The downside was that Belial could no longer supply power directly through his true body, and control suffered badly. It used to be like wearing VR gear in person, but now it was a controller with four fingers disabled. That weakness was why Belial had been so slow climbing down the wall at the start.
Back then, his limbs did not cooperate, so he could only move carefully step by step. If it were his usual state, he would have blasted these people with a Space Blast Punch long ago. Thinking about it only made him more annoyed.
"But is this the Holy Light of that Lady Envoy?" he muttered. "It's pretty strange. If I had to describe it, it feels like a refresh, restoring people or objects to an earlier state." "It's kind of like reversing time, no, more like anchoring. Hard to put into words." "Forget it. It's not even my account. I'm just playing around with it."
To expand his power, Belial activated Ecological Corrosion, though only over a small area that barely covered part of the ground. He no longer needed large-scale plundering through Ecological Corrosion. What he wanted was to use this effect to erode and gain control over the massive Magic Array, then draw power directly from inside it.
Disguised as the original skill of this account, Ecological Corrosion produced crystal plants as delicate as real vegetation. Because of the rendering effects of the Thousand-Year Dragon King, they shimmered with golden light. Whatever else could be said, they looked quite nice.
As his power gradually expanded and he regained some basic control from his past, Belial had to think about how to save everyone in the city. He had to do it with clumsy limbs, most skills unavailable, and while dealing with anyone who dared cause trouble. It was far from ideal.
"After all, the Lord's last instruction to me was to rescue the important NPCs, and everyone else too," he said. "Even without that order, I would do it anyway." "The problem is I can't just kill all the troublemakers at once and rewind everything. I still need time to build up."
Belial kept walking, cursing under his breath and missing the days when he could operate freely. Since the goal was to keep everyone alive, he had to think carefully. If it were his main body or a larger Clone clone, he would have simply swallowed the entire city, people included, then spat them out after finishing the fight.
Right now, his power radius was not enough to resolve everything instantly, so he had to settle for compromises. He could not fully heal them yet, but he could at least keep them from dying. That alone was manageable.
So he simply used Gravity Manipulation to create an effect similar to time stop. In short, he put everyone's lives on hold so no one would die too long ago to be revived later. It was a crude but effective measure.
This seemed to be an original ability of the Alba account, and it was convenient enough, so Belial used it without hesitation. Mechanically, it was actually easier to use than his own skills. The only issue was visual, since light itself could not be frozen, so others could still see Belial moving.
He had expected shocked stares, but beyond shock, there was something else in their expressions. As he walked slowly past them, people cried and laughed at the same time. The feeling was deeply strange.
He even felt his consumption rising sharply, which made him wonder if he looked stupid in this state. When he looked over to study their expressions more closely, they stopped moving altogether. According to Belial's quick check, they had fainted from excitement, though probably not because of him alone.
The bloody scene was terrifying enough, and combined with the adrenaline effect, it overwhelmed them. Next came the large-scale cleanup of filth and those annoying rats and cockroaches. Belial could sense the familiar aura of old enemies among them.
He had thought killing so many of them before would make them behave. Instead, they dared cause trouble the moment he slept. That alone was reason enough to act.
"No, I can't encourage this kind of behavior," he said. "I'll kill a few more later as a warning."
With that in mind, Belial activated a wide-area purge mode. There was nothing fancy about it. He simply poured the massive accumulated energy he had no idea where it came from into an outward spread of Holy Light.
Anything tainted by those old enemies' Dark Power mostly died on the spot. Anyone who survived would be finished off personally by Belial. When the outline of a sun appeared behind him, the light instantly covered two-thirds of Cathedral City.
It looked like sunrise. A brilliant sun rose from the far horizon of Cathedral City, its glare almost solid as it swallowed a third of the remaining darkness. Nothing impure could survive under it.
The night curtain covering the sky was pierced by golden beams like blades, tearing open lines of Rift across the firmament. They ripped and carved golden Rift, though they did not fully break through. The resistance was clear.
Belial could feel that it was a screen formed by traces of power from those old enemies. With his current small account, breaking it was possible, but it would take effort. Worse, it slightly suppressed the Holy Light he was using, preventing a full-map effect for now.
Since there was no urgency, he chose not to touch it. After regaining a bit more mobility, Belial turned his gaze toward an area where Dark Power felt especially dense. It was the same place where the two NPCs were located.
"Perfect. That's where they are," he said. "I'll try to speed up and rush over."
Thinking he could use a bit more force now, he lengthened his stride and gathered an electromagnetic field around himself. The ground responded faintly under his steps. His movement grew faster.
"…?" "Smack!" "That's it? Why stop? Come on, keep entertaining me!"
A tall Abyss Cultists with his body covered in carved symbols laughed with Maniacal Laughter as he swung a spiked iron whip. He lashed again and again at the figures bound to wooden stakes, soldiers who had resisted earlier. After repeated beatings, they no longer had the strength to scream.
Flesh split open, organs torn by Rend, and only then did the cultist realize the person was already dead. He spat in disdain and moved on to the next target. In fact, it was the last one.
"What a pity," he said. "Your resistance was nothing but a boring play." "Any last words before you die?"
Bound to the stake and barely breathing, her limbs already severed, Elvin did not respond. She only trembled, spat bloodied foam from her mouth, and let it fall at the cultist's feet. Seeing this, the cultist grinned viciously.
"Looks like you're done talking. Good," he said. "Throw her into the fire pile as a corpse, and stick the stake in." "If she screams a bit in the flames, that might be fun. Hahaha!"
Elvin's stake was uprooted and planted into the pile of bodies. Looking down, she saw Raina's face among the corpses, eyes closed like all the others. There was no movement, no tears left to shed.
All she could do was watch as a torch and oil were thrown over, igniting a roaring fire. Flames engulfed her body, and she could feel the heat consuming her flesh inch by inch. Her vitality drained away.
Elvin clearly understood one thing. She was about to die. The sensation was not unfamiliar, since she had experienced it many times back when she was with Demonkind.
In truth, there was little to regret. She had taken about two hundred Abyss Cultists with her, and one for two hundred was a good trade. As her eyes slowly closed, she suddenly thought of someone.
"Alba," she thought. "Did she manage to escape?"
Thinking of that slightly foolish, not-so-bright girl made her worry. She did not want to die after all, but there was no way to live now. Her consciousness faded as the flames burned, and even the pain began to disappear.
Strangely, she heard movement outside. There were loud sounds, familiar screams, and a trembling like an earthquake. Something was happening. She sensed a light, not firelight, but something deeply familiar.
It was a light she could never forget. Driven by faint curiosity, she forced one eye open a little. The first thing she saw was the Abyss Cultists from before, melting like ice into black smoke within the glow.
She felt sensation returning to her body. Was she not dead after all? The flames were still burning on her, yet they no longer hurt. She fell from the stake amid the disturbance, rolled on the ground, dizzy but finally able to open her eyes.
Her body and soul froze together. Tears welled beside eyes that should have been burned away. The great sun had paused here.
Clad in a radiant White Tier robe, limbs entwined with Gold branches, a golden laurel crown upon her head, and the great sun of Solar Crown shining behind her, the figure descended lightly. In an instant, golden Gold Rank grass spread outward with her presence.
At the edge of the night, the sun rose.