Chapter 309: The Descent of Angels (VI)
"Trying to play me for a fool?!"
Mashal's chest heaved violently.
A massive amount of dark green venom burst from his sleeves, twisting into two serpent-like creatures as thick as human arms.
He stomped the ground—
Cracks instantly spread beneath his feet.
Then he charged forward.
But the next second, Mashal suddenly clutched his head and looked toward the sky behind him.
His expression shifted repeatedly.
After a long hesitation, he slowly withdrew his hands.
"Hmph. Lucky you. Don't die here."
After throwing out that final threat, he disappeared into the darkness.
On the other side, Gideon narrowed his eyes.
"He didn't pursue… Was he wary of the Scavengers? Or does he have another objective?"
Since the man didn't intend to keep fighting, Gideon had no interest in provoking him further.
There were already enough problems in front of them.
After sending Haggai over to Luen's group, Gideon stepped toward the battlefield.
The entire ground glowed crimson from the lava below.
Patches of grass had already melted away under the intense heat.
The areas where people could still stand were shrinking rapidly.
"Clang-clang-clang-clang!"
Metallic impacts rang through the air.
Calvis had stripped off his upper robes.
Several bones protruded from beneath his skin, forming an exoskeleton-like armor that blocked the roaring chainsaw strikes head-on.
At the same time, he sliced open his own palm with a dagger, allowing blood to spill onto the ground.
"In the name of the Holy Son, I offer my blood to purge the most wicked creatures of this world…"
As he recited scripture, the blood rapidly formed a glowing formation beneath the Scavengers, scorching their bodies.
Bone manipulation. Blood rites. Two branded holy arts at once…
No wonder he's from a Sacred Family, Gideon thought.
Nearby, Rolcie was surrounded by a white halo of holy light.
Its radius stretched nearly six meters—far larger than Gideon's own barrier.
She raised both hands.
The Scavengers within the light suddenly began retreating violently, as if dragged backward against their will.
But Rolcie herself looked strained.
Clearly, the technique consumed enormous energy.
Elsewhere, Bettice, Olivia, and the others joined the fight.
Bettice in particular looked almost liberated.
As a member of St. Peter's Cathedral, she had never lacked exorcism relics.
But inside the Holy War Grounds, the restrictive rules had left her feeling shackled.
Now that those restraints had weakened—
She unleashed everything.
Bottles of ten-year holy water flew through the air like candy.
Even Olivia stared in surprise.
Yet every time a Scavenger was burned by a relic—
The surrounding mist immediately healed it.
Moments later, the creature would recover completely.
So despite the clergy unleashing one method after another—
The battle remained evenly matched.
Gideon still hadn't moved.
Three golden rings appeared in his eyes as he carefully observed the energy fluctuations surrounding the Scavengers.
Soon—
He noticed something strange.
Using his understanding of spirit-rune structures, he detected a thin energy line trailing from the backs of the Scavengers' heads—
Extending all the way into the sky.
Like puppet strings.
Combined with the evil spirit's control over them—
The answer became obvious.
That was their source of power.
He immediately informed the others.
Calvis and Rolcie instantly focused on the anomaly.
Calvis looked at Gideon in undisguised surprise.
"Three golden rings… He's already reached the level of Divine Eye Suppression?"
No wonder he found so many stone seals…
Even Calvis himself had only recently completed the Holy Sight stage.
And that already placed him ahead of most Sacred Family members.
Rolcie's eyes shone brightly as well.
Who exactly is this man? Why have I never heard of him before?
But the thought lasted only an instant.
The battle demanded their full attention.
Both Sacred Family members quickly produced special sacrificial items.
Spirit-rune energy differed from ordinary evil energy.
Holy power alone couldn't erase it.
It required specialized tools.
As they activated the offerings, violent waves of energy collided in the air.
Olivia and the others lacked such rare artifacts, so they focused entirely on defense.
Meanwhile, Bettice pulled out a silver bracelet whose glow directly interrupted the Nurse Butcher's teleportation.
From Gideon's perspective, the sacrificial items were slowly dissolving the spirit-lines attached to the Scavengers.
But the effect was limited.
At this rate—
The relics would probably wear out before the lines fully broke.
Then—
An idea struck him.
He walked directly toward one of the Scavengers.
Calvis and Rolcie both glanced sideways, silently wondering what he intended to do.
Bettice frowned.
"The evil spirit replenishes them too quickly. I'm not sure we can destroy the connection."
Gideon nodded.
"Just buy me time."
Though she didn't understand his plan, Bettice trusted him completely.
"Fine. Until you're done, I won't let it move."
She intensified the relic's power.
The Nurse Butcher visibly weakened.
Then—
To everyone's astonishment—
Gideon began speaking to it.
"I understand your suffering. You were all dragged here against your will. Maybe you suffered terribly even before death…"
The crowd erupted in confusion.
"Is that… verbal soothing?"
"Father Gideon even mastered spirit-body holy arts?"
"But… do these murderers even have consciousness?"
"What about Mr. Freddy?!"
Calvis sneered internally.
Idiots. That's not basic spirit soothing.
That's the second-stage holy art: Redemption Persuasion.
And he possesses multiple brands too…
Still, something puzzled him.
Holy arts shouldn't have worked earlier. So how did he convince that striped-sweater monster to cooperate?
Rolcie said nothing, but her gaze lingered on Gideon.
Gideon ignored them all.
In his eyes, two distinct energies swirled around the Scavengers.
Crimson.
Ash-gray.
Pain.
Hatred.
The embodiment of sin.
He reached deep into the emotions buried within their souls and guided them toward the direction he desired.
This wasn't a holy art.
It was a power granted by the system itself.
Moments later—
The Nurse Butcher began shrieking.
It clawed frantically at its own rotting flesh.
The spirit-line attached to it flickered unstably.
"It works!"
Bettice reacted instantly.
White light wrapped around the line—
And severed it completely.
The Nurse Butcher visibly weakened.
Then—
It toppled backward into the lava fissure below.
"Glurp…"
The molten surface bubbled once.
Then nothing remained.
Seeing this, Calvis and the others immediately attempted to imitate Gideon by speaking to the Scavengers.
The results, however, were minimal.
Before they could ask further questions—
The vortex in the sky suddenly changed again.
A gigantic black pillar descended from the heavens.
Like an enormous insect limb.
Its tip looked razor-sharp.
It crashed directly toward Gideon at terrifying speed.
BOOM!
The ground exploded.
Gideon and Bettice vanished from where they'd stood.
"You alright?"
Gideon released the arm wrapped around Bettice's waist.
Still shaken, she nodded silently.
Without him—
She would already be dead.
A glowing holy barrier surrounded Gideon.
Its radius stretched nearly three meters.
That shield had saved them.
Earlier, after observing Rolcie's technique, Gideon had experimented with pouring more holy power into his own barrier.
To his surprise—
It actually worked.
The expanded barrier consumed enormous energy, but he could still maintain it for a long time.
Meanwhile, the black pillars continued raining down.
Calvis, Rolcie, and Olivia dodged quickly.
Others weren't so fortunate.
But just as disaster struck—
A brilliant golden light erupted.
Blocking the incoming pillar completely.
Everyone turned in shock.
"Hiss Roger… you…"
Hiss Roger stood there bathed in golden radiance.
And Hugh Medici stared at the blond youth with wide eyes.
The blond youth raised a golden cross high into the air.
An overwhelming surge of holy power erupted from it.
Even the surrounding space began twisting under the pressure.
The black pillar was slowly forced backward, while the youth himself gradually rose into the sky.
"Lord David! So you were here!"
Calvis stared in shock.
"Please forgive me for being unable to bow properly at this moment…"
The Sacred Family member showed unmistakable reverence.
Beside him, Rolcie also lowered herself into a deep bow.
"David…"
Gideon narrowed his eyes.
If he remembered correctly—
That was the current Pope's family name.
Nearby, Bettice quietly explained:
"Hiss Roger David. He's the heir of the David Family. Rumor says he possesses at least six Brands and is the most likely candidate to become the next Pope."
"I can't believe someone of his status traveled with us for so long…"
Her voice carried obvious disbelief.
Sounds impressive, Gideon thought silently.
Then he glanced between the sky and the ground.
But how exactly is he floating?
At that moment, Hiss Roger David spoke:
"There's no need for formalities."
"I'll hold back the evil spirit. All of you will follow Father Gideon's instructions."
His expression turned grave.
"I can sense a power forming that does not belong to this space. Those invaders who attacked the Holy Land must be planning something."
"We don't have much time left."
Golden radiance rapidly spread across the sky.
It formed an enormous web of light that covered the entire night above them.
Meanwhile, Calvis frowned slightly.
Within the Vatican, the David Family was one of the few bloodlines even he had to respect.
So despite his reluctance, he still turned toward the lower-ranking priest.
"What do you need me to do?"
Gideon naturally noticed the shift in his attitude—
But he didn't care.
"I'll try calming them and create openings for you."
He pointed toward the Scavengers.
Rolcie smiled warmly.
"Then we'll be relying on you, Father Gideon."
Afterward, Gideon moved along the edges of the battlefield, guiding the emotions hidden within the Scavengers.
The spirit strings descending from the sky gradually became unstable.
With the coordinated efforts of the clergy—
The Scavengers began collapsing one after another.
Some fell directly into the lava fissures below.
Others, like Jason Voorhees before them, shattered the space's restraints through their own strength.
Freddy Krueger was among them.
He sliced open the mist with his clawed glove, then turned back and tipped his hat.
"Our cooperation ends here."
Gideon narrowed his eyes.
He pulled out the parchment contract.
The power binding it was fading away.
Though he had no idea how Freddy accomplished it, the contract was undeniably dissolving.
"Hey, don't look at me like that."
Unexpectedly, Freddy explained himself.
"The source energy here became unstable. That's why the contract failed."
"You're not planning to return to that school, are you?" Gideon tested cautiously.
Since Freddy had already revealed his intentions, there was no way he'd remain behind.
"Hmph. Who knows?"
Freddy answered vaguely.
"But if we meet again…"
"I'll leave you a pleasant dream."
The next second, he stepped into the mist vortex and disappeared.
"Talking nonsense like that on purpose… Trying to distract me?"
Gideon snorted coldly.
But beside him, Bettice's expression became strangely complicated.
The relationship between those two feels… unusual.
Not long afterward, every Scavenger in the area vanished.
At the same time, the giant vortex in the sky began spinning violently.
After a massive tremor shook the entire region—
The mist gradually started thinning.
Bang!
Hiss Roger fell from the sky.
Calvis immediately stepped forward and bowed.
"Lord David, allowing you to enter this place alone was the Saulo Family's failure."
Rolcie also approached.
"Did you find it?"
Hiss Roger shook his head.
"The fragment of the Book of the World hidden in this region was merely a counterfeit."
"It cannot restore the true holy artifact."
Both Sacred Family members froze in disbelief.
They each removed a metal fragment from their robes.
Hiss Roger extended a hand.
An immense wave of holy power surged into the fragments.
The metal flickered briefly—
Then crumbled into dust.
"No one outside the Sacred Families should know about this…"
Calvis' expression darkened.
Rolcie frowned deeply.
"And even if someone did know… creating a replica capable of deceiving the Church's holy artifact detection is unheard of."
"There's no need to be discouraged."
Hiss Roger spoke gently.
"The Book of the World was always a legendary object. Failing to obtain it isn't strange."
"Though… I do have a few clues."
The two immediately looked up.
But the blond youth changed the subject.
"Now isn't the time for that."
"When I was in the sky earlier, I sensed an immensely powerful force suppressing the evil spirit. This region may not remain stable much longer."
Even without his warning, everyone could already tell.
The cracks in the earth were rapidly widening.
More and more lava was erupting upward.
Hiss Roger soon walked toward Gideon.
"Although now isn't the ideal moment…"
"Thank you for your help."
"Without you, Calvis, Rolcie, and all those innocent survivors would have died here."
Gideon was slightly surprised.
He hadn't expected someone of such status to remain so courteous.
Whether genuine or political performance, at least the man understood the situation clearly.
So Gideon returned the gesture with a nod.
"May the Lord protect us all. It was only our duty."
Hiss Roger traced a cross over his chest in return.
Soon, the entire group hurried toward the final gate—
The only remaining area untouched by lava.
But before long, everyone noticed something strange.
The switch mechanism wasn't connected to any electrical system.
Instead—
A gigantic face had emerged directly from the gate itself.
More accurately—
The face had become the gate.
Its features were perfectly defined.
Judging from its appearance, it belonged to a male.
At the same time, overwhelming evil energy churned around the area.
Even wandering dead spirits were being dragged toward it.
The clergy all frowned.
Ordinary evil spirits could never possess power on this level.
There was only one possibility.
A demon.
Then the face slowly opened its eyes.
Its amber-colored pupils confirmed their suspicions immediately.
The demon swept its gaze across the crowd—
Then spoke in a deep voice:
"Ignorant humans…"
"If you wish to leave this place…"
"You must first do something for me."
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