Free Web NovelChapter 654: 653 Chapter: Confrontation of Gunmen_1
Mr. Bloodrobe finally saw the end of the corridor, where beyond the door lay a hazy white fog.
Someone had cast the black magic of the mist here.
Just thirty seconds ago, he opened the portal to the netherworld and sensed that Aiden had stopped outside the cell.
"Are you still not tired of hide and seek?" Mr. Bloodrobe slowly walked over, "So cowardly, why would the goddess be interested in someone like you? This sort of blinding trick is meaningless for you and me."
He opened the portal to the netherworld once more, swapping out his true form and donning his attire, then strode into the fog.
From afar, he began to recite the divine words.
At the same time, he heard Aiden’s voice rising from within the fog.
He recited "Vengeance," while Aiden recited "Law."
He recited "Betrayal," while Aiden recited "Punishment."
He recited "Sacrifice," while Aiden recited "Return."
The inhuman language echoed through the space, as if monsters were howling at each other through the void.
The immaterial realms of "Order" and "Hatred" expanded simultaneously, and though the clash of powers had yet to manifest, the atmosphere had already become tense with drawn swords and cocked crossbows.
Stepping into the fog, Mr. Bloodrobe clearly sensed the figure of Aiden Galahad so close by, with hate and envy flaring uncontrollably like a towering torch.
Aiden, through the mist, saw the figure of Mr. Bloodrobe, the dark red loose robe and the mask dimly visible, and the shared sense with the goddess of vengeance told him that the person before him was indeed Mr. Bloodrobe himself.
"Do you miss this garb of mine? It was in this same manner that you died at my hands last time," Mr. Bloodrobe laughed loudly, "Offer our goddess the duel she so eagerly anticipates."
He constantly wanted to plunge the twin blades of vengeance into his own body, to instantly kill the man hiding in the mist.
Yet the warning "Any act of harm is forbidden or the offender shall be corporally punished" always surfaced in his mind; he knew that the moment to initiate the duel could only be given to the opponent.
They were like two gunmen in a standoff, each capable of delivering a lethal shot to the other’s forehead; the key was to see who would be quicker, the moment the rules of "No harm" and "No deaths" vanished was the signal for both to draw their guns.
"I have no interest at all in pleasing that woman who only knows how to seek pleasure," Aiden responded, "Do me a favor and disappear from my world along with her."
He took out the Wordless Code.
The setup was complete; Qiqimora was "hidden" near Mr. Bloodrobe, extending the authority of "Invisibility" over Aiden at the same time.
With the mist that Qiqimora had cast, Mr. Bloodrobe actually couldn’t see Aiden at all, let alone his movements. freёwebnovel.com
To kill Mr. Bloodrobe, Aiden needed to erase "No Harm" and "No Deaths," then allow Qiqimora with the Hand of Erasure to touch Mr. Bloodrobe.
The Hand of Erasure would obliterate the existence of Mr. Bloodrobe, including both Spirit and flesh. If Mr. Bloodrobe tried to transfer the damage through "Sacrifice" or swap bodies, it would conflict with the erasure of the Hand of Erasure, and the sole authority of the position would override the power of the saints.
But Aiden also knew that Mr. Bloodrobe was surely prepared to counterstrike at any moment.
At this distance, Mr. Bloodrobe could clearly sense his presence, neither the power of "Substitute" nor "Invisibility" could deceive him.
As long as he could sense Aiden’s presence, he could slay his nemesis with the twin blades of vengeance.
The initiative to strike through rules lay in Aiden’s hands, and Mr. Bloodcoat couldn’t see his specific actions, which gave him a significant advantage.
After a moment of hesitation, Aiden made the first move.
"Imprisonment sentence!" Aiden declared.
He began by enclosing himself in a cage. When properly used, the "punishment" of an imprisonment sentence could serve as a perfect protective barrier.
Next, he struck through the first rule—"No one dies within the realm."
After erasing that rule, he didn’t immediately proceed to strike through "prohibition of harm" but instead started writing a new rule—"When one suffers harm..."
He intended to seal Mr. Bloodcoat’s "retaliation" ability with the Wordless Code, as that was the only way Qiqimora would be willing to totally enforce the "obliteration" on Mr. Bloodcoat.
Otherwise, once Qiqimora attempted to erase Mr. Bloodcoat’s existence with the hand of obliteration, she would face the same effect on herself. Given the damage was of a unique authority level, Aiden wouldn’t be able to use the power of "regression" to save her. If she sensed any abnormalities, Qiqimora would inevitably hold back.
However, Aiden’s process of writing new rules undoubtedly presented an opportunity for Mr. Bloodcoat. Although he couldn’t see Aiden’s actions in striking through rules, his thoughts were incessantly on breaking the rules of the code: stabbing with the blade of revenge; interfering with Aiden’s spirit or driving everyone in the prison into madness; killing Aiden Galahad.
The commands of the code kept flashing in his consciousness, and at this instant, he clearly felt one of the shackles loosen—the command prohibiting murder had vanished.
A sinister smile appeared on Mr. Bloodcoat’s lips as he began chanting the divine words of the "death" authority.
The power of "Desolation!"
The realm burst forth from him as its epicenter, spreading explosively as the scent of death turned the surrounding colors to a pallid hue, while the moss and weeds on the ground withered at a visibly rapid pace. free𝑤ebnovel.com
Qiqimora, who was concealed nearby, immediately cast "Voiding" on herself to avoid the encroachment of this deathly aura.
Before he could finish writing the rule, Aiden suddenly felt a darkness before his eyes and an uncontrollable drowsiness assailing his body.
His eyes nearly blinded, his teeth fell out in an instant, his hair turned patchily white, and bark-like wrinkles abruptly surfaced on his face.
In an instant, the power of "Desolation" granted him a death many yearn for—natural death through old age, which doesn’t qualify as an act of harm.
His body toppled over, and the unfinished Wordless Code slipped from the hands of the dying old man, only to halt midair before hitting the ground.
Aiden’s falling body also stopped, as if time itself had paused.
Then his figure twisted for a moment, and immediately reverted. In the blink of an eye, he was standing upright again, his aged body returned to its youthful state, and the Wordless Code that had slipped from his grasp reappeared in his hand.
As he neared death, the divine word "regression" activated immediately, reverting him back to his state before the influence of "Desolation."
"...prohibit inflicting identical harm through transcendent, non-physical means upon the source of the injury," he took the chance to finish writing the rule.
But it wasn’t over yet—Mr. Bloodcoat grabbed hold of the blade of revenge.
After a moment’s hesitation, Aiden struck through the "prohibition of harm" rule.
With the second rule-chain broken, Mr. Bloodcoat unhesitatingly stabbed the blade of revenge into himself.
At the same time, a finger pressed against his back.
