Chapter 134 (2): The Evil Ones Are Each More Generous Than the Last

On the underground second level, thunderous roars continued without pause. The tactical unit members erected holy light barriers to stop the corpse fiend from moving, while Atori, clad in sturdy armor, wielded his sacred spear like a storm, the refined attacks fierce and mighty, repeatedly breaking through the corpse fiend’s carapace and injecting fire elements inside for explosive damage.

As the saying went, what didn’t kill the corpse fiend only made it stronger.

Atori raged and got into berserker mode, single-handedly taking on over a hundred demonic creatures, cutting through them like vegetables. After clearing the minions like a man possessed, he turned to face the elite monsters.

Time spared no one. He couldn't go berserk again. Relying on his armor and spear, he barely managed to suppress the corpse fiend.

He could feel the corpse fiend growing stronger, treating attacks as food and thriving from the repeated feeding. In a few more rounds, the corpse fiend would turn the tables and overwhelm him instead.

Gluttony’s familiar was too powerful. Its most terrifying trait wasn’t its ability to grow, but its immunity to holy light, treating it as food. Without that trait, Atori was confident that he could’ve erased all traces of the corpse fiend’s existence in the first round.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted. His pupils contracted as he sucked in a breath.

The corpse fiend’s pale arms melted, its body shrinking and becoming much more slender. The vanished flesh morphed into a war spear. Aside from being unable to use holy light magic, it was almost identical to Atori’s weapon. The corpse fiend didn’t just treat attacks as food; it had also learned to fight from Atori.

Learning was a form of eating, too!

The corpse fiend gripped the spear, its deadly red-lipped maw letting out a shrill shriek. After taking countless beatings, it finally made its first active attack.

The spear swept horizontally, drawing an arc of black mist in the air. Amid the violent vibrations, shattered stones and dust rose like angry waves, rippling in all directions.

Atori faced the fierce attack head-on, roaring as he spread his wings of light in response. The two great spears clashed. The ground beneath their feet shattered with a thunderous crash, breaking, rolling, and splattering. Massive chunks of earth and stones shot out in all directions like cannonballs, their friction with the air creating deafening whooshes.

Following the tremendous rumbling, powerful currents scattered wildly, shattering the holy light barrier in an instant and forcing the tactical unit members to back away from the center of the battlefield. The supposedly impregnable barrier had broken down, making them gape in disbelief.

In the center of the battlefield, racing currents created violent friction and tremors, making a series of muffled noises. Atori felt like the sacred spear he wielded had sunk into a swamp. No matter how he increased the radiance of his wings to push his power to the limit, he couldn’t advance even an inch.

Before he could respond, the corpse fiend roared. A terrifying tsunami of force crashed into his arms through the spear. Atori growled, his arms trembling violently. It felt like his heart was in a tight grip, preventing his blood from flowing. The world in his eyes turned grey for an instant.

The downward pressure grew stronger!

The trembling in his arms spread to his waist and then to his legs. The ground beneath his feet crumbled, and he sank. His numb calves could be brought down at any moment, putting him in a kneeling position.

His eyes turned bloodshot with rage. As a clergyman, he would sooner die than kneel before a demon. Ignoring the cries of his body, he roared, attempting to go into berserker mode a second time.

Rip!

Before he could do that, a spatial rift emerged. A slender, petite figure with flapping wings came up to Atori, swatting the corpse fiend away with a swing of her holy light spear.

Renata! Reinforcements had arrived.

The angel descending through Renata sent the corpse fiend flying with one blow. Wielding a holy light spear twice her height, she charged forward with her wings spread. The spear tip flashed with fierce light, severing the wrist of the corpse fiend’s spear-wielding hand.

“What took you so long? Did the plan not go smoothly?”

Atori’s legs were numb. With Gunther’s help, he climbed out of the deep pit with difficulty. Seeing the angel pour concentrated holy light into the great spear to erase the corpse fiend in one strike, he urgently shouted, “Don’t use holy light! It’s Gluttony’s familiar, not an ordinary alchemical creation! It’ll swallow the holy light as food!”

Too many words. Before Atori could finish his warning, the angel had already made the attack.

The light struck the corpse fiend directly. A holy light circle unfolded beneath its feet, and a ten-meter-diameter pillar of light shot toward the sky, constructing a magnificent cross about a hundred meters tall.

The corpse fiend shrieked in agony within the light, calling out for its mom. Given its previous success, it tried to devour the holy light to make itself stronger. It was instinct and a decent idea; at least the corpse fiend was using its brain this time.

However, one success didn’t guarantee the next. The holy light personally unleashed by an angel made Atori’s holy light magic pale in comparison, both in terms of potency and volume. The corpse fiend only swallowed one mouthful before the red lips on its abdomen dissolved and scattered, its massive body gradually losing its form. When the magnificent cross faded, the corpse fiend was already gone.

After unleashing her ultimate attack, Renata looked at Atori in confusion. He had said something earlier, but she hadn’t heard clearly. Could he repeat it?

(⁄⁄눈⁄‸⁄눈⁄⁄)

It might be his imagination, but Atori seemed to hear one of his team members giggling.

Gunther maintained a perfect poker face, not even letting his lips quirk up a little for the sake of Atori’s dignity. He nodded to Renata, encouraging the angel to continue deeper below in search of the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s true body. Then he asked Atori a few questions quietly.

Mona stood on the side stiffly, looking around but not finding that familiar backside. When the two leaders’ conversation came to a pause, she asked, “Archbishop, Captain, my mas—I mean Bruce—also fell down here earlier. He was fighting and then just disappeared.

Gunther frowned. Compared to the mysterious man, he was more concerned about Mona’s mental state. He said earnestly, “I made a mistake in arranging this mission. In a few days, I’ll refer you to Red Leaf Asylum for psychological counseling. Your condition is alarming.”

...What’s alarming about it? I’m fine. The address is just a slip of the tongue. I can change it.

Hearing Gunter’s advice, Atori angrily said, “If you really think that way, you could just erase the thoughts left in her mind instead of continuing to reinforce the seal, trying to track Bruce through his thoughts.”

No, they might be useful.

Gunther glanced at Atori coolly. “I’m the Archbishop. I have my plans.”

Yeah, yeah. You’re the Archbishop, and I’m just a hired muscle!

Atori closed his eyes in frustration. He was starting to feel his age. It was about time for him to retreat behind the scenes. When he returned, he would apply to transfer to an administrative role. Archbishop? It was nothing special. With the achievements he had under his belt, he could become one without trying.

While they were talking, Renata unleashed another incredible attack. The magnificent cross wreaked havoc continuously, causing the space to shake nonstop. There were no enemies. She was only going for the simple and brutal method of demolishing every wall because she couldn’t find a door to break down.

The shaking spatial barrier grew increasingly weak. A handsome man followed the disturbance and arrived with a longbow in his hand—Obed, the free mage.

“Sir Obed, why are you alone? Where did the other two go?”

“They suffered serious injuries from destroying the clones of the Thousand-Eyed Demon, so they returned to recuperate,” Obed replied coolly.

Family scandals shouldn’t be aired publicly. Matters about the Free Mage Alliance should be kept to themselves, regardless of who was right or wrong. Behind closed doors, they were all in the same boat. Planck and Bourne were only under suspicion, but even if they were incriminated, Obed wouldn’t tell anyone from the Church of Heavenly Father.

Gunther accepted the explanation without a word.

Boom!!!

A rift tore open. Under the angel’s continuous bombardment, the wall collapsed, and the gateway to the final level opened before everyone’s eyes.

Lava and sulfur. A scorching heat swept toward them.

“Is this...”

“Hell?”