Chapter 109: Divine Descent (Part Two)
A strange roar echoed, a black curtain devoured the heavens and earth, and sinister eyes burned in skeletal remains—the dazzling yet nightmarish changes came in quick succession, a whirlwind of chaos that vanished before they could fully grasp it. They were still gasping for air, the pain in their heads lingering like an unwanted guest.
But in the next second, with the little figure disappearing from the distant stairs, a chilling aura drifted from behind, as cold as frost.
“Whoosh—”
Someone heard a faint exhale, seemingly just behind them.
Tick-tock.
Cold sweat dripped from the cleric’s forehead.
His nerves were taut, his heart felt like it was sinking into an abyss, his ears buzzing, and his mind was a jumbled mess. Trembling, he cautiously turned around.
There, standing about five meters away, was the young woman. Her head was tilted slightly, frost-white ice mist curling from her mouth, her face expressionless, as if sizing them up. There was curiosity in her gaze, but even more so, a mechanical indifference that sent chills down their spines.
The cleric got a good look at her face.
Flawless and exquisitely surreal, her visage resembled a newborn, her skin as smooth as jade. Her silver hair fell haphazardly down her back, and her eyes sparkled like the most luxurious gems—yet just gazing into them sent bone-chilling cold straight to the soul.
So bizarre…
And breathtakingly beautiful.
“d*mn it!”
He heard someone scream beside him, and instinct kicked in. Golden holy light surged to life around him, and the cleric closest to her charged forward, right hand ready with a luminous blade, his eyes wide with terror. In a panic, he took a step forward, ready to attack her.
“Stop—”
“Fall back, Xaza!!”
“Ahhh—!”
The other four shouted out in a frantic attempt to intervene, but it was already too late. The cleric lunged, and the young woman’s eyes slightly shifted, fixing him with her gaze. Her petite body remained still, yet the next moment, without any forewarning, she appeared behind him, lifting her black-armored hand to lightly tap on his shoulder.
Hissss…
Dead smoke swirled around him, enveloping the cleric’s body and snuffing out the flowing holy light as he staggered back, his hands beginning to blacken and wither. He let out a heart-wrenching scream that was abruptly cut off. The young body hadn’t even collapsed before it turned to ash, ethereal blue-white light wafting out and disappearing into her chest.
She turned her gaze toward the remaining four, her expression still devoid of emotion.
“Run! For the love of God, run—!”
The terrified clerics erupted in golden light, but they weren’t planning retaliation—they aimed to teleport with a divine miracle, racing to escape this unknown, horrifying presence that no one had foreseen.
Was this a demon forged by the Gate of Truth from a fire seed, or a deity… and what had happened to that missing fire seed…?
No one had the will to ponder these questions anymore.
Buzzing—
The sound of divine miracles resonated, and one by one, the clerics’ forms vanished from the glowing light, appearing dozens of meters away, instinctively scattering. Each of them attempted to break away from one another to escape alone. But when they glanced back at their previous location, horror struck—they realized that the young woman’s silhouette had also vanished.
“Pike, watch your back!!!”
Suddenly, a frantic shout came from a nearby companion. Pike, the cleric, wore a face of panic. He saw the young woman was gone but hadn’t processed it yet. Instinctively, he hurriedly stepped back, spinning around only to be greeted by the surprise of black armor.
“Uh…”
He froze.
Raising his gaze, he met the young woman’s cold, doll-like, exquisite face.
The cleric stood there dazed, his mind going blank. Before fear and the shadow of d*ath could take root in his heart, he saw her raise her hand, fingers splayed, the glistening red palm facing his face.
“You…”
Boom—!!!
The young elite barely managed to utter a word; fiery red flames erupted like blossoming petals from her palm, accompanied by a deafening explosion that blossomed right before his eyes.
There was no pain, no sensation of being burned or torn apart—perhaps he didn’t even get the chance to experience any of that.
The terrifying infernal fire surged from the young woman’s fingertips, wild tongues of flame lashing out nearly a hundred meters, consuming him in a tempest of heat that melted his skin, muscle, and innards. In the blink of an eye, even his bones charred black, then crumbled away to fine dust, which quickly vanished without a trace, leaving behind scorched earth, wafting waves of hot smoke.
Meanwhile, the other three clerics stood frozen, their eyes wide with terror, lips trembling, bodies locked in rigid fear.
“Sin Fire…”
One muttered, his voice hoarse to the point of disbelief, “The dead smoke of chaos… why… this is impossible… how could this happen…”
Boom!
In the next instant, dirt exploded around him as the young woman appeared before him.
“Ahhhhhh!!!”
The cleric snapped back to reality, screaming madly, radiating blinding light. He raised his hand, ready to unleash a blazing white light beam—his most favored miracle, one that even Pope Knight Carlos had struggled to evade. Few in the Holy Church could match his speed in releasing it. Even the late Cardinal Nero had only slightly outpaced him.
And indeed, he managed to unleash his miracle.
A stunning ray shot forth from his fingertip, piercing through the young woman’s seemingly impenetrable black armor and exiting her back, trailing wisps of steaming bl**d, sailing out toward the distant desolate land, sweeping past countless shattered ruins before disappearing over the horizon.
“Haha…”
The cleric trembled, allowing a laugh to escape.
Yet, the next moment, his smile vanished.
Because he saw the young woman’s face remained emotionless, her eyes like scarlet jewels, as cold as d*ath, standing right in front of him. She didn’t dodge; she didn’t move, her head tilted slightly back, staring directly at him, utterly unfazed by the ray that had pierced her chest, showing no sign of pain or the panic or rage one might expect from someone under attack.
Then, as the slender beam dissipated, thick black mist began to rise from the gaping hole in her chest, emitting a screeching hiss.
Before he could process it, she suddenly reached out, seizing his neck, her fingers twisting—
Crack!
His head turned 180 degrees.
With a thud, he slumped before her, landing softly on the ground, stirring up tiny clouds of dust. The young woman showed no further interest in him and turned to look back, seeing the remaining two clerics had begun to retreat in haste.
But she wasn’t in a rush.
Tilting her head, she glanced at her pale fingers, seeming to think of something, then raised her hand, extending her index finger toward the fleeing figure, her eyes glowing with crimson light.
In the next moment, a slender, scarlet ray of infernal fire shot from her fingertip, striking the escaping cleric in the back, piercing through his front. The intense heat ignited him, and she didn’t stop there; she slightly shifted her finger to the left, the scarlet ray slicing through another distant figure, separating upper from lower halves, both engulfed in raging flames as they fell.
They didn’t have the chance to scream even once.
Seemingly satisfied with the scene, she nodded, and the wounds on her chest completely healed, even the pierced armor restoring itself to perfection.
Then, she leisurely shifted her gaze, looking off to the right where a silver-armored man lay in the wasteland, covered in bl**d.
