A different type of heat built in Adam's chest. It seeped into his abs and spread through his shoulders and into his arms. His muscles felt like they were turning into gelatin as his movements became floppy.

The Proselytizing Archbishop's hand remained raised and flickered red as he stared at the slowed Adam. Adam's group watched him with surprise as time seemed to slow. A growl tried to build in Adam's throat, but the gelatinous feeling had reached his neck and even his vocal cords were behaving wrongly.

The growl faded to a slight vibration, but Adam wouldn't accept that. Even as his lungs tried to disobey him, he forcefully expanded them to get in as much air as possible. Once full, he forced out the air as violently as possible.

Adam's roar tore through the air as [Incapacitating Shout] blasted everyone present. Several humans tried to cover their ears as it grew in volume, but they froze from the stun effect before their hands reached their heads. The three Juungii Adherents trembled as they also lost control of their bodies.

The effort of sending his own energy through his body, carried in his roar, broke the magic that the Archbishop was using on him. The Archbishop wasn't affected by [Incapacitating Shout], but breaking his spells did seem to affect him as he stumbled backwards a half step.

For the Archbishop's spell to overcome Adam's stats, pseudo-skills, and odd soul and body composition, Adam assumed it must have been a particularly powerful skill with a long cooldown after use. Adam put it in his mind that he wouldn't need to worry about it again. He opened the spigot of power using [Soul and Body Shaping] and his own heat flooded into his bodies and saturated his muscles.

"Impossible!" cried the Archbishop in a shock infused monotone. "The [System]'s might can't be denied so easily, and that was a fourth blessing. You shall not deny [World's Law]!"

As Adam stepped forward and the Archbishop's hand flashed red again, the air around Adam wobbled. It became like looking through a sloshing aquarium. His eyes met the Archbishop's, and they warped and distorted in Adam's vision.

Adam's growl grew in volume, the sounds also distorted by the Archbishop's skill.

"[aRC ShoCKwAve]," called Adam, his voice also woggling, as he thrust out his chest and arms. The power of the pseudo-skill blew away the distortion caused by the spell, returning reality to how it had been.

The pressure that Adam released was strong enough that Adam's friends had to grab the lower-level humans to keep them from flying away. They moved away from Adam quickly, although Brittney had her shield out and was ready to protect whoever needed help, while Tom had his sword out and looked unsure whether he should get involved. Brandon was buffing everyone besides Adam, since buffs didn't work on him.

Adam smiled menacingly at the Archbishop, fully loaded with his [Intimidation]. The Archbishop had been surprised, but now he seemed steady and was looking at Adam as pure evil. Even with his face so nondescript, Adam could tell there was a revulsion mixed with determination in his enemy.

Planting his foot with more force, Adam drew on his power to trigger [Gladiator's Approach], but before it fully triggered the Archbishop seemed to know what was coming.

"[Touch of Protection]," cast the Archbishop as Adam appeared in front of him.

The punch Adam threw was stopped by an energy barrier in front of the Archbishop's palm.

"[Light of Repentance]!"

A beam of light came from a pointing finger on the Archbishop's other hand. The beam shot through Adam's abdomen, burning a hole two inches in diameter. Adam grunted at the pain, but it wasn't enough to stop him.

Like when he was stabbed by the Feral Behemoths so long ago, back when Adam first created the skill, he used [Soul and Body Shaping] to grab the blood before it left his body and sealed the front and back of the hole to prevent the loss of his blood. Then his own hands glowed as he used [Kinetic Impact].

The Archbishop stiffened when he saw energy similar to his palm shield envelop Adam's hands. It was an affront to him and his belief in the [System] that such an abomination could mimic the power of the divine.

The first punch Adam threw with his glowing hands was blocked by the Archbishop's palm, but the second hit the Juungii's stomach. The robe dulled the impact as the surface of it shimmered. Adam also felt a lot of gaps inside the robe before his knuckles collided with a thin trunk.

The force of Adam's punch was significantly reduced, but the Archbishop still stumbled back several steps.

"Truly you are an unprecedented heathen," whispered the Archbishop, barely louder than Adam's constant growl. "To be able to stand against one as blessed as me, you threaten the world with your blasphemy."

"This is our world! The only threat here is you damned invaders!" snarled Adam as he stepped closer to the Juungii.

"It seems your evil will require more than this servant can manage by himself. After this I shall need to purify myself and reaffirm by dedication."

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"After this, you will be a stain on the ground, and I will take back the people and land that you have stolen!"

"As the [System] wills," said the Archbishop with resignation before announcing his next skill, "[Unity of Followers]."

A white glow lit a symbol on the three Adherents' wrists. Adam felt the presence of the three weakened as the Archbishop became stronger. The energy surrounding the Archbishop's palm spread, fully covering one hand before the other hand also became protected by it.

Once more Adam punched. The Archbishop blocked it with his palm. Showing more speed than before, he also blocked Adam's second punch. A flurry of strikes was thrown. Adam even added [Explosive Strike] to them, but nothing penetrated the protective energy.

Changing up his attacks, Adam tried weaving around the Archbishop. He ducked under the palms and turned around his body, attacking from different angles. Only a few of his attacks reached through the blocking palms but none got a solid hit. Even the kick he tried that managed to reach the robe was dulled by the cloth material and the billowy nature of the clothes. Adam was sure the Juungii's body took up very little space inside, confusing his attacks.

A few times the Archbishop did counter with his shielded palms. Adam dodged twice and was impacted three times. The power caused him to grunt, but the strength was less than other attacks he had taken. Plus, the river reduced the sensation of pain, and he was pulling as much of the river into his body as he could manage.

With a jump backwards, Adam eyed the Archbishop. He was surprised the invader's protection skill hadn't worn off by now. Then he looked at the Adherents.

"If you are going to fight with their strength, then I guess I'll just take away that option," menaced Adam.

The Archbishop froze before looking at the other Juungii. Adam reached into the pouch and took out the three shuriken he had tucked away. He grabbed one with his right hand and cocked back to throw it.

"What is that?" the Archbishop asked in confusion as he saw the unknown shape of the small throwing star.

One of the Adherents fell as the weapon was able to rip through his robe and embed into his chest. Dark gray blood splattered out of the robe as the Adherent toppled backwards. The dim white glow left the Adherent.

"No!" ordered the Archbishop tonelessly.

A second star was thrown at an Adherent. The Juungii tried to move out of the way but didn't get very far. The shuriken went through the sleeve and the Adherent's thin arm fell out along with a stream of gray blood. His glow also faded.

"I said NO!" screamed the Archbishop.

He reached his hand towards his brethren but was unable to stop the third star from landing on where a human would have a collarbone. The Adherent spun around and fell onto his face. Gray blood pooled under his chest and neck.

None of the Adherents had the glow around them and Adam felt their presence return to their regular strength. On the other side, the Archbishop had also returned to how he was before gaining the strength of his followers.

Now a growl came from the Archbishop's throat as his eyes snapped to Adam.

"While excising your foul presence from this world in important, protecting those loved by the [System] is just as important. We shall never hand over the natives under our protection to such a vile creature. Should any of you others want to come to the light, forsake this villain and we will teach you the truth of the [System]."

For the first time, the facial expression of the Archbishop changed. The small circle opening for a mouth widened and his oversized eyes became oblong.

"[Glimpse of Enlightenment]," cast the Archbishop.

Adam couldn't tell what part of him flashed red from the skill use due to a bright white light flashing out from everywhere. The intensity of the light grew, and Adam hurried to shield his eyes.

It didn't matter how fast he was. The light penetrated every gap and found his eyes. Pain burned in them as Adam wondered if the light was enough to permanently burn one's eyes out.

Adam heard movement as the Archbishop rushed to the side. Adam put his hands up in a defensive position and prepared for an attack, but the rustling of the Archbishop's robe went in the other direction, towards the Adherents.

"[Circle of Life]," announced Abbey. A moment later a gentle hand touched Adam's arm. "[Mid Heal]."

The pain in Adam's eyes lessened. He slowly opened them, still requiring a moment for them to adjust and allow him to see properly. After blinking rapidly, he looked around. All the Juungii were gone, although there were trails of gray blood moving away from them and towards where the Mark Twain National Park had been.

"That could have gone better," sighed Abbey. She reached up and kissed Adam on the cheek.

Adam looked at her, but then at the ground. Like a kid, he kicked the grass and dirt in frustration. Twice now the invaders had run from him. Twice he hadn't been strong enough to finish them off. This was becoming a bad trend, and it would only get worse if Adam couldn't find a way to strengthen either himself or his friends. Or both.

Adam didn't look at anyone else as he wordlessly turned and stomped across the field they were in and back towards Piedmont. One negotiator and the intelligence officer both began to open their mouths to say something to Adam. Lucas pointedly grabbed their shoulders and shook his head, causing their mouths to close.

"Once more our enemies run from the boss," said Tom proudly, ignoring everyone's mood.

Lucas glared at Tom as he walked past.

"What?" asked Tom at the look.

Brittney used [Shield Bash] on him as she walked past. He fell sideways and landed on his butt.

"What was the for?"

The worst was the look Abbey gave Tom, without saying a word. Tom blinked at her and then followed the others. He was sulking as he muttered to himself, "I was only telling the truth about the boss. Besides, how dare those clowns worship something as unimportant as the [System]. They should be worshipping the boss. Actually…"

***

As Adam passed by a building made of concrete and cinder, most likely a garage, he gave it a hard kick with the sole of his foot. The wall exploded inwards and the whole structure fell in a burst of dust and debris.

Everyone was quiet and the mood was heavy. Not only had they not accomplished any of their goals, but they had also made a strong enemy that was driven by religious fervor.

While there was plenty of blame to be laid on Tom, everyone knew that fight had already been triggered. As soon as the Archbishop realized Adam didn't have a class, all possibility of negotiation was destroyed. That was probably the cause of Tom's egging them, rather than him causing the communication breakdown.

Adam didn't really care. Throughout the entire time, Adam's soul had been crying for blood and conquest. Adam couldn't feel bad that things had fallen through though he was frustrated that he couldn't have more of an impact on their goals. There was a strong feeling inside Adam that the Juungii would never fit in with his mission for the Earth.

Regardless, this had become a world ruled by strength. If Adam, or any of the humans, wasn't strong enough to fight back the invaders they encountered then there wasn't much chance of victory.

After Adam slung his leg over his motorcycle and started it with a stomp, a new notification appeared in Adam's view. He let out a sigh and rested his forehead on the handlebars.

"Of course. When it rains, it pours," he said with venom.

ALERT: A foreign race has entered your territory.

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