13 Mink Street

Inside the trough, the corpses that had been floating on the surface opened their eyes. In that moment, it was as if each of them possessed spirituality, and one by one they struggled upright.

The corpses that had already been floating at the edge of the trough crawled toward the “shore” at once, but their advance was quickly blocked by an invisible ward. They did not lose heart. They opened their mouths and tore at the air ahead, swung their arms, raked with clawed fingers, and hammered with their palms.

The corpses in the center thrashed in the water for a time, then below them, skeletons thrusted up hands and heads. Those bones formed bone bridges, letting the corpses tread over them to reach the shore and join the assault against the ward.

Last came the skeletons from the deepest part of the trough. They crawled up from the depths and climbed onto the shore. White light flickered inside the hollow sockets of their skulls as they also charged the ward.

The ward here should be like the Triple Seal the Expositor was using above, like a lid clamped down over this place.

So the corpses began at the lower edges, tearing and raking. Slowly, those behind climbed over the bodies ahead to reach higher and strike, like a swarm of ants. Even the upper rim of the trough became covered in bone, everyone using every last bit of strength to pound at every corner of the ward.

Karon stood there. Even though he had “Awakened” so many at once, he had not expended much, and this consumption did not even compare to using Spear of Punishment one more time.

Because these corpses did not need him to pour spirituality into them. They had been lying in this swamp saturated with generations of resentment. They already met the conditions to awaken.

What Karon had done was no more than dropping a lit match into a barrel full of kerosene.

But no one could look at the raging blaze now and deny the role of that first spark.

Originally, breaking this ward from outside would have been difficult. Just as after the Expositor set up the Expositor’s Shield, Karon’s side could no longer attack him to disrupt the progress of his Arts, the ward within the trough was also hard to break, at least, Karon and the others could not do it right now.

But it proved that saying again, the strongest fortress is often breached from within.

Crisp cracking sounds began to ring out. You did not know where it had broken, but you knew it had broken.

First it was a few places, then it spread into a sheet, and finally the contamination aura boiled and burst through the shackles that had suppressed them for generation after generation.

The instant the ward shattered.

Whole corpses, broken corpses, rotting corpses, skeletons.

Everyone.

All of them.

Dropped to their knees.

They lifted their heads.

And began to wail.

A black mushroom several times larger than before formed in an instant and surged upward.

Tirsen was stunned. Seeing it, he reflexively tried to flee. Of course he understood that once what had happened here was exposed, he had no second path besides leaving the Church of Order and fleeing, but if he did not leave now, he could not keep sustaining the operation of these two high level Arts.

But Zeric moved faster than Tirsen. In fact, when the corpses climbed out of the trough, the mirror that had once bounced Alfred away had already reappeared in his palm.

Before Tirsen could escape, Zeric slapped his palm onto Tirsen’s head. The mirror branded into Tirsen’s forehead like a hot iron.

In an instant, chains extended from within the mirror, covering Tirsen’s entire body and shackling him in place.

“In the name of Exposition, apprehend the lawbreaker who has violated Order.”

This was an internal Art of the Church of Order, most often used by higher ranks against disobedient lower ranks. Such Arts could neutralize resistance within the same faith system to the greatest extent.

Zeric came from the Whip of Order. In this regard, he had far more experience than Tirsen.

“Sir!”

Tirsen screamed in terror.

“Hold it for me a little longer. I still have a way!”

“Sir!!!”

Tirsen stared in horror as that enormous black mushroom rose and collided with the Purification Ward and Triple Seal above. The pressure of the ritual array transmitted into the one sustaining it. Tirsen’s body began to convulse violently, and misty bursts of blood drifted out from his pores.

The bodily pressure was not the worst part. The most terrifying was the tearing at his soul. Tirsen could already hear the ripping sound of his own soul, like cloth being torn, crackle after crackle.

“Old thing, he did not turn into a puddle of pus. Look, he is still standing there. Mm, still so handsome, so good looking, like even from far away, if you take a deep breath, you can smell the fullness of his scent.”

“You tell me, did I fall for him? It feels a little too fast.”

“But maybe it is because you, old thing, make such a good contrast. Look at you, then look at him, and his charm becomes even bigger.”

Lorena’s voice continued.

Zeric showed no fury and no panic. Instead, he was calm.

“I have found a second treasure. The secret of this young man makes my heart itch. When this is over, I will collect him and squeeze his secret out, bit by bit.”

“Old thing, what can you even do?” Lorena mocked.

“Heh heh.”

Zeric laughed and shouted.

“Order—Purging Flame!”

Black flame threaded with purple patterns blasted from Zeric’s mouth and surged over Lorena. Wrapped in the fire, Lorena was in pain, but she did not scream. She only stared at Zeric with cold eyes.

“You are going to use it, Zeric.”

“Yes.”

“Without me as a medium, if you use it, you will fall into eternal corruption.”

“Oh right. When you first saw it and touched it, you were already lost, Expositor.”

“After I use it this time, I will seal it again, until I cultivate a second you. This time will be an experience, a lesson. The second time, I’ll succeed.”

“After all, mastering the Wellspring of Sin is not an easy thing.”

“It is not the Wellspring of Sin. It is the purest thing in this world. You are not corrupted by it. It is only because it is too clean that the evil and greed already in your heart spread out on their own.”

“Oh, is that so? Fine. I understand. It does not matter.”

Zeric’s gaze dropped to the scene below.

“Tonight’s harvest is truly enormous. I am satisfied. Now it is time to put everything back in order.”

Zeric clenched his teeth hard.

The flame drilled violently into Lorena’s body. Lorena’s form began to collapse, and in the end, she was completely annihilated.

The spirit he had painstakingly cultivated for years scattered just like that. A sudden emptiness washed through Zeric, but quickly he rallied his confidence and his drive again.

Behind him, the blood mist around Tirsen grew thicker. His eyes had turned pale, and his body was visibly withering. His four subordinates stared in terror and instinctively stepped back.

Zeric released Receding Tide that was about to complete. He pulled a scroll from his chest and lifted it with one hand.

The scroll opened on its own, revealing a tiny ritual array. It was a space scroll of extremely high value. It was expensive, requiring a great deal of credits to exchange, and it was also absurdly useless, because the space it could store was very small, smaller than a shoebox.

In the next moment.

An ancient copper coin appeared on the scroll.

Zeric reached out and seized the coin.

His expression changed rapidly. The corners of his eyes lifted, his lips curved into an arc, and his whole face entered an excited posture, like a clown.

For an Expositor to reveal such an expression showed just how violently his heart was roiling.

When the copper coin appeared, Tirsen, wracked with unbearable pain behind him, actually smiled. It was as though the agony and even the fear of death had become trivial. So long as he could gaze upon it, no price was too great.

The four Order squad members were no different. Greed and hunger overtook their faces. Their bodies trembled, edging forward as if ready to seize it by force.

Zeric’s eyes turned green.

He began to chant.

“O copper coin left by the Great True God Lacresis, aligned with His will.

Obliterate the corruption before me. Restore all to stillness and purity.”

The power of the divine artifact began to manifest. A golden ripple spread out from the coin. Above, a terrifying boundary formed, then began to press down.

Anything that touched it began to be annihilated.

The first to be annihilated were the two high level Arts that had covered above, Purification Barrier and Triple Seal. Both Arts were crushed outright, without the slightest chance to resist.

Golden flame ignited on Tirsen. In the final moment, he regained clarity, but it was already far too late.

With the annihilation of the Arts, his ending was sealed as well.

That instant was brief, but for him it felt like enduring an eternal inferno of torture.

Tirsen began to howl.

As he howled, his body was gradually reduced to a pile of black powder.

At the final moment before his soul was annihilated.

He seemed to see the scene of his younger self undergoing purification.

He shouted with excitement.

“I sensed the God of Order. I sensed the God of Order.”

Back then, his gaze had been so pure.

He seemed to see himself again, just after becoming a member of an Whip of Order, holding a copy of the Code of Order, killing a vicious demonkin that had murdered several families, while he himself lay wounded in a corner.

Back then, no matter how badly he hurt, he did not howl, and he did not regret it. He only placed the one hand he could barely lift over his chest, satisfied.

“Praise Order.”

When did I start becoming like this?

Tirsen could no longer get an answer, because his soul had been completely annihilated.

As the golden boundary continued to press down, the contamination below was erased bit by bit. Even the girls’ thunderous sobbing in the trough was gradually suppressed by a god’s will.

The golden retriever lifted its head toward the sky and barked.

Pu’er said, “Lacresis’s aura.”

The golden retriever drooped its ears, helpless.

Pu’er stepped up and smacked its dog head with a cat paw and cursed.

“You did not leave behind any divine artifact for us to dig out and use.”

The golden retriever barked that there was none.

“No. How are you this stupid. You deserve to turn into a dog.”

The golden retriever gave a soft, aggrieved whine.

Pu’er kept cursing Kevin while sitting on the ground and pawing at its own tail.

In its tail was one finger of the God of Light, but after it helped Karon complete purification last time, that finger fell silent, as if hollowed out, becoming an ordinary finger, so it was useless now.

Pavaro lifted his head and watched the scene above. This was a god’s power. It was not the power of the God of Order, but it was still a true god.

A mocking smile tugged at the corner of Pavaro’s mouth.

So gods could be deceived too.

Because right now, this god’s power was in the hands of the Expositor who had created this hell, helping him erase all traces here and bury evidence of his crimes.

Alfred also raised his head and watched above, but the “performance” in his mouth did not stop, and it became even more fervent.

At some point.

His heart had gradually lost its instinctive fear of “gods.”

Was it because Sir Tiz in Oak Cemetery propped up a boundary, his eyes glowing gold, and when he said he would condense a godhead shard, he simply condensed a godhead shard.

Was it because Mr. Hoffen had just danced with him at the graveside one moment, then sealed a heretical god into a dog’s body the next.

Was it the hymn Young Master sang on the mental bridge linked to Ms. Molly?

Was it Young Master’s purification, Young Master’s Divine Seeker?

Was it the golden letters Young Master wrote in the notebook?

So what exactly was a god. Alfred did not care. He had never doubted gods, and he had never defamed gods.

But once he placed his faith in one “god.”

All other gods, even a true god, even a High God, were false gods in his eyes, heretical gods.

Tears streamed from Little John’s eyes. He was not crying out of despair. He was simply grieving, a nameless emotion, yet real.

In the pigpens, the women lying there also turned from numbness to grief. They were grieving the little sister who, in this place of torment, would enter their dreams each night and chat with them.

She was gone. She was not here anymore.

Even in their misery, deep down, they still kept the capacity for sorrow.

Little John began to sob, sniffling. He thought of that day he secretly slipped out of his father’s car and saw the pigpens, then fled in terror to a corner and hid there, trembling.

Then a little girl about his age appeared in front of him. Her eyes were so big, so beautiful. Her voice was so clear, so sweet.

“What is your name?”

“My name is... John.”

“You should ask what my name is too.”

“You are... What is your name.”

“I will not tell you, heh heh.”

The little girl ran off. Looking back and seeing him still crouched there, she shouted.

“I will hide, you come find me. If you find me, I will tell you my name.”

...

“So he used a divine artifact.”

Adjudicator Luke let out a long breath. It seemed the matter was completely resolved.

Tonight, Luke had already lingered outside this factory, stepping forward then back, forward again then back, grinding his shoes against the concrete again and again.

Once more, he started walking in.

Then.

He suddenly stopped again.

This time, he did not see anything, but a strange hesitation rose in his heart.

“Maybe, let’s just wait a bit longer.”

...

The boundary above continued to descend. Karon could no longer hear the girls crying in the trough, even though they were still crying.

In life, they were a group forgotten by this city. When they disappeared, hardly anyone paid attention, as if they were only dust that cleaners swept away every morning, plenty of it, but never worth a second glance.

Sometimes when it appeared in front of you, you would cover your nose and complain that it was choking.

Now they were dead, but even after death, it seemed their cries still did not deserve to be heard.

Karon lifted his head and looked toward the platform. The Expositor held the copper coin and looked back at him.

“Without a spirit as a medium, every time I use this coin, it burdens me heavily and drives me deeper into being lost. If I had not been forced to this point today, I would not have wanted to take it out.”

“But I think you will not disappoint me. I am already drooling over your secret, tsk, I truly cannot wait.”

The Expositor stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.

Now, whether in his thoughts or his expression, he looked excited and frivolous.

Karon sighed inwardly. He did not feel much disappointment.

With such a vast disparity in strength, being able to force things to this point was already very good.

He believed that using this divine artifact came with a huge price, otherwise he would never have waited until now to use it.

The boundary pressing down above meant the end was coming.

Karon did not bother with anxiety, and he could not be bothered with rage or panic, and he did not think about spinning up memories in his head.

His gaze swept over everyone, and every pet, around him.

Then he walked to Little John, squatted, and asked, “Crying, afraid to die.”

Little John shook his head. “She died.”

“Who?”

“Her. I did not find her, so she did not tell me her name. I want to go find her and play again, but Father would not let me come here again.”

Karon realized who it was.

She died.

Karon lifted his head and looked toward the platform again. Now the boundary’s height dropped to half of this underground factory. Next, they would probably be ground into dust beneath that boundary.

The power of a divine artifact was terrifying, even with its flaws.

But had the Expositor annihilated the spirit first before he could use the Lacresisis Copper Coin.

“Big brother...”

Little John suddenly reached out and grabbed Karon’s sleeve.

“Can you make her live again?”

“She did not leave a body...”

Karon suddenly realized something. He looked around and saw that it was not only Little John crying. The other women in the pigpens were crying too.

...

“You see, they call them ‘pigs in the pigpen.’ You call them ‘soil.’ But to me, they came in batches and died in batches, they were the family who raised me.”

...

“But she never had a body in the first place.”

Karon closed his eyes and began to think.

Awakening was an Art that roused the residual spirituality within a corpse. Because the awakened needed the body as a vessel, the prerequisite for Awakening was the corpse’s degree of preservation.

But if the one being awakened did not need a body to exist, would a corpse still be necessary.

Also, spirituality was not exclusive to corpses. It was only that after death, the remaining spirituality usually stayed only within the corpse.

But what if her spirituality was not preserved in a corpse?

For example.

Preserved in Little John’s dream, and in the dreams of so many pitiful women in the pigpens.

Within the crying was grief.

An image formed in Karon’s mind. A little girl who entered these pitiful women’s dreams every night, listening to their stories, chatting with them.

She used her power to give their miserable torment a brief, breathing comfort in dreams. She had chosen to keep them company, chosen to listen.

Karon took a deep breath. He suddenly felt sorry for her, sorry for a Wellspring of Sin.

“Maybe I can try.”

Karon placed his hand on Little John’s forehead.

“Now, think of her in your mind.”

Little John immediately obeyed and closed his eyes.

Pu’er and the golden retriever stared at Karon in surprise. They did not know what he still intended to do at a time like this.

Karon felt he understood the Church of Order’s Awakening more deeply now.

It was not a simple “resurrection of a corpse,” and it was not igniting spirituality.

Its essence was this.

To take a past existence that left traces, and pull it back along those tracks into the present.

A black chain appeared beneath Karon’s feet again. It clung to Little John’s body and turned white. At the same time, at Little John’s brow, that white Chains of Order began to split, splitting into countless fine white chains, just like before with the trough swamp.

Those split white chains began to climb toward the women in the pigpens. From above, it looked like a white lotus pattern slowly blooming.

“Who is he awakening?” Pu’er asked.

“Woof? Woof!”

“What? The artifact spirit?”

Gradually, the image of the little girl surfaced in Karon’s mind.

He spoke.

“Order—Awaken.”

The white chains began to retract, drawing back toward Karon and condensing before him. They coiled together into a thick, spiraling mass of light, and within its center, the figure of a girl slowly took shape.

The moment she appeared, the barrier pressing down from above halted mid-descent. It stopped completely.

On the high platform, Zeric stared in disbelief.

“This... this... how is this possible... how could this be!”

The artifact spirit he had just annihilated had returned.

Worse still, the very foundation of his control over everything here lay in that divine artifact, the copper coin.

Now that Lenora had reformed, the layers of seals he had once placed upon her were gone. She was whole. Weak, yes, but complete.

And that meant the artifact would no longer answer to him.

It would answer to its spirit.

For the first time, the Expositor felt the urge to flee.

But the copper coin clung to his palm as if fused to it. More than that, it seemed to nail his very soul in place. He could not pull away.

The divine artifact he had wielded moments ago had become his shackles.

Lenora stretched lazily.

Then she turned.

She looked up at the Expositor pinned upon the platform and sweetly smiled.

“Grandfather,” she called lightly, “I told you. You are to die tonight.”