Fire Mage-Chapter 686: Death

Chapter 686: Death

Charles frowned but listened.

"When a demon dies," Runeth continued, "its soul either becomes enslaved by another or enters the Eternal River of Life and gets reborn as something else—often human, or anything but chaotic."

"If enough demons die and reincarnate into other planes, it causes a scarcity of souls in the Abyss. That’s why demons invade: to steal souls and stop their extinction."

Charles’s eyes widened. "So that’s the reason..."

"Yes. And right now, Reynolds’s body, soul, and Consciousness are no longer human. He’s being converted into a demon. Killing the parasite... would mean killing Reynolds too."

Those words struck like a hammer.

Reynolds staggered and almost fell. His rough voice broke the silence as he moved toward the nearby table and picked up his cane.

"I knew... this day would come."

He lowered himself to the cold floor and leaned back against the wall.

He didn’t scream or cry, but Charles saw his whole body trembling.

And that said enough.

"Charles, I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise. If I had tried just a bit harder, I might have stopped your estate from falling into the Cardinal’s hands," Reynolds said, his voice heavy with regret and bitterness.

"Kill me, Charles. I’d rather let my soul enter the Eternal River of Life than fall into the hands of some demon. All this time, I kept hoping there was a way to escape this fate. But after hearing this gentleman’s explanation, I realize now how naïve I’ve been." Tears trickled from the corners of his eyes, soaking into the deep wrinkles of his face.

"Isn’t there any other way?" Charles hesitated. "What if we use Stormheart Whisper’s ability to extend your life and figure out a way to reverse the demonization?"

Bishop Reynolds gave a bitter smile in response.

"I kept thinking of how to use you, even when you were in danger yourself. Yet here you are, still trying to help me. What a pathetic man I’ve been," he muttered, voice roughening as the runes blocking the eye patterns began to crack and break apart.

"It seems the Demon is forcefully taking over my body. Kill me, Charles." His voice turned hoarse.

Then, as if a sudden realization struck him, he added, "The Sinful Demon is still hiding in this city, waiting for the right moment. And... there’s something else. This demon is connected to the Crown you possess."

"Crown?" Charles froze, baffled. "What do you mean?"

"The Sinful Demon only appeared after the Holem Crown arrived in this city. I don’t believe in coincidences anymore."

"Bullshit!" Runeth snapped, eyes flashing.

"You think I would conspire with a demon to cause chaos? Hmph. Don’t blame me for your own failings."

As he spoke, the rune characters surrounding his body began to crumble at an alarming rate.

"Arrghh!" Bishop Reynolds screamed as blood erupted from the grotesque eyes on his body. His voice faltered.

"O-One last request... please take care of my only child."

As the words left his lips, Reynolds’s eyes turned entirely blood-red, madness clouding his expression.

"Hurry, lad!" Runeth urged. "Don’t let the Demon take control of his body. I don’t want to witness a Demon’s Descent using a puppet."

Charles exhaled deeply.

"I don’t want to stain the floor with blood again. Especially not an ally’s."

With a heavy breath, he stepped forward, unsheathed his long sword, and brought it down in a single, clean arc.

"Farewell, Father."

Dark blood splattered across the room as Bishop Reynolds’s head rolled and came to a stop near the kitchen entrance. He didn’t even have time to scream. A strange, shadowy aura burst from his body, beginning to take the shape of a three-headed humanoid.

But Runeth didn’t wait. He stepped forward quickly, squatted beside the corpse, placed his palm on Reynolds’s chest, and chanted:

"Erase Existence."

A second later, a powerful force surged from his hand, disintegrating the dying body, the blood, and even the severed head.

In an instant, Reynolds’s consciousness vanished from existence.

But just as Runeth’s spell was about to eliminate the demonized soul, an unseen force swept in and pulled it into the astral realm.

"Tsk. That demon still managed to retrieve the soul," Runeth clicked his tongue and shook his head. "My spell’s power has regressed."

Charles stared at the empty space where Reynolds’s body had once been and sighed.

"I still have a long way to go. I thought of chasing down this Sinful Demon, but maybe... that’s not my task."

He looked around the room and noticed how hollow everything felt.

"Runeth, can you install a teleportation circle here? Something that connects directly to Rebirth Fire?"

"Sure," Runeth nodded, then added, "We’ll set it up once we return from Ember Kingdom."

Charles gave a small nod and turned his gaze toward the entrance.

"Looks like the Cardinal won’t be arriving any time soon."

With that, he walked toward the spiral staircase, climbed to the second floor, and entered his bedroom.

But as soon as he stepped inside, he halted.

In the center of the room, a large magical ritual circle was etched into the floor. At its core rested a thumb-sized grey crystal.

Runeth followed close behind and narrowed his eyes.

"They’re using a divine array to maintain a link between the Nightmare World and the real one. Strange... this whole room is merging with the Nightmare Realm."

"Like what happened in the Star Tombs dungeon layers?" Charles asked.

"Exactly. If we don’t sever the link, powerful nightmare creatures could slip through. It could be a repeat of what happened in Dream God Phoebe’s divine realm."

Runeth’s gaze drifted to the three-beaded bracelet on Charles’s wrist.

"And with that bracelet of yours... who knows what might happen? Worst case, this entire city—maybe even the whole kingdom—could merge with the Nightmare Realm within a few years. Not even the World Will could stop it then."

Charles let out a long breath, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.

"Another disaster waiting to happen, huh."

"Don’t worry," Runeth said as he walked closer to the divine array. "Severing the link from this house is easy enough."

He began examining the circle and slowly inscribed rune characters in the air.

Meanwhile, Charles took a few steps back and watched silently as Runeth went to work.

...

After being driven from 45 El Street, Lady Knight Mary, Head Deacon David, the High Priest, and two priests returned to the Life Church and immediately reported to the Bishop.

Without delay, Mary mounted a horse from a nearby carriage house and rode out of the city. She followed a narrow dirt road through the dense woods for fifteen minutes, eventually entering fertile land dotted with scattered homes.

Soon, a three-story mansion loomed into view, enclosed by a three-meter-tall compound wall. The iron gate was so solid, it blocked any view of what lay beyond.

I’ve heard rumors... inhumane experiments take place here. There are several missing persons cases filed with the city, but no one dares investigate. I also heard Count Vossenburg has some shady dealings with Cardinal Benedictus...

Her thoughts were interrupted as she arrived at the gate and was stopped by two imposing knights clad in iron armor. Both stood at least six feet tall, muscular, and armed with spears. One had bright red hair; the other, long black.

Though she was a peak Rank-3 Mystic, their mere presence sent a chill down her spine.

"You’re with the Life Church?" the red-haired knight asked, eyeing the symbol on her armor. He pointed his spear toward her throat. "What business do you have here?"

True Rank-4 Mystics... She could feel the pressure in the air around them. They radiated a raw, unshakable power.

But even so, it didn’t compare to the suffocating force she’d felt when facing Charles. That memory gave her strength.

Mary dismounted, bowed her head respectfully, and said, "Two unknown men have taken over the dream house on El Street. They’ve asked His Eminence to come immediately."

"Mysterious men? Was that earlier Wisdom Scan their doing?" the black-haired knight asked, frowning.

"Yes. Both seemed extremely powerful—even Lord David was shaken."

At that, both knights nodded and stepped aside.

"His Eminence is in an important meeting. But he won’t scold you once he hears your message," the red-haired knight said, pausing before opening the gate. "One more thing: once you enter, you may see... unusual things. Ignore them. Don’t stop walking, no matter what."

Mary handed over the reins of her horse and stepped through the gate.

Instantly, the colors of the world seemed to drain away. Everything appeared washed in grey, like she had entered a painting stripped of life.

Then the creatures came into view.

Headless chickens. Two-headed goats. Horses with two tails. A monkey with a human face darting between bushes. Her skin prickled with goosebumps. Even the trees seemed alive, their bark lined with watching eyes, like twisted sentinels of a nightmare.

She walked forward, her steps slow but steady, refusing to be distracted.