Chapter 1266 (2/2)

As the bodyguard assigned to him by the Order Valorem stood, Jake couldn’t help taking a step back. Someone… just died here… Jake retreated another step. The bodyguard just stared toward him for several seconds before speaking.

“It seems like a terrorist organization really plans to do something during the game,” Ezekiel spoke with a surprisingly cool and calm voice, considering his bloody hands. Although his robe was probably stained with the blood, it was impossible to notice due to the color of the cloth. “Luckily I found one of their agents and was able to subdue him in time.”

“You… but he….” Although Jake’s emotional imbalance from being crushed from the football game had caused him to panic more easily, he was still someone who had survived this long in the System. Very quickly, his expression firmed as he looked warily over at Ezekiel and then down at the crest on the dead body’s chest. “You are both from the Order Valorem, are you not? So…”

“Are you suspicious of me?” Ezekiel smiled. Then he reached down and lifted the body’s arm. Pushing down the sleeve, Ezekiel revealed a strange crimson symbol that had seemed to be branded onto the body’s skin. As Jake looked on, the bright color slowly began to fade. “This is the mark of those who believe in the Red Revival. Does that help alleviate your suspicions?”

“...Of course,” Jake walked forward with more confidence now, crouching next to the body. It seemed that Ezekiel had killed the man by slitting his throat. His blood still dripped unwillingly out of the wound. “We should report this to the head of the Order Valorem; I know where his box is.”

“I agree, but we must be careful. If there is at least one mole of the Red Revival here… there are probably more.” Ezekiel reached up and wiped some of the blood off of his face. That made Jake frown a little. Why was there so much blood on Ezekiel’s face…? Perhaps the fight had been more difficult than he originally thought.

Still, its a good thing that my bodyguard is powerful… Jake looked down at the gruesome wound on the corpse’s neck.

Perhaps because of the dangerous situation, the two rapidly came to an agreement. Jake Tuck led the way through the player’s passageways to quickly reach the box of the Order Valorem. They passed several other Order Valorem guards, but after Ezekiel’s warning, Jake Tuck agreed and didn’t mention anything about the body they had left behind or the threat it represented. He simply awkwardly nodded as the guard’s clearly recognized him and looked at him with pity in their eyes.

Dammit… there’s an even bigger threat than losing a game right now…! Jake Tuck clenched his fists. If the Red Revival succeeds here and kills a large number of people… Football on New Earth could be set back years! This cannot be allowed to happen.

Even if it’s not me that leads the Zone… as long as we give an outlet for the violence in humanity…

Right as they were about to climb the stairs to the box level, they were met by two figures standing in front of the exit to the stairwell. Jake’s expression slowly twisted as he noticed that their eyes were dyed completely red.

“Drinking the blood to prevent me from controlling them?” The left man said.

The right man grinned. “Clever. But it is not clever to work against me.”

“Who… what are you…?” Jake asked. The two men with red eyes ignored him. Ezekiel ignored the men with red eyes, continuing to walk forward up the stairs.

The two men shook their heads and flicked their wrists. Blades of blood blossomed into their hands and then they rushed down the stairs toward Ezekiel.

“Touch of Corruption.” Ezekiel’s hands were quickly covered in a bubbling purple liquid. He accelerated forward and easily dodged the strikes from the blades of blood. When his hands made contact with the skin of the two men, black lines quickly began to snake outward, spreading the corruption to every portion of their body.

Understanding that this fight was beyond him, Jake could only grit his teeth and wait behind his capable bodyguard.

But the two men laughed, even as the black lines of corruption crisscrossed their bodies and began to swim through the crimson blood covering on their eyes. “Do you think poison will work? Even if the hosts die, the drop of blood I gave them can manipulate the deceased bodies to continue fighting. Heh, still thirsty for more blood? Because otherwise-”

“Cleansing Fire,” Ezekiel said softly. Instantly, the purple liquid on his hands was eradicated by white fire that sprung to life from his fingertips. And just as quickly, the white fire leapt from Ezekiel’s hands and ripped its way through the bodies of the two men to consume the black lines on their bodies. But the fire didn’t care what it had to burn in order to eradicate corruption.

The two men began to scream, but that point they were already human torches.

Rolling his shoulders, Ezekiel continued to walk forward. As the two men were reduced to charred husks and collapsed, he turned around and looked at Jake Tuck. “You coming? I don’t know how to get there on my own.”