Demon Bible

Chapter 160: Sacrifice Does Not Necessarily Yield Results

"The position is slightly off..." Fass noticed this the moment he landed.

In truth, this was to be expected.

Spatial teleportation was not a natural function to begin with.

Becky simply lacked the ability to create a stable spatial teleportation device on his own.

This so-called spatial teleportation was fundamentally a form of spatial "compression".

As the previously expanded interior of the Clock Tower collapsed, the space inside reverted to its normal size, effectively compressing the area at the center of the tower.

During this compression process, living beings would be violently expelled by the spatial distortion, resulting in the teleportation phenomenon.

Originally, Becky could never have accomplished such an alchemical miracle as stabilizing this "compression" phenomenon, but Nemus's assistance made it all possible.

As a Demon, Nemus possessed an inherent understanding of summoning abilities.

Combined with the fact that Opper, who was right beside him, was a Warlock specializing in summoning, controlling spatial changes was actually not too difficult.And so, they managed to create such a device.

This was also a way for Nemus to explore another crucial ability he needed to master: moving between different Whalebacks.

As it stood, most people who wished to travel to other Whalebacks could only do so during the Floating Whales' mating season, which occurred once or twice a year.

Furthermore, this method of travel was entirely unpredictable. Reaching a specific Whaleback could require decades of continuous transit before one finally arrived at their intended destination.

This was precisely the reason why most Religious Orders could never truly expand.

Their influence would always be confined to a single Whaleback, severely limiting their growth.

On the other hand, the Churches of the Orthodox Gods relied on ultra-long-distance teleportation to establish stable transit routes for transporting their personnel.

Under the Grid, they could instantly communicate over vast distances and execute spatial teleportation whenever necessary.

The arrival of several Golden Rank beings would undoubtedly be enough to suppress any problem that arose.

Therefore, exploring and perfecting the ability to teleport through space was something he absolutely had to do.

Otherwise, even if he managed to completely conquer a Whaleback, it would be extremely difficult to safely execute his plan of stealing the Divine Constant.

Fass slowly stretched his limbs, causing several wounds to split open. These were the injuries inflicted by the spatial compression.

After all, the technique was far from perfect. Although Nemus and Becky had established the theoretical foundation, no one could predict exactly what would happen during its practical application.

"From the looks of it, the experiment was a fundamental success."

"But it is still not enough." Nemus's gaze followed, closely observing Fass's condition.

Fass had merely teleported from the edge of the South District to the outskirts of town, yet his fully protected body could barely withstand the strain.

If they were to target a different Whaleback in the future, even the resilient physique of a Golden Rank being would likely struggle to endure the journey, wouldn't it?

Shifting his gaze slightly, he noted that Al, who had been dragged along with Fass, was in an even more miserable state.

He lay collapsed off to the side, his entire body covered in bloody lacerations.

Had it not been for the robust Vitality provided by his elven bloodline, he would have already lost consciousness from severe blood loss.

Even so, Al was critically injured and completely immobilized.

"Do not leave! Fass!" Yet Al remained steadfast in his convictions. He was determined to redeem Fass and stop him from walking further down the wrong path.

Hearing this feeble cry, Fass furrowed his brows.

This useless dead weight, whom he could not seem to shake off no matter how hard he tried, had caught up to him once again. It filled him with an indescribable sense of irritation.

"Fass, if killing me will make you repent, if it will make you abandon these mistakes, then kill me!" Reaching out a bloodstained hand, Al looked at Fass through bloodshot eyes.

He could not understand why Fass harbored such deep resentment toward him.

Everything that had happened was solely the result of Fass acting on his own Desire. He himself had done nothing wrong!

However, if his death could awaken Fass to the truth, then he was more than willing to sacrifice himself.

Hearing Al's words and looking at his blood-soaked figure, Fass froze. Memories of the time they had spent together involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

"Thwip!"

A bloody hole opened up, and a blood-stained Small Steel Bead burst from the back of Al's head. Watching the light slowly fade from Al's eyes, Fass felt an overwhelming sense of relief wash over him.

He had been tormented by this annoyance for far too long.

It was as if Al were incapable of understanding human speech, constantly drowning in his own self-righteousness and spouting nonsense about sacrifice.

"Al, you mean absolutely nothing to me."

"We only knew each other for a dozen days."

"You are merely the Enemy who nearly got me killed indirectly."

"Killing you is simply what you deserve. I refuse to be brainwashed by your twisted convictions just because I ended your life," Fass declared, voicing his true feelings as he stared down at Al's unblinking corpse.

And now, in death, Al could no longer use his stubborn obsessions and pitiful excuses to argue back.

Having finally exterminated the lingering "ghost" that had constantly haunted him, Fass surveyed the surrounding terrain, searching for his next escape route.

Yet in the very next moment, a sudden sense of impending danger washed over him.

He hurriedly mobilized his Small Steel Beads, interlinking them to form a Force Field Protection.

But the moment the barrier materialized, a tremendous force slammed into it. The force field shattered instantly, and the sheer impact sent him flying backward, carving a short trench through the earth as he skidded across the ground.

If not for his Rampage Augment IV, which retained the rampage-overlay state of the Mark III and greatly enhanced his physical constitution, coupled with the defensive black aura provided by the swarm symbiosis...

...he would have been torn to pieces by the concussive force in an instant.

'Who is it?' Fass wondered, fighting down his instinctual urge to scramble to his feet and run.

The attack had been far too fast and unimaginably heavy. It was absolutely not something an Ordinary Person could unleash; his assailant was an Iron Rank being at the very least.

Upon making this assessment, Fass rapidly shifted his strategy. The Small Steel Beads along his body whirred into motion, generating a churning layer of force.

Using the trench he had just plowed into the dirt, he swiftly dug out a large crater in the ground.

Instead of fleeing in a panic, he hunkered down inside the pit.

He was severely injured, his physical condition completely compromised. Furthermore, he had no idea who the enemy was, where they were hiding, or why they had attacked him.

Attempting to run under these circumstances would be nothing short of suicide.

'I never sensed when he arrived, but it is highly likely he observed my entire conversation with Al.'

'Therefore, considering his level of strength, he was fully capable of saving Al.'

'Al bore obvious markings of the Church. Since this person chose not to intervene, it is highly probable that he does not belong to the Church...' Fass concluded.

However, this deduction was swiftly overturned.

"You are wrong, Fass. The one attacking you is indeed someone from the Church," Nemus's voice echoed in Fass's ear, causing him to freeze in shock.

"Al may have been consumed by Obsession, harboring extreme ideals of benevolence and fancying himself a Savior."

"But he possessed one undeniable virtue: he was completely fearless."

"After learning about the Church's financial discrepancies from me, he took it upon himself to investigate exactly where the funds from the Redemption Department were flowing."