Why are you still alive?

"This problem is too complicated to explain, so I can only demonstrate it to you."

Merlink shook his head, then took another step toward him, his gray eyes cold and devoid of any emotion.

Then a sound of something breaking through the air rang out.

Andrew had no time to hesitate any longer. He picked up his weapon and took a step to bridge the distance between them.

The enemy is within reach.

Raise your hand, and thrust diagonally.

But in that instant, his movements came to an abrupt halt. The sword had indeed pierced the man's body—but the sensation was completely different, like throwing a pebble into water.

"A double?" Andrew Lie sped backward at an even faster speed than before.

"Ah, yes, just a drop of ink, a splash of paint."

Merlink yawned and pulled the gun-sword that had been plunged into his heart. What seeped from the grotesque cross-section was not blood, but countless strands of liquid dye.

He looked at Andre: "It's just a little trick. How does it feel to die on the altar like me?"

"It's amazing that you managed to hide it for so long."

"Of course, it's for copying and framing. Do you know how painful it is for artists? Sometimes they can't even eat because of a painting. So I thought, instead of working hard for the boss to complete the performance projects, I might as well take a few months off and wait for my colleagues to arrive before I do some serious work."

Merlink sighed helplessly. At that moment, he saw the priest's eyes staring stiffly at a point in the air, like a trapped, collapsing jackal, with some crazy idea fermenting in his pupils.

"To be honest, your drama program is quite artistic. I saw many unforgettable scenes. Those things were a pleasant surprise."

“But I still prefer quiet. What I need is silent sacrifice. That’s what makes it great, what makes it an unparalleled work of art. High-end paintings can be relaxing, Mr. Andre,” Merlinck said. “But in Jerusalem, all I feel is noise, despair, and utter irritation.”

As he spoke, he removed the drawing board from his back and casually drew a thick mark on it with a charcoal pencil.

"Now, it's time to start work."

He looked up and then revealed the gentle smile that the priest always emphasized, but now it only felt ironic.

"I'm going to return them all."

In that instant, Andrew heard a huge "boom," and the whole city seemed to shake.

He wasn't sure what was happening, and looked around. For a moment he thought it was the bombs, but soon he realized it wasn't; the booming sound was coming from beneath his feet.

His mind was still filled with Merlink's words, and then Andre realized where he had gone wrong—he hadn't been right from the moment Pandora crawled out of the pile of corpses and he nailed the child to the altar.

These days, people don't need to worry about too many things. Just do what you're supposed to do, enjoy yourself, and spend more time on your beautiful bed partners and pets—that's enough.

Persuading such people to change their minds is actually quite simple; they rarely have moments of clarity in their lives. So Andrew miscalculated, thinking the situation was still within his control.

He was completely unaware that someone had already laid out the game all over Jerusalem, and everyone was already caught in the middle of it.

The next moment, he heard a huge rumble, and the whole earth trembled.

Andrew stared wide-eyed into the distance.

Beelzebub's castle has an extremely high main level, and that high ground, which was the planning center, was originally built to offer a panoramic view of the glory of Jerusalem.

To describe it specifically, it is the biggest jewel in the crown of the new city, mostly silent and still, like a piece of the sky cut out and inlaid into the city.

Entry and exit are by special membership only, and each room has its own climate system. If you're bored, you can turn on the sunset glow before dark, creating a breathtaking scene. If you were there, you would definitely not be able to distinguish between the real world and the outside world.

But at this moment, the paradise-like castle changed. Waves crashed down from the dome like countless black dragons, raging wildly. The luxurious fortress, like a fragile toy, vanished beneath the waves in the blink of an eye.

The surrounding trees trembled violently, fell in clumps, and spontaneously combusted, as if some extremely terrifying monster was about to emerge from underground.

Soon, the buildings sank one after another. The main city, like its richly dressed inhabitants struggling in vain, was completely dissolved after only a slight tilt. The sound of massive objects breaking apart echoed throughout the land, and the earth screamed and roared, like a dying beast desperately crying for help.

A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the gloomy, oppressive clouds, threatening to cleave the world in two.

It took Andrew a while to realize that Jerusalem was going to sink.

All the rules were broken, like a thin sheet of paper on a canvas. The artist felt it had lost its value and tore it lightly—and the earth collapsed, the lake gushed forth, and the roar of destruction was deafening.

Countless bolts of lightning struck down, like divine punishment, hitting the altar and illuminating half the sky. Fires broke out in some places, raging wildly, as if responding to the lightning.

Before him, the marble base exploded with a bang, the flying fragments cutting through his skin, and a violent stench of blood assaulted his senses, mixed with the smell of pain and decay.

He felt he could hear someone screaming, a voice like Lilith's, sharp and fanatical, dominating his reason.

Merlink stood in the raging storm and smiled with satisfaction.

He watched as the once-proud jewel of the city sank, now reduced to a dead, deformed creature, only able to utter meaningless cries of despair.

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