The grayish-white humerus, covered in mysterious symbols, was now in Lex's grasp.
This was the doing of the thief finger.
However, directly holding a piece of white bone made Lex uncomfortable, making him want to throw it away and immediately wash his hands!
But he suppressed this impulse and calmly observed Erica, or rather, Yarlin's, state.
After the white bone disappeared from the girl's hand, illusory black smoke began to drift from her body, vaguely forming a blurry, incomplete shape.
Even with a Hunter's excellent eyesight, Lex could only see a fractured, pale face within that blurry black shadow.
It was a male face, only a small portion of it, with eyes covered in tiny blood vessels and a rotten patch on the cheek where bone was visible.
Without needing confirmation, Lex knew that it was Yarlin. And as he had expected, Yarlin was in an incomplete state, which left it without sentience, acting purely on instinct.
Driven by instinct, the half-face hidden within the illusory black shadow looked towards Lex, its bloodshot eyes immediately spotting the grayish-white humerus in Lex's hand.
An unreal roar immediately echoed from within the black shadow, and then the 'whirlwind' around the girl dispersed, with several undead and two head-spiders lunging at Lex.
Lex splashed the last flask of holy water at them and retreated to dodge. One of the undead, hit by the holy water, instantly vanished into thin air, while the other two clutched their heads and roared but were not purified.
The head-spiders were the least affected; they could endure the damage caused by the holy water, and although their movements became jerky, they still sprayed illusory spider silk or attacked with their forelimbs.
While dodging their attacks, Lex glanced at Erica. The girl was clutching her head and screaming, and the black shadow above her, Yarlin, was struggling to get back inside.
However, it seemed to be hindered by something; not only could it not return to the girl's body, but it also showed signs of gradually detaching.
Lex immediately thought of the bone in his hand; perhaps it was the connection between Yarlin and its descendant. Only when it was in Erica's hand could Yarlin possess her.
And once the bone was lost, Yarlin would begin to detach.
Suddenly, Lex's expression twisted again. Due to his Divided Soul, a head-spider's forelimb grazed his thigh. There was no wound, his pants weren't even torn, yet Lex felt pain, a pain as if his Soul had been cut.
He dared not be careless, rolling to create distance and splashing out the last of the holy water to buy time.
Yes.
Buy time.
He wanted to delay until Yarlin completely detached; that would be the best time to thoroughly eliminate it!
At this moment, two more undead joined the battle.
They had the distinct outlines of South Continent people, and their clothing was ancient. As one of the undead charged, its body swelled, growing illusory black fur and sharp claws imbued with a chilling aura.
This undead was clearly a Beyonder in life, a Werewolf of the Prisoner pathway.
The other, though showing no obvious changes, had eyes filled with madness. Its spirituality suddenly surged, even stirring up a chilling wind.
Lex felt cold, as if his blood was about to freeze, and his movements were becoming sluggish.
But at this moment, a dark golden flash appeared on the 'Devil May Cry''s blade. The surrounding space was immediately infused with warmth, dispelling the chill.
Under the effect of the Sun Halo, Lex's limbs regained their vitality, allowing him to timely avoid the Werewolf undead's attack.
He held his greatsword, waiting for an opportunity.
His other hand glowed crimson, transforming into a long whip covered in barbs. Lex wielded this long whip, forcing back the undead and head-spiders. But even so, he remained in grave danger.
Illusory spider silk clung to his back, causing an unwanted delay in his movements, so much so that the Werewolf undead's claws caught his hand. Unlike the head-spiders, the Werewolf undead's attack directly tore Lex's sleeve, ripping his arm open; it could inflict real damage!
A moment later, Lex's thigh was grazed by another head-spider's forelimb, causing his Soul to convulse.
He used the 'Paper Doll Substitute' from his 'Magic Bracelet' to dodge two fatal attacks, but after several minutes, Lex was physically and mentally exhausted. The dual trauma to his body and Soul gave him an urge to turn and run.
But at this moment, Yarlin let out an unwilling roar. It had finally completely detached from Erica. And drawn by some invisible attraction, it flew towards Lex like a Black Cloud.
It roared and bellowed in mid-air, its form rapidly expanding. Within the blurry black figure, grayish-white faces without features emerged.
This was its final attack.
And its most terrifying attack!
Lex, who had rolled on the ground to dodge a head-spider's forelimb attack, mustered his remaining strength and sprang up. The spirituality he had been carefully conserving, never daring to overuse, was now poured into the greatsword without reservation.
Lex looked at Yarlin, at the undead and Underworld creatures attacking alongside Yarlin, and forcefully brought down his greatsword.
All his previous endurance was for this moment of break out!
The air once again brightened. A sacred, golden pillar of Holy Light descended from the heavens, its brilliant radiance striking Yarlin and its 'servants' with immense force.
The undead and Underworld creatures rapidly evaporated and vanished in the golden Holy Light, and then it was Yarlin's turn. After resisting for a moment, its form began to shrink, and the faces on its surface disappeared.
Soon, Yarlin's remaining half-face, its illusory skin, peeled away in chunks. Finally, the brilliant pillar of Holy Light vanished, and Yarlin transformed into a cloud of black-green smoke.
They separated into tiny, swirling currents of Qi, continuously injecting into the bone in Lex's hand, gradually dyeing the grayish-white humerus back to black-green.
Once the bone was completely black-green, it exuded an invisible malice, an aura of evil permeating it from inside out.
Lex pressed his greatsword onto this humerus. The malice and evil emanating from the bone immediately greatly diminished. Finally relieved, Lex lay directly on the ground, letting himself gasp for air like a fish out of water.
After a moment, he struggled to get up, retrieved the drawing tube he had dropped in the graveyard, and placed both the bone and the greatsword inside.
Looking at Erica, who lay unconscious on the ground, Lex walked back, turned the girl over, and felt for her breath under her nose. He felt her breathing.
He then carried her on his back and walked unsteadily towards the town.
"It would be great if Gru were here right now," Lex sighed, enduring the intermittent dull pain from deep within his body and Soul, and quickened his pace.
St. Witt's Church.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, which made the faces of the boys and girls in the church change. A priest opened the door and saw Erica lying on the cold ground, now vaguely getting up.