The two Seventh-Grade Seals in Felyn’s palms suddenly began to tremble violently, emitting a sharp buzzing noise.
The patterns of the two seals started weaving together, intertwining into a complex design. Felyn’s palm was bathed in a bright red glow from the seal's markings, and light spilled from between his fingers, as though he were holding a blazing sun in his hands.
What Felyn didn’t know was that Adeline’s intense emotional fluctuations were being transmitted through their embracing bodies, flowing directly into the seals at his fingertips.
As the final pattern locked into place, an indescribable surge of power burst forth from Felyn’s fingers.
“Boom!”
The seal shot out like a cannonball, slicing through the air and exploding in front of the masked man, unleashing a blinding wave of violet light.
“Hah! Just a mere Fourth-Grade Seal? With all that flair, I thought you were something else. Boys, end this quickly!”
But a few seconds later, the masked man regretted his words.
The seal patterns in Felyn’s hands were still glowing erratically, showing no sign of stopping.
The second and third blasts shot out in succession, spiraling and twisting in the air.
The two enemies charging at the front never expected that the seal in Felyn’s hand could release a second, let alone a third blast.
Caught completely off guard, they were engulfed in the radiance of Sixth-Grade Seals. Before they could even scream, their bodies were slammed to the ground.
“What the hell is this?!” the masked man exclaimed in horror. He frantically checked himself, eyes darting back to the glowing seal pattern at Felyn’s fingertips.
But it wasn’t over.
The fourth and fifth blasts of the seal howled toward the masked man. He barely managed to conjure a divine spell to defend himself, but his teammates—still focused solely on attacking—were completely unprepared.
They were struck directly by the two Fifth-Grade Seals before they could even cast defensive seals, and like the others, were thrown to the ground.
Because the casting time for a Seventh-Grade Seal was so long, the mechanism of the “Lucky Spin” stayed active throughout the entire process. That’s why Felyn had been able to unleash five consecutive seals in one go.
But ultimately, they were still just seals. The real reason it worked was because he had caught them all off guard.
The masked man’s hand trembled as he stared at his three fallen comrades.
“You… you’re a Heretic God?!”
From the moment that strange seal pattern appeared, he knew something was wrong. It was far too bizarre. He couldn’t think of any other explanation—only a Heretic God.
“F-Felyn, what was that…” Adeline looked stunned. She had no idea what had just happened, but those were definitely not the high-grade seals she had brought with her.
And to fire off five high-grade seals in such a short time—no one could possibly do that.
“Just a little secret art from the Sorester family,” Felyn replied flatly.
After all, the Sorester family used to be the top household in the entire Siveshus Empire. Having a few strange secret arts was perfectly reasonable, wasn’t it?
Felyn glanced at the three collapsed figures beside him. He couldn’t even tell if they were dead or alive.
If they survived, things would get complicated. His Lucky Spin would be exposed, and there was a good chance the Divine Church would come after him.
“Didn’t think I’d actually run into a Heretic God here. And to think the Claude heiress is dating one… Hah. Interesting. Very interesting.”
The masked man’s words stunned them both.
Who’s a Heretic God? Adeline thought.
Who’s dating the Claude heiress?! Felyn thought.
“I thought I had no options left, but if I’ve encountered a Heretic God… then I might just be saved.”
The masked man muttered to himself, his gaze toward Felyn growing more feverish.
To slay a Heretic God—that was the sacred duty of every Divine Church believer.
If he could say he saw a Heretic God and had no choice but to act, he wouldn’t be punished.
At worst, he’d be imprisoned for a few years for violating the ban on church members entering Seiwa’s capital district. That was better than dying.
“Looks like I’ll have to get serious.”
As he spoke, divine energy gathered around him and a golden scythe materialized in the air.
A powerful pressure surged forth, golden divine radiance streaming from the blade, dazzling and intense.
“Felyn, he’s a Divine Church Enforcer. He’s strong,” Adeline warned.
Enforcers were the Divine Church’s militant arm. Their strength was beyond question.
She hadn’t expected that even the capital district had been infiltrated by one.
Felyn held Adeline tightly, pulling out a few lower-grade seals—his Seventh-Grade Seals had been used up—and tried to replicate his earlier success.
But without high-grade seals, even with multiple attempts, all he got were Third- and Fourth-Grade Seals.
Not a single multi-cast came through.
The masked man had been wary of Felyn’s bizarre attack at first, but seeing the lackluster power of his recent attempts—and hearing the approaching footsteps of guards—he steeled himself for a final charge.
He raised the gleaming golden scythe high, divine power pulsing down the blade.
Empowered by divine spells, his figure grew massive, like a mountain crashing down toward Felyn.
Adeline’s Seventh-Grade Defensive Seal shattered the moment the blade touched it.
“You’re finished!”
The masked man swung his scythe, aiming for both of them.
But just as it was about to fall, the air split open with a silent rift.
A slender figure slipped out like a phantom, too fast to track.
Clad in silver-white light armor, her short black-and-red hair streamed in the wind. A white mask covered her face.
She wielded a Seal Gun and struck the masked man’s scythe-wielding wrist with perfect precision.
A crisp crack echoed. The man’s wrist twisted at an unnatural angle, and the scythe slipped from his fingers.
A burst of divine light shot from the barrel—his knees were blown apart, and he collapsed like a broken puppet.
The whole exchange lasted less than three seconds.
“Bernice?” Felyn murmured in disbelief. The sight of her black-and-red hair instantly soothed his heart.
Bernice didn’t spare the groaning masked man a glance. She walked over to the three unconscious figures on the ground.
She activated her Seal Gun—three clean headshots.
Only then did she walk back to Felyn and Adeline.
“Miss Claude, I saved your life today, so I’m taking that man with me. We’re even now.”
Her tone was light, like this was just another routine task.
The blood on her mask only made her look more striking.
Felyn finally understood why her mask always had huge stains of blood on it.
Adeline nodded slowly, still shielding Felyn with her arm. She wasn’t sure which side this girl was really on.
But anyone who could instantly take out the masked man… her strength was beyond comprehension.
“There are people behind you. Miss Claude, please stall them for me. I need time to tie him up.”
Guards from the Claude household arrived from all directions. Upon seeing Adeline unharmed, they breathed a sigh of relief.
Then they held their breath again.
Right in front of everyone, Felyn was still holding Adeline tightly.
“F-Felyn, I-I’ll go talk to them first…” Adeline turned her head away shyly, her cheeks flushed.
Though embarrassed, she didn’t pull away from Felyn’s embrace.
“O-Okay, go ahead,” Felyn stammered, quickly releasing her.
Adeline tidied her clothes, smiled shyly at him with her rosy face, and returned to her composed and dignified self—the famed Claude’s Light—before turning to explain the situation to the guards.
“Bernice, why are you here?” Felyn waited until Adeline had gone some distance before approaching her.
“Bernice? Who’s that?”
“Oh, cut it out. Like I wouldn’t recognize you.” Felyn glanced at her chest..
Bernice noticed his gaze. She looked down and then stomped on his foot—hard.
“Oww-oww-oww!”
Felyn clutched his foot. Why is this girl so strong?!
“I only saved you two because I was worried Miss Daiyi would be sad if she lost her boyfriend. Now hurry back to Adeline. I’m leaving.”
Felyn hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. “Did you, um… see everything just now?”
He meant the Lucky Spin.
Who knew how long she’d been spying.
“You mean how you ditched your girlfriend last night to spend a ‘fun’ time with another girl? I didn’t follow you. So, no, I didn’t see anything.”
“No! I meant the fight!”
Bernice nodded, feigning realization. Then, in an emotionless tone, she said, “Yes. Your heroic stance and your resolve to protect Adeline were so moving.”
She patted his shoulder and effortlessly lifted the unconscious masked man.
So she didn’t see it! Felyn sighed in relief.
But just as he was about to see her off, she leaned close to whisper in his ear:
“So this is what it feels like to have something on you. Interesting… From now on, you have to do whatever I say. If I want to do something unreasonable, you can’t resist. Otherwise… I’ll tell everyone what I saw.”
Damn it, she saw everything after all!
Before Felyn could explain, Bernice leapt into the air and vanished without a trace.
This is bad.
Felyn felt a little panicked. Who knew what she would use this secret for?
“Felyn.”
Adeline called out behind him. He turned around.
“I’ll have someone else deliver the application. For now… let’s go back to my room. I need to treat your wounds.”
Her head was lowered, twirling a lock of her rose-tea-colored hair. Her slender fingers played nervously with it.
(End of Chapter)