Chapter Seventy-Seven: Secrets of History

A pair of eyes, bloodshot and filled with madness and cruelty, swept coldly over everyone present.

Almost every aberrant creature possessed powers capable of shattering the mind. Yet in the case of a lord-level aberrant, these abilities were all the more potent. Everyone found their thoughts scrambled and their minds aching simply by meeting its gaze, emotions growing singular and extreme.

Colin endured the searing headache, refraining from activating "Hunting Hour." Instead, he withdrew a blood-stained wooden wheel. At that instant, guiding his inner thoughts deliberately, Colin felt a surge of furious rage. His right hand gripped the wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.

With a single thought, the blood-soaked wheel burst forth with a clear, sacred radiance. This light resembled the holy aura emanating from Shana, yet its nature was entirely opposite: harsh, dazzling, impossible to look upon.

Within its brilliance, every shadow was banished. For ten meters around Colin, there was no hint of darkness—a phenomenon bordering on the impossible. Moreover, even the psychic influence of the lord-level aberrant could not penetrate the zone engulfed by the blazing white light.

Colin was utterly stunned. He had known the residual power within the wheel was formidable, but neither he nor Number One had ever used it, and thus could not have imagined its true strength—it could even dispel the interference of a lord-level aberrant completely.

But as the psychic influence broke, the unnatural rage within Colin’s heart faded swiftly, and the incandescent light began to shrink. Before it could vanish, Colin's muscles tensed, and he hurled the glowing wooden wheel at the man trapped beneath the olive tree.

As the wheel flew, it absorbed the light along its path, dissolving every trace of terror it encountered. It transformed into a flat, radiant sphere about five meters across and, a second later, struck the not-yet-fully-transformed lord-level aberrant with a resounding crash.

The blinding radiance exploded, engulfing much of the olive tree in a light as intense as the sun, impossible to gaze upon. Those present quickly closed their aching eyes and turned away.

In that moment, they all realized: the terrifying creature, nearly a lord-level aberrant, had been suppressed.

In this moment, Colin felt for the first time the power once held by the "Saint of Light." He even vaguely sensed that the priest might have been able to defeat a lord-level aberrant alone when alive.

Yet what he could not understand was why aberrants grew more terrifying the stronger they were in life—yet the priest, after death, had been an exception. Colin remembered how he had dispatched him with only a few blows.

There was no time to dwell on this. The light, after its eruption, did not fade immediately but continued to shine, bathing the area in its brilliance. The sizzling sound of burning flesh rose from beneath the tree. Evidently, while the power suppressed the aberrant, killing it outright remained difficult.

This time, Colin activated "Hunting Hour," allowing him to witness the events unfolding amidst the blinding light. Tears streamed from the corners of his eyes as he watched the lord-level aberrant, its oily flesh roasted, writhing within the black metal shell, enduring but refusing to die.

Colin hesitated, wondering if he should act now. Perhaps he could drag Shana forward, toss a dozen barrels of explosives, and fulfill today's daily "self-destruction task." Maybe he could finally kill this incomplete aberrant—and even claim its skills.

Just then, a sudden unease gripped Colin, as a voice filled with agony sounded in his mind.

"This is... the light of my teacher... Please, help me break free..."

"Let me see her one last time. I do not wish to become a 'Miracle of Suffering'..."

"This is my final wish... Your gift will not come without cost... Please, I beg you..."

The voice carried a pain beyond ordinary comprehension, unmistakably coming from beneath the olive tree.

Teacher? Freedom? Not wishing to become a miracle?

Colin's mind flashed with understanding, as if he had finally grasped the meaning of the "Miracle of Suffering" that had eluded him.

There was no time for further thought, for another cold voice rang out in his mind—the system's prompt.

[Task condition detected. Mission "Kiminor's Wish" will be issued.]

[Mission issued. Please check.]

Immediately, Colin, still full of doubts, took out the parchment and opened the mission list.

["Kiminor's Wish"]

[Mission Description: Kiminor, a devout and powerful follower of "Saint of Light" Kadish.]

[While on duty, he learned the woman he loved had suddenly died. He rushed back to the Olive Homeland, desperate to see her one last time.]

[His abandonment of duty angered the church. Before he could reach her grave, he was sentenced to death as a heretic and executed beneath this barren olive tree.]

[Dozens of arrows pierced his body, several swords struck his vitals, yet he clung to life with an obsession.]

[As the Church of Suffering prepared to enact even more extreme punishments, a "miracle" occurred: hard metal grew from the olive tree, enveloping his skin, and his body began to transform into its branches.]

[The church deemed this a miracle bestowed by the "Mother of Suffering and Thorns" upon him in the midst of pain and near death.]

[Thus, the executioners stopped, awaiting further evolution of the miracle, intending to accept Kiminor when he became a true "Miracle of Suffering."]

[But Kiminor's sole wish was to see the girl's grave before death, to behold her one last time.]

[Time limit: Four minutes and fifty-one seconds.]

[Mission Objective: Submit "Golden Hot Oil 1000ml," free Kiminor from the bondage of suffering, and fulfill his wish to be reunited with the girl he longed for across the ages.]

[Mission Rewards: Hard Black Bread*99, Bloodthirsty Saint Mark*1, Level 1 Custom Design Blueprint*1 (Workbench).]

[Hint: You realize that the blueprint will allow you to synthesize items normally impossible to make...]

This blueprint...

Colin's heart stirred, but his next question was, "What on earth is 'Golden Hot Oil'?"

[Hint: You realize that what Kiminor called 'Golden Hot Oil' is actually 'Rare Filthy Blood.']

"How can those two terms mean the same thing?" Colin muttered internally, when the voice sounded again in his ear.

"While I can still hear your voice, please, hurry..."

The towering man, three meters tall, his body riddled with arrows and rusted swords, pleaded with a desperation never before seen.