No. 1 slowly rose in the immense pit that had formed within the inner room. Its once flesh-covered right hand was now shattered, and seven of its eyes were charred by the flames, leaving behind only black holes with coagulated blood.
A hush fell over the cave room for a moment.
"Whoosh!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three consecutive explosions occurred on the ground, but Punk, blessed with advanced speed spell, avoided all of them like a fish in water and finally came beside No. 1 while keeping his eyes fixed on the high priest in the middle of the cave room.
The high priest now had a very embarrassing appearance with half of his right arm missing, and there was no trace of hysterical madness in his face like that in the beginning. Although the master-level robe on his body was not damaged, he still could not withstand the violent shockwaves, and blood was dripping from the deep wound that appeared on his right chest. This wound was so serious that even a few pieces of pale bone could be seen.
His face, which was now stained with blood and rock fragments, had a calm expression. No matter how someone looked at it, the current high priest looked exactly like a wise old mage, unlike the initial crazy fanatic.
The reason for this was very obvious. At this point in the battle, both parties knew that their enemy was not the kind of person who could be fooled by superficial means, and it would be absolutely meaningless for the high priest to pretend to be crazy.
"A body resistant to heat! Body of a demon?"
The high priest looked at the Flesh Golem, which was scorched black all over. Now he knew why this Golem could break through the fire elemental's defense so quickly.
"Young man, the things here have nothing to do with you. There is no reason for you to hinder Goddess Ti Xiaer, as our plan will not affect you in any way."
The silent atmosphere continued for a while. In the end, the high priest spoke slowly.
Punk didn't respond, but secretly he became more vigilant.
"Did this old guy escape through the magical door? I just can't figure out if his injury is as bad as it looks on the surface!"
Punk's gaze became even colder. A calm enemy was more difficult to deal with than a brainless madman. Punk wanted to immediately burst out with all his power and attack while the high priest was still injured.
However, he was not sure whether the injury of the high priest was really that serious or the other party was again using a trick to lure him into attacking. So, to be on the safe side, Punk decided not to act. After all, he was also not clear if the enemy's master-level robe could still be used. Also, Punk, who had the activation potion that could quickly restore his mana, was not afraid of a long battle anyway.
"It seems that you have made up your mind to fight the church of Ti Xiaer. Well, then there is nothing else to say."
Seeing that Punk still had a cold and ruthless look in his eyes, the high priest sighed heavily, and his spidery lower body began to accumulate energy again.
"I came here on the request of your granddaughter Elenka, but... I didn't expect that you have become like this now!"
While Punk ordered No. 1 to be ready, he tried to use words to attack the enemy's psychological defense.
"Elenka..."
The high priest squinted his eyes and muttered to himself, but soon he regained his firmness and determination once again.
"I don't know if she is looking for me because of the so-called kinship or something else, but now I serve the great goddess Ti Xiaer, and I have decided to give everything to my Goddess."
The high priest's eyes flashed brightly, and his words were full of unrelenting determination.
"I can see that you have not been brainwashed. And you are still a mage, you neither have any priest's power, nor do you have any divine power in your body. So you have to forgive me if I have some doubt about the goddess that you speak of..."
Punk lightly questioned the authenticity of the so-called goddess Ti Xiaer, and looked at the very much sane high priest with suspicion. Although the conversation between the two was for the purpose of delaying time in order to recover, Punk still asked the high priest, as he was really puzzled by the high priest's behavior. He couldn't understand the high priest's psychology, as a powerful creature himself, why he agreed to serve another powerful creature without any apparent benefit.
"I'm afraid you don't know what faith is. In your opinion, only those priests who believed in gods for the convenience of gaining power could become believers, right?"
The high priest looked at Punk with the same deep gaze:
"You're a mage through and through, unlike me, so you will never understand what faith is. Even if I explain it, people without faith can't understand it. When I was young, I always aspired to become a priest, but due to an accident, I had to choose the path of a mage. I felt a bit lost until I encountered the great Goddess Ti Xiaer, and finally, I found what I was searching for."
Punk looked at the pious high priest indifferently. He had to admit that he could not understand what faith was at all, but this did not prevent him from being the enemy of a believing person.
"It seems that there is nothing to say. I am a true mage, and whoever stands in my way, I will tear them apart. It doesn't matter whether it is a god or a beggar; hence your so-called belief and faiths are in my eyes... completely worthless."
Punk spoke casually, dismissing any possibility of negotiation in the upcoming battle. He wasn't keen on delving into matters that even countless scholars on Earth couldn't fully understand. Nevertheless, this wouldn't stop him from eliminating the high priest of an unknown goddess and claiming the precious master-level robe from his lifeless body.
Upon hearing Punk's disrespectful words, the devout high priest couldn't contain his anger. He glared fiercely at the impassive Punk, his eyes filled with explosive rage.
"I am determined to guard my faith, and I also have the power to guard my faith. I never needed anyone's approval. Goddess Ti Xiaer is everything to me. Anyone who wants to desecrate the holy goddess must first step on my dead body, and you are not an exception."
"Haaaaa!"
The high priest roared loudly, and massive amounts of mana gathered in his hands. As soon as the spell was completed, a large amount of crystal-clear liquid appeared in the high priest's hands, and many dense white light spots were floating slowly inside the liquid.
Punk recognized the spell used by the high priest at a glance. It was the official-level-version of the spell "Astral Oil," which summoned a large amount of greasy and flammable high-concentration Astral Oil.
"Goddess Ti Xiaer gave me a purpose in my life. Now, it's time to repay my goddess by eliminating her enemy."
The hairs of the high priest danced wildly as a huge oil ball rose into the air under the support of mana and then suddenly exploded. After losing the magic insulation, the scattered oil immediately began to burn after coming in contact with the hot air. Large chunks of burning oil begun to rain down on the entire inner room, and the walls and floor cracked and melted after coming in contact with it.
Subsequently, the high priest activated his ring that was engraved with a very common spell that protected the caster from fire damage. With this spell's blessing, the high priest would naturally consume far less mana in this hot sea of fire than Punk.
Suddenly, the beneficiary and the sufferer of a battle of attrition was immediately reversed.
Feeling the "Advance Mage Armor" that was consuming three times more mana under the high temperature, Punk, with gritted teeth, took out the precious bottle of "activating potion" and took a sip.
"It's time for the final showdown. Although I don't know what the mysterious Goddess Ti Xiaer did to the high priest, turning an old mage so devoted to her, looking at it now, this lunatic is probably even ready to sacrifice his life in this fight."
Punk knew that without the help of the activation potion, his mana recovery speed wouldn't have been able to keep up with the consumption in such a fiery battle.
"But..."
Punk calmly observed the high priest, who was now filled with killing intent, while keeping an eye on the system's analysis result.
"Taking such desperate measures? It seems that the magical door can no longer be used."
The final decisive battle was about to commence.