Chapter 1 Everything Happened in an Instant

Everything happened in an instant.

Three Annihilation cultists disguised as priests of the Church of the Dead launched a surprise attack, black-clad guards rushed to support them, and more than a dozen sewage treatment center workers and guards clashed. It all happened almost simultaneously.

A shocking fact was thus revealed – this entire sewage treatment center had already been completely corrupted and replaced.

No wonder there was no pollution reaction in the sewage sedimentation tanks and various pipes. The "primordial elements" that escaped through the sewers seemed to have evaporated – they already had a nest, right under the noses of the city-state authorities and the church.

But there were still countless mysteries. Why could the Annihilation cultists who followed the Deep Lord call the name of the God of Death? Why could the "replicas" disguised as treatment center employees evade her senses? Where had the real employees gone?

But reality didn't give Agatha much time to think and deduce all this.

The Deep Hound's highly corrosive and impactful dark breath howled towards her. The turbid energy ball almost grazed Agatha's hair as it flew towards the rear, instantly piercing a pillar beside the sedimentation tank. The mental erosion released by the smoke jellyfish constantly attacked her mind, slowing her movements and slowing her thoughts. And the pale woman who shared symbiosis with a feline demon raised her finger from afar, and countless crisscrossing bloody marks instantly appeared around Agatha – a corner of her clothes brushed past those bloody marks, and the clothing at the intersection was instantly broken down into dust.

This was a premeditated trap. No wonder these heretics obediently gathered here to accept the "inspection" – they were preparing to kill the gatekeeper of the church by force?

"Wishful thinking."

Agatha said lightly, and tapped the ground with her cane.

The gentle collision of the cane tip with the ground produced a thunderous roar, followed by layers of illusory ripples spreading outwards from the end of the cane. In just an instant, everything around her quieted down, and the entire space around the sedimentation tank fell into dimness. Everything within sight was dyed gray-white and jet-black. The black-clad guards and "replicas" who were fighting were frozen in mid-air. Only a pale radiance poured into the room from the distant doors and windows, and from the cracks that had appeared on the roof at some unknown time, making everything within sight appear shadowy.

In the spirit world, Agatha held her eyeball in her left hand, "looking" at the three Annihilation cultists who were also frozen not far away.

Beside them, black flames rose and fell on the symbiotic Deep demons. In the world composed of black, white, and gray, the flames burned quietly, and the smoke rose slowly as if in slow motion.

Agatha raised her cane and waved it gently in the air.

The pale, dim space suddenly shook, and the projections of the black-clad guards who were fighting instantly disappeared from the spirit world. She raised her left hand, and within the range under the gaze of the eyeball, only the three Annihilation cultists and more than a dozen distorted replicas formed from "elements" behind them remained.

"Feast," Agatha said softly.

The beings in the spirit world stirred. The shadows lurking in the cracks of the world received the gatekeeper's invitation and permission. In just an instant, on the ground around the sedimentation tank, on the nearby walls, on the pipes, and even on the high roof, all "surfaces" were covered with countless shadows, some thick and some faint – these shadows were like a cheering crowd, or like a herd of beasts jostling against each other. They gathered in groups, surging along the surfaces of all objects, surging towards the enemies in Agatha's vision!

Every surface within sight was covered with surging shadows. The sight was scalp-numbing, but Agatha just quietly watched all this. Her right eye was calmly open, without any emotional fluctuations. Her left eye was tightly closed, and in the palm of her left hand, the eyeball was constantly turning, staring intently at any movement around her.

The surging shadows first surrounded the "replicas." In the blink of an eye, they spread over those replicas like rising tides, instantly swallowing and dissolving them, silently.

The next second, the shadows rushed towards the three Annihilation cultists and their symbiotic demons.

The Deep demons sensed the danger.

A strange clicking sound came from the demons' bodies and the chains on them. The flames on all the Deep demons suddenly trembled violently, and even the edges of the Annihilation cultists' bodies showed strange tremors and etherealness. In this realm where everything was still, they struggled to "live" again!

The young man who shared symbiosis with the smoke jellyfish was the first to regain his ability to move. He broke free from the restraints of the spirit world, and the next second he instinctively looked up in Agatha's direction.

Almost at the same time, the gaunt old man who shared symbiosis with the Deep Hound also regained his ability to move. He saw his companion's actions and immediately warned loudly, "Don't make eye contact with the gatekeeper!"

But his warning was too late – the young cultist had already turned his gaze completely towards the "triangular area" where Agatha was standing.

Agatha raised her left hand, holding up her eyeball, as if offering her eyes, presenting the eyeball in front of the young cultist.

The heretic's eyes widened, his gaze fixed on the eyeball in Agatha's hand, as if his whole heart and soul had been attracted by the eyeball – he stared at it absentmindedly, even dazedly, and a calm and peaceful smile gradually appeared on his face.

It was as if, in this instant, he had understood the true meaning of life and death, and found in this true meaning all the meaning and answers of his life.

"Ah, how beautiful..."

He said softly, then smiled and slowly fell backwards, falling into the middle of the shadows that surged like a tide.

He and his Deep demon were instantly torn to pieces by the endless shadows.

But just as this heretic fell, a strange scream came from not far away. A sharp wind pressure approached from the right. Agatha had to slightly dodge. As an invisible blade brushed past her forehead, she turned her head to look in the direction of the attack. The pale woman who shared symbiosis with the feline demon was screaming hoarsely in this direction. Her mouth was open like a twisted and torn alien, and blasphemous spells were compressed into short shrieks. The next blade was rapidly taking shape.

On the other side, the Deep Hound had prepared its next breath attack.

Agatha seemed to completely ignore the Deep Hound and the gaunt old man behind her, and raised her cane to point at the pale woman in front of her who had already begun to mutate like a demon. At the same time, she raised her left hand high, and once again held up her eyeball.

The pale woman subconsciously avoided the gaze of the eyeball in Agatha's hand – but the next second, she was greeted by a dull gunshot.

The front end of Agatha's cane spat out a dazzling light, and a large-caliber silver bullet shattered the pale woman's completely twisted and torn head.

The next second, as the heretic's headless body fell and was swallowed by the shadows, a ball of Deep breath containing violent corrosiveness slammed into Agatha's back.

Black flames rose, smoke filled the air, and the Deep Hound's impact breath exploded behind the gatekeeper, and then quickly dissipated.

Not a single trace of injury remained on Agatha's black coat.

She slowly turned her head and looked at the last remaining cultist, the gaunt old man.

The latter's eyes widened, his eyes full of astonishment and horror.

"I thought that if you dared to set a trap, it must be a well-thought-out move after investigating the information clearly," Agatha calmly stared at the last enemy, "But looking at your expression, it doesn't seem to be the case – could it be that the three of you were just discarded pawns?"

The color of horror in the last cultist's eyes was even stronger, and there was more helplessness in the horror.

Agatha noticed the change in the other party's eyes.

"Are you looking for this?" the young gatekeeper said calmly.

The next second, she suddenly opened her mouth – a turbid ball of Deep breath containing violent corrosiveness instantly formed in front of her, and with the same momentum and trajectory as when it hit her just now, it rushed back to the Deep Hound beside the gaunt old man!

The Deep demon instinctively realized the danger, and reacted almost instantly and dodged to the side. However, the Deep breath that was returned the same way changed its trajectory like a guided missile – it drilled into the Deep Hound's head with unparalleled precision. After a short delay, the demon made of stacked bones exploded into pieces on the ground.

The gaunt cultist who shared symbiosis with the demon instantly let out a scream. Even though he had not been attacked in any way, he immediately curled up on the ground in pain, unable to even crawl.

The tide-like shadows surged to his side in the blink of an eye, preparing to continue the feast.

"Leave this one to me," Agatha's voice rang out at this moment. At the same time, the sound of the cane heavily hitting the ground echoed around her, "Leave."

The shadows in all directions suddenly stirred, and the滔天的malice (towering malice) and chilling noises rolled like huge waves, invisibly impacting the entire space. Some shadows even faintly leaned towards Agatha's direction.

Agatha's expression did not change at all. She just raised her cane and slammed it hard on the floor.

Another thunderous roar echoed throughout the space.

"Scram."

After a moment of stagnation and silence, all the shadows retreated like a tide.