BXBX NOVEL Chapter 149: Another Gas Explosion?!
Chapter 149: Another Gas Explosion?!
Waning Crescent Buck was one of the only two Destructive-ranks amongst the seven apostles. He was also the oldest surviving apostle and head of the Inquisition Office. Cruel and indifferent, Buck was also known as the \'Reaper of Life\' and \'Envoy of Death\'.
However many more people gave him the nickname \'Dead Kingdom\', because it was rumored that tens of thousands of people had died to his scythe, many transcendent beings included.
There were also countless apostates and heretics that were brutally executed by the Inquisition Office. If all these people could be somehow resurrected, their numbers would be sufficient to fill a kingdom, and that was where Buck\'s nickname came from.
On top of that, Buck was in black robes all year round, complemented with a black skeletal mask and a massive scythe for his weapon. It was as if he was the real Death, reaping life after life, which added on to his mysterious and blood-curdling image.
Buck was a faithful apostle and immediately left the Inquisition Office once he received the pope\'s orders and went as quickly as he could to the Chapel of Charity.
There were merely two options for his mission. First, if Vincent didn\'t arrive at the chapel, Buck was to capture Terrence to use as a hostage.
Second, if Vincent did arrive at the chapel, Buck was to lie in wait and get rid of that apostate who posed a huge threat to the Church of the Dome.
In the event of the second circumstance, it didn\'t matter if Terrence lived or not. Or rather, in Buck’s eyes, an old priest not much different from an ordinary person was insignificant.
The only reason Terrence died was because he had been standing in front of Vincent when the attack was launched.
That was all to it.
Buck raised his scythe, and the Moon\'s divine power wrapped around the blade like a dark black flame. The air rippled around it, forming a luminous arc, demonstrating its sharpness.
Without any reservations, Buck prepared the second strike.
He knew that the first strike had almost cut Vincent in two. Given the level of Vincent\'s ability to manipulate aether as well as the strength of his physical body, the priest was probably already on the verge of death.
However, Buck still chose to go about it prudently and ensure a thorough elimination of the enemy.
Buck was no rash fellow. He had already gone through the reports prior to arriving here and analyzed the current strength of the apostate known as Vincent.
He had used some unknown means to launch a devastating attack that leveled the Seventh Parish Church and killed Vanessa, but the new Dark Moon Apostle that had recently taken office was only a Pandemonium-rank.
Moreover, her \'Silent Domain\' was a completely auxiliary ability. Her own combat prowess was rather low, and her being killed didn\'t seem that much of a surprise.
And from what Buck saw just now, Vincent seemed to be in a bad state, which meant that he was suffering from the side effects of using that secret means.
Even if Vincent did possess Destructive-rank strength, he was just a new Destructive-rank that had just been pushed up by that secret means. However, Buck was at peak of Destructive-rank, and he simply didn\'t need to fear this.
Buck never revealed any of these thoughts. His eyes behind the black skeletal mask were completely devoid of emotion as he raised the scythe high and brought it in a downward sweep.
The extinguishing, deathly and dark power of the Moon\'s divinity came gushing like a torrent full of killing intent. Everything it touched would be \'killed\' from the core and even space wasn\'t spared, for it was disassembled and warped, forming a spiraling black hole in the middle of the church.
At the same time \'Heresy Trial\' was activated, the shadow of a waning crescent appeared behind Buck.
There was another reason why Pope Rodney had sent the Waning Crescent Apostle. And that was Buck\'s ability governed by the aspect of \'law\' and carried the Will of the Moon. Even if the opponent’s power also had an aspect of a similar \'law\', it still wouldn\'t be enough.
As its namesuggested, \'Heresy Trial\' could determine whether the opponent was a believer of the Moon. As long as his power was beneath Buck\'s, this ability could do an instant kill!
The opponent was already an apostate and no longer a believer in the Moon. Therefore, this was the perfect ability to deal with Vincent!
"It is your honor to die by the light of the Moon!"
Buck pronounced Vincent\'s demise from his perch.
In a brief moment, Buck\'s scythe was almost at Vincent\'s neck, and in the next, he saw Vincent slowly reach out his hand and grab the scythe\'s blade.
Vincent\'s hand was covered with blood and charred scabs. The force of his parry caused them to break off, revealing the molten-like flesh beneath that was like bubbling lava glowing red and gold.
Sizzle...
The tremendous heat from Vincent\'s fingers caused a palm-shaped dent in the scythe blade and it melted so quickly that the edges glowed red and heat waves rose from it.
And Vincent\'s body had once again reignited as he pressed towards Buck.
"How?!"
Buck\'s pupils shrank as the heat coming from the scythe and the power displayed far exceeded his imagination. However, he didn\'t panic and immediately twisted the scythe in an attempt to behead Vincent with the curved track of his weapon.
Vincent raised his head and made no attempt to dodge. His other hand reached out and pressed against Buck\'s face.
Krrackk!
An immense force crushed his mask instantly!
A look of horror washed over Buck\'s pale face as the fiery and ghostly figure of Vincent reflected in his pupils.
It was at this moment where he realized a mortifying fact — His ability had no effect!
"Surprised?Do you know why your power is useless?"
Vincent croaked hoarsely, then laughed. "It\'s because the Moon\'s light is merely the afterglow of the Sun."
Buck\'s eyes widened in shock as his entire knowledge was shattered by these words. Fear and disbelief overwhelmed him, causing him to shudder violently.
He felt an intense, powerful and burning force pass from Vincent\'s palm into his body. And just like a lighted match thrown into a pool of kerosene, the Moon\'s divine power within him combusted instantaneously.
What killed him was his belief in the Moon!
Boom!
"Aargghhh!"
Flames burst out violently from Buck\'s body and in the blink of an eye, all the Moon\'s divine power in his body as well as the black hole formed from this power exploded.
A Destructive-rank was blown up in an instant. No matter how one looked at it, this explosion was far more devastating than the one which had leveled the Seventh Church!
A spherical ball of light expanded outwards and the night sky was lit up...
——
The entire wooden chapel was instantaneously turned to ash, spreading far and wide before disappearing into the white light.
In the middle of where the Church of Charity used to be, Vincent stood silently, clutching the old priest\'s ashen head. Flowing golden flames streamed out of his two empty eye sockets, falling to the ground in droplets.
——
Lin Jie was startled by the subtle shaking of the ground. He hadn\'t yet slept this light in the night because he was studying the book, Dark Ages, Rise & Fall of Alfords.
While deeply engrossed in the book, Lin Jie felt the table start to shake before his legs did as well.
He never had the habit of shaking his legs while reading and immediately sensed something was wrong. In the beginning, he thought it was an earthquake, but he noticed some light when he looked out of the window.
"...Huh?"
Lin Jie was startled and pulled the curtains open for a better look. In the distance, he saw a small luminous light spot in the distance as well as the faint sound of rumbling.
"Another gas explosion!?"