Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

Chapter 268 The Flesh of Desire

After the light faded, Lofdi changed. His skin turned a uniform silver-gray, the shadows that had been wrapped around his hands and feet disappeared, and the weak muscles that clung to his bones were not filled in again. But the rising and falling chest in his withered body was like a roaring engine, supporting everything he had.

Lofdy's eyes were a pure azure blue, like aquamarines set in deep contours.

“You didn’t need to do this, Bishop Raymond. I have already sworn my loyalty to you.” Lofdi looked at the armor that was now gleaming with a metallic sheen, the storage device for psionic energy, now filled with holy light. He stroked the skeletal containment on his chest, a small shadow forming within it. “I now belong to the void, Bishop Raymond.”

Raymond casually wiped the shadow from his hand. "I'm happy to oblige. If you receive a reward, thank me honestly. Since the shadow has devoured your glory, I will bestow upon you new glory. From this day forward, fight for my glory, Protoss Lovedy."

Lofdi looked at the radiant figure extending his palm, intending to accept his appointment.

However, Raymond withdrew his hand.

“Right, let’s use Andrei’s appointment form. At least this piece of paper still has legal effect.” Raymond skillfully pulled out a piece of white paper from the light wing. It was covered with dense writing in language that Lofdi had never encountered before.

"Sign it, Andrei's application to join the company."

"..." A slight sense of disappointment arose in Lofdi's heart. He shook his head, erasing the distracting thoughts from his mind. No form of appointment could express my determination to follow Raymond.

Lofdi vanished back into the shadows, his voice fading into the distance.

“Bishop Raymond, there is one more thing I must do personally for my people. Please allow me to take my leave for now. I need a short time to learn your language and script. When that time comes, I will definitely come to you in person and go to Andre to perfectly carry out this glorious ceremony.”

Raymond removed the Ring of Andre from his hand and threw it into the shadows before him, watching as Lofdi caught the ring in the shadows. "Wear this. If you encounter trouble you cannot handle, I will heed your call."

“I will fight for you, Bishop Raymond.” Lofdi’s voice faded into the wind.

Raymond looked at his palm; he had brought a shadowy figure back to the light. Holy light is not just about purification.

“Mr. Raymond.” Lyle’s voice came from beside Raymond, who had witnessed what had just happened. “How does it feel, Mr. Raymond?”

“I felt like I almost got my vote for nothing… I instinctively wanted to set Lofdi on fire… thankfully I stopped myself.” Raymond carefully put away the untouched membership application form, turned around and went back to the center of the temple. “The source still needs to be addressed; that evil lump of flesh should be dealt with.”

Lyle looked uneasy, rubbing his hands and forcing a smile. "Please think twice about that piece of meat... because Nia just ran off there."

The keratinous tentacles gripped the temple ceiling like a large net. Nia, sitting inside, held the chunks of flesh in her arms. In the sealed nest built of flesh and blood, Raymond and Lyle could not see what was inside, only hear the dense and noisy gnawing sounds.

Nia is eating.

Raymond frowned at the chaotic scene before him, but since it concerned the Pure One's talent, he refrained from taking action rashly. Moreover, Lyle's talent—that of the individual named Nia—gave Raymond a strong sense of déjà vu.

When Lyle first arrived at the Chapel of Holy Light, he saw the talent lurking within him. Through Raymond's own special abilities, he could sense the potential of this gifted individual.

Raiders.

This is the revelation about Nia given to Raymond by the Holy Light.

"Lyle, that thing is dangerous."

Lyle scratched his head sheepishly. “I was originally going to stop her. But, Mr. Raymond, I have a vague feeling that the piece of flesh is beneficial to Nia. Nia won’t be harmed; it’s just my intuition.”

Raymond didn't say anything more; intuition is a very reliable thing for a mystic.

However, Bishop Camfser was captured by that lump of flesh and began to feast on it, creating so many shadow beast puppets. What will Nia create?

Reality is the best form of evidence. The suspended nest bulged out a protrusion, a filthy substance resembling blood. The turbid substance dripped onto the ground, began to roll and writhe, and finally settled into a blood-red shadow, a peculiar shadow beast. The shadow beast was a fleshy ball with numerous tentacles, like a sunflower. The tentacles supported the central sphere, and the outer membrane of the sphere split open, revealing a blood-red eye at its center.

The bizarre and grotesque monster did not evoke any panic in Lyle; he even smiled with a touch of nostalgia. The shadow beast resembled Nia in her former large-eyed form, a form that had become part of his memory.

Shadow Nia swayed its tentacles, slowly moving towards Lyle, and soon arrived before him. The enormous sphere of flesh was still in mid-air—that was Nia. The giant eye-shaped shadow beast was before him—that was also Nia. With hazy memories, ignoring Raymond's advice, Lyle stretched out his arm towards Shadow Nia. As if he had experienced it countless times, Shadow Nia transformed into liquid, climbing up Lyle's arm to his shoulder, settling in the familiar spot from his memory.

The shadowy figure spoke in a childish voice.

"Nia is hungry." Realizing that this might just be an afterimage of Nia chewing meat, Lyle still handed the cheese from the leather bag to the shadow Nia. Chewing sounds rang out beside Lyle, and soon Nia had eaten her normal portion.

"I'm full, I need to sleep."

Lyle pulled down his collar, intending to let Shadownia crawl inside. She didn't comply; instead, she wrapped her tentacles around Lyle's head, as if embracing him. In that embrace, Shadownia vanished.

"Lyle, the power of that piece of flesh has weakened, only slightly."

Why was it weakened? It was just that it had fed a projection of Nia.

“I’m afraid that’s the power of that piece of flesh, Lyle. That piece of flesh tempts others to gnaw on it, extracting their desires to create the shadows of those desires. Only when the desires are satisfied can the captive be freed, or freed by external force as I just did. That piece of flesh cannot be consumed because the gnawer’s desires are not satisfied. And you just now, you satisfied Nia’s appetite, so part of the flesh was gnawed on.”

"It doesn't seem to be any kind of terrifying power?" A crisis that can be resolved by feeding shouldn't be too dangerous.

"That's because Nia's desires are simple. Have you ever thought that if she were to devour those greedy people, their shadows would never be satisfied, and they would be imprisoned forever, with a continuous stream of greedy shadows being born. Not to mention others, if I were to devour that piece of flesh, my army of shadows would probably be able to destroy the world."

"So, that means we've stumbled upon a solution to the meat chunks by sheer chance, a crisis that isn't too big?"

"Even simple desires, if there are enough of them, are hard to satisfy, Lyle."

The Shadow Nia at the beginning was just a scout. The fleshy ball in the air shattered as the two were talking, and black filth sprayed onto the ground. They wriggled and twisted, forming a Shadow Nia army.

Like a swarm of sunflowers opening their blood-red eyes, they collectively gazed at Lyle.

"Nia is hungry!!!!"

Chapter 269 Holy Light Feast

Being entangled by a tentacle monster is no pleasant experience, according to Lyle's daily observations. You feel the dampness on your body and the unpleasant sensation of tentacles sliding across your limbs. It's a feeling of torment both physically and mentally. What's even worse is being entangled by a group of tentacle monsters, especially when they're screaming in your ear like spoiled brats and rummaging through your bag like starving ghosts.

But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that these ravenous Shadow Nias had started hunting for food. Aside from a few who had gotten their hands on cheese, Nias nearby were gnawing on the floor and stone bricks, licking away all the moss and mud. Closer still, some were munching on their tentacles, licking off slime. The Shadow Nia near him glared at Lyle with her blood-red eyes. Although he had repeatedly emphasized to Nia that he wasn't edible, Lyle wasn't sure if the starving Nia would forget the rules and treat him as emergency food.

Mr. Raymond's side had formed a small cordon; these little lunatics knew what not to mess with. Lyle staggered through the swarm of tentacles and crawled into Mr. Raymond's territory, where the Nias screamed outside the invisible boundary, staring at Lyle's pockets and his face.

"Are there not enough foods to satisfy your child's appetite?"

Lyle took off his coat, which was now soaked with slime, which had piled up in a large clump on the floor like egg white. "I could feed Nia alone, but this is too much..."

"If you don't stop them in time, there will be more, a bunch of Nias who want to devour the world..."

Ordinary food supplies are no longer sufficient, and Lyle is considering what alternatives are available, a resource that can provide Nia with an inexhaustible supply of food.

Nia had recently been feeding on shadows, and she seemed to really like that energy...

There are no users of Shadow here, and these shadows themselves, Nia, are a form of Shadow. So, is there anything that can replace Shadow?

Lyle watched Raymond calmly as Shadowia rolled around outside, and an idea came to him.

Holy light can neutralize shadows...

In their previous encounter, Nia was not harmed by the Holy Light...

Raymond, the most powerful paladin is right before his eyes...

"Mr. Raymond, can you feed Nia with holy light?"

When Raymond heard Lyle's request, his first thought was that it was absurd. Holy Light was the purest and most domineering power in this world; it could not merge with any other power and was independent of everything else.

"Do you know what you're saying? Lyle, the Holy Light will harm your talents."

“No, Mr. Raymond, Nia will not be burned by the Holy Light. She used to persecute liches in the academy with a cross.”

Raymond was skeptical. He could have used a brutal method to destroy the flesh, but that would have damaged Lyle's talent. However, he decided to try Lyle's ingenious method first; at least that way, Lyle would have no choice but to accept the subsequent purification.

Under the watchful eyes of countless blood-red eyes, Raymond rubbed holy light in his hands. The dazzling light attracted the attention of Shadow Nia, who watched as the armored man glowed and radiated heat.

Finally, what Raymond presented was...

Glowing food! Holy light cheese!

The glistening food immediately won over Nia's heart. Her large eyes sparkled with starlight as she used her two tentacles to hold up the cheese made of pure holy light that Raymond offered her.

Nia ate it, and light shone from her dark body.

"The glowing food is so delicious!!!" After being satisfied, Nia's shadow turned into a speck of light and disappeared.

Nia was shocked by the image of the shadowy Nia devouring the holy light cheese. Raymond couldn't help but swallow hard, but the slime had already flowed out.

Raymond was also shocked. Why couldn't this monster be harmed by the Holy Light? Could it be that the Purifier's talent is also that of a Purifier? Was I just deceived by her inhuman appearance? Did I get not one Purifier, but two? Thinking of the revelation the Holy Light had given him, and looking at the infinitely potential Nia group, Raymond even felt a surge of ecstasy.

Next up is a feast of glowing dishes.

Holy Light Cheese, Holy Light Bread, Holy Light Cookies, Holy Light Steak—they are all pure holy light, but Raymond is more than happy to grant these children's wishes.

"Eat more, my darlings! The future of the Holy Light rests on you, my Pure Ones! No, no, no! You have surpassed the Pure Ones, you are children of the Holy Light, capable of embracing all power, my Holy Light! Nia! Have faith in the Holy Light!"

Shadow Nia responded enthusiastically to Mr. Raymond. "Delicious food!!!! Delicious holy light!!!!"

Under Mr. Raymond's enthusiastic feeding, holy light fell into the hands of each Shadow Nia as if it were free. Satisfied, they dissipated into the air, and while embracing Lyle one last time, they would greet Mr. Raymond warmly.

"Goodbye, Master Chef Raymond! Your holy light is the best!!!"

Everyone was very satisfied.

Amidst the jubilation in the temple, hope also shone through the shadows.

Some shadow beasts wandered aimlessly in the forest. Their eyes were not as dull as those of the mindless shadow beasts; they still had emotions.

In the void, the shadowy blades of light flashed and severed their heads.

Lofdi held the headless shadows in his arms and watched them dissipate in his embrace.

These shadow beasts, created by Bishop Camfather, finally found the desires belonging to the bishop in their final moments before being destroyed, thanks to Lofdi's psychic intervention.

"We must survive..."

“Mentor…” Without fear of confronting these shadows, Lofdi bid a final farewell to the remnants of these bishops. “I will live on, and the will of the Protoss will continue.”

Seeing the shadow beast rushing towards him, Lofdi unleashed a deadly brilliance from the shadow blades on his arms, wielding his shadow power with a touch of recklessness.

"I will no longer run away, I will no longer be afraid. The shadows cannot change my will, the holy light is guiding me."

"Justice will be the sharpest blade, and I will write a new chapter."

Bending over, leaning forward, I will offer up the dance of slaughter.

Shadows swirled on the blade, while light shimmered within the body.

"I haven't done warm-up exercises in a long time."

Lofdy arrived at the strange building squeezed by trees and groped around in the ruins of the spaceship.

Finally, he found what he wanted.

The crystal, which originally had a pure blue luster, has been corrupted by shadows, but that doesn't matter.

Lofdi drew upon the Holy Light power within himself, the Holy Light power bestowed upon him by Raymond. Yes, in his view, a reward without merit was nothing but charity. "This is not my glory, this is Bishop Raymond's salvation." The pure golden light made the crystal blaze again; it floated in the air, hovering before Lofdi, illuminating his resolute face.

A beam of light shot straight into the sky from the crystal, carrying Lofdi's powerful voice.