Returning to the Mysterious Era

Amid the continuous explosions, the towering and majestic Baptism Chapel began to collapse. Entire walls crumbled with a thunderous rumble. Shattered stones engulfed in flames flew as they tumbled across the ground, the black rain extinguishing them.

The enormous flames reflected off the Decaying Knights' armor, casting a red glow that illuminated the surrounding darkness.

The Northern Covert Martial Arts Alliance steadily closed in, relentlessly slaughtering the Decaying Knights, leaving more and more broken remnants of iron husks scattered across the ground.

Cassius dusted off his clothes and looked at the Baptism Chapel, now consumed in flames. Relief washed over him.

The Craniotomy Clinic, Daybreak Hospital, Mission Hall, Central Clock Tower, Arthropod Hall, and now the Baptism Chapel—all of Black Rain Manor's important structures of Black Rain Manor had been destroyed. He was now only one step away from fulfilling Twilight's lingering attachment: eliminating all the Decaying Knights.

Said group found themselves surrounded by the elite forces of the Northern Covert Martial Arts Alliance. The situation was obvious; the nearly thousand fighters of the alliance had completely suppressed the Decaying Knights. It was only a matter of time before the Knights were all killed.

The weight pressing on Cassius's heart since the beginning finally lifted, and he felt inexplicably light.

His entire body tingled with a strange sensation and he was hit with the sudden urge to scratch, as if tiny insects were crawling all over his skin. In the heat of battle, with adrenaline coursing through his veins, the human body often ignored pain. But as his mind slowly came to terms with the fact that this was a safe and relaxed environment, the previously overlooked pain gradually returned.

Cassius took a deep breath and was about to turn around when he heard a startled shout from a member of the assault team ahead.

He whipped around and rushed in the direction of that voice. Mi An, who had been assisting other Northern Covert Martial Arts Alliance units in their battles against the Decaying Knights, also hurried over.

"What happened?!" Mi An asked, casting a glance at Cassius. Cassius shook his head.

The two of them reached the young man's side and peered into the flames, asking what he had seen.

The young man promptly answered, "It looks like columns—neatly arranged stone columns. They weren't here before; it seems they've risen from the ground."

"Columns?" Cassius took a few steps closer and was nearly singed by the flames licking up. From his angle, he could see a gray-black column emerging from the ground, its top unfurling like the hands of a lotus.

These pillars are supposed to contain dark essence! Is this another one of Black Rain Manor's tricks? Cassius frowned deeply, the unease growing. Was something unforeseen about to happen?

Half a minute later.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Eight artillery shells streaked across several kilometers, slamming into the burning Baptism Chapel. Another round of explosions followed, and the air rose in waves, causing the surrounding golden-red flames to rapidly swell. Even from a distance, Cassius could feel the intense heat.

Beside him, Mi An shielded his eyes with his hand, glancing at the mostly collapsed Baptism Chapel before turning to Cassius. "That should be enough, right…?"

Half a minute later, another barrage of artillery rained down. Eight shells fell into the flames, kicking up clouds of dust, which were then swept away by the black torrential rain.

Feeling the heat on his face, Mi An looked at the expressionless Cassius once more. "This time for sure, right?"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The third wave of artillery, packed with explosives, pounded the chapel again. With a crash, the last wall of the Baptism Chapel crumbled, and the raging flames dimmed significantly.

Looking deeply contemplative, Cassius stroked his chin. He nodded in agreement. "Hmm, now it should be enough."

He wiped the rainwater from his face and scanned the empty battlefield. What had once been a formidable force of Decaying Knights was now nothing more than scattered and broken remnants of metal. There was some unknown black solid residue on the ruined weapons that was soon washed away by the relentlessly falling rain.

Only a dozen or so Decaying Knights remained, all severely damaged and all still resisting and maneuvering their steeds in the center of the battlefield. The Northern Covert Martial Arts Alliance had slowed its assault, wary of the gargoyles in the sky while they tended to their wounded.

Cassius pondered for a moment, then turned to Mi An and said, "Just to be safe, let's kill these Knights," Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Personally."

"…" Mi An was momentarily speechless. After spending so much time with Cassius, he thought he had the young man all figured out, but that was evidently not the case.

Cassius sometimes behaved like a typical hot-headed brawler, charging recklessly into battle. Then there were times he seemed overly cautious, displaying a steady demeanor even when the tide of battle had clearly turned in their favor.

Mi An eventually nodded. "Alright."

Immediately, the assault team took action. A dozen pugilist-level experts had the remaining Knights surrounded and, before long, crushed. The outcome was of no surprise to anyone. In no time, the Decaying Knights fell one by one, leaving the battlefield eerily empty.

Black Rain Manor's executioners, born from years of assemblage, had been entirely wiped out, and its important structures seemed to have been destroyed… Yet, the change Cassius sought had not occurred.

He cast his gaze toward the chapel's ruins, and Mi An followed suit. Cassius slowly headed toward the direction of the burning flames, his black boots splashing through the puddles on the ground. The broken stones made the street surface uneven.

Crunch.

His shoe stepped on a triangular piece of tile, and Cassius halted. He didn't approach the ruins any further, keeping at least a dozen meters between him and the chapel. This way, if anything unexpected happened, his reflexes would kick in and he'd be able to dodge out of danger's path.

Whoosh…

The flames, fueled by special gasoline, carried a foul odor, the scorching heat mixing with the cold black rain. His face felt both hot and cold, making him blink rapidly.

Beyond the wind whistling past his ears, there seemed to be other sounds. It was as if someone—the gender of whom he wasn't sure—was whispering softly, telling a story.

In a daze, a flash of white light passed before Cassius's eyes. Suddenly, his surroundings brightened, as if he had been transported to another world where there was no endless black rain, no low-hanging clouds. A vast, deep purple sky stretched out before his eyes. All around him were buildings with spires and domes, in a style unlike anything Cassius had ever seen before, and had an exotic charm. Some of the buildings were bizarrely serpentine, as if made of twisted rubber, their structures spiraling upward. Others looked like nibbled cookies, with pitted surfaces that somehow looked as though several houses had fused together.

Cassius turned around, bewildered.

In front of him stood a majestic gray-white spired chapel with three slender metal pillars at its peak. A chain-like black halo hovered above the three metal pillars, spinning and buzzing.

The chains seemed to be covered in intricate, mysterious symbols that looked lofty, majestic, and sacred. The vibrant stained glass windows were captivating, casting a beam of light from the sky that enveloped the entire chapel in a massive halo.

Dong!

The tolling of a bell echoed in the distance. As it resonated, Cassius felt as if the religious murals on the chapel windows had come to life. Countless beams of light shot down through the clouds, revealing winged, angelic figures. A blazing figure stood in the center and despite it being almost impossible to look at directly, it invoked an overwhelming desire to worship.

Cassius couldn't resist looking upward, where…

The martial arts status bar in the upper right corner of his vision was gone! If there was one thing most important to Cassius, it was, without a doubt, his cheat ability. And now, it was missing?! What happened? Who did this?

A wave of unrestrained rage instantly burned away any previous feelings of reverence. Cassius opened his eyes, which were now a fiery red.

Ding!

The entire scene exploded like a mirror smashing to pieces, each fragment reflecting a different image. It was like he had been jolted awake from a dream. Cassius found himself back in the Rainy World. Looking around, he realized he was inside the Baptism Chapel. The flames that had once engulfed the ruins were now extinguished, replaced by a layer of gray film.

This semicircular gray film flowed like a bubble, separating the inside from the outside, obscuring any view of what lay beyond. A faint layer of black smoke floated in the upper part of the space within the gray film.

Cassius could clearly see several figures in black combat suits standing motionless inside the smoke, their bodies stiff like statues. They trembled all over, blood trickling from their mouths, their pale faces showing signs of struggle, and large blisters marred their skin, which peeled away as if suffering from severe burns.

Cassius quickly examined himself and found the same thing mirrored on his skin. Radiation? He instinctively scanned the surroundings. The chapel's floor had been blown apart, revealing the uneven ground beneath. In some exposed areas, he could see rough rock formations.

Meteorites?

Cassius's eyes widened in surprise, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it. The weakness and pain growing in his body told him he wasn't out of the woods yet, whether it was because of the toxins in the air, the meteorites underground, or some mysterious force. Cassius needed to resolve his situation. Fortunately, he had broken free from the hallucination and could now assess his next steps.

It was clear that this situation was related to the pillars around him.

He suppressed the weakness within and turned to punch the gray film, but all it did was ripple under his fist.

He couldn't get out.

Cassius turned to look at the nearest pillar. The gray-black pillar's top held up a pair of hands, from which mist rose.

He rushed toward it, surprisingly unimpeded. However, the closer he got to the pillar, the stronger the radiation seemed, making the fatigue in his body intensify.

Tap tap tap…

The sound of his footsteps echoed as he swiftly approached the pillar. Determination flashing in his eyes, Cassius threw a punch at the pillar, his fist whistling through the air. With a loud crack, the pillar shattered.

Crack!

It broke apart like a spiderweb, countless fragments falling onto the ground.

"It was that easy?!" Cassius found it hard to believe.

But it was indeed that simple, as the most difficult part had been the previous mind-bending hallucination. It seemed to possess a compelling, almost hypnotic quality, strong enough to deceive even an accomplished pugilist like Cassius who had formidable willpower.

This trap was lethal in that, after a while, a penetrating force would kill those caught in the hallucination with radiation. Cassius noticed two elite disciples from the Covert Martial Arts Alliance convulsing on the ground. Their consciousness was trapped in the hallucination, while their bodies suffered continuous damage from the real-world radiation, a threat even their martial arts couldn't withstand.

It didn't look like the Baptism Chapel was actively attacking them, but rather, it was a final, passive defense mechanism designed to protect something beneath the chapel. Those who came within a certain range would fall under the hallucination's influence, and find themselves trapped within the gray film.

While speculating this, Cassius quickly began to destroy the pillars inside the gray film. These pillars didn't seem to be made of anything special, and he could break them with a single powerful strike. However, the radiation around the pillars was extremely strong. After destroying just ten, Cassius was already coughing up blood. And there were at least fifty pillars within the gray film.

He didn't know if he could hold out, but he had to try. Cassius wasn't doing this to save the others trapped in the hallucination; he was doing this for himself.

He had already accomplished most of what was needed to shut down Black Rain Manor: all the Decaying Knights were dead, most of the special buildings were destroyed, and all that was left was the foundation of the Baptism Chapel.

The radiation here was horrific; even Cassius's combat-hardened physique couldn't withstand it. Even if he survived, he would suffer unimaginable consequences.

But this was the time-travel era! As long as he fulfilled Twilight's obsession, as long as he was still breathing, Cassius could instantly return to the real world, leaving his host's body and reuniting with his healthy one.

So, he wasn't afraid. If anything, his purpose and determination were stronger than ever.

By the time he destroyed the twentieth pillar, Cassius was vomiting blood with every breath he took, his lungs feeling like they were on fire. By the thirtieth pillar, his skin was covered in countless blisters, and his limbs had red welts as if they had been burned. By the fortieth pillar, it felt as though thorns were growing inside his muscles and bones, piercing through his nerves and marrow.

By the fiftieth pillar, Cassius was stumbling around like an old man, his skin a mess of wounds, his face a bloody sight as if it had been doused in acid. Most of his strength had drained away, leaving him with just enough energy to pound at the final pillar with his fists, even as his skin tore, exposing his bones.

Despite his wretched state, his eyes remained bright. A person with a purpose was very different from one without when they were facing certain death. He had only one pillar left!

Thump, thump, thump… Crack!

The pillar finally shattered, the stone fragments at the top flying in all directions.

Buzz…

Almost simultaneously, the gray film enveloping the chapel dissipated. Black Rain Manor began to tremble as dense gray-black steam billowed from the surface of the buildings. As the steam surged, the manor's walls, houses, and floors began to blur like a fading illusion. The rain lightened up.

Lying on the ground in the Baptism Chapel, Cassius, who looked barely human, showed no sign of life. The others—Mi An, Duomo, Hardy, Oro—now freed from the gray film, quickly gathered around him. Their expressions were solemn as if they were standing before a dear friend's grave.

The seemingly lifeless Cassius suddenly broke the silence. "Has the rain stopped?"

The others were momentarily shocked. Duomo quickly looked up, feeling the air with his hand before replying seriously, "Yes, it has."

"Then it's time for me to go. Goodbye… I mean, see you in fifty years."

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