Blazing light descended from the heavens. Before anyone could react, St. Peter's Basilica was instantly struck, its dome blasted open into a massive crater. Giant stones crashed down, sending clouds of dust flying.
The billowing dust jolted the terrified believers from their stupor, triggering screams and chaos.
Boom!
A brilliant light erupted from within the shattered church, blasting all the rubble outward. Along with the falling stones came an enraged voice.
"Blasphemer! You shall perish!"
Four four-winged angels transformed into golden streaks, shooting skyward to surround Wayne.
The panicked believers, seeing the angels, immediately prostrated themselves, crying out in wonder at the divine miracles as they gazed fervently at the sky.
"Blasphemy?" Wayne tilted his head. "You four... count as gods?"
He had initially wanted to curse them as 'bird-men', but, remembering his own winged form in his World Ender state, he forced the words back down to avoid implicating the innocent.
"We act by divine decree, punishing all blasphemers," one of the angels stated coldly.
"Including robbing my bank? Was that part of the punishment, too?" Wayne still didn't rush to act, curious why angels would commit robbery. Were they just bored?
His question went unanswered as all four angels attacked simultaneously.
Powerful energy, secretly gathered since they ascended, erupted instantly, aiming to catch the enemy off guard.
"Just as expected, beasts don't understand human speech," Wayne sighed, calmly extending his palm. The thick beams of light twisted before reaching him, converging into a dazzling sphere. With a mere gesture, energy capable of obliterating a mountain peak dissipated into nothingness.
The four angels' pupils contracted sharply, internal alarms screaming. A green phantom appeared behind Wayne, wielding a scythe that carved a spatial-rending arc. Green ripples washed over the angels, freezing them in shocked expressions as life faded, their bodies plummeting lifeless.
Wayne pulled out a storage pouch and collected all the angels for later study.
The battle ended too quickly; the believers below were still cheering when the angels died. Annoyed by the noise, Wayne sent a shockwave sweeping the fools away from Vatican Square.
Dumbledore's estimate had been fairly accurate—these four-winged angels were indeed around his level. Before his breakthrough to Legend, Wayne might have entertained himself by exploring this race's unique magic.
Now, he couldn't muster any interest.
Landing in the crater blasted through St. Peter's dome, Wayne recalled seeing two more angels below earlier. But after witnessing their comrades' instant defeat, they had fled.
His mental energy swiftly scanned the entire hall, and Wayne soon located the spatial anomaly—the church's most prominent Virgin Mary statue.
Approaching it, Wayne reached out to touch the statue and was instantly drawn inside.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a space filled with soft, radiant light.
Before he could even survey his surroundings, curses rained down from all directions, each strike comparable to Voldemort's strongest attacks, if not greater!
Roaaaarrr!
A phantom dragon silhouette rose from behind Wayne, its materialised magical power forming a tail that swept fiercely, blocking all attacks.
"Heretic! Traitor!"
Five six-winged angels landed not far from Wayne – three holding staffs, two brandishing greatswords, while dozens of four-winged angels hovered in the sky above, radiating deadly intent.
Wayne observed. Only the lead angel's wings appeared solid, while the others' third pair were composed of ethereal holy light.
He could also sense the difference between them.
Legend, pseudo-Legend.
They broke through after just one month of returning?
This surprised him somewhat.
"Who might you be? Do you have a name?" Wayne asked patiently.
Legend experts couldn't be controlled with the Imperius Curse, nor interrogated with Veritaserum. Any information he could extract would be valuable.
Though not particularly polite, the lead angel was far more reasonable than the four fools from earlier, coldly stating his name.
"I am Gabriel!"
"The legendary Archangel?" Wayne understood. "Heretic, I comprehend, but what does traitor mean?"
"Wizards betrayed the covenant, obtaining power from our Lord, yet allied with Centaurs and Goblins to rebel, helping mortals drive us out. What else would you call that but treachery?"
"The ancient wizards betrayed you, but what does that have to do with robbing my bank?" Wayne asked again.
Gabriel's expression remained unchanged. "So you are Wayne Lawrence."
"We aren't robbing your bank, merely destroying all Goblin currency to replace it with the Church's."
"Then will you return the money you stole?"
"Wizards are inherently sinful beings. There will be no place for you in the future world. Why concern yourself with worldly possessions?"
"Wayne Lawrence, I offer you an opportunity – embrace the Lord's glory, and I shall grant you rebirth as an angel." Gabriel raised his ornate wand, the gem at its tip blazing with light.
"You have no choice but to refuse. Submit or die!"
The five six-winged angels behind him poised for action.
"Has it occurred to you..." Wayne slowly ascended into the sky, "...that I might be this world's true god, while you are the blasphemers."
"Audacious!"
"You deserve divine punishment!"
"The Lord may forgive your sins, but we shall not!"
"Domain of Light!"
Such arrogance made Wayne's stance clear. Gabriel swept his wings forward, thousands of light feathers shooting toward Wayne like arrows. Simultaneously, the surrounding space constricted, overwhelming holy light threatening to crush him into pulp.
This was Wayne's first experience of a true Legend expert's Domain. Under Gabriel's control, light became absolute. Moreover, sacred hymns echoed in Wayne's ears – beautiful melodies concealing lethal intent. Any lapse in vigilance would brainwash him into becoming the Lord's follower.
This dual physical and mental Domain proved particularly troublesome. Worst of all, the other four pseudo-Legends possessed Domains of identical nature.
They superimposed their Domains upon Gabriel's, multiplying its strength several times over.
"How utterly tiresome." Wayne's robes billowed as a dark glint flashed in his eyes. An aura of destruction erupted as all the magical power within him transformed into pure annihilation energy. Gryffindor's sword replaced the wand in his hand.
"You think you can kill me!"
A furious roar shattered the clouds as Wayne gripped the sword and brought it down in a vertical slash. Pure destruction obliterated the entire holy resonance, instantly shattering the five layered Domains. Gabriel's eyebrows furrowed tightly together.
"Hound of darkness! This is the Lord's divine realm - how dare you run wild here!"
"Your Lord has been dead for ages. I'll send you to meet him right now." Wayne gave a vicious grin, his body flickering as he appeared behind a four-winged angel.
"Ah!"
The scream was cut short as soon as it began, for the angel who had uttered it had been cleanly bisected from head to toe.
Though angelic vitality far surpassed that of ordinary wizards, being dismembered still meant only one outcome.
With another swing of his sword, two nearby four-winged angels attempted to teleport away, but were horrified to discover space had completely frozen. In the next instant, they were decapitated.
Gabriel flew into a rage, brandishing his staff as a magical net descended from the sky, enveloping Wayne.
Two pseudo-Legend beings teleported beside him, raising their greatswords to strike down.
"Death's Embrace!"
Gryffindor's longsword swept horizontally, tearing a massive gash through the magical net. The two pseudo-Legends retreated in a panic as green spectral reapers materialised behind them, scythes sweeping through the air. Having prepared themselves this time, they managed to dodge awkwardly.
"You deserve death!" Gabriel's eyes nearly burst from their sockets, brilliant light erupting from his back as a massive hammer of light descended from the heavens.
Boom!
Wayne covered his head with his wings, the impact slamming him into the ground yet leaving him completely unharmed.
The Domain of destruction unfolded, crimson energy undercurrents transforming into burning chains of flame. Every angel struck let out piercing screams as the wicked demonic fire consumed their bodies entirely.
"Evil demon king! I shall trap your soul in the lowliest maggot's body and burn it for ten thousand years!"
Gabriel's furious roar echoed throughout the entire space.
Facing Gabriel's declaration, Wayne merely responded with a contemptuous smile.
"From this moment forth, the Divine Realm of Light is officially renamed the Divine Realm of Death!"
As he spoke, he unleashed a massive Death's Embrace arc. Gabriel's staff struck the ground with a heavy thud.
"Heaven's Gate!"
A colossal gate materialised and swallowed the sword arc, while the two remaining pseudo-Legends simultaneously unleashed their strongest attacks.
"Holy Light Arrow!"
"Divine Storm!"
A massive arrow of pure light shot forth as a violent storm materialised around Wayne. Gryffindor's longsword took on a bloody hue, a roaring dragon of sword energy tearing through all attacks and the Heaven's Gate itself.
"Divinity? Impossible!" Gabriel screamed in disbelief, grabbing one pseudo-Legend and using him as a shield while taking the opportunity to roll away awkwardly, escaping the fatal strike amid his companion's agonised screams.
The last remaining pseudo-Legend was torn to shreds by three wicked flame chains, his greatsword clattering to the ground.
Wayne beat his wings and gave chase, appearing beside Gabriel as if teleporting, seizing him by the throat and lifting him high.
Gabriel struggled to resist, holy light gathering around him, but the power of destruction had already invaded his body, overwhelmingly suppressing all his power.
"So you actually know about divinity. It seems your master is indeed no simple figure."
"Demon! If our Lord were still here, what would your pitiful shred of divinity amount to!" Gabriel said bitterly, knowing the Heaven Divine Realm was already finished.
"What a pity... your master has already perished in another world. I, Wayne Lawrence, keep my word - I'll send you to meet him now."
The destructive power infused with divine energy penetrated Gabriel's body, completely obliterating his life force.
Legend powerhouses were difficult to kill, yet remained equally fragile when facing higher-level power.
Wayne, who had activated World Ender, though not having become a Demigod, was no different from a true Demigod when facing someone like Gabriel, who had just broken through to Legend.
Since fanatics held no possibility of betrayal, Wayne didn't waste words and simply eradicated them root and branch.
Over a dozen four-winged angels still remained in the sky. Witnessing Gabriel's death shattered their faith completely. Some ceased resisting, allowing the evil fire chains to pierce their bodies, while others, unwilling to die here, desperately fled toward the spatial exit.
Just as Wayne prepared to pursue and eliminate them, a figure stepped through the light.
"Soul Piercing Light."
A blue arrow, as if possessing life itself, swiftly pierced through the surviving angels' heads.
Thud! Thud!
Their wings ceased flapping as the angels widened their eyes in shock, then collapsed, powerless to the ground. Wayne recognised the newcomer and looked somewhat puzzled.
"What are you doing here?"