Chapter 51: Summoning the Thunder Talisman—Justice Descends from the Heavens

Black gas gathered in midair, twisting and shifting, and before them materialized the form of a voluptuous red-haired woman. Her tall, alluring figure, with long, shapely legs glimpsed beneath a crimson cape, radiated visual temptation. Her chest was full, her waist-to-hip ratio exaggerated to the point of incredulity—enough to draw the gaze of nearly any man. Her features were equally enchanting: an oval face, dewy eyes with a flirtatious glint, lips red as ripe berries. She was the very embodiment of a devil’s body paired with an angel’s face, exuding the intoxicating aura of ripened peach, igniting desire in all who beheld her.

“What overwhelming wickedness!” Lin Xiao thought to himself involuntarily, his eyes flicking to the woman’s chest as he swallowed discreetly. Beside him, Sheriff Hope was similarly transfixed, his face betraying a lascivious delight.

“Men, men! You’re all cut from the same mold. When God made you, did He bestow upon you the most insatiable lust?” the red-haired woman sneered, baring her teeth. Behind her, the crimson cape unfurled like wings, dazzling and majestic.

Lin Xiao forced an awkward smile and replied, “We can’t help it. It’s the most primal impulse, human nature itself—a trait we must possess for the sake of humanity’s continuation, isn’t it?”

Without betraying his intent, he signaled Sheriff Hope to pick up Joey and withdraw with Will. For all her breathtaking beauty, the red-haired woman radiated an evil power even greater than Number Eleven.

“Primal impulse? Human nature? I didn’t expect someone so young to have such profound insight. Indeed, human nature is just as you say: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, lust, gluttony. All sins are rooted in our nature. Because it is innate, it cannot be avoided, nor can it be corrected. Should one follow their nature, or conceal it and feign righteousness?” The red-haired woman’s words seemed equal parts question and musing, her expression clouded with confusion, as though these thoughts had plagued her for ages.

Lin Xiao was caught by her inquiry. Indeed, human nature was as she described—a trait inscribed deep within our DNA, perhaps the very essence of our being, unalterable. He pondered for a moment, then gave a wry chuckle. Philosophical questions such as these have no true answers. Instead of wasting time brooding over them, it was better to focus on the task at hand—namely, destroying this great evil.

Holy Light!

With a single hand, he summoned the skill of Holy Light, conjuring a spear of sacred radiance and hurling it up at the red-haired woman. Whatever her nature, she could taste his spear first.

The spear of holy light shot through the air, about to strike its target. Suddenly, her cape shot up, twisting into two scarlet wings that spiraled together, intercepting the spear mid-flight and shattering it in a burst of light.

“Men truly are despicable creatures. You all deserve to die—to languish in hell, wailing in agony. That is your true destiny. Now, die!”

Fury contorted her features. Her once-seductive face twisted into a mask of terror, reminiscent of the deadly sirens in old legends. She swooped down, wings stretching to over ten meters, turning into two crimson lances aimed at Lin Xiao.

“So you finally show your true colors! Men toil to support their families, grind their lives away like dogs, and after death are still bound for hell. Do we not have it hard enough as it is?” Lin Xiao activated his retreat skill, leaping back five or six meters to evade the scarlet wings. He stretched out his hands, and the Star Annihilation Battle Axe materialized in his grip. With a burst of speed, he sprang into the air, raising the axe high and slashing at her.

But the red wings, embedded in the ground, suddenly lunged upward as twin sharp spears, thrusting at Lin Xiao’s back. Suspended in midair, he couldn’t change direction. The wings struck with blinding speed, impossible to dodge. Yet Lin Xiao made no effort to evade, as if certain he wouldn’t be harmed—because he was not fighting alone.

A surge of invisible force rushed forth, binding the crimson wings and halting them in midair. The red-haired woman’s face shifted as she prepared to ascend, but a battle axe wreathed in magical fire crashed down from above, splitting her skull and cleaving her from head to toe.

Lin Xiao landed, looking up to see magical flames enveloping the woman as she burned. Suddenly, her body exploded into black vapor, which devoured the flames and coalesced once more into her alluring form, though now her expression was much graver.

“You’ve angered me, man. I will devour your souls, transform them into power to heal my wounds. Darker than dusk, redder than blood, O Lord who slumbers in the highest dimensions—grant me your supreme might. Let all who oppose me be consigned to eternal oblivion!”

Floating in the air, she began to chant a strange incantation. The pentagram on the ground erupted with brilliant black light, as if opening a path to some mysterious realm, drawing forth its formidable power.

“Damn, you can chant spells? Well, so can I. By order of the heavens, Thor, lend me your hammer—strike her down with lightning!” Lin Xiao also raised one hand, channeling his magic power to unleash his newly upgraded Thunder Summoning Talisman.

A surge of magic drained from him, and a strange seal formed in his palm, crackling with the power of storm. This was the Thunder Summoning Talisman, the spell for calling down lightning.

He aimed his palm at the red-haired woman. A thick bolt of lightning shot down from above, blazing through the air and striking her as she chanted.

A heart-rending scream echoed as the white lightning struck, breaking her incantation and knocking her from the sky. She crashed to the ground, writhing, then once more dissolved into black smoke.

“That’s what you get for showing off with your long spells. Thor’s might is unstoppable!” Lin Xiao chuckled. The Thunder Summoning Talisman required no chant—one only needed to channel magic.

On the stairwell landing, Will and the others gaped at Lin Xiao in astonishment. If conjuring fire was barely within the realm of possibility, summoning lightning was beyond their wildest imagination.

How could a man control thunder? That was the domain of gods in myth and legend!

A single Thunder Summoning Talisman cost him 200 magic points—almost half his HP. What little remained would not suffice for a second casting; he had played all his trump cards.

“You have thoroughly enraged me, man! I will imprison your soul here and burn it with demon fire day and night, making you taste the cruelest tortures until my hatred is quenched.”

The black smoke slowly gathered again, and the red-haired woman reappeared—though her form was now visibly diminished, nearly half her previous size. She was not dead, but she was gravely wounded.

“Still not dead? What are you, an immortal cockroach?” Lin Xiao muttered, exasperated. He had used every trick in his arsenal, yet she remained undefeated. If this dragged on until his magic was spent, she might truly capture him—an outcome too dreadful to contemplate.

“Jonathan, I saw her absorbing the black energy from the pentagram. We have to destroy that symbol!” Will suddenly shouted from the stairwell.

Lin Xiao was struck by realization. He’d been fighting the wrong battle. The key was not to contend with the red-haired woman directly, but to destroy her foundation, severing her source of power.

Those closest to the fray are often blind; it was Will, observing from above, who first saw through the secret.