"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh————!"
Upon the altar, within the gently burning cerulean flames, a sudden and hurried wail echoed, causing the flames enveloping Fang Li and Hecate to abruptly extinguish.
"…!"
The sudden change made Bel Peol's complexion drastically change and she rushed up to the altar without thinking.
"Hecate!" Sydonay was even more direct as he charged forward while shouting her name.
There, within the extinguished cerulean flames, Hecate sat collapsed on the ground, holding her head as if she had experienced an unimaginable nightmare. Her entire body trembled.
Fang Li, still restrained by sturdy chains around his limbs, looked at the Hecate sitting in front of him with the same calm expression from beginning to end.
"Hecate." Bel Peol squatted down, embracing Hecate, and quickly asked, "What happened?"
Hecate didn't answer at all, only trembling, holding her head, and even keeping her eyes tightly shut, emitting sounds that seemed both painful and fearful.
"Don't... don't come... don't enter my body...!"
This complete breakdown-like performance made Bel Peol's complexion change several times, and even her gaze fluctuated.
"Damn it!" Seeing Hecate in a state of mental and energetic collapse, Sydonay roared lowly.
"Pā—!"
In a crisp sound, Fang Li's neck was directly pinched.
Sydonay's arm, which had transformed into claws at some point, grasped Fang Li's neck tightly, the sharp claws penetrating his skin slightly.
"Pū Chī…"
In the faint tearing sound, the sharp claws pierced Fang Li's neck skin and blood seeped out from Fang Li's neck.
Sydonay firmly held Fang Li's neck, letting the claws sink into the skin. Veins bulged on his temple, and in a voice suppressing the berserk anger, Sydonay said to Fang Li, "What have you done?"
Fang Li lifted his gaze, looking at Sydonay and the look in his eyes remained the same from beginning to end and there wasn't even a slightest ripple.
That gaze intensified Sydonay's anger, even causing a murderous aura to emanate from his body.
So, in an almost laughing anger, Sydonay said to Fang Li, "Could it be that you really aren't afraid of death?"
Fang Li remained silent when he heard such a question.
However, the unchanged calmness in his eyes had already given Sydonay the answer.
Then, Fang Li spoke.
"For me, death is the cheapest thing in the entire world."
After all, what Fang Li understood the most wasn't anything else but death.
Each kind of death recorded in his soul formed a drop of seawater, enough to gather into an endless ocean.
It's easy to imagine just how much death Fang Li possessed.
Since the quantity was so vast, how could it not be considered cheap?
"And, didn't I say it before?" Fang Li said slowly to Sydonay, Bel Peol, and even Hecate. "If you want to contain everything of mine, this container is simply too small."
Sydonay's expression instantly became extremely unpleasant when he heard these words.
Bel Peol's brows furrowed deeply, and the trend was to furrow even deeper.
As for Hecate, she had completely assumed the appearance of someone undergoing a mental and energetic impact. With Fang Li's words, her delicate body trembled even more violently.
It was only at this moment that Trinity realized something.
They realized that the person in front of them was by no means an ordinary human. Although they were aware of his formidable combat strength, which was unbelievable for a human, Trinity had underestimated Fang Li.
They had underestimated the uniqueness of this human.
This person was not merely a being with great power. His body, or rather his essence, possessed an even more unbelievable peculiarity.
Such uniqueness surpassed Crimson World Denizens, even Flame Haze.
It might even surpass that particular entity.
The one who created the large Denizen group known as the "Bal Masqué," the Leader worshipped by Trinity.
Realizing this, regardless of Hecate, Sydonay, or Bel Peol, immense killing intent surged within their hearts.
"I finally understand," Sydonay said solemnly, "If we don't eliminate you, this human, he will undoubtedly become our major adversary in the future."
One must understand the significance of this sentence;
These words were spoken by the Crimson Lord who led the military of the "Bal Masqué," holding the rank of general. And Bel Peol, serving as a Crimson Lord overseeing the operations of the "Bal Masqué," equally concurred with these words.
Hence, both of them harbored enormous killing intent.
"We absolutely cannot let you..."
Sydonay slowly tightened the claws around Fang Li's neck.
An imposing manner, as if it could topple mountains and overturn seas, began to emanate from his body.
Feeling that terrifying pressure, Fang Li endured both suffocation and pain from his neck while the look in his eyes subtly changed.
At this moment, the imposing manner emanating from Sydonay's body had far surpassed the strength he had displayed in their previous battle. It was a dreadful pressure not inferior to that of Fan Xinglou.
Fang Li knew that Sydonay hadn't unleashed his true strength during their previous confrontation.
However, only now did Fang Li realize how powerful Sydonay's hidden strength truly was.
Perhaps, when Sydonay truly exerted all his power, he might not have been weaker than Fan Xinglou in her prime.
What did that mean?
It meant that Sydonay was more than capable of entering the Third Rank.
This was the genuine strength of the Crimson Lord, who is the cream of the crop in the Crimson World, capable of commanding the entire military force of a large Denizen group.
Just as Sydonay was about to strike, Hecate spoke.
"Stop it..."
Hecate lowered her head, her voice trembling as she spoke.
"You can't use death to threaten this person... You absolutely cannot do that..."
Sydonay's claws which were slowly tightening around Fang Li's neck suddenly halted.
Bel Peol's expression also became somewhat cloudy and uncertain.
As fellow members of Trinity, the two who had spent countless years with Hecate knew just how much fear was contained in her words.
What had this inorganic girl, empty inside due to her unique nature, seen that made her so frightened?
Sydonay and Bel Peol couldn't even imagine.
"Damn it..."
Sydonay resentfully released the claws that were gripping Fang Li's neck.
Bel Peol, holding the continually trembling Hecate, looked at Fang Li with eyes that had completely changed.
It was no longer as confident.
"...Let's temporarily detain him here." In the end, Bel Peol made this decision.
"The matter of the 'Reiji Maigo (Midnight Lost Child),' the matter of this human, we need to discuss it again."
With this, Fang Li was imprisoned.
Looking at Trinity in front of him, Fang Li showed no outward change, but his mind was already active and alert.
"So, what will happen next?"
...