The Last King Of Darkness

Though it was deep within darkness, it only took Rod and his companions six clock hours to return to the Royal City along the safe route they had initially paved.

They were even faster than when they came, setting a standard of high-rank endurance and response to emergencies.

When the four stepped onto the territory of Trolian from the Dark World, Rod could see the influence of the Holy Fire even more clearly.

It was as if there was an invisible boundary; the Black Fog not only visibly layered but became calmer, as if suppressed by some force.

Yet, beyond this boundary, the roiling Black Fog swarmed like countless black worms, viciously and restlessly trying to crawl into warm skin, gnawing at flesh and soul.

"Indeed, the Holy Fire is the foundation of human survival."

Rod thought to himself.

"Without the illumination of the fire, forget about the Black Fog, even monsters would be much harder to deal with."

The Great Demon in the Divine Tower was much stronger and more challenging to handle than the one encountered in Starry Sky City.

If he hadn't broken through to level 14 Spiritual Energy, he wouldn't have stood a chance.

Back in Starry Sky City, he could still hold his own against the Great Demon while in his Red War God state without much disadvantage.

The difference between these two lies in the fact that in Starry Sky City, there were Qingyu, Jon, and Xingge illuminating the battlefield.

As the "Chosen of Fire," they themselves were equivalent to the Guardian Fire.

Where there is fire, it's the main ground for humans.

However, in the Divine Tower, they didn't even dare to light a glance.

"The environmental impact is substantial; the Chaos Demon, invincible in the Chaotic Sea, became like a chunk of fat in the Dream Realm, easily slaughtered by me."

Rod calculated in his mind.

"In the future, I need to find a way to get one of the three as a teammate, otherwise, I'll be at a great disadvantage."

"Fortunately, the Chaos Demon delivered himself, even at the cost of the Sun Tower Peak, otherwise, this time would have ended in failure and futility."

"I still don't know what the reason was, even the Book of Knowledge doesn't get it."

With countless thoughts swirling in his mind, Rod returned to the Royal City in deep contemplation.

When he stepped into the illumination of the Holy Fire, the cold feeling in his soul finally dissipated, and a warmth spread through his limbs, bringing Rod great comfort.

Liszt breathed a long sigh of relief; as Number 19 kept calling Rod's name before dying, he worried that something might happen to Rod during the journey, but luckily, everything turned out fine.

Under the fire's illumination, nothing ominous or strange could happen.

As customary, those returning from the darkness must immediately undergo a cleansing at the Soul Church to clear any possible pollution or curses, to prevent disasters within the Royal City.

Though Rod knew his soul was impeccably pure, he still followed Liszt and the others to the Soul Church.

The three sturdy Bishops led Liszt and the others away, leaving Rod to be personally attended to by Priscilla, the Soul Master.

She was an old acquaintance, having taught Rod before, and had performed several soul cleansings or rituals for him in the past.

She placed Rod into a large pool made of Soul Crystals, wetting his body with a special Spiritual Liquid, revealing his absolutely perfect physique.

"Relax."

Her delicate face was expressionless, yet her eyes, calm like a lake, focused on his extravagant chest and abs.

"Do not resist me, allow me to examine the filth in your body."

Priscilla increased the water volume, but Rod showed no sign of pollution, neither in body nor soul.

From the side came Liszt and his companions' screams; despite Rod's reminder, their protection measures were very thorough, yet they still showed significant pollution and corruption upon inspection.

The Bishops were vigorously scrubbing their bodies with an object resembling a feather duster.

But Rod appeared as clean as if he'd just been born into this world.

Priscilla furrowed her brows and further increased the water volume.

Rod helplessly said, "Master, haven't you seen me before? I am pure."

"Impossible," Priscilla coldly replied, "No one returns from the depths of darkness still pure."

She continued to turn the knob, and as the water volume grew too large, the splashing Spiritual Liquid also dampened her robe.

Rod glanced!

Wow!

Master, your face is so pure, who knew your figure could be so not pure.

Priscilla noticed Rod's strange reaction and a spark of Divine Light flashed in her eyes, retrieving a Recording Crystal from her chest:

"Here, watch this."

Rod scratched his head and said helplessly, "Master, I've watched it several times, it's always the same content, not interested."

Priscilla said expressionlessly, "This one's mine."

Such a good thing?

Rod took it and looked, and his eyes almost popped out.

"Wow!"

——

——

When Rod regained his senses, he had been kicked out of the Soul Church.

Priscilla calmly informed him that she had confirmed he was normal and not affected by any pollution.

As for what changed her opinion, Rod still did not know.

Unfortunately, after being kicked out, the Recording Crystal was also taken back.

And outside the doors of the Soul Church, Archbishop Horus was already waiting for them,

After returning to Trolian territory, Liszt succinctly reported the events back to the Royal City.

Due to the unimaginable nature of many occurrences, he didn't even specify them, simply marking the Spiritual Communication with the Fire Crown to indicate the substantial information and gains brought back from this expedition.