Blinded by preconceived notions, both the Countess and her team had almost instantly pinned the Nun's death on the Colorless, never pausing to consider that the killer might be a sequence member.
If the Nun could be silenced for investigating the colorless curse, she could just as easily be murdered for uncovering the corruption of the Pus of Man.
The brooch found in the Nun's mouth was undeniably a man's, and it in all likelihood belonged to someone close to her. Even though her lover had also died a gruesome death, there was no rule stating she could only have one.
Given the circumstances, as one of the most senior sequence members in town, the Priest was undoubtedly quite popular.
But if the Priest really was the culprit, Fu Qian's own situation had just grown perilous.
The Countess wasn't stupid. Her mind was just in chaos from the day's endless shocks, keeping her from making the connection right away. It was only a matter of time before she figured it out.
The Priest had definitely anticipated that, and he would inevitably make his move.
Under these circumstances, his most logical course of action would be to eliminate everyone in the know—namely, the Countess and Fu Qian himself.
And the sooner the better, to keep the truth about the Pus of Man from spreading.
Fu Qian looked up. The sensation of neurological chaos washed over him once more.
Ever since digesting the Dragon Blood, his abilities had leveled up, but the negative effects had intensified as well. The mental impact was far stronger than before.
It took Fu Qian a great deal of effort just to hold it together.
Phew!
Minutes later, Fu Qian let out a long breath, confirming that no one had come looking for him.
This was where the importance of secrecy truly showed itself.
Because he had forced himself to adapt to the negative effects earlier, he had never exposed the exact timing of his flare-ups to anyone.
Otherwise, if someone really wanted to harm him, they would definitely strike during this perfect window of vulnerability.
But the same couldn't be said for the Countess...
Fu Qian thought for a moment, then stood up and headed straight out the door.
It was only a guess, but he needed to verify it.
If something really happened to the Countess, he would absolutely be next.
The Countess's residence was close by and incredibly easy to find. It was a sprawling manor that stood in a class of its own within the Small Town.
It was already past midnight, yet the manor was still brightly lit.
It made sense. The head of the household had just returned, so her subordinates inevitably had a lot of bustling to do.
Fu Qian never even considered the front gate. Instead, he vaulted lightly over the wall and slipped inside.
After casually knocking out a few guards, he successfully infiltrated the inner manor.
It didn't take long for him to detect an anomaly in the silence.
Following the faint disturbances, he crept up to a room. The door was ajar, and an unconscious servant lay sprawled nearby.
He hadn't been overthinking it—something really was happening!
Standing outside, he noticed the noise wasn't particularly loud, but he could clearly sense the fluctuations of power from within.
Fu Qian knocked on the door. Without waiting for a response, he pushed it open and walked right in.
The scene inside could only be described as intense.
Amidst the chaotic mess on the floor, a mass of snake-like black fluid coiled directly in front of him. Its massive, viscous, gleaming body took up almost half the room.
Trapped in the center of the winding coils was the Countess, her entire body flashing with light. Her expression was contorted as she struggled bitterly to hold on, looking as if she were on the verge of collapse.
The tail end of the black snake was connected to the Priest, who was missing half of his body.
Stripped of his usual benevolent guise, he had been startled by the knock and now glared over with a vicious expression.
"Am I interrupting?"
Tossing out the casual greeting, Fu Qian strolled leisurely into the room. He picked a clean patch of floor to stand on and examined the giant black snake with keen interest.
The thing was absolutely identical to what was on the Armored Guy back in the Old City.
"Don't mind me. I'm just watching. You guys carry on."
Naturally, the Priest didn't believe a word of it. While tightening his strangling grip on the Countess, he kept a wary eye on Fu Qian's every move.
The black snake's body writhed and split off a smaller serpent, as thick as an arm, aiming it directly at Fu Qian.
A flash of obvious relief crossed the Countess's eyes the moment she saw Fu Qian. The shield around her flared slightly brighter, but under the black snake's intensified crushing force, it quickly dimmed to a dull glow.
At first, Fu Qian wondered why she wasn't speaking. After a closer look, he noticed that not only was the Countess heavily besieged, but her face also bore an unnatural flush.
She was right in the middle of a negative effect flare-up. The Priest's timing was impeccable!
"Kill... him... he's... polluted..."
It took an immense amount of effort for the Countess to squeeze out those few words.
Do you really need to tell me that? I can see it with my own eyes.
But considering her current state, Fu Qian decided not to be too critical.
"So, this is how the Nun's lover died?"
Turning a blind eye to the snake head aimed at him, Fu Qian pointed at the trapped Countess.
"Close enough."
Clearly not expecting the question, the Priest froze for a moment before replying with a cold sneer.
"So the Nun discovered this thing on your body, and that's what brought a fatal disaster upon the two of them?"
"...She had only her own intense curiosity to blame."
"I figured as much. Well, as a member of the Inspection Team, I have no choice but to enforce the law impartially."
Fu Qian nodded, then took a deep breath.
A phantom grayish-white dragon head materialized in midair, opening its jaws to spew out a transparent, formless ripple.
However, the Priest had been watching his every move. The black snake reacted the exact second the dragon head appeared.
Its massive body displayed astonishing agility as it rapidly slithered aside. Fu Qian's breath attack missed its mark, blasting into the far side of the room.
Though it failed to hit the target, it bought the Countess an opening. With the pressure suddenly lifted, her body flickered repeatedly until she finally escaped the encirclement.
Yet before she could even land, her right leg was suddenly gripped tight, violently snared by a thin snake.
The Priest had laid an ambush off to the side all along, exploiting her momentary relief to catch her instead.
Crack!
Before the Countess could react, her leg was brutally snapped into three pieces. With a scream of agony, she collapsed to the ground.
"An interesting ability. Does it stem from the blood inside the Sacred Relic?"
The Priest gave the Countess only a passing glance before shifting his gaze to the wall struck by the dragon breath.
It was rapidly rotting and withering away.
"No need to look so surprised. Did you really think you could steal something from The Church without me noticing?"
"You monster! To think I never once suspected you!"
The Countess roared from off to the side.
With her broken leg tightly entangled, she was completely immobilized.
But on the bright side, the excruciating pain of her shattered leg had diluted her negative effects, allowing her to speak freely again.
"Monster?"
The Priest scoffed.
"You understand absolutely nothing!"
"Do you have any idea what the consequences would be if your plan were actually carried out?"
"What... do you mean?"
"What if I told you that in this town, there are far more monsters like me?"
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