Chapter 26: Return to Cordu Village
The scythe he obtained at this point is indeed a pleasant surprise for Ning Lu; from a brief introduction, Ning Lu can see that this Beyonder item's main abilities focus on combat, without the other abilities of the Rose Bishop and the Priest of Light contaminating the weapon's other "affixes".
Whether it's the "Purification Slash" that activates every four hours without extra cost, or the passive trait from the Rose Bishop that grants special offense against spirits, Ning Lu now possesses impressive capabilities against spirits and similar creatures, filling the gap in his current abilities.
Of course, the three negative effects of this Beyonder item are not weak either.
For devout followers of the True Creator, hearing praise for the True Creator isn't a drawback, but for ordinary Beyonders, both praise of the True Creator and the spontaneous praise of the Eternal Blazing Sun become troublesome negatives; constantly listening to these two completely opposite yet extreme faiths will likely cause a loss of control over time.
Fortunately, thanks to Ning Lu's own nature, he merely finds the two sounds noisy and is not affected by them, so his condition does not deteriorate nor drift toward the Abyss of losing control.
In addition, this is the potion formula for the Prometheus that the Aurora Order's saint discovered.
Although The Dark Saint Karsma previously told Ning Lu that the Prometheus's Beyonder trait is hard to locate, Ning Lu himself knows where this Beyonder trait can be obtained:
—the Sealed Artifact of the Church of the Night, a "vessel of blood" that can steal Beyonder abilities.
Since the Sefirah Castle exists, Ning Lu can try to crush the vessel of blood with the power of Gray Mist, restoring it to a Beyonder trait.
He is eager to ascend to Prometheus because, after a peaceful week, a new suspicion arose in his mind.
He now seriously suspects that he has not yet encountered Amon because of his Beyonder aggregation ability; one reason is that Amon was absent from the original Tingen, and another is that Adam, in order to obtain "00-8," built this stage in Tingen and either actively or passively blocked Amon's perception, preventing a "coincidence" with Ning Lu.
But once he reaches Backlund, things may change… Ning Lu thought as he rolled the Prometheus potion formula back into its original shape and tossed it onto the Gray Mist.
Although the main material for the "Error" Pathway is hard to find, he already has a clue; most of the remaining auxiliary materials are easy to gather, and Ning Lu feels confident handing them over to the Aurora Order.
After securing the Prometheus potion formula, he glanced at the time and resumed replaying in his mind the events he experienced on the Circle of Inevitability timeline, unwilling to waste the precious time in Tingen… the countdown reset to zero.
Familiar Gray Mist surged from all directions onto Ning Lu, completely enveloping him.
He quietly watched the gray countdown on the back of his hand deform, pulse a few times, and revert to a full three‑day countdown.
The Gray Mist dissipated before his eyes, and at that instant Ning Lu's ears twitched.
"Bang—"
A muffled gunshot sounded in the distance… opportunity!
Lumian Lee's body was almost rigid; just now, as he moved toward the Shotgun Monster before him, a terrifyingly immense power descended from afar, feeling to Lumian like a horror from an infinite height reaching into the mortal world, spreading its force into reality.
Accompanied by the suddenly rising Gray Mist, Lumian crashed solidly into the Shotgun Monster, forcing the monster to step back—its body bore several sizable wounds, through which the opposite scenery could be faintly glimpsed.
Even so, at the moment of impact Lumian sensed the monster's retained explosive power; without that distant force, the Shotgun Monster might have seized the chance to counterattack!
Indeed, I was still not careful enough… a flash of fear rose in Lumian's heart, but his body instinctively clenched the axe he held, summoning all his strength to swing it down, cleaving the monster's flesh.
One swing, two swings, countless swings.
Lumian swung his axe repeatedly, each strike slashing the Shotgun Monster, killing it beyond death.
Before this, his lack of caution had caused near‑fatal mistakes; from now on he will hunt with extra care.
When Ning Lu approached Lumian, he saw Lumian drenched in blood, his face painted crimson by splattered blood.
"…Godfather."
Lumian let out a heavy gasp, slightly lifted his head, and sincerely greeted Ning Lu:
"You just saved me, didn't you?"
Lumian isn't a brainless brute; he isn't stupid—after surviving the immediate crisis, he suddenly realized who had rescued him at the most dangerous moment.
Earlier, Ning Lu reminded him that "the roles of Hunter and prey can switch instantly," and at the moment of switch he felt that terrifying power again—though it froze his body, it also suppressed the Shotgun Monster for a longer time.
Lumian doesn't think it's coincidence; judging by the Gray Mist swirling around him, he can roughly guess who caused the change.
Moreover, Lumian noticed Ning Lu's attire had changed—a person who can enter his own dream and seems linked to the Gray Mist above the dream's sky, even if not a great being, is at least a devotee of a great being.
Thus the source of the change he just witnessed became crystal clear.
Beyond that, Lumian has always upheld the principle "who is good to me, I am good to," and although he just met Ning Lu and suspects Ning Lu's help may be for his own benefit, he will still extend the same goodwill toward Ning Lu.
So, both emotionally and logically, Lumian finds no problem calling this godfather his own.