When Enbillick came to his senses, it was already too late to save himself. The long sword not only contained the power of the system but also an inexplicable force. His health was plummeting like a burst dam, and he had little time left, let alone the ability to reverse time in a headless form.
His carefully crafted avatar was destroyed just like that.
[Enbillick Alva [Avatar] – Temporary System Administrator]
[HP: 2,540/35,634,800 | MP: 99,453/1,218,500]
[Star Stealer Sol – Temporary System Administrator]
[HP: 310,656,310/999,999,999 | MP: 250,870,010/999,999,999]
With only a third of his original body's health remaining, dwelling on the avatar was pointless. The moment the avatar perished, the curse would find the nearest person to him. Unfortunately, he was immobilized now, and Teest didn't seem inclined to come any closer.
Killing Eugene Malloy wouldn't be too bad either. There was something seriously wrong with that damn guy's head. After this battle, Eugene would certainly no longer be of use to him. On the bright side, he had considered various contingencies, including "loss of the avatar without killing the target".
His main body was still intact.
His recent battle with Teest reaffirmed that the opponent was as skilled as he had anticipated. The situation was still somewhat under his control.
After returning to his main body, he planned to quickly eliminate Teest or Nol—preferably Nol—then use the system to distract the stirring Players, avoiding direct confrontation. His priority was survival.
Survival aside, Star Stealer Sol had no intention of fleeing Tahe.
Leaving would mean abandoning all system-related privileges. After three worlds worth of effort, he had finally secured a stable position in Tahe. He was on the brink of success. There was no reason to give up now.
Thinking this, Star Stealer Sol felt irritated.
He flipped through his shattered eyeball and decisively withdrew from the avatar. Let the curse play with those who desecrate God!
Enbillick's flesh had just collapsed, and the ground corruption surged to wrap around the corpse. Teest, remembering Nol's speculation—that Star Stealer Sol surely had a backup plan—decided to destroy his body first and absolutely remotely.
Dark corruption rushed forward, and Eugene instinctively stepped back two paces. Accompanied by a chilling hissing sound, Enbillick's remains quickly dissolved. Several clumps of black corruption formed hand shapes, meticulously searching through Enbillick's blood-stained money pouch.
Should he leave some blood for Nol to drink?
Teest thought as he swiftly dealt with the body and searched for "God's Gold Wheel" stolen by Enbillick.
Found it. He successfully sensed Nol's presence on one of the gold wheels. Teest joyfully recalled the corruption and was just about to leave—
"Be careful!"
Painter was the first to shout out.
From where Enbillick's flesh had vanished, a half-human-high eerie red shadow slowly rose, resembling a cloud of blood mist. At the same time, Eugene coughed twice. A circular wound appeared on his forehead. Blood flowed from the fine wound, running down his eyebrows and nose.
The half-human-high red shadow, like a shark smelling blood, rapidly charged towards Eugene. Eugene reflexively raised his shield, and Painter's high-level dispel skill descended from above. The red shadow ghostly passed through the light and shield, its movement unimpeded.
Eugene had to quickly retreat, managing to create some distance. The red shadow spread its arms wide, still closely following.
"It's a curse!" Healer Anakin shouted as she displayed the pop-up she saw. "'The Flawless can actively identify abnormal statuses on the target!"
The blood-red popup wobbled, its text varying in size—
[Status: Curse "Blasphemy [Undispellable]" permanently activated]
[※Blasphemy: You have committed an unforgivable great sin. Your crime will forever follow you, embrace you, and you are destined to stop breathing under the curse of God.]
Oh, what a troublesome thing.
Regarding the current situation, Teest could guess a thing or two. Star Stealer Sol, possessing half the system's authority, couldn't operate outside the system's rules. He hadn't used this curse against them earlier, probably because the trigger cost was too steep.
This curse was far stronger than they had anticipated, but fortunately, Nol had prepared a solution in advance. Teest touched his pendant, where Nol had given him the "solution" just in case.
It was a quill they had taken from Ship Island.
[Supreme Blessing: Removes all known curses. ※Single-use only]
If Teest hadn't used it yet, it still had a more important purpose. Teest looked at Eugene, dodging the red shadow in the flames… Hmm, would Nol be upset if Eugene died? How upset would he be?
Damn, and there were four witnesses…
"You go ahead. I have a way."
Seeing through Teest's hesitation, Painter suddenly spoke up, his tone as calm as ever. "That guy is returning to his main body, and it must be tough for Lord Nol. 'Supreme Blessing' should be used where it's needed—please make sure to eliminate Star Stealer Sol."
"Excellent."
Teest clapped his hands decisively and turned around.
He knew, even if Painter was a rare "Saint" class, he couldn't remove or transfer such a curse. Otherwise Nol's [Physical Disruption] would have been saved long ago. But since Painter said he had a way, Teest didn't plan to be curious.
He walked away without looking back.
"What are you doing?!"
He heard Eugene's voice, mixed with anxiety and questioning.
"Wait, there must be other ways—"
He heard Anakin's voice tremble.
"Calm down. If it's just about creating distance, I can use spatial teleportation to buy time."
This was Kando. Teest was used to hearing the candle's noisy voice. Suddenly hearing a different voice took him a half-second to respond.
The cathedral was filled with fire and smoke, with soil and water raining down like stones. The air was hot and murky, mixed with a rich scent of blood. The expensive carvings were scorched black and tilted in all directions, and the exquisite murals were melting and peeling.
The armor decorated at the door was red-hot, and the long sword in its hand fell to the ground with a clang.
An unpleasant sense of familiarity slowed Teest's steps.
"There are places that need you more." Painter's mood seemed quite good. "And the skill has already started. If we interrupt now, we will both die here."
"I really like this ending—I consciously chose it in a clear state. Personally, saving Mr. Eugene is much more pleasant than being a stepping stone for God."
Eugene sounded like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat. "Godfrey Painter!"
"Oh, it's almost over." Painter's voice weakened significantly. "…I have to say, I'm sorry, Eugene."
Teest could guess what Painter was doing. As a "Saint", he surely had high-level sacrificial skills.
…Such as taking on someone else's fate of "death".
Whether it was Painter or Eugene, Teest had no particular feelings about their life or death. Since he was unharmed, whether for the greater good or personal reasons, the [Supreme Blessing] should rather be used on Nol.
With a bang, the chandelier in front of the archway couldn't withstand the flames and shattered at Teest's feet.
The burning church, the falling chandelier, the naïve to the point of ridiculous sacrifices.
And Teest, who decisively left.
Perhaps due to the time reversion, the memory from twelve years ago was incredibly vivid. The smell of Evergreen Cathedral burning was strikingly similar to that of the Immortal Church from those years.
For a moment, Teest suddenly felt a strange déjà vu—a thumb-sized Nol anxiously staying by Painter's side, trying hard to think of ways to save people, unable to be pulled away.
…Haa.
This time, Teest turned back after all.
The red shadow firmly embraced Painter, like a giant human-shaped spider. Painter's eyes were half-closed, his face pale and white. He tightly grasped Eugene's wrist while countless new green runes wandered on their skins.
It was unclear whether it was due to the curse or "enforced calm". Eugene was unconscious by then, but his face was rosy and his breathing even, presumably safe.
Anakin was tearful, frantically casting high-level healing spells on Painter, trying to keep him alive. Drake was silent, channeling mana to Anakin, encouraging her futile actions.
"Move aside."
Teest pushed Drake aside unceremoniously and stepped in front of Painter.
He kicked Painter's side lightly with his toe. The body below didn't react. And Teest was sure, this guy had no heartbeat—his magical connection with Eugene was barely there, just not completely dead yet.
He placed a hand on Painter's face, pressing his palm against the Former Pope's nose. Countless golden threads pierced into Painter's skin, traveling through his flesh, focusing where the red shadow touched Painter.
They rooted like tendrils into Painter's skin within the red shadow, seeming to add a set of pure golden neural networks to that shadow. The red shadow twitched unnaturally, looking more like a spider.
"Can you save him?" Anakin almost bit her tongue.
"Of course not. This is a system curse." Teest scoffed. "I can only use the power of 'destruction' to hold it back a bit longer. There's no guarantees."
Ensuring the red shadow no longer moved, Teest decisively broke Painter's hand. "Ben, take him. Kando, open the portal!"
The shadow wolf leaped out from Drake's shadow, grabbing Painter in its mouth. Drake looked at Teest somewhat unexpectedly, not reacting for a moment. "Painter is already…"
"His magic hasn't failed yet. The system hasn't completely classified him as dead."
Teest impatiently pointed to the green runes on Painter's right hand, which were gradually fading. "If you ask a few more questions, he'll definitely die—let me go to Nol's side!"
As Drake shut his mouth, a ring of fire lit up. The Mad Monk exhaled, grabbed the wolf, and crossed through space.
...
Nol was in a good mood.
The Saints, Amazon, and Dragon Clan—three of the strongest groups in the world were relentlessly bombarding him. Star Stealer Sol's health bar visibly shortened. The more Nol roared in fury, the more the Players ignored him. The more he tried to stop the Players, the harder they hit Star Stealer Sol's main body.
It was fantastic, and if it weren't for the serious situation, Nol felt like he was part of a rock band's cheer squad.
The wonderful experience continued until Star Stealer Sol's health dropped to 33%.
Suddenly, the four wandering eyeballs froze and turned towards Nol. Star Stealer Sol's counterattack became fierce in an instant, with countless black and red beams bombarding the ground, and in a moment, two dragons were pierced through their magical armor and fell from the sky.
Here it comes.
Teest must have successfully disabled Star Stealer Sol's avatar, forcing Star Stealer Sol into a corner with no way out, starting a frantic attack. Fortunately, they had already taken two-thirds of his health, so Star Stealer Sol had to be cautious about his remaining health and couldn't fully unleash his power.
Next, he would definitely focus on himself and Teest.
He was just about to… Hmm?
In front of Nol, blue fire suddenly spread. Teest, along with the shadow wolf, leaped out of the ring of fire. The "Betrayer" swept through the air, blocking several incoming black and red beams.
Teest pointed towards the wolf's mouth, his tone urgent. "Take custody!"
Nol hadn't even had a chance to see what was in the wolf's mouth when his hands finished the operation. The item Ben was carrying disappeared instantly, leaving the wolf's mouth empty, almost unbalancing it.
Watching that figure disappear, Teest clicked his tongue. He looked at Nol with a melancholic expression, as if he had lost something very important in life.
"It went well over there," Teest said unhappily, his sword drawing golden fire in the air. "Everyone's alive, probably."
"What did you just send over…?" In the midst of the battle, Nol didn't have time to confirm the unidentified living thing.
Teest pointed his sword at the sky. "It's not important. We'll talk after the fight."
Both looked up, noticing Star Stealer Sol's health bar had stopped around 29%. The conscious Star Stealer Sol had become much stronger, as if the operator had switched from the default AI to a professional player.
For some reason, Nol could read sheer anger in those looming four eyeballs.
"Together?" Nol extended his hand towards Teest.
"Together." Teest took his hand, kissing the back of Nol's hand.
With the two of them closer than five meters, [Betrayal Overture] activated.
Nol and Teest stats increased by 30%.
The next second, blue fire and golden fire collided, with thick fog spreading across the battlefield. Nol, who had been biding his time, made his move. [Creator] created tens of thousands of ice spears, which became pitch black as they mixed with Teest's destruction power.
Nol made a gesture, and the thick ice spears targeted those four eyeballs. Golden fire burned along the fake firmament, creating bigger and bigger cracks.
Hidden in the fog, Players got a brief respite. The sounds of swallowing recovery and mana potions rose and fell. The Players' assault eased, but that didn't matter—
The ice spears traced strange paths, focusing their attack on those four eyeballs. The sky-bound monster let out an ugly roar, and its health, which had just barely reached 29%, instantly dropped to 28%.
Before all the ice spears were shot, Teest let go of his hand. The "Betrayer", connected by thousands of golden threads, flew towards the monster in the sky. Nol manipulated the surrounding air, sending the sword soaring with the wind.
Teest grasped Nol's hand, guiding the direction hand-to-hand. The long sword, like a living sewing needle, threaded its following golden threads into the monster's flesh.
And atop those golden threads lay the God of Creation's blue fire.
The blue fire burned, creating clusters of compressed air out of thin air. In a few heartbeats, Star Stealer Sol's body exploded along the golden threads, raining down a foul-smelling blood rain.
The blood rain dispersed the fog, and under the watchful eyes of all, Star Stealer Sol's proud "reversion" was thoroughly disabled.
Its health was now at 26%, nearly a quarter left.
Teest and Nol immediately used the power of "concealment", disappearing from the multitude of Players' views. The next second, Nol heard a nearby scream. "The Demon King's avatar is gone! It's the second phase!"
As expected of experts, they reacted quickly.
The sky rumbled ominously. The night sky cracked all around, like parched earth.
Star Stealer Sol's body continued to fall. Countless rope-like flesh limbs squeezed in. They brutally swung away Players, pressing towards the area where Nol and Teest were, groping around.
Perradat's "concealment" was only on a mental level. If Star Stealer Sol groped indiscriminately like this, it could still touch them.
[Star Stealer Sol has system permissions. It fought a round with you, and with our combined attack just now, it can definitely sense our combat capabilities.]
Nol ignored the gradually approaching flesh limbs, his thoughts steady.
[…It will then attack us within what it considers a "reasonable" defense. This is our best chance.]
[You should be careful. It might not be an opportunity.]
Teest took out the quill [Supreme Blessing] from his pendant. [In theory, it could remove your curse, or it might not work on your curse at all.]
[Yes, it's more thrilling than a predestined 'fate'.] Nol flashed a smile.
He looked up again at the Star Stealer Sol's main body in the sky—paired with the shattered firmament and sweeping flesh limbs, the thing looked like a mutant embryo breaking out of its shell.
[I don't know this guy's moves. Teest, make full use of your combat instincts.]
Nol stated calmly as a flesh limb wrapped around his arm.
[This time, you decide, I execute.]
[If I make a wrong judgment, or if you're too slow…] Teest murmured, manipulating the golden threads to pull back the "Betrayer". [Forget it. Let's go.]
If Nol successfully removed the curse, he would become about twice as strong. Combined with himself and the Players, they could take away about 5% of Star Stealer Sol's health. The subsequent battle would also go smoothly.
But if [Supreme Blessing] was ineffective, it would mean Nol took a needless risk, and he'd have to quickly pull Nol back to his side.
…However, the future changes in an instant, and that's how things should be, right?
The tip of the quill flickered with white light, Teest held the light quill firmly, reaching towards Nol's status bar.
The moment the flesh limb pulled Nol up high, he erased the [Physical Destruction [Undispellable]] from Nol's status bar.
In the wind being pulled up high, Nol's eyes widened. He could see the rapidly approaching eyeballs, the imminent burst of dangerous magic, and—
[Warning, status change detected]
…Here it comes.
[Effect logic comparison completed. Judgment: the item "Supreme Blessing" is effective. Starting—starting—starting—]
[—Beginning stats calculation]
The status bar flickered like a bad signal, turning from blood red to pale blue, and the content changed again.
[Demon King [?] – Temporary System Administrator]
[HP: 999,999,999/999,999,999 | Mana: 999,999,999/999,999,999]
[Strength: 67,418,990 | Agility: 39,676,778 | Intelligence: 593,376,400 [+200%] | Physical Defense: 60,657,822 | Magic Defense: 120,679,500]
[Status: Beyond the Law [?]]
…Ah?
…It was one thing for health and mana values to max out, but attribute values typically have a seven-digit limit.
Nol almost forgot to struggle, suddenly realizing something—
The stats he gained through skills had always been added directly, unaffected by the curse. When leveling up, these values weren't reduced but were considered his inherent attributes.
[Physical Destruction] had reduced his stats by 99%, and now that the curse was gone, the system had enhanced his inherent stats by 100 times.
But his inherent stats had been off for a long time, meaning…
Nol poked Star Stealer Sol's flesh limb.
The flesh limb exploded into fragments with a "pop".
The author has something to say:
The weakening was for this moment!!!
Nol's curse is the ultimate golden finger…
Kinky Thoughts:
For those who forgot, a golden finger is basically a "cheat".