Escape from Certain Death

Dark Pope Affleck finally arrived.

His face was livid, his blood-red eyes filled with murderous intent.

"You betrayed the Church." Affleck's voice seemed to rise from the deepest pits of hell. "You destroyed a legacy built over thousands of years."

Cecilia raised her head and looked at the pope, a smile still lingering on her lips. "Affleck, I wasn't the one who destroyed the Church's legacy. You were. You sacrificed a million lives. You're the true sinner of the Church."

Affleck said nothing. He walked up to Cecilia.

"You think you saved him?" Affleck's voice was quiet. "He won't escape. I'll kill him myself and offer his soul to the God of Darkness. And you-your soul will become part of the sacrifice, too."

Cecilia closed her eyes and said no more.

Affleck pressed his right hand against the top of Cecilia's head.

Black light engulfed her body. Little by little, Cecilia dissolved into black dust that scattered over the floor.

Her soul was drawn into Affleck's body by the profound mystery of devouring, becoming part of his power.

Dead silence filled the hall.

Gaius, Morgan, Sylvia, the Six-Winged Fallen Angel, and the thirty-six Four-Winged Fallen Angels all watched in silence.

Affleck straightened, turned around, and looked at Gaius.

"Gaius, take the others and hunt down An Baruch. Bring him back alive or bring me his corpse. If you let him escape the Luo'ao Empire, don't bother coming back."

Gaius dropped to one knee. "Yes, Your Majesty."

Morgan and Sylvia knelt at the same time.

Affleck then looked at the Six-Winged Fallen Angel. "You go, too. Three aren't enough. With you, there will be four. That should be enough to kill him."

The Six-Winged Fallen Angel nodded, a flicker of murderous intent crossing his blood-red eyes.

All four rose into the air, flew through the hole in the hall's roof, and pursued An in the direction he had been hurled.

Affleck remained where he stood, staring at the shattered altar without moving for a long time.

Ten li away lay a stretch of barren hills.

An crawled out of the rubble, drenched in blood.

More than half his dragon scales had shattered. Blood poured from his wounds, staining his golden scales dark red.

He knelt on the ground, gasping for breath.

He sensed the auras pursuing him from behind.

An struggled to his feet, ended his dragon transformation, and returned to human form. He had no time to heal. He had to flee, as far as he could.

He took a healing pill from his Interspatial Ring and shoved it into his mouth, then channeled his wind element battle qi and flew north.

With the Wind Shadow Technique pushed to its limit, An's speed reached its peak. But his injuries were too severe, and he flew thirty percent slower than he could at full strength.

Behind him, five powerful auras drew steadily closer.

Gaius caught up first.

"An Baruch, you can't escape!" Gaius's voice rang out behind him.

An did not look back. He kept flying forward while pulling a handful of Magic Crystal Cores from his Interspatial Ring with his right hand. He crushed them outright, absorbing their energy to replenish his battle qi.

Sylvia caught up as well. Already swift, she appeared on An's left, crossing her two short blades as she thrust them toward his waist.

An twisted aside. With a turn of his right hand, the Azure Frost Sword appeared in his grip, and he swept it sideways. Sylvia retreated out of reach, but her duplicate had already appeared on An's right, stabbing a short blade toward the back of his neck.

An's body reacted instinctively. He dropped sharply, evading the blade. Sylvia's duplicate swept over his head, her short blade cutting only a few strands of his hair.

Gaius seized the opening to catch up, thrusting his dark longsword toward An's back.

An could no longer dodge. He could only concentrate his battle qi in his back and take the strike head-on.

Shhk!

The dark longsword pierced his left shoulder blade and emerged on the other side.

An grunted and grabbed the blade with his left hand, preventing Gaius from pulling it free. He drove the Azure Frost Sword backward with his right hand. Storm Spear!

Azure light blazed as the tip of the Azure Frost Sword pierced Gaius's abdomen.

Gaius grunted, released the hilt, and retreated. An seized the chance to wrench the dark longsword out of his shoulder blade and throw it to the ground. Blood gushed from the wound, and his face grew even paler.

Yet he pushed the Wind Shadow Technique to its limit. Azure wind energy formed a vortex around his body, enveloping him completely. His speed actually rose a little further.

The Six-Winged Fallen Angel caught up. He was even faster than Sylvia, almost matching An's full flying speed. He rushed at An head-on, unleashing a relentless barrage of punches.

Unable to dodge, An could only block. The Azure Frost Sword clashed against the Six-Winged Fallen Angel's fists in a rapid series of metallic crashes. Every punch forced An back a step. After blocking more than a hundred punches, he had been driven back to the summit of a mountain.

Morgan's death magic struck.

Soul Extraction.

An felt his soul being tugged at once more.

Sylvia took advantage of his momentary daze to stab her short blade into his thigh.

An lashed out with a kick, sending Sylvia flying. But blood spurted from the wound in his thigh, and his flying speed dropped again.

Gaius caught up again and reclaimed the dark longsword from An's hand. His injuries were far lighter than An's. Murderous intent filled his eyes as black mist surged over the dark longsword, forming dozens of black sword-energy blades that shot toward An.

An swung his sword to block, but the black blades were too numerous and densely packed. Several struck his chest and abdomen, leaving deep wounds.

An crashed onto the mountain summit, gouging out a large crater.

He lay in the crater, watching four figures slowly descend from the sky.

Gaius, Morgan, Sylvia, and the Six-Winged Fallen Angel took positions on four sides, surrounding An.

An struggled to stand. His clothes were soaked in blood, and wounds covered his body. The Azure Frost Sword was still in his hand, but its azure glow had dimmed considerably. His battle qi was almost exhausted, and he could no longer sustain his Dragonblood Warrior transformation. He could only remain in human form.

Gaius looked at An, a complicated expression flickering in his eyes. "An Baruch, you're the toughest opponent I've ever faced. Unfortunately, you must die today."

An gripped the Azure Frost Sword, its tip pointing at the ground.

Morgan raised his bone staff, preparing to deliver the final blow.

Just then, An rushed to the edge of the summit and leaped off.

Below the mountain lay a vast abyss, with a raging underground river at its bottom. As An fell, he poured his last trace of battle qi into the Azure Frost Sword and slashed at the mountainside.

Storm Spear.

Azure sword energy struck the rock face, blasting open a large hole. Using the recoil, An propelled himself into it.

Gaius's expression changed. "After him!"

All four jumped off the cliff. But An had already vanished without a trace inside the hole. It led to a natural underground cavern riddled with passages and countless forks. An's aura scattered into innumerable trails throughout the cavern, making him impossible to track.

Gaius stopped and slammed a furious fist into the rock wall. "He got away!"

Morgan closed his eyes and spread his sensing power outward. A moment later, he opened his eyes and shook his head. "His aura has disappeared completely. These caverns connect to at least a dozen underground rivers. He most likely followed one of them far away."

Sylvia remained silent.

The Six-Winged Fallen Angel stared into the cavern's depths, frustration flickering in his blood-red eyes. "Let's return and report to His Majesty. We can't catch him now."

Gaius gritted his teeth, but could only nod.

The four rose into the air and flew toward Eternal Night City.

Deep within the underground caverns, An leaned against a damp stone wall, gasping for breath.

His injuries were too severe. His shoulder blade had been pierced, two ribs were broken, and the wound in his thigh was still bleeding. The wounds left by the corrosive sword energy across his chest and abdomen had begun to blacken. He barely had the strength to stand.

An took a spare healing pill from his Interspatial Ring and shoved it into his mouth. Then he closed his eyes and began circulating his Dragonblood Battle Qi. The self-healing power of his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline was slowly repairing his wounds.

In the darkness, drops of water fell from the cavern ceiling with clear, ringing sounds.

An's consciousness gradually blurred.

Cecilia... An whispered her name in his mind.

Far away, in the night sky above the Luo'ao Empire's western mountains, Gaius, Morgan, Sylvia, and the Six-Winged Fallen Angel flew toward Eternal Night City.

The lights of Eternal Night City flickered in the darkness, sinister and cold.

Dark Pope Affleck stood at a palace window, staring into the distant night sky with a malevolent gaze.

"An Baruch," he murmured. "You escaped this time, but you won't escape the next."