novelonline Chapter 3467 Old John's Miraculous Arts
Chapter 3467 Old John's Miraculous Arts
Chapter 3467 Old John's Miraculous Arts
“Detective, I don’t think you’re the kind of person whose thinking is easily flawed. But there are some things that young people can’t see through like older people do. That’s the duality of civilization, isn’t it?”
Shad turned to look at old John, then shook his head:
"If you want to give me psychological counseling, I will say that is the job of a doctor."
The doctor laughed.
“Dad, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m not a little kid anymore. They got their wish, the fake humans got the means to ‘evolve,’ and we figured out the source of these fake humans and got this.”
He shook the black notebook in his hand;
"So, in a way, everyone actually wins."
A deafening roar caused everyone on the rooftop to turn and look in the direction of the "False Human House." While the group was dealing with the factory matters, the ring sorcerers of the Church of the Five Gods had already begun demolishing the building, which was usually completely unnoticed, at an extremely fast pace.
Shad then handed the black notebook to Dorothy, who gently tapped it and made three copies. One copy was given to old John, while another, along with the factory workers' roster, was given to Iluna. Shad said to Iluna:
"Take the coffin and the documents and leave first. You can inform the church of everything you just saw. Keep an eye out for any traces of the Blood Spirit School in this matter. I suspect they have returned to Tobesk."
Although Iluna didn't participate in the final operation against the "House of the False Humans" tonight, the situation here is even more important than clearing out the "House of the False Humans." In that case, Luvia's divination was indeed correct.
"I understand. Then you all be careful from now on."
Iluna nodded, put away the documents, and then jumped off the roof carrying the coffin.
Shad then said to old John:
"Old John, will we get to see you take action tonight?"
"Aside from the night the gods descended two years ago when I almost took action (Chapter 272), I haven't been active for a long time these past few years."
The old man with gray hair smiled and said that in the background of the fire behind him, steam and mist were spreading, and amidst the sound of bells and enlightenment, the twelve rings of destiny appeared in the void.
Although everyone already knew the old man was exceptionally skilled, his twelve rings still commanded their utmost respect. Old John's core runes were the three most common ones: Inspiration - Guardian, Inspiration - Antique, and Inspiration - Secret.
Following John, the life rings of Shad, Luvia, Dorothy, Dr. Schneider, and Priest Augustus also appeared. The life rings shone brightly, with Shad's life ring floating behind the others; its radius was now almost three times that of a normal life ring.
Sirius and Galina's maids also temporarily left the rooftop; they were no longer needed there. The six people on the rooftop watched the crimson building collapsing in the direction of the battlefield, and the streaks of crimson light shooting out from it.
The church's ring mages intercepted most of the crimson light, while the remaining crimson light was intercepted on the outer edges of the battlefield by other ring mages who had hidden themselves to watch the spectacle—almost everyone in the city wanted to expel the [House of False Humans].
Two beams of light flew toward where Shad and the others were, and then Priest Augustus raised his hand and used "Death Finger," causing the two blood-red beams of light to fall onto the rooftop.
The church believed that there were at most five pseudo-people of the fourth stage in the local area. Now, one died in the House of Resurrection, one just committed suicide, one went to Fatummister Island, and the other two died at the gate of the House of Pseudo-people.
Therefore, although the six people on the roof were on high alert, it was actually two stage three pseudo-humans that fell down.
One of its most important distinguishing features is that it has three faces on its head, which results in it having very little hair; another important distinguishing feature is that it has four legs on its lower body, which makes its center of gravity look quite stable.
Although they were stage three pseudo-humans, they were all enveloped in a floating crimson light. Without anyone explaining, Shad could tell that it was the residual power after the [Home of Pseudo-Humens] cracked open. The remaining pseudo-humans wanted to escape with this power, but they couldn't leave.
“Young men—priest, I wasn’t talking about you. Behold the power that our Secret Order has inherited. It’s been years since I’ve fought like this.”
As Old Man John spoke, he stepped forward to the very front. Above the Life Ring, the bronze-colored aura emanating from Enlightenment - [Civilization] was more dazzling and pure than any Enlightenment aura Shad had ever seen.
At that moment, it seemed as if all the lights under the night sky of Tobesque were echoing Old Man John's life ring.
They saw an old man with white hair raising his right hand, holding a ball of fire, a blazing flame. Within the flame, children selling newspapers ran about, nobles in the council debated, female workers in night factories toiled, and scientists in academies were engrossed in their research.
The mechanic dropped his wrench, which struck a pipe and sparked a few flecks; a girl selling matches struck a match on the street and lit it, showing the brightness of the flame to her customers; the gas streetlights flickered and then lit up, illuminating the city's night.
Within the flames, the five individuals even saw themselves reflected in each other—a clergyman, a writer, a doctor, a fortune teller, and a detective.
The flames were not nearly as imposing as the flames when Shad unleashed [Chaos Residue], but even Shad, who possessed the power of the Primordial Flame, had to admit that the flames that appeared at this moment were exceptionally unique and powerful.
"Miraculous Technique - Guardian of the Flame".
Old John didn't actually throw the flames in his hand, but the four-legged dummy facing his lower body was already ablaze. Even the primal power of the [House of Dummy] surrounding it couldn't protect it from the flames.
It was silently burned to black ash, the whole process taking less than three seconds, and all Old John did was lift up the ball of flame.
"The Secret Order does not draw inspiration from stories and legends; our strength comes from civilization itself."
The reason he didn't deal with the other enemy was that he wanted to leave it to the five members of his group. Having witnessed Old John's strength, the five, while surprised, coordinated their attacks on the three-faced imposter.
The blood-red light seemed to solidify into a sea of blood around it, and the crimson tide poured towards the five people as its companions fell. Dorothy then snapped her fingers, and the sea of blood split from the center to both sides. Shad and Dr. Schneider charged forward simultaneously, one transforming into a bright yellow moonlight cross, the other into a black and red ray.
The three-faced imposter's six eyes all looked at them at the same time, and its three mouths, located in three directions, opened as if to spit out blood, when Luvia suddenly coughed.
Then all three heads suddenly started coughing, abruptly stopping their vomiting.
The moonlight cross and black-red rays pierced through its body, but the body, which had been cut into eight pieces, quickly healed in the bloody light.
But it was too late. It wasn't that the doctor had used demonic power, or that Shad had used the [Black Moon Mark]. Priest Augustus, holding the "Scripture of Eternal Slumber" that Shad had brought, had already completed the spell. The power of the fourth angel of death, an ancient god of death, transformed into a two-meter-long black sword, pinning the three-sided effigies to the rooftop.
Such a long sword was certainly not for human use; it was a ceremonial longsword. As the longsword vanished into nothingness under the starry sky, the fake man also disappeared as if erased by an eraser.
Ultimately, none of the red lights that fled after the collapse of the [House of False Humans] were able to truly escape. They were either intercepted by the church's ambush forces on the perimeter or blocked by the "enthusiastic citizens."
While the factory's raging fire continued to burn, the flames at the "House of the Pseudo-Humans" had already died down. Because once the damage reached a certain limit, the strange building vanished like a bubble into the thick fog of a winter night in Tobeske.
Thus, the first major event to occur in the Tobesk region in 1855, the "Disaster of the False Men," came to an end. Although a large number of false men still lurk in the city, and those buried among the nobles by the House of Resurrection are like ticking time bombs, at least the disappearance of the relics from the local area means that the number of false men will not continue to grow.
Just like a stagnant, stinking ditch, the pollution no longer appears continuously, and the people of the Tobesk parish only need to deal with the existing fake people.
The people on the roof didn't linger there and left before the church's team arrived.
They left the city, and old John had originally intended to invite Shad and his companions to the sanatorium that had now become a "doomsday base," but it was getting late, so Shad declined the invitation.
"Let's talk about it another time. Old Man John, the magic you used just now was very interesting. Would the Hermitage be willing to teach it to others?"
The old man, holding his notebook, smiled and waved goodbye to them.
"That extraordinary skill wasn't something you learned; let's discuss it another time."
The remaining people then said goodbye to each other and went into the city separately. Because they were separated, by the time Shad and Tifa returned home, Dorothy, Luvia, and Silith had already returned as well.
Galina was also at home. She greeted Shad in the foyer and congratulated him on the successful completion of the operation.
"Although everything went smoothly, the problems actually shifted to Fatummünster Island."
Shad said this, but Galina pointed out with a smile:
"What does it matter? At least Tobesk is safe. The next headache is for Claire."
Since Hillis wasn't staying here tonight, Shad personally escorted her back to Randall Valley. Vanessa, who was waiting for news at the Church of the Forsaken, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the two return safely.
"I was just thinking about whether I should go to Tobesk to check on the situation."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries with them, Shad went home. As the situation on the island gradually became clearer, Vanessa and Hillis would soon also go to Fatummist Island, and the day of their reunion was not far off.
(End of this chapter)