Devil's Bible

“And I still have so many enemies.” Phos’s vision was even blurry at that moment.

The number of black-masked figures increased from three to six, and then to more.

Then, it seemed that more appeared in the distance.

Phos realized that he was not the protagonist favored by fate, and he could not create miracles.

Or rather, the fact that they had already defeated the Black Mask of the Iron-type was already a miracle.

It's actually quite normal that I've been defeated by these elite ascetics working together.

He simply couldn't pull off another miracle.

Despair weighed heavily on my heart.

“I failed.” Phos said dejectedly.

“I know,” Nems’ voice rang out at that moment.

"Lord Nemus... have you come to take my soul?" Phos asked.

“No, I’m just here to witness the withering of a flower,” Nemes immediately replied.

At this moment, however, Phos understood what the flower Nemes was referring to was.

"Am I, a loser, even considered a flower?" At this moment, Phos was not even sure if he was still dodging or protecting himself from the Black Mask's attacks.

It seemed that he could no longer hear any other sounds.

“You simply failed to bloom.” Nemus’s affirmative voice resonated deep within his soul.

"But no one can deny that a flower bud is still a flower."

With just that one sentence, Phos realized that his reason was returning.

He may have failed, but he may not have lost.

At least I didn't lose to my own life.

"Thank you, Lord Nemus," Phos said, trying to open his eyes, only to find that they were damaged.

Phos could only summon his mental energy; his fragmented senses emanated from his broken body, allowing him to perceive the situation outside.

"Stop!" It seemed to be Isabella shouting.

The pain felt like being burned by flames.

He was dying.

The last vestiges of spiritual energy and the remaining symbiotic souls began their final resonance.

The small amount of spiritual energy was now fluctuating violently.

This commotion attracted everyone's attention.

"What I want to perform here is the resonance and evolution of the soul!" The pulsation of the spirit formed Phos's final cry.

What followed was evolution through the resonance of spiritual power.

The thin layer of black mist surrounding Phos's body instantly transformed into a metallic black.

The first word that came to everyone's mind upon seeing that thing was steel.

Through repeated trials, life and death, and the tempering of blood and fire, Phos, with unwavering spirit, finally united all the symbiotic species.

The broken key was inserted into the equally broken keyhole.

Then it opened successfully.

Blind, with a broken leg and covered in wounds, Phos seemed to stand at the center of everything.

Meanwhile, those in black masks and Isabella and the others who arrived had become spectators.

Witnessing the final bloom of Phos.

Chapter 168 The Secret Force

“He is dead.” Isabella said, as the protective barrier that lit up blocked the black mask’s magic.

"You want to stop the church's secret forces from operating?" The masked men, however, did not back down at this moment. They spoke in unison, their surging momentum quite astonishing.

"What authority do you have for the transfer order? Or do you have a document approved by the archbishop, the captain, or even a high knight?" Isabella was not intimidated by the other party's imposing manner and asked this question instead.

The answer I received was silence.

Even so, Isabella felt that things were difficult.

Although the other party had not issued any transfer orders or approval documents, she was almost certain that these black-masked individuals were indeed a secret force of the church.

Because of the church's dark side, the things these clandestine forces do are generally things that the church cannot let outsiders know about, nor will they be acknowledged as having any connection with the church.

Therefore, such troops will not receive any substantial orders or approvals.

They only have the password given by their superiors, and then they will take that password as a belief to which they will dedicate their lives, and then carry it out steadfastly.

“So, you may not even be members of the church.” Although she knew this was the dark side of the church and that getting involved would make everything extremely troublesome, Isabella had no intention of backing down.

It's perfectly normal for the church to have a dark side, such as the whale product smuggling operation overseen by Nemes.

This kind of thing cannot be stopped, is difficult to stop, and should not be stopped.

Isabella could only choose to ignore this, since Nemes' actions were essentially for the good of the church and would not cause serious consequences.

However, Nemes's actions were merely somewhat dark, at best gray.

But it's hard to say what will happen with this kind of masked behavior right now.

"I can tolerate the existence of darkness, but only if it doesn't overshadow the light!" This is Isabella's current thought.

Darkness is inevitable, Isabella acknowledges, but she absolutely cannot accept that the church's core is dominated by darkness.

Just like Nemes, his smuggling was shady, but it was just a means to obtain resources and demonstrate power. In essence, Nemes used it to establish order, confirm the authority of the church, and treat clergy well, thereby further treating ordinary people well.

Once the church regains the ability to administer major and minor baptisms, smuggling can be reduced at any time.

But the other kind of darkness is not just that.

Their purpose may be for the good of the church, but their existence disrupts church order and people's lives.

It is undermining the foundation of the church's long-term existence in order to satisfy the short-term interests of a few.

In terms of methods and benefits, it is the opposite of Naim's behavior.

Although both are darkness, and to outsiders there may not be much difference, it is not something Isabella can tolerate; she still has a scale in her heart.

"Whether it is or not is not important." Black Mask chimed in at this moment. For them, being expelled from the church was a common occurrence, and it was not important.

The key point is that the current situation cannot be made public.

“You can take this person away, but you'd better not investigate the current situation.” The masked men considered whether to silence them.

However, they discovered that their current setup was no match for the opponent.

Isabella is not that half-baked Phos; she is a true Ironblood priestess.

At the same time, she was not alone.

The man with the black mask from the Iron species went to deal with Phos, thinking it was just a slightly special Black Stone species, so he went alone.

The rest of them stayed at the manor to cover up the evidence and prepare to retreat at any time.

This decision-making error not only led to the death of their steel race leader, but also allowed Phos to seize the opportunity and buy time, preventing them from covering up the evidence.

Therefore, given their inability to win, they only have one option left.

Persuade Isabella to leave, and then clean up the evidence after she leaves.

Although some of the matter was exposed, it wasn't much, and the problem wouldn't be too serious.

“I need to know what you’re doing here!” Isabella did not back down.

She felt that she needed at least the basic right to know, and then make an accurate judgment based on that information.

Just like when she went directly to confront Naimus back then.

The same behavior is happening now.

If she's mistaken, are these people really not part of the church's secret service?

What if they are criminal gangs collaborating with a fictitious agreement, and are doing some horrific things here?

This kind of thing has happened before.

There have been instances where cults have disguised themselves as secret departments of churches, operating covertly.

In such situations, most church clergy who have detected the other party choose to 'not see' the other party.

Ultimately, the cult successfully summoned the evil god, causing a major problem.

Isabella accepts the existence of the secret service, but not its lack of oversight.

If she knew absolutely nothing about the other party, Isabella decided to become the supervisor herself.

“As a priest of the Ironblood race, I should be qualified,” Isabella asked.

The masked men were also getting restless; Isabella was too much trouble.

However, this anxiety then completely disappeared.

“I oversee and am responsible for it, Reverend Isabella.” Just then, a voice appeared not far away.

This startled Isabella, who looked behind her, completely unaware of the other person's presence.

However, upon seeing the other person, Isabella felt that everything seemed to make sense.

The person who appeared here was none other than Bishop Rhine of Baiwei Town.

Rhine's face remained expressionless, a pair of old glasses he had worn for who knows how many years concealing the fluctuations in his eyes.

“Bishop Rhine…” Upon seeing the other party, Isabella knew that she could not continue her investigation today.

"As I mentioned in previous meetings, I am in charge of some classified missions, and these covert forces are related to that classified mission."

“If you have any doubts about this, I welcome you to report my situation to your superiors.” Rhine repeated the same statement.

If you have any questions, you can report them to the supervisory authority or other higher-level departments.

Isabella had no way to force anyone to investigate the situation inside the manor.

After all, Isabella was still Rhine's subordinate in a strict sense at this moment.

According to the doctrine of 'rules', church clergy and believers are required to comply with church rules and various laws, and among these rules is the obligation to obey orders from superiors.

Isabella, you can't break the 'rules' now.

"I understand." Although she said she understood, Isabella was determined to find out the specifics of Rhine's situation.

Chapter 169 Seasoning

"Let's go, or they'll find out." Nemus squinted as he watched Rhine temporarily suppress everything before leaving with Kru.

Rhine's strength is not bad, and his perception ability is even more terrifying. If it weren't for Nemus's multiple stealth characteristics, he might not have been able to interfere with Rhine's perception.

However, as time went on, Rhine still discovered problems.

"So, Rhine is that demon warlock?" Nemus couldn't help but ponder this question.

Earlier in the meeting, Nemes pressed Rhine on the matter, only to find that Rhine's answers were too 'formulaic,' which actually made him put aside his suspicions about Rhine.

After all, that demon warlock's behavior and state were very different from Rhine's.

But now, this once-abandoned manor has been put back into use by Rhine, and things have suddenly become unclear again.

After all, the manor was sealed off by Nemus just moments before it was occupied and redeveloped by the other side.

This gives the impression that they are closely related.

“No, there are still significant problems here.” Nems didn’t rush to conclusions.

There must be some underlying reason that I haven't discovered yet.

“And this can be left to Isabella.” Nems immediately made the corresponding arrangements.

Isabella has an innate sympathy for the underprivileged, and she cannot ignore the problems they face.