Upon seeing that Ryan was blocking the entrance of the tower with the Sword of Dawn, the woman in the grayish-white dress felt a sense of foreboding.
She swiftly turned the enormous scissors around, clamped them around her neck, and pulled gently.
A vivid red stream of blood gushed out immediately, accompanied by her sharp cry. The blood flowed in every direction as if it had a life of its own, enveloping her entire body.
It was as though the woman had adorned herself with blood-colored full-body armor.
Meanwhile, Ryan held the Sword of Dawn in reverse with both hands and genuflected.
With a pop, he stabbed the two-handed broadsword, which had condensed from light, into the stone floor in front of him.
The broadsword disintegrated, transforming into specks of light that resembled the morning sun.
They were densely packed and innumerable, forming a flickering and violent hurricane that swept forward.
Wherever the Hurricane of Light passed, the stone floor was shaved thin. Some of the steps were flattened, and exaggerated cracks appeared. The woman was completely engulfed before she could dodge.
The blood-colored armor on her body lasted for a second before completely shattering and melting into the light.
This time, she had left the special environment on the third floor and was in a place filled with life force. She could no longer use the pale and transparent faces to shift position. She could only watch as tiny blood-colored cracks appeared on her body.
The cracks expanded rapidly and instantly turned into a hideous wound that cut through the woman.
As her screams reverberated, her body crumbled into pieces of flesh. The pieces of flesh and her spirit were still being ravaged by the storm of light until the hurricane subsided. The flesh was ground, and the spirit dissipated.
Although Ryan tried his best to prevent the Hurricane of Light from implicating the others, he was still too weak to control it. He destroyed a large swath of the walls on the side and the stairs behind him. If Lumian, Leah, and Valentine hadn't found cover in advance, they would have more or less been injured.
"Waa! Waa! Waa!"
The bird-clawed children who were climbing the wall were frightened and cried out.
Lumian and the others' ears buzzed as if they had suffered a noise attack.
"Let's go!" Ryan turned around and slammed into the most damaged wall nearby.
Crash! The wall shattered, and a large number of rocks fell.
A huge hole that humans could crawl through appeared.
When Valentine and Lumian ran over, Ryan grabbed each of them with one hand and jumped from a height of more than ten meters to a tree outside the castle.
Bam! In midair, he kicked the tree and flew diagonally away from the castle.
Leah descended on her own, using the protrusion of the castle's outer walls to descend rapidly, landing on the ground in a breath or two.
Ryan, Lumian, and Valentine waited for Leah for a few seconds as the trees shook violently. After meeting up with her, they ran to the back of the hill and left before the other servants caught up.
...
In less than a minute, Madame Pualis stood expressionless beside the ruptured hole at the entrance of the tower, wearing a grayish-blue fluffy dress.
The children crawling on the walls quickly accused the outsiders of being barbaric and cruel, calling out for their mother.
Madame Pualis, with an ashen face, remained silent.
...
In the forest beside Cordu Village.
Lumian and his companions stopped and looked back at the castle.
Leah was about to speak when she frowned and said, "I hear a baby crying, it's very close!" She turned to Ryan and the others and asked, "Can you hear it?"
Lumian was startled and listened carefully, vaguely hearing the sound of a baby crying, but it was not as close as Leah had described, in fact, it sounded distant.
"I can hear it a little," Ryan answered truthfully.
Valentine's expression changed as if he had thought of something.
At the same time, Leah's face twisted in pain, and she instinctively pressed a hand to her abdomen, where there was a distinct swelling and squirming.
Valentine quickly went over to Leah and placed his hand on her head, saying a word in ancient Hermes that Lumian had just learned, "Sun!"
Golden translucent liquid drops condensed out of thin air and sprinkled over Leah's body.
Illusory black smoke immediately rose from Leah's body, and her expression alternated between distortion and normalcy.
Finally, her abdomen returned to its original state and stopped squirming.
"Phew…" Leah breathed a sigh of relief. "I narrowly avoided becoming a monster's mother. Luckily, we took care of it in time before it could take root."
She wore a smile on her face, unfazed by the bizarre and terrifying experience.
Leah turned to Lumian, Ryan, and Valentine.
"Would you like to purify yourselves with holy water? I worry that you may unknowingly become mothers."
"Yes!" Lumian agreed immediately, but Valentine approached Ryan first. Placing his hand on Ryan's head, he uttered the ancient Hermes word, "Sun!" Holy water formed and sprinkled down, but nothing unusual happened to Ryan.
Valentine purified himself next, and no black smoke appeared.
He then walked over to Lumian and placed his hand on the hunter's head. "Sun!" he repeated, and droplets of translucent liquid fell. Lumian suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if a snake were burrowing inside. Each time it moved, Lumian's heart raced or slowed down, causing extreme discomfort.
In the next moment, Lumian heard the mysterious voice that seemed to come from an infinite distance but also sounded close by.
It wasn't as clear as in his dream, so it prevented him from entering a near-death state.
Just as Lumian couldn't take it anymore, Valentine stopped the purification and nodded coldly.
"There's nothing wrong with you either."
Phew… Lumian breathed a silent sigh of relief, feeling as though he had been pulled back from the brink of death.
At that moment, he roughly understood what had just happened.
According to the mysterious lady, he was severely corrupted by a certain hidden evil god. He could only maintain his normal state by relying on the timely seal of that great existence.
Accepting the purification of holy water was like a devil embracing holy light—he was bound to experience problems.
In other words, he was an evil god pollutant that needed to be purified!
Thankfully, thankfully. If Valentine had kept going or had been a little stronger, I would've exposed my abnormality even with the seal of that great existence… I can't undergo purification in the future. I won't even be able to find someone to exorcise the evil. I'm the evil that needs to be exorcized… Lumian rejoiced and didn't let the remnant pain appear on his face.
Upon realizing that his companions had been cleansed and all risks had been eliminated, Ryan promptly suggested, "If we make our way to the edge of the village now, we'll activate the loop. In the event that Madame Pualis discovers a clue and catches up with us, we can attempt to flee and restart the cycle."
Noticing Valentine's perplexed expression, Ryan added, "I'm concerned that if we die once during a cycle, there may be repercussions once the loop is lifted. Therefore, it's best not to perish at this moment."
"Understood," Leah agreed before Valentine could interject with any radical ideas.
Observing that his two companions had arrived at the same conclusion, Valentine simply nodded.
At that moment, Lumian glanced at them before waving his hand and declaring, "You guys go on ahead. I'm going home!"
Ryan furrowed his brow in confusion and asked, "Aren't you worried that Madame Pualis might come after you?"
Lumian grinned and replied, "I'm not like you. As soon as I entered the tower, I was attempting to avoid the monster children's gaze. They didn't spot me, and the midwife who saw me was killed by you. It seems that even channeling spirits is ineffective. How could Madame Pualis have suspected that a powerful infiltration team like yours had an ordinary person like me with them?"
"Think about it. Prior to your arrival in Cordu, no one had attempted to infiltrate the castle. The moment you arrived, something immediately occurred. Who else could be suspected but you guys?"
"If I escape with you, I'll be dragged down with you!"
Ryan, Leah, and Valentine were left speechless.
This was clearly an operation concocted by Lumian. Why did it appear as though he had nothing to do with it in the end?
Were they going to shoulder all the blame?
"Goodbye! If Madame Pualis doesn't dare to confront official Beyonders like you and the cycle isn't restarted, I'll see you at Ol' Tavern tomorrow!" Lumian waved his hand and dashed towards the edge of the forest, reminding them, "Take care, my cabbages!"
Once he exited the forest, Lumian's expression became serious.
The explanation he provided for not escaping with Ryan and the others wasn't the only reason. It was more of an excuse.
His primary objective was to return home immediately and rendezvous with Aurore.
As soon as Aurore invited Madame Pualis for afternoon tea, someone snuck into the castle, and they were the prime suspects.
Lumian had to inform his sister that if Madame Pualis came to interrogate and silence her, she should sell out the three foreigners and agree to Madame Pualis's imprisonment. She could discover and dangle a valuable secret to delay Madame Pualis for a while, preventing her from executing anyone on the spot.
Only by staying alive would there be a chance!
Even in the loop, Lumian couldn't afford to die easily in case something catastrophic occurred once the loop ended!
Furthermore, once Madame Pualis caught up with Leah and the others, if she emerged victorious, one of Ryan and the other two would trigger the loop and erase their memories. If she lost, what was there to be concerned about?
Lumian gritted his teeth and ran home through the village road, enduring the pain in his calf.
Upon seeing Aurore standing at the door, appearing completely unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is everything all right?"
"Is everything all right?"
The siblings both inquired simultaneously.