Randy's smile froze, and he squinted at Wu Chang, whose originally light blue pupils instantly turned into a deep black.
With a whoosh, all the oil lamps in the hall went out, and dark clouds quickly gathered over the sanatorium, plunging everything into darkness.
"Bang!"
Accompanied by the crack of sparks, the oil lamps reignited, with red blood flames replacing the yellow light.
Under the red glow, Wu Chang noticed that the zombies that had been slain in the hall, and Wolf who had been killed by the Demon-Breaking Crossbow Arrow, all fell into a prostrate kneeling position.
They were arranged in concentric circles, layer by layer, surrounding both Randy and him in the center.
The death of the masses contrasted sharply with Randy's life, creating a striking image.
The followers sacrificed everything, just to welcome the rebirth of their lord.
Randy, like a child discovering a new toy, curiously asked, "How did you find out?"
Wu Chang rubbed his chin, pondering for two seconds as if reminiscing, then replied, "From the very beginning."
"Oh?" Randy was intrigued, "Tell me more."
"The initial discord came from the Peace Church in the town," Wu Chang began slowly.
"They had the ability to control White Stone Town, to control all the townspeople, and to infiltrate the Moonlight Sanatorium, placing their eyes around Dean Randy, yet they did not make a move on him personally."
"Although Randy is formidable in combat, he hasn't awakened his family's bloodline talent and suffers from delusions, making the ways to take him down countless."
"So, the Peace Church deliberately left Randy, monitoring, controlling, or even breeding him, you might say."
Randy commented noncommittally, "Continue."
Wu Chang walked to Wolf's body, pulled out the Demon-Breaking Crossbow Arrow stained with resentful thoughts from the back of Wolf's head, cleaned it with his clothes, and stuffed it into his pocket before continuing:
"The people of the Peace Church have been waiting for an opportunity, waiting for someone to arrive, to stimulate Randy to fully mature, and I happened to be that person they were waiting for."
"Someone hinted to me that to select a suitable pawn, a good screening mechanism is indispensable, and the conspicuous and flamboyant Kington was the perfect item to use for screening. By eliminating Kington, I could invisibly be guided to trace the line and find Wolf."
"Then I heard a censored version of a story, heading to awaken the bloodline descendant of the legendary hero, Dean Randy."
"Did you refrain from awakening Randy just because you had doubts?" Black-eyed Randy spoke of Randy matter-of-factly.
Wu Chang: "Human perception is one of the roots of the existence of mysticism, this is the First Law of Mysticism summarized by the Secret Magic Knight Order. Old Anderson would rather let his descendants become ordinary people, squandering their family possessions, than let them understand mysticism, there must be a special reason."
"The vengefulness and twisted humor of Evil God Leman are notorious, so I think that perhaps letting Randy know everything might instead aid in the Evil God's resurrection."
Randy raised an eyebrow, "Being able to deduce this far, mortals are indeed smarter than I imagined."
"So I played along, trying to make Randy think everything was an illusion, using talent alone to deal with Wolf, but unfortunately, I still miscalculated." At this point, Wu Chang clicked his tongue.
"Let me think, what step went wrong. It should have been when Randy used the Golden Crossbow, although Old Anderson sealed his descendants' talent, he would surely have a backup plan, not letting his descendants be trapped when faced with danger. The Golden Crossbow, symbolizing the Anderson Clan, might be sealed with some kind of power within it."
"Once Randy uses the Golden Crossbow, it will trigger his awakening to the mystic talent, I guess the opportunity for awakening was when Wolf tried to confuse Randy when he broke out of his cocoon."
Clap clap.
Randy began clapping, admiringly saying, "Bravo, as expected of the Special Envoy chosen by the King, you indeed have meticulous thoughts."
Wu Chang frowned, puzzled, "You thought I was the Special Envoy?"
"Aren't you?" Randy was taken aback by the question.
Wu Chang glanced at the hall littered with bodies, and he felt a bad taste in his mouth, thinking, Crap!
Julie's actions were perfectly aligned with Wolf's, making him think Julie was also part of the Peaceful Sect, so he deliberately didn't call her before acting.
But now it seems, Julie and Leman were not partners, he seemed to have trapped his teammate.
Hope she's okay.
Feeling briefly guilty for two seconds, he quickly adjusted his mindset.
It's all damn Leman's fault.
Wait, I'll avenge Julie!
Leman felt the sudden increase in hostility from Wu Chang, slowly forming a question mark.
Wu Chang opened the Golden Pocket Watch once more, looked at the time, and muttered softly, "It's about time."
"What's about time?"
"Exorcism time has come."
Wu Chang pinned the Secret Magic Badge to his chest, rubbing his thumb over the badge, and the gray emblem, buried underground for centuries and corroded by rust, shone brightly.
An intangible force rose from beneath the ground, enshrouding the whole Moonlight Sanatorium.
He had activated the purifying power within the Exorcism Array.
Unlike the unconsciously activated array power by Randy, the fully activated Exorcism Array was more than ten times stronger in both power and capability.
Randy, possessed by Leman, grunted, and a pure white flame ignited atop his head.
The flame roasted Randy's soul, as well as Leman within Randy's body, the fire grew fiercer by the moment, quickly spreading over half of his body.
The intense flames burned Randy's spirit, twisting his expression in agony and distortion, but Leman within the same body remained unfazed, letting out a long, relaxed sigh reminiscent of stepping into a hot spring, lazily saying:
"Do you think a little toy made by a human mage will kill me? All you're doing is hastening the death of the original soul in this body, helping me take over this body more quickly."
Wu Chang remained calm despite Leman's composure, saying slowly:
"Don't rush, this is just the beginning. When either you or Randy is burned to ashes, the Flame of Purification will expand dozens of times, surpassing the limits of the spiritual dimension, burning reality."
"So what, as long as you extinguish the original soul, allowing me to fully reincarnate, in an instant, I'll be able to snuff out this little fire, preventing it from harming my new body."
"I'm not talking about burning your body, what I mean is, when Randy's soul teeters on the brink, the Flame of Purification will become unbearably painful," Wu Chang corrected.
A question mark reappeared above Leman's head, the human in front of him, could he be out of his mind?
Leman didn't understand what Wu Chang meant, but he soon experienced it firsthand.
The white flames soon enveloped Randy completely, indicating his soul was nearly completely burned out, leaving only a bit of embers.
The flames suddenly soared, the outer flame reaching as high as four stories, bursting through the sanatorium roof.
As long as Randy's soul's embers extinguished, the white flames would then consume the corporeal self.
But this lingering ember, like an endless blood lock, refused to go out.
Feeling the scorching pain, Leman lost his previous composure, raging in shock, "What did you do?"
Wu Chang looked at the Golden Pocket Watch, saying, "Remember when you asked why I keep checking the time? Now I can tell you, I was waiting for the medicine to take effect, while you've been chatting with me, what are you waiting for?"
Leman: "I..."
"Wait, time is short, let me add more fire, we'll talk while we burn."
Wu Chang interrupted Leman, placing the King's Badge on his other chest side, activating the linked special skills of the King's Badge and Secret Magic Badge.
"Special Skill: Final Purification." (King's Badge unlocked)
"Skill Description: By burning the entire array, it unleashes power beyond the array's limits."
With a boom, the white flame turned into a sea of fire, setting the entire Moonlight Sanatorium ablaze.
"Lord Leman, do you feel the heat?"