National destiny: Starting with a coffin, building an aircraft carrier is broadcast live globally.

Without uttering a word, Sita swept his tail sharply, knocking over the two rows of benches that were in the way and clearing a space.

This is quite a commotion.

But the townspeople in the back row didn't even lift their eyelids in this direction—

The older woman remained serene, while the teenager tirelessly tossed the ball.

Between them and others, there seems to be an invisible wall, imperceptible to the naked eye; on one side, a storm is brewing, while on the other, all is peaceful and undisturbed.

"Open the 'door' and let us go."

Renyi did not summon the Raven. "Your stage play continues, we'll go our own way, and everyone will be at peace."

But a pity.

The negotiation window appears to have closed.

Father Myriel knelt on the ground, his arms wrapped around his head. Something was churning beneath his robes. His limbs were deformed, his spine twisted eerily, and his whole body made a cracking sound as if his bones were grinding together.

"I...I won't..."

He let out a muffled, mournful cry, as if he had been driven to the brink of despair.

"Ivan, scout ahead."

Before he could finish transforming, Ren Yi decisively gave the order.

Ivan's step nearly shattered the floor tiles, his fist, carrying a gust of wind, aimed straight for the priest's cheek.

However, the fist was subdued from a great distance—

A thick, black tentacle rose from the ground and tightly wrapped around Ivan's wrist.

"Holy crap! That's disgusting!"

Ivan tried to break free, but the tentacle was incredibly tough. Its immense force sent him flying like a hammer, crashing heavily into the wall.

Klaus seized the opportunity and slammed the large wrench down with a whooshing sound as it struck the spot where the tentacles emerged.

"Bang!"

Pebbles flew everywhere.

The floor tiles shattered, and the tentacles recoiled in pain, but soon... more black liquid gushed out from the cracks.

Father Myriel slowly raised his head.

His eyes were completely blackened, as if possessed by a demon. The skin on his cheeks was torn from the inside, with fine black threads weaving and stitching between his flesh and blood.

He opened his mouth.

It should have been empty inside—he had cut off his tongue by hand to punish himself for his weakness.

But now.

Countless black wisps of mist gathered and tangled there, and a new 'tongue' covered in sharp spikes grew out from the remaining root of the tongue.

—This priest, who chose self-exile, uttered the first syllable in thousands of years using organs that were no longer human:

"I......"

The priest looked deranged, but black tears streamed from the corners of his eyes. "I can't..."

"Don't go...and disturb them..."

Myriel struggled to enunciate each word with her newly formed tongue, each word carrying a heavy stench of blood and despair: "There's nothing left... happiness... cannot be broken!"

The ground boiled.

More than a dozen thick, black mist tentacles stretched out from all directions, indiscriminately attacking the living creatures around them.

Sita moved nimbly among his tentacles.

Her tail wrapped around the huge cross, using it to propel her into the air, attempting to approach the priest from above, but a tentacle immediately emerged from the wall and violently repelled her.

"The road is gone..."

The priest remained kneeling in the eye of the storm, his body beginning to undergo inhuman transformation, his height increasing and his back sprouting countless dark spikes.

He looked up at Ren Yi, whose completely black eyes held both a clear-headed sorrow and an uncontrollable frenzy.

"Who told you... to dispel the fog?"

fog......

So that's how it is!

The thick, indistinct white fog on the sea was dispersed by the solar flare as if it were driving away any living thing.

Isn't that a natural phenomenon?

Is this town, or rather, this dimension of space, hiding its own shell?

"so,"

Nathan shouted as he dodged the tentacles, a tear in the hem of his hunting suit, "Did we blow up someone's security door to break in?!"

This is awkward.

People were peacefully playing in a closed sandbox, and these kids ripped off the roof. Now they're demanding the owner break down the door and kick them out...

"No matter what."

He casually gripped the Raven in his other hand, the blade gleaming coldly in the eerie green firelight.

"We can't stay here playing house."

"fog......"

The priest's voice seemed to reverberate, gradually deepening and becoming grander, echoing throughout the church:

"They blocked it here...and protected it outside. When the fog clears...His playground will start operating again...unstoppable!"

The ground began to tremble.

But strangely, the entire church remained completely undamaged.

Apart from the two floor tiles that were initially trampled by Ivan and shattered by Klaus.

The priest kneeling before the cross suddenly unleashed an ancient and powerful aura, and black mist, as if alive, condensed into a blurry outline behind him.

Myriel let out a distorted roar, and countless tentacles sprouted from the floor, walls, and dome of the entire church like a nest.

"Since you can't stop it..."

He spoke softly, as if whispering to the priest through the black mist.

"Then I'll do it."

Dozens of tentacles emerged from the cracks in the walls, floor tiles, and murals in the dome, like a pack of wild beasts that had smelled blood.

Meanwhile, Ivan and his two companions were empty-handed and were suppressed at every turn.

He casually placed the blade of the Raven on his left palm and slashed it, severing the tentacle that was attacking Nathan's back. Black mist spewed from the severed end, and the piece that fell to the ground twisted a few times before vanishing into nothingness.

"Thanks, boss!" Nathan rolled over and hid behind a row of seats, panting heavily.

He easily deflected two rounds of attacks, his gaze quickly sweeping across the entire space.

Despite the fierce fighting, not a single pane of glass in the church was broken, the wooden door to Aurora's confessional remained tightly shut, and the black mist did not cross the line.

The priest did not want to shatter the townspeople's illusion of "happiness".

"Ivan, Nathan, Sita!"

He swung his sword and cleaved away a cloud of black mist. "You three go to the confessional and find a way to get Aurora out."

Let's try a different treatment.

Staying here would only waste their energy, so the three of them decisively rushed towards the confessional.

Klaus's weapon...

It can be said that he has brought the saying "attack is the best defense" to its fullest extent. Newton wielded his power so fiercely that not a single tentacle could get close to him.

But attacking these tentacles is like pruning the branches of a plant.

So what about their roots?

Father Myriel and the dark figure remained motionless, but the closer they got, the stronger the tentacles became.

People might be involved, and this building might be involved too... so let's demolish them together!

"Klaus".

He dodged a sweeping attack by sidestepping, slicing the tentacle in two, and took the opportunity to dart two steps toward the priest, only to be met with an even more intense attack.

"Tear this building down, and I'll cover for you!"