Running through the woods and crossing the man-made lake, Zilingos, favored by the wind, shook off his pursuers.
He looked around, intending to fake an escape through the canal into the Tussock River, then turn and dash into Backlund's economic center, the Hillston District.
Just then, his vision suddenly changed, and he saw the colors in the darkness become exceptionally rich.
The verdant trees turned greener, the bright red fruits grew redder, the dark water surface became darker—everything was like a canvas splashed with oil paint.
In the high sky, where the Crimson Moon was obscured, there were countless transparent shadows of indescribable shapes, and pure lights of different colors that contained mysterious knowledge.
Zilingos found himself suspended in midair, floating above a rising body of black water, from beneath which countless pale hands were reaching out.
Damn! Zilingos realized he had fallen into an ambush.
And the strength of the one laying it was definitely not low!
A massive human skeleton suddenly appeared before him, a monster four meters tall with black flames burning in its eye sockets, its white bones ethereal and blurry.
Zilingos stared at the enemy with an emotionless gaze, a cold smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.
At the same time, the glove on his left palm blazed with brilliant light, becoming as if forged from pure gold.
Zilingos leaned back, spreading his arms wide as if to embrace the sun.
A pure, blazing radiance suddenly descended from the sky, enveloping the huge skeleton. The entire oil-painting-like world trembled violently, and the pale hands under the dark water evaporated one by one.
This was the Beyonder power of the "Priest of Light"!
This was the Beyonder power of Sequence 5 of the "Sun" Pathway!
This was the bane of the undead!
As the brilliant pillar of light faded, the black flames in the giant skeleton's eye sockets instantly extinguished, and it became transparent, dissolving inch by inch in the air.
Before Zilingos could use the "Priest of Light's" ability again to break the oil-painting-like world, his expression froze.
He saw another giant skeleton appear on his left, nearly four meters tall, with black flames burning in its eye sockets—identical to the previous monster.
Immediately after, identical skeleton monsters emerged one after another around Zilingos: one, two, three... over a hundred of them!
Hundreds of eyes burning with black flames simultaneously fixed their gaze on the target.
Below, the black water was rising higher and higher, almost reaching the soles of Zilingos's feet.
Pale, ethereal hands grew back, waving upwards continuously, trying to grasp at straws.
...
"Spread out and give chase. Try to surround him," Cardinal Ace Snake of the Church of Storms commanded, rising into the air on a sudden hurricane and flying in the direction where Zilingos had fled.
Duke Negan and the others did not join the "Punishers." Maintaining their dignity, they stood by the windows and on the balconies to watch. By this time, the panicked noblemen were slowly calming down.
Because of the total darkness and the cries echoing all around, they didn't know exactly what had happened, only that the Duke might have been the target of an assassin.
Gritting his teeth, Alger Wilson ran out of Duke Negan's mansion and circled around the municipal park to head towards the Hillston District.
He didn't want to miss even the slightest chance!
Suddenly, he heard a voice carried over by the wind:
"No need to give chase."
No need to give chase? Cardinal Snake's voice... Alger ran a few more steps before stopping, turning around in confusion to look up at the sky.
He saw Cardinal Snake hovering over the woods and the artificial lake, dressed in a black robe embroidered with storm symbols, staring intently down at the area below.
Alger frowned, but ignoring the need to ponder the reason, he dashed towards the Cardinal's location.
As he drew closer, aided by his "Navigator" Beyonder ability, he could see more clearly.
The "Singer of God's Song's" square face was completely devoid of expression, yet his posture betrayed his solemnity. White hair poking out from under his black soft cap swayed in the wind, setting off his unusually serious silver eyes.
Alger averted his gaze and ran out of the woods.
The cold lake surface, shimmering under the Crimson Moon's light, suddenly reflected in his eyes. He saw a tall figure near the shore.
The figure had a distinctively broad jaw, brown hair tied into a topknot like an ancient warrior, and dark-green eyes that were cold yet hollow.
Zilingos!
Admiral of the Star Zilingos!
Alger was first stunned, then filled with surprise and joy. He could hardly believe his eyes, suspecting the darkness was creating an illusion.
Before he could react further, he suddenly saw Zilingos's face rapidly decompose, rotting until yellow-green pus oozed out and chunks of flesh fell off.
Splat! Splat! Splat!
Zilingos's face was left as nothing but bone. Two hollow eyeballs fell out of their sockets and thudded onto the lake shore one after the other.
With a crackling sound, Zilingos completely collapsed. His clothes draped over the rotting flesh and white bones, covering the flickering light.
In less than twenty seconds, one of the seven Pirate Admirals, Zilingos, had died bizarrely right before Alger's eyes.
This horrifying scene was deeply imprinted in Alger's mind, making him feel like he was in a terrifying nightmare.
What had happened?
Hadn't Zilingos successfully escaped?
How could he have died here so strangely and simply?