Chapter 314: The Descent of Angels (XI)
"In the name of the Father and the Son…"
Gideon pulled out holy water and poured it down the throats of the three unconscious men one by one, then carefully began cleansing the traces of evil lingering within them.
Abaddon watched the scene for quite a while.
Then he turned his head and discovered that Mashal was standing there expressionlessly, while Abraham showed no intention of speaking either.
Unable to hold back any longer, Abaddon poked Mashal with a finger.
"What are we waiting for?"
"That guy can't split his attention right now. Isn't this the perfect chance to kill them?"
Yet neither of his companions moved.
THUD!
Abaddon dropped onto the ground with a heavy plop, kicking up dust everywhere.
His eyes shifted back and forth between both sides, his expression practically screaming:
And you still claim you're not friends?
Perhaps feeling uncomfortable under that stare, Mashal finally turned around with a serious face.
"That man has absolutely no guard up against us."
Abaddon spread his hands in confusion.
"Idiot."
"The last time, he was the one who set traps beside the evil idol and caused the mission to fail!"
Mashal gritted his teeth.
"I will never make the same mistake twice."
Only then did Abaddon seem to remember something.
He smacked his forehead.
"Ohhh… so he's the Barry Allen you mentioned?"
"Hmph. That's right."
Mashal sneered coldly.
"Their objective is the ritual formation. As long as we hold this place, nothing will go wrong."
"Time is on our side now."
"The longer this drags on, the more anxious they become."
His analysis of the situation was swift and precise.
Abaddon suddenly looked enlightened.
"Mashal, that beating really wasn't wasted on you!"
Mashal: "…"
"If you don't know how to compliment people, then shut your mouth."
---
On the other side, Gideon was equally surprised that they hadn't attacked.
He glanced at the ground nearby.
Several high-quality holy artifacts had been casually placed there earlier—small traps he'd prepared on the fly.
"Looks like last time left quite a psychological scar on them…"
"This just got troublesome."
Not long after arriving near the ritual, Gideon had realized the three Church members were in danger.
So he left Haggai behind to set up countermeasures while he rushed ahead alone to rescue them.
Fortunately, he'd made it in time.
"Innocent! Calvin!"
An anxious voice suddenly sounded from behind.
Gideon turned around and saw a white-robed nun running toward them, a golden cross embroidered on her chest.
She had short brown hair and sharply defined features that were impossible to forget after one glance.
"Are you hurt?!"
Sid knelt beside the three men, quickly checking their conditions.
But she soon realized none of them were injured—
Yet none showed signs of waking either.
"What happened to them?!"
she asked Gideon in confusion.
Because of the distance, she hadn't seen what had happened moments ago.
"They were mentally ensnared by some kind of evil influence."
Gideon frowned slightly.
He was reminded of the Philadelphia Memorial InSidnt. Those same people had used similar methods back then.
"I've already cleansed the evil influence from their bodies with holy water."
"But whether their consciousness returns depends on whether they can awaken on their own."
Sid visibly relaxed.
"That's good."
She rose to her feet and bowed slightly toward Gideon.
"Thank you for your assistance. We'll remember this kindness."
A trace of surprise flashed through Gideon's eyes.
She doesn't seem worried at all that her companions won't wake up…
Does she already have a solution?
Still, outwardly he merely waved it off.
"No need to dwell on it."
The two quickly exchanged information, and Gideon learned this group was the very Clerical Order team Jolan had mentioned earlier.
"My companions are on their way here."
"Until the three of them wake up, leave this place to me."
Sid looked surprised.
She quietly sized him up, inwardly wondering whether he might be some hidden Holy Bloodline member.
Otherwise, how could he possibly have rescued Innocent and the others from a triple-layered death trap?
Yet she had spent years in the Vatican and had never seen him before.
Still, she nodded.
"No problem."
"Once they wake up and we confirm they're stable, we'll return immediately to support you."
As one of Jolan's subordinates, she naturally wouldn't waste time on meaningless delays.
Gideon nodded and headed toward the ritual formation.
"Be careful!"
Sid called out from behind.
---
Gideon stopped about ten meters away from the formation.
A faint Holy Light Barrier shimmered around him, while three golden rings appeared within his eyes.
"The ritual itself has extremely strong defensive properties."
"To break through it head-on would require overwhelming force…"
"At minimum, someone at Jolan's level."
"The arrangement of spirit runes is also incredibly complex."
"But based on the intensity of the colors, there are weak points…"
"However…"
Gideon narrowed his eyes.
The outer barrier indeed had flaws.
But four members of the Wings of Vengeance stood directly beside those weaknesses.
Which meant—
To destroy the barrier, he first had to defeat the heretics.
And the barrier itself was protecting them.
"This really is troublesome…"
He rubbed his chin.
"Everyone—"
He was interrupted immediately.
"Trying tricks again?"
Mashal sneered coldly.
Gideon's raised hand froze awkwardly in midair before naturally shifting into scratching his eyebrow.
"I don't understand what Your Excellency means."
"Still trying to fool people?"
Two dark-green serpents burst from Mashal's body, glaring viciously at Gideon.
"Let me guess…"
"You're planning to lure us into fighting you one-on-one using some 'fair competition' nonsense, aren't you?"
Gideon awkwardly turned his head aside.
"Haha…"
"You really have quite the imagination."
"Who would actually believe an excuse like that?"
"Hmph."
"Since you understand that much, then there's no need to bring up things like 'moving somewhere more spacious' either."
Mashal continued mercilessly.
Gideon swallowed hard and forced his next line back down his throat.
"Look at you…"
"I haven't even said anything yet. Why are you so nervous?"
He took two steps forward.
"We can at least be considered fami—"
"STOP!"
Mashal shouted again.
"What are you holding in your hand?"
"N-Nothing."
"Hmph."
"You're trying to distract us with conversation so you can sneak in a holy water attack, aren't you?"
"How could that be?"
"Only you people would do something so shameless."
"That's hard to say."
"Unless you show us your hand."
"There's really no trust between us at all?"
"The Church never places trust in evil people."
"And that applies to you as well."
Mashal narrowed his eyes as powerful energy fluctuations erupted around him.
"Don't tell me I guessed correctly?"
Gideon finally had no choice but to pull his right hand out from behind his back.
The instant Mashal saw the transparent glass bottle, he crossed his arms smugly, clearly wearing an I knew it expression.
"Ahem…"
Gideon quietly stuffed the holy water back into his pocket.
"You know, as a devout clergyman, carrying holy artifacts for prayer is perfectly normal."
"Stop wasting your breath."
Mashal remained unmoved.
"If you obediently stay where you are, I can promise to settle accounts only after the ritual ends."
"That way, you'll at least get to live a little longer."
Then he sneered again.
"As for any other schemes…"
"Don't expect us to fall for them."
Hearing that, Gideon shrugged helplessly.
"Sorry."
"I really didn't expect that one trap to traumatize you this badly."
Mashal stared at him coldly.
"But…"
Gideon changed his tone.
"The so-called trap was merely a way to save some effort."
"Since such methods are useless against you…"
"…I do happen to know a little hand-to-hand combat as well."
"You're planning to fight all of us alone?"
Abaddon asked in surprise.
"Don't listen to him."
Mashal immediately stopped him.
"Whether it's one opponent or two, our only responsibility is to block attacks. Ignore everything else."
The moment he finished speaking, large amounts of dark-green liquid began flowing from his body.
His skin darkened and roughened, while his entire frame rapidly expanded.
Tap… tap…
Two massive flesh wings burst from his back, and scales spread across his face.
"So this is sanctification…"
Gideon observed the grotesque transformation carefully.
He hadn't expected Mashal to go all-out immediately.
"Come."
"No matter what methods you use, I'll block them all."
Mashal's voice now overlapped with another monstrous existence.
Gideon slowly raised a hand.
Across from him, Mashal and Abaddon instantly heightened their guard to the extreme.
Then both of them noticed something strange—
Part of the undead army nearby suddenly stopped moving.
Moments later, they all turned around and began charging directly toward the ritual formation.
Mashal immediately glanced toward Beelzebub inside the barrier.
But the latter looked visibly strained.
"…Control has been lost."
After a moment, Beelzebub managed only those few words.
"Tch."
"So he still succeeded."
Mashal snorted coldly before refocusing on the battlefield ahead.
At that moment, over a dozen undead corpses had already reached them.
Yellow-brown slime hissed and smoked as it corroded the ground in their wake.
The very weapons they'd once used against the Church—
Were now being turned against themselves.
Sizzle… sizzle…
The two differently colored corrosive liquids merged together before dissolving simultaneously.
Mashal looked aside.
That damned bastard was charging straight toward Abaddon.
"You picked the wrong opponent."
Abaddon raised his massive fist with a deep growl.
Gideon lightly sidestepped the frontal attack, instantly appearing behind the giant brute.
Crash… splash…
Several bottles shattered.
Holy water flowed across the crucial joints of Abaddon's body.
Sizzle… sizzle…
A scorched stench instantly filled the air, but Abaddon's movements remained completely unaffected.
"You really are despicable," he growled as he swung a vicious elbow strike backward.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
As Gideon spoke, he activated God-Eye Imprisonment.
At once, Abaddon felt as though his entire body had been submerged in glue. Every movement became sluggish and heavy.
"What is this crap?!"
He struggled violently—
But Gideon had already appeared directly in front of him.
"Try washing your face. Maybe then you'll see more clearly."
He smashed two bottles of holy water straight into Abaddon's eyes.
"Ghh—!"
The massive brute shut his eyes tightly, letting out a muffled groan of pain.
The moment the attack succeeded, Gideon immediately retreated instead of pressing forward.
Across from him, Mashal had already completely dissolved the undead corpses surrounding him.
After pounding the ground several times in rage, Abaddon charged forward again.
He raised his head. Burn marks were clearly visible around his eyes, but they were healing at an alarming speed.
"I'm going to crush your flesh with my own hands!"
Just then, footsteps sounded from the nearby woods.
The reinforcements had arrived—
Calvis, Rolcie, and the others rushed onto the battlefield.
"Heh, you certainly ran fast."
Calvis stared at Gideon.
"Where's Haggai?"
"This idiot…"
Gideon frowned.
Sure enough, the instant Abraham realized Gideon hadn't come alone, he immediately began scanning the surrounding area.
Rolcie smoothly cut in.
"Lord Calvis, this operation is under Lord Parolin's command."
The moment Calvis remembered the old man from his family, whatever thoughts he'd been entertaining instantly died down.
He could only reply sullenly:
"My apologies. I was merely concerned."
Then he changed the subject.
"So then, Commander…"
"What do you need us to do?"
Gideon sighed inwardly.
If possible, he truly didn't want to cooperate with teammates like this.
The enemy was already right in front of them, yet this man was still trying to create trouble.
But right now, if they wanted to stop the ritual, he couldn't afford to openly clash with him.
Still, Gideon silently made a decision:
Once the fighting started, he'd stay as far away from these two as possible.
With that thought, he spoke:
"If we want to stop the ritual, we must destroy the barrier first."
He quickly explained everything he had discovered regarding the barrier's weaknesses.
"The green one is using sanctification power. He's their primary offensive force."
"The big brute lacks speed, but his strength is overwhelming, and his regeneration is impressive."
"The man with glasses can use evil spirit power to interfere with consciousness. He's a priority threat."
"As for the innermost one, he hasn't moved at all. But I suspect the entire undead army on this battlefield is under his control. However, his control over each individual soldier is limited."
In only a few sentences, everyone immediately understood the battlefield situation.
Rolcie, Calvis, and the others were inwardly shocked.
They hadn't expected Gideon to already have grasped the situation so thoroughly.
Compared to him, the so-called Holy Bloodline elites seemed vastly inferior.
Inside the barrier, Abraham also frowned.
He hadn't expected the priest to figure out so much after such a brief exchange.
"Did I expose it when I turned around earlier…?"
"What a mistake."
He recalled the moment the undead army first lost control and he had instinctively looked toward Beelzebub.
That priest must have noticed the anomaly right then.
Meanwhile, Bettice took out a holy relic.
"Everyone, based on how concentrated the evil energy has become, our opportunity to strike may be very limited."
Feeling the unique aura radiating from the artifact, Gideon guessed it was likely a powerful ancestral holy relic.
"Working with smart people really is easier."
He nodded inwardly.
---
The group rapidly divided responsibilities.
Bettice and Calvis would deal with Abaddon.
Rolcie would defend against Abraham's mental attacks.
Caroline and Hugh lacked strong theological abilities, so they were assigned to clean up the undead soldiers gathering nearby.
Meanwhile—
Gideon would hold off Mashal.
At that moment, the Medici family heir finally realized just how insignificant he truly was.
Everyone present was more useful than him—
Especially Gideon, whom he had once looked down upon.
Those untouchable core Holy Bloodline members, whom Hugh had once viewed with awe—
Were now following Father Gideon's commands without hesitation.
The realization shook him deeply.
And after surviving alongside Gideon throughout this ordeal, Hugh finally understood why Jolan had placed Gideon in the leadership role.
"Looking at it this way…"
"Lord Jolan really was taking care of us siblings."
Hugh smiled bitterly to himself.
If the Wings of Vengeance had never attacked, this trip into the Holy War Lands would have earned them tremendous merit.
No—
More accurately, it would have been free merit.
"Forget it."
"Now isn't the time to think about that."
"Once this is over… I'll find a way to build a better relationship with him."
---
Under the coordination of the group and the support of powerful holy relics, the members of the Wings of Vengeance could no longer maintain their earlier composure.
They were now forced to focus fully on countering the Church's attacks.
And when Innocent's squad from the Clerical Order rejoined the battle—
The balance finally broke.
At that moment, Haggai crawled out from behind a patch of bushes.
"Hey! The setup's finished!"
He tossed a talisman toward Gideon.
Gideon caught it steadily.
"Right on time."
He smiled faintly.
Then he infused the talisman with holy power—
And instantly, the entire surrounding landscape began to tremble violently.
Everyone in the middle of battle was forced to stop.
Rolcie narrowed her eyes.
"A reversal formation…"
"At this scale… just how high-grade were the holy relics used?"
Seven dazzling pillars of light erupted skyward from different locations, perfectly surrounding the ritual formation.
Streams of crystalline energy connected the pillars together, forming a massive barrier that completely sealed off the surrounding space.
This was a grand formation Gideon had created using seven century-grade holy relics.
He had no intention of leaving the enemy even the slightest chance.
So without wasting a single word—
He activated the reversal formation.
HUMMM—
The evil energy inside the barrier began spinning violently, quickly forming an enormous black vortex.
At its core, the spirit runes slowly began shifting from black to white.
Excitement appeared in the eyes of the Church members.
But Gideon kept staring at the enemy.
The four members of the Wings of Vengeance showed no panic whatsoever.
His eyes narrowed immediately.
"What exactly are they relying on…?"
At that moment, the reversal formation was fully operational.
Empowered by century-grade holy relics, even a monster like Sira would have difficulty stopping it.
Yet the calmer the enemy appeared—
The more uneasy Gideon became.
Then suddenly—
The reversal formation began slowing down.
And at some unknown moment, a figure had appeared high above them.
The man wore pristine white Church robes.
But in his hand—
He carried the severed head of a nun.
Drip.
Drip.
Fresh blood fell slowly onto the ground.
(Note: There were two crazy lengthy chapters yesterday and today, better throw some large stones everyone.)
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