The cult member who had been holding the live-streaming equipment earlier had long since abandoned it to join the fight.
However, the livestream hadn’t ended—it had only gone dark because the camera was now face-down on the ground.
Tens of millions of Xia citizens were still listening to the sounds of battle through the stream, indirectly piecing together what was happening inside the waiting room of Fangfeng City’s train station.
“What’s going on? Why did they suddenly start fighting?”
“It must be the government’s superhumans taking action.”
“I hope the operation goes smoothly.”
“Dammit, why did the stream go black? We can only hear the sounds—we can’t see anything!”
“They’d better wipe out those damned cultists! They need to pay for all the people they’ve killed!”
“Heaven, please protect the hostages and let them get out safely.”
“Heaven, please keep the government agents unharmed.”
“Please, please…”
While tens of millions of Xia citizens flooded the chat with messages and prayers for the hostages and officials, the two superhumans left behind—along with Yan Zhenyi—struggled to restrain the pastor, whose body was now firmly under their control.
The pastor could feel the foreign presence in his mind attempting to dominate him—and it was on the verge of succeeding.
Hearing the sounds of battle around him, he realized no cult members would come to his aid.
If he allowed himself to be controlled, he knew both he and the rest of the cult would be captured by the authorities.
Unwilling to accept that fate, the pastor made a desperate decision.
Flames erupted across his body as he activated his superhuman ability, forcing the two superhumans and Yan Zhenyi to release him and retreat to avoid the searing heat.
Now free—but knowing his time was limited—the pastor quickly drew a dagger from his robes and drove it toward his own heart.
The superhuman hiding in his shadow, fully aware that followers of the Flame Demon Lord would transform into flame demons upon death, couldn’t allow him to die.
Acting fast, he seized control of the pastor’s body, stopping the suicide attempt.
Feeling the foreign presence in his mind resisting him, the pastor instead tried to issue a mental command for the flame demons to slaughter the hostages.
Sensing his intent, the shadow-bound superhuman diverted much of his focus to block the order.
Though successful, this left him with far less control over the pastor’s body.
Realizing his earlier tactic had worked, the pastor continued pressing the dagger toward his heart while simultaneously issuing commands in his mind.
“Not good—the pastor’s trying to kill himself! We have to stop him!”
The two superhumans, unable to approach due to the flames, immediately recognized his plan and rushed forward—but the intense heat kept them at bay.
Seeing that he couldn’t stop the pastor alone, the shadow-bound superhuman focused on extinguishing the flames while maintaining his mental grip.
Sensing this interference, the pastor began praying to his so-called god.
“O Lord, grant me your divine blessing.”
A transparent yellow gem on his chest flickered, and a surge of warmth flooded his body.
Empowered by this “divine gift,” the pastor shook off much of the mental control—and without hesitation, plunged the dagger into his heart.
His eyes closed. His breathing stopped.
But a second later, a terrifying aura erupted from his body, spreading across several kilometers and pressing down on everyone—including the government superhumans—with suffocating force.
“This is really bad!”**
The battle halted as Shen An’an turned and saw the dagger embedded in the pastor’s chest. She immediately realized disaster had struck.
Black flames engulfed the pastor’s body.
The superhuman in his shadow, recognizing the transformation into a flame demon, didn’t dare stay.
He shot out, reverting to his physical form and rejoining his comrades.
As the black flames consumed the pastor, a three-meter-tall, horned, two-star abyssal beast—a Flame Archdemon—took his place.
“Wasn’t he just a one-star superhuman? How did he turn into a two-star Flame Archdemon?”**
Shen An’an’s voice was laced with shock—this was the first time she’d seen something like this.
The newly born Flame Archdemon, created from the fusion of the pastor’s corpse and the Flame Demon Lord’s crystal, snapped its eyes open.
Sensing the nearby humans, its abyssal instincts flared.
With a deafening roar, it lunged at the superhumans below, jaws wide, unleashing its attack.
“Move! Now!”**
Shen An’an shouted, darting out of range.
But her warning was unnecessary—everyone, including the cultists, had already scattered.
Enraged that its first strike had only killed two flame demons without harming any humans, the archdemon roared again.
Upstairs, the flame demons patrolling the second floor—previously ordered to guard the hostages—now abandoned their posts.
They turned on the hostages.
In an instant, the waiting room became a living hell.
Women screamed. Men cried out. Children wailed.