Chapter 190: The Evil Brand
"Besides that, there are also wandering spirits—souls lost in that place," Rich said gravely.
"If one's consciousness remains separated from the body for too long, the bond between them will gradually weaken, until it is completely assimilated by the Unknowable Space.
And an empty shell of flesh is an irresistible temptation to those drifting souls."
Rich turned to Roland.
"So once you enter, keep strict track of time. As soon as you find a single brand, leave immediately.
Otherwise, if something unclean invades you, the Church will not hesitate to destroy your body."
Gideon rubbed his chin.
"One brand… so that means it's possible to obtain more than one?"
He didn't voice the question aloud, wary of exposing his own secrets.
Just then, every clergyman in the hall suddenly stood up.
Gideon's gaze snapped to the nun.
The aura of sanctity that had surrounded her was gone—replaced by a dense, oppressive evil.
"Something's wrong!"
Rich frowned and leapt to her side, while several other clerics quickly spread out around her.
"Begin reciting the Gospel—see if we can bring her back," Rich ordered.
"Father Moreno, prepare the exorcism relics."
An elderly priest with graying hair nodded.
Meanwhile, the nun's condition worsened.
Her body trembled violently, sweat soaking through her white robes as if she were enduring unbearable agony.
The surrounding clerics began chanting prayers, and a pure, radiant holy power enveloped her, easing her expression slightly.
But in the next instant—
Her eyes flew open.
Amber pupils gleamed with an eerie, unfathomable light.
Her body twisted unnaturally, something squirming beneath her skin.
"The stench of the Church," she said, her mouth opening to release a voice that was unmistakably not her own.
"An imprint bearing an evil soul… This is troublesome," Rich muttered, narrowing his eyes.
The crowd waiting in the plaza surged forward, only to be harshly driven back by the clergy.
"Halt! Anyone who disrupts the ritual will be executed on the spot in the name of the Church!"
Gideon was secretly startled. He hadn't expected the response to be so severe.
"What a beautiful, young body," the nun murmured, extending her tongue to lick her lips.
"I personally carried the will of the Lord and bestowed the brand upon her."
Then she turned toward the doors.
"And you little ones outside—don't you want it? The power to change the very essence of your life."
"All you need to do is call my name in that space, and I will grant you the brand.
My name is—"
"Isolation formation!" Rich shouted.
At once, four beams of light flared around the nun, rising into place and forming four luminous barriers that sealed her inside—cutting off the rest of her words.
"Heh, young man," the nun sneered, her grin stretching to an unnatural width as she stared at Rich.
"Once the seed of greed is planted, no amount of holy light can stop it."
Rich did not respond, continuing to chant passages from the Gospel without pause.
"To seize this body, I crushed countless wandering spirits—along with those twisted, mad things," the nun went on.
As the power of the Gospel steadily intensified, her tone abruptly shifted.
"Since you've been such poor hosts, I'll invite them all to join us—
to feast upon this body together."
In the next instant, even more power surged from the nun's body.
Strange symbols surfaced across her skin—twisting, warping, utterly unreadable. Some participants standing too close felt their minds blur after a single glance.
"Th-This… is this a Holy Mark?"
A priest in the crowd reached forward, grasping at something that wasn't there.
Several clergymen immediately dragged him away. Others were ordered to retreat further, and every Awakening Chamber door slammed shut.
Gideon had already gripped his cross, positioning himself near a side exit.
Through Spiritual Sight, he sensed a foreign force probing toward him—only to be repelled by the powerful sanctity of the relic in his hand.
The others were not so fortunate.
Near the nun, two priests chanting scripture accidentally looked at the symbols. Veins bulged on their foreheads, their faces flushing crimson.
"Reason is the curse of the mind—madness is the only true freedom!"
One of them suddenly screamed.
The skin at his elbow split open.
He thrust his hand inside and ripped out a piece of bone.
Splatter.
Blood sprayed across the black-and-white marble floor.
The priest collapsed instantly.
"Exorcise!" Rich shouted.
At the same moment, blinding holy light erupted within the formation.
Rich did not stop. He pulled a dagger from beneath his robes and sliced open his palm.
Using his blood as ink, he traced several crimson characters beside the nun.
"In the name of the disciples of Jesus,
I seal this covenant in blood—
within this domain, no evil nor distortion may exist!"
As he finished chanting, blood-red chains burst forth from the symbols, piercing straight through the nun's body.
An overwhelming binding force locked the entire space.
Gideon could clearly feel the evil inside the girl being forcibly expelled.
"A practitioner of the Oath Path, huh?"
The nun sneered.
"Unfortunately for you, I command the laws of blood as well."
The next instant, grotesque runes surfaced along the crimson chains. They crawled downward—and began turning back on Rich himself.
Damn it!
Rich's heart sank.
The power of his own oath was rebounding onto him.
A far stronger binding force crushed down on his consciousness, driving it back relentlessly.
All he could do was clutch his cross and continue chanting the Gospel.
"I'll have to use that relic… but it's with Archbishop Borha—and His Grace only said he'd return today…"
Pain twisted Rich's face. He was at his limit.
Seeing this, Gideon did not hesitate.
He fixed his gaze on the nun and produced a vial of thirty-year consecrated holy water.
Sensing his intent, the nun snapped her head around.
Panic flashed through her amber eyes.
"G—"
She didn't finish.
A rusted cruciform dagger flew in from afar and embedded itself into the ground before her.
Holy power detonated outward.
Unable to withstand it, the nun's body began to swell grotesquely—her abdomen ballooning, veins bulging, eyes protruding to an unnatural degree.
BOOM!
Rich felt warmth splash across his face.
When he wiped it away, his hand came back smeared black and red.
The nun was gone.
Blood flooded the chamber floor, spreading outward like a pair of crimson wings.
Roll.
An eyeball bounced across the floor and stopped not far from Gideon.
He glanced down—its amber pupil seemed to be staring straight at him.
Gideon frowned and stepped aside.
The next moment, a figure appeared in the doorway.
Impeccably tailored black robes. Slicked-back hair.
Jolan Borha.
"Are you all right?" Jolan asked calmly.
Rich shook his head. "Oath backlash. I won't be able to use holy techniques for a while."
"Before condensing Sacred Blood, one cannot truly touch the laws," Jolan replied evenly.
"That spirit knew exactly when to strike."
"Then I leave this to you, Archbishop."
Rich crossed himself and departed quickly.
Jolan flicked several holy nails into the ground and ordered the area cleared.
The priest whose mind had been corrupted was dragged away.
Then Jolan turned toward Gideon.
"…Why is it that wherever you appear," he said dryly,
"something always goes wrong?"
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