But amidst these wails, there was a bizarre sense of pleasure.
As though the pain was the ultimate enjoyment for them.
"Merlin..." Ian felt a wave of nausea. These women were clearly the remnants expelled after being devoured by the Evil God, turned into decorations and guards of this flesh temple.
In the moment Ian was observing them, all of the ghost brides suddenly ceased their wailing simultaneously. Dozens of faces turned towards him in unison, their hollow eyes suddenly glowing blood red.
"Intruder..." one ghost bride spoke, her voice like countless fragments grinding.
"Eliminate..." another replied.
"Assimilate..." a third joined.
Just like an immune system recognizing a foreign virus, the entire flesh temple abruptly "came alive." The blood vessels on the walls throbbed violently, the ground began to crawl.
The ghost brides struggled frantically, trying to break free from the walls. The first ghost bride successfully broke away from the wall's constraints. Her lower body was no longer legs but a mass of writhing tentacles, propelling her towards Ian at an unbelievable speed. Her nails grew long and sharp.
Aiming straight for Ian's throat.
"Armor Protection!" Ian cast a protective spell just in time. The ghost bride's claws were blocked by an invisible barrier inches from his throat, emitting a piercing screech.
Due to this place's suppression of magic power, Ian's magic seemed not as potent, but fortunately, he was formidable enough that even reduced magic could still fend off attacks.
But more ghost brides were breaking free. The second, third... soon over a dozen monstrous women surrounded him. Their cries transformed into a dizzying psyshock, attempting to disrupt Ian's thoughts.
"Muffliato!"
Ian strengthened his mental protection while his magic wand traced complex patterns.
"Incendio·Ian's Improved Version!"
A whirlwind of blue flames exploded outward from him. This was not ordinary fire, but a "Cold Flame" Ian created by fusing ancient runes and modern magic curse study.
Specially designed to deal with creatures possessing magic resistance.
The ghost brides let out agonizing screams as their bodies, ignited by the blue flames, quickly carbonized. Yet disturbingly, their faces still held that eerie expression of pleasure, as if enjoying the process of being burned.
Worse still, new flesh continually seeped from the wall's vascular network, quickly coalescing into new ghost brides. Ian realized that continuing like this would lead only to an endless battle of attrition.
He also grasped the prowess of these ghost brides.
A series of control magic temporarily restrained the ghost brides' pursuit. But the temple itself was obstructing him—the ground's fleshy layer suddenly rose, trying to entangle his feet.
Corrosive fluid sprayed from the wall's blood vessels; even the air became viscous, making breathing hard.
"Purification Domain!" Ian had to allocate magic power to maintain a purifying bubble around himself, isolating the Evil God's contamination. This greatly drained his magic power but there was no choice.
"I must find the entrance to the cellar." While fending off attacks, Ian swiftly recalled the temple's layout. According to his previous research, the solar temple's cellar should be behind the west wall of the main hall, where priests stored holy artifacts and conducted secret rituals to hatch Evil God embryos.
"My immediate priority is not to dance around with these ghost things."
Ian suddenly became incorporeal, allowing the three ghost brides lunging at him to pass through his body. This was the advanced combat magic "Phase Transition," enabling him to briefly phase into the Spirit Realm Plane.
The closer he got to the west wall, the greater the resistance. The ghost brides seemed aware of his target, growing more frenzied. They ceased direct attacks and began fusing—several ghost brides converged into a larger flesh monster, blocking Ian's path. Yet this prompted Ian to ponder deeply.
"They're frantically stopping me; it looks like there really is something in the cellar that the Evil God doesn't want me to find."