The curse on me hasn't been lifted yet, and now there's another one. Can I handle this?
Wayne's expression turned ugly. He finally understood what the omnipresent warnings meant. At this moment, he wanted to push Bloodthirsty Mike away and urge him to complete the ritual quickly.
Wait!
If, and he stressed if, he was also inside the town right now, did completing the ritual mean he would also find peace?
With his life hanging by a thread, Wayne asked directly.
The priest nodded, yes, everyone would find peace.
Wayne's entire face changed. He spoke quickly, "Where is the ritual location? Hurry up and tell me."
The priest didn't answer directly, mentioning that he goes to the Nielsen Manor every year to pay respects. A few days ago, he saw fresh flowers by the gravestone, indicating the return of the Nielsen family heir.
"Perhaps he's here for revenge, but continuing the unfinished ritual of the Nielsen family can bring peace to everyone. I hope you don't stop him."
"Then aren't we dead too?"
"..."
The priest fell silent, confirming that they were.
He began recounting the tragedy of the town. Cafono Town seemed no different from the outside and its residents were like ordinary people. But every year on this night, everyone would reveal their true faces, struggling in the flames, their souls trapped in endless pain longing for release.
But once this night passed, everyone would forget, not even leaving behind a nightmare.
Wayne and the others sympathized with the townspeople's plight, and they all refused the admission ticket. Right now, they only wanted to stop the ritual to avoid joining them in rest.
Naturally, the priest wouldn't let them leave. Unfortunately, his rigid thinking prevented him from using profound magic, and Veronica interrupted his chant with a gunshot, followed by Wayne delivering two more blows, rendering him completely silent.
The group rushed out of the church. William glanced back, puzzled, "Doesn't this count as rest?"
Obviously not. The priest's withered body reformed, missing parts growing back out of thin air. With magical powers in his lifetime, his recovery speed far exceeded that of ordinary townsfolk. Wayne and the others hadn't gone far when he stood up and began walking.
A dense crowd of zombies surrounded the church. They seemed to fear something and didn't dare to enter the church's territory, howling and waiting for Wayne and the others to enter on their own.
Behind them, the priest emerged from the church, holding a Bible in one hand.
Wayne stood on the grass between the fence and the gate, wolves in front and tigers behind. They had to break out as soon as possible.
Bang!
Veronica turned around, firing a shot that blew off the priest's head. Wayne couldn't help but admire her incredible marksmanship.
"Coach, how much does this magic cost?"
"We're going to Nielsen Manor. The Death Walker must be there!"
Veronica gritted her teeth, feeling deceived. Every time they were outside the school gate, the dirty adult world couldn't uphold any integrity?
"I and Wayne checked. The castle is empty, and a summoning ritual was also destroyed by us."
William hastily spoke, "Maybe we didn't check properly, but if the Death Walker isn't there, wouldn't it be a waste of precious time?"
Hearing him, Wayne's mind raced, and he suddenly turned to look at the church.
The priest knew Mike was back!
The priest was willing for Mike to complete the ritual!
The priest refused to reveal the ritual location!
The zombies dared not enter the church's territory!
Following this reasoning, the strange ritual on the castle platform was nothing more than a smoke bomb, a pawn used to buy time. Everything made sense now.
Wayne's eyes lit up. To prove his theory, he waved his hand and grabbed the air, sniffing fiercely.
He didn't smell any breath of life other than theirs. Mike hadn't been to the church, but... magic could conceal one's presence. It wasn't impossible for Mike to have meticulously erased all traces to avoid disruption of his plan.
Who said only magic could defeat magic!
"By the grace of the goddess, this is my last bit of magic."
Wayne half-believed, wagering all his magic. He puffed up his chest and took a deep breath.
Filtering out the scents of metrosexuals, young ladies, black cats, and handsome guys, he smelled the strong scent of death. The Book of Greed immediately cast an excited gaze.
Wayne didn't catch his breath. He coughed violently a few times, then excitedly said to Veronica, "I smell it. Bloodthirsty Mike is in the church!"
...
"You really have a keen nose?"
"No one has a nose that keen!"
"Under the goddess's moonlight, she granted me the sense of a beast..."
Wayne charged towards the church, but noticing nobody followed, he immediately stopped, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up!"
William and Veronica exchanged glances. The former nodded, willing to give Wayne a chance, while the latter gritted her teeth, thinking it wouldn't waste too much time just to go to the church.
A scammer understands another scammer; what if they're falling into his trap?
The group rushed into the church. Wayne passed by the priest and saw him slowly getting up. He swung a stick, sending the priest's head flying.
Inside the church, the light was dim. William managed to gather some magic and waved his hand, providing temporary illumination.
Wayne shook his head and took out the flashlight he carried with him, relying on his enhanced sense of smell and the residual effects. He went straight to the churchyard through a side door and stopped in front of a row of dormitories.
"Bloodthirsty Mike, I know you're inside. Come out. Your plan has failed." Wayne's voice echoed far in the night sky.
After a moment, the middle door slowly opened, and a man in a dark suit walked out.
Mike Nielsen.
His attire wasn't flashy, just formal. He wasn't particularly tall, and his thirties had brought some gray to his temples. He bid farewell to his youth due to early hardships.
One of Mike's eyes emitted a crimson light as he glanced at the group and put on white gloves.
On the back of the gloves was a black inverted triangle symbol, a magical item.
"I spent a lot of time setting up a fake ritual in the castle, but I didn't lure you over there. What can I say? Bad luck, overestimated you?" Mike laughed self-deprecatingly. He had prepared for today's ritual extensively, considering various possibilities, including interference from wizards.
However, the powerful wizards didn't show up, only a few novices came. It made all his careful planning and operations become a confrontation with thin air.
Veronica snorted. She fired continuously, her marksmanship precise, hitting Mike's chest and head respectively.
Two black holes appeared on Mike's body, but he didn't fall as expected. He raised his hand and tapped his temple. "No need to waste your energy. I've assimilated into this town. You can't kill me here."
Wayne: That's because you haven't revealed your health bar!
Veronica frowned, "You accepted a curse and became undead, yet you're planning to sacrifice yourself to the Goddess of Death?"
"It's not a curse, it's a law, and it's very precious..."
Mike smiled, "Judging by your appearance, you should still be students at the academy. It's normal for hot-house flowers from the academy to not know the truth of the world, after all, teachers don't teach such advanced knowledge, and some teachers don't even know what magic is, let alone what they believe in."
Veronica didn't want to listen to his nonsense. She threw a can, an advanced version of orally consumed mushrooms, where hallucinogenic and corruptive spores grew rapidly, nourished by Mike's body, continuously strengthening themselves and corroding his flesh and mind.
The effect was mediocre; Mike just had a layer of skin on him, and there wasn't much nourishment to speak of. His will was also sufficient, and the hallucinogenic spores couldn't disturb his thoughts.
Veronica felt it was tricky. She wanted to try close combat, took the crowbar Wayne handed her, and intended to dismantle Mike into pieces.
Regardless of anything, physical assault comes first!
But Mike was too well-prepared. He snapped his fingers, and the ground turned into black sludge. Arms coiled up and entangled around them, immobilizing their ankles, keeping them stuck in place.
Monica reacted the fastest. She climbed onto Wayne's clothes and crouched on his shoulder.
Mike didn't directly attack. He had some kind of connection with the black arms and looked at Veronica and William with surprise. "My apologies, you're the heretics blessed by a proxy, huh? That's good. High-quality sacrifices can increase the success rate of the ritual."
He then pushed up his sleeves to check his watch. His deep red right eye turned to pitch-black, murmuring, "It's coming, this delayed night..."
Bang!
A loud noise, like a cannonball, Mike looked over, his vision blurred, and he was sent flying towards the building behind him.
It was Veronica, the Dragonblood Maiden, whose power was too overwhelming. Even with his magic sealed, she could break free from magical restraints with her physical strength.
Veronica threw another glass bottle, and rapidly growing vines swept away the black sludge, allowing Wayne and the others to break free.
Boom!
Thunderous sounds—
On the other side, Veronica unleashed violent attacks, pressing Mike to the ground and rubbing him against the floor, disregarding whether she could kill him, but the scene looked convincing, and a row of dormitories was quickly torn apart by her.
Monica whispered in Wayne's ear, "Veronica doesn't have magic, she can't win. I'll give you my magic. You deal with the Death Walker."
Monica had lost her original body due to the curse, so while her magic wasn't randomly sealed like the others, she could only cast a few limited auxiliary spells.
Also, due to different beliefs, Veronica and William couldn't borrow her magic.
But Wayne was different. Monica had once infused magic seeds into him, making him a standard devotee of the Moon Goddess.
At least that's what Monica thought. She had developed a potential asset for the goddess.
"Is it reliable?"
Wayne pursed his lips. It was good to have extra magic, but he hadn't learned any magic. Giving him magic wouldn't change anything. Besides, the Book of Greed wasn't eager for anyone else's magic...
Wasn't this just adding to his loneliness?
Monica said firmly, "Magic isn't that complicated. Its expression depends on your thoughts. Use your imagination, imagine the most powerful magic in your mind, but don't go too far. Backlash would affect me too."
"Remember, magic is just a lever; it's the mindset that matters!"
Wayne couldn't understand even more. The most powerful magic in his mind was called an atomic bomb, a daily item with over 4000 degrees of heat, equalizing all living beings. Could this be conjured with magic?
"Have you thought of anything?"
"I have an idea, a big explosion that's bright and hot, can this work? I feel like this should be a Sun Goddess..."
"It's okay. The Moon Goddess can do it too."
"..."
Is this real or not? Talking about science as a believer, isn't it inappropriate?
Wayne looked conflicted. Monica was confident it would work, but he didn't have much confidence. The key was, even if it worked, he couldn't run away.
Magic surged into his body, and Wayne didn't have time to think much. A picture flashed through his mind, instantly energizing him.
It's decided, then.