Chapter 58: The World Focuses on the Evil Spirit Catastrophe

The Ogran City Hall building.

This was a towering steel skyscraper standing thirty-six stories high.

It was the ultimate landmark of the city of Ogran.

On the 31st floor.

Inside a spacious and brightly lit office.

Gustav Medis, the "Duke of Torch" who served as the Deputy Mayor of the Department of Industry, stood quietly at the edge of the window after finishing his paperwork.

Looking out from here, one could overlook the entirety of Ogran.

Everyone was groveling beneath their rule.

And he himself was of the top-tier sequence, [Evil Spirit: Fire Mage].

Both authority and might were firmly in his grasp.

Ogran would be the stage where he displayed his prowess.

The roaring waves of the steam era were already surging ever more fiercely throughout Ogran.

A grand and magnificent scroll had already unfurled.

He had coveted this exquisitely alluring scroll for a very long time.

He needed to find the perfect moment to carve his own immortal mark upon Ogran, aiding him in completing his advancement from Tier 5 to Tier 6, achieving that crucial leap in rank.

Abruptly.

Deep within the distant azure curtain of the firmament.

A strikingly conspicuous patch of black rapidly expanded.

That patch of black was like a sharp blade piercing fiercely into the depths of his heart.

He clenched his fists tightly, bulging veins throbbing.

Crimson flames surged and burned turbulently without restraint, engulfing his entire body in an ocean of fire.

"An Evil Spirit Cataclysm!"

He gritted his teeth, growling in a low voice as his body trembled.

"How could there possibly be an Evil Spirit Cataclysm?"

"How could Ogran possibly harbor such a terrifying evil spirit!"

Even an entity as powerful as him would find it difficult to channel an [Evil Spirit Cataclysm], a permanent disaster far more terrifying than a forbidden spell.

One must know that an [Evil Spirit Cataclysm] was quite literally a supremely sharp blade.

With a mere flick, it could carve an indelible holy scar into the scroll of the era.

Whoever mastered the [Evil Spirit Cataclysm] was practically the darling of the tidal era.

The entire era seemed to be a scroll laid out just for them.

All they needed to do was casually doodle with the [Evil Spirit Cataclysm] to reap abundant rewards.

Watching that growing vortex of death, and feeling the increasingly conspicuous and dense black fog of death.

"Hoo... Haa..."

Gustav, the "Duke of Torch," suppressed the restlessness within his heart.

"I must capture this damned evil spirit. As long as... as long as I devour it, my sequence can advance even further, and I might even master the terrifying [Evil Spirit Cataclysm]."

"Fortunately, the level of this cataclysm is not particularly high, hovering around Tier 2."

"It's still just a fledgling little thing."

"I have every hope of catching it."

"If I can capture it... this will be a flawless gift."

...

The Holy Solar Church.

Inside a room on the sixth floor of the cathedral.

Father Karlov thoroughly enjoyed the service provided by the twelve-year-old child, feeling immensely satisfied.

"Come here punctually at this time tomorrow. The Lord shall bestow His grace upon you once more."

He stroked that young and tender face with wrinkled, aged palms, instructing in a low voice.

"Only thus may you hold a position within the Church. This is... the sole pathway."

"Yes... yes, Father Karlov!"

The twelve-year-old child replied with his head bowed and a trembling voice.

"Very well, you may leave."

The child dragged his feet slowly as he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Although he possessed the "Healing" spell to help the child alleviate the pain, he simply loved leaving his marks upon children.

"Hoo..."

Exhaling a long breath, Father Karlov looked out the window at the quiet city of Ogran.

Although a rat infestation had once run rampant not long ago.

Thanks to the suppression by the Church's forces, those damn filthy creatures in the sewers had been driven back into the deeper darkness.

While a few stubborn remnants remained, they were no longer of any consequence.

Ogran remained firmly under the rule of the Church.

No one could question their authority and sanctity; they were supreme beings.

Until... his gaze swept past the window.

A massive patch of viscous, dense, and terrifying gray mist continuously drifting downward invaded his vision.

Causing his heart to jolt violently and his pupils to constrict sharply.

"That is..."

The "Holy Light Priest," possessing a Tier 4 clerical sequence, recognized the terrifying evil power contained within at a single glance.

Death, alien realms, darkness, calamity, fel energy—various heart-pounding and terrifying powers intertwined and converged.

"A cataclysm!"

"This is a damned cataclysm!"

Father Karlov was hopping mad.

That damned evil spirit actually dared to unleash a cataclysm within the city ruled by their Holy Solar Church.

This was simply showing utter disregard for the Holy Solar Church.

Purification!

That damned evil spirit had to be purified.

And purified over a slow fire, so that wretched beast learned that this was not a place where it could run amok.

When Father Karlov rushed into the corridor of the High Council Hall.

The Lord Bishop's sacred, majestic, and resounding voice had already spilled out into the corridor.

"That straying evil spirit requires the Lord's purification."

"When he is bound to the solar stake, he will find the path of repentance and realize his own errors!"

Immediately afterward, Father Karlov heard the forceful responses of several powerful Grand Knights accepting their orders.

These Grand Knights all possessed the formidable [Solar Knight] sequence.

Furthermore, they held Tier 4 sequence ranks.

They would uphold the justice of the Church.

And thoroughly annihilate any heretics or heretical cultists daring to challenge the established order!

...

The bustling Bay Area.

On the deck of a steamship moored at the pier.

A man with golden hair and pale golden pupils looked at the familiar viscous black fog in the distance and the falling black fog of death, his expression exceptionally grave.

"[Evil Spirit Cataclysm]."

He clenched his fists tightly.

"Could there be another such terrifying entity among us?"

"Even that contaminated fellow deep in the underground isn't stronger than me."

"The one capable of unleashing this terrifying Evil Spirit Cataclysm is stronger than any of us."

"With just a casual display, he can carve a mark upon Ogran that none of us could ever hope to match, no matter how hard we tried."

"Fate... is simply too unfair!"

"I must find a way to devour that fellow underground as quickly as possible, and then follow my teacher's instructions to seek out other flesh and bone remains in the depths of the ocean."

"Ogran is a giant slaughterhouse, and those few terrifying evil spirits are all hunting for one another."

"I have already been sniffed out a little; I must be extremely careful, otherwise... the next one to be devoured will be me."

The sudden appearance of the [Evil Spirit Cataclysm].

Like a heavy bomb, it violently stirred the entire city of Ogran.

Instantly sending undercurrents surging through the city.

...

The hot summer streets were filled with clamor.

A large number of passersby and travelers raised their heads one after another, looking with curiosity at the sudden dark clouds in the firmament.

The viscous black fog completely engulfed the entire Bevelin Relief Station.

The black fog of death drifting down from the massive dark clouds in the sky also converged and intersected.

Viewed from afar, it resembled a black mushroom cloud with a slender stalk and a massive cap.

Passersby on the street stared at the majestic divine miracle of the [Evil Spirit Cataclysm].

Meanwhile, Zoren peered through the heavy curtains, his gaze sweeping across the streets and crowds outside.

An internalized cataclysm, governed by a powerful cataclysm barrier.

The terrifying black fog of death would not spread outward.

As the starting point of the exquisite transcendental scroll unrolled by the steam era—Ogran!

This was the absolute best place for Zoren to sketch his holy marks.

As an incubator for evil spirits and a source of experience,

Zoren needed to re-establish order here—his very own order!

He lowered the curtains.

The light was blocked outside.

Zoren plunged completely into the profound darkness.

The earlier screams and panic had now been swallowed entirely by the black fog of death.

Not only had those believers of the [Taboo Blood Source] perished completely,

Even those Tier 1 transcendents could no longer endure for long within the black fog of death.

Yet deep in the basement, the collision between transcendents and evil spirit creatures was turning everything upside down.

Even here on the third floor, Zoren could feel the terrifying tremors beneath his feet and the permeation of bizarre forces.

"Once the [Evil Spirit Cataclysm] erupts, it will inevitably attract many gazes."

"The Church's knight order might even be on their way."

"The Holy Solar Church might not care about other matters, but annihilating rampant evil spirits is a prime opportunity for Church experts to carve holy marks in Ogran."

"They certainly won't miss it."

"Whether it's the Holy See, official transcendents, or other evil spirits, it will still take them some time to arrive."

"I must kill everyone below as quickly as possible. That way, I can accumulate enough spiritual essence to successfully advance to Tier 3."

"At the same time..."

Inhaling deeply, Zoren felt a fierce light surge within the depths of his pupils.

"This grand-scale epic mark carved upon the epic scroll of the transcendental tide will also begin to leverage my—divinity!"