Cthulhu America, I can see the kill line.

boom!

A flash of light appeared from the muzzle, and Kong Jiu watched helplessly as the bullet left the barrel.

Time seemed to be slowed down a million times, the bullet's trajectory almost frozen.

But Kong Jiu no longer wanted to think about these things.

The goodness of a child is the purest goodness he can think of.

The evil of children is the most monstrous evil he can imagine.

Despite repeated attempts to dissuade her and offer her chances of redemption, Tosman stubbornly remained steadfast in her loyalty to the Purple Light Cult.

Kong Jiu is wrong.

He was wrong from the start.

Once someone falls into a cult and is brainwashed, they place their spiritual hopes on vague and unfounded doctrines and blame their own sins on the idea that "humans are born sinful."

Then this person is beyond saving.

It wasn't until Tosman pointed the gun at himself that Kong Jiu realized just how thoroughly a child could be alienated.

[Pressure 100!]

[Our beliefs are being tested...]

Too late.

When the Beretta's black barrel was pointed at him, his faith slid into the abyss of despair.

【despair!】

In Amerigo Vespucci, this hell, there is no hope, not even the slightest glimmer…

Kong Jiu's mental fortitude crumbled before his head was pierced, at the last glimmer of hope.

Should I close my eyes?

Do you want to accept this ending?

Wait, why does my chest feel a little hot?

In the stillness of time, Kong Jiu's gaze shifted slightly downwards.

Inside the coat pocket, a strange light source was flickering gently.

What is that?

Immediately, a point of light floated out, allowing him to see its shape clearly.

"wide awake"!?

The simple, rough pebble, now translucent, shines like a miniature sun in the dimly lit cell.

"Giving up already? Kong Jiu?"

Neos's voice rang in my ears.

What happened?

But at this moment, Kong Jiu had no time to think it through and could only blink helplessly.

"I don't want to give up, but giving too much hope to children who have turned to evil has plunged me into an abyss of no return."

As time slowly passed, Kong Jiu was unable to speak and could only ponder silently while facing the pebbles.

"It seems you haven't given up hope yet, that's good."

Neos's voice came again.

"I think I've given up hope. It's all over."

Kong Jiu couldn't even sigh.

Neos asked in a questioning voice, "Aren't you angry?"

"Are you willing to be shot dead here? Or are you furious with that damned cult leader and wish you could tear him to pieces?"

These words ignited a spark of anger in Kong Jiu.

"Yes, I shouldn't despair."

"I should be angry."

Neos's voice echoed in this frozen space: "The one who's wrong isn't Tosman, never has been. You've always known that, which is why your emotions are so intense, why the pressure keeps mounting, isn't it?"

Neos is right.

Kong Jiu's discomfort and ever-increasing pressure were never due to how cruel or bloody the purple-robed masked man was.

It was because beneath the mask was a little girl who was innocent and kind yesterday, but who now knew nothing of evil!

The nameless fire that had been smoldering in his heart was finally ignited by Neos's few words and rose fiercely.

A flicker of fire appeared faintly in Kong Jiu's eyes.

'Now that you mention it, I really don't want to die here. That bastard, I've never even seen what the leader of the Purple Light Cult, Fara, looks like...'

"Very good, Kong."

Neos's words came

"Then do it! Go and vent this anger!"

The pebble suddenly shone brightly, blurring Kong Jiu's vision.

Amidst the light, a clear metallic clang rang out.

The bullet didn't pierce his skull; instead, it struck a rock.

A piece of floating, glowing pumice stone.

"Sober" blocked the attack!

But why does it sound like metal clanging?

Kong Jiu looked at him with a puzzled expression.

The plain stone shell of "Clarity" was shattered by a bullet, revealing a glimpse of the metallic substance inside.

A die?

A metal face resembling a six-sided die was revealed, with the following written on it:

Brave.

Anger is power; unleash it!

[Brave!]

Time resumed its flow.

A sense of clarity crept into his palm, and an unnamed fire rose within Kong Jiu's heart.

The rising flames dispelled Kong Jiu's confusion, burned away the despair that had just gripped his heart, and invigorated him.

"You are beyond redemption."

He stared at the terrified Tosman, his eyes blazing with fury, but his tone remained unusually calm.

His voice was so calm, a stark contrast to his previous trembling, as if he had become a completely different person.

Kong Jiu had a sudden thought, and a blue light flashed in his eyes.

The magazines on the ground, along with the gun in Tosman's hand, were pulled into the air by psionic energy.

Tosman stood there, frozen in place, as if terrified.

She tried to harm this "angel of death" in her mind three times, but she couldn't even scratch a hair on his head.

Now, despair has fallen upon this troublesome child.

But this pitiful appearance could no longer fool Kong Jiu.

"Stop playing the victim, you demon in child's clothing, you beast! I gave you three chances, three times."

Kong Jiu cursed as he pressed the magazine full of bullets one by one.

"For the first time, I'm letting you think for yourself whether the people here are innocent."

"You chose to use your psionic powers to stun me, intending to disembowel me."

After confirming the magazine was in order, he put it back into the Beretta with a soft "click".

"The second time, come with me. Just one day in the outside world will be enough to find out whether the Purple Light Cult is truly maintaining peace in the lower city."

"You choose to believe in your father, your cult leader."

After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the gun, Kong Jiu switched the safety to the "fire" position.

"This is the third and final time I'm giving you the simplest choice."

Once everything was in order, Conju pulled the sleeve, and the Beretta emitted a crisp "Ready" sound.

"You know perfectly well that the blood on your hands can't all come from guilty people. I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself."

With a blank expression, Kong Jiu raised the Beretta and pointed the black muzzle at Tosman.

"But you remain loyal to this utterly absurd Purple Light Cult and still shoot at me."

Kong Jiu smiled.

That was a cold laugh that unconsciously spilled out when anger reached its peak.

"Thank you, Tosman. This is a very good lesson for me in understanding the Purple Light Cult."

In Tosman's horrified eyes, however, he could read an indescribable disappointment in that smile.

"Could it be that my father is really lying to me?"

These were Tosman's last thoughts before his death.

……

Inside the Purple Light Cult stronghold in the Lower City.

In this area, where psionic criminals are most concentrated, stands a church twisted from all sorts of blasphemous and evil magic.

Farah Jokos, the leader of the Purple Light Cult, a near-D-level psionicist and one of the most powerful people in the Lower City of Hills, was sitting in the church, savoring blood wine.

He loathed the old, immortal vampires of the Red Blessing Cult, so after capturing their stronghold, he nailed all those self-important "white-skinned nobles" to peach wood stakes and burned them in the square for three days and three nights.

However, the blood-infused wine brewed by these white men is indeed a unique delicacy.

Just as Farah was swirling the scarlet liquid in his glass, savoring it, the space at the church entrance rippled, and the Purple Light Cult quartermaster, who managed supplies, appeared not far from his seat.

The quartermaster immediately knelt on one knee upon appearing and respectfully reported, "Master, the fifth member of Group Six, the dismembered spirit child, is dead. The cause of death was a bullet wound to the head."

"If I die, I die."

Farah took a sip of wine. "I have over three hundred adopted sons and daughters with exceptional psychic talents. You can just pick one to take your place."

The quartermaster hesitated for a moment, then said, "But the child died from a bullet wound to the head, which means... means..."

"So it was the gang's doing, right? No big deal. Those gangsters are just ordinary people; sooner or later, someone will develop anti-psychic abilities. Anyway, the day our sect has to fight them isn't far off."

Farah remained calm and composed, as if everything was going according to plan.

But the quartermaster did not leave.

"What's wrong? Is there something else?"

Farah frowned, signaling him to continue.

After a moment's thought, the quartermaster said, "There's one more point of doubt. I wonder if I'm disturbing His Excellency the Bishop."

Farah raised his chin, urging him to speak frankly.

"The residual psionic energy indicates that the intruder is someone with an additional avatar in the warp, and... the residual psionic characteristics are very similar to Lord Oscar..."

The Oscars?!

The name of the dead man made Farah's heart skip a beat.