Flaxseed accepted the emerald badge with trembling fingers, and tears had sworn off years ago slid helplessly down his cheeks.
“Y-Yes… It’s the ancestral talisman,” choked out. The three of them scoured Venom Palace, unearthing troves of magical items looted during the massacre. Most pieces bore the Flaxseed clan’s seal, and Flaxseed gathered each one as though handling rare treasures.
Jared looked past the dissipating toxic mist outside the broken windows. “Next, we visit the Holy Light Sect,” said, voice sharp as frost. “None who joined that purge will escape…”
Holy Light Sect occupied the western edge of level five, where the Holy Light Plains were bathed year-round in golden radiance. Palaces of polished white jade floated among the clouds, shining like something torn from a child’s myth. Yet, only a handful knew how many filthy secrets lay buried beneath that holy facade.
Jared, Flaxseed, and Corin streaked across the sky, descending as three ribbons of light before the sect’s main gate.
The sentry, a disciple clad in immaculate white robes and gripping a silver longsword, stepped forward.
“State your names and present your invitation,” commanded. Flaxseed advanced a single step, gaze cold. “Summon your sect leader. Tell the last heir of the Flaxseed clan has come to collect a blood debt!”
The disciple’s face blanched. “You reckless fool! How dare you spew such lies before the Holy Light Sect!”
Light exploded along his blade as lunged, thrusting for Flaxseed’s chest Before the strike landed, Jared flicked a finger. A hair-thin strand of marked aura shot forth and struck the sword mid-air.
With a clear chime, the silver longsword shattered, fragments spraying like glass. The sentry reeled back, eyes wide in disbelief. “Y-You practice demonic arts!”
Jared’s laugh was low and cruel. “Demonic? Compared to the rot your Holy Light Sect hides, we are spotless.”
Just then, a thunderous shout rolled out from behind the marble gate. “Who dares raise such chaos at the Holy Light Sect?!”
A heartbeat later, a man in a flowing robe the color of hammered gold strode into view.
He was middle-aged, with an aristocraticjaw and eyes bright as tempered steel, yet his every step radiated the softness of candlelight. A gentle corona of gold gathered around his shoulders, haloing like a portrait of a saint.
Corin leaned closer to Jared and Flaxseed, his voice a cautious thread. “That is Elder Seamus Villegas, the Sect’s chief law-keeper. His cultivation sits at Earthly immortal Realm Level Seven, and his ‘Holy Light Sword Art’ is rumored to brush true holy sword intent.”
Seamus’ gaze swept across them, but paused the instant sensed the invisible storm of Jared’s marked aura. “You… Reeking of darkness, dare trespass on sacred ground? Have you grown tired of life?”
Jared stepped forward, marked aura roaring free. The golden haze that wreathed the courtyard peeled away as if a gale had knifed through silk.
“The ones sick of life are you lightsworn hypocrites. Centuries ago, you joined Venom Valley and Malevolent Path Hall to wipe out the Flaxseed clan. I am here to collect that debt, today!”
A flicker of discomfort crossed Seamus’ face, yet his tone resurfaced calm-sharpened by feigned grief. “You twist history. The Flaxseed clan practiced Demonic Cultivation that butchered innocents. As a righteous order. we acted for heaven’s justice.”
Flaxseed barked a laugh so raw it scraped the cold stone. “Heaven’s justice? My family healed generations, wandering physicians with nothing but remedies and goodwill. You coveted our Encyclopedia of Herbs, spun a lie, and murdered us to the last child. Justice? Rot!”
“Utter nonsense!” A feral light flashed behind Seamus’ cultured smile. “You are lost to wickedness. I shall cleanse you in heaven’s name.”
Golden light surged outward, condensing into a longsword etched with runes that flickered like caged lightning. Its pressure alone made the air groan.
“Holy Light Sword Art, First Form! Holy Blessing!”
