Pop!
The crisp sound of the Elastic Sphere shattering served as a signal. Aisha suddenly emerged from the shadows beneath the windowsill, launching a surprise attack toward the back of a crate.
Just moments before, a wisp of dust had been brushed from the corner of the crate by a trailing sleeve—a clear sign that Black Hand, attempting to remain hidden, had given himself away.
But as Aisha swiftly approached the crate, her expression darkened. "Damn it, a decoy!"
No one was there. This was merely a deliberate feint by Black Hand, designed to lure Aisha into striking first.
Still, time was against her. As the minutes passed, the shadows within the Mage Tower dwindled, making Aisha's situation increasingly precarious. She couldn't afford to let this opportunity slip away, however flimsy it might be.
A chilling presence descended from above. Black Hand dropped from the ceiling, his dagger aimed squarely at Aisha's neck. At this distance and angle, evasion was impossible!
Aisha's eyes narrowed as she lowered herself to the ground, buying herself precious time. With a swift backhand swing, she slashed her Shadow Blade at Black Hand above.
She had no intention of dodging. Her only goal was to ensure her attack landed on Black Hand the instant his blade pierced her.
"Damn it!" Black Hand cursed, recoiling sharply. This woman was acting like she had nothing to lose, but he valued his life too much for such a reckless exchange. He couldn't bring himself to trade blows that would kill them both.
"Are you insane?!"
Black Hand quickly realized his mistake. After years in Chaos City, he knew his two "neighbors" intimately. Aisha, the Archbishop of the Death Church, bore the Death God's blessing: a second life.
Just as Douglas had the God of War's blessing, granting immunity to poisons and diseases, the Death God's blessing was simpler and more direct: a free life.
In other words, if Black Hand traded lives with Aisha, he would die permanently while she would simply resurrect. In a battle between glass cannon assassins, one with a resurrection buff? That was hardly a fair fight.
Black Hand, unaware that Aisha had already used her resurrection ability, eyed her warily. Aisha, realizing that this enemy's strength far surpassed anyone she had encountered before, blurted out, "You're Black Hand?!"
Black Hand ignored the foolish question. "Why are you priests wandering around here instead of collecting corpses?" he demanded.
"Do you know anything about the Seven Heroes and their Divine Artifacts?" Aisha pressed.
Black Hand's brow furrowed instantly. He remained silent, but his reaction confirmed her suspicions. "You do know something!" Aisha declared.
With a subtle gesture, she signaled the surrounding priests to prepare for battle. Her earlier one-on-one confrontation had been purely because Black Hand had impersonated Castorice, and Aisha, disgusted, had sought revenge. But now the situation was different. Since he possessed information about the Divine Artifacts, completing the Holy Maiden's mission became their top priority. If they could overwhelm him with numbers, they certainly would!
"Wait!" Black Hand raised his hand. "Why have you priests suddenly changed your tactics? Is it because of that purple-haired girl? The Holy Maiden? Are you sure you haven't mistaken her identity?"
"She's not the Death God's Holy Maiden at all! She comes from a place called the Eternal Holy City Okhema and is a Demigod of Death, completely unrelated to the Death God you worship! You've all been deceived!"
Undoubtedly, Black Hand had eavesdropped on this information from the barbarians. With his disguise skills, extracting secrets from a group of brutes was child's play. His current objective was simple: to sow discord between Aisha and Castorice.
Black Hand continued, "Logically speaking, that creature should be an enemy of the very god you worship! How can you possibly be working for her? Isn't that absurd?"
"'Eternal Holy City Okhema'... 'Demigod of Death'..." Aisha murmured, but she didn't display the look of dawning realization and betrayal Black Hand had anticipated. Her expression remained remarkably calm.
Black Hand assumed Castorice had deceived Aisha by impersonating the Death Holy Maiden. But in reality, Aisha had begged Castorice to assume the role of the 'Holy Maiden.
Aisha was born into an ordinary peasant family. When she was very young, a plague swept through her village, claiming the lives of everyone except her. Fortunate enough to possess a natural immunity, she survived, but her luck seemed cruelly balanced. As the sole survivor, she found herself utterly alone, stripped of everything she held dear.
Despair drove Aisha to the brink of suicide. She had tied the rope, stood on the chair, and was about to end her life when she felt an incredibly gentle embrace. A soothing female voice echoed in her mind: "Your life's journey is far from over. Please don't end it so soon, okay?"
"Now that you no longer fear death, what remains in life that could truly frighten you?"
Without a doubt, the voice belonged to the Death God, an extraordinarily compassionate deity. Sensing the sudden surge of despair among the dying, He cast His gaze upon the mortal realm and found Aisha.
"Mortals are destined to die, but I hope you come to me after living full and happy lives, not in despair, not by your own hand."
"Little Aisha," the Death God said, "I haven't left the Underworld in countless years. It's gloomy and utterly boring here. Why don't you explore the material world on my behalf? When you finally die without regrets, come back and share its wonders with me face-to-face, alright?"
Persuaded by the Death God, Aisha abandoned her suicide attempt. When she awoke, she found herself lying on the floor, the chair she had kicked over nowhere in sight, and a clear ligature mark around her neck.
She had, in fact, succeeded in taking her own life. Her conversation with the god had occurred in the realm of death. Yet she hadn't truly died, for in that moment, she had become a Chosen One.
Generously, the Death God had granted Aisha two extra lives: one she had used in her childhood, and the other when she came into contact with Castorice.
As mentioned before, a Chosen One's prayers would always be answered by their god.
Therefore, when the Death God abruptly vanished ten years prior, Aisha had been the most despairing of all. Bound by her promise to the god, she refused to take her own life. Even as she guided other priests, becoming a pillar of faith for others' survival, she remained profoundly lost within herself.
Years passed, one after another, until Aisha met Castorice. The moment their hands touched, Aisha felt the same sensation she had experienced as a child when conversing with the Death God.
The serenity of death, the warmth of an embrace, and Castorice's gentle nature once led Aisha to believe she might be the Death God's earthly avatar.
Of course, this wasn't the primary reason Aisha recognized Castorice as the Holy Maiden. As a Chosen One, Aisha genuinely sensed the Death God's aura emanating from Castorice—not a mere imitation or resemblance. It was as if the Death God had stamped his seal upon her, a mark Aisha could never mistake.
The Black Hand continued his tirade, but Aisha calmly interrupted, "So, where is the Divine Artifact?"
A true believer's faith cannot be shaken by idle words.
One by one, Death Priests materialized on the fourth floor of the Mage Tower, encircling the Black Hand. Everyone present had heard his words, yet not a single face betrayed even a flicker of doubt.
The Priests unconditionally trusted Aisha, and Aisha was equally unwavering in her judgment. Therefore, anything Black Hand said was ultimately meaningless.
Witnessing this, Black Hand frowned deeply, his expression growing increasingly malevolent. "Damn it!" he snarled.
Black Hand had overheard the Barbarians discussing Castorice's purpose for collecting the Divine Artifacts: to prevent a potential world-ending catastrophe. He couldn't care less about such doomsday scenarios, or whether they would ever materialize. He might have tolerated having his lair raided, but someone trying to steal the Divine Artifacts struck at the heart of his interests—a line he refused to cross.
"Heh, if you truly want it, come and take it yourself!" Black Hand sneered.
As he spoke, his right thumb gently rubbed the ring on his index finger—a Space Ring. Instantly, a staff materialized in his hand, glowing with a blue light and crackling with arcs of electricity.
The moment he gripped the staff, the blue arcs surged from his right hand, spreading throughout his body. His face twisted into a ferocious grimace as he hissed, "Lightning!"
With a deafening crack, a dense web of electric bolts erupted from the staff's tip, expanding outward in all directions like a living storm.
"Everyone, retreat!" Aisha shouted, witnessing the unfolding chaos. The priests reacted swiftly, some diving behind cover, others scrambling down the stairs. Those nearest the windows, as if in a movie, took running leaps, curling into tight balls as they smashed through the glass and plummeted from the fourth floor.
Aisha was among those who jumped. Seeing this, Black Hand calmly approached the window. He slowly levitated into the air and floated down after them.
BOOM!
Just moments before, it had been early morning, the sun barely risen in a clear blue sky. Now, a vast blanket of dark clouds suddenly engulfed Chaos City, plunging the city into thunderous chaos. Lightning crackled across the sky, illuminating the tumultuous scene.
Castorice, stationed outside the Mage Tower, naturally noticed the ominous clouds. Shortly after, she spotted Aisha leaping from the fourth floor.
"What's going on?" Castorice wondered, rushing toward Aisha, though she had no idea what had just happened. For an ordinary person, jumping from the fourth floor would result in severe injury or death. But Aisha landed without even twisting an ankle, completely unharmed.
Before Castorice could ask, Aisha spoke first. "Holy Maiden, I've found the Divine Artifact, but..."
She hadn't anticipated that the Divine Artifact was actually embedded in Black Hand's body, and that he could wield it. This was precisely why Black Hand had been reluctant to perish with Aisha earlier.
You have your resurrection armor, but I have a Divine Artifact. If I truly wanted to kill you, wouldn't simply pulling it out have sufficed?
At that moment, Black Hand slowly floated out through the shattered window. His eyes glowed with an eerie blue light, and his entire presence resembled a god of thunder descending from the heavens. Looking down at the group below, his voice boomed with a deafening echo. "The Divine Artifact's energy is limited, and each use inflicts immense pain upon me. Still, seizing this opportunity to eliminate all of you in one fell swoop seems like a worthwhile trade!"
"Is that... a Sorcerer's Divine Artifact?" Castorice couldn't help but recall the novel Legend of the Demon King and the Hero that Cipher had read. The description of a Sorcerer's Divine Artifact in the story was a staff capable of manipulating thunder and lightning.
Castorice turned to Aisha. "You've done well. Leave the rest to me. This is beyond what you can handle."
The Black Hand in the air clearly overheard her words. He turned his gaze to Castorice and burst into laughter. "Leave it to you? Hahaha! I don't care if you're a Holy Maiden or a Demigod—the power I wield surpasses your imagination! Kneel before the might of a thousand bolts of thunder!"
Castorice's expression turned serious. "If that's the case, then I entrust it to you, Pollux."
Divine Artifacts still held a certain intimidation factor for Castorice. She knew she couldn't afford to hold back any longer and prepared to fight with all her strength.
Chirp chirp! The Little Round Sparrow fluttered around Castorice, its gaze fixed intently on the Black Hand above. It looked poised for action, ready to unleash its signature "Meatball Barrage" attack at any moment.
Aisha, who unconditionally trusted Castorice, remained silent, even wearing an expectant expression, eager to see how the Holy Maiden would utterly crush her enemy. Kaia, however, standing nearby, looked deeply worried.
He glanced up at the increasingly thick serpent of lightning gathering in the sky, a sense of impending doom washing over him. If such a massive bolt struck, wouldn't everything around the Mage Tower be obliterated?
Then Kaia looked at the Little Round Sparrow fluttering beside Castorice. Wait a minute, isn't the size difference between them a bit... extreme?
Sending this tiny bird to fight that dark cloud? To attack lightning? Is she serious?!
The Black Hand floating in the air couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Little girl, have you lost your mind? Sending this tiny bird to fight me? Are you serious?!"
Castorice, however, silently conjured her scythe. After telling Aisha and Kaia to "stand back," she raised her head to face the Black Hand in the sky and slowly swung the scythe behind her.