Chapter 78: Words of Blasphemy

The heavy rain saturated the air like spilled ink. A curtain of rain, textured like liquid asphalt, swallowed the horizon, leaving only a slightly transparent, petite silhouette strolling through the deluge.

Curled in her arms was the horrifying young girl. Massive tentacles had pierced through her pale skin, blooming into gruesome flowers of flesh amidst the rain. Her tangled snake-hair hung in rotten shapes, and the rainwater sliding off her grotesquely beautiful body carried dark red streaks of blood, etching winding gullies into the road surface.

Not far away stood one eerie figure after another: the long-necked Lamp-lighter, the Mailman with his cavernous maw, the Newsboy covered in flattened bodies and flipping through paper pages…

They quietly approached Luo Wei and Clecia, watching them in silence. It was like a grand Black Mass; the sound of the rain seared their silhouettes into the cracked fissures of the world.

“Look, they are all thanking you,” Luo Wei whispered softly into Clecia’s ear. “You aren’t a disaster. You never were.”

Had Clecia, sinking into a dream within the Spectral Kolun County, ever encountered the reality she truly yearned for? A place where she was no longer tortured by illness, where she would never encounter horror, and where she finally obtained carefree freedom?

At the very least…

“You’ve finally made me feel that this world… has become quite interesting.”

Luo Wei smiled slightly and stopped in the rain, looking ahead.

There stood a door—a simple yet extraordinary door. As long as she opened it and stepped inside, she would be in Luo Wei’s most secret Small Room.

Luo Wei had known from the beginning that although this door appeared in the Spectral Kolun County, it was merely an entrance. The true Small Room was not within the Spectral Kolun; its larger, darker portions were hidden in some mysterious, unknowable domain.

The moment the former Inquisitor Caelum spoke the reasons for why Clecia had to die, Luo Wei had immediately thought of a solution.

Bring Clecia into the Small Room to isolate the connection between her and the Spectral Kolun County. This would stop the two Kolun Counties from overlapping, and then I can find a way to deal with the Spectral one later.

Allowing Clecia to read the Grimoire of Forbidden Curses to obtain her Information Stream had merely been a move Luo Wei made to verify Caelum’s claims.

She wasn’t sure if Caelum’s explanation was accurate. What if the Spectral Kolun County went on a rampage if Clecia left? What if Clecia was so deeply dependent on the Spectral Kolun that she would die instantly upon disconnection?

If she inadvertently pushed Clecia or even the entire county into an irredeemable abyss… Luo Wei would be quite annoyed.

Fortunately, the data revealed by the Information Stream disclosed the true relationship between Clecia and the Spectral Kolun County.

It was neither coexistence nor mutual dependence.

Rather… Clecia was protecting the distorted creatures of the Spectral Kolun County, using her unique pollution to alleviate their suffering.

Clecia wasn’t just trying to recover her sister’s sanity; she was simultaneously soothing the wills of all the distorted entities within the Spectral Kolun.

She had already put in so much effort. She had been enduring everything on behalf of those who committed sins. Why did she have to die?

She couldn’t.

Luo Wei would not allow it.

She wanted her to live.

“Her duty… I will take over from here,” Luo Wei whispered as she turned toward the crowd of distorted beings.

The distorted creatures made no move; they simply watched her in silence.

Luo Wei raised her hand and snapped her fingers. The moment her index finger flexed, the embers of an ancient celestial corpse awakened within her fingerprints.

The flame was initially indigo, like the tail-fire of a comet falling into the deep sea, before gradually tinting into an iridescent luster like fine pearls.

It was gorgeous and dazzling, yet deathly cold—as if one were staring directly at the untouched horrors of deep space.

The distorted creatures emitted a low resonance, slowly prostrating themselves on the ground toward Luo Wei. They then began to scatter, completely dissolving into nothingness.

Just as Luo Wei pushed open the door to take Clecia into the Small Room, the shriek of a certain existence exploded in her ears.

“No… No…”

“I beg of you…”

“Villadriel Shinalis… I beg you, do not take her away…”

“Save me…”

Luo Wei merely arched an eyebrow, blew away a few strands of hair falling over her forehead, and snorted coldly.

“Does me hearing your plea mean I have to agree?”

She carried Clecia directly into the Small Room and closed the door behind her.

Inside the room, the girl’s horrifying appearance shed away, transforming back into a withered, pitiful girl. Unfortunately, this reading room lacked a bed for sleeping. Luo Wei had no choice but to lay Clecia on the floor, letting her endure the discomfort for the time being.

Luo Wei picked up the candlestick from the desk and placed it beside Clecia. This was essentially her main body; by doing this, it was as if she were constantly staying by Clecia’s side.

“Wait a moment, I’m going to clean up this mess.”

Luo Wei stroked Clecia’s hair and gave a barely perceptible click of her tongue. The smooth texture of the snake-hair had actually felt better. She would have to find a way to let Clecia manifest her true form within the Small Room later. After all, Luo Wei knew it would be difficult to find another eldritch creation that suited her aesthetic so perfectly.

Bizarrely deformed yet possessing a horrific beauty, combined with Clecia’s innocent and lively personality… it pierced right through Luo Wei’s heart. She had to protect her, no matter what.

Returning to the Spectral Kolun County, Luo Wei immediately withdrew the Starlight Domain, no longer blocking the Divine Envoy’s assault.

Before bringing Clecia to the room, she had asked Eliana to stall them as a precaution to prevent any accidents. Given the Divine Envoy’s strength, he might have been able to kill Clecia right out of Luo Wei’s arms.

But now that Luo Wei’s goal was achieved, Clecia was safe.

“It’s time… to give this Kolun County a little shock of disobedience.”

Luo Wei took out the Grimoire of Forbidden Curses and began to chant softly.

Previously, she hadn’t known the true meaning of the first page of incantations. Unlike the transcendentals of this world, she wasn’t instinctively attracted to or drowned by the knowledge contained within the chants. Thus, Luo Wei’s previous phonetic recitations hadn’t been very effective.

But now, through Clecia’s translation, Luo Wei understood the true significance of the incantations. When she recited them again with her divine voice, they carried the genuine knowledge and power of the text.

Luo Wei stepped through dreams, standing high in the firmament, and read aloud with effortless grace:

“The Gods created the world in seven days, granting all living things supreme Authority…”

In that instant, the “Rainy Night” stopped abruptly. Darkness and horror fled in terror, scattering in every direction. Within a heartbeat, traces of soft moonlight actually returned to this county where horror and the uncanny had fused.

“All living things turned their backs on God’s mercy, using their lowly mortal bodies to usurp the Divine Will…”

“Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!” The whispers of the Lord of Dream-Eating bombarded Luo Wei’s ears, a mixture of rage and terror. “It is all her fault! It is all her fault!”

“…And were called the Gods.”

Luo Wei closed the Grimoire of Forbidden Curses and frowned slightly.

“I’m reading. Don’t chirp.”

“You aren’t her at all! You despicable fraud!”

Unnamable whispers swirled around Luo Wei’s ears, filled with unspeakable malice.

“Heh, haven’t you known that for a while?” Exposed, Luo Wei wasn’t angry; she simply curled her lip.

Previously, she hadn’t quite understood why Lilith was banished by the Gods or why she was viewed by the world as the horror of horrors. But after hearing the first sentence of the Grimoire from Clecia, Luo Wei understood.

Such blasphemy. Such disobedience.

The only reason she was merely banished was likely that the Gods lacked the ability to kill Lilith.

In that case, the attitude of this so-called avatar of the Lord of Dream-Eating was quite intriguing. Asking for help from an entity that rebuked the sins of the Gods? It was as absurd as a drowning man calling out to a whirlpool for rescue. Lilith’s past actions were all intended to send the Gods toward their end; how could she ever respond to their plea?

This incarnation of the Lord of Dream-Eating had felt strange from the start. Luo Wei could only conclude that it had realized from the beginning she wasn’t Villadriel Shinalis, but it needed to use her power to achieve its goals.

Thus, Luo Wei had played along and accepted the identity. As long as she was in the Spectral Kolun, she would call herself Lilith. It seemed… that even Luo Wei herself had begun to believe she was the real Lilith.

She would deceive the Lord of Dream-Eating until the very end. The moment Luo Wei spoke the Blasphemous Words, the entity realized its plea was useless… this imposter Lilith was just as defiant as the original.

“It seems Clecia was the key to whatever the Lord of Dream-Eating’s avatar wanted…” Luo Wei squinted, looking into the distance.

The moment she sent Clecia away, the entity had lost its composure, even tearing away its previously hypocritical facade. Now, Lilith’s Blasphemous Words caused all the horrors of the Spectral Kolun to recoil in fear. With the darkness retreating, the Spectral Kolun looked no different from the reality.

…Because it was. This was the Kolun County of twenty years ago.

“Truly an existence that even horror finds horrifying. Lilith is quite a sinner.” Luo Wei remarked. She had only wanted to test if the Grimoire’s sentence was useful; she hadn’t expected the results to be this overwhelming.

In an instant, the strangeness of the Spectral Kolun was swept clean. But… it wasn’t over. Luo Wei looked deeper into the county. With Clecia gone, certain unknown traces finally began to appear.

“Kill her… kill everyone!”

The Lord of Dream-Eating’s whispers echoed in everyone’s ears, including Eliana’s group in the distance. Eliana and Bishop Ulian were still shocked by the sudden environmental changes when the whisper sounded, reigniting the phantom glow in the Divine Envoy’s eyes.

“Lord of Dream-Eating…” the Envoy chuckled coldly. He didn’t say “My Lord.”

Since twenty years ago, he had completely lost his faith in the Lord of Dream-Eating. Not because the deity didn’t save him when disaster struck, but because he had witnessed the fall of this very avatar. At that moment, his faith had shattered.

“I will grant you everything you seek…” the Lord of Dream-Eating murmured in the Envoy’s ear.

“My Lord, is this your Oracle?” the Envoy asked.

“Yes. Kill them. Let them become the sacrifices for my rebirth…” The Lord’s voice weakened slightly. At the same time, the Envoy felt a certain primordial power surge into his body. His hideous, fleshy tumor-like form actually began to take a somewhat human shape… or at least, it gained limbs, though they were short and ugly.

With the support of the Lord of Dream-Eating, Caelum’s will was suppressed to the limit, nearly expelled entirely.

If Luo Wei were viewing the Envoy through the Starlight Domain now, she would see his soul had turned almost pitch black, with only a trace of faint crimson remaining.

“Finally, I can move.” The Envoy bared a gruesome smile. “Let all return to the Promised End… I will let you all… soak in the Eternal Dream.”

With that, the Sanctuary—which had been slowly disintegrating—suddenly vanished completely. He didn’t need to try and kill Clecia again. Instead, he targeted everyone. And “everyone” didn’t just mean those in the Spectral Kolun.

It meant everyone, including those in the real Kolun County. He was going to sacrifice the entire county to the Lord of Dream-Eating. This was no longer a pious prayer; it was a filthy transaction.

Because Clecia had left and the “Rainy Night” had stopped, the two Kolun Counties were supposed to separate. However, at the cost of the Sanctuary’s complete destruction, the Envoy summoned a grand nightmare to descend upon the real Kolun County.

This was a nightmare stretching from twenty years ago to the present. Using the dream as a medium, the Envoy allowed the Spectral Kolun to actively devour the real one.

Gas streetlamps on the sidewalks began to grow clothes and limbs. Textile girls in the factories grew horrific spider legs from their backs as they slept. Even the small flyers on the walls opened bloodshot eyes, watching everyone with ill intent.

A pollution stretching from twenty years ago was descending from dreams into reality.

“Oh no!” Eliana realized the shift, her heart tightening. She wanted to save the citizens, but the Divine Envoy watching her like a hawk would never let her go.

“Notify Sorensen. The Enforcement Guards need to move!” Eliana tossed the Bishop’s Scepter to Ulian, her voice grave.

“Y-Yes!” Bishop Ulian snapped to attention and caught the scepter. Before leaving, he couldn’t help but look at the fleshy monstrosity one last time. But the kind, familiar gaze was gone, replaced only by a cold, spectral stare.

“It seems I have no choice but to use this thing…” Eliana looked resigned as she reached for her belt.

This was the 361st item listed in the Anomaly Files—the Danger Grade Abyssal Sealed Artifact 4-361, the Steam Armor.

It originated from the Crete Empire, which had been in its prime decades ago. The Crete Empire had led other nations in researching steam engines, immediately applying them to wars of expansion and developing countless powerful steam weapons. The Steam Armor was its most famous engine of war, boasting unrivaled killing efficiency.

But while their wars of conquest were in full swing, their king died suddenly and mysteriously. Even after burial, his corpse leaked a terrifying pollution that spread to his citizens within a few years. Some said it was a punishment from the Gods; others said the Empire had used horrific powers to rise and was now merely paying the price. Regardless, the Crete Empire no longer existed, leaving behind only shattered territories and an uncountable number of steam weapons.

Some of those weapons had also been polluted, exhibiting eerie traits while becoming even more powerful. The Steam Armor sealed in Kolun County was one such relic. Eliana had brought it with her, sensing it might be needed. She was right.

She activated her belt. Instantly, an ear-piercing roar like rolling thunder erupted. A mechanical beast, looking like it was made of festering rot, appeared out of nowhere and encased Eliana. The billowing steam sounded like a shuddering roar.

Its cast-iron joints leaked pitch-like fluid, and every rivet hole sprouted pustule-like copper-green verdigris. The five-meter-tall armor was covered in ulcerous rust, looking as if it had been repeatedly cast in acid rain—metal in some areas was so decayed it looked like a honeycomb, exposing the steam boiler inside, which was wrapped in leech-like hoses.

The once-bright brass pipes were now swollen and black, exhaling yellow smoke of blasphemous pollution with every breath of the boiler, condensing into toxic clouds around the armor.

Eliana opened her eyes. Her vision had been completely distorted into a blood-red hue. Every creature with a soul or life stood out clearly in her eyes; the desire to slaughter nearly took control of her.

From the outside, one could see blood-vessel-like fungal filaments crawling over the inner side of the bulletproof glass. Eliana, the pilot, looked like a skeleton encased in a translucent cocoon of mycelium, yet she still gripped the control levers tightly, like the ghost of an old Cretan soldier.

“Truly terrifying.”

The Divine Envoy’s eyes were full of mockery. He knew the power of the Steam Armor, but he also knew its limitations. The pilot would constantly endure the pollution of the fallen empire while being influenced by the murderous intent of its restless souls. He only needed to hold out for a while to see this Inquisitor either forcibly eject or personally turn her blade against the citizens she wished to protect.