Wandering Knight-Chapter 308: Godslayer

The Bell Ringer struck by the orc's iron fist was hurled backwards, his headless body tracing an arc through the air before crashing into a nearby wooden fisherman's hut. The wall gave way with a deafening crash, and the broken corpse landed atop a shattered table.

"Is he dead...?"

Wang Yu's gaze lingered for a breath on the Bell Ringer's remains. No crimson blood spilled from the broken corpse—only a black, ink-like liquid that oozed out in sluggish rivulets.

The ink-like fluid seeped across the floor of the ruined hut. As it spread, the Bell Ringer's motionless body began to fade, turning translucent before vanishing entirely.

With a powerful stomp, Wang Yu propelled the berserk orc's body forward and charged the remaining two Bell Ringers. The savage expression on the orc's face, combined with the crimson haze of bloodlust in his eyes, created a chilling dissonance.

The sonorous toll of a bell rang out as Wang Yu rushed forward. Before the orc could close in on them, the two Bell Ringers had already erased themselves from sight, concealing their presence from the physical world.

But the Perfect Fractal lens had already begun tracing their steps. The slightest bend of light, the gentlest shift in air currents, the faintest tremble of dust on the ground—no detail escaped the lens's grasp. To Wang Yu, their location might as well have been an open secret.

In his berserk state, Emmon's body was lightning-quick. Wang Yu quickly caught up to one of the Bell Ringers, matching his stride precisely and stalking him like a predator shadowing its prey.

Sensing that he had been discovered, the Bell Ringer quickened his pace. The translucent figure marked by the Perfect Fractal lens began moving faster and faster.

But it was pointless. The orc's speed dwarfed theirs utterly. Wang Yu followed close, waiting patiently and silently for Avia to act.

As they moved, Perfect Fractal gathered more and more data. The subtle aspects of the Bell Ringers' concealment were now laid clear. The movement of limbs once invisible now began to reveal themselves. The ghostly figure in Wang Yu's vision no longer simply drifted—it moved with purpose, with action.

"Got you."

When a green light shimmered near the translucent form, Wang Yu knew the analysis was complete.

A cold murmur escaped his lips as he lunged forward, the Chariot's power flooding his borrowed muscles. The orc's massive hand shot out and clamped around the Bell Ringer's neck.

The Bell Ringer's neck was solid in his grip. His ability to disappear was irrelevant to the Chariot—as long as he existed, he could be touched.

Wang Yu slammed the Bell Ringer to the ground. His hands blurred into a storm of motion, twisting limbs, shoulders, hips, and neck with surgical brutality. Bones cracked like dry branches. Tendons tore with wet snaps.

In seconds, the Bell Ringer was rendered a paralyzed heap of flesh and shattered joints. Whatever agility or strength he possessed as a rogue, it was gone now. His body was a ruined vessel.

"Speak. Who are you people?"

Wang Yu, through the orc's crimson eyes, stared down at the now-visible Bellringer. His voice dripped with killing intent.

"You... you're not that orc. Who are you?"

Despite the crushing grip on his throat, the Bell Ringer's voice was strangely calm. There was no fear in his gaze despite his impending demise. He looked into the orc's eyes—and saw through them.

He saw Wang Yu.

"You answer my question first. Who do you think is in control here?"

Wang Yu felt no need to hide that he was possessing Emmon. Whatever the man had guessed or knew, it didn't matter. He could think what he wanted as long as Wang Yu got the answers he needed.

"We are the Bell Ringers of the Lightless Order. Our mission is to prevent the God of Eternal Night from being reborn upon the corpse that once housed His will. His power is too dangerous—no one must be allowed to believe in Him again.

"Whoever you are, however many followers He may still have, we will erase them. We will erase Him. His resurrection must never come to pass."

In the same calm, unflinching tone as before, the Bell Ringer revealed everything—name, purpose, and motive—without hesitation.

"Why? What makes the God of Eternal Night's power so dangerous? What would His resurrection bring?"

Wang Yu made a mental note of the "Lightless Order" as he continued his interrogation.

"It's your turn to give me answers."

The Bell Ringer didn't flinch, even now. His voice remained indifferent to the hand that could end him.

"Me? I'm a devotee of the God of Light, and a friend to His agent in the world."

Wang Yu didn't skip a beat. It was the truth—he respected the Church of Light and admired the god it served. And yes, Edward was indeed a close brother to him.

Of course, the Bell Ringer could interpret it however he liked.

"..."

The Bellringer stared at the orc's face for a long, quiet moment, expressionless, perhaps dumbfounded by what he'd just heard.

Wang Yu, however, didn't care. If the man wouldn't ask questions, then he would.

"What's your next move? Tell me—"

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Yu felt the orc's body begin to reject the Chariot's power. An invisible force from within pushed him out and dislodged the power of the Chariot.

The phantom village of Myssos, draped in fog, began to fade away. The fog that veiled all things dispersed with it, revealing the surroundings as they had been before the illusion took hold. The Bell Ringer whose neck the orc had gripped vanished as well.

The force that had ensnared Emmon's soul was gone. Freed from that influence, Emmon's soul returned to his body—and with his soul restored, the orc instinctively expelled the Chariot's power from within.

High atop the Tree of the Night, the black hand that had reached from the darkness withdrew. The shadows receded, revealing the tree's original, untainted form.

The Chariot's power, along with the Perfect Fractal lens, returned to their source—Wang Yu's own body.

Back in the real world, Elliot and his companions noticed the fog that had shrouded their vision beginning to lift. The ghostly town of Myssos began to fade, its illusion broken.

Their daze was shattered by a sudden, shrill cry. Elliot, still clutching the roster, had shouted in alarm.

"Damn it! We were struck by a mental compulsion... We forgot about Emmon!"

The realization struck the others like lightning. As the fog disappeared, their memories returned. Details that had been erased from their minds came rushing back. They had lost someone. The orc Emmon was missing.

"Over here!"

Vena's sharp, urgent voice rang out. The keen-eyed elven ranger was already racing ahead, heading toward the place where Myssos had once stood.

Everyone else sprang out from the wagon and followed her. Ahead on the ground, not too far away, lay Emmon. He was gasping for breath, weakened and pale. They broke into a run as they raced to reach him.

"Emmon, are you alright? Damn it, you can't die on us! Here, drink this. It'll save you!"

Elliot, shaken by the sight of the unusually pale orc, rummaged frantically through his satchel. He pulled out a high-grade healing potion and tried to press it to Emmon's lips.

"Boss, I'm fine," the orc said, his voice hoarse but steady. "The Archbishop saved me. This is just backlash from the berserk state... and, well, the Archbishop's fighting style was rather intense. My body's under... considerable strain..."

He managed a weak smile. Even as pain and soreness radiated through every inch of him, Emmon pushed away the precious potion.

Wang Yu had wielded his body like a weapon. There were no wounds, no blood—but the exertion, the extremes his body had been driven to, left him unable to move. Not yet.

"Damn it, I nearly died of fright," Elliot muttered, pressing a trembling hand to his chest. "Why would the fog target you of all people? Thank the stars the Archbishop was there. Praise be to Lord Wang Yu!"

He wasn't alone in that sentiment. Every follower of the Lady of the Night present felt the same deep gratitude. The Archbishop had intervened in their darkest hour.

But in a space just half a breath removed from theirs, three Bell Ringers stood side by side. The one whose skull had been shattered and limbs dislocated by Wang Yu was now whole once more, seemingly entirely unscathed.

They watched and listened as the scene outside played out. From the conversation, they now knew who had descended into the orc's body—whose power had defied their rituals and torn through the veil.

"Archbishop... Wang Yu. An odd name. And that strange power of his—the ability to forcibly interact with entities that have been erased... There's no need to erase these followers just yet."

The Bellringer who had once had his skull crushed shook his head. "Well, that was wretched. We can't complete our mission with him around. Either we have to find him and kill him, or..."

"Our mission must be fulfilled. The God of Eternal Night is too dangerous. He should have ceased to exist since the battle at the Abyssal Depths. He is the one who must truly be slain," another Bell Ringer responded grimly. He looked toward the fogless horizon, eyes distant.

"But it is a cruel irony that the only power that can kill a god is the power that He Himself possesses. The only way to truly end a god's existence is through the God of Eternal Night's unique dominion of erasure—removal from memory, from recognition, from all forms of cognition.

"Only when a god is forgotten by all can It truly die. That... is the power to slay a god."