Instigator and Protector of Violence-Chapter 288: [Scales]

Johnny Blackbird didn't flinch; his face had never been revealed, so he wasn't afraid of being recognized.

He stood in the center of everyone's expectation.

That was directly beneath the statue of Isis.

Meanwhile, Pope Edwin Villantis had already quietly stepped aside from there.

The congregation below wasn't too puzzled by the sudden appearance of Johnny Blackbird, after all, Edwin had already roughly explained the whole course of events to them beforehand.

They basically understood what last night's storm was all about; it was caused by the one called the Chosen One, Depp.

He claimed to have been called by the Sea God.

Every year, there were always a few people claiming to have received divine revelation, wanting to attract the attention of the church's higher-ups.

Of course, those people were usually dismissed at the outset.

Reaching Edwin's level indicated authenticity.

Moreover, the storm last night was unprecedented.

So, people were more curious than doubtful about Johnny Blackbird, curious about what the man chosen by the gods was really like.

Johnny Blackbird was also quite talented in performance, having developed a certain spiritual charisma in just a few days. On stage, he raised his hands and performed the Sea God Church's iconic flowing hand gesture of prayer.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please listen to the sound of water."

His expression was solemn, his tone flowing like water.

Soon, everyone joined in the prayer.

This was originally an impromptu action by Johnny Blackbird.

After all, Ethan had already scripted it; he only needed to recite the answer later.

But whether it was because there were too many people today, or they were all too devout, the power of their prayer was unusually strong.

Or perhaps it was because Ethan was also present.

With the prayer, the sound of flowing water grew louder, eventually turning into the roar of rushing waves, echoing throughout the church.

And at that moment, the statue of Sea God Isis, which was originally just placed high above, seemed to come to life.

She walked down step by step.

At least, that's what Ethan saw.

He saw her walking toward him.

This made Ethan feel something was amiss; when he looked around again, those praying crowds, Maurice, even High Priest Heigen, Yelit, and Pope Edwin on the stage seemed to have disappeared.

The sound of waves was growing louder, and the entire church vanished.

Everything around seemed to turn into the sea.

Ethan was sinking continuously.

But Isis was still walking toward him.

Eventually, she stood before Ethan.

She was no longer like her usual appearance in the water.

At this moment, she was full of divinity, in the form most familiar to the secular world, with snake locks, an indescribably divine head, and a towering human body.

Her eyes were blood-red and extraordinarily alluring.

"Brother... is that you?"

She spoke.

No, it should be He.

He slowly leaned in, like a snake, close to Ethan's face.

A cold, moist sensation enveloped Ethan's entire body.

He couldn't move.

He had to activate the power of the King of the Beihai, using the 'True God's Name', letting it envelop him completely, and slowly said, "It's me, Aphraela."

Upon hearing this name, the cold and slippery feeling weakened a bit, and Isis's blood-red eyes seemed to soften.

Much of the crimson light dissipated.

"It really is you, brother..."

He fully pressed against Ethan's face, and at that moment, Ethan felt that Isis's face seemed to be covered with slippery scales, extremely uncomfortable.

"Brother, are you here to rescue me? Did you hear my call?"

"Yes, I'm here to save you."

Ethan could only answer like this.

He didn't know what had happened now.

But most likely, it was all caused by himself.

The story goes back to last night.

After he jumped into the sea, he unleashed the power of the King of the Beihai, along with the aura of Aphraela's Tear.

Then, indeed, the entire sea responded.

In fact, it was all triggered by Ethan.

He withdrew again before being called by Aphraela once more.

He thought nothing would happen.

Unexpectedly, today, Isis actually appeared here.

"Brother, I miss you so much..."

"Me too, Aphraela."

"When will you rescue me, I've been trapped here for so long..."

"Very soon, trust me, I will find a way."

Ethan could only go along with what she said.

"Okay, brother, I'll wait for you."

Isis seemed to have her emotions soothed; that cold, slippery touch was slowly withdrawing.

At the last moment, He suddenly turned back again.

"Brother, my people are also your people, please do instruct them as you wish."

After saying this, He completely vanished.

And those sounds, those people around, all returned.

Ethan took a long breath, feeling utterly uncomfortable, urgently needing a bath.

Especially his face...

He wiped his face and found an extremely slippery substance; everything just now wasn't an illusion, it seemed Isis had really appeared.

Ethan wiped a few more times and found that something was hidden within that slipperiness.

It was a scale, shimmering a deep blue, like seawater, in the dim church.

The next moment, it quickly merged into Ethan's body and was absorbed by the 'True God's Name'.

Subsequently, it intertwined rapidly with that drop of Isis' essence, forming something new, a scale imbued with tears.

And sensing this scale, Ethan felt that his control over Isis's powers seemed to increase.

He could even vaguely sense the devoutness of nearby believers, their devoutness channeling threads of power towards him.

Was it possible for him to absorb the faith of Isis's believers now?

"Alright, it's done."

Ethan instinctively spoke to Johnny Blackbird on stage.

Johnny Blackbird was stunned; because what he heard was a voice completely different from Ethan's previous ones, like the roaring of the sea within his mind.

As if a deity was truly speaking.

Could it be...

He felt somewhat uneasy, but quickly regained control of himself, seemingly pulling up a smile.

No gods, there were no gods.

Illusion, it was all an illusion.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have received a divine message from the great Isis!"

He hurried to perform his duties.

But for some reason, it felt as if things were escalating further.