The situation was more urgent than imagined.

I shed the "Sylvia" disguise—which wasn't very thick to begin with—and spoke in the most familiar, straightforward way:
"Gray, seal the church."
"Got it."

Gray reacted instantly, slicing open the air to pull a golden staff from a rift and lightly tapping the ground. An invisible wave of magic immediately spread out. This was a barrier spell taught to him by the Gold Elves. Until Gray himself was killed or thirty minutes passed, no one could enter or leave the church.

Adam stared blankly at the mirror, his state dazed. Mary was worse. Her face was bloodless, her whole body trembling, biting her nails, her eyes scanning around sickly.

I walked over to her and clapped my hands. Once her gaze settled on me, I said:
"Where is the Star God's holy water?" Star God holy water is special, not a mass-produced item that can be made and distributed freely. It's usually stored with sacred artifacts and scriptures.
"It's... it's in the Secret Treasury Hall underground."

I smiled slightly. "Thank you. Please rest assured, this time I will definitely punish Nekros. Now, please take us to the bishop immediately."

Mary gave a bitter, almost sarcastic smile, the anxiety between her brows deepening. She said to Gray: "Mr. Wilson, shall we go?" "Yeah. Just listen to her."

Tch, can't be helped. Who told me to look so delicate, weak, and unreliable? Hey Adam, stop staring at me and go comfort your future wife instead. Adam didn't comfort Mary, just silently walked to my side. I channeled magic into my limbs, approached the lounge door and gently pushed it open.

Thick, stagnant air carrying a pungent smell of blood flowed into the room together. I stepped out and looked around. A row of worshippers knelt in the hallway, their white and blue clothes stained dark with filthy blood. Their eye sockets were hollow, their hands holding their own eyeballs, prostrating uniformly on the ground as if they had been praying at the moment of death. In the last ten-plus minutes, they had silently come to the hallway, knelt down together, and died together, without me noticing at all.

Damn it. Gray was unreliable to begin with, but my perception has actually weakened this much along with the changes to my body. Without magic, I can't do anything.

Seeing this scene, Mary froze in the doorway, her breathing suddenly accelerating. Gray took her hand and said: "I'm here, it's okay. Let's go." Mary's breathing immediately calmed considerably, her eyes refocusing. Good job, Gray, but you watch it too—don't make a move on someone else's beloved.

Mary avoided the corpses and started walking with Gray's support. Adam and I followed closely behind. The entire church was immersed in dead silence, with only our footsteps and heartbeats making any sound. The deep blue walls seemed particularly ominous at this moment.

We passed through the hallway, turned a corner, passed by kneeling corpses one after another, and arrived before a staircase leading underground. Mary stopped at the top of the stairs and whispered: "There are two doors below the stairs. The Secret Treasury Hall is behind the second door. They're usually locked, let me find... find the keys."

Several wall lamps stood beside the staircase, but they were all shattered now, emitting no light. The walls were covered in bloody handprints and smiling faces, extending all the way down, eventually dissolving into the gloomy darkness. Nekros, you've chosen a fine place to be buried. Mary slowly fumbled through her pockets and pulled out a ring of keys.

She has psychological trauma, after all. She must be extremely unwilling to go down and face that nightmare again. Well, it's fine. You and Adam can stay safely with Gray. I never planned to let you take risks in the first place.

I reached out my hand and said: "Well done. Give me the keys. I'll go scout. Gray, you stay here and protect them." Gray took the keys and looked down at me, slightly annoyed. What's wrong? Isn't this how we always divided the work?

"Spirit lady, I hope you haven't forgotten. Nekros can mimic anyone. We can't split up." "And I hope you haven't forgotten, Adam and I have a uniqueness contract. Can't you use that to verify identities?" "That was setup for a joke. I don't actually have the ability to detect it." "Is that so? Then..." I pointed at Adam and said: "When 'I' come out of the Treasury Hall, have Adam check the contract imprinted within the body. If I am defeated and killed, the contract will naturally collapse. Is that acceptable now?"

Gray's pupils dilated slightly, seeming a bit surprised, then a smile appeared at the corners of his eyes. "Acceptable. We await your news." Gray handed me the keys. I reached for them, but Adam grabbed my wrist. A vein throbbed on his forehead as he glared at me and Gray, saying: "How could that possibly be acceptable! Sylvia, you almost died at that beast's hands last time! You absolutely cannot go alone! And you, Wilson, didn't you hear the prophecy just now? Aren't you the Hero? Why don't you go yourself?"

Is this concern for me? I'm quite pleased. "Adam, calm down. Gray isn't good at sudden encounter battles, and I have experience fighting Nekros." "Don't make it sound so simple! You—" Mid-sentence, Adam's upper and lower lips suddenly pressed together unnaturally. He made muffled sounds, trying to pry them apart with his hands, his face turning red, but it was futile.

Gray, who had cast the spell, patted his shoulder, tossed the keys to me, and said with a laugh: "Quiet, Adam. Don't interfere with others' decisions. Spirit lady, you won't lose this time, right?" "Of course. I will win." Gripping the keys, I answered casually and walked down the stairs.

Holding my ice sword, I stepped down the increasingly dim stairs one by one. Even with magic enhancement, my vision should be crystal clear even in the deep sea, but now it was gradually shrouded in darkness, only able to make out a few silhouettes clinging to the walls. However, hearing was particularly useful in this dead-silent corner. At first, Adam's muffled sounds, Gray and Mary's hushed conversation could still be heard, but soon only my own breathing remained.

Was there a pair of feet silently following me? Were eyes staring at me wordlessly from somewhere? Even I couldn't help but be bothered by these questions. But it's fine. Bring it on. The more unpredictable and dangerous the environment, the cooler I'll look later, getting one step closer to the image of the Hero in my mind.

Soon, I felt a cold stone door. I found the keyhole, unlocked it, and pushed the stone door open. My vision instantly brightened. Before me was a pristine, straight corridor. Wall lamps emitted a soft orange light. As Mary said, at the end of the corridor was a second stone door. It was entirely black, with star-like white crystals embedded in it, surrounding a small keyhole. Unlike what Mary said, the stone door was now half-open. A male voice came from behind the door. He was loudly singing a hymn, his voice resonant and high-pitched, overflowing with happiness and joy. ...Is someone here?

I tightened my grip on my weapon and silently floated into the stone door. An elderly man was singing at the top of his lungs in the center of the room. His complexion was ruddy and healthy, full of vigor, draped in a finely textured deep blue priestly robe—clearly the bishop of this church. If not for the fact that only the left half of his body remained, with clear cross-sections of organs and bones still dripping blood, I would have definitely applauded his performance.

In two or three leaps, I reached the "bishop's" side and lightly swung my ice sword. The "bishop" silently dissolved into a blood mist, scattering away. However, the singing still didn't stop. Instead, it became more distorted and shrill, like a dozen people laughing in unison from all directions.

I couldn't be bothered to play puppet theater with Nekros and headed straight for the crystal prisms in the room. The prisms had drawers, and the drawers had labels. The sacred items must be stored here. Staying alert, I quickly checked the prisms amidst the laughter and soon found my target. "The Star God's holy water... this is it."

The essence of all Nekros's runes is the same: blurring the boundary between life and death. As the holy water of the Star God, an omniscient and wise deity, it naturally has the power to define and demarcate, which can nullify all of Nekros's magic. The prism before me had at least ten drawers, all of which should contain holy water. I swung my wrist, using the ice sword to hook open all the drawers at once. The drawers did hold glass vials. However, what was inside wasn't holy water, but crimson blood and lumps of flesh.

Tch. Nekros had already found the holy water first and destroyed it. Could that be why she attacked the church? Whatever. Let's have a fair duel then.

I gripped my ice sword, spread out my magic, and declared loudly: "Come out, my fine singer, my fine clown. Don't waste everyone's time." No response, only the laughter growing more rampant. This guy shouldn't be afraid of me, right?

I was about to call out again when I suddenly became thoughtful. The contract with Adam... at that very moment, loosened slightly. ...Damn that incompetent, stupid, idiotic, moronic fool Gray. What exactly have you been protecting?