Chapter 287 The Truth
All Wildfire Cultists are Senro's hounds.
When she came to this conclusion, Ivana herself couldn't believe it because it was so crazy that the moment she said it, she couldn't help but wonder if she was wrong.
...No, it can't be wrong.
Ivana was resolute again.
It must be like this.
After a brief silence, Yvina heard Nick chuckle.
"Interesting." Nick looked at Ivana and asked with a smile, "Anything else? What else did you think of?"
...Is this an admission?
Ivana pursed her lips tightly.
In other words, the Wildfire Cultist standing in front of her was indeed not a human, but a hound, a real hound.
But then what? Why do they do this?
This is the most crucial point, but Ivana already had a rough idea, so she sorted out her thoughts while whispering, "You have a certain ability, or a certain ritual, that allows you to transform into a human being through the ritual after obtaining the flesh and blood of a human being. And it's not just the appearance of the incarnation, but also the memory and... emotions."
As she said this, Yvina's mind once again recalled what happened the night before - her grandmother told her to "do the right thing."
To be precise, the person who said this to her was not her grandmother, but the guy in front of her.
Combined with what this guy said later to the dead priest, "Her obsession was too deep, and I couldn't completely suppress it," it is enough to draw that conclusion.
"But you need time to digest these memories and emotions." Yvina said, "Am I right?"
Nick couldn't help but clap his hands for Yvina, and his expression was exactly the same as when his grandmother praised Yvina many years ago.
"You are worthy of being my granddaughter." Nick's voice was still kind, but there was a hint of teasing and cruelty in that kindness. "Is it just my illusion? You seem to have been avoiding a question. Do you really not know what this ritual of replacing each other is, or... don't want to think about it?"
Ivana's face turned pale immediately.
What exactly is this ceremony? It’s already this late, how could she not know about it?
What else can a pack of hounds do when they need human flesh and blood?
Yvina knew the answer, but she still didn't dare to think about it, didn't dare to think about what these guys did with her grandmother's body.
"It's delicious." Nick said suddenly.
Yvina froze in place.
"I mean, your grandmother." Nick licked his cracked lips with his bright red tongue, a cruel and bloodthirsty smile on his face, "She tastes really good."
"...Shut up." Ivana's voice was trembling.
"Huh? Why did you tell me to shut up?" Nick said with a smile, "You were the one who sent the blood and flesh to me. Did you really not think about what would happen?"
"Shut up!"
"Ah, it's actually really interesting, you know? Seeing a little girl come to me with her grandmother's flesh and blood, begging me to help her bring her grandmother back to life..."
"Shut up!" Ivana could no longer control herself and threw the last weapon on her body - a hunter's hatchet - at Nick's head.
But she was not a hunter after all, and she couldn't hit Nick even if he stood still.
The axe sank into the tree next to Nick without even interrupting his words.
"...Your hope is the best ingredient for rice, which makes my meal more delicious."
Nick's smile grew wider, while Yvina on the other side was on the verge of collapse.
"Why..." She screamed desperately at Nick, "Why are you doing this?! Aren't you Senluo's hounds?! Why did you betray the God of Senluo?!"
"boom"!
There was another roar of thunder that sounded like the roar of heaven and earth, and the rain was getting heavier and heavier.
After hearing the words "God of Senluo", Nick's smile gradually faded.
"Why did you betray the God of Senluo?" Nick said slowly, "That's a good question."
Ivana was stunned.
Because the voice that came out of Nick's mouth at this time was not his grandmother's, nor was it the voice of the Pastor Nick in her memory.
But it was a more majestic and chaotic one, as if it had just awakened from a long sleep.
"It's simple, because He is a madman, and He wants everyone to die." Nick said, "And I will be the first one to die."
"...I don't understand what you mean!" Ivana said, "Why would the God of Senluo want you to die?"
"I said, He not only wants me to die, but He wants everyone to die." Nick said, "He always has a crazy goal, but He cannot accomplish this goal alone. He needs extra strength, and many, many people who are willing to sacrifice their lives for His goal. Whether it's a hunter or a hound, they are all tools for Him to achieve this goal, or... weapons, yes, weapons. If possible, He would rather everyone become His weapons. Weapons have no feelings, no thoughts, and when they are broken, He will just use the next one. But we are not, so He emphasizes other things, such as trust and courage, especially... after I betrayed Him."
Nick rarely spoke a lot.
Ivana opened her mouth slightly because she suddenly realized who she was talking to.
"You are..." Ivana said tremblingly.
Nick seemed not to hear it. He slowly raised his head and looked at the lightning that was tearing through the night sky above his head.
"Death is also part of His plan. He wants to come back because once He comes back, it means He has found a way to defeat death. And then He can use this method on... that guy."
Ivana didn't know if it was her illusion, but when Nick mentioned "that guy", his voice seemed to pause unconsciously, but soon returned to normal.
"In this way, He can continue His crazy idea and drag the entire world, including all living things including the gods, into the war that has not ended a thousand years ago. Even if everyone has to pay with their lives for it, He doesn't care... Hehe, He doesn't care. He will never allow anyone to retreat, not even the people closest to Him."
Nick slowly lowered his head and looked at Ivana. His eyes were full of emotions that Ivana could not understand, but it still made Ivana feel great pressure and even wanted to kneel down.
"But it doesn't matter. He won't come back because I ate Him." Nick said, "The whole world should thank me for devouring such a lunatic. Yes... The whole world should thank me instead of stopping me, don't you think?"
Ivana subconsciously took a step back.
Under this gaze, Ivana seemed to have forgotten to breathe.
"It's okay. It's almost done. I already know everything about Him and have devoured Him. Now... there's only one last step left." Nick looked behind Ivana as if his eyes penetrated her body, and then said softly, "He's here. I... can feel it."
After the words fell, the pressure on Ivana suddenly disappeared.
The sense of oppression in Nick's eyes was gone, replaced by a brief moment of confusion.
"It was... the boss?" Nick used the voice of Yvina's grandmother again. "Ah, yes, the boss is about to wake up."
Nick looked at Yvina again.
"Miss Saint, you have just heard the oracle." Nick said, "Why don't you kneel down? This is your last chance."
Yvina's body was still shaking.
The wildfire stayed on Nick's body for less than half a minute, but the oppression and fear it brought to Ivana far exceeded all of Nick's previous words.
For a moment, she really wanted to kneel down.
But she still stopped.
"Kill me now." Ivana said word by word, "I am the Saint of Senluo! I will never bow down to the wildfire!"
"Hmm... I see. You seem to be a loyal saint." Nick did not feel angry but smiled and said, "But it's good this way. We can also get your loyalty after we eat you. Loyalty is far more precious than knowing the times, especially for us."
Ivana's pupils narrowed slightly, and Nick's words suddenly made her understand something.
"It seems that you have realized it again. You are indeed a very smart person, Miss Saint." Nick said with a smile, "The reason why we have to go to so much trouble and have not taken over this land even though the God of Senluo is dead and the Senluo Hunters have no inheritance is because... we are learning."
"We don't hate our identity, but we must admit that there are too few things that beasts can do. Except for the leader, our tribe is uncivilized. We only know how to survive, but we don't know how to go further. But the leader gave us the answer, which is... you."
"The boss wants to become a god, and we want to become 'humans'. However, we grew up in a different environment from you, and our physiological structure is also different. We are destined to not be able to think like humans, and we are destined to not be able to have those human thoughts, until the boss gave us the power, which is to devour... or what you call replacement."
"We ate a courageous human being and understood his courage. We ate a loyal person and understood his loyalty. We have been doing this for the past hundred years. We did not directly eliminate the power of Senluo because we did not know how to control this land. So we are learning. We watched hunters hunt, watched ordinary people avoid the night, watched your parents and sisters have emotions and bonds that far exceed those of our people. We watched everything, and then... ate you, and then these things belonged to us."
"We will even specifically cultivate some of the traits we need, just like your cooking. For example, if we need a courageous offspring, we will first cultivate such a hunter, and then arrange for our offspring to eat him, so we get such a offspring. Our offspring cannot understand what trust is, so we will arrange the ignorant offspring to be with a hunter who can teach it what trust is, and then let it eat him, so that the offspring will know what trust is."
Yvina's breathing became heavier.
"It seems you already understand." Nick said with a smile, "Yes, this sacrificial site and those hunters who keep coming here are the tools for my tribe to train warriors. And you, your grandmother, and the saints of all generations after the death of the God of Senluo are also part of our completion of this ceremony. You and we murdered those hunters and trained my people, so from this point of view, you have long been our saint."
With a "plop" sound.
Ivana could no longer hold on and fell to her knees, her face full of despair.
She thought about Vic.
If Nick hadn't lied to her, then that meant that Vic had already died, and the one who had been following them was...
"roar."
The roar of a wild animal came from behind her.
Yvina turned around with difficulty and saw the pure silver wolf that had saved her life two days ago slowly walking out of the woods.
Compared to two days ago, he became even more manic. His dark green eyes, full of murderous intent, were staring at Ivana, and blood could not stop flowing out from between his teeth.
She couldn't help but say, "Vic!"
The Pure Silver Wolf did not respond.
"Oh, Saint." Nick said softly, "It seems that you have finally remembered your identity and mission."
"No!" Ivana stood up and yelled at Vic, "Vic, don't listen to him! Remember who you are! You are a hunter, the last hunter in Senluo!"
This hysterical cry was so powerless amid the manic thunder.
"Give up, Miss Saint." Nick walked slowly towards Ivana, "Do you know what the next step after 'devouring' is? It's cognition."
Nick stood beside Ivana, looking at the Pure Silver Wolf not far away with a smile.
"We understand humans, learn from humans, and eat humans, not to become humans, but to... surpass humans. So after knowing everything about you, we must have knowledge that is superior to you." Nick said, "Understanding you is to better eat you and better surpass you, not to become you. We will use all your skills and emotions, but we will never be bound by these things, because... we are a race that wants to become God's apostles. And the saint... he is the future God."
"Now that the saints have remembered everything, it is time to return to the Lord's arms. This is the Lord's final piece of the puzzle."
Nick bowed slightly and saluted the Pure Silver Wolf.
"Greetings, great Lord," he said softly, "Please use this woman as the final step on your path to godhood."
As soon as she finished speaking, Ivana saw Vic roaring and rushing towards her.
She closed her eyes in despair.
With a "puff" sound.
A stream of heat splashed on Yvina's face.
But she felt no pain.
"You... why?" Nick's incredible voice sounded in her ears, "Saint, you... should have remembered everything... by now."
Yvina opened her eyes and saw the claws of the pure silver wolf piercing Nick's chest beside her.
"…Vic?!"
The pure silver wolf did not answer Ivina. It seemed to have lost the ability to speak. After cutting open Nick's body, it let out an extremely sad roar.
But it seems like crying.
(End of this chapter)
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