Chapter 451: The Rise of Calamity

The Cross, or rather the Calamity Archbishop, retracted his tentacles—a natural reflex.

Like hastily withdrawing a burning coal, he recoiled.

Yet he never expected that this sudden pull would drag the blazing red ember along with it.

And to make matters worse, his opponent smirked and lunged straight at his face.

Swish…

The cross on the east side of the Small Town reacted swiftly, shedding the tentacle in an instant.

Its grimace twisted into an expression of annoyance—it was the first time it’d abandoned a part of its form upon contact.

Meanwhile, Lu Xin found his body being yanked into midair, soaring even higher than the cross itself.

He lowered his gaze to the head of the cross, watching as the Calamity Archbishop’s face contorted in terror, a grim smile stretching across its features.

His other arm was raised high, trembling violently with streams of black particles coursing along it.

Seizing the momentum of his descent, he slammed down fiercely onto the very top of the cross.

…

Sssss…

At the head of the eastern cross, the Calamity Archbishop’s expression turned to sheer panic.

Suddenly, the head burst open, with countless nerve tissues and blood vessels surging upwards.

It was as if the ground itself had split open, revealing a writhing nest of serpents.

In the dizzying chaos, a multitude of gaping serpent mouths viciously snapped upward.

Witnessing this, Lu Xin truly…

…became exhilarated.

He raised his arm high and brought it crashing down onto the ‘serpent nest’ below.

His entire arm became enveloped in those black particles, making it look as though he wore a black glove.

Pfft…

A frenzied, brutal aura emerged as the black particles seeped into the serpent nest, splattering plasma everywhere.

Then his body plummeted rapidly, piercing through the entire cross.

Like a hot knife slicing through butter, his body slammed into the ground, smashing the town into a massive, glass-like crater.

In high spirits, he lifted his head and looked forward once more.

That giant cross was silently splitting apart, crashing heavily onto the ground.

…

“Why is this happening?”

As one cross toppled, the other three flashed terror on their tops.

They stared fixedly toward the east, their expressions revealing an indescribable, complex mix of emotions.

An unfamiliar awareness flooded their minds—they couldn’t fathom why their power seemed useless against their foe or how that force could so easily dismantle their might, or even…

…destroy it?

Hehehe…

As that unsettling thought settled in their hearts, Lu Xin let out a low chuckle and charged forward.

Drawing on some of his Sister’s strength, he sprinted wildly through the maze-like buildings of the Small Town, like a stealthy spider.

“Retreat!”

The northern cross bellowed forcefully.

An invisible force descended from behind, flooding into the town.

Buildings came alive—the roads wrinkled and houses shifted closer together.

It was as if animated obstacles were springing up to block Lu Xin’s path.

But Lu Xin didn’t look back; abandoning any thought of climbing or leaping, he simply ducked and collided headlong into them.

Boom…

The sturdy stone bridge before him, folding into a surreal image, shattered under his impact—as if the path had already broken apart when he arrived, in an almost effortless manner.

Or rather, it wasn’t shattered at all—it was yielding.

The stone path hurriedly made way for him, even at the cost of its own collapse.

And it wasn’t just the stone path.

Lu Xin charged ahead with thunderous strides. He appeared unremarkable, his speed only marginally swifter than that of ordinary people.

This was a world woven from Mental Power, yet wherever he stepped, a straight path emerged.

All the mental forces scrambled to clear the way; no matter the crumpled roads or overlapping houses moaning in despair—they broke apart like shattering glass bottles or tore like layers of thick paper, retreating to the sides.

Ahead, pointing directly at the northern human-shaped cross, the Calamity Archbishop’s face was etched with utter dread.

Yet Lu Xin stood his ground, suddenly flashing a smile.

A very polite one.

…

Boom, boom, boom!

In an instant, chaos reigned. Even the cross in the southwest seemed unaware of what had just occurred.

Normally, in this interwoven world of mental power, any change would be immediately apparent.

But now, with the realm in utter disarray and a flood of conflicting signals bombarding their minds, none could react in time.

At that moment, they could only, like ordinary people, gaze northward at the chaotic town.

They watched as the northern cross diminished segment by segment, then vanished in a flash.

“How can such power exist?”

An indescribable terror began to envelop them.

This raw, ruthless force—capable of tearing everything apart—shocked them to the core.

Forgetting all else, two crosses started shifting toward Lu Xin concurrently.

Their arms bent inward, crossing over their chests.

“I command you…”

Blue pupils contracted tightly, as deep as the ocean, reflecting every scene of the town.

Two voices merged and overlapped:

“Feel the calamity, experience the pain.”

“I command you…”

“Open your eyes and see the truth.”

“I command you…”

“Embrace misfortune, become calamity…”

“…”

As their commands rang out, people across the town—those in pain or sorrow, those who wept—were seized by a mental force and let out anguished cries.

The deep-seated pains of memory instantly reappeared in their original form. Every body began to split open, with thin black tendrils sprouting and patches of black petals unfurling.

The once sunlit town suddenly turned bleak.

Massive clusters of black flowers bloomed in every corner, exuding a chilling aura.

Once again, the aura of calamity permeated the town.

At the same time, as this cold power spread relentlessly, thunderous sounds roared from both the east and the north.

It was the two giant crosses that Lu Xin had just destroyed.

Their scattered flesh and bones suddenly coalesced, interweaving under some mysterious force—starting from the feet, nerves, blood vessels, and flesh reassembled as if time were reversing.

Moreover, the entire town began to tremble violently.

Suddenly, amid a colossal crash, more crosses cascaded down from the sky.

…

…

One after another, they surrounded the false town, forming a dense wooden barrier.

Every cross bore the face of the Calamity Archbishop.

They huddled closely together, watching the town with indifferent, steely eyes.

“I am Calamity.”

The Calamity Archbishop’s voice echoed as if descending from the heavens, exuding an undeniable authority.

As if even the slightest hint of rebellion was a grave misstep.

“Calamity has been with you in your past lives; you must not defy it…”

“Calamity walks with you; you can never escape it…”

“…”

“…”

A massive surge of voices filled the town as more black flowers blossomed upon those unfortunate souls.

The interlacing cold aura descended, and Lu Xin felt trapped at the heart of the town.

All around him, cross after cross piled up higher and higher, nearly piercing the sky.

Black flowers slowly bloomed, smothering the town’s once lively, human-like cries of sorrow. Beneath the blooms, tangled thickets merged into an immense forest, trapping Lu Xin as if within a prison of steel.

With a slight movement, a long, gash appeared on his body with a sharp ‘shh’ sound.

At the wound, a strange emotion seeped into him, and visions of bloodied faces—those he’d fought so hard to forget—flashed before his eyes.

Yet the thorns seemed to wield a power that dragged the buried pain of his memories right into the light.

It was maddening.

Smack!

Angered, Lu Xin swung his arm, and the black particles instantly engulfed a three to four-square-meter patch of thorny black growth, reducing it to nothing. But in the very next moment, the thickets surged back, trapping him once more at the center.

Looking around, the entire town was overrun with black thorns. He felt like a young boy with a scythe facing a vast field of wheat.

Each stalk couldn’t withstand even a second of his strike, yet the endless field weighed heavily on his soul.

…

Trapped among the thickets, he couldn’t move.

Any motion would prick him with thorns, each prick summoning a flood of memories he’d rather forget.

Those recollections scattered his focus, inflicting unbearable pain.

Simply put, it was like someone mercilessly dredging up old wounds in the midst of an argument—a devastating blow.

Across the myriad crosses, cold, indifferent gazes fixed upon him, their eyes growing sinister.

The Calamity Archbishop’s voice resonated as if embodying the will of the entire world:

“This is my world. All mental power is under my command, including yours.”

“I can bestow calamity upon you, and grant you endless rebirth.”

“In this world, I am the Mental Overlord. How can you defy my will?”

“…”

The voice boomed like distant thunder, laden with infinite might.

Suddenly, the surrounding thickets began to grow wild again, their barbs extending desperately like a clattering demon.

Those spiky thorns, sharp as swords, stabbed at Lu Xin from every direction.

Thud…

Amid the black thickets, Lu Xin stood silently.

His heart pounded incessantly, each beat threatening to knock him off balance.

He surveyed the endless black thickets around him with an expression of quiet admiration before glancing upward at the Calamity Overlord.

In a friendly yet earnest tone, his smile a bit exaggerated, he said:

“Are you saying you bestow fate, rather than demand it?”