In the city of Ambera, beneath the statue in the central square.

Karina’s complexion turned ashen.

The force of Cornelius’s slap was tremendous, sending Karina sprawling to the ground, blood gushing from her crimson lips. Yet, she dared not utter a word of complaint, trembling in fear as she pleaded, “Your Highness Cornelius, I beg your forgiveness. It was Karina who transgressed the rules.”

Cornelius paid her no heed.

His gaze remained fixed upon Enzo, radiating an insistent dominance, and he inquired, “Have you made up your mind, boy?”

Enzo looked up, a mocking glint in his eye, and replied, “I am unyielding. I cannot kneel! However, should you be willing to abase yourself before me, I might reluctantly concede to your request and relinquish that so-called Origins Mirror.”

This statement incensed Cornelius to the core.

His face contorted with fury, he could scarcely contain his rage as he growled, “You seek death. I shall grant it to you!”

Golden light coalesced in Cornelius’s palm, transforming into a golden spear, which he aimed directly at Enzo—not at his heart, but at his limbs, targeting those parts that would restrain Enzo without extinguishing his life. He needed Enzo to remain alive.

Enzo should remain alive at least until he acquired that formidable divine arts and the Origins Mirror.

At that moment, Enzo was nearly depleted of strength, particularly under the lingering influence of Lovins’s divine energy. As Cornelius swung the spear toward him, Enzo could only react instinctively to defend himself, yet he was utterly unable to withstand the blow.

With a sickening thrust—

The golden spear pierced Enzo’s limbs, the blood-red armor offering no protection. When the spear was withdrawn, blood spurted forth violently.

Observing this, Cornelius taunted, “Enzo, you are naught but a worm at the mercy of others!”

Enzo’s gaze remained tranquil as he retorted with sarcasm, “Cornelius, is this all you are capable of?”

This statement once again provoked Cornelius’s ire.

He brandished his golden spear, stabbing Enzo repeatedly, creating dozens of gaping wounds, while simultaneously injecting a peculiar force that sealed away Enzo’s mastery over the elemental powers.

“Hand over the Origins Mirror and the divine arts you command!”

Cornelius threatened once more.

“Aha!Aha!”A strange, breathless laugh emanated from Enzo’s lips as he gazed at Cornelius with a mix of chilling calm and profound madness, instilling a flicker of unease in Cornelius. Yet, upon witnessing Enzo’s current plight, that unease vanished. He dismissed Enzo as merely a cornered beast feigning strength. What he failed to notice was that Enzo stood precisely where Lovins had met his demise.

Scattered on the ground lay a cluster of black crystals, born from Lovins’s corporeal essence.

Enzo began to draw upon the power contained within these crystals.

Though the reason behind Lovins’s blood essence transforming into Elder Deity crystals remained a mystery, their potent energy could indeed augment Enzo’s strength, provided he could resist the malevolent thoughts embedded within.

Now Enzo had no choice.

The entire city of Ambera was set up with a large barrier, and Cornelius’ strength far surpassed Lovins, making it almost impossible for Enzo to defeat.

Enzo can only have a glimmer of hope after going crazy once.

With no alternatives left, Enzo was left with no choice but to embrace madness, absorbing all the black crystals in one fell swoop. The overwhelming power surged into his being, revitalizing him, yet the accompanying dark thoughts led to an instantaneous unraveling of his sanity, his eyes turning to a frigid, blood-red hue.

Cornelius, of course, witnessed this spectacle.

He merely sneered, unperturbed, and derisively remarked, “Such a reckless course of action!”

To his astonishment, despite absorbing such a vast amount of black Elder Deity crystals at once, Enzo exhibited no signs of madness. His blood-red eyes retained their reason as he hoarsely growled, like a Fierce Beast, “Die!”

Once again, a Thunder-Cracked Claw materialized.

Cornelius’s expression grew grave.

Yet, this colossal claw was not aimed at Cornelius, but rather at the golden barrier in the sky.

Crash!

With a crisp crack, the barrier shattered.

In an instant, Cornelius realized Enzo’s intent, his gaze still dismissive as he mocked, “I am not that fool Lovins. Did you seek my permission to flee?”

With that, he waved his hand.

The golden spear transformed into shimmering threads of gold, concealing themselves in midair before reshaping into a small barrier.

However, in the next moment, before the barrier could fully manifest, Cornelius’s expression changed dramatically.

Enzo had vanished!

Not only had Enzo disappeared, but the previously prostrate Karina had also vanished without a trace, leaving behind a peculiar disturbance in the air.

Cornelius’s countenance darkened ominously, cursing, “Karina, you wretched creature, you dared to use the Breaking-Sky Pearl I bestowed upon you to rescue him! You will regret this, and when I find you, I shall make you wish for death!”

With clenched fists, an overwhelming aura erupted from him, shattering the statue of the Revered Deity Anthony and causing several onlookers from Ambera City to burst apart.

Instantly, the air was thick with the stench of blood.

…

In a desolate wilderness, over ten thousand miles from Ambera City, a swirling portal suddenly materialized, from which two figures tumbled forth.

After a brief moment, Karina and Enzo landed heavily on the ground.

“At last, I have escaped.”

Karina struggled to her feet, spitting blood and her complexion as pale as death. Her gaze lingered, filled with complexity, on the unconscious Enzo before she sighed, draping his arm over her shoulder. With great effort, she hoisted him up and, after surveying the distance to pinpoint her direction, began to move onward with slow determination.

After discovering a cave, Karina gently laid Enzo down.

Once she had made some simple arrangements, exhaustion overtook her, and she surrendered to deep slumber.

Five days later, upon returning to the cave, Karina carried with her a three-meter-long Fierce Beast and found Enzo awake, his eyes fixed upon her.

“Why did you save me?”

His voice was hoarse, yet Karina understood him clearly.

She shook her head and replied, “There is no particular reason. It was merely a fleeting impulse—I couldn’t bear the thought of seeing you captured by Cornelius.”

Her response was clearly a mere evasion.

Enzo recognized this as well, refraining from probing further. He leaned against the cave’s rocky wall, silently observing Karina as she prepared the Fierce Beast, then concentrated in an attempt to sense the elemental power within his body, only to find it utterly void.

Moments later, Karina finished cooking the Fierce Beast.

Seeing Enzo still struggling, she shook her head and said, “There is no need to continue trying. Cornelius’s golden spear possesses the ability to annihilate elemental forces, and he has also placed a seal on your body, restricting your access to elemental energy. No matter how formidable your talent, you will no longer sense the elements.

In other words, from this day forth, you will be but an ordinary man.”

At her words, Enzo felt a fleeting moment of anger, but it was quickly quelled.

He stated resolutely, “There will be a way to restore it.”

Karina did not deny it, yet the compassion in her gaze was sufficient to convey her perspective—at least on the Fierce Beast continent, Enzo was beyond hope of recovery.

She handed Enzo several skewers of roasted meat, offering reassurance as she said, “At the very least, you were not captured by Cornelius, and having absorbed such an abundance of Blood Energy Crystals, your consciousness remains intact and unmad, which is a fortune far greater than that of others.”

“Is this meant to be consolation?” Enzo inquired.

“Is there any alternative?” Karina retorted, taking a bite of her skewered meat.

Enzo followed suit, but instantly spat it out, an indescribable bitterness exploding in his mouth.

“What kind of meat is this?”

Enzo could hardly endure the taste.

Karina, unfazed, continued to eat and remarked, “This is merely the flavor of Fierce Beast meat. In this place, it is the only sustenance available. And now, as an ordinary person, you must derive energy from food. Otherwise, even if the Fierce Beasts don’t claim your life, starvation will.”

Upon hearing this, Enzo had no choice but to endure and swallow the Fierce Beast meat.

The strange flavor of the roast evoked memories of his early days at the Crimson Star Tribe, where Tia’s culinary efforts were equally abominable, infused with odd flavors that made them difficult to swallow.

Back then, he had yet to tread the path of the supernatural.

Now, he found himself once again as an ordinary man, stripped of any formidable power.

This eerily familiar scene plunged Enzo into reminiscence, and the reflections it stirred within him caused subtle shifts in his soul. Though imperceptible, they were undeniably real, seemingly nurturing the seeds of a miracle.

“Why did you follow Cornelius before?”

After forcing down a mouthful of the repugnant roast, Enzo sought a change of subject and directed a question towards Karina.

Karina fell into a brief silence.

Seated beside Enzo, she wrapped her arms around her knees and spoke softly, “I was once an ordinary individual from a city within the Fierce Beast continent, but due to certain talents, I was selected as a candidate for the Beast Temple’s holy maiden. Unfortunately, I was not chosen. According to the rules, those who are not selected face execution.

Yet, by some stroke of fortune, I survived, albeit stripped of dignity, reduced to serving as a maid for others.”

“Eventually, I was chosen by Cornelius to be his exclusive maid.”

“I thought my prior sufferings had come to an end, but I did not foresee that Cornelius would reveal himself as such a perverse individual. He is capricious in mood, finding delight in whipping his subordinates and, without warning, taking their lives, leaving me to live in constant fear, never knowing when my own life might abruptly conclude.”

“And then, half a month ago, Cornelius was selected to become the official Divine Son of the Beast Temple.”

“He gained the privilege to leave the Beast Temple, and I was fortunate enough to accompany him. It was then that the idea of escaping from him first took root in my mind…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep