The Blood Moon ritual, as its name suggested, couldn't possibly be conducted in secret. Shortly after the cultists began their preparations, Baldy Burke pinpointed the exact location of the ceremony.
In truth, it would have been impossible not to notice. A towering pillar of crimson light erupted from the earth, reaching skyward as if to pierce the sun itself, visible for miles around.
Burke immediately led his forces to the vicinity. But another problem arose: while he commanded a decent number of troops, none could match the elite combat prowess of the Eldritch Concord's high-ranking members.
His most seasoned veterans, usually loyal, were refusing to obey orders in Elysia's absence.
"..." Burke gritted his teeth. Duty demanded he stand firm. "Everyone, weapons ready! Prepare for battle!"
Just then, a figure plummeted from the sky like a cannonball, landing with a deafening boom that carved a deep crater into the earth.
"Whoa, kiddo~ Nice hairstyle, though it's a bit dazzling," a cheerful voice boomed from the dissipating smoke.
Baldy Burke stared in stunned silence at the figure emerging from the smoke. It wasn't just surprise—Mad Lion's attire was simply too... bizarre.
Mad Lion wore a white T-shirt emblazoned with the Chinese characters "I'm a Foreigner" across the chest, paired with shorts and flip-flops. The truly bewildering part was that Baldy Burke actually understood Chinese.
But setting aside these trivial details, pure ecstasy flooded through Baldy Burke. His eyes widened. "Lord Mad Lion?! What brings you here?"
"Why I'm here doesn't matter," Mad Lion said, raising a hand to his forehead and gazing at the pillar of blood rising in the distance. "The important thing is, those guys are cultists, right? We just need to wipe them out, right?"
"Y-yes," Baldy Burke stammered, nodding.
"Easy enough." Mad Lion waved dismissively, crouched slightly, and with a single leap, propelled himself hundreds of meters, vanishing swiftly from Baldy Burke's sight. Clearly, he had been traveling here in such enormous bounds.
Meanwhile, at the Eldritch Concord's ritual site, six figures sat in a circle. Envy scanned the group, a hint of suspicion in his voice. "What's going on? Still no contact with Lust?"
Gluttony shrugged. "Who knows? Something probably went wrong. But it doesn't matter. With Lust's... ability, one more or less makes no difference."
Wrath stared down at his clenched fists. "I possess such power now! Lust's presence is irrelevant! Anyone from White Eagle who dares show their face will die by my hand!"
Indeed, the original Wrath and Pride had been slain by Elysia. The two now present were hastily elevated newcomers, their power artificially amplified.
Cultists differed from ordinary Evolvers. While Evolvers gradually honed their abilities through arduous training, Cultists could rapidly enhance their strength by relentlessly beseeching their god's power.
Upon learning of Wrath and Pride's demise, the Eldritch Concord had resorted to extreme measures, forcibly creating two new Seven Sins.
However, such forced growth came at a price: imperfect control over their powers and a lifespan likely limited to just one or two months.
But for the sake of their current plan, this was unavoidable. After all, the two individuals forcibly promoted to their positions didn't care how much longer they had to live. Why should the others?
In truth, only Lust, who had recently and discreetly "committed suicide," had been eliminated. His subordinates had all been wiped out by Old John and his group. Because no news of this had leaked, they hadn't rushed to hastily create a replacement.
Greed gazed at his assembled colleagues and said gravely, "In short, our plan is simple: delay Elysia of the White Eagle Eight until the ritual succeeds. That's all we need to do!"
Clearly, none of them knew Elysia was currently inside the Dimensional Rift. Greed continued, "However, I've thoroughly studied the pink-haired woman's abilities and combat style. You've all received the detailed plan. If the six of us execute it flawlessly, coordinating perfectly, we have a ninety percent chance of eliminating her outright!"
But just as Greed was about to elaborate, a piercing sonic boom shattered the air, and a figure crashed down like a missile between them.
"Yo, did I just hear you guys plotting to kill someone?"
The sudden turn of events stunned all six cultists. New Wrath, his anger flaring, immediately cursed, "What the hell are you?!"
Mad Lion's transformation was simply too drastic. Not only was his attire outrageous, but his hairstyle had also changed to a buzz cut, causing the cultists to fail to recognize him instantly.
New Wrath began to swell rapidly, his bones cracking and popping loudly throughout his body. But before he could fully transform, a massive hand shot out from the dissipating smoke, clamping onto his skull.
"What's with all the strange noises? Feeling a little stiff? Need me to loosen up those bones?" Mad Lion's taunting voice accompanied a slight squeeze. Like crushing a grape, another sickening crackle filled the air as he pulverized Wrath's skull with his bare hand.
"Damn it, this guy is..." Greed gasped in horror, but before he could finish speaking, Mad Lion lunged forward and punched a hole straight through his chest—literally, his fist entering through the front and exiting through his back.
"Heh, just a bunch of second-rate insects. Better than the worst, but far from the best."
The remaining cultists—New Pride, Gluttony, and Envy—unleashed their abilities, but to no avail.
Before New Pride could even complete his transformation, Mad Lion bisected him at the waist with a single karate chop. Gluttony successfully transformed into a grotesque creature with a cavernous, blood-drenched maw and clamped down fiercely on Mad Lion's arm.
However, even a mouth capable of pulverizing alloys with ease could only leave a thin, bloody scratch on Mad Lion's arm. Gluttony gnawed desperately, his teeth nearly shattering, but the wound showed no sign of widening.
Seizing Gluttony's upper and lower jaws, Mad Lion ripped the creature's gaping maw in half with brutal ease.
Envy, the spellcaster of the group, conjured potent magical chains to bind Mad Lion. Yet these restraints failed to slow him down by even a second.
As if taking a leisurely stroll through a park, Mad Lion advanced steadily toward Envy. With each step, multiple chains snapped and shattered under his relentless force.