Even though he had already pushed his speed to the extreme, Dulanka could still hear the thunder growing clearer and clearer—
It was like a sword hovering above his head, ready to fall at any moment.
"These lunatics from the Church of the Storm!"
Cursing, the remaining half of the devil horn on Dulanka's head ignited into roaring flames. As the fire wrapped around his entire body, his speed increased once again—
as if he had already broken through the sound barrier.
After just a dozen seconds of full-speed flight, Dulanka finally saw the endless stretch of the ancient forest ahead.
As long as he could enter that forest, he could shake off that troublesome fellow behind him with his abilities.
Under the crimson moonlight, in the sky, Cardinal of the Church of the Storm, Archbishop of East Bayam, High Deacon of the Mandated Punisher—Ternos—was flying at high speed, riding the storm and lightning, chasing the demigod devil he had heavily injured.
"That old bastard from Intis was right. The Rose School of Thought is full of madmen—completely irrational!"
The thought of the destroyed factories, city halls, and those Mandated Punisher who had just died before his eyes made Ternos unable to suppress the fury within.
As a demigod and cardinal of the Church of the Storm, he was relatively restrained when it came to the conflicts in the Southern Continent.
He usually allowed the conflicts between Loen, Intis, the Church of the Evernight, and the Rose School to remain within their respective factions.
But just because he was restrained didn't mean the others were.
For some unknown reason, the Rose School members had recently acted as if possessed.
They split into small groups, infiltrated the colonies, and began launching large-scale terror attacks using high-powered explosives.
Most of the factories, city halls, and noble estates in the colony had been attacked to varying degrees, causing significant losses.
When he first received this intelligence, aside from a bit of surprise, Ternos hadn't taken it too seriously.
He simply initiated standard response protocols, sending out some Mandated Punisher to handle any Beyonder-related incidents.
In his eyes, this kind of infiltration and terror attack strategy had often been used by the Rose School during the years of conflict.
Even during his time overseeing the Church of the Storm in the Southern Continent, such events were not rare—
this time was just… larger in scale.
But the next day, a document from the Governor's Office alerted him that this situation was far from simple.
The document mentioned that not only Loen's colonies but even Intis's colonies in West Bayam had suffered the same kind of attack.
Along with the document was a joint order signed by King George III and Duke Negan.
It contained a single, simple instruction: temporarily cooperate with the Intis Colonial Governor's Office to clear out the forces of the Rose School as much as possible.
Upon receiving this order, Ternos hesitated.
As a cardinal and High Deacon of the Mandated Punisher, he could ignore the royal decree—treat it as scrap paper.
But Duke Negan's opinion… he could not disregard.
Because Negan was the current supreme commander of the Kingdom's military,
a core figure in the Conservative Party, and a key force in balancing the monarchy.
After much thought, Ternos contacted Pope Gad II on Parsu Island, seeking his decision—
whether or not to carry out the order.
But what he never expected was that Pope Gad II didn't give a decision either, only saying: "Handle it as you see fit."
Since the Pope said so, Ternos chose to temporarily observe the situation before making a final decision.
But what he didn't expect… was that the very next day after receiving the order, the Church of the Lord of Storms headquarters he resided in was attacked!
Among the praying believers, several suddenly detonated high-powered explosives hidden in their clothing.
In the sudden explosion, Ternos could only barely protect the people in the church and maintain the seal below.
Without the protection of his power, the entire Storm Cathedral nearly collapsed.
Even the holy emblem of the Lord of Storms was half destroyed by the blast.
As for the attackers, he only found a few shattered body parts afterward.
Through the Spirit Mediums of the Church of the Evernight, he learned—they were members of the Rose School.
In all the years he had overseen the Southern Continent's Church of the Lord of Storms region, the Rose School had launched terror attacks before,
but never had they dared to directly attack the main cathedral.
This was provocation—blatant provocation!
Ternos could even see the mocking smile on the lips of that female Spirit Medium from the Church of the Evernight as she left.
It was a smile that mocked his incompetence.
Looking at the collapsed cathedral, Ternos completely lost his composure.
He would make those madmen of the Rose School pay the price!
Let them feel the wrath of the Lord of Storms!
After arranging the district's defensive forces, he led a team of elite Mandated Punisher to the rally point outlined in the order—
the Pass Valley, located at the junction of East and West Bayam.
But today, while passing through a small city, his sharp spiritual perception suddenly noticed a figure.
Just one glance—
and as a High Deacon of the Mandated Punisher, he recognized him instantly.
It was the mastermind behind numerous demon-related incidents recorded in Church files—
the demigod of the Rose School, Dulanka, a true "Devil."
In the Church's internal records, this devil was directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of over five hundred people over the past decades—
and that didn't include the data from the Church of the Evernight or the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery.
Without a moment of hesitation, Ternos, burning with rage over both old and new grievances, struck first.
It was the perfect opportunity.
He knew that high-level beings of the Devil pathway possessed dangerous intuition and strong anti-divination capabilities.
Except for suppression by superior level, and the concealment provided by the Seer and Warrior pathways,
any plan against them would be detected ahead of time.
So the only way to hunt them—was by chance encounters.
And today, he had just such a chance.
But what enraged Ternos was that the other party was carrying a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact!
A blood-red doll made with marionette traits—
It could forcibly possess people by controlling their items.
With the help of that artifact, the devil broke through his encirclement and even killed several of his Mandated Punisher.
Driven by fury, Ternos shook off the artifact's influence and left the remaining Punisher team behind—
chasing Dulanka alone, riding lightning and storm.
"Buzz—"
The devil's wings vibrated. The flames around Dulanka's body gradually extinguished as he flew over the edge of the ancient forest.
He had already entered the prelude of losing control.
If he didn't shake off the Church of the Lord of Storms 's demigod and stabilize soon, he might lose control on the spot.
In that case, he wouldn't even need to be killed—he'd be finished on his own.
Upon entering the forest, his aura concealed and flowing like black sludge underground, Dulanka finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He was temporarily safe now.
He didn't believe the Church of the Lord of Storms demigod could find him in this endless forest.
Sailors were not good at divination or prophecy, and he himself had powerful anti-divination abilities.