Hearing this, Pan Yinhu hurriedly explained. Then he continued in a gloomy voice, "They pushed open the basement door~ and strange shadows appeared..."
"Y-you-you! Stop talking! Master! Help, look at him!" Ju Fufu hurried behind Yixuan with a pitiful look, clutching the hem of her master's clothes for a little sense of security.
But a sudden touch on her tail made Ju Fufu jump in fright, and she lashed back with a tiger claw, catching Xu An in the face.
"Aaaah! Don't grab me, I don't taste good! Junior brother tastes good, he's got more meat, grab him!" As she spoke, she launched a frenzied assault on Xu An's head.
After taking one hit, Xu An hurriedly dodged away.
O_o? "Senior sister, it's me!" Xu An hurriedly said.
"Y-you-you, you're awful! Take this from your senior sister!" Ju Fufu was furious and climbed onto Xu An's head.
Uh-oh, no dodging this one.
Afterward, Xu An continued following his master and the others with his hair looking like a bird's nest.
Yixuan hadn't stopped Ju Fufu from hitting Xu An. After all, he really had been awful just now.
"Let's hurry up and investigate so we can leave this creepy place." Even after finishing her scratching, Ju Fufu still felt shaken and shot Xu An a vicious glare.
"Sorry, senior sister, I did it on purpose. Oh, no, I mean it was an accident," Xu An said with a serious expression.
"Hmph." Ju Fufu ignored him.
As they continued, they found several more workers there, panting as they rested.
And a strange device.
"Hmm? This device looks a little strange. (・_・)ヾ" Belle looked at the object on the table in puzzlement.
"Huh? The Corruption around us seems to have disappeared," Ju Fufu said in confusion. "And what exactly is this thing for?" Fufu looked curiously at the object in Belle's hand, which resembled a vial. It contained some black-and-red substance that looked like Corruption.
Yixuan sensed it for a moment and said, "There are traces of Corruption inside... Perhaps it's connected to the abnormal Corruption in the area."
"Mm-hmm, Master has a point. Maybe The Order uses this thing to control Corruption," Xu An agreed. What's all this chatter about? If Master says so, that's how it is. It's not like she'd harm you.
"But now isn't the time to study it. Let's find a way to deal with the remaining members of The Order first. As for its purpose, we can ask the mayor's people to analyze it once we're back," Belle said after some thought.
Ju Fufu looked at the people lying and standing around them, her brows tightly furrowed. "Just how many people has The Order deceived? We have to stop the ritual quickly and keep them from hurting anyone else."
"Yeah, let's move quickly," Xu An agreed, then headed up the spiral staircase.
The others followed close behind.
Soon, they reached an open space, and Xu An formed a hand seal. (Xu An: It doesn't actually do anything. I'm just showing off.)
He controlled his flying sword to dispatch the wandering Ethereals.
Then they continued toward the denser Corruption.
"We should be close. The Corruption around us is getting thicker," Xu An warned.
The others grew more vigilant as well.
Yixuan looked at Belle and said, "If our earlier intel was correct, The Order's bishop must be here.
"I wanted you to leave the Hollow... But if you run into The Order's lackeys on your way out, that would be even more dangerous. With things so urgent, I can't have Fufu and Yinhu escort you separately, either..."
Seeing his master look his way, Xu An hurriedly waved his hands, indicating that he wanted to join the fight. He still hadn't spent the points he'd been saving for so long, and this time he wanted to see how capable he was. A bishop, huh, Xu An thought, licking his lips.
Seeing that Xu An was unwilling as well, Yixuan continued.
"Once the fighting starts, just hide somewhere safe and don't get caught up in it."
"Don't worry, Master. Leave Junior Sister Belle's safety to me. I'll protect her," Xu An promised, patting his chest.
"Understood, Master! Thank you, senior brother. You can do it!" Belle cheered Xu An on.
After making arrangements for Belle, they hurried toward the clock tower plaza. That was where the Corruption was thickest.
Soon, they arrived.
A figure dressed in white and wearing a bronze mask stood in the center of the plaza, a pair of crimson wings behind her.
Many spheres formed from condensed Corruption floated in the air around her.
Seeing them arrive, she did not attack first, merely saying calmly, "You've all come at just the right time."
As she finished speaking, the Corruption began writhing across the ground like living creatures and climbed onto the priest's body.
"The ritual has only just begun."
Then, wrapped in Corruption, she ascended into the sky?
O_o "Won't she suffocate?" Xu An asked.
"Shh!" Ju Fufu fixed her tiger eyes on Xu An and smacked his head, signaling him to be quiet.
"Oh, okay!" Xu An nodded to show he understood.
Soon, the figure completed her transformation. She held a longsword, and a phantom had formed behind her. Xu An couldn't make out what it resembled and could only give up, merely wondering whether he could form phantoms or something similar in the future.
"Mount Yunkui... You again..." Meral sounded as though she were both muttering to herself and questioning them.
"You dare defy the will of the First Lord!"
Xu An swiftly stepped forward and aimed a whipping kick at her head, his attack fierce and fast.
Meral seemed not to have reacted, but Xu An felt it shouldn't be that easy to land a hit.
Sure enough, when his leg was one centimeter from her scalp, something seemed to block it.
"A Corruption shield?" Xu An said in puzzlement, then swiftly pulled back.
"Master, this one's a little thick-skinned."
"Hmph, utterly foolish." Seemingly enraged by Xu An's actions, Meral began to attack.
She raised her sword and charged at them.
Yixuan blocked with the Qingming Bird's wings, deflecting her attack. Then the others took advantage of the moment she froze to launch their attacks.
After spinning, Ju Fufu's Hu Weiwei slammed toward her head.
Pan Yinhu closed in to attack her lower body.
Yixuan formed a ball. Yes, a ball.
Xu An also thrust his longsword toward her cheek.
Yet Meral seemed completely unperturbed. She raised her sword behind her head and drove them all back with a powerful sweep.
Ju Fufu's arm was nearly caught by the sweep of the blade. Pan Yinhu was also driven back by the surging Corruption. They retreated to dodge the attack, and Xu An's sword was knocked flying as well.
But Xu An took control of the sword knocked into the air, sending it spinning behind Meral to stab at the back of her head.
Meral seemed to sense the sharp edge behind her head, but it was already too late to react, and the longsword struck her.
Yet it did not pierce through.
The Corruption shield still blocked it, but the shield seemed almost depleted as well.
The red glow covering her body had already grown faint.