Chapter 311: The Descent of Angels (VIII)
"Of course there's no problem, my friend."
Unexpectedly, Valak agreed immediately.
"Though… I only came to this damned place as temporary help because that evil spirit invited me."
"The rules here don't restrict me much, but completely breaking them…"
Before the demon could finish, Gideon casually tossed over a bottle of forty-year holy water.
The glass bottle traced a perfect arc through the air before dropping directly into Valak's mouth.
Crunch… crack…
As the holy water spread inside his mouth, the demon's amber eyes gradually became unfocused.
"Oh… yes… that taste…"
"That pain…"
The facial features embedded in the gate began twitching violently.
"More… more…"
Gideon immediately threw over several more bottles.
Holy water spilled from the corners of Valak's mouth as his pupils rolled upward in bliss.
---
Nearby, the remaining four stared at the scene with increasingly strange expressions.
After witnessing humans cooperating with Scavengers, Gideon casually befriending a demon, and all the other absurdities—
Their worldview was crumbling again.
Was this world still normal anymore?
"Lord…"
"Please show mercy and erase this memory from my mind…"
Bettice clasped her hands in prayer.
Caroline pointed at the gate in shock.
"Does Hell not have something like a police department?"
"This thing is obviously a pervert."
Rolcie quietly covered part of her face with her hand, unable to hide her disgust.
Only Hiss Roger watched with fascination, nodding occasionally as though he had learned something valuable.
Scrape… scrape…
A sharp metallic sound suddenly echoed beneath the gate.
Then the "Final Gate" slowly swung open completely.
Compared to the previous regions, the passage beyond this gate was vastly wider.
A colossal mist vortex floated not far ahead.
"You… may… pass…"
Valak still sounded intoxicated by the lingering pain.
Bettice was the first to walk forward.
Her eyes remained shut as she continued praying under her breath.
Caroline hid behind Hiss Roger David. When the blond youth seemed ready to stop and continue studying the demon, she hurriedly tugged at his sleeve.
Rolcie kept frowning the entire time, clutching her collar tightly while sticking close to the opposite wall. As she passed the face-gate, she even broke into a small jog.
Gideon, meanwhile, lingered near the gate before leaving, whispering quietly to Valak.
The others couldn't hear the conversation clearly.
But they did see Gideon place another bottle of holy water on the ground—
And Valak nod in satisfaction.
"What were you talking about?"
Rolcie frowned.
"And what about the people it trapped?"
"Oh, nothing much."
"Just gathered some information."
Gideon answered casually.
"The members of Wings of Vengeance all headed beyond the gate not long ago."
"As for the prisoners…"
He glanced upward.
Soon afterward, black dots began appearing in the sky.
Dozens of iron cages rapidly descended from above.
Since chains still held them suspended, the cages didn't shatter upon landing.
Click. Click.
One lock after another opened.
The trapped clergy slowly emerged.
"Lord… thank You for saving me!"
"Where is this place? Have I truly fallen into Hell?!"
After a burst of confusion and noise, everyone finally realized they had been rescued.
Calvis Saulo immediately grabbed his cross and prepared to charge toward the gate—
Only for Hiss Roger to stop him.
"That demon helped us."
"Let's handle the important matters first."
Calvis turned in surprise.
The others also showed no objections.
"It seems… something happened while I was gone…"
Calvis thought darkly.
Meanwhile, lava and fissures had already spread to the place where they had stood earlier.
The group no longer dared linger.
They quickly headed toward the mist vortex.
"Hey!"
Valak suddenly called out.
Gideon knew immediately the demon was speaking to him, so he turned around.
"Don't die easily like Jacob did."
Gideon raised an eyebrow.
He didn't know any Jacob—
But he understood the concern hidden in the words.
So he simply nodded.
What he failed to notice was that Bettice, Caroline, and Rolcie were all staring back and forth between him and the demon with increasingly strange expressions.
…
A pale-blue stone was tossed into the air.
The moment it activated, dazzling blue light erupted outward, engulfing Olivia, Luen, and the others.
A streak of light shot skyward like a meteor before disappearing into the night.
This was the final group of trapped survivors evacuating the Holy War Lands.
Among all the squads who had participated in the Clergy Selection Trial, everyone who reached the buffer zone—and hadn't already died to the Scavengers—ultimately chose to leave.
Though they lost their chance to enter the Holy See, they at least survived.
The clergy who voluntarily participated in the rescue mission, however, would receive special commendations from the Church afterward.
Thus, only four Sacred Family members remained—
Along with Gideon's team.
The former couldn't leave because of the Church's secret mission.
And Gideon's group each had their own objectives.
The merit from the rescue mission alone wasn't enough for them.
So after only a brief rest, the group immediately prepared to enter the region beyond the gate.
---
"According to the Church's mission briefing, as long as we locate the Stone of the Ten Commandments, Lord Jolan can withdraw early."
Rolcie spoke while walking.
"But despite the enormous chaos within the Holy War Lands earlier, he never appeared…"
"Could the evil spirit have—"
Hiss Roger shook his head.
"The evil spirit behind this place may be powerful, but it's impossible for it to injure Lord Jolan."
"Maybe he went after the members of Wings of Vengeance instead," Haggai Isaac guessed thoughtfully.
"As long as we reach the final region, we'll learn the answer ourselves," Calvis said.
No one objected.
The group immediately advanced into the mist.
---
Along the way, Calvis attempted to order Gideon's team into taking the lead.
His reasoning was the usual:
"Protecting the Sacred Families."
"You must obey orders."
And so on.
But Hiss Roger rejected the suggestion outright.
"The Holy War Lands are extremely dangerous."
"As servants of the Church, we should cooperate."
"No one should become a sacrifice."
That alone significantly improved Gideon's opinion of the young heir of the David Family.
"Looks like the Church isn't entirely filled with selfish hypocrites after all," he thought.
---
Not long later, the group emerged from the mist-covered region.
For the first time, the sky above appeared brighter—
Though endless storm clouds still covered the heavens.
This place was a vast forest grassland stretching endlessly into the distance.
As Gideon stepped onto the muddy ground, a thick stench of decay immediately assaulted his nose.
He frowned instinctively.
Scattered across the area were countless remnants:
Broken wooden wagon wheels.
Rust-covered weapons.
Half-buried white bones.
This looked very much like an ancient battlefield.
As they continued forward, traces of blood began appearing among the grass.
---
Boom!
Suddenly, an enormous explosion thundered across the sky.
Everyone immediately looked upward.
A crimson halo had erupted high above the clouds.
Several seconds later, a violent shockwave swept toward them.
Rustle—!
Trees and grass bent violently in one direction while Gideon and the others hurriedly assumed defensive stances.
Three massive shockwaves struck in succession before finally weakening.
---
"The sound came from very far away."
Bettice narrowed her eyes.
"A power of this magnitude…"
"At minimum, that's the level of a Holy Court Attendant."
Hiss Roger shaded his eyes while gazing into the distance.
Rolcie and Calvis exchanged a grave look.
"The only Attendant dispatched this time was Lord Jolan…"
Rolcie said slowly.
Which meant…
Haggai picked up where the others left off.
"If someone can fight Lord Jolan head-on, then the enemy's strength definitely isn't weak."
Meanwhile, Gideon was carefully observing the surroundings.
"Forest terrain. The mist is currently the only visible evacuation route… and it still hasn't disappeared after we passed through."
"Good."
He rapidly evaluated the area.
Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, he began setting up five layers of formations near the mist passage.
---
"What are you doing?"
Hiss Roger David looked around cautiously.
"Are there enemies nearby? I didn't sense anything."
"Just a precaution, Your Grace," Gideon replied.
"To prevent anyone from sabotaging this place after we leave. As of now, this is our only retreat route."
Calvis Saulo sneered.
"As a member of the clergy, fearing death is hardly a noble virtue."
"Our objective is to return safely with the artifact," Gideon answered calmly.
"Not to come here and display meaningless heroism."
"Besides, God took pity on our situation and warned me in advance. Does Lord Saulo perhaps have a different interpretation of divine guidance?"
"You…"
Calvis was momentarily speechless.
In the end, he could only force himself to say:
"Divine guidance stands above all. Naturally, I have no objections."
Nearby, Rolcie Saddu secretly covered her mouth to hide a laugh.
Haggai silently gave Gideon a thumbs-up.
It was the first time he had ever seen Calvis lose an argument.
Hiss Roger, meanwhile, patted Gideon on the shoulder.
"A wise decision."
"This really will prevent many unexpected dangers. Thank you for the lesson."
Gideon waved his hand helplessly.
"It's just common sense…"
He was already used to dealing with spoiled nobles like Calvis.
But Hiss Roger's sincerity genuinely made him uncomfortable.
After witnessing so many of the Church's "masterpieces," such purity always felt unreal to him.
---
After the brief exchange, the group crossed a small hill—
And immediately froze at the sight before them.
On the grasslands in the distance stood countless figures.
With his enhanced vision, Gideon quickly confirmed that one side consisted entirely of Church personnel.
They wielded holy artifacts while fighting desperately against their enemies.
The opposing side, however, consisted of decayed corpses and even fully exposed skeletons.
Yellow-brown light shimmered around them as they charged the Church formation with rusted weapons in hand.
Behind this undead army stood an enormous barrier overflowing with evil energy.
Inside the barrier, some kind of arrangement formed a massive symbol.
From Gideon's angle, it resembled a winged human figure.
---
"A summoning ritual."
Calvis's expression immediately turned grave.
The others quickly realized the same thing.
"So it really is an angel-summoning ritual…"
Haggai looked stunned.
"A formation like this actually exists."
Rolcie frowned while studying the fluctuations.
"The ritual has already begun."
"But…"
"I don't sense the presence of such a being nearby."
Haggai slowly calmed himself before shaking his head.
"The buildup of evil energy is indeed enormous."
"But summoning a true angel would require far more power than this."
Bettice's eyes lit up.
"So that means we still have time to stop it?"
Haggai nodded, then hesitated.
"According to the ancient texts, yes."
"But I can't confirm whether those people prepared additional measures."
Calvis immediately said:
"Then regardless of the circumstances, we must stop them as quickly as possible."
At that moment, Gideon raised another critical question.
"Where is Lord Jolan?"
"There's no way he wouldn't know about this."
The others immediately began scanning the battlefield.
"There."
Hiss Roger pointed toward the sky.
---
At that instant, the clouds above suddenly became blindingly bright.
Then an enormous sphere of light came crashing down from the heavens.
The resulting shockwave forced both armies below to halt their battle.
Jolan spat out a mouthful of blood before wiping his lips clean.
The elegant composure the Archbishop usually carried was completely gone.
His black robes were shredded apart, exposing a powerful, perfectly toned physique beneath.
Two horrifying wounds stretched across his chest.
At the same time, his appearance had changed dramatically.
Golden runes crawled across the surface of his skin.
His eyes had lost their pupils entirely, leaving only pure white radiance.
And behind him floated a massive circular halo of gold-and-white holy light—
Making the Archbishop appear almost godlike.
---
Then another figure descended from the clouds.
She possessed a beautiful yet cold face.
A massive cross-shaped sword rested in her hands.
Her body was slender and alluring—
Yet her deathly pale skin gave her beauty an eerie, unsettling quality.
Sharp claw-like nails.
Six gigantic crimson wings.
And the black cross-shaped mark embedded in her chest…
All of it made Xila seem terrifyingly mysterious.
"Your aura is weaker than before."
She gently touched the blood staining her blade.
"It seems maintaining this form drains you considerably."
"Hmph."
Jolan's tone remained icy.
"Save yourself the meaningless probing."
"If you wish to test my strength, feel free to try."
"Why?"
Xila slowly traced the blood along the sword's edge.
"The corruption of the Church has already rooted itself deeply into the world."
"But from what I know, you belong to the reformist faction within it."
"Our goals should align."
"A heretic like you dares preach to me?"
Jolan pointed toward the battlefield below.
"Your so-called transformation of the world requires slaughtering countless innocents?"
"History's revolutions are dictated by fate."
"Bloodshed always accompanies change."
"This scene has repeated itself countless times across thousands of years."
Xila's voice remained calm.
"Their corpses shall become the foundation of the new world."
"And I will build monuments to honor those sacrifices."
Jolan laughed coldly.
"Then why don't you become part of that foundation yourself?"
"If change is truly inevitable, someone else can always replace you."
"Why not kill yourself now?"
"I'd even be generous enough to bury the body."
Xila's brows twitched.
Her grip tightened around the sword.
"I must admit…"
"You are surprisingly talented at arguments."
Her voice finally turned cold.
"Hmph. I merely learned from someone else."
A certain face flashed through Jolan's mind.
"Besides, winning absurd arguments was never difficult."
"You arrogant fool."
Xila vanished instantly.
The next moment, she appeared directly before him.
Gripping the sword with both hands, she swung upward—
Unleashing a crescent-shaped slash.
Jolan immediately crossed his arms in defense.
A pale golden skeletal layer spread across his skin.
BOOM!
Another deafening explosion erupted.
Jolan's body shot into the clouds at unimaginable speed before disappearing entirely.
A massive ring-shaped shockwave exploded outward across the battlefield.
---
Near the ritual barrier—
Crack.
A skeleton shattered under the force of the shockwave, the evil energy surrounding it completely erased.
"The three hundred and forty-seventh one."
Beelzebub withdrew his hand.
"The evil aura was completely annihilated."
"Looks like it can't be recycled anymore."
He shook his head.
"In terms of stopping the ritual, Xila is honestly more useful than the Church."
"Stop complaining."
Abraham adjusted his glasses.
"If she weren't here, we'd already have been purified by that Archbishop."
"Focus on the situation in front of us instead."
"Those people are coming again."
As soon as he finished speaking, several figures dressed in Church robes appeared outside the barrier.
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