The mask fragment in Silas's hand came from the aura left behind by Gluttony's duplicate within his body.
When he saw his opponent use the mask on its face to traverse into a strange world, he immediately understood how to use it and followed right in.
Is this a micro-world belonging to the "Psychology Alchemists"?
Silas swept a glance around his surroundings, then refocused his attention on Gluttony.
"Swish!"
The greatsword reflected an abyss of darkness in Gluttony's serpentine eyes.
It stood frozen in place as if scared witless, and Silas cleaved it in two.
Something's wrong.
The sword gave no feedback of striking anything.
Silas withdrew his blade and saw that what remained before him was only an empty shell.
Gluttony had truly acted like a snake, leaving Silas with its shed skin.
"Awooo..."
"Caw! Caw!"
In the bizarre city, the pedestrians were startled.
Beneath their well-dressed appearances, bestial instincts began to take over.
Birds flapped their wings in terror, wolves howled, and they all fled the scene on all fours.
Golden light flared again in Silas's eyes.
His gaze passed over the chaotic animals and caught sight of a concealed figure.
Gluttony was running at full speed through the city.
Countless towering Gothic buildings bathed in moonlight, casting shadows.
It used this darkness to conceal itself, racing toward the very center of the city.
There stood a magnificent yet grim cathedral, over eighty meters tall, supported by massive black pillars. Each thick pillar was studded with numerous skulls.
These skulls varied in size, including both human and other creatures.
Their hollow eye sockets all faced downward, as if scrutinizing every living being entering the cathedral.
This was clearly a cathedral built from piled bones!
"Save me!"
Gluttony seemed to see hope and shouted toward the cathedral.
At the same time, Silas pursued from behind, sword in one hand and mask fragment in the other.
When he saw that cathedral, when he met the gaze of those skull eye sockets, he suddenly felt his head roar.
Many illusions formed before him.
The flames of hell burned eternally, the extreme scorching wind dried out marrow, making eyeballs explode like grapes.
Countless dead souls wailed and prayed, beseeching forgiveness from that luminous Lord...
In the instant Silas lost focus, Gluttony had already climbed the steps, wild joy of surviving disaster on its face.
"Save me!"
It shouted again.
And so the bone cathedral responded.
Strange radiance passed through doors and windows, spreading outward and shining upon Gluttony.
Its bizarre mask bathed in the light and began to crumble and dissipate, bit by bit.
Gluttony's joy froze.
"No, no, no! It can't be like this!"
It pressed both hands against the mask on its face, futilely trying to stop its dissolution.
But the mask still crumbled into fragments, scattering through its fingers.
Silas, snapping back to his senses, also discovered that the fragment in his hand had likewise turned to particles of light, flying into the depths of the cathedral.
With the mask's departure, the city began to grow illusory and dim, as if a dream were about to awaken.
"How can you abandon me!"
Gluttony shouted in despair. "Ya..."
Suddenly, its mouth clamped shut.
Then its body began to swell and twist beyond its control, sprouting ash-white scales.
Its face rapidly transformed into that of a dragon.
It had completely lost control!
Ya?
Silas's heart stirred.
But he no longer had time to imagine more about that unfinished name.
The out-of-control dragon had already noticed him, opening its massive maw toward him and releasing a roar.
"ROAR..."
The strange world also dissipated at the same time. Sunlight was abundant, vegetation lush, seawater deep blue.
This still seemed to be Toscarter Island.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Soldiers in red military uniforms stood in a row, firing steam bullets forward.
Their bodies swayed with each pull of the trigger, high-temperature white smoke violently jetting from exhaust ports.
The street was immediately filled with vast clouds of white steam, like a massive beast slowly stretching its body.
As a result, the bullets they fired carried extremely powerful kinetic energy, bombarding toward their target, Anderson.
However, this renowned hunter possessed terrifying intuition.
The instant they pulled their triggers, he curled his body and leaped to the side, successfully dodging the barrage of bullets.
"Swish!"
Before Anderson could land, several sharp wind blades tore through the air, flying toward him.
He could only forcibly twist his body mid-air, adjusting his posture to evade.
This caused his escape attempt to stall, and those soldiers and the Storm Church's Beyonders closed in again.
"Truly worthy of being the Bishop! With your command, even a famous adventurer cannot escape!"
Carter, Toscarter Island's chief administrator, said excitedly.
Looking at Anderson in the center of the battle was like looking at treasure.
"You're thinking too simply."
The Bishop shook his head with a grave expression.
"That fellow has no killing intent; he only wants to break free. Otherwise, we wouldn't have it so easy.
Even so, if he truly struck without regard for consequences, we couldn't stop him."
Facing official forces, Anderson still had some apprehension.
"It doesn't matter. Being able to delay him is already enough."
Carter said with a smile.
"In just a little while, the Blood Reverend will be dealt with by that gentleman.
Once he's isolated and helpless, he'll have no choice but to surrender!"
When that time came, he himself would become the great hero who captured the Blood Reverend, gaining massive political resources.
He never imagined that he, an official in the kingdom's most remote region, would still have a chance to rise!
"Your confidence in that person is certainly sufficient."
The Bishop glanced at Carter.
His primary duty naturally lay with the Storm Church, but he inevitably had to deal with local powers.
Behind this administrator stood a mysterious and unfathomable demigod-level expert.
He had to show some respect, which was why they had today's joint raid.
"Of course! You simply don't know how powerful that gentleman is!"
Carter said quite smugly.
He glanced around, then with a boastful air, said quietly, "I've seen it with my own eyes. That person can transform into a dragon..."
"ROAR..."
A thunderous roar resonated across the skies above Toscarter Island.
This sound was filled with overwhelming pressure, shaking the spirits of all living creatures on the island, making them instinctively feel extreme danger and fear!
"Pfft..."
Carter still maintained his secretive posture, but froze at this sound.
He only felt a sudden warmth and heaviness between his legs.
In his widened eyes, he saw an enormous dragon, as if from mythology itself, come crashing thunderously down to the ground.
Atop the dragon's head stood a black knight.