Chapter 313: The Descent of Angels (X)
Bzzzt—
A faintly glowing barrier unfolded around Gideon, enveloping not only himself but also Bettice, Caroline, and the others nearby.
From the moment they entered this region, Gideon had been keeping a close watch on the sky above. The instant danger appeared, he had already reacted.
Even so, his expression remained grim.
The Holy Light Barrier had only been a backup plan. His original intention was to escape using Holy Step.
But the moment he activated the holy art, he immediately felt his body slow to a crawl. The surging holy power inside him was instantly locked down.
As though movement itself had become forbidden within this area.
Hiss Roger was the second to react.
He tore the golden cross from his chest and hurled it into the air.
In the next instant, the artifact radiated a hazy halo.
Dense golden runes floated through the sky, each containing ancient holy power. Faintly, one could even hear the sound of scripture being chanted.
"So that's the Cross of the First Spirit…"
Rolcie widened her eyes in shock.
Every Pope possessed a personal sacred prayer artifact. Having been immersed in pure holy power for decades, those relics carried extraordinarily refined divinity and immense purifying strength.
After a Pope's ascension, these artifacts would be preserved as relics of the First Spirit, and only the next Pope would be qualified to wield them.
"Could it be… he really…"
Before Rolcie could continue her thoughts, the golden cross had already shot high into the sky.
"Hmph. A dead man's toy."
Accompanied by a cold sneer, another crimson slash descended from above, colliding violently with the golden cross.
Large portions of the golden runes shattered instantly.
A second later, the cross itself dimmed and began cracking apart inch by inch.
Yet the scarlet killing intent did not stop.
The surrounding grass bent under the pressure, and everyone on the ground felt a stinging pain across their faces.
Clang!
The Holy Light Barrier finally collided with that overwhelming force.
The barrier nearly shattered on impact—
But immense streams of holy power immediately surged across its surface, desperately repairing the cracks.
Even so, it only lasted a moment.
Crash!
Fragments of energy scattered through the air as Gideon's barrier completely collapsed.
And yet—
Everyone inside remained unharmed.
"Good thing I made it in time."
Jolan let out a breath of relief.
At this moment, both his arms were crossed above his head in a defensive stance. The clothing on his upper body had been completely destroyed.
"You did well."
He glanced toward Gideon.
If Gideon hadn't stalled the attack for even that brief moment, Jolan would only have been protecting a pile of mangled flesh by now.
"If not for Lord Hiss Roger's relic taking most of the impact, my barrier wouldn't have held at all," Gideon replied.
Hiss Roger continued staring upward with a solemn expression, but after hearing that, he still turned and offered a faint smile.
"Now's not the time for polite formalities."
Jolan once again assumed a defensive stance.
Opposite them, that beautiful yet deadly figure slowly descended from the sky.
"Your organization claims it wishes to overturn the world,"
Jolan mocked coldly,
"yet all you do is prey on ordinary people?"
"So long as the objective is achieved, even slaughtering children would not shake my resolve."
Xila spoke calmly, her voice as emotionless as ever.
"Besides, all four of them are members of the Holy Bloodline."
"Did you truly think such a crude disguise would make me underestimate them?"
Jolan clicked his tongue.
"Tch… what a troublesome woman."
"These people are the future heirs of the Church."
Xila slowly raised her cruciform sword once more.
"If they die, those old men in the Vatican will probably suffer for a very long time."
"Before that," Jolan suddenly changed the subject,
"there's something else I'm curious about."
"You were clearly struck by the Holy Nails earlier."
"Why are you still able to use your power?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"Mind explaining that to me?"
"Last time, you certainly weren't this composed."
Xila tilted her head slightly, then placed a hand over her chest.
In the next instant, seven golden lights lit up across her body once again—
But beneath that holy radiance, dense evil energy erupted outward.
"AAAAAHHH—!"
A series of agonized screams echoed through the air.
Seven holy nails were forcibly expelled from Xila's body.
And supporting those sacred nails… were seven hideous evil spirits.
"So it's spirit substitution…"
Jolan's brows furrowed deeply.
"To implant something like that into your own body…"
"You really are insane."
It was a forbidden ritual technique—
One that allowed a person to merge with evil spirits and siphon Source Power from corrupt energy itself.
Many cultists chose this method to rapidly increase their strength in a short period of time.
But because merging with evil spirits made one extremely vulnerable to corruption, the mortality rate was horrifyingly high.
Even among those willing to attempt the ritual, most only dared fuse with a tiny fragment of an evil spirit.
Yet the woman before them had fused with seven complete evil spirits at once.
"I naturally wouldn't make the same mistake twice."
Xila swung her sword downward.
The evil spirits and holy nails were annihilated simultaneously.
Everyone present except Jolan felt a chill in their hearts.
That level of power was far beyond anything they could handle.
And Jolan clearly understood the same thing.
He turned toward the group.
"The ritual created by those heretics is nearby. I've already sent members of the Clerical Order to stop it."
"From this moment onward, you only have one mission—"
"Do everything in your power to assist them in destroying the ritual."
"I'm sure all of you can already feel it."
"No matter what that ritual is trying to summon, we absolutely cannot allow it to enter this world."
"Otherwise…"
Jolan's tone turned grave.
"The end of humanity may arrive far sooner than expected."
The group instinctively looked toward the distant direction where terrifying evil power was gathering.
Even from this far away, it made their skin crawl.
At that moment, everyone realized just how serious the situation truly was.
Jolan continued,
"From now on, all of you are to follow Father Gideon's commands. Naturally, exceptions apply in matters of immediate life and death."
"I'll remain here and buy you time."
Aside from Haggai and Caroline, the other Holy Bloodline members all revealed surprised expressions.
Especially Calvis and Hugh.
The two stared deeply at Gideon, unable to understand why the Archbishop valued him so highly.
"And you."
Jolan looked toward Gideon.
"With things this urgent, stop slacking off."
Gideon's mouth twitched.
"Slacking off?"
"This old man's basically telling me to risk my life…"
he complained inwardly.
"But saying that out loud really isn't smart…"
"That female killing machine is literally standing right there."
Thinking this, Gideon glanced sideways—
Only to discover Xila staring directly at him with an unreadable look in her eyes.
"…I'm screwed."
At that moment, Hiss Roger stepped forward.
"I'll stay as well. That woman looks incredibly strong."
"Don't waste time."
Jolan cut him off immediately.
"Members of the Clerical Order must place mission completion above all else!"
"Your companion's concern is reasonable."
Xila suddenly spoke.
Everyone instantly turned toward her.
"The sphere of light behind you should be the manifestation of your sanctified power."
"That's the only reason you can contend against me."
"But such power cannot last forever."
"When we fought in the sky, you already survived two fatal crises."
"And each time, the light diminished."
"Just now was the third."
"Otherwise…"
"Why do you think these little ones survived beneath my blade?"
The moment her words fell—
The light behind Jolan suddenly dimmed.
Part of the glowing halo transformed into gray stone.
Crack… BOOM!
The stone shattered onto the ground.
Jolan's aura weakened visibly.
"Tch…"
"And now of all times."
He frowned deeply.
The scene clearly damaged morale—
Well, for most people at least.
Jolan crushed the fallen stone beneath his foot.
"You're quite calculating."
"But don't think these are my only methods."
Xila spread her hands slightly.
"As expected of a Holy Court Envoy."
"Even now, you still know how to stabilize morale."
"But when it comes to 'scheming'…"
"We're not so different."
"You deliberately revealed the mission to destroy the ritual because you wanted me to temporarily stop attacking."
"That way you'd gain more time to recover."
"But…"
Her gaze turned cold.
"How do you know…"
"That I'm not also stalling for time?"
Jolan's eyes narrowed instantly.
He sensed the direction of the ritual formation—
And his heart sank.
"Damn it!"
"You're borrowing the evil spirit's power?!"
"Aren't you afraid it'll completely destroy this entire space?!"
he shouted furiously.
"The Wings of Vengeance will not be stopped by anyone."
Xila drew her cruciform blade once more.
"A bunch of lunatics!"
Jolan clenched his teeth.
Then he shouted:
"Hiss Roger stays behind! Everyone else, head to the ritual site immediately!"
He truly was reaching his limit.
Someone had to remain behind to assist him.
"As a member of the Holy Bloodline, I cannot abandon Lord David and flee!"
Calvis stepped forward immediately.
Rolcie said nothing, but hesitation clearly appeared in her stance.
"What idiots!"
Jolan cursed without restraint.
"This is not the time for political games!"
"Did your families teach you nothing at all?!"
Calvis was rendered speechless and could only clench his fists tightly.
Rolcie turned to observe everyone else's reactions—
Only to suddenly freeze.
The others quickly noticed her expression.
Moments later, everyone realized Gideon had disappeared.
And so had Haggai.
---
Several dozen meters away—
"Hey! Why are you dragging me along?!"
"The others haven't even left yet!"
Haggai shouted.
"With Lord Jolan's personality, staying there would only waste his life," Gideon replied calmly.
Haggai thought for a moment before snorting.
"Then why bring me specifically?"
"I can't even use a single holy art."
"I need you to maintain the reversal array."
"And someone needs to watch the traps."
Gideon narrowed his eyes.
"There may still be other powerful enemies near the ritual."
"But can you handle them alone?"
"The Clerical Order members may already be dead."
Gideon casually pointed behind them with a thumbs-up.
"Looks like everyone followed anyway."
Haggai turned around.
Sure enough, Calvis, Rolcie, and the others were sprinting toward them.
Meanwhile, Jolan and the female heretic had already resumed their battle.
---
Near the ritual formation—
A gigantic vortex of mist hovered above the sky.
Huge quantities of blood poured down from it, drenching the flesh offerings arranged on the ground.
Yet none of the blood overflowed.
Every drop was absorbed by the pentagram array, while the stench of blood grew thicker and thicker.
Abraham nodded in satisfaction before sitting back down.
But then a voice suddenly rang out from beyond the barrier.
"What are those things?!"
"With this much blood, a lot of people must've died!"
Veins bulged on Abraham's forehead as he snapped his eyes open again.
That endlessly chatty Church idiot had returned.
"Mashal!"
"Didn't I tell you to get rid of him?!"
"If he interferes with the ritual, are you taking responsibility?!"
he shouted angrily.
Two enormous dark-green serpents suddenly burst from the ground and lunged toward the man behind Innocent Gregory.
CLANG!
The serpents slammed into a Holy Light Barrier and failed to advance even a single inch.
"Hmph!"
"Don't try guilt-tripping me!"
"Why don't YOU come out and deal with him?!"
Mashal's voice echoed nearby.
Moments later, dirt exploded upward as a black-robed figure emerged from underground.
"First of all,"
Abraham adjusted his glasses.
"By every possible definition, we're villains."
"So morality is something we fundamentally do not possess."
"Secondly—"
"As long as you stop the ritual, that itself would already be a moral act!"
Innocent interrupted immediately.
"SHUT UP!"
Mashal and Abraham roared in unison.
Abraham trembled with rage, looking moments away from charging out and punching the man himself.
Thinking back to earlier—
Abraham had originally believed dealing with this noisy fool would be easy.
But the man was unexpectedly powerful.
He couldn't kill him.
Couldn't drive him away.
The experience was more disgusting than stepping barefoot into human waste.
Thankfully, Abaddon and Mashal had arrived in time, allowing Abraham a brief moment of peace.
"Hmph."
"The ritual is approaching its critical stage."
"We can't let these people live any longer."
Abraham rose to his feet.
"Since we've obtained the evil spirit's power…"
"…this is the perfect opportunity to test it."
He immediately pulled out an empty bottle and collected some of the blood raining from above.
Then he began chanting over it before blowing into the bottle's mouth.
A crimson wind swept outward.
Innocent had originally been preparing to continue persuading the others—
But suddenly his entire body froze.
Scarlet flooded his vision.
"This… mental invasion?"
"How is this possible…?"
Everything around him slowed dramatically.
A massive crimson sphere appeared before his eyes.
"We were always one."
A cold, emotionless voice whispered beside his ear.
Innocent instinctively felt warmth and familiarity from the crimson light—
As though he wanted to merge with it.
---
Reality.
Mashal poked Innocent.
The man didn't move.
"What did you do?"
"His defensive holy arts are extremely strong."
Mashal glanced toward the barrier.
"Doesn't matter!"
"Kill him already! Hurry up!"
Abraham urged anxiously.
Mashal shrugged.
He had intended to do exactly that anyway.
"STOP!"
"You despicable heretics!"
"You're courting death!"
Two furious voices suddenly rang out nearby.
John Kesson and Calvin Ashur charged toward them.
The two had been fighting enemies elsewhere on the battlefield, but after seeing their captain in danger, they immediately forced their way over.
Unfortunately—
That also exposed openings.
"Mr. Fitness,"
Abaddon suddenly appeared behind Calvin.
"You haven't even finished your last set."
"Skipping reps won't maintain a good physique."
He slammed a fist downward.
Meanwhile, several skeletons bound in gray chains abruptly stood up.
They opened their mouths, spewing large amounts of yellowish-brown corrosive slime directly at John.
At the same time, Abraham resumed chanting.
John and Calvin immediately felt their consciousness becoming sluggish.
Their bodies slowed involuntarily.
Farther away, Sid watched everything in horror.
She sprinted desperately toward them—
But combat had never been her strength.
And at this distance, she was already too late.
Sid stumbled and fell to the ground.
No sound even came from her throat anymore.
She could only watch helplessly as her companions walked toward death.
Then—
A black shadow suddenly flashed past her.
At the same moment, the dark-green serpents, the stone-like fist, and the corrosive slime all descended toward their prey—
Only to strike empty air.
The members of the Wings of Vengeance frowned simultaneously and looked in the same direction.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Gideon casually dropped the three rescued men onto the ground before rolling his shoulders.
"You…"
Mashal clenched his fists so hard the words seemed squeezed from between his teeth.
"It's you!"
Abraham's expression also turned serious.
"So he really came."
Abaddon scratched his head.
"Are they your friends?"
"Idiot!"
"They're obviously enemies!"
Abraham roared.
At that moment, Mashal stepped forward excitedly.
"Good."
"I've been waiting for you."
"It's time we settled this once and for all."
But Gideon suddenly raised a hand.
"Hold on."
"Let me save them first."
And with that—
He casually pulled out holy water and immediately began performing an exorcism on the spot.
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