Chapter 574: The Gospel of Blood (2)

Turning slowly, Frey saw a sight he hadn’t anticipated: his last strike had blown Blattier to pieces—his head flung one way, the rest of his body another.

And yet, despite that—though he should have been dead—Blattier’s right arm rose upright, as if life had never left it.

On that arm burned a mass of incomprehensible blood sigils, cursed glyphs glowing with a baleful red light—then the entire place shook, and a massive beam fell from the sky, swallowing Frey and driving him dozens of floors below.

At the summit of the ancient Noctherra temple, the female War Angel appeared again ..

the same angel Frey had avoided fighting last time—now ambushing him with an attack that came literally from nowhere.

Meanwhile, Blattier’s body flared with light, his scattered parts floating above the ground—until, before their very eyes, his limbs knit themselves back together. The old man regained his form, then collapsed, panting and drenched in sweat, fear carved into his face.

He had just stared death in the eye—yet he lived.

And for his followers, that was all they needed to see.

"A miracle!"

"It’s a miracle!" the faithful cried one after another, while Blattier stared at them in bafflement.

’What are these fools even talking about?’

This was no miracle—it was the power he had borrowed from the Golden World Tree.

The tree’s power was so vast it breathed life into everything around it.

Blattier had long tried to make that power his own, but it had always rejected him, granting him only scraps.

Yet those scraps were enough—enough to pull him back when death was already upon him.

He hadn’t intended it to happen now, but the result was the same: his followers were even more convinced, calling it a miracle.

Normally, Blattier might have taken delight in such a sight—but this time, he couldn’t.

That monster who had killed him before was coming—racing back to them like lightning.

"Followers of the Church! Do not lose your faith! That monster is strong, but he’s still just a human with a single heart. No matter how powerful he seems, he will die in the end! Devote your hearts and fight for the Lord of Light!"

Activating the blood runes, Blattier signaled for the angel to descend.

"The War Angels will fight at our side!"

As he spoke, he triggered the runes on his other hand as well. The pressure in the air spiked as a second War Angel appeared from afar.

"Stop him here—whatever it takes!" Blattier roared, and his followers answered as one:

"For the Lord of Light!!"

They shouted with zeal—then snapped their mouths shut as a crushing aura rolled over them, greater by itself than anything the angels had shown.

The pressure twisted Blattier’s face with fear. He turned and bolted.

"You’re testing my patience, Blattier—you and your damn flock, eager to worship the ass of a god you know nothing about but his name."

Leaping from the crater where he’d been buried, Frey emerged unharmed—even after taking a direct hit from a War Angel.

"This time I’ll kill you properly," Frey said, anger low and cold.

"Fire!!!" Blattier screamed.

At his command, the second War Angel fired its cannon of holy aura at Frey. Frey whirled to face it, an immense surge of power flooding from within him.

"Ten Thousand Steps of Shadow: Frey Starlight Style—

Nameless Judgement!!!"

Unleashing Nameless Judgement at full power, his colossal slash met the angel’s cannon head-on, split the great beam in two, and drove on—cleaving the War Angel itself in half.

At the same time, Frey lunged at the other War Angel, his twin blades blazing with shadow aura.

That second angel had finished charging and immediately fired its barrage straight at Frey. He dodged with teleportation, reappearing at a wholly different angle—but the angel snapped its head around and kept the beam trained on him, dragging a line of devastation toward him through the sky.

Both of them soared. Exploiting his insane speed, Frey descended on the angel’s back, raining down a torrent of slashes—only for a massive barrier to shield the angel’s body.

Elsewhere, a strange force began trying to re-knit the War Angel Frey had just bisected.

Noticing it, fury tightened Frey’s features. His aura flared even harsher as he pushed to erase both angels as fast as possible.

The sight of a single youth battling two SS+ War Angels—the very pinnacle of that rank—only poured more terror into Blattier, who fled.

His retreat fell within Frey’s perception; he saw it clearly. But he was locked with the angels—he would have to rely on his friend.

"Snow! Chase that senile bastard—don’t let him run!!"

At Frey’s call, Snow Lionheart—who had utterly overpowered Platini—broke off to pursue. Despite Platini’s swollen strength from sacrifices, Snow—who had opened the Demonic Path alongside the Human Path—was simply stronger.

With Blattier fleeing, Platini tried to do the same—so Snow hunted them both.

"Count on me, Frey! Just focus on the enemy in front of you!"

Frey fought above, in the sky; Snow waged battle below.

Their power far exceeded Blattier’s expectations, leaving him no choice but to retreat and play every last card.

Snow gave chase, and Platini snapped his hand out with a command:

"Followers of the Church—stop him!"

At once, fighters and angels massed before Snow to bar his way.

Snow’s voice crashed over them in fury.

"Open your eyes! Am I not the bearer of the blade forged by that so-called god you worship? Why standing in my way?!"

"You may be the Lord of Light’s messenger, but you defied his decree, Lord Lionheart! Frey Starlight deceived you and twisted you to his ends—come back to your senses, Lord Lionheart!"

They cried out one after another, and Snow found himself speechless for a heartbeat.

"What is this... Are you serious? What cursed faith is this?!"

Whoooosh!!

Unleashing black lightning and blue flames, Snow carved his way through, abandoning any thought of persuading them.

Fighting alone, the Empire’s hero once again found himself cutting down his own kind without mercy.

He looked into the faces of the Church’s followers ..

people who fought to their last breath believing they were right, blinded by a faith built on a lie ..

and understood then just how terrifying religion could be. More terrifying than anything else ..

capable of washing the minds of millions with ease, woven into the very core of every human.

"Damn you all!"

Calling down elemental cataclysms, Snow burned them alive.

Exploiting the distraction that pinned Snow down,

Blattier and Platini fled back toward the sacred tree.

"Blattier! What are we going to do?!" Platini shouted.

"We use everything we have. Frey Starlight’s strength exceeded our expectations by miles—that monster is far too dangerous," Blattier said, grimly resolute.

"We’ll wield the tree’s power—and the Saint’s life if we must. We’ll sacrifice everything to win, Platini!!"

Determined to play every last card, Blattier rushed back to the summit—and within minutes, he arrived.

But to his surprise, he was not the first to get there.

Sitting there already was a third figure, who had slipped in uninvited.

"Ah—finally. You’ve no idea how long I’ve been waiting."

Rising to his feet, he smiled the way he always did ..a smile that sent a shiver through Blattier.

"You... How did you get here?" the bishop blurted, while the newcomer’s smile only widened.

It was the prince .. Aegon Valerion.