Chapter 370 - 308: The Brothers Who Love and Kill (Part 2)

Chapter 370: Chapter 308: The Brothers Who Love and Kill (Part 2)

SWISH. With a faint sound, Mamadou poked half his head out of the wall and quickly surveyed his surroundings. ’Strange, there isn’t a single guard here.’

He mumbled under his breath, growing even more curious about Bishop Luther behind the main door.

But curiosity was one thing; Mamadou still didn’t make any risky moves. He just hid quietly inside the stone wall, waiting for the perfect moment.

Soon, the soft sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway. The nun who had left earlier was now carrying a stack of documents as she hurried to the main door.

She called out from outside the door, "Lord Bishop, I’ve returned." Then, she leaned her body against the door, bumping it open, and carefully holding the documents with both hands, walked into the room.

At the same time, Mamadou, still hiding in the wall, recognized this as a golden opportunity. He followed, passing through the wall and approaching the office.

"Lord Bishop, I’ve brought the documents." The nun gently placed the files on the desk and bowed respectfully. "Do you have any other instructions?"

"That will be all," Bishop Luther said with a smile, putting down his pen.

"Then I’ll be right outside," the nun said, pointing to the outer office. "Please call me if you need anything."

"I will," Bishop Luther replied with a benevolent nod. But his eyes soon fixed on the nun. Just as she was beginning to wonder if there was something on her face, the Bishop spoke. "Since you’re here, you can stop hiding."

Those words made Mamadou, hiding in the wall, freeze completely. He didn’t dare move a muscle, but his mind was screaming, ’How did this old man find me?!’

"Lord Bishop, what are you talking about?" The nun quickly looked around and then at herself. "What do you mean, stop hiding?"

But Bishop Luther said nothing, merely watching the nun calmly.

A few seconds later, just as Mamadou was about to make a run for it, the nun suddenly went limp as if all her strength had been drained away. Her body slumped, but she stopped halfway down, remaining eerily frozen in a zombie-like posture.

"So you did find me." An old man’s voice came from the nun’s mouth, though her eyes were closed. Her body straightened up again, but her posture was now somewhat stooped. "How did you discover me?"

"It wasn’t a matter of ’discovering’ you. We know each other so well, after all." Bishop Luther put down his pen, pushed his chair back, and slowly stood up. "We used to play hide-and-seek all the time when we were little. I can’t believe you still enjoy these games at our age... right, brother?"

With her eyes closed and back stooped, the nun began to walk around the room, slowly approaching the window. After a few steps, however, he stopped and turned to "look" back at Bishop Luther. "Yes... you were so obedient back then. Let me think, when did you start to become so disobedient?"

Bishop Luther stared at the nun, who seemed to see him perfectly despite her eyes being shut tight, and said calmly, "Brother, this is a Church. You shouldn’t be here."

"Oh, I remember now. Ever since we became Adventurers, you started getting ideas of your own. You even went and joined the Earth and Life Church." The possessed nun reached out and patted the spotlessly clean windowsill. "And you even became bold enough to steal from your own brother."

"I didn’t steal anything from you, brother," Bishop Luther said, adjusting his robes. "Or should I say, Great Mage Cunningham."

At the mention of that name, the stooped nun began to tremble. Then, with the sound of ripping fabric—RIP! RIP!—two gaunt arms burst out from her back. A ball of flesh "pulled" itself free, its facial features beginning to form.

"Advanced Substitute Curse," Bishop Luther said, his eyes narrowing. "Brother, doing this will kill this nun."

"Don’t worry. I’m in an excellent mood now that I’ve found you; I might just spare her life." The ball of flesh quickly formed a head and torso, taking on the appearance of the Dark Grand Mage Cunningham. "As for you, my dear younger brother, if you’re willing to hand over the Magic Book you stole from me, I might grant you a death that isn’t so unsightly."

"That book is an Evil Book. It shouldn’t exist in this world and must be sealed away," Bishop Luther said righteously.

"Oh, please," Great Mage Cunningham said with a dismissive wave, looking down on his younger brother. "I might have believed that from someone else, but from you? Do you take me for a goblin?"

He pointed a finger at Bishop Luther. "Hand over *Mushroom Spores and Life Form Variants*."

"That book has a will of its own. It’s no longer an ordinary Magic Item—it’s a Spiritual Artifact, at the very least. It must be sealed." Bishop Luther shook his head, placing one hand on the desk for support.

"Even if it can talk, it’s still a book that records Magic, and I need it! And you had the audacity to steal it from me," Cunningham said, swinging his arm forcefully. The controlled nun’s arms mimicked the motion with a WHOOSH. "Were you planning to hand it over to the Church to earn some credit?"

"You need that book?" Bishop Luther seemed unsteady, his hand pressing down hard on the massive desk. "Are you still trying to find a way to escape the Demon Plague?"

"Of course. It’s my dream," Cunningham sneered. "I’m not like you, thinking you can live a quiet life just by submitting to the Church. I am going to solve the puzzle of the Demon Plague, and my name will be sung throughout the entire Magic Realm! When that day comes, we’ll see if those Arcane Mages and their Elemental Hounds still dare to act so arrogantly before me."

"Brother, that’s impossible! The Demon Plague has been studied for thousands of years, and no one has ever escaped it," Bishop Luther said, his tone growing urgent. "Just let this nun go and leave immediately. I promise I won’t have anyone come after you."

"Thousands of years?" Cunningham looked down at the Regional Bishop of the Earth and Life Church. "What do you know? I’ve read hundreds of books and research notes to study the Demon Plague, and I’ve already discovered a new path. All I’m missing is this one book. As for you..."

He chuckled, "Heh heh." The sound was as grating as metal on glass. "You don’t really think you can defeat me with those little Druid tricks of yours, do you? I’m quite familiar with them. I’ve seen every trick you have, ever since I first took you with me to become an Adventurer."

Bishop Luther sighed. "Brother, I truly have already turned that book over to the Church to be sealed."

"Hand it over," Cunningham commanded, clearly not believing a word. He manipulated the stooped nun to take two steps forward. "I’m no goblin, so don’t try to fool me."

"I didn’t want it to come to this." Bishop Luther shook his head. Then, he slammed his hand down on the desk. Several mushrooms immediately sprouted from its surface, and countless white threads shot out from beneath his robes, spreading out around him.

"What Magic is this?" Cunningham immediately took a step back, his intuition screaming that these mushrooms were dangerous.

"This is the Magic recorded in the book," Bishop Luther said with a smile, raising a hand. "I call it Spore Magic."

SNAP. He snapped his fingers. With a series of soft PUFFS, the mushrooms released bursts of clear air, which seemed to do little more than stir a faint breeze.

Two seconds later, however, the nun began to wail in agony. Blisters erupted all over her skin, then burst, oozing a yellow fluid. New blisters formed wherever the fluid touched.

"Spore Magic?" Cunningham had to violently leap away, detaching himself from the nun’s body. He retreated rapidly until his back was against the window, then held out his hand and muttered a few words.

"Advanced Annihilation Curse?" Hearing his brother’s words, Bishop Luther’s eyes flew wide open. He immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood. "You’d risk using such a dangerous spell? Aren’t you afraid of the backlash?"

"My real body isn’t here anyway," Cunningham laughed. Then, both he and Bishop Luther collapsed.