on her face subsided quickly, and she no longer felt like she was nailed to the wall and unable to move.

Lya, Ryan, and Valentine were also fully healed, showing no signs of the cruel injuries they had just suffered.

"What attacked us?" Lumian asked, thinking that asking wouldn't hurt.

Seated in her dark red carriage, Madame Pualis spoke condescendingly, "You've been tainted with a trace of the ' Sufferer' —thankfully only a little, otherwise you'd have to consider Reboot."

"The aura of ' Sufferer ', what is this?" Lumian glanced at Ryan and the others, noticing their equally puzzled expressions.

Madame Pualis answered in a soft voice:

That's all I know.

"Do you know what happened to the Warlock and Owl that died in the Cemetery?" Lumian asked casually.

Madame Pualis glanced at him:

"If I had known, things wouldn't have turned out this way. I originally planned to make this my ' Territory,' but now I have to leave."

"Turn it into your Territory?" Lumian was startled, and suddenly felt that being trapped in Loop wasn't entirely a bad thing.

"If Madame Pualis had actually achieved her original goal, Aurora and I would be wondering how many children we'd have by now!"

Compared to this outcome, being trapped in Loop and potentially destroyed at any moment isn't so unacceptable.

"At least he died with a clear conscience!"

Madame Pualis glanced at Lya and the others, said nothing more, and ordered the two Devil, Pitch-Black creatures to pull the conch-shaped carriage toward the Depths the Wilderness.

Once her figure disappeared from Lumian and the others' sight, the Wilderness vanished as well.

At this moment, they found themselves still in the Basement, half on the stairs and half near the Wooden Door.

If it weren't for the blood and fallen fingernails still visible on the ground and walls, they would have thought they had just experienced a real hallucination.

"Leave first." Ryan quickly regained his composure and instructed Valentine, "Clean up any traces we leave behind."

Valentine nodded and summoned illusory Golden Flame that burned away the bloodstains and fingernails.

On their way back to the Church, the four were not attacked again.

It's unclear whether that trace of "Sufferer's " aura had been completely dissipated or erased by the liquid sprinkled by Madame Pualis.

As Lumian was about to leave through the side door, he suddenly saw the Assistant Parish Priest Michel Galligu, standing outside the room where several sleeping servants were, staring blankly inside.

"This guy's back after filling his stomach?" Lumian was about to look away when Michel, with his brown curly hair and delicate features, suddenly turned his head and saw them.

Just as Ryan was about to Past and knock the guy unconscious, Michel Galligan asked with unusual enthusiasm, "Are you here to pray? Do you need to make Confession?"

Everyone else in the Church has collapsed, yet you care about Confession Confession? Lumian looked at Michel as if he were a madman.

Compared to last time, this guy's abnormal behavior is clearly more pronounced!