Omar's eyes were wide, filled with disbelief and regret. Yet his lips were curled into a smile. The contrast between the two expressions was chilling, and it sent a wave of fear through everyone present.
Adam stood frozen, stunned. He knew that dying in the line of duty was inevitable, every member of the Inquisition understood that. Over his decades of service in the Inquisition, he too had seen many falls of his comrades.
Some had been colleagues he barely knew. Others were newcomers, like Omar, survivors of supernatural incidents who eventually joined the Inquisition. Some were close friends, people who had shared life-and-death moments with him. A few were seasoned veterans who had once mentored him, teaching him the ways of the supernatural.
But Omar's death felt different. It struck something deep inside him, something he hadn't felt in a long time.
It was fear...
Fear of something unknown...
Because his death didn't make sense!
They hadn't even entered the villa yet. They were still on the periphery. And it hasn't even been more than ten minutes since the operation began. And they weren't alone, an Archbishop was with them, personally leading the operation.
Yet, a human just loses its life like that!
Yet Omar had died just like that, bathing in Archbishop Amelia's Purification!
What exactly are we dealing with?
Is it truly an evil creature?
If so, why did Archbishop Amelia's Purification have no effect on Omar?
The other Inquisitors seemed to share Adam's thoughts, many started to become nervous. Even with the Solar Mantle bolstering their courage, Omar's death was like an unexpected plot twist, and it left them with a deep impression of fear.
Amelia frowned and lowered her arms. She unhurriedly drew a gun from the holster at her waist.
Adam snapped out of his daze the moment he heard the crackling noises. When he looked up, he saw a faint wisp of smoke rising from the barrel of the gun in Archbishop Amelia's hand.
Amelia had already fired twice while Adam was frozen. The bullets flickered with bluish-white light, crackling like lightning. As they struck Omar's lifeless body, they produced a dazzling visual effect, tendrils of white lightning burst across his body. His body convulsed violently, twitching and jerking on the ground.
Adam hurriedly looked away, unable to watch. The sight of Omar, the same teenager he had rescued just months ago, being subjected to such torment was too much. Even though he knew Omar was already dead, and the pain shouldn't matter, it still felt wrong.
Then the smell hit him. Burning flesh.
A moment later, black mist began to rise from Omar's corpse. It gathered and twisted, taking shape, something vaguely human, cloaked, and floating just above the ground.
Immediately, a name flashed through Adam's mind.
'Wraith!'
The Wraith hovered above Omar's corpse, its face turned toward the Inquisitors and Archbishop Amelia, growling. It looked almost human, but its skin was unnaturally pale and lifeless. Its eyes were full of malice and hatred. It was especially so when it stared at Amelia, as if she owed it a huge debt of money.
As Adam observed the wraith, something caught his attention. It was so out of place that he noticed it immediately.
On the part of its chest, there was a glowing object, radiating a bright yellow light.
'What's that?' Adam wondered inwardly.
Adam didn't have time to dwell on it, several Inquisitors had also noticed the Wraith, and confusion quickly spread through the group.
"A Wraith? How is that thing still alive after a Purification?" someone shouted in disbelief.
No one answered because they similarly had no idea.
Previously, Adam had also suspected that Omar might be possessed by a Wraith. But when nothing was expelled from his body, even under such a powerful Purification, he assumed he had been wrong.
Now, the truth was undeniable.
It was indeed a Wraith! One that had endured and survived a Purification from an Archbishop!
This was unprecedented, even in the Church's thousand-year history.
At that moment, the Wraith twitched slightly in the air as if in pain, faint arcs of lightning coursing through its ghostly form.
Amelia studied it silently. Then, without hesitation, she summoned a spear of pure light into her hand, raised her arm, and hurled it straight like a javelin at the creature.
Sacred Spear!
Sensing danger, the Wraith reacted instantly. Its body dissolved into mist, slipping into the glowing object just before the spear struck.
The moment the spear struck the glowing object, there was a brief flash of resistance—then it erupted in a blinding explosion of light, like a miniature sun igniting in the dead of night.
Boom!
The ground trembled as a wave of explosions rippled out, shattering the windows of nearby houses.
For a brief moment, daylight arrived at the edge of downtown Nubis.
Even from several hundred meters away, Adam felt his skin sting under the intense heat and piercing rays of light that felt like the extreme version of welding spatter. It was as if flames were licking across his body. He shut his eyes tight—he had no intention of going blind before turning thirty.
Silently, he couldn't help but marvel at Amelia's overwhelming power.
'Her power's simply... godlike. Is this the power of the Blessing at the level of Archbishop? Compared to her, my Blessing, Aqua Murlock, feels like a joke. She can summon a spear that when it detonates creates a miniature sun. In contrast, I can only stir, create, and manipulate water in limited volume. A small pond of fish at most. It's like comparing a toy car to a real supercar.'
Across the nearby neighborhoods, people began to stir.
In one apartment, a man lay sleeping soundly, a naked woman beside him, equally deep in sleep.
When the flash of light broke through the window, the man stirred. The sudden brightness jolted him awake. Squinting at the blinding glow outside, he shot upright from the bed and cursed.
"Damn it, Zara! You said you'd wake me before dawn! It's already morning, your husband's gonna be here any minute!"
The man quickly pulled on his pants and shirt. The woman, still wrapped in the duvet, sat up and ran her fingers through her tangled hair. "No way, I set an alarm,"
"Then clearly it didn't work!" the man snapped, trying to tie his shoes, only to stumble and fall in his rush. He scrambled back up before she could help and bolted for the door, one shoe on, the other foot bare.
The woman didn't stop him. She knew as well as he did, it was better he left before her husband came home.
"Did I really forget to set the alarm?" she wondered aloud, reaching for her phone.
When she turned it on, her eyes widened. She stared at the screen, rubbed her eyes once, twice, then a third time until they stung.
"Eleven p.m.?"
"Then what's that light?"
...
Out on the villa's outskirts, Adam and the others had shut their eyes tightly. Even so, they couldn't stop the tears that leaked out.
After several seconds, the stinging sensation on his skin finally subsided. The intense light receded.
Adam hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened his eyes. It hurt, but he pushed through.
His vision was still blurry, but he could make out the ground around him. The overgrown sea of grass had been completely reduced to ash.
A slender hand suddenly appeared in front of him, offering a flask and a tiny bottle that held only a couple of drops of liquid.
He glanced up, then took them. "Thanks, Alya."
Alya, one of the group's few healers, gave a silent nod before moving on, handing out healing potions to the others one by one.
Adam didn't hesitate. He drank the contents of the flask, and almost immediately, the pain melted away. His body felt fully restored, just like it had been when they first arrived outside the villa.
Then he unplugged the small bottle and tilted the drops into each eye.
The redness in his eyes faded within seconds. The pain and blur were gone. His vision cleared.
Being the first to recover, he made his way to Archbishop Amelia's side.
"Has the Wraith been dealt with, Your Grace?" he asked.
"Yes," Amelia replied curtly.
He couldn't see the blast site with dust still choking the air, but since Archbishop Amelia had confirmed the situation, she must have had a way to see through it.
Even so, Adam felt a mix of disappointment and relief. Disappointed that he couldn't avenge Omar's death himself, but relieved the threat had been eliminated and he didn't have to deal with it by himself. The Wraith's immunity to Purification was troubling—who knew what other powers it might have hidden?
'Archbishop Amelia's really a woman of few words, really way different from Archbishop Salman. That guy is so laid-back, chatty, and gossipy, sometimes I forget he's even an Archbishop.' Adam thought, instinctively comparing her to Archbishop Salman.
While waiting for the cloud of dust to steer clear and Amelia's next order, Adam asked curiously. "Your Grace, how did that Wraith survive your Purification earlier?"
"The glowing object on its chest. It's filled with light and holy energy," Archbishop Amelia said, not even turning to face him.
Adam waited, expecting more, but quickly realized that was all she intended to say.
He let out a wry smile and stepped back, turning his attention to the other Inquisitors and scanning the surroundings instead.
At the same time, Archbishop Amelia made her way to the blast site. It took her only a couple of seconds to cross the few hundred meters of distance.
When she arrived, the ground had already caved in, forming a pit about a meter deep. At the center lay the object that had fallen after the Wraith's destruction—the same glowing object, now stripped of its radiance and revealing its true form.
She had deliberately controlled the explosion at the last moment to avoid completely destroying it.
From the edge of the pit, she didn't need to step down to see it clearly.
Her eyes narrowed slightly in surprise.
Now fully exposed, the object's true characteristics were unmistakable.
Cone-shaped, deep red, laced with thin, branching veins.
It was a heart.
A tiny heart.