Chapter 355: Sin Devourer

Chapter 355: Sin Devourer

The essence of the Arbiter pathway lies in the application of the world's rules. Within the area of influence, one can set, strengthen, and enforce rules, and punish those who violate them.

Amelius immediately called out to Luke and declared, "He has committed a grave sin", which is actually a power of the Arbiter pathway. After marking the sinner, all of his attacks against the sinner are enhanced, and the sinner's position is displayed in real-time within the range.

He didn't rush in for close combat because he had reservations about this peculiar enemy.

Yes, reservations!

As a Sequence 4, he actually felt wary of a "Magician" who seemed to be only at Sequence 7 on the surface, which was an incredibly strange feeling.

The gap between a demigod and those below it is enormous. He should have been able to easily take on a dozen Sequence 5s, but the situation was too bizarre.

As a demigod "Law Enforcer", he could detect nearby criminal activity, but he hadn't sensed Luke's movements at all until Ambassador Béclan was killed, and the crime was confirmed.

Even though he identified Luke as the suspect through physical observation and confirmed it by declaring him "guilty", he still couldn't gauge the enemy's true strength.

Noticing that his core ability, "Law", was significantly less effective against the enemy, even compared to facing someone of the same level, he quickly adjusted his strategy.

"Prohibition Decree" is a highly versatile skill. In battle, it can weaken the enemy's strengths while enhancing one's own, making it a jack-of-all-trades ability.

Amelius focused intently on the enemy, maintaining a certain distance while coldly and authoritatively issuing the second decree in ancient Hermes.

Typically, most Arbiters use "Weaken Mysticism, Enhance Reality" because their physical combat abilities are already quite strong.

Using "Enhance Mysticism, Weaken Reality" would boost the mystical abilities of both sides, but it would only be effective against a few specific pathways like the "Warrior" or "Hunter", which rely heavily on physical combat. In most situations, it wouldn't be useful.

However, since the enemy was highly resistant to "Law", Amelius could use "Enhance Mysticism, Weaken Reality" to strengthen himself without giving the enemy much of an advantage!

As the decree took effect, the scene changed instantly.

Boom!

Ambassador Béclan was hit by a powerful gust of wind, flying high into the air before crashing down hard, spitting out blood mixed with pieces of internal organs.

With the two decrees, "No Open Flames" and "Enhance Mysticism, Weaken Reality", Ambassador Béclan, who relied on flame and physical attacks, was immediately at a disadvantage.

The fiery spear in his hand dissipated, and his body weakened. The "Sea Singer" he was fighting tried to control the force of his attacks but accidentally almost killed the diplomat.

The effects of the demigod-level decrees on a mid-Sequence target were too powerful, and the "Sea Singer" had trouble gauging the right amount of force.

The "Astromancer" of the Steam Church also saw a significant boost in the effectiveness of their Extraordinary Item.

The guests present felt an invisible warm breeze pass over their spirits, calming their panic and anxiety. They began to leave in an orderly manner.

These guests, with their fame, wealth, and status, could not be put at risk, as any mishap would cause chaos in their enterprises and social instability.

The situation was beginning to improve.

This was one of the reasons Amelius used "Enhance Mysticism, Weaken Reality" to not only strengthen himself but also the deacons of the three major churches!

Luke, who had been slowly walking out, stopped and slowly turned around, feeling the significantly enhanced power within him. A smile appeared on his plain face, his lips curling slightly.

"Negating negative effects on the enemy and buffing yourself is indeed a good idea, but have you considered one thing?"

"That is, what if the enemy is immune to negative effects but can still receive buffs?"

Amelius's brow furrowed, his gaze becoming more cautious. He decisively extended his right hand and issued an order in ancient Hermes:

"Deprive!"

He aimed to strip the target of their Extraordinary Trait.

At the same time, the "Spirit Witch" deacon of the Church of the Black Night extended a hand toward Luke, fingers curling, ready to assist Amelius in pulling Luke into a dream.

The forced dream of Insomnia is the best form of control!

The deacon closed his eyes, the scene before him flickering. He felt a moment of joy, but then saw the dream rapidly changing, and a cold male voice whispered in his ear:

"Since you enjoy dreaming so much, I'll send you a dream."

As soon as the words were spoken, the dream became exceptionally chaotic, abstract, and hallucinatory.

The butler felt his perspective rapidly ascending, starting from Earl Grant's Manor, then Queens District, and finally, the entirety of Barkeland.

The speed of his ascent kept increasing, faster and faster, to the point of insanity and fear.

He saw mountains and lakes, the Rune Kingdom, the surrounding Fussak Empire, Intis Republic, and Fenepot Kingdom, the North Sea, Mist Sea, Polar Sea, Raging Sea, and Soniah Sea.

He saw the entire Northern Continent, the Southern Continent divided into the Eastern Balang Empire and Western Balang Empire, a previously undiscovered continent accompanied only by darkness and lightning, and another region entirely shrouded in thick fog.

The full panorama of the world unfolded before him, the scenery transforming into an endless, vast starry sky, countless stars dotting the black expanse, a sight so grand and magnificent it bordered on despair.

An image entered his mind.

An indescribable figure, composed of countless lights, shapes, and colors, flickered in the sea of stars, constantly leaping from one planet to another.

Behind it, several indescribable, abstract stomachs mixed with terrifying mouths pursued at high speed, extinguishing stars in their wake, turning matter into void, and devouring all concepts.

—

The butler's mind went blank, and he could only emit a hoarse, agonized scream, one after another.

But the image did not stop.

He saw the nine celestial bodies beyond Earth, the crimson moon, and the unimaginable scenes covering those celestial bodies, multiple terrifying entities simultaneously turning their gaze toward him.

A voice from beyond the heavens echoed in the butler's mind, his blood boiling, his brain feeling as if it were being boiled at high temperature, until it finally exploded with a loud bang!

Crack—

The dream suddenly shattered, darkness and silence descending, soothing all pain and bringing eternal peace.

Did I just have a dream?

As soon as this thought flashed through the butler's mind, he felt his memories rapidly fading, and he quickly forgot. He opened his eyes and heard Amelius's voice.

"Deprive!"

The butler instinctively reached out, preparing to pull the enemy into the dream.

At that moment, he involuntarily shivered, hesitated, and withdrew his hand, abandoning the dream and instead lightly tapping his teeth, choosing another attack method, the Spirit Witch's Spirit Control.

Spirit entities are pure mystical beings, most in line with the characteristic of "Enhance Mysticism", and thus receive the greatest amplification.

Several distorted, bloated spirit entities emerged from the butler's teeth, their momentum rapidly rising. Even ordinary people without Spirit Vision could see them, as they lunged at the enemy with pure malice.

Halfway through their charge, the spirit entities paused, their half-illusory, half-transparent bodies trembling as if controlled by something. They then turned and lunged at the Spirit Witch controlling them, the Sea Singer about to completely subdue Ambassador Béclan, and the Astromancer calming and dispersing the guests at the banquet!

In the scene reminiscent of a hundred ghosts wandering at night, Luke glanced at the butler of the Church of the Black Night, sensing a subtle sense of discord, his tone calm and indifferent.

"Do not use spirit entities in front of me; they will backfire."

Amelius, overseeing the situation, looked increasingly grim, not only because of his teammate's counterproductive actions but also because the sensation he received from this ability's activation was different this time.

The "Deprive" decree had already collapsed before even touching the enemy's body!

The demigod's figure appeared in the air, looking down at Luke from a height. Several spirit entities howled and tried to attack him, but upon seeing his stern, cold gaze, they trembled and changed their target.

"Who are you, and what is your purpose?"

Luke ignored his question, lightly tapping his right foot and snapping his fingers.

Ambassador Béclan, who had been lying on the ground with severe injuries, suddenly began coughing violently, spitting out blood and internal organs. His body swelled and grew larger and larger, like an overinflated balloon, until it finally exploded with a loud bang!

"Aaaaaah!"

"What's happening!"

"Lord, please protect me!"

The scene of rampaging spirit entities and splattering blood sent the recently calmed guests into chaos and madness once again, their screams echoing throughout the banquet hall, their emotions reaching a fever pitch.

Luke's expression subtly changed, the smile on his lips deepening.

In the presence of such a high-quality group of Spectators, killing a foreign ambassador, dancing with a demigod and the butlers of the three major churches, and thoroughly stirring the emotions of the Spectators, his "Magician" was fully digested.

Amelius’s face turned ashen, his eyes cold. He felt that his Decree had backfired. Instead of weakening his opponent, the target had become even more composed and powerful after the Decree was used.

But it didn’t matter. As a demigod, Amelius had a high tolerance for errors. He was the one who set the rules. If "Enhance Mysticism" was useless, he would simply change it back.

He declared with authority, "Weaken Mysticism, Enhance Reality!"

An invisible force spread, attempting to alter the rules within the area. Amelius was stunned to find that his Decree had failed again. The distorted and chaotic spirit entities remained unchanged, and the enhancement of mysticism continued.

"The above rule is invalid."

A mocking male voice rang out, and Amelius’s body froze in place, not from shock, but from a force that restricted his movements, making them slow and stiff, barely perceptible.

"Didn’t you realize that the one who sets the rules is now me?"

Luke, chin in hand, smiled. "Time, space, direction, and the interactions of all things—all rules are set by me... Just a joke, the effect wouldn’t be so exaggerated on a demigod."

While "Enhance Mysticism" had significantly boosted his Divine Blessing, bringing him close to Sequence 4, the effectiveness of the "Chaos Bell" on a demigod was primarily due to the assistance of the True Creator’s divinity, which could only temporarily control a demigod.

That was, of course, assuming the target was a demigod with divinity.

Luke raised his hand slightly, and the Extraordinary Traits of the Hunter path from Sequence 9 to 6, which had not yet fully separated from his flesh, were drawn into his hand.

Then, a crystalline light shone in Luke’s eyes, making his entire body appear ethereal and transparent, as if he had ascended to a higher dimension, seeing through the essence of things.

He extended his hand toward the Sequence 4 "Decree Mage", silently passing through the other’s body and reaching deep into the soul where the Extraordinary Traits were integrated, then he pulled hard!

Amelius felt a brief, intense pain. The Extraordinary Traits, which had already merged with his body, began to reject him, while simultaneously feeling a strong urge to reunite with the enemy before him.

His sluggish thoughts couldn’t react in time. Amelius watched as Luke held his Extraordinary Traits, which were being extracted from his body. His aura immediately plummeted, and the gate of divinity that had been open closed again.

No!!!

Amelius struggled desperately, his fear overwhelming. Without his divinity, his thoughts grew sluggish, and he could only express his anger through his eyes.

"Don’t look at me like that. If I had more time, I would have taken your Sequence 7 to 5 traits as well."

Luke carefully stored the Extraordinary Traits and prepared to flee. After all, this was the Queens District of Barkeland, and it wouldn’t be good if things got too messy.

The royal family had several demigods, angels, and even Sequence 1 archangels, and the three major churches each had their own angels.

Right, he also needed to clear the Criminals' Mark Amelius had left on him.

Luke was about to modify the rules to make his murder legal, so it wouldn’t be considered a crime, when a sudden idea struck him, and he smiled.

He had just remembered that, besides making the sin legitimate, there were other ways to deal with the crime.

Luke displayed a devout expression in front of Amelius, clasping his hands together, and his body emitted a pure, corrupting divine aura.

A shadow enveloped him, and a blasphemous prayer echoed from within.

"O Lord, creator of all, ruler behind the veil of shadows, the corrupt nature of all living beings."

"I beseech your Divine Blessing."

"I beseech you to bear the sins on my body."

The True Creator was born to take the blame!

Amelius watched helplessly as the Criminals' Mark dissipated in the shadow, making the sinner undetectable, and as the sinner and the shadow disappeared together.

The force that had bound him dissipated with the departure of the one who had cast it, and the spirit entities that had been entangling the deacons of the three major churches also stopped moving, withdrawn once again by the Spirit Witch.

Amelius fell to the ground in a daze, looking at the ruined banquet hall, the ambassador Béclan’s body reduced to a pile of flesh, the shocked and frightened guests who had fainted or fallen into terror, and the three church deacons who looked at him with pity.

His face was pale, and his eyes blazed with hatred. He gritted his teeth and spat out the name of the organization responsible.

"Aurora Society!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end