The male supporting character was actually myself.

Less than a minute had passed since Huo Mingyao's corruption and degeneration into the bizarre. The bishop and others on the high platform had already been protected by numerous enforcers and had taken refuge in the tall and secure church headquarters. The crowd gathered there ran and trampled, and for a moment, cries, shouts and screams filled the square with fear and despair.

Those who watched this scene from afar via the internet felt a deep sense of empathy.

This was a disaster that could have been avoided!

If the church had been well-prepared before the trial and had been able to control the newborn monster in the first instance, it would not have been allowed to devour so many lives.

If the bishop and others had not fled immediately but instead directed the evacuation, the people present would not have been trampled and suffered secondary casualties!

The once peaceful square was now a scene of utter devastation: corpses lying on the ground, overturned paving stones and mottled soil like scars, bloodied severed limbs, and screaming, fleeing crowds.

"God, help! Please save him!"

In the area affected by the battle, a terrified girl stood frozen in place, not even knowing to dodge the strange tentacles that came flying towards her.

The father, who was being swept away from his child, desperately ran against the flow of traffic and shouted, trying to attract the attention of the officers and rescue his daughter.

However, how could he possibly resist the frantic escape of the crowd by himself?

The desperate father screamed, but was pushed further and further away from his daughter by the crowd, and his weak voice was drowned out by the waves.

People in the live stream clearly noticed the impending tragedy, and they frantically spammed the chat.

"Silly child, run!"

"It's over, it's over, there's no escape now..."

"Damn it! What were those enforcers doing?!"

"Hurry and save them! You're supposed to be enforcers, why are you running away when you're facing this monster?!"

"This is the true face of the church, showing absolutely no regard for the safety of the people!"

"The eeriness is terrifying; one can only imagine the immense price our heroes and martyrs paid to drive them back into the abyss!"

"It's laughable that these people still dare to try those who stand up for the heroes and issue arrest warrants for the children of martyrs..."

…………

As the newly emerged anomaly easily breached the defenses and rampaged through the crowd, the situation reached its most critical point, and despair gripped everyone. Even the church's enforcers retreated again and again, fleeing with their heads in their hands. Ordinary citizens, facing such a terrifying anomaly, had no chance to escape. If left unchecked, the entire city would be doomed!

At the same time, time seemed to slow down in the eyes of the girl who was standing frozen in place, unable to move.

She could hear a cacophony of sounds, yet they seemed so far away. A rotten, hideous tentacle with black claws lunged at her. She tried to dodge and run away, but her legs wouldn't obey her commands.

The tentacles were getting closer and closer to his eyes, and he could even smell the stench of decay.

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through the girl's mind.

She hoped that the executor she admired so much would lend a helping hand;

She hoped for a miracle that would restore her mobility and save her from disaster!

But when that tentacle attacked, the girl could only watch in despair, waiting to be devoured by the monster in the next second...

"Get out of the way!"

Just then, a thunderous voice, amplified by magic, suddenly rang out amidst the chaos, instantly calming everyone down and easing their panic.

The crowd, which had been momentarily silent, suddenly shouted, "A monument to heroes! A hero!"

Li Moran lunged forward and slammed his right fist into Huo Mingyao's tentacle, then pushed the stunned girl away with his left hand.

"boom!"

With just one punch, the tentacle exploded into rotten bits of flesh that fell to the ground, emitting a foul stench.

Li Moran started running and jumping again, his figure rushing towards the increasingly enormous and bizarre creature like a meteor!

"A monument, a hero?"

The girl, whose voice was calmed by the magic, was startled. With the added force of Li Moran pushing her away, she quickly recovered, her legs giving way as she collapsed to the ground. Looking at the tall, thin, and somewhat frail figure, she murmured to herself, "Truly a monumental hero..."

Having been rescued from despair, everyone present, including Jiang Chen, felt a sense of spiritual uplift.

That was the protective magic released by Li Moran, bringing a sense of security to humanity.

At that moment, he was like lightning tearing through the dark clouds, illuminating the world and showering it with bright hope.

"Ellie!" Taking advantage of the brief silence in the crowd, the girl's father finally ran against the flow of people, hoisted his daughter onto his shoulders, and ran towards safety.

Everything happened in an instant. The little white cat watched as the protagonist quickly took control of the situation and defeated Huo Mingyao. It couldn't help but sigh, "According to the usual plot, that girl named Ellie should fall in love with the protagonist, and after surviving the disaster, she will awaken her superpowers and grow into a woman standing by the hero's side!"

But now...

It glanced at its host, who was still intently filming the protagonist's battle against the strange newcomer, and secretly thought, "I'm afraid she has no chance!"

"A hero! A monumental hero!"

"Waaaaah~ I didn't dare to look just now, I thought that child was definitely going to die, but I didn't expect the heroes of the Monument to arrive so just in time!"

"So close! She was so close to death, she's incredibly lucky!"

"I suddenly burst into tears! He stepped forward in times of crisis; in times of peace, he silently protects. This is the kind of hero that humanity should sing praises to!"

"I'm so disappointed in the church. In times of prosperity, they greedily amass wealth and abuse their power, never satisfied; in times of crisis, they flee in terror, disregarding the safety of the people. What a starkly ironic contrast! We don't need the church!"

"Down with the Church!"

"Support our guardian angel—the monumental hero!"

…………

A wave of excitement swept across the internet, while those who had narrowly escaped the disaster in the square cheered excitedly for the heroes.

"Li... Li Moran?" Huo Mingyao was stunned by the intense pain after one of his tentacles was blasted off. Sensing that familiar aura, he howled through his mutated mouth, which was full of sharp teeth and dripping with saliva, "Idiot hero! The Church has betrayed you, what's the point of your silent protection!"

"Meaning?" Li Moran had to tilt his head back to see the other person's rotting face clearly. Hearing this, he couldn't help but smile slightly. "The meaning is that the girl was saved, you can't continue to do evil, and the entire capital was spared. People don't have to worry or be afraid, and they don't have to be displaced."

And you…

He slowly raised his right fist, his smile widening. "Since you've abandoned your faith and turned to worship the evil god, the Wrath of Metheus, as your colleague, I have no choice but to send you to meet your god."

Huo Mingyao's face twisted into a ferocious grin, "Just because..."

"Pfft!"

Before he could finish speaking, he was surprised to find that his body, which had been inflated by the powerful force, was beginning to deflate!

As his magic rapidly dissipated, Huo Mingyao deflated like a punctured balloon, even the magic he had previously possessed began to dissipate wildly!

"No! Don't take away my power!"

"A great god? A divine being?"

"H-How could this happen?"

…………

Chapter Fourteen is 50% complete.

Huo Mingyao watched in panic as his body, which had been full of magic and omnipotent just a moment ago, slowly collapsed. He frantically grabbed at his last remaining tentacle.

However, the power that had been rapidly poured in vanished in an instant at ten times the speed, and his entire body began to truly rot. He cried out helplessly, "No! This shouldn't be happening! Don't take away my magic! Don't abandon me..."

No matter how much he struggled, Huo Mingyao, in despair, could no longer connect with that alluring whisper. Clearly, after withdrawing his power, the god had unilaterally severed the connection!

"The evil god you worship is such a scumbag, using you and then running away without taking responsibility. Are you afraid I'll call you through the internet?"

Li Moran sensed that the power from the abyss had vanished without a trace before it even made a face to him, and couldn't help but say with a hint of mockery and disdain.

"Li, Mo, Ran... save me!"

Huo Mingyao's body shriveled into a pile of rotten flesh and slime that reeked of stench. He managed to squeeze out a few words with his last breath before collapsing completely to the ground. His two bloodshot eyes rolled out and stared at the sky as if he had died with his eyes open.

"Honestly, all you did after going on a rampage was harm the common people and nothing else." The fluffy ball grumbled, hugging its paws. "If you really turned around and killed the bishop, I'd respect you as a hero."

Bah! Even if you degenerate into a monster, you're still a cowardly creature clinging to life!

Jiang Chen frowned slightly and shook his head, saying, "The original owner was just a lowly clerk and didn't know much about this, but I think he was most likely controlled and didn't retain much of his sanity, so he could only attack indiscriminately. The bishop's side is heavily protected, so ordinary people are definitely easier to deal with."

"You should keep an eye on the bishop and his group now. The church is definitely rife with corruption; once you gather enough evidence, you can overthrow its control in one fell swoop."

"Can't we kill him?" The little white cat licked its paws, revealing a sharp, cold glint. "I can totally do it!"

“Killing is not the solution. The church is a huge organization with too many executors. If you don’t completely uproot it from within, killing all these managers won’t help. As long as the church doesn’t disband, someone will always be able to take its place.”

The fluffy little dumpling pouted and kissed its host, "Alright then, host, I'll go keep tracking them. The church must be hiding a lot of treasures, let's grab them first!"

It bounced away from sight. Jiang Chen set the recording machine to automatic mode and then walked to Li Moran's side.

“We fought side by side once. Back then, he was a young man with great dreams.” Li Moran had finished his moment of silence and spoke with a hint of melancholy in his voice. “There aren’t many executors who have survived from our era. Now, another one is gone.”

He was timid and afraid of death. Back then, he begged me to let him go back to protect the city, but I refused him without hesitation.

At the time, the situation on the front lines was critical, and many people were considering giving up. Once a precedent is set and morale is broken, it becomes very difficult for humanity to hold the line in one fell swoop. After the crisis passed, Huo Mingyao retired to the city and began to rise through the ranks of the church's management based on his merits.

We have different ideas and have chosen different paths. He often deliberately targets me, which I can understand, since I was the one who rejected him first. In addition, we once fought side by side, so I still cherish our past friendship.

I never imagined he would choose such a path, ultimately ending up like this.

At this point, Li Moran looked up at the magnificent church headquarters, then looked back at the emotional crowd in the distance.

"The new generation is unaware of the terrifying nature of the supernatural; their willpower has been corrupted by a life of luxury and decadence. If the supernatural were to return, humanity would be in grave danger!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen's eyes lit up. "That's why humanity needs the power of role models! Li Moran, you must stand up and let everyone see and know the terrifying nature of the eerie."

In order to maintain its rule, the church chose to avoid discussing this issue.

But the abyss is there, and it won't disappear just because you try to avoid it. On the contrary, it may very well be brewing an even greater danger right now!

Take me for example. I grew up in a border city with my parents until I was twelve, before being sent back to Dragonbone City. Later, I awakened superpowers and became an Enforcer, and a clerical worker who deals with all kinds of data all year round.

But my understanding of the supernatural is limited to books.

The history recorded there is all rather understated; even I, an insider, feel a sense of eeriness that isn't frightening. How much more so for ordinary people of the younger generation? Without a corresponding understanding and fear of the supernatural, if it were to return, they could face utter destruction!

Having lived through the dark ages and possessing absolute authority, these monumental heroes should shoulder the responsibility of popularizing science.

Everyone has the right to know the truth about this world!

"Is...is that so?" Li Moran looked bewildered. "I've never considered this question before."

"That's because you've been shouldering the responsibility of protection all by yourself, while the people you're protecting have been kept in the dark by the church. They've been constantly promoting how powerful firearms are, subtly influencing people to believe that the bizarre isn't scary, and that the world is perfectly normal."

But as you just saw, the so-called magically enhanced firearms can't even deal with the newly emerged monsters, and the training of the executors is flashy but impractical, lacking real combat ability in times of crisis.