Demon Bible

Chapter 162: Black Mask

Nemus then meticulously sensed the changes in Fass's mental state.

He focused most of his attention on the interaction between the Soul Component and the Berserk Accessory.

In Nemus's eyes, the Soul Component was akin to a "0", while the Berserk Accessory was like a "1".

Their presence influenced Fass's mind in distinctly different ways.

The Soul Component absorbed his mental energy to stabilize it.

The Berserk Accessory, on the other hand, acted as a provocative iron rod, constantly stimulating his spirit.

Normally, the two worked in tandem to keep Fass's mental state relatively stable.

But now, Fass's mental state had naturally surged on its own.

This introduced a new variable between the zero and the one.

Consequently, his previously stable mind was rapidly set into motion, morphing into a swirling vortex.'What remains to be seen now is Fass's mental resilience.'

'If his resilience is strong enough, he might be able to achieve a dynamic equilibrium and truly break through his own Number.'

At this moment, Nemus somewhat grasped the state Lao Mushi had been in back then.

Just like a Saint, the Divine Power granted by a god was by no means insignificant.

As long as there was ample Faith, they could obtain sufficient Divine Power at any time.

However, did a god not wish to have an abundance of Saints?

No, a single Saint could vastly expand a god's Church.

Saints were the spokespersons of gods in the mortal realm. Their ability to propagate the Church's doctrines was unparalleled by anyone else.

There was only ever one true reason for their scarcity: most people were simply unworthy.

'Divine Power is a force that exceeds the limits of human endurance, which is why it requires a human soul to be pure to the extreme.'

'And now, the combination of the Soul Component and the Berserk Accessory has generated a peak power that far surpasses what a Black Iron Rank can endure. Although Fass doesn't need a soul as pure as a Saint's, he absolutely must not lack the necessary conviction.'

'Otherwise, once his soul loses its conviction, it will lose its resilience.'

Fass was unaware of all these intricacies. All he knew was that he absolutely refused to die here in obscurity.

A massive amount of Dark Aura spilled from his body, forming sensory tentacles.

All of his senses were twisted into a single thread, allowing him to observe his attacker for the first time.

It was a figure dressed in a white priest's robe, wearing a Black Mask over his face.

Seven or eight white orbs of light were currently dancing around him.

These orbs emitted intense energy fluctuations.

Fass then watched as one of the orbs suddenly shot out a beam of light.

This beam was nearly invisible during the daytime, blending seamlessly with the natural sunlight.

If not for a faint, piercing glare, an ordinary person would never have been able to trace the attack's origin.

The strike arrived in the blink of an eye. In an instant, it shattered the Dark Aura tentacles Fass had extended from the crater.

'That attack is incredibly fast and possesses terrifying power, but it cannot directly damage conventional matter,' Fass deduced.

Logically, the previous strike should have easily pierced through the Dark Aura and blasted a massive crater into the ground.

After all, the very first attack had directly shattered his protective shield upon impact and carried a tremendous amount of kinetic energy.

Yet now, this beam merely pierced the Dark Aura. When it struck the dirt, it acted no differently than a normal ray of light.

'His attacks seem to require a collision with other forms of energy to generate destructive power,' Fass guessed. With this hypothesis in mind, he immediately formulated his next battle plan.

The Dark Aura spread outwards, and then a large clump of soil flew up from the bottom of the pit.

The scattered dirt blotted out the sky, obstructing vision.

A dark silhouette flashed past from behind the dirt.

However, this did nothing to hinder the enemy's assault.

One of the orbs floating beside the Black Masked Priest flashed and vanished, instantly firing a beam of light that melted into the ambient daylight.

The dark silhouette was struck with pinpoint accuracy, yet nothing happened to it.

Down in the crater, Fass looked at the robe he had tossed into the air. Confirming that it was mostly intact despite taking a direct hit, he extended his Dark Aura senses toward the scattered soil.

He noticed bits of pulverized flesh mixed within the dirt.

'It's ineffective against non-living matter, but highly lethal to living organisms.' The soil Fass had flung into the air contained small creatures like earthworms and beetles.

This further confirmed the nature of the Black Mask's attack: it dealt no damage to targets lacking life force or strong energy signatures.

'It also possesses a certain degree of armor penetration. Loose dirt and clothing offer no defense.' He had thrown up a considerable amount of soil just now, yet it failed to intercept the attack, and his robe was still hit.

Having verified the characteristics of his opponent's attack, Fass stopped waiting and called out, "You're from the Church, aren't you?"

"Showing up here and trying to kill me... are you hiding a secret here?"

Standing in the distance, the Black Mask's eyes twitched slightly beneath his disguise.

Yet he did not halt his spellcasting. A few more orbs of light manifested around him.

If Fass dared to show his head now, he would inevitably be shot through.

However, Fass seemed dead set on staying inside the dirt pit, and he continued shouting, "It's highly likely that Isabella left a mark on Al."

"It won't be long before Isabella leads her team here following his trail."

"If I can't escape by then, I'll absolutely expose you and your secrets."

"How about this: you let me go, and I'll take Al's corpse in the opposite direction to draw their attention away?!" Fass proposed at this critical juncture.

His only answer was a transparent beam of light searing through the air just inches above his head.

Evidently, this Black Masked Priest had rejected his offer.

Then, Fass heard the faintest sound of approaching footsteps.

Realizing that Fass was not going to leave the crater, his attacker intended to close the distance and execute him, silencing him once and for all.

Upon hearing the footsteps, Fass immediately manipulated his Steel Orbs to generate a force field, resuming his excavation.

Only this time, he didn't try to dig deeper into the earth.

Doing so would only restrict his own mobility.

If that happened, he truly wouldn't have any chance of escaping this place.

Indeed, even though part of him felt that dying here wouldn't be in vain, Fass had never truly abandoned the hope of survival.

Although his current existence was bizarre and his mental state incredibly chaotic, as long as there was a sliver of life to cling to, he would never give up.

Driven by this thought, Fass went to work. Digging parallel to the surface, he carved out a shallow underground tunnel in a different direction, creating a makeshift trench.

Soil continuously flew out of the initial crater, drawing the Black Mask's attention.

But because the Steel Orbs could operate independently at a distance, the flying dirt couldn't serve as concrete proof of Fass's exact location, effectively obscuring his actual position.