Chapter 961: Four More Steps
Translator:Sean88888Editor:Elkassar1
Sheyan gasped heavily for breath like a labourer who had been slaving away for a whole day.
His neck, legs, and arms had translucent shackles of light on them. The words that would come to mind when one looked at these shackles were thick, violent and crude. Connected to the shackles were thick chains, all pulled taut, with the other ends of the chains attached to some large holy objects emitting a great amount of holy light. The light was so bright that the real appearance of the objects could not be seen.
As the holy light gradually faded away, the five great holy objects were finally visible. They were a huge Bible, the True Cross, the Ark of the Covenant, the Crown of Thorns, and the Lance of Longinus. These five gigantic holy objects were all flying in different directions at the same time. If Sheyan did not have enough strength to resist, he would inevitably be split apart.
However, Sheyan's sin of pride was light, so the corresponding punishment was not heavy. Not only was he not torn apart, he could still drag the five holy objects up the stairs with mere strength, albeit with difficulty.
Crashing noises resounded as the five holy objects kept smashing into the tempered glass around the stairs. The shattered glass reflected the light of the street lamps below while they fell from a great height, looking like the vicious glint on the fangs of bloodthirsty wild animals!
Looking up from the outside, it was as if a terrifying beast was trying to climb up the glass wall of the building!
The brute force Sheyan had to exert was so great that the veins on his neck and forehead were bulging, and sweat flowed freely all over his body. Every stride he took would destroy half the step of the stairs!
"You think...you can...stop me...with just...this??" Sheyan's lips curled into a mocking smile. The translucent shackles left some deep marks on Sheyan's body as they tried to pull Sheyan apart but they could not stop Sheyan from climbing up!
When Sheyan reached the ninth floor, the translucent shackles broke in an instant and completely disappeared! The five holy objects collided with each other in the air and turned to ashes. Sheyan did not even turn his head around to look at that weird spectacle. He took the chance from regaining his freedom to climb half a storey further. Even when he was branded as a sinner, he gritted his teeth and persevered through the pain without stopping.
The tenth floor!
But just then, the Cardinal suddenly appeared in front of Sheyan again. If someone had been looking closely, they could still tell that he actually came from a distance at a high speed, but the time gap between his steps was unnaturally short. They would feel like time had frozen in that instant, and the Cardinal would walk leisurely, then unfreeze time.
The surroundings froze. Sheyan was about to take the first step on the stairs on the tenth floor, but his leg was halted mid-step.
The Cardinal did not attack immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes, seemingly enjoying the pleasure of toying with his prey. He then stared at Sheyan. Sheyan instantly felt an intense sunlight penetrating deep into his soul, making him feel a pleasant warmth at first, but it soon turned into a searing pain!
"Repent, sinner! Then atone for your sins with your flesh and blood! "
As he spoke, all four marks of the sinner on Sheyan's body shone with a dazzling light. Sheyan once again felt an unbearable pain in his limbs and bones.
He felt as if there were four bombs of devastating power in his body, greedily absorbing the essence of his flesh and blood. They expanded rapidly and may burst any second like an inflated balloon!
Sheyan immediately applied an honorary dosage on himself to restore himself to full HP!
When he observed carefully, he could tell there were slight differences between the four terrifying forces in his body. The brand left by the sin of gluttony was the fastest at absorbing energy, while the slowest was the brand left by the sin of pride.
The more terrifying fact was that when marks of the sinner surfaced on the skin, they were formed by intertwining blood vessels and flesh like a healing burn scar. The flesh lumps and blood vessels bulged fiercely, appearing extremely sinister and cruel.
"AAARRRGGHH!" Sheyan wailed, either in pain or anger. The mark of gluttony had absorbed enough energy by now, and with a dull explosion, burst a huge hole in Sheyan's thigh!
Sheyan's right leg was severed just like that. The detached leg flew out in a semi-circle and smashed through the tempered glass at the side. It left a brutal trail of blood in its wake as it fell down from the height of the ten floors!
Sheyan's face turned pale! He gritted his teeth so hard that they made creaking sound. The mark of wrath on his left leg started to swell at a high speed until it formed into a huge tumour, then proceeded to burst into a bloody mess! His left leg was also severed! Although the leg was still connected to his body through some tendons and muscles, it had obviously been rendered completely useless!
"YOU...YOU...! " Sheyan, after suffering two severe injuries in succession, flipped his body over. His face was pale and cold sweat wouldn't stop running down his body. He tried to point at the Cardinal, but the mark of greed on his right arm had started to swell too. His right arm became as thin as a stick in an instant after the essence of the flesh and blood in the arm was absorbed.
An obvious trace of delight showed in the Cardinal's originally indifferent eyes, as if seeing the agony and suffering of others was his only enjoyment! Sheyan instantly pressed his right hand under his body, trying to put pressure on his arm with his weight to stop the mark from exploding!
But it proved to be a naive thought. Following a loud bang, Sheyan felt as if a watermelon was crushed beneath his body. A great deal of flesh pulp and blood flowed out underneath him. He was launched over three meters into the air by the tremendous force from the explosion. He bumped his head on stairs and bled profusely.
Sheyan's right hand was spared the fate of being severed, but most of the muscles inside were gone. The skin clung to the bone like the arm of a dry corpse. The middle part of the arm was in a bloody mess with the bones showing through the wound. The bones had a purplish-black tint and there were deep and terrible cracks on them. They looked so fragile that they would crumble under the slightest pressure!
Sheyan was shivering all over and could not utter a word. His hair was completely wet but he did not know whether it was sweat or blood. The mark of pride was still there on his left hand. It began to swell rapidly. It seemed like Sheyan would lose all four of his limbs.
Even when Sheyan had been reduced to such a pathetic state, the Cardinal still decided to trigger the power of the mark of pride. From this, it could be seen that, although the Cardinal was arrogant, he was not the least bit conceited. In fact, he was careful not to give Sheyan any chance to counter-attack. He was like a lion that gave its best effort even against a rabbit!
Sheyan exhausted his last bit of strength to press his left hand under his body like he did with his right hand. An explosion occurred again, and Sheyan was once again blown a few meters away, spraying blood and flesh pieces into the air. His left hand was now in a very bizarre state. The fingers and forearm looked completely normal, but from the elbow to the shoulder, only the bones remained. In any case, it was now useless too.
"Is that all you can take, you heathen who spreads the plague? I was expecting you to hang on until the arrival of the Final Sin," said the Cardinal with his majestic voice.
Sheyan faced the sky with a helpless expression. Only the faint movement of his chest showed that he was still alive.
The Cardinal gave Sheyan a mocking gaze as he said, "To be honest, although you're a filthy heathen, you do have some brains. Even in such a desperate situation, you could still think of using the power of my holy marks to make an escape. You were at the bottom part of the stairs leading to the eleventh floor before, but using the impact from the explosion of your left and right arms, you've actually moved yourself to the upper part!"
"Do you really think you can reach the eleventh floor this way? Your little actions are nothing in the eyes of God! Ha ha ha, you're now only four steps away from the eleventh floor! But you're doomed to never cross these four steps! How does it feel to see your goal within reach but being powerless to reach it?"
Sheyan's voice was faint as he said, "You're just a fool who claims to be God! Do you dare let me get to the eleventh floor?"
The Cardinal stared at Sheyan like he was an idiot. He said, "Do you seriously think I'll comply with your request? God will only bless His believers. The only fitting end for heathens like you is to fall into the deep abyss of despair! Ha-ha-ha, weep in the abyss of pain and destruction, repent your sins as your soul is tormented in the centuries to follow! You will suffer more for your cleverness!"
Following the words of the Cardinal, a number of cracks suddenly appeared on the stairs beneath Sheyan and a large amount of sand and stone debris fell off. Sheyan was about to fall from a place so close to success to the endless abyss of failure!