Mark's body began to change. The same blue runes as the woman's appeared on his skin, flashing with strange light. The light of the gem on the altar suddenly intensified, and the blue light enveloped the entire basement. A powerful energy wave spread around. The ground began to shake, the cracks on the wall continued to expand, and the basement seemed to be about to collapse. At the same time, Mark's eyelids trembled slightly, his fingers twitched, and he let out a faint groan. The eyeballs under his eyelids turned blue, emitting the same light as the gems, and slowly opened his eyes.
The blue light reflected on Mark's face, and his originally handsome face looked particularly hideous at this moment. His empty eyes swept through every corner of the basement, as if he was examining his new power. The huge cracks on the wall spread like a spider web, and rubble kept falling from the ceiling, making a "crackling" sound. The basement was filled with the smell of dust, mixed with a disgusting stench, making people feel difficult to breathe.
Mark stood up slowly, his eyes empty, and looked around expressionlessly. He raised his hand, looked at the blue rune that appeared on his hand, and a strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Is this... power?" He whispered in a hoarse voice, with a hint of confusion, excitement, and an unspeakable cruelty in his voice. The light of the rune flickered on his hand, like a dancing flame, reflecting his pale face, making him look even more strange and terrifying. The vibration of the basement became more and more violent, as if it would collapse at any time, but Mark didn't care at all. He just stood there quietly, feeling the powerful force surging in his body.
He raised his hand and squeezed it gently, and his knuckles made a "crackling" sound. He felt the surging power in his body, and the smile on the corner of his mouth gradually expanded, turning into an almost crazy grin. "I feel... I can do everything!" He laughed wantonly, and his laughter echoed in the crumbling basement, like the roar of a demon from hell. Debris kept falling from the ceiling and hitting him, but he ignored it, as if it was just insignificant dust.
Then, he walked towards the exit of the basement. Each step was extremely slow, but with an unquestionable majesty, as if a king was inspecting his territory. He walked to the stone door and pushed it gently. The heavy stone door was pushed open like a piece of paper, making a loud "boom" and stirring up a cloud of dust.
"I... am free..." He walked out of the basement and disappeared into the darkness, leaving only the empty basement and the collapsing walls, as well as the words echoing behind him.
Mark walked back to the square, and the square became extremely empty. The figures that had been wandering in the square before had disappeared. He walked to the bottom of the tower and stopped. A man in a black windbreaker walked out of the darkness and stood opposite him.
"Should I call you Mark or Elvira now?" the man asked in a low and hoarse voice.
"What do you think? Silas Knox!" Mark, no, Elvira answered with disdain.
She suddenly released the energy in her body, and the ground of the square cracked inch by inch, spreading around like a spider web, with gravel flying and dust everywhere. The shock wave was like an invisible giant hand, knocking Silas to the ground. He rolled around in a mess for several rounds before he barely stopped.
Silas quickly got up, his face was covered in dust, and a trace of astonishment flashed in his eyes. He shook his head, trying to dispel the dizziness. The next moment, a black dagger appeared out of thin air in his hand, and the surface of the dagger flowed with a strange dark red light, like coagulated blood. He held the dagger tightly, his eyes became sharp, like a cheetah hunting, locking Elvira. Without the slightest hesitation, he suddenly pounced on Elvira, as fast as a black lightning, breaking through the silent night sky.
Elvira stood there, neither dodging nor evading, with a calm look in her eyes, as if she didn't care about Silas's attack at all. The black dagger pierced her body, but there was no blood gushing out, nor any painful groans, only the faint blue rune light suddenly became brighter, like a burning flame, wrapping her whole body in it. The moment the dagger came into contact with the rune light, it made a "sizzling" sound, just like ice and snow encountering a raging fire, quickly melting, and finally turning into powder and dissipating in the air.
Silas' pupils suddenly contracted, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face. Before he could react, Elvira reached out her hand like lightning, grabbed his collar, and lifted him up high. Silas left his feet on the ground, struggling desperately, trying to attack Elvira with his other hand, but found that his body was bound by an invisible force and couldn't move at all. His face flushed, his eyes were full of fear and anger, but he could only make a "ho ho" panting sound, as helpless as a trapped beast. The stone slabs on the square made a slight sound under Elvira's feet, as if they could not bear the strong pressure emanating from her.
Elvira's eyes were cold, like ten thousand years of ice, without a trace of emotional fluctuation. She stared at Silas's struggle, with a sneer of contempt at the corner of her mouth. "Silas Knox, do you think you still have a chance?" Her voice was low and cold, like a judgment from hell, and every word hit Silas' heart, making him feel desperate and fearful.
Elvira threw Silas to the ground fiercely, and with a loud "bang", a deep pit appeared on the ground, with gravel splashing and dust flying. Silas groaned in pain, curled up into a ball, like a crushed insect, trembling weakly. Elvira raised her foot gracefully, stepped on Silas' chest, and looked down at him condescendingly, like a queen looking down at her subjects.
Silas raised his head with difficulty and looked at Elvira's cold eyes, which were full of fear and despair. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but found that he could no longer make any sound, and could only make a "ho ho" panting sound. He felt that his vitality was rapidly draining away, and his body was getting weaker and weaker, as if it would dissipate at any time.
Elvira lowered her head and whispered in Silas' ear.
"Your soul will be imprisoned here forever. And I will return to the world and take back my rebirth organization."
Elvira retracted her foot, turned around and left the square, walking towards the tower. Only a deep pit and a ball of black ash were left on the ground, which looked particularly desolate under the scarlet moonlight. She did not look back, nor did she stop, as if everything that had just happened was just an insignificant episode.