Chapter 186: Night Like Day
Gideon frowned and looked up at the cave halfway up the mountainside.
Just moments ago, he had sensed faint energy fluctuations coming from there.
"Hehe… young men like you—I haven't seen one in countless years."
A woman's voice suddenly echoed from within the cave.
"Not seen?" Gideon replied calmly. "Don't you turn them into food on a regular basis?"
Since the other party was willing to speak, he naturally wouldn't miss the chance to extract information.
"Hehe, you really are amusing," the woman said, her voice dripping with seduction. "I wonder what your flesh would taste like."
Gideon's brow furrowed.
It was hard to imagine such a voice coming from that massive, grotesque figure inside the cave.
"Those men were filthy, tainted things," the Ancestral Mountain Dweller continued. "They were fit only to be eaten."
"But you're different. I can smell traces of holy power on you—you are exceptionally pure."
Her tone softened as she extended another invitation.
"Won't you come and experience the rarest pleasure with me? I promise you satisfaction."
"Old monster," Gideon replied coldly, unmoved. "You're this desperate to keep me from entering the cave?"
"There was such a huge commotion outside just now, yet you never showed yourself, nor did you care about your subordinates' deaths."
"But the moment the matter of your so-called 'True Lord' came up, you immediately silenced him."
"It seems the gestation of the demon's child is crucial to you. Has it reached a critical stage?"
The air fell silent for a brief moment.
"A man who doesn't know how to flatter will never win a woman's heart," the Ancestral Mountain Dweller said unexpectedly.
"You really are sly—hard to believe you come from the Church."
"Likewise," Gideon replied evenly.
He took out a crucifix.
"So—are you going to end yourself, or should I lend a hand?"
"Hmph! Ignorant human," the Ancestral Mountain Dweller snapped. "You have no idea what awaits those who offend the True Lord!"
Gideon rubbed his chin, recalling the hysterical demons he had dealt with before.
"If your master wants trouble with me," he said casually, "he might have to take a number."
With that, he activated the holy power within the crucifix.
In an instant, dazzling light tore through the darkness, a terrifying aura surging outward.
Gideon stepped forward, clearly intending to strike.
"You are impressive!" a voice rang out from within the cave.
"I don't know how you bewitched my children, but they won't die so easily."
As soon as she spoke, black mist welled up from the corpses on the ground.
The Mountain Dwellers stood up once more.
"Your method of manipulating the dead spirits is equally remarkable," she continued. "They were originally sentries of the forest. By now, you must have slaughtered most of my children across the woods."
A flicker of surprise crossed Gideon's eyes.
He hadn't expected her to know even that much.
"I'll correct you," he said calmly. "They were the slaughterers."
"But you surely never imagined this," the Ancestral Mountain Dweller's voice suddenly sharpened.
"That place was never a prison for souls."
"The altars were the things being guarded."
"Judging by the outcome," Gideon replied coolly, "the guarding didn't work very well."
She fell silent again.
Just as Gideon was about to speak, he abruptly turned his head.
The ground beneath Jenny suddenly softened, and in an instant she sank into it.
"Gideon—mmph!"
Gideon narrowed his eyes but did not rush to act.
The next moment, Jenny appeared at the cave entrance.
She was immobilized, wrapped tightly in multiple tendrils of black mist.
One tendril crept toward her lips, condensing into a drop of pitch-black liquid.
"What a beautiful young girl," the Ancestral Mountain Dweller said dreamily.
"She's brimming with the scent of youth."
"Priest, you must love her very much."
Gideon tilted his head slightly, scratching his chin.
Jenny's mouth was sealed by black mist; she could only let out muffled sounds.
"What do you want?" Gideon asked.
From the beginning, this creature had tried to block his entry into the cave. Now she was resorting to hostages.
That alone piqued his curiosity.
"A deal," the Ancestral Mountain Dweller replied.
"The Church claims to 'save the world' as it walks the land, yet what it actually does is the opposite."
"I possess the power to peer into human hearts. I know you're different from the rest."
"The Church's hypocritical mask must be torn away—and we are merely the pioneers."
"So why not cooperate?"
"You've encountered so many demons and evil spirits already. Why not let this one go?"
Jenny shook her head frantically.
Gideon raised an eyebrow.
"And what do I gain from this?"
Seeing his hesitation, the Ancestral Mountain Dweller quickly continued.
"Wealth? Women? You don't seem interested in those."
"Do you want to know the truth of this world—the real purpose behind the Church spreading faith?"
"Oh?" Gideon responded lightly.
"As a gesture of sincerity, I can reveal something first," she said.
"God truly exists—and He has allowed the Church's atrocities to happen."
The statement was explosive.
Gideon narrowed his eyes.
The implications were enormous.
Yet he remained unmoved. "You expect me to believe you just because you say so?"
"Hehe, that is my sincerity," she coaxed. "Will you accept the deal?"
"No interest," Gideon said firmly.
"I walk the world in the Lord's stead to cleanse all evil. Vermin like you, lurking in the shadows, deserve to be erased by holy light!"
"Stubborn fool! Do you want to watch her die?!"
The cave shook as the Ancestral Mountain Dweller roared.
The black tendrils pressed even closer to Jenny's face.
"On the path of purging evil, sacrifice is unavoidable," Gideon declared, eyes resolute, pulling out an exorcism scripture.
"Disgusting—just like the rest of them!" she screeched.
The black mist wrapped fully around Jenny's head.
The next second—
"O Great Holy Spirit, grant Your strength unto me! Let mercy spread across this land!"
A chant thundered from the heavens.
Suddenly, the night sky blazed crimson.
Gideon looked up.
A colossal cross-shaped greatsword hovered in the air, its hilt held by a slender figure.
With an overwhelming surge of power, the blade plunged toward Jenny.
Under the impact, the black mist around her was driven back inch by inch, revealing her beautiful face once more.
"A Knight's Divine Seal—but still far too weak!" the Ancestral Mountain Dweller roared.
Cracks split the forest floor.
Countless black tendrils burst forth, wrapping around the massive sword.
Though the crimson light continuously eroded the darkness, the black power was clearly stronger.
Before long, the red glow was completely smothered.
But it didn't end there.
The black tendrils raced along the blade and stabbed toward Leia.
Unable to dodge in time, she twisted her body as best she could.
Pfft!
A tendril pierced straight through Leia's chest, filth rapidly spreading across the wound.
Her face contorted in pain as she fell downward.
Gideon vanished in a flash, reappearing beside her.
He pressed the crucifix against her wound, then grabbed her and blinked to Jenny's side.
"Watch over her."
Leaving those words behind, Gideon disappeared again.
At the cave entrance, he opened the exorcism scripture and began chanting.
At the same time, all the writhing tendrils surged toward him.
Tap… tap…
Gideon's escape route was quickly sealed off, and he was trapped inside a black sphere formed by writhing tendrils.
"Can we talk now?"
The Ancestor Mountain Dweller spoke of negotiation, yet never ceased her assault. Instead, she poured in even more power, leaving her opponent no room to breathe.
The surging black sphere collapsed inward. A vortex opened in the ground, ripping nearby trees from the earth and hurling them away.
"In the name of the Father and the Son—"
A low, resonant voice echoed from within the sphere.
"By the holy cross, your crimes are nailed in place. Let this wretched soul bathe in the warmth of divine light…"
Suddenly, countless beams of pure white light burst from inside the black sphere.
"In the name of redemption, I banish you—"
Columns of light flared up around the cave, shooting straight into the heavens and linking together into a vast barrier.
"Forever and ever—never to trespass again!"
As the incantation ended, blinding radiance erupted from the formation, turning the depths of night into blazing daylight.
---
Dozens of kilometers away, beyond the forest—
"Is it morning already?"
"My god—what is that?"
"A meteor?!"
People everywhere stared in shock at the astonishing spectacle.
---
Back in the forest—
"How… is this possible?!"
The Ancestor Mountain Dweller's voice trembled.
"Such a scale of holy power… You are a Cardinal—no! You're the Pope himself!"
Gideon narrowed his eyes, continuing to drive the ritual forward.
"Wait! I can tell you all of the Church's secrets—if you'll just—"
Boom!
Before she could finish, a terrifying surge of energy swept through the formation, purging every trace of evil within it.
The shockwave spread outward, even affecting the surrounding forest.
Altars were shattered one after another. The bound spirits were washed in holy light and finally granted redemption.
Moments later, the radiance faded.
A single drop of morning dew fell softly onto the ground.
The forest—once soaked in decades of blood and death—now carried a fresh, clean scent. The lingering stench of slaughter that had plagued it for generations was completely gone.
Gideon closed the exorcism scripture, his eyes half-lidded.
"Don't give up! You'll be fine!"
Jenny's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
He turned around—and froze.
Jenny was kneeling beside Leia, her face pale with worry, both hands pressed tightly against the knight's wound. A soft green glow spread beneath her palms as vibrant life energy gathered and flowed.
"Healing magic?"
Gideon raised an eyebrow.
If he remembered correctly, that was an ability reserved for witches.
He studied Jenny deeply.
---
A short while later—
"I… I'm not dead?"
Leia opened her eyes to see a beautiful face streaked with tears.
"You're alive! You're really alive!"
Jenny laughed as she wiped her eyes.
Leia instinctively touched her chest. She clearly remembered being pierced by that black tendril.
Yet now, the wound had completely closed.
Only her torn clothing remained as proof that she had ever been injured.
"You saved me?" Leia asked, glancing at Jenny's hands.
"And Gideon too," Jenny replied, shaking her head.
"When you fell from the air, he caught you. And then I think I… healed your wound."
At the mention of the priest, something flashed in Leia's eyes.
She stood up abruptly, her expression turning cold.
"Why," she demanded, "did you allow that girl to be attacked by the black mist just now?"