Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

"Exactly, some members heard that the [Killing Emperor] seems to be searching for some kind of 'treasure.' Could it be the same thing that Lord Ganesha was looking for before?"

Shakti's memory returned to the day before, when Ganesha told her with a heavy expression that she needed to find a talking monster in the city.

Although the reason is strange, as the followers of the supreme god, what the supreme god thinks is the concept they uphold.

But right now...

“There’s no time to dwell on this coincidence now.” She glanced at the state of the shelter, gritted her teeth, and said, “Let’s go, I’ll go to the magic stone processing plant myself.”

Chapter 82 Charles: Oh, what a coincidence.

Ora, East Street.

Amidst the rubble and broken tiles, the fire, which had only recently been extinguished, flickered wildly. A figure shrouded in a black cloak flashed by in the smoke.

The carbonized beams of the building collapsed after a footprint flashed by, and the shadow instantly leaped across two streets, rushing into the blood-soaked industrial area.

"Faster!"

Wearing a mask and the "Sage's Shell," Belle swiftly traversed the battlefield. Upon hearing of the attack on the industrial zone, she immediately ran out.

Charles did not stop him; similarly, he had his reasons for going to the industrial area.

Chanis still holds millions of ignition devices. If they are all taken away by the Dark Faction, wouldn't it be a waste of time and effort?

That's all my money!

"How about it? My abilities aren't bad, are they?" Charles teased Belle on the head.

[Repeated hopping] conserves energy and increases speed during repetitive movements; even simple running can activate the ability. Furthermore, Ciel is also sharpening his blade behind Bell's back, activating Bell's "escape" ability.

"We've already reached our limit."

whoosh-

Twenty meters in the sky, a black cloak fluttered in the wind. Before the members of the Dark Clan could even look up, a blood-red blade of light descended from the sky.

"Well--"

The blade struck his neck with a dull thud, followed by a flash of white light. Dozens of people guarding the area fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Before the underlings of the dark faction could emerge from deeper within, a flash of fire disappeared along the passage.

“Aaaaaaa—”

Flames and lightning destroyed their robes, and the bombs on a few people were detonated by the fire powder, leaving only a bloody mess of fragments.

A look of sadness flashed across Belle's face.

What are you sad about?

"I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Naive. Their existence will only lead to more deaths."

“But most of them were forced into it,” Belle murmured. “Besides, I have no right to take their lives. Every person’s departure will have an impact on the future.”

“There’s no need to worry about these things,” Charles said. “When you made the decision to save people, you already disrupted enough destinies. In this era, being too indecisive will only harm you.”

“I’m sorry, but I still can’t bring myself to take someone’s life.” Belle smiled bitterly.

"Was that your first time killing someone?" Charles noticed something amiss.

"Yes."

“How should I put it?” Charles said helplessly. “If the situation becomes dangerous, I will shed blood for you. Just do as you wish, Mr. Jester.”

"Thank you, Mr. Joker."

As soon as she finished speaking, Belle slammed on the brakes, and the rapidly receding scenery around her suddenly came into view.

"This is……"

Before them lay hundreds of Ganesha's kin lying on the ground, life and death hanging in the balance. These 'wounded' lay along the alleyway all the way to the end of the passage.

"Hey... wake up, can you still talk?" Belle squatted down and slapped one of the faces hard.

The adventurer weakly opened his eyes, his lips moving as if trying to say something.

Belle lowered her head, and a faint murmur reached her ears:

"Run! Run!"

Suddenly, Belle felt a chill in her heart.

It's... a trap!

He instinctively drew his sword and swept it horizontally. Suddenly, seven or eight adventurers crawled out from the surrounding corpses, wielding weapons and grinning as they attacked.

when--

Daggers and spears clashed, sparks flying.

"They're level 3! All of them are high-level adventurers!"

Belle raised her leg and swept it horizontally, instantly kicking four people away, but there were still three attacks from behind her from blind spots that she could not avoid.

"Die!"

In the nick of time, Ciel broke free from Belle, his claws like hooks, aiming for one of their eyes. Immediately afterward, a fiery rune rose from one hand, a fireball blocking the vision of the other two.

boom--

Woo ah——

Amid screams, Belle swiftly moved toward the opening created by Charles. Two more daggers grazed her clothes as she turned and swung them, sending the three men flying.

Charles returned to Belle's head, his gaze sweeping around.

In a split second, all seven attackers were lying on the ground, clutching their wounds and struggling in a sorry state.

"Clap clap-"

At the end of the alley, rhythmic applause rang out.

"If level 3 is nothing but maggots in your eyes, then I wonder if this friend who took down seven maggots in an instant is worth your time, my comrade."

The newcomer had white hair, was shirtless, and had an unnatural, sinister grin on his gaunt face. He was sadistic, evil, or perhaps a fanatic.

However, compared to these lackeys, it was the imposing figure shrouded in heavy armor atop the city wall not far behind him that Belle feared more.

"Hey! My comrade, your prey, worthy of your stature, is right here. Show us your ever-fierce ravages!! What are you waiting for?!"

The man on the wall looked up, revealing vicious claw scars on his face: "Who are you?"

“Olivas Akt, the Apostle of Chaos, a cadre of the Dark Faction. Now he is your comrade!”

thump—

The armored man leaped down from the city wall and strolled over, dragging a massive heavy sword: "I didn't ask you."

He raised his greatsword, his fierce gaze falling on Belle: "State your name, adventurer! You deserve to be remembered."

A wild, domineering aura emanated from the man, and Belle gripped her dagger tightly, her face covered in cold sweat.

That was an even more ferocious aura than when facing Asteros (Niu Mei) directly.

"cowry……"

"Wait, let me do it..." Ciel's voice echoed in Belle's heart.

it is good……

Their bodies switched places, and Belle's gentle yet resolute eyes curved into a bright smile:

“Jester! You can call me that!” A slight smile played on Charles’s lips beneath his mask. “Should I call you the Dark Faction’s ace, Gluttony, or Uncle Chardo?”

……

As soon as he finished speaking, Chardo's raised greatsword trembled slightly, and he slowly lowered his head, the shadow of his cloak completely obscuring his face.

He held the sword there, motionless.

I know that today's noisy wind will carry a fallen leaf to the ground.

"Hey—" Olivas roared in a frenzy, "What are you doing! My comrade! Tear him to pieces with your greatsword! We can't let the information about [Gluttony] joining us leak out."

"Shut up."

A tremendous sound, surpassing even the dragon's roar, descended, causing Olivas' pupils to dilate, and he stumbled and fell to the ground.

His expression shifted from fear to dread. Sweat beaded on his forehead. His heart pounded irregularly, as if pierced by sharp teeth.

He then screamed and stumbled away into the distance.

Several cadres who were already seriously injured on the ground coughed up blood and passed out completely.

clap clap clap...

An eerie applause broke out in the silent alleyway.

Charles couldn't help but smile: "As expected of a hegemon, he can scare people to death with just his roar."

“The taste… has changed.” Chardo didn’t put down the greatsword that had just drunk blood: “Now it’s disgusting to me.”

"Is that so?" Charles slowly emerged from the shadows of the building, one hand in his pocket, and bent down to mock him. "What? Have you eaten too much shit, so your nose is blocked? Or do you prefer me to call you godfather?"

Chardo raised his head and met Ciel's bloodshot eyes...

That fleeting sense of familiarity caused him to break down his defenses once again.

Pure white hair, those utterly familiar scarlet pupils—if it weren't for that infuriatingly familiar tone of voice, he would have thought…

"who are you?"

Chapter 83 Aibo, it's up to you!

"Guess?" Charles raised his head, his disdainful gaze scrutinizing Charles from head to toe.