Chapter 310: The Descent of Angels (VII)
"Hmph. Treacherous, deceitful demon—look carefully at who we are."
Calvis immediately pulled out a holy relic.
"Before the Lord's holy light descends upon this place, I suggest you crawl away while you still can!"
Hearing that, Gideon instantly wore a baffled expression.
This guy's way too aggressive… at least hear the conditions first, he thought, shaking his head inwardly.
Beside him, Rolcie stepped forward as well.
"Lord Calvis, these are extraordinary circumstances."
She raised her voice.
"As members of the Sacred Families, we should follow God's guidance and prioritize everyone's safety—as well as the completion of our mission."
"Rolcie Saddu…"
Calvis' tone turned icy.
"Have you forgotten the oath you swore before God?"
"No matter the circumstances, purging evil is our duty."
The two immediately began arguing.
Gideon stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Gradually, he sensed something strange beneath the surface.
He glanced to the side.
The surviving clergy were all watching eagerly, quietly supporting Rolcie's words.
Toward Calvis, however, their expressions carried concern.
As the argument reached a stalemate, the silent Hiss Roger David finally spoke.
"Calvis, Rolcie is right."
"Though the Church stands opposed to evil, stopping the Wings of Vengeance is our highest priority right now."
"And we must ensure everyone leaves this place alive."
Then he added:
"Of course, your unwavering faith is admirable. We'll need your strength if we wish to succeed."
The moment he finished speaking, the surrounding clergy erupted in support.
"Lord David is right!"
"Lord Calvis, we're willing to stand beside you against evil—but please understand the situation!"
Calvis closed his eyes in silence for several seconds.
Finally, he nodded.
"If both you and everyone else insist… then this must also be God's guidance."
"Calvis is willing to serve."
Hiss Roger immediately smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
The gathered clergy all sighed in relief.
I see now… good cop, bad cop.
Gideon raised an eyebrow.
Calvis once again approached the enormous face-gate.
"State your conditions."
But the demonic face merely glanced sideways at him, wearing an expression almost human in nature.
Within that gaze—
Calvis clearly saw contempt.
"Heh… compared to your study of scripture, humans seem far more proficient in hypocrisy."
Unexpectedly, the face's tone shifted completely.
Everyone immediately became alert.
Calvis' expression darkened.
"What do you mean by that?"
The face looked at him again.
"You never intended to attack from the very beginning."
"You only acted righteous because you wanted to reinforce the idea that Church laws are inviolable in front of everyone else."
"And combined with your noble background…"
"It seems you simply wanted a respectable excuse for your compromise."
The moment those words fell—
Calvis clenched his fists.
"And as for you…"
The face shifted its attention toward Rolcie.
"You speak beautifully. Your coordination with that boy is quite impressive too…"
"But I can smell traces of human souls lingering on you."
"You wouldn't happen to have killed other people yourself… would you?"
Silence fell over the area.
Rolcie narrowed her eyes.
"You think we'll be deceived by such childish attempts at sowing discord, unknown demon?"
"Sowing discord?"
The face laughed coldly.
"Heh. Old-fashioned, but effective. I'll give you that."
"But facts do not change."
"Once suspicion is planted, it slowly grows within the cracks."
"Unless…"
"You kill everyone here."
The clergy exchanged uneasy glances, uncertain how to respond.
Then Hiss Roger stepped forward once more.
"Rolcie and Calvis are both extremely important companions of mine."
"I'd appreciate it if you stopped slandering them."
"Now let's return to your conditions."
"Heh. Very well."
Surprisingly, the demon actually listened.
Throughout the exchange, Gideon remained silent.
Although this could indeed be a demonic attempt to divide them—
Considering the behavior of those two Sacred Family members, the accusations might not be entirely baseless either.
From that moment on, Gideon silently decided to remain cautious around both of them.
The demon spoke again.
"If you wish to leave this place…"
"Then place all of your holy relics into my mouth."
It grinned grotesquely.
"Remember—only items of truly exceptional quality will satisfy me."
"Otherwise…"
"I will consider it an insult."
The crowd immediately erupted into suspicion.
"This thing probably wants to corrupt our relics before killing us!"
"That's definitely possible! Don't trust it!"
Voices of doubt rang out nonstop through the crowd.
At that moment, Calvis stepped forward.
"Whether it's dangerous or not, we'll only know after trying."
As he spoke, he pulled out a cross.
"If something happens to me, Lord Hiss Roger will lead all of you out of here."
The crowd was instantly moved.
"Lord Calvis! You…!"
"Trying to recover the dignity I exposed earlier through self-sacrifice? Heh… interesting."
The face-gate spoke at the worst possible moment.
Calvis glared at it viciously before striding forward.
"Open your mouth."
The demonic face immediately smiled and complied.
Calvis threw the cross inside.
Crunch. Crunch.
After several chewing noises, the face spat out a pile of metal scraps.
"Pah… Eight-year quality? Cheap trash."
"Is this really the best your Sacred Families can produce? How disappointing."
It stared at Calvis with utter disdain, as though looking at a country bumpkin.
"You… said… what?"
Calvis had clearly reached his limit.
"Hypocritical, stingy, obsessed with appearances…"
"If someone ordered me to obey a man like you, I'd rather sleep with a priest."
The insult was devastating.
Calvis instantly unleashed his holy power.
But the next second—
An iron cage suddenly materialized around him.
Immediately afterward, his entire body was hoisted into the sky.
Hiss Roger David frowned.
Three golden rings instantly appeared in his eyes.
The iron cage's ascent slowed dramatically.
But before he could act further, an invisible force descended from the sky.
Most people present failed to notice it entirely.
The first to react was Gideon, who dragged the people beside him away.
Hiss Roger crossed his arms defensively—
Yet he was still blasted backward.
The cage resumed rising until it vanished into the mist above.
Only then did the others finally react.
"Cough…"
Hiss Roger dusted himself off.
"That was the power of rules. I currently have no way to break it."
Nearby, Rolcie frowned.
"I can no longer sense Calvis' presence."
"Relax. He isn't dead yet."
The demon suddenly spoke.
"But the cage won't last forever."
"And this region has already begun collapsing."
"If you still fail to satisfy me…"
"The evil spirit will personally devour his soul."
"Then tell us how to satisfy you!"
Caroline shouted in frustration.
"Oh? Tell you directly?"
The demon let out a sickening laugh.
"Wouldn't that make things too easy?"
"Trying again and again… struggling…"
"Making painful choices…"
"Only to discover everything was meaningless in the end."
"Now that is an entertaining game."
The expressions of the clergy turned grim.
The demon had finally revealed its true malicious nature.
At that moment, Olivia spoke up:
"Don't lose hope."
"Based on what it said, even if more people are trapped in cages, they can still survive—as long as we fulfill the conditions before time runs out."
"And if we fail…"
"Then whether they're trapped or not won't matter anyway."
"Heh. Smart little girl."
The demon looked at her in surprise.
Rolcie turned toward the others.
"Everyone, let's follow the sister's suggestion."
"Perhaps this is also God's guidance."
Then she looked toward Hiss Roger.
"Lord Hiss Roger?"
The blond youth nodded helplessly.
"Well… I don't have any better ideas."
Thus, the clergy began taking out their holy relics one after another.
Crosses.
Holy water.
Talismans.
Their qualities ranged from one-year relics all the way to a hundred-year-grade holy artifact.
Everyone lined up before the face-gate.
"Inferior garbage."
"This one smells moldy. Maybe sniff it yourself first."
"Hey! Stop stuffing excrement-grade junk into my mouth!"
As the demon continued complaining endlessly, broken fragments piled into a small hill on the ground.
Within mere minutes, many clergy members had disappeared—
While dozens more iron cages now floated in the sky.
Eventually, only the two Sacred Family heirs and Gideon's group remained.
Even Olivia had unfortunately been captured.
"You'd better hurry."
The demon snorted.
"This region really won't last much longer."
Everyone turned around.
The nearby town had already become a blazing inferno.
Lava and fissures were spreading closer by the second.
"Damn it. What exactly does this thing want?"
Rolcie's face was filled with anger.
Gideon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"When the demon first explained the conditions earlier, it specifically said that offering inferior items would be considered a provocation."
The others looked confused.
"And yet Lord Calvis' initial behavior didn't actually anger it."
"Doesn't that suggest…"
"The demon itself is bound by certain rules?"
Rolcie frowned.
"Explain."
"In the previous regions, the Scavengers were the greatest threat."
"But we could still gain advantages through the generators."
"That proves the rules of this place weren't designed solely to favor the evil spirit."
"So I believe this gate follows the same principle."
Hiss Roger tilted his head.
"But… the demon refused to provide information earlier."
"That's the clever part."
Gideon turned around.
"Earlier, the demon insulted and mocked us repeatedly."
"Maybe that kind of casual conversation doesn't count as violating the rules."
Bettice's eyes immediately lit up.
"So Caroline's earlier question…"
"…might have been interpreted merely as idle chatter?"
Rolcie quickly understood as well.
"And that's why the demon could refuse to answer."
Hiss Roger glanced at Gideon thoughtfully.
Meanwhile, Caroline copied Gideon by rubbing her chin too—
Though her face still showed complete confusion.
Gideon shrugged.
"It's only a guess."
"But trying costs us nothing."
Then he walked directly before the gate.
"Before we complete your conditions…"
"Please explain the rules completely."
At that instant, the demon's face visibly soured.
Clearly, the answer itself had already confirmed Gideon's theory.
"Hmph…"
The demon sounded unhappy, but eventually spoke anyway.
"When relics of 7-year, 13-year, and 666-year quality are offered to the Watcher within the same period of time…"
"The gate will fully open."
"And all imprisoned souls shall be released."
Everyone's eyes instantly brightened.
Those numbers all carried clear infernal symbolism.
But soon their expressions darkened again.
The first two grades weren't difficult to find.
But a 666-year holy relic?
Even within the Holy War Lands, such an item might not exist.
Gideon frowned slightly, turning the relics in his hand thoughtfully.
He had already examined the hundred-year relics collected earlier.
Judging from their holy power fluctuations, none matched the requirement.
Sniff. Sniff.
Suddenly, the face-gate raised its nose and sniffed the air.
Then it stared at the relic in Gideon's hand and cautiously asked:
"Gideon?"
Gideon blinked in confusion.
After staring at the face for several seconds, he answered uncertainly:
"Valak?"
Everyone around them froze.
"Hehehe… you've got to be kidding me. It's actually you?"
The demon sounded genuinely astonished.
Gideon spread his hands in equal surprise.
"How are you here? What have you been up to lately?"
"Oh, you know."
"I've been traveling around the world pretending to be that idiot Valac."
"And occasionally scamming some offerings from his followers."
"What about you?"
"Same as usual."
"Handling exorcism commissions."
"Spending most of my time at church besides that…"
The two of them casually started chatting.
Bettice rubbed her eyes, then pinched Caroline's arm.
Even after Caroline winced in pain, Bettice still couldn't process what she was seeing.
Rolcie stood frozen in disbelief and unconsciously drew a cross over her chest.
"Could… all of this be a dream?"
Hiss Roger stared with wide eyes.
"You two are actually friends?!"
Only then did Gideon remember everyone else was still there.
"Oh, right. Forgot to introduce him."
"This is Valak."
"And these are my coworkers from the Church."
Bettice and the others mechanically raised their hands in greeting.
"Hey, this guy's pretty reliable, right?"
Valak nodded.
"Though saying that about a demon feels a little strange."
Gideon waved dismissively.
"Forget that."
"'The rules don't only favor the evil spirit…'"
Valak repeated Gideon's earlier words before laughing.
"You really are something."
"You noticed details like that?"
Then the demon looked at the others.
"When we first met, this guy spent an entire night outside without entering the house."
"You remember that, right?"
Gideon shrugged.
"What choice did I have?"
"You acted way too suspicious back then. Made the commission seem absurdly easy."
"Heh… I was attracted by the scent of your relics."
"Speaking of relics… you still haven't quit that hobby?"
"Don't mention it. After living this long, that's one of the few hobbies I've got left."
"If not for the smell of the relics in your hand earlier, I wouldn't have recognized you."
"I see…"
On one side—
Two old acquaintances chatted cheerfully.
On the other—
Several holy clergy stood in eerie silence.
Meanwhile, lava and fissures continued spreading across the land.
The entire scene had become indescribably bizarre.
"Ahem…"
After a while, Bettice timidly raised a hand.
"We… don't seem to have much time left."
Gideon slapped his forehead.
"Oh! Right. Almost forgot."
Then he looked toward Valak.
"We still have other matters to deal with afterward…"
"So about those conditions…"
"…think you could be a little flexible?"
The others all swallowed nervously, their eyes filled with anticipation.
(KEEP SUPPORTING THE STORY EVERYONE)
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