Chapter 85: The Thorns of Divine Grace

As the synchronized alert sounded, a strand of blood-red bramble that had been coiled around the throne’s armrest suddenly withered and fell away.

Its shape was strikingly similar to that of a forbidden relic, yet its scarlet hue was even more vivid and lustrous, with a faint halo of crimson light lingering around it.

[Bloodthorn Main Vine]

[Type: Item/Embedded Relic]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Score: 79/100]

[Description: The main vine of the thorns that originated from the First Divine Grace. It is a miracle object that requires no special craftsmanship. Wrap it around the grip of a melee weapon with a Trinity Knot, and the thorns will merge with the weapon (they cannot be removed by untying the knot).]

[While increasing the weapon’s score, quality, and power, it allows you complete mastery over pain. It can suppress the agony of your own injuries, and when this weapon inflicts contact damage upon an enemy, it can also bring them intense suffering. Depending on the enemy’s strength and willpower, it may cause dizziness, stiffness, fear, incontinence, or even fainting, among other negative effects.]

[This embedded relic possesses certain potential for advancement and can be elevated by special means.]

[Note: Lost in this turbulent and twisted world, swallowed by the gulf I cannot see through, do not search for me, do not come any closer.]

Li Nanke raised an eyebrow. The effect of the main vine was similar to that of the branch, but far more potent, especially in the powerful control-like effect it produced after striking an enemy.

He tried wrapping the thorn around the grip of the Bloodstained Warhammer.

At once, the main vine intertwined with the branch already on the grip, and the two embedded relics fused into one.

More than that, the sharp thorns seemed to have found fertile soil, taking root upon the warhammer and melding into it.

The brambles spread and grew, like veins hidden beneath the skin, crisscrossing in disorder. The original barbs on the hammerhead were replaced by one sharp thorn after another, making it appear all the more savage and ferocious.

[Dreamer, you have advanced the Bloodthorn Main Vine by a special method and obtained Divine Grace Thorn.]

[Divine Grace Thorn possesses the special ability: Slaughter Jungle.]

When the branches and main vine of the thorns merged together, he had achieved the special advancement described in the item’s explanation, and even gained an unheard-of special ability.

Li Nanke was overjoyed and hurriedly checked the Bloodstained Warhammer’s attributes again.

[Bloodstained Warhammer]

[Type: Weapon/Armament]

[Rarity: Rare -> Rare+]

[Score: 36/100]

[Details: ...]

[Embedded Relic: Divine Grace Thorn]

[Embedded Relic Special Ability - Slaughter Jungle: When the embedded relic weapon touches the ground, this ability may be activated. The Divine Grace Thorn fused with the weapon will rapidly spread underground, then erupt from the surface to form a vast Slaughter Jungle, dealing massive damage to enemies within range.]

[After using this special ability, Divine Grace Thorn will enter a withered state and require a long period of natural recovery, or the slaying of a certain number of enemies, before returning to normal. During the withered period, this ability cannot be used again.]

“A large-area offensive ability…”

He had not yet tested the true power of the special ability, so he had no idea how effective it would be in actual combat.

Still, it ought not to be weak. If he had possessed the special ability Slaughter Jungle in his previous battle with the Inquisitor, it was uncertain whether he could have eliminated the Inquisitor outright, but he would most likely have been able to wipe out the Punishment Army and the clergy very quickly.

By triggering a hidden node, the subsequent key nodes changed, and thus the rewards gained from the nodes became even richer.

“The final hidden node is the severing of all Pain Divine Grace…” The Great Beyond had granted him only two hours of lingering time to complete the final hidden node.

Li Nanke lifted his head. Through the stained-glass dome of the Hall of Audience, he could clearly see that the light barrier outside had dimmed to an extreme degree and could not hold much longer.

His gaze turned to the enormous throne wrapped in brambles; behind it stood the giant long since dead, the First Divine Grace, the Thorned Holy Father.

A distorted colossal shadow fell across the throne, suffused with an indescribable aura of dread.

“Mr. Edward, aren’t you coming with us?”

Footsteps sounded behind him, and Aniya’s weak voice echoed through the empty hall.

Li Nanke turned around and looked at the siblings, now both clad in Punishment Army armor. “You’d better hide among the corpses of the Punishment Army and pretend to be dead. Otherwise, once the large protective prayer falls, you won’t be able to escape even if you want to.”

“Edward, I won’t abandon Aniya, and I won’t abandon you either.”

Seeing Reynolds’s solemn expression, Li Nanke smiled lightly. “Reynolds, from beginning to end, your goal and mine have never been the same. You came back to the Holy Church to save your sister, while I…”

Reynolds cut in, “What you want is nothing more than to kill the Holy King. You’ve already accomplished such a feat, so come with us now.”

Li Nanke shook his head. “The Holy King is merely a stumbling block on my path. What I truly want is to sever the source of pain and put an end to all Pain Divine Grace.”

“You’re insane! That’s impossible!”

Reynolds blurted it out, as if he had heard something utterly inconceivable.

Aniya did not object. Instead, she said hesitantly, “Reynolds, others truly cannot do it, but Mr. Edward is different. If he really is, as you said, the only Pain Divine Grace in this age to exist in the form of a blessing…”

Reynolds froze, frowning in confusion.

Aniya’s eyes went distant, as though recalling the past, and she continued:

“After enduring countless torments, there were several times when I faintly sensed that supreme existence.”

“In my perception, it was an abyss of extreme madness, yet within that endless madness, I could still sense a trace of reason remaining. Perhaps the twisted divine grace that now descends so commonly is not what the Holy Lord truly desired.”

“In such a case, Mr. Edward was able to obtain a blessing-type divine grace and, after dying and returning to life, journey all the way to the Holy Church to bring an end to the shadow that has loomed over the world for centuries—the Holy King.”

“And yet the Holy King did not, as he claimed, obtain divine grace again, die and return to life, and continue to wield the authority of the Holy King.”

“The only explanation I can think of is that the Holy Lord was also striving to end this distorted suffering and restore all divine grace to its proper course… and Mr. Edward is the final effort and struggle made by the Holy Lord.”

Aniya was very weak, and after saying so much, she was already slightly breathless.

She paused, then continued, “The First Divine Grace was the beginning of the Holy Lord’s twisted will. All the countless Pain Divine Graces produced afterward are continuations of the First Divine Grace.”

“Since the Thorned Holy Father is the origin of everything, he should also be the ending of all divine grace.”

“If Mr. Edward wants to bring an end to all suffering, then only by killing the First Divine Grace, by killing this Father of Thorns who has slumbered for so long… can there be any hope of success.”

Reynolds was utterly stunned. The Thorned Holy Father was not dead?

Behind the throne, the distorted giant over ten meters tall, its entire body coiled in thorns, seemed to sense that the faithful servant of the Holy Lord, the Holy King, had died.

Its eyelids twitched slightly, showing signs of awakening.

The next chapter will follow in ten minutes.