Chapter 913: Chapter 750: Unable to Abandon

Under the tense gaze of the Heretical Inquisitor.

The figure walking toward him suddenly halted.

The two stood apart at the ends of the courtyard, separated by several yards, a narrow cobblestone path, and a small flowerbed.

Just as the Heretical Inquisitor prepared for combat, the figure across from him coughed lightly a few times.

“Ahem, was it you who vandalized the Statue of Light?”

The young man’s voice was warm and gentle, tinged with a faint, seemingly imperceptible but surprisingly noticeable frailty. Even his posture appeared somewhat frail.

Damn it! He was clearly dressed in thick clothing!

The Heretical Inquisitor maintained his vigilant stance, not relaxing in the slightest!

Was this person truly weak and powerless?

If so, then why step forward to meet death?

Clearly impossible!

He tightened his grip on his weapon, the Power of Faith converted within him flowing steadily–no matter who his opponent might be, so long as they were a believer in the God of Light, he held absolute dominance!

Perhaps it was because the faith of sentient beings was supremely precious.

That once corrupted, it could become so terrifying.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

The figure coughed lightly again before stepping forward once more.

As the distance between them narrowed, the Heretical Inquisitor suddenly clutched his dart tightly, and in the blink of an eye, he shot forward like lightning!

Yet even as he closed the distance, the figure–whose face was obscured–made no move to counter the attack.

When the dart thrust forward, the figure merely raised the back of his hand to block it, seemingly certain the attack was a mere probe, responding with a level of detachment almost dismissive.

*Ssshhh–*

The Heretical Inquisitor swept past the man’s flank, landing atop the wall on the opposite side of the flowerbed.

Afterward, the young man looked at his wounded hand.

The injury emitted faint golden light but also leaked threads of black mist, which, as it interacted with his internal Power of Faith, continually burned him.

“Grudge Power, is it?”

He looked toward the Heretical Inquisitor: “Your identity must be one deeply trusted by the Holy See of Light as a Heresy Tribunal agent. Why, then, do you harbor such strong resentment toward the Holy Court?”

The Heretical Inquisitor immediately let out a cold laugh.

He was about to deliver a diatribe about the miserable life within the Heresy Tribunal, but as he opened his mouth, the figure spoke again.

“Never mind, that’s not important.”

The young man murmured nonchalantly.

The Heretical Inquisitor felt his words catch in his throat.

In his daze, the scene struck him as eerily familiar for some reason.

But he couldn’t suppress the urge to vent.

With a cold laugh, he spat, “What a load of nonsense about the Holy Court! All it does is hide its filth and corruption behind the sunlight, forcing innocents like us to become executioners to bear its sins. Now that you’ve exposed your ugly face and dared to scheme for royal sovereignty, the hypocrisy of the Holy Court is downright sickening!”

Finally voicing this long-held grievance, the Heretical Inquisitor felt his heart lighten. He waited for the man before him to respond with embarrassed fury.

Yet the young man simply nodded: “You’re right.”

The Heretical Inquisitor: “…”

That reply choked him once again.

He sneered, deciding to waste no more time, gripping two darts in his hands, then suddenly charged at the young man!

This time, it was no test.

But a true, lethal strike!

The Heretical Inquisitor moved with incredible speed, his black-clad figure becoming almost ethereal, his presence nearly indistinguishable amidst the backdrop of the night.

As he approached, he abruptly hurled one dart. His figure followed swiftly behind it in a direct assault.

*Ting!*

The first dart struck something unexpectedly.

The Heretical Inquisitor spotted a gleaming dagger in the young man’s hand, which had precisely deflected the dart.

But that didn’t matter, as the dart was only a distraction.

The real attack was still in his hands!

The Heretical Inquisitor’s shadowy form appeared suddenly at the young man’s flank, his other dart slicing toward the latter’s throat–just as the opponent had barely deflected the initial dart.

He was prepared.

Even if the young man erupted with the full Power of Light Faith at this moment, his attack would remain unimpeded, poised to deal devastating harm.

The Grudge Power born of corrupted faith was the ultimate counter to the Power of Faith!

Just as the strike was about to land.

The young man’s lips beneath the helmet curved faintly into a smile.

In the next instant, the ground beneath him erupted with darkness, consuming him entirely in a rapid, almost instantaneous reaction.

His attack met only emptiness, and as he stared in shock and bewilderment at the scene that had just unfolded, a hand suddenly emerged from the ground, gripping his airborne ankle.

A tremendous pulling force followed.

The Heretical Inquisitor was yanked down to the ground, swiftly swallowed by the profound and impenetrable darkness.

Beneath the surface, where there should have been bricks or soil.

What awaited him was a realm of pure, abyssal darkness.

No light penetrated this space; it was so pitch-black that he couldn’t see his own body, though he could feel he was truly present within it.

“Darkness…”

That familiar warm voice echoed beside him: “The Heresy Tribunal Envoys must have grown up in darkness, correct? Judging by your adeptness, this isn’t unfamiliar territory for you. You’ve likely toppled many of your own comrades using similar methods, haven’t you?”

The Heretical Inquisitor shuddered violently!

Just as he tried to retort, the voice spoke again from a distance: “But, well, that’s not important either.”