absurd deduction game.

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope rose in everyone's hearts.

“I’ll hold it off…” Herbert hissed, “You… go destroy the core!”

However, the pollution concentration in the surrounding area was too high, making it difficult for anyone except Yu Xing to even move.

Evan smiled.

“Yes, come on.” His voice was full of mockery. “Touch that gem. It will absorb your life, your soul, all your pain… and then transform it into a more delicious despair, to be offered to my Lord.”

Yu Xing is a very receptive person.

With Evan's eyes wide open—heaven knows how Yu Xing could tell the size from two swirling star-like pupils—he walked toward the center of the vortex.

His steps were steady, neither too fast nor too slow, like he was taking a stroll.

Aiven sensed something was wrong. The starlight pollution surged toward Yu Xing, but when it touched his body, it evaporated instantly, like water droplets falling on a red-hot iron plate. The starlight tentacles that tried to entangle him were absorbed and assimilated the moment they came into contact with the Ghostfall Tree branch.

Clearly, he was hanging above Evan.

Evan's smile froze.

"You...you can absorb the starry sky?" His voice trembled for the first time. "How is that possible...that's a blessing from the Lord...only believers can bear it..."

Yu Xing had already reached the area beneath the gemstone.

He looked up at the gem that shimmered with the light of lava stars, then reached out and gently cradled it.

The gem landed in his palm.

The dark red light surged instantly, engulfing Yu Xing completely. The cracks on the surface of the gemstone expanded wildly, and the molten starlight inside surged out like a living thing, trying to penetrate Yu Xing's skin.

Logically speaking, any living thing that comes into contact with it will suffer a mental breakdown and its body will melt away the moment it touches it. If it is a person with strong mental strength and is lucky enough to survive, it will be assimilated into a "believer" without a self.

But Yu Xing just looked down at her palm.

The gemstone fell silent in his hand.

The chaotic starlight of the lava gradually subsided, the cracks slowly closed, and the dark red light became docile, like a tamed beast. Finally, the gem shrank to the size of a fingernail, its color turning a deep dark brown, and lay motionless in his palm.

Yu Xing clasped his hands together.

When it opened again, the gem had disappeared.

It was absorbed.

As a manifestation of pollution, it is a concept that is relatively close to the power of curses, and it is not difficult to integrate with it. Although there is a repulsion, the decaying and cursed power of the Ghost Tree is enough to deal with this repulsion.

After the gem disappeared, the starlight in the entire polluted area began to fluctuate violently, the tendrils connecting the nodes broke off, the suspended nebula vortex collapsed, and the runes on the walls and the ground quickly dimmed.

The domain is collapsing.

The nebulous matter on Evan's body began to peel away, like molting skin, revealing a pale humanoid form underneath.

He staggered backward, his starlight tentacles retracting into his body, his eyes returning to human pupils, but filled with shock, anger, and a trace of—fear.

"You...what have you done?!" Evan roared. "That was a blessing from God! How dare you, how could you—"

"No, you helped them. Whose side are you really on?!"

Yu Xing turned around and looked at him.

"Which side am I on?" Yu Xing asked, her tone as calm as if she were asking what to eat for dinner. "Isn't it obvious?"

Evan's expression twisted completely: "Don't forget, you still have the curse of the Headless Ones on you! Don't you want to live?"

Yu Xing did not show the struggle he had hoped for, and shrugged: "So?"

Evan was infuriated by his nonchalant attitude.

Along with anger, panic surged up. He suddenly raised his hand and grabbed at Yu Xing in the air. The curse in the painting was triggered and erupted. Any headless person standing in front of him would have their head instantly fall off.

But Yu Xing stood still, without even raising an eyebrow.

A few seconds passed.

Nothing happened.

Evan's hand was still frozen in mid-air, his face showing utter bewilderment.

“Impossible… The Church of Harvest can’t lift this curse, only the God of Light can… Could it be that you…” he murmured.

The other priests, barely recovering from the curse, overheard the conversation. Despite their anxiety, they instinctively pricked up their ears.

what's the situation?
The curse of the headless?!
They were familiar with this. Qu Xianqing had mentioned this unusual existence a few days ago, and several of them had even studied the cause of the head loss with the archbishop, but due to limited energy and too many other things, they didn't go into depth.

All that is known is that this curse is extremely terrifying. Once the person afflicted by the curse realizes that they are dead, their head will fall off instantly, and before that, even the church cannot detect the problem.

Has Yu Xing also been cursed like this?

How can he still be standing here?

The priest's doubts were also Evan's doubts. At this moment, even if he was stupid, he knew that Yu Xing had been faking it all these past few days in order to infiltrate the secret cult.

His eyes widened.

All the scheming, all the trust, all the plans... all shattered into dust at this moment. He had been tricked from beginning to end.

Yu Xing has come to destroy everything.

"Could it be!" The pain of his domain being destroyed, along with his uncontrollable rage and fear, made Evan's voice tremble. He suddenly snapped back to reality, "Could it be that the entertainer was also part of your plan!"

"You two agreed that from that time on..."

Yu Xing did not answer.

This was rather disappointing; he certainly hadn't included the actors in his plans, he was just playing along.

He turned to look at Herbert.

Herbert's starlight tendrils had dissipated with the collapse of his domain, and he was now panting, leaning on his warhammer, but the killing intent in his eyes was already locked onto Evan.

“Kill him, he’s useless now,” Yu Xing said.

Herbert didn't waste any words. Although he had many questions in his mind, now was not the time to delve into them; they still had to destroy the altar.

He strode forward, swung his warhammer, and golden light condensed to its maximum on the hammerhead, like a miniature sun.

Evan tried to dodge, but the backlash from the domain slowed his movements by half a second.

Just half a second is enough.

The warhammer slammed down, striking directly at the part of Evan's head where the distortion was least severe.

"boom--!!!"

The painter's head exploded like a watermelon.

There was no blood, no brain matter; what exploded was a cloud of dark red starlight mist. The mist churned and struggled in the air, and one could vaguely hear Evan's final, silent roar before it completely dissipated.

He has probably returned to the stars and cosmos to embrace his Lord.

The headless corpse swayed, then collapsed to the ground with a thud, and the domain completely collapsed.

The surrounding starlight completely went out, and the pollution concentration dropped sharply. Although the gaze of the Ancient God's Eye was still there, the absence of stars made the priests feel that the pollution had come to an acceptable level.

They seem to have developed some resistance to similar pollution.

The surviving priests collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, their faces showing bewilderment at having survived such a catastrophe.

Herbert put away his warhammer and looked at Yu Xing.

The eyes are complicated.

There was gratitude, wariness, and confusion, but ultimately it all coalesced into a profound trust. "Thank you," he said. "I don't know what you've done, or how much you've done, but I believe in your choice right now. We're comrades, aren't we?"

Yu Xing nodded.

"If this puts your minds at ease, I will explain after it's all over."

He looked up at the ceiling.

Through the three layers of broken domes, one can hear the chanting above, which has resumed and is becoming increasingly urgent, as well as the muffled thud of the flesh altar as it pulsates like war drums.

The concentration of pollution in the air is slowly rising—although the star field set up by Evan has collapsed, the more fundamental source of pollution is intensifying.

“We need to hurry.” Herbert looked around; fewer than ten survivors were still capable of fighting, most of them wounded and in dire condition. “But in their current state…”

He paused, his voice heavy, as he was forced to reveal a despairing truth.

"We may not be able to hold out until the attic is breached."

He turned to Yu Xing, his eyes filled with pleading and determination.

"Mr. Yu Xing, your abilities... you seem to be able to resist the pollution here. I hope you can go up in our place and destroy the altar!"

This was a difficult decision. Entrusting the most important task to an investigator who didn't need to bear all of this was tantamount to transferring the pressure to him, which was really unfair to him.

The priests who were still conscious all looked at Yu Xing.

In the silence, Yu Xing caught a glimpse of the corner of the corridor.

A small white paper figure, about the size of a palm, peeked out from the shadows, its smiling face drawn in simple lines facing this direction.

The paper figure floated over, and Yu Xing raised an eyebrow.

"I'm afraid that won't work," he said.

Herbert and the other priests felt their hearts sink.

As expected... it still doesn't work...

“You can go by yourselves,” Yu Xing added, gesturing with his chin towards the paper figure. “Help has arrived.”

The paper figure stopped three meters in front of the crowd.

It raised its paper hand and made an exaggerated bowing gesture, like a circus clown taking his final bow.

Then, tiny colored dots appeared on the surface of the paper figure's body.

The paper figure was enveloped in a band of light formed by colored dots, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a colorful paper ball with a diameter of two meters.

"Snapped."

With a soft pop, like a balloon being punctured, the sphere exploded instantly!
"Surprise~"

A flippant voice rang out.

As the light faded, Carlos appeared before everyone.

He was dressed rather extravagantly today—a dark purple tailcoat over a flamboyant burgundy shirt, a black bow tie, and a magician's hat in his hand.

With that signature, cynical smile on his face, it was as if the scene before him wasn't Pollution's home ground, but his personal magic show.

He raised his hand, his top hat twirled on his fingertips, and then turned it back onto his head.

"Good evening, everyone~" Carlos bowed slightly.

Herbert and the other priests were stunned.

“Mr. Carlos?” Herbert hesitated. “What is this…”

Carlos snapped his fingers, sparks flying from his fingertips, and chuckled, "Time is limited, we must hurry. Now, please enjoy my next performance."

He paused, then his smile widened: "—The Great Disappearance."

As soon as he finished speaking, Carlos clasped his hands together in front of his chest, his fingers interlaced. At the same time, the fleshy ground beneath his feet, the walls on both sides, and even the ceiling lit up with pale blue light.

Those light traces seemed to have been engraved inside the building structure long ago. Now they were activated, quickly connected and extended, forming a huge magic circle pattern with a diameter of ten meters on the ground.

The patterns on the magic circle are neither the unclean style of Tantric Buddhism nor the holy style of the Church, but rather a precise, symmetrical geometric shape with a certain mathematical beauty.

"Wait, is this a teleportation array?" A technician from the Mechanical Church exclaimed, his eyes wide. "When was it set up? The energy readings haven't been detected at all—"

“It’s not a teleportation array,” Carlos corrected, his tone light. “It’s magic.”

He pressed his hands down.

The magic circle shines brightly.

A pale blue light rose from the ground, enveloping everyone present like a veil. Herbert instinctively wanted to resist, but the light was not aggressive; it simply enveloped them gently.

My vision was filled with blue, and I heard a soft, rustling sound, like the turning of pages.

A feeling of weightlessness came.

But only for a moment.

The light vanished the next second.

Herbert staggered a step, regained his balance, and looked around, his pupils shrinking sharply.

here it is--

“The attic…down there?” Herbert asked incredulously.

“Bingo~” Carlos’s voice came from the side, “Direct ticket, you’re welcome.”

All the surviving priests appeared here.

Furnel's chanting was closer than ever before; they were only a step away from their target.

“What…what kind of power is this?” Herbert looked at Carlos, his eyes filled with shock.

Direct spatial teleportation instantly moved an entire team from the third-floor corridor to the area below the attic, precisely avoiding all defenses and restrictions—something that ordinary mystical arts could not accomplish.

“I already told you, it’s magic.” Carlos took off his top hat and pulled out a white dove—the dove flapped its wings, flew in a circle, and then turned into a piece of paper and floated down. “Just a little trick.”

He stopped smiling and pointed to the trapdoor above.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's your turn to go on stage now, aren't you going to go up?"

Herbert took a deep breath and asked no more questions.

He raised his warhammer and nodded to the priests who were still able to move.

"on!"

Seven priests in relatively good condition—including two combat priests, three guards, and representatives from the Mechanical Church and the Silk Goddess Church—quickly climbed the wooden stairs leading to the attic.

Herbert remained at the forefront, ready to defend against any unknown attacks.

Yu Xing and Carlos stayed below and did not follow immediately.

Yu Xingcai spoke only after the priests had climbed the ladders and begun attacking the trapdoor.

"When was this 'teleportation array' set up? And why are you dressed like this?"

“Tsk, I told you it’s not a teleportation array, it’s magic.” Carlos repeated, pulling a pocket watch from the inside of his tuxedo to check the time. “What’s wrong with this outfit? It’s perfect for a magician’s aura. The people in this dungeon’s background love watching these kinds of flamboyant magic shows. I call this professionalism.”

"As for when it was set up... it was last night, of course." He put away his pocket watch and grinned. "My setup was already complete when the actor took Evan to the attic to check the materials."

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow. (End of Chapter)