Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 717 Forbidden Fire
At this point, the top of the cemetery had already been cut off.

The black flames continued to spread and rage, the spiraling flames devouring and melting the rock layers on the mountaintop, turning the main tomb chamber into an open-air tomb.

Milo was finally able to see the general layout of the so-called main burial chamber.

Instead of the remains of the priest king, also known as the Weeping King, there were several freshly burned mummies belonging to the Knights of the Hooked Finger Temple.

The Holy Maiden of Hooked Finger has completely lost her nobility and holiness in reality.

Or rather, she had already changed when she entered the main burial chamber, becoming the pale, ghostly face she had previously peeked at Milo and Freya through the crack in the door.

After her soul returned to her body, she screamed and roared like a madwoman, seeking help from the other temples on another mountain peak.

"You must stop him! Stop the usurper of the forbidden fire!!"

"The blade of the golden tree! Servants of the gods! You must stop the spread of calamity!"

"I am willing to offer up my faith, which has been sealed for a hundred years, to the Golden Law!"

"Just kill him!!"

If you look closely, you'll notice that the totem in the Holy Maiden's eyes has shattered.

This may have happened before Milo arrived at the main burial chamber. Her body and soul underwent some strange change, and her so-called faith of more than a hundred years did not bring her any benefits, but instead brought disaster and misfortune.

Then look around at the corpses of the knights of the temple who had hooked their fingers.

They had already been disemboweled and had their throats ripped off before they were burned to a crisp...

Finally, looking back at the Holy Maiden with the Hooked Finger, her hands, chest, neck, and mouth were all stained with blood.

What happened here before Milo arrived was already quite obvious...

Was it caused by that distorted belief, or by the forbidden fire?
...

This problem is currently weighing on Milo's mind.

However, now that she is trying to attract the attention of other temples, Milo has no reason to spare her life.

"The beginning was all very good, so why did the last sentence suddenly become so aggressive..."

click-

As the Holy Maiden desperately shouted towards the dark distance, Milo, who came from behind, easily snapped her neck.

The shouting stopped abruptly.

However, the cries for help that had already been sent out could not be intercepted.

On the side shrouded in mist and snow, temple personnel will soon become aware of the situation.

The Hooked Saintess's actions were not really a cry for help, but more like a desperate act of self-destruction. It was clear that the seal of the forbidden fire was a secret within the Hooked Temple, and the Faith Pasture was their exclusive possession. However, from the moment the seal was broken, everything was no longer a secret, and hiding it would be pointless.

Perhaps her final cry was to warn the other temples, to inform them that an uncontrollable, forbidden power was being born here? Was it her last vestige of conscience before death?
Not necessarily. She probably just wanted Milo dead, and wanted Milo to be buried with her.

From this perspective, a saint isn't necessarily much more holy than an ordinary person.

In the end, the hatred and ugliness in human nature were still fully revealed, hehe.

……

"Um……"

"what?"

"Wow ah ah~~"

"My hand! My hand is gone!!!"

...

Milo was watching the swirling black flames that filled the surrounding space when suddenly Freya's terrified screams came from behind him.

Wasn't this guy sleeping?
When Milo turned around, he found her crouching on the ground, hugging her right arm and crying in terror. Her cries showed more fear than pain.

Her right arm was reduced to just the upper arm segment; the part below the elbow had disappeared…

The broken section still shows gruesome wounds from gnawing and tearing.

...

It's likely that the Holy Maiden bit it while she was unconscious.

After all, the other members who originally targeted the Knights Templar likely died in the same way.

Upon hearing Freya's wailing, Milo's first reaction was to check himself to see if any parts were missing. Only after confirming that he was unharmed did he rush over to check on Freya's condition.

But she had stopped crying by now.

Because the bitten-off arm is slowly regrowing, new bones and flesh are gradually being squeezed out from the broken joint, and it has even begun to form the model of a tender baby's arm.

Just as Milo judged.

Freya's wailing was entirely due to being frightened.

After all, no one could stay calm if they woke up to find their right hand severed...

...

"Why are you shouting so loudly?"

"I... don't worry about me!"

"Let's go."

"Where to? Come to think of it, I don't feel sleepy at all anymore, I'm even quite energetic, and a little cold... Hmm, what kind of fire is that?"

...

After the gentle fire disappeared, Freya's persistent drowsiness vanished.

It's like a dream that's been shattered; the truth is actually the black flames that burn everything.

Milo had seen flames of this color on one of the Four Horsemen, the Scourge, but his black flames were not spiral-shaped, nor did they possess such a heavy aura of sin.

A power that can be called forbidden must be tainted with elements that even the gods would avoid, and these elements must be innate, such as Milo's instinct to devour fear, or the conqueror's fearless talent. In the dream world ruled by the gods, these are their original sins.

...

So, does fire also have original sin?
This is not a fire without a source.

Before this, the weeping child was the very spark that sustained it. "The original sin of fire?"

The jagged, twisted black flames that danced and throbbed across the sky in Mirona made it impossible to see what they were burning.

But soon, he suddenly realized that the faith power generated by those illusory spirits in the sealed illusion was slowly becoming thinner until it was completely empty.

Both the portion belonging to the Temple of Hooked Finger and the portion belonging to the "Lord of Fear" were burned to ashes...

"I see……"

Milo suddenly realized.

When a flame no longer provides warmth or nurtures life, that is its original sin.

When properly guided, the flame atop the Cold Plains can even conjure a gentle world, generating a continuous stream of faith power. However, when the guidance is broken, the spiraling dark fire will turn around and burn all this faith power that should not exist to ashes.

This is its inherent power.

Even the power of faith, which is considered the ultimate in immortality, can be destroyed by fire.

What does that mean?
It means killing a god.

...

This is the taboo and original sin of fire.

So it's no wonder that when the priest king of Lengyuan came into contact with the black flames, the gods annihilated the entire kingdom.

All of the priest king's blood relatives were killed, and his people were enslaved by the moon beasts in the years that followed. The only thing left was this broken underground cemetery.

But the Temple of Hooked Finger ultimately failed to extinguish this forbidden flame.

Perhaps they cannot do it, perhaps they are unwilling to do it...

In short, the secret was kept.

That's how the so-called seal came about, used to create the power of faith.

It's not hard to deduce that the Hooked Finger Temple is unwilling to give up this potential god-killing power, while the other temples are still kept in the dark.

But now no one can stop the flames.

...

The Scarlet Witch promised the Crybaby that the Lord of Fear would descend upon him in the future and deliver him from his suffering.

Perhaps a CCD-level Milo could indeed end the Crybaby's suffering and easily suppress and subdue the flames.

The weeping man's suffering has indeed come to an end; he and the power of faith in that illusory dynasty have been burned to ashes.

Gentle fires only brought him endless pain, while the black flames, a symbol of death, represented the other extreme...

...

“We’ve released something incredible,” Milo muttered to himself.

Freya shook her head: "There is no 'we,' you released something incredible yourself."

Black flames spread through the air and darted about.

It did not exhibit any frenzied behavior, nor did it bring catastrophic destruction to its surroundings as soon as it was freed. Instead, after burning the seal, it gradually calmed down and began to observe the unfamiliar world before it with a kind of "rational" attitude.

However, it is precisely this inappropriate calm that makes it all the more terrifying…

Does it possess an independent will?
not necessarily.

This is the original and purest form of fire: cold and heat, light and darkness, life and death, including the dark part that is branded with sin.

……

...

It is not a fire without a source.

Those acts of burning and devouring are not driven by an innate will to destroy, but rather by the instinct of fire—to seek out a spark.

As it turns out, those things that can be easily burned are not qualified to become a spark, including the soul of a crybaby.

No matter how deep the crybaby's obsession runs, he can only withstand the gentle, bright side of the flame; the dark side of evil requires a much heavier fire...

...

……

"what is that……"

On the other side of the Cold Plains Mountain, the Law Blades and the temple apostles, who were still engaged in fierce fighting, finally noticed the mountain peak in the distance that had been half-shaved off by flames, and the sinful aura surrounding it.

Fear arose spontaneously.

It's something that sends chills down your spine with just a glance; the naked eye can't even perceive the true image clearly to the brain, yet the brain already gives a terrifying response.

It's some primal fears originating from the depths of the soul at work.

...

"You must stop him! ...Stop the usurper of the forbidden fire!!"

"The blade of the golden tree! ... Servants of the gods! ... You must stop the spread of calamity!"

"I am willing to offer up my faith, which has been sealed for a hundred years, to the Golden Law!"

"Just kill him!!"

"kill him!!!"

...

The Holy Maiden of the Hooked Finger Temple's desperate shouts seemed to pierce through the mist with great effort.

In reality, the battle between the Blade and the Hunter didn't last very long; rather, Milo's side was progressing too quickly. After all, most of the time, which felt long, was spent in the sealed illusion...

...

"Kill who?"

Even Joan felt the chill emanating from afar.

(End of this chapter)