Abyssal Chronicles

Chapter 564 - 565: The Contemplation of Kael [2/2]

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Holy power,

is a unique power possessed by the followers of Asumos Church who believe in the goddess.

This power is even more formidable than magical energy or fighting aura. Although it is not as rampant as the Shadow Force within Abyssal Demons, it is easier to control and doesn’t risk going berserk. The strength of Asumos Church stems from this Holy power.

With the support of Holy power, the followers of the Church often possess a level of power one notch higher than their human counterparts of the same rank.

Of course, the followers do not possess Holy power from the beginning. The Holy power within them evolves from their original energy or aura.

So, how does it evolve?

To obtain Holy power, the followers must undergo a baptism in front of the goddess statue in the Grand Cathedral’s Temple of the divine city. This process is undoubtedly painful, but once their devotion is verified, they will be reborn and possess a new form of strength.

After observing the inner workings style Asumos Church for decades, Youlan confirmed that the goddess statue in the center of the temple is not just a stone idol constructed by the faithful for prayer. This statue is a conduit through which the goddess connects with this world, radiating her power across the continent.

And in the future, at the critical moment of the trial, this statue will also provide the Chosen One with the key power to defeat her mother.

A critical part of Youlan’s plan is to take control of this statue.

For this purpose, all those who stand in the way will be mercilessly annihilated by Youlan.

That includes that person, whose soul needs to be linked to the statue...

—

BOOM!!!

With a thunderous roar, numerous beams of dark blue deathly light burst forth from the interior of the divine city’s grand temple.

The ancient and epic temple, the power center of the Church, was completely reduced to history at this moment.

Under the impact of the dark light, it crumbled into dust, scattering into the air.

The sudden alarm and the terrifying explosion immediately plunged the already unsettled members of the Church into even deeper panic.

The church’s soldiers, holy knights, and the combat priests quickly regrouped towards the grand Cathedral’s temple to provide support.

However,

by the time they reached the scene, a wave of unprecedented regret surged in their hearts.

Because the moment they set foot on the battlefield, a sky full of bloody thorns spread out, obscuring the sky! Then, like sensing prey, the thorns swarmed over the church’s followers in an instant. The horrific impact and the sudden spread of the ultimate Shadow Force caused everyone to hold their breath and stand frozen in place.

Before these faithful could react and retreat, bloody red thorns pierced through their bodies like withered plants. In the next moment, even before they could let out a scream, these faithful were turned into a nauseating pool of blood and their souls shattered, absorbed by the thorns. After absorbing these souls, the thorns became even more violent, launching further attacks on the remaining faithful.

For a moment,

The Asumos Church, which had enjoyed peace for hundreds of years, once again donned a crimson blood.

Painful cries and desperate pleas filled the air.

...

...

’Sigh…’

’A bunch of idiots...’

In the sky, as he glanced at the faithful below who had rushed to provide urgent assistance, only to be ruthlessly slaughtered by the bloody thorns, The Pope Kael showed no sign of pity. Instead, his eyes revealed a cold, ruthless gaze.

As if the deaths of the followers were nothing more than inconsequential matters to him.

No matter how many died, it was just a simple number.

However, regardless,

He was still the Pope of Asumos Church. If it was rumored that he remained indifferent to the deaths of so many followers, it would tarnish his image. Thinking of this, Kael quickly released his holy Aura, using its powerful energy to support him. He shouted loudly to the chaotic followers inside the hall:

"She is not an opponent you can handle! Get out of here quickly!!!"

Kael knew very well that neither Higanbana nor Sword Demon could be defeated by sheer numbers. When Higanbana invaded the Church’s altar hundreds of years ago, those foolish commanders had tried to use the tactic of overwhelming with sheer numbers to break through Higanbana attacks. The result was that the attack failed, and the soldiers who participated in the assault were instantly crushed by the Higanbana’s bloody thorns, their power flowing into Higanbana’s body, making her even more difficult to deal with.

If the tactic of overwhelming with sheer numbers was effective, Kael would not hesitate to sacrifice these followers.

But if it didn’t work, it was better to let these troublesome idiots leave as soon as possible!

However,

Just as Kael urged them, he couldn’t help but look down below. A tremendously powerful destructive force was rapidly approaching.

At this moment,

The sky filled with bloody thorns suddenly shattered the magical shield that Kael had suspended around him and struck fiercely toward him. If hit, even as a peak level 8, he would suffer severe damage. Faced with such an attack, it was natural for Kael to not stand idly by.

His dark red holy power surged onto his twin swords, and then Kael, like a rapidly spinning top, swung his swords at high speed.

Shua~*

Amidst a flurry of light and sword shadows, as well as the explosive energy of the holy power,

the bloody thorns rushing toward him were all cut down by Kael, and under the scorching burn of the dark red holy power, they quickly vanished into nothingness.

Just as Kael was about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking he had repelled the attack from Higanbana,

his eyes suddenly narrowed, and a strong unease feeling immediately overcame him. The Pope quickly glanced towards his side;

"Not good!!"

- [ Dance of the Crescent Moon]-

-[Ninth Movement – Blossom’s dance]-

The next moment, under Kael’s startled gaze, the thorns that had been cut were suddenly melted under high temperature, and a huge and vivid red flower suddenly emerged from the remains of the thorns. And as the flower bloomed, thousands of azure particles were released from the heart of the flower...

The azure particles scattered across the sky, like beautiful dark flowers, ’floated’ next to Kael.

Then,

the energy inside these dead flowers rapidly expanded.

Boom!!!

A ball of azure flame suddenly exploded in the sky above, turning the entire nearby sky into a gloomy azure. The dark flames, like the roar of a ferocious beast, opened their bloody maw without mercy, engulfing Kael within.

…

Moments later, a streak of dark red light broke through the encirclement of the dark flames. Supported by the powerful holy power, Kael forcefully burst out from within.

As the strongest of the Church, Kael’s strength and combat experience were incomparable to ordinary people. After realizing the feint strategy of Higanbana with the bloody thorns, Kael was aware of the attack from behind and quickly released defensive magic to resist.

Nevertheless,

even so, after taking a close-range attack from Higanbana, the situation for Kael, who had flown out of the fire, was not too good.

Burn marks covered his body, and his legs were blown off, with bone marrow mixed with flesh constantly falling from the sky. Wiping the corner of his mouth and facing the subsequent bloody thorns, Kael hastily retreated.

While desperately evading the attacks of Higanbana, Kael couldn’t help but turn his attention to the other two Holy Envoys not far away.

Like himself,

the other two Holy Envoys were also in retreat under the attack of Higanbana, being suppressed to the point of being unable to fight back. Even at the moment Kael glanced over, one of the Holy Envoys was mercilessly blown away by the Annihilation beam, losing half of its body.

"Heh, worthy of being the strongest Demon King, huh?... Truly a bit troublesome. This crazy demoness, seems to be even stronger than a hundred years ago…"

Kael looked toward the honey-haired woman surrounded and protected by layers of bloody thorns, and couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

Compared to himself during the ’Death Flower’ incident a hundred years ago, his strength has undoubtedly made significant progress. However, it seems that Higanbana, the Strongest Demon King, has not been stagnating over these centuries either; her aura is now even more profound and terrifying than before.

Moreover,

compared to that time, Higanbana is not fighting the Sacred Beasts and the Saintess with him now, and he only has two Holy Envoys to fight alongside, not four as before. With only two Holy Envoys, they cannot perform the combined technique that defeated Higanbana back then.

This is what led to the current situation becoming so unfavorable.

"Such a headache..."

Kael lamented, his eyes flashing with a realization.

So that’s how it is,

’Higanbana, you must be the Demon Lord’s Child behind the scenes of the Divine Punishment Sect…’

’Therefore, the actions of the Divine Punishment Sect members in Anvika’s outer city were meant to disperse their fighting strength. No wonder Wilt was so desperate to hold back the other two Holy Envoys’

’It’s not just the Divine Punishment Sect’

’Sword Demon within Luminous, the demonic dragon attacking the Girl of Destiny, they were all meant to weaken our fighting force.’

’Higanbana…’

’From the beginning, this monster was at the statue of the Goddess in the main Cathedral of the Divine city, all other actions were just a feint.’

Realizing this, Kael pursed his lips, thoughtfully looking toward the center of the ruins, at the statue of the Goddess entwined in bloody thorns.

However,

’If her goal truly is to control the statue of the Goddess?’

’This creature indeed knows the secrets of the statue...’

’In that case, I absolutely cannot let this demoness succeed, I must draw the battlefield out of the main church’

’I have to force out that old fellow from the Red Leaf Royal Family. At this stage, to deal with Higanbana, I can only rely on him...’