Inner Destroyer

　Remina even wanted to give her some tricks!

　"I know you have the Holy Sword. You can keep up with Qi Xing in battle, and even provide effective assists in the battles between the Silver Messengers. And if you participate in the competition, the little nun will definitely support you with all her strength."

　"These alone are enough to make you invincible. How boring is it to be a virgin over 200 years old? Go, go—"

　"Don't be ridiculous. I've pledged my oath to my sword."

　"Every female knight says this before she becomes a spoiled brat."

　Ugh.

　Sometimes Gwendolen really wants to beat her up. What should she do?

　046: This is a trial

　Of course, the Roman Catholic Church itself does not know any divination.

　But they have had the habit of hiring fortune tellers since ancient times.

　Despite theological debate over whether the future could be predicted, the Vatican pragmatically accepted some forms of divination. Arithmancy and tarot readings were generally tolerated; drawing lots and divination were rarely used traditional techniques; and astrology was permitted, albeit under controlled circumstances.

　As for all divination techniques involving spirits, they were all considered dark sorcery by the Vatican and banned. This was because spirit-based divination could potentially attract evil spirits and produce deceptive results. The Vatican, which prioritized stability, naturally could not tolerate such practices.

　But no matter which kind of divination it was, it was not something the priests would do themselves, but was instead done by hired fortune tellers.

　Fortunately, Qi Xing had packed the gourd with hundreds of people from the Association's headquarters. Now, the fortune-tellers from various schools immediately put their spells into action.

　The flames of the sacred candles flickered within the auditorium, casting a hazy glow on the marble floor. Though hailing from various sects and with diverse beliefs, the sorcerers shared a single goal: to determine the hiding place of the "Black Spartacus" and prevent the further spread of this black catastrophe, the White Rain of Tonight!

　A druid in a gray-green robe, holding an oak staff, knelt on the ground. He took out a handful of rune-carved wood chips from his waist and threw them to the ground, letting them scatter randomly.

　He slowly reached out his hand, his fingertips touching a few upturned pieces of wood, and murmured softly: "Eiwaz (life and death), Perth (hidden and destiny), Laguz (water and abyss)..."

　After frowning and pondering for a moment, the druid expressed his opinion: "The roots of the oak tree are the deepest, leading to the world of the dead and the underground river... the Tiber River. Rainwater has seeped into it... They may be maintaining the ritual underground in the Tiber River."

　The Indian astrologer sat quietly on the marble floor, a brass astrolabe in front of him, engraved with Sanskrit symbols representing the eternal paths of the stars and planets. He gently rotated the astrolabe and chanted softly.

　"Saturn is in the fourth house, the house of the tomb, symbolizing forgotten places and buried ruins."

　The astrologer's voice was low and steady. He pointed to the scale on the brass disk and continued to explain, "Pluto is currently conjunct Saturn, which means that the echoes of death are awakening and the portal of darkness has opened."

　"The City of the Dead... probably the Catacombs," he said firmly. "They maintain rituals where the dead are buried."

　A female sorcerer in a black robe gently stroked the tarot cards, her fingers sliding across the cards, slowly pulling out three cards and spreading them on the marble floor.

　"The Sun (Reversed)."

　"Judgment."

　"The Magician (Reversed)."

　Her brow furrowed slightly, as if these three cards revealed a forgotten history.

　"The Sun in reverse... a place that should be bright is now in darkness. The Judgment signifies that the dead await rebirth here, and the Magician—a manipulator, or perhaps a usurper."

　The witch took a deep breath and pointed at the sun card. "This place once belonged to the sun god, but the sun symbol has been overturned—it's now the Church of San Clemente. It was once the Temple of Mithra, a place where the sun god Mithra, Apollo, and Christianity once intersected and competed."

　"There, the Christ Child seized the throne of the sun...now, voodoo sorcerers usurp control of the weather."

　Besides these few, there are many other divination methods and different divination results. Of course, it is difficult to draw a reliable conclusion.

　Prophecy and divination have always been tricky things, vague and ambiguous, with no direct answers, only signs and questions.

　But here, there's Sister Elaine, a know-it-all who can use her brain like a computer. By integrating these signs and symbols and rapidly analyzing them, everyone's divination efficiency skyrockets!

　If the headquarters of the "Association" were really blown up by "Dark Spartacus" at the beginning, the Holy See would probably be completely in the dark now.

　When Qi Xing came out of the lounge and walked to the Sistine Chapel, he happened to see Elaine selecting three possible locations for the voodoo ritual from those vague symbols and signs among fifty different divinations.

　First, the ancient Roman Catacombs.

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　There are many ancient tombs buried underground, dating back to the 2nd century as a response to land shortages. Many of these have only been discovered in recent decades – in other words, it is very likely that some tombs have not yet been discovered.

　The dank underground environment is perfect for dark rituals, and apparently not easy to find.

　Second, there's the Tiber River, which flows through Rome and boasts a rich history. Some diviners believe the Tiber might harbor undiscovered ancient chambers beneath its waters. Perhaps they've found a sunken Roman altar, covered the old Latin inscriptions with voodoo symbols, and repurposed it as an altar.

　A final group of diviners believed that the voodoo priests were hiding beneath the Basilica of San Clemente, within the ruins of the ancient temple of Mithras.

　This was once a place fought over by three gods: Mithra, Apollo, and Christ... The position of the sun god was once contested here, and now, perhaps a new usurper is casting a spell here to seize control of the weather.

　When Qi Xing walked into the auditorium, they happened to be discussing this possibility. Qi Xing heard it and actually showed some interest: "The place where the dominance of the Sun God is fought?"

　In an instant, seeing him calmly step into the temple, all the fortune tellers and exorcists present held their breath in concentration.

　Some bowed their heads slightly, others immediately stopped their divinations. All eyes were fixed on the strongest member of the Association, the strongest man on earth.

　"It's 'Rep Master'."

　"Rip Man!"

　All other conversation ceased.

　All eyes turned to look at him.

　Everyone looked at him in awe.

　Because he was the one who could flatten the University of Rome with the aftermath of the battle, and he was the one who saved them from the "Black Starbucks" and the white rain that turned them black and gave rise to monsters.

　His figure is the embodiment of ancient divine power. He is a player in the mythological battle and the one who can decide their life and death.

　Some powerful people can become arrogant just because of the gazes and awe of others. Unfortunately, Qi Xing does not have this habit.

　"In short, you found three possible ritual sites."

　he continued

　"Is it possible that all three are true?"

　Elaine shook her head. "This ritual can't be performed separately or in parallel. But since three locations were measured simultaneously, the other two are probably not unrelated. I intend to suggest forming a commando team, and have the Knight Commander and the Duchess lead elite teams to sweep through them one by one."

　She had learned her lesson from the last cruise ship incident; she shouldn't split up her forces haphazardly. Since Qi Xing wasn't participating in the monster-hunting this time, let the two warriors fight like a lion against a rabbit, knocking down the three suspicious locations one after another. Elaine didn't need to go there, as she had no shortage of her own fighting power.

　"That's a good idea." Qi Xing nodded, but then said, "But you have to go in three groups at the same time."

　what?

　"Is this a good idea?" Elaine frowned. "The other Black Spartacus members shouldn't be a concern. But what if Romani Domingo himself is performing a ceremony at any of these locations..."

　If Gwendolyn, Lady Remina, Father Amos, and a bunch of other Vatican elites all attacked together, there might still be a slight chance of fighting to the death and repelling the "Silver Messenger" (perhaps). Splitting up the troops would really make them a bunch of food.

　"I told you. Amos let them in, and he brought up the trouble. The Church has to figure out how to handle this white rain. I'm not going to clean up the mess—I just want to kill that black guy."

　Qi Xing said lightly,

　"So if you get killed by someone else, I won't care. If you really find Romani, I'll fly over within five seconds. If you're so weak that you can't even hold out for five seconds, you'll only have yourself to blame."

　These words made the three masters of the Holy See look at each other in bewilderment.

　And Qi Xing hadn't finished speaking yet.

　"And Elaine, you and Lady Remina will form a team."

　The Duchess was about to fly out alone with her spear in hand, impaling all the voodoo sorcerers she encountered on stakes. When she heard Qi Xing's words, she couldn't help but feel a little surprised: "Huh? Why did you let me take her with me?"

　"Because neither of you is very reliable."

　Qi Xing said calmly,

　"You're my friend. I'm not stupid enough to let a married woman fight a giant black man alone."

　"If you two team up, even if something unexpected happens, you'll definitely have the strength to hold out for more than ten seconds. If you two don't have the wisdom to use your strength... I'll be very upset."

　His tone was calm, yet as irrefutable as a huge dam blocking a river.

　Mrs. Remina couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

　Very upset... Did he mean upset with black people? Or was he upset with the two of them for being more stupid than expected?

　Would Qi Xing have said something like this before... Maybe, perhaps... but he certainly wouldn't have said it so naturally and so absolutely.

　That evil god probably really made Qi Xing figure out some things.

　Elaine said nothing.

　Because she already understood that Qi Xing was doing a screening: screening who had enough strength and wisdom to fight alongside him; and who would be the one who could only be protected by him in the bottle from now on.

　"Master of the Knights, take some people to the Tiber River." Qi Xing continued, "I remember that the vampires of the Holy See are not afraid of water?"

　Gwendolen nodded.

　According to legend, some vampires are afraid of running water, but there are so many different vampire races in the world, and each vampire is afraid of something different.

　The Holy Lance Knights' Staffia bloodsucking

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　Stafia is a special kind of traditional Eastern European vampire that is not afraid of water or holy objects. Instead, they are afraid of something else, and can even bask in the sun.

　They're also not afraid of the "Black Spartacus" white rain, because they're not human at all. Their vampire legends actually happen to be a perfect counter to those who play with ██... but I'll elaborate on this later when it comes to practical use.

　"These are ancient catacombs. The Church should have a way to walk underground and get through without getting wet, right?"

　Qi Xing continued,

　"So I'll leave this to you, Amos."

　The ancient catacombs beneath Rome. Even if everyone rushed at lightning speed, if something really happened, they probably wouldn't be able to get there quickly.

　If the "Silver Coin Messenger" is really hiding in the catacombs, then Father Amos is doomed.

　However, Qi Xing wanted him to do exactly this - if he couldn't even shoulder this little responsibility, couldn't even take this little risk of death, how would he be held accountable for Father Amos deliberately allowing the two "silver coin messengers" to mature in Rome?

　It's unbelievable.

　Qi Xing clearly had no authority to command, no power to issue orders. He wasn't a bishop, held no scepter, wore no holy robes; he was merely a guest employed by the "Association"—yet when he spoke, his words became invisible laws, wrapped in an irresistible force that made everyone present instinctively hold their breath. Any thought of rejection or rebuttal vanished before it could even begin.

　If this is the power of the "Dominion", it is understandable why the Church has been particularly afraid of "silver coins" for two thousand years.

　Now Qi Xing doesn't clean up their messes, leaving them to fight the random soldiers on their own and shed their blood to save their own city. Qi Xing will only take action when the enemy he "wants to kill" appears.

　What else can I say? They are not so ungrateful as to say that.

　The decisive battle that was destined to change the fate of Rome began.

　-

　dark

　Two candles were lit in the dark room.

　Next to each candle was a voodoo mask, black and green, floating in the dark air.

　"Mrs. Venom Bee is dead."

　The person in the black mask spoke in a calm tone. The voice became muffled through the mask, making it impossible to determine gender or age.

　"The hot girl was also captured."

　"You two are the only two left of the 'Big Four'. Do you understand? It's just you and Clematis—the 'Best of All Time'."

　It said to the green mask.

　The green mask remained silent for a moment. After a moment, it spoke coldly, "The leader's plan has reached its final stages, so it's natural for the Church to take it seriously. They were the weaker of the "Big Four," so it's natural for them to be defeated by the Church."

　"I'm far stronger than them both. I'm currently hiding in the ruins of St. Clement's Church, and I'm well-defended. Even if the Vatican's Chief Exorcist tries to break in, it won't be easy. He's no opponent I can't handle."

　The green mask's tone was calm and confident.

　"Come to think of it, I've been helping the leader prepare the ritual and maintain the spell for the past three days, and haven't paid attention to what's going on outside. How did Lady Venom Bee and Hot Chick get defeated? Did Father Amos do it himself? Could it be that even the Knights of the Holy Lance are out?"

　It asked casually.

　"Oh, they were both killed by Rip Man."

　The black mask smiled and said,

　"Two punches and they're all killed instantly."

　"What?"

　The green mask froze for about ten seconds.