Thick fog rolled across the pitch-black square as the two combatants, locked in stalemate, worked furiously to repair their broken bodies.
"Huff... huff..."
Silas strained to stimulate his flesh and blood, reconnecting the torn wounds.
The black greatsword had left corrosive damage lingering in the wounds, preventing the flesh from regenerating properly.
His progress was severely hampered.
"Whoosh..."
The sound of the tide within his mind grew fainter and fainter. It wouldn't last much longer.
Silas knew the battle couldn't continue much longer. The moment he finished healing, they would have to settle this once and for all!
What should I do?
The tide would recede soon.
Unleashing the River of Blood would only make it harder to control, and his other abilities and Beyonder items weren't enough to deliver a decisive blow.
Unless...
"Medici, come out."
Silas called silently in his mind. "I know you're watching."
"So what if I am?"
From deep within his body, the Red Angel's mocking voice responded.
"Don't tell me you're planning to convince me to help you defeat this Black Knight?"
"Why not?"
Silas kept his eyes fixed on Leomaster across from him, continuing to heal his flesh while maintaining his mental dialogue with Medici.
"Heh heh... let me remind you of something. The whole reason you want to kill this Black Knight is to use his characteristics to create a potion for advancement, making me your permanent sheep.
Why would I dig my own grave?"
Medici's tone was scornful, as if he were leisurely stretching within his slot in Silas's body.
Other faint laughter could be heard, probably from the evil spirits of Sauron and Einhorn.
Back at the palace, the three of them had lent Silas their power mainly to satisfy their own curiosity.
But in the current situation, helping Silas further would be pure stupidity.
"Because the situation is different now. I can work with you."
Silas remained calm.
"As long as you're willing to share your power with me, I can let you stay free instead of being controlled. If the need arises, I can even help you come back to life."
In other words, even after advancing to Sequence 4, they would maintain their current arrangement!
"Heh heh... even so, I don't think it's worth it."
Medici rejected him without hesitation.
"You and I aren't in a symbiotic relationship. It would be better if you died. I could just leave your body and find a new host..."
He was already dead, now existing as an evil spirit.
While Silas's Shepherd body was indeed excellent, the presence of that tide completely negated that advantage!
"Oh? I don't think I'll die that easily."
Silas responded with a cold laugh.
Setting aside the fact that Mr. A's Recorder sheep still had three uses of Travel recorded and could leave at any time, Silas himself had his own peculiarities!
"The sea within my body... even you, the so-called 'God of War,' would avoid it,"
he said in a low voice.
"I suspect that even if I die, it would resurrect me through its influence. Am I right?"
"I'm impressed by your naive imagination."
Medici let out a soft laugh.
Perhaps it was wishful thinking on Silas's part, but he felt there was a hint of hesitation beneath that disdainful tone.
"My imagination isn't the only remarkable thing about me."
Silas acted as if his suspicion were correct and said, "I'm also extremely vindictive. If you refuse to help me now, I won't forget it, and I'll repay you ten times over. Every moment, I'll let that tide crash through your astral and spirit forms, leaving you no peace."
"..."
Medici remained silent, offering no response.
"Not only that, I already know where your bloodline is... Binsy Town, which is now renamed Bansy Harbor."
Silas continued, "Of course, as an angel, you probably don't care much about your descendants. Even if they were all wiped out, it wouldn't touch you. But I suspect Binsy has some kind of resurrection failsafe for you. I'll alert the three major churches, not just to kill your descendants, but to scour the entire place. It would be safest to destroy the whole island..."
If reasoning doesn't work, threaten. Silas wouldn't waste morality on Him!
"Enough!"
Medici said coldly, cutting off his next words.
"You really are a despicable and vicious bastard."
The Red Angel spoke softly.
"No, no, no. To deal with you, I'm nowhere near enough," Silas said without care. "Three seconds. Give me your answer."
His injuries were mostly healed, and across from him, Leomaster's coughing had decreased in frequency. He was about to be fully recovered as well!
"On this journey, I want you to go to Bansy Harbor."
Medici didn't even consider for a second before speaking directly.
The souls of Einhorn and Sauron raised no objections to His decision; perhaps they had reached some kind of tacit agreement in secret.
So I might have guessed right. Bansy Harbor does have resurrection possibilities... or at least something useful for their spirit bodies...
"Deal!"
Right now, there was no time for Silas to think further. He agreed decisively.
At the same moment, the last trace of injury within his body fully healed, and across from him, Leomaster rose abruptly to his feet.
"Die!"
The Black Saint roared, raising his black greatsword high to deliver Silas's final punishment!
Then he saw the heretic across from him calmly stand upright and pull out a second card from his chest.
This card also depicted Roselle the Great, wearing red priestly robes and driving a speeding chariot.
The second Blasphemy Card... "Red Priest"!
"Pff!"
Under Leomaster's incredulous gaze, Silas savagely stabbed the card into his own chest, forcibly accommodating it!
Red.
Deep red.
Not the bright red of fresh blood, but something heavier, like it was mixed with rust and blackened by gunpowder smoke.
This thick color surged across Silas's robes.
"The highways lie in ruin, travelers have vanished, the land mourns, and the forests wither."
"The Lord declares: now I will rise. I will pour out my wrath on the nations. I will destroy them utterly and hand them over to slaughter."
Silas spoke softly.
Instantly, his presence surged. His aura thickened and rose like a tide. The fog around him dissipated, and the very air seemed ready to ignite.
"The slain will be cast out. The stench of their corpses will rise, and the mountains will melt in their blood.
All the armies of heaven will decay, rolled up like withered leaves. My sword has drunk deep in the heavens; now it will descend upon the earth to deliver judgment."
As Silas prayed, he opened his right hand.
"Boom!"
Blue flames, streaked with brilliant white, danced across his palm.
If Anderson were here, he would have jumped. A Hunter's flame changes color with their level—crimson, orange-yellow, brilliant white, and finally blue. Silas had reached at least Sequence 4.
"Silence! You are not worthy to recite the Lord's words!"
Leomaster felt his opponent's power rise even as his own body faltered.
He roared and charged at Silas.
The black tide surged with him.
"Its smoke will rise forever. Day and night it shall not be quenched. From generation to generation, it will lie in ruin; none shall pass through it ever again."
The flames in Silas's hand coalesced into a spear. With the precision of his Reaper ability, he immediately spotted the Black Knight's weakness.
He pulled his body back, then hurled the flaming spear forward.
"Then you shall know my name, my wrath!"