Chapter 18: Ignited

Randy’s smiling face froze as he squinted at Wu Chang; his once pale blue eyes instantly darkened into a profound black.

With a whoosh, every oil lamp in the hall went out, and thick black clouds rapidly gathered above the sanatorium, plunging everything into darkness.

“Snap!”

Accompanied by the crackle of sparks, the oil lamps relit—this time with blood-red flames replacing the usual yellow glow.

Bathed in the crimson light, Wu Chang noticed that the zombies slain in the hall and the Wolf struck down by the demon-slaying crossbow now knelt in a prostrated posture.

They formed concentric circles, layers upon layers, encircling Randy at the center.

The stark contrast between the dead and Randy’s living presence painted a vivid tableau.

The devotees sacrificed all, solely to welcome the rebirth of their Lord.

Randy, like a child discovering a new toy, asked with curiosity, “How did you find out?”

Wu Chang rubbed his chin thoughtfully, pausing for two seconds before answering, “From the very beginning.”

“Oh?” Randy’s interest was piqued. “Tell me more.”

“The first discord came from the Serenity Church in this town,” Wu Chang began slowly.

“They have the power to control White Stone Town, to command all its townsfolk, and to infiltrate the Moonlight Sanatorium, planting watchful eyes around Director Randy—yet they never strike directly at him.”

“Though Randy is formidable in combat, he has not awakened his family’s bloodline talent and suffers from paranoid delusions. There are countless ways to take him down.”

“So the Serenity Church deliberately spared Randy, keeping him under surveillance, control, even captivity.”

Randy said noncommittally, “Go on.”

Wu Chang stepped before the fallen Wolf, plucked a demon-slaying arrow coated with resentment from the back of its head, wiped it clean with his clothes, and tucked it into his chest pocket before continuing:

“The Serenity Church had been waiting for a moment, for someone’s arrival to push Randy to full maturity—and I just happened to be that person.”

“Someone once told me that to select a worthy pawn, you need an excellent filtering mechanism. The flashy and conspicuous Kinton was the perfect tool for this test. Take out Kinton, and by invisible guidance, you can trace the thread back to Wolf.”

“Then I heard a truncated story: awakening the bloodline descendant of the legendary hero, Director Randy.”

“You didn’t awaken Randy just because you suspected him?” Randy’s black eyes questioned, speaking of himself as if he were someone else.

Wu Chang replied, “Human cognition is one of the fundamental sources of occult existence—this is the first law of occultism summarized by the Arcane Knights. Old Anderson would rather let his descendants be ordinary people, squandering his entire fortune, than let them know the occult. There must be a special reason.”

“The revenge and dark amusement of the evil god Lehman are notorious. So I thought, perhaps letting Randy know everything would only aid the evil god’s resurrection.”

Randy raised an eyebrow. “To have concluded that, mortals are smarter than I imagined.”

***

“So I played along, wanting Randy to believe it was all an illusion, hoping he would simply use his talent to deal with Wolf. Unfortunately, I miscalculated,” Wu Chang said with a click of his tongue.

“Let me think—where did it go wrong? It must have been when Randy used the Golden Crossbow. Though Old Anderson sealed the descendants’ talents, he surely left a contingency to prevent them from being helpless in danger. The Golden Crossbow, symbol of the Anderson family, probably contains some form of power.”

“Once Randy uses the Golden Crossbow, it triggers the awakening of his occult talent. I guess the moment Wolf emerged from his cocoon and tempted Randy was the catalyst.”

*Clap clap clap.*

Randy applauded, praising, “Brilliant. Truly worthy of being the king’s envoy—meticulous and cunning.”

Wu Chang frowned, puzzled. “You think I am the envoy?”

“Aren’t you?” Randy was taken aback by the question.

Wu Chang glanced around the hall strewn with corpses, a chill running down his spine. Damn it!

Julie’s various actions perfectly coincided with Wolf’s, leading him to believe Julie was also part of the Serenity Church, which was why he deliberately didn’t call on her before acting.

But now it seemed, Julie and Lehman were not on the same side. It looked like he had betrayed his teammate.

Hope she’s alright.

After a brief pang of guilt lasting two seconds, he quickly steadied himself.

Damn Lehman.

Just wait—I will avenge Julie!

Lehman sensed the sudden increase in hostility from Wu Chang and slowly formed a question mark in the air.

Wu Chang opened his golden pocket watch, glanced at the time, and whispered, “The time is about right.”

“What time is about right?”

“Exorcism time.”

Wu Chang pinned the arcane emblem on his chest, rubbed his thumb across it, and the dull, rusted insignia buried underground for centuries suddenly radiated a dazzling light.

An invisible force rose from beneath the earth, enveloping the entire Moonlight Sanatorium.

He activated the purifying power within the exorcism formation.

Unlike the power of the formation that Randy had unconsciously triggered, the fully activated exorcism array was more than ten times stronger in both pressure and ability.

Randy, possessed by Lehman, groaned softly as a pure white flame ignited above his head.

The flames seared Randy’s soul and burned Lehman’s essence within Randy’s body. The fire grew fiercer, spreading across half his body in moments.

***

The searing flames tortured Randy’s spirit, twisting his expression into one of agony and distortion. Yet within the same body, Lehman appeared unperturbed, sighing as leisurely as someone entering a hot spring, lazily remarking:

“Human mage trinkets—you really think that can kill me? Doing this only speeds up the death of the original soul in this body, helping me take it over faster.”

Wu Chang remained calm despite Lehman’s ease and spoke deliberately:

“Don’t be in such a rush. This is only the beginning. When either you or Randy is burned away by the flames, the purifying fire will expand tens of times beyond its current strength, surpassing the limits of the spiritual realm and burning through reality itself.”

“So what? As long as you burn away the original soul and I am reborn completely, I can snuff out this little flame in an instant. It won’t harm my new body.”

“I’m not talking about burning your body. I mean when Randy’s soul is on the brink, the purifying fire will be excruciating,” Wu Chang corrected.

Lehman’s head again showed a floating question mark. Was this human mentally unstable?

Lehman didn’t understand Wu Chang’s meaning at first, but soon he would experience it firsthand.

The white flames quickly engulfed Randy’s entire body, signaling his soul was almost gone, reduced to mere embers.

Suddenly, the flames surged violently, the outer blaze towering four stories high, bursting through a hole in the sanatorium’s roof.

Once Randy’s soul’s embers extinguish, the white flames will consume the flesh.

Yet this last ember clung on like a lifeline, stubbornly refusing to die.

Feeling the scorching pain, Lehman lost his composure, angrily demanding, “What have you done?”

Wu Chang glanced at the golden pocket watch and said, “You asked why I kept checking the time? Now I can tell you—I was waiting for the medicine to take effect. You’ve been chatting with me all this time. What have you been waiting for?”

Lehman: “I…”

“Wait, time’s limited. Let me add some fuel—we’ll talk while you’re cremated.”

Wu Chang interrupted Lehman, placing the king’s emblem on his other chest side, activating the special linked skill of the king’s emblem and arcane emblem.

“Special Skill: Final Purification.” (King’s Emblem unlocked)

“Skill Description: Ignite the entire formation to unleash power beyond its limits.”

With a thunderous roar, the white flames exploded into a sea of fire, engulfing the entire Moonlight Sanatorium in blazing inferno.

“Lord Lehman, do you feel the heat rising?”