Chapter 288 - 267: 1 vs. 3! 3 vs. 1

Chapter 288: Chapter 267: 1 vs. 3! 3 vs. 1

"Carina’s" voice, once lazy and enchanting, was now stripped of all pretense. It sounded like ancient ice scraping against metal—cold, grating, and filled with a destructive will capable of freezing the very soul:

"Did you really think you could defeat me in my own domain with that long-outdated knowledge of yours?!"

As her voice faded, the six-armed phantom behind her swelled abruptly. A silent roar materialized into a tangible shockwave that violently blasted away the surrounding chaotic geometric lines and corrupted colors, creating a fleeting void of pure darkness.

Faced with this destructive tide born from a single roar, Claudio looked serious for the first time.

His slender fingers suddenly splayed open in the void. The paths his fingertips traced instantly lit up thousands of Runes, each one a dazzling Silver Radiance.

These Runes spun at high speed around him and Jon like a stellar matrix, merging into the silvery-white light that enveloped his body. No matter how the corrupted Energy washed over them, they remained utterly unshaken.

The power of space, one of the strongest Laws, was characterized by one thing: stability!

Only after the corrupted tide had receded slightly did Claudio’s voice sound out once more.

"By myself, I indeed cannot completely defeat you in your current state within this ’Paint World’."

The silver light in the Elf Mage’s pupils swirled faster, as if he were calculating infinite variables.

Before his words had faded, he flicked his finger again.

This time, his fingertip did not touch the empty air, but a tiny core hovering before his chest.

"But when did I ever say that I was the only one waiting for you to reveal yourself?!"

TWANG—!

As the core trembled, a clear, resonant clang erupted, as if a cosmic string had been plucked!

The silvery-white Domain around Claudio, which had been compressed by the Impact, suddenly erupted with an unprecedentedly intense light!

This light was no longer for mere expulsion and Purification; it had transformed into a majestic Light Spear, forging a path forward!

It instantly pierced the viscous barrier of this twisted Paint World, as if tearing through a rotten canvas!

Two figures, without any warning, appeared bathed in this brilliant pillar of light that connected the two worlds. With a single step, they emerged!

The figure on the left was as imposing as a mountain!

He wore a full suit of sacred white plate armor, the edge of every plate traced with fine Sun Golden Patterns that seemed to flow like molten lava. Under the intermingling reflections of Silver Radiance and chaotic colors, he emanated an overwhelming pressure, as heavy as a mountain.

His features were resolute, as if chiseled from stone. His ice-blue eyes were like an abyss frozen for millennia, and wherever his gaze fell, the churning, corrupted colors seemed to freeze and undergo Purification.

The figure on the right, by contrast, seemed somewhat "Ordinary."

This old man’s hair and beard were white, his face a roadmap of deep wrinkles like the bark of a weather-beaten ancient tree. A faded, patched, and Ordinary Priest Robe was draped over his emaciated frame.

However, behind his aged head, a halo made of pure golden flame floated silently, slowly rotating!

With each rotation, the halo emitted a sacred aura as vast as the ocean and as scorching as the Sun.

Deep within his seemingly cloudy old eyes, a tangible Holy Light now burned like molten gold. His calm gaze swept across the frenzied space, and wherever it passed, all chaos was annihilated.

The moment these two appeared, this chaotic "Paint World"—anchored by the so-called "Dream Weaver"—was like stubborn iron cast into a blazing furnace. It let out an agonized groan, overloaded and on the verge of total collapse.

Seeing the two newcomers, Jon, who had been comfortably enjoying the show from behind Claudio, revealed a flicker of surprise.

The towering Knight was Royce Aston. He was the Sun Knight Jon had crossed paths with while escorting Reya to the church in Birch Town for her class change. Royce was the one who had taken away "The Clown" of the Blood Eye Association, Jeffrey Newman. Afterward, he had also been the one to entrust Ingram with delivering much of the intelligence on the Blood Eye Association to the Golden Maple Leaf Chamber of Commerce.

And this time, it was precisely because the interrogation of that man had yielded new results that this Knight, who despised evil, had taken the initiative to participate in "Operation: Lure the Enemy in Heta County," an attempt to draw out the true leadership of the Blood Eye Association.

According to the original plan, one Elf Mage plus one Sun Knight—two against one—was already a surefire plan.

’But now a third person shows up?’

’And it’s the very person he’d wanted to visit after arriving in Heta County City, but wasn’t able to meet?’

’Three on one... isn’t that a bit like bullying?’

’The High Priest of an entire county, firmly in the upper echelons of the Advanced Level, definitely no lower than level 80...’

’Add to that the unfathomable Claudio and the Sun Knight, hailed as a ’Lesser God-Chosen’...’

Jon silently lit a candle in his mind for the fool on the other side, who thought she was so well-hidden.

And just as he’d thought, Carina’s composure shattered. The arrogant, swaggering expression on her face—a mix of sadism and mockery—instantly collapsed. She stared, transfixed, at the old man in the Priest Robe and squeezed a sharp, off-key shriek from her throat.

"Fin... Finian Hayes?!"

"Why are you here?! You’re not—"

But her words were cut short, because the old man’s molten-gold eyes had already settled calmly upon her.

There was no anger in his gaze, no contempt; only an absolute sense of judgment, like the blazing sun scrutinizing a shadow.

He didn’t speak. His gaze alone was enough to make the churning, deep-purple tendrils around "Carina’s" form writhe and curl as if scorched by an invisible flame, emitting a burnt sizzling sound.

At that moment, Royce, clad in his sacred white plate armor, took a step forward.