Who hid My Corpse!

"You devoured him," said the Saint.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

Ade knelt madly before Vic, clutching his head tightly, his sharp claws deeply piercing into his flesh.

"Hahaha, have you remembered?" said the Saint cheerfully, "You devoured all of his flesh and blood, leaving nothing behind."

"Shut up! Shut up!!!" Ade roared furiously.

"That's what devouring is," the Saint continued without pause. "Since then, you obtained all his qualities and memories, and truly replaced him."

"Shut up! You controlled me! You controlled me!"

In utter despair, Ade exerted force, trying to tear his entire head off, wanting to take the damned Saint with him as a burial companion for Vic.

But then he realized, his arms which could easily cleave through stone offered no strength at all in this moment.

His body was refusing suicide.

"I controlled you? Yes and no," the Saint said slowly, "because I am you, and you are me, remember? This is our mission... Open your eyes and look around."

...Around?

Ade slowly turned his head, looking around the statue.

Once again a lightning strike exploded.

In the pale world, he saw countless skeletons surrounding the statue, almost identical to the one before him.

At that moment, more faces surfaced in Ade's mind, remembering more names.

"Do you remember now?" the Saint said leisurely, "For a century, this is how we've lived."

"This is the mission of the Saint."

...

"Not just one Vic?" Ivana's voice trembled, "What does this mean?"

"To be precise, 'Vic' is just a symbol, the target of the Saint," Bai Wei said calmly, walking in front of Ivana, "For a century, the Saint has found countless 'Vics', guiding them along the same path."

"You mean..."

"Yes," Bai Wei said, "Ade, who is also the Saint, his meeting with Vic was not an accident, but a template, a mature template. The entire Wildfire Sect operates based on this template, you should know what this template is, that guy just told you."

"A beast devours a human, then replaces the human," Ivana said in a low voice.

"Yes," Bai Wei nodded, "For centuries, the Wildfire believers have been learning how to become human because their leader is learning how to become God. Becoming a God is not the same as being human, it requires more effort and to master more 'knowledge', and the Saint is its way of learning about the outside world and is the most advanced one."

Ivana shook her head with a pale face: "I still don't understand, if this is true, why would Ade lose his memory?"

"Because having memories doesn't count as learning," Bai Wei said, "Do you know? Beneath the Temple of Courage are all the corpses of Hunters, brought by the lowliest Wildfire Hounds."

"...The lowest?"

"Yes, because these Hounds betrayed their Hunters out of fear just in the Temple of Trust," Bai Wei said lightly, "So they're destined to not understand the noble quality of trust and can only become the lowest tier of believers."

Ivana thought of something, her eyes widened bit by bit: "Then what we saw in the Heroic Spirit Hall..."

"Is of middle to high-level believers, they might even become Church Leaders," Bai Wei said, "Because these Hounds passed through the trials of the Temple of Courage and Trust unknowingly, they can also obtain these qualities, so their status in the Wildfire Sect would naturally be higher."

Ivana clenched her fist bit by bit: "Then the Saint..."

"Is the one who walks to the end," Bai Wei said, "The Wildfire wants to become divine, and for it to become Him, it naturally needs the best. Regardless of the quality, it has to be the best. Undoubtedly, those willing to choose the Blood Healing Statue for a sick Hound possess the most desirable qualities to devour. Therefore, the Saint's target each time is to lead the Hunter it values to the Blood Healing Statue, but even this isn't enough; a God needs far too much 'cognition,' so it must keep repeating this process, to the point of doing so for a hundred years."

Bai Wei paused a moment.

"This is the truth about the Saint."

Ivana's body trembled continuously.

She thought of how for centuries, the "Saint" has killed one outstanding person after another like Vic, all for so-called "cognition."

And she, or rather they, including her grandmother and the Holy Daughters of Senluo through generations, became accomplices to it.

"Why does it have to be this way?" Ivana was on the verge of collapse, "Why do they do this?!"

"Because Wildfire is a self-abasing yet arrogant being," Bai Wei raised his head, using [Gaze] to look at all the Hunter Statues in the Sacrificial Arena, "For its former master Senluo, Wildfire has a very complex feeling, it neither despises Senluo's arrogance and foolishness, nor is it intimidated by Senluo's strength. So it will find ways to understand, to learn all the qualities Senluo admires, but on top of that, it will impose a most irresistible devouring. Something along the lines of 'no matter how excellent, how powerful you are, you'll ultimately be devoured by me, so I am the top of the food chain,' this is why so many excellent 'Vics' end up being devoured by 'Ade'."

Bai Wei spoke in detail, and Ivana finally understood everything.

"So that's why you said Ade's Awakening is irreversible?" Ivana said softly, "He will inevitably become the Saint?"

"Of course, because he is the Saint, Ade is just the last in its countless journeys," Bai Wei said as he felt something, looking up at the night sky.

The rain had stopped, but the clouds had not dispersed, thunder roared within the clouds, booming continuously.

But the roar was different from before, very rhythmic, as if something was breathing within the clouds.

"It is about to become Him," Bai Wei said lightly.

Ivana trembled, understanding Bai Wei's implication.

Wildfire was about to become a God. Meaning, Ade and Vic... were no more.

Ivana felt like crying, but her tears were long gone, so only her shoulders shook powerlessly.

Is everything going to end?

Senluo, Ade, Vic... all were coming to an end.

Ivana felt a surge of indescribable powerlessness, so she asked Bai Wei one final question.

"Since everything is destined, why did you still come here?"

"Because I'm gambling on the last possibility."

Ivana was taken aback: "Last possibility?"

"Yes," Bai Wei sensed the swiftly awakening powerful consciousness, saying softly, "The last possibility."

...

Below the Blood Healing Statue.

The Pure Silver Wolf spread his newly born arms wide, embracing the sky with unbridled delight.

He had completed the final step, standing on countless Hunter corpses, no longer lost or struggling in his ghostly green eyes.

"Finally, I understand everything," he said with a light laugh, "This feeling... is really good."

He laughed wantonly, and even the thunder synchronized with his breath.

The world was in his hands.

He thought so.

Then, he heard footsteps behind him.

Without turning back, he knew who had come.

"You've finally arrived," he reverted to Vic's appearance, smiling as he turned to the visitor, "Priest Ulu."

"Yes." Bai Wei stopped his steps, smiling in response, "Just in time."

"What are you doing here at this point?" the Saint said with a broad smile.

"How should I put it? I came to persuade you not to become a God."

"Oh?" The Saint raised an eyebrow, "How will you persuade me?"

"Come on, Ade." Bai Wei extended his hand to the Saint, saying word by word, "Join me in killing Wildfire."