Benedict was no longer a man; he was a symptom. As he lunged, his body seemed to stretch and warp, the white and gold robes tearing as shadows erupted from his very pores. He had become a 'Shadow Specter,' a creature that existed in the shivering space between the physical world and the abyss. His claws of pure darkness lashed out, cutting through the stone floor with the clinical indifference of a razor.
Dorian didn't move. He didn't even raise his sword. He simply watched the High Priest with a clinical, detached gaze that seemed to suck the warmth from the air.
"You speak of a 'harvest,' Benedict," Dorian said, his voice sounding like two slabs of obsidian grinding together. "But you've forgotten one thing. Every harvest needs a reaper. And I've been reaping souls since before you could even chant a basic blessing."
Dorian's sapphire eyes flared with a violet light not the necrotic violet of the crypt, but the cold, ancient violet of his own Emperor's soul. He wasn't using the System now; he was using the part of him that had once commanded the very darkness Benedict was trying to wield.
**[Skill: 'Holy Bindings': Soul Lock]**
A massive, crystalline chain of golden light erupted from Dorian's hand. It didn't just wrap around Benedict; it punched through his shadow form, anchoring him to the broken floorboards. The specter shrieked a sound like a thousand dying souls being crushed in a millstone.
"No! My power... I am the Light's chosen!" Benedict wailed.
"You didn't survive, Benedict," Dorian said, walking toward the pulsing heart in the vat. "You just rotted slower than the rest."
*Ding!*
**[Urgent Saint Quest: The Great Purification.]**
**[Objective: Neutralize the Heart of the Crypt.]**
**[Reward: +500 Faith Points.]**
**[Penalty for Failure: Regional Apocalypse and: 2,000 FP.]**
Dorian's jaw tightened. Two thousand points. The System wasn't asking; it was holding a knife to his soul.
"Fine," Dorian whispered. "You want a miracle? I'll give you a miracle."
He didn't use his blade. He reached into the glass vat, his bare hand plunging into the thick, green fluid. The moment his skin touched the heart, the necrotic energy surged into him like a tidal wave of ice and needles. Dorian's vision went white. His veins turned black as the miasma fought against the 'Tears' in his chest. The pain was beyond anything he had ever experienced a thousand souls trying to tear their way through his mana circuits.
Dorian didn't let go. He gripped the heart and began to channel his *entire* Holy Resonance into it.
**[Skill: 'Divine Strike': Total Resonance]**
The gold light didn't just glow; it exploded. It poured out of his eyes, his mouth, and the pores of his skin. He became a conduit, a bridge between the purity of the System and the rot of the crypt. The heart began to vibrate, its violet light turning to white as it was scoured from within.
Benedict, chained to the floor, looked up. For a single second, the shadows vanished from his face, and his human eye cleared. He looked at Dorian, and a look of pure, unadulterated terror and perhaps, for the first time, genuine faith crossed his face.
"So... beautiful," Benedict whispered.
And then he was gone. The High Priest, the laboratory, and the heart were atomized in a single, silent burst of white light. The explosion didn't destroy the crypt; it purified it. The grey rot on the walls turned to white stone; the bones turned to clean ash.
*Ding!*
**[Saint Quest: COMPLETED!]**
**[Good Deed Detected: Sacrificing your own Body to Purify a Regional Corruption.]**
**[Faith Points Received: +500]**
**[Stat Increase: Holy Resonance +2 / Intelligence +1.]**
**[Current Holy Resonance: 9 (Peak Novice).]**
**[Current FP: (9,997,960 points deducted)]**
Dorian collapsed into the white ash. His body was smoking, his robes scorched to rags. Every part of him hurt; even his hair felt like it had been set on fire.
"Dorian!" Elena dropped to her knees in the ash, her hands hovering over him. Julian stood back, his mouth agape.
"I'm... too arrogant to die, Julian," Dorian wheezed. He pushed himself up, leaning against the pedestal. The 'source' was dead. The Whispering Woods would finally be silent.
"You did it," Elena whispered.
"I did a job," Dorian corrected, his voice regaining its coldness. He looked at his hands, which were covered in faint, golden scars permanent reminders of the miasma. "Julian. Get the scrolls. We're taking Benedict's research back to Aris. She's the only one I trust not to turn this into another 'masterpiece'."
As they emerged from the woods, the moon was finally visible through the canopy, casting a silver, peaceful light. The grey rot was gone from the trees.
*Ding!*
**[System Note: Your 'Saintly' reputation is spreading. The Academy will ask questions. And the Seven Saints... they are starting to notice the ripple in the pond.]**
"Good," Dorian whispered. "Let them look. I've always preferred an audience when I'm burning things down."
***
**Author's Note:** The Whispering Woods are finally silent, but the ripple Dorian has caused is reaching the ears of the Seven Saints. If you enjoyed the "Total Resonance" purification, support the novel with your **Power Stones**! Your votes help Dorian prepare for the gaze of the "True Saints." How will the Academy react to Benedict's fall in **Chapter 16**? Let us know!