Chapter 154
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
Chapter 154: Variations
“It’s just ahead. Hmm, the curse shows that Pastor should have run here.”
“Everyone, be careful.”
Adelaide led dozens of Night Watchers, including Holly, into the alley. Each one moved with utmost vigilance.
After all, the enemy was none other than the infamous Pastor, a man whose every step posed a deadly threat.
And then, they froze.
The alley was dark and suffocating. Ordinary people would struggle to see anything in its depths. Only when Adelaide’s gun emitted a bolt of dazzling lightning did the scene become visible.
Pastor stood calmly in the gloom, young and handsome, his gold-rimmed glasses catching the faint light. His expression was calm, his eyes reflecting a contemplative glint.
On the ground lay a dark shadow, still and silent. At first glance, it was difficult to discern who it was.
But Adelaide felt a sudden and unshakable unease.
Could it be…
Holly, with her keen senses, shouted in horror, “It’s Bai Yan!”
Adelaide’s heart sank. Bai Yan? How? Was Pastor so ruthless that he had already killed him?
Fury bubbled beneath her composed exterior. But no—she forced herself to remain calm. Facing Pastor’s overwhelming power, emotional recklessness would only lead to death.
Holly, however, wasn’t listening.
She rushed forward, her movements as swift as a rabbit’s.
Flow of Heart – Heavenly Martial Arts!
Dragon Claw!
The mystical technique manifested instantly. Blue dragon scales sprouted on Holly’s hands, her eyes burned red with fury, and she charged at Pastor with everything she had, utterly ignoring the disparity in strength.
“Bai Yan is our partner! How could you kill him?”
“Halt.”
Pastor’s voice was calm as he cast the Order of God. Black light formed an impenetrable shield around him, effortlessly blocking Holly’s ferocious assault.
“Die!”
Holly screamed as she launched punch after punch, but each strike was repelled.
Pastor sighed, preparing to retaliate, but his instincts screamed a warning.
That familiar sense of danger…
It was Profligate again.
The scoundrel!
“I never thought there’d be a day when I’d be thoroughly toyed with,” Pastor muttered, his voice tinged with irritation.
With a weary sigh, he retrieved a life-saving high-level Relic from his pocket.
The sleek black bracelet in his hand shimmered faintly in the dim light.
Issai’s Roundabouts.
A Relic capable of recording a location and teleporting its user back to it in an instant.
The price? Irreversible worsening of nearsightedness.
Pastor dismantled the bracelet and swiftly reassembled it.
The ground beneath his feet spun violently, a vortex of power forming around him.
And then he was gone.
The Night Watchers stared in stunned silence.
Though absurd in its mechanism, the Relic’s power was undeniable. Pastor had escaped.
“Bai Yan, rest assured—we’ll save you!” Holly knelt beside the crumpled figure on the ground. But as her eyes scanned his body, her heart sank.
Bai Yan’s condition was beyond dire. His life force flickered faintly, barely tethered to the mortal coil.
No…
Holly clenched her fists, unable to accept the reality. Bai Yan, her junior colleague, her trusted partner—how could he die like this?
“Why did it have to happen?”
Fury surged within her as she slammed her fist into the alley wall, leaving a deep crater.
Adelaide, standing nearby, stared at Bai Yan in silence. She was losing her companions one by one.
First Feather.
Now Bai Yan.
Why?
Tears streamed down her face as she fell to her knees. The façade of cold authority she always wore cracked and crumbled.
In this moment, she wasn’t the commanding Adelaide—she was just a person mourning those she loved.
“Why does everyone leave me…?” she whispered.
Bai Yan lay still, his mind hazy.
Tears.
Warm tears fell onto his face.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he was shaken.
The mask of his identity—of “Bai Yan”—threatened to slip away.
For a fleeting moment, he wanted to rise, to reassure his comrades, to laugh and tell them everything was fine.
But he couldn’t.
No.
He had already made his choice.
Bai Yan sighed inwardly. If he was to disappear, let it be here, embraced by the warmth of his friends’ sorrow.
It was a poetic end.
A sudden alarm blared in Bai Yan’s mind.
Danger. Malice. Death.
Dark energy coiled at the alley’s entrance like a snake preparing to strike.
Pastor had returned.
Standing in the moonlight, his handsome face bore an expression of cold indifference.
“Slash.”
The word hung in the air as black blades of energy hurtled toward Adelaide and her team.
And yet, the blades missed.
The three Night Watchers found themselves sprawled on the ground, unharmed, the attacks narrowly evading them.
Their savior stood in the alley’s shadows, cloaked in mystery.
“Who are you?” Adelaide demanded, her voice shaky.
The figure stepped forward, revealing a faint smile.
“I am Profligate, a member of Babel Tower.”
Adelaide froze.
Profligate.
The notorious enigma of Babel Tower, known for tormenting evildoers with merciless precision.
The man turned and walked toward the alley’s mouth, the silvery moonlight framing his retreating figure.
“Wait!” Holly shouted.
“Why did you save us?”
The man paused, his voice calm and distant.
“Because… it’s the Savior’s will. We and the Demon Hunt Agency are not enemies.”
He hesitated briefly before adding, “I’m sorry I couldn’t save your friend. But at least… he didn’t die alone.”
Bai Yan’s body dissolved into motes of light, drifting away.
Adelaide stood in stunned silence, her tears falling unchecked.
Bai Yan had disappeared.
And yet, in the moonlight, the figure of Profligate walked forward, stepping out of the shadows and into legend.
