Badge in Azure

Chapter 1430: Advent (Part 1)

Saleen’s Eye of Souls was unable to see what was so special about the stone house. The divine spell that the Lord of Glory cast allowed the stone house to be indestructible. He walked to the door and peered inside. There was a chair and a table in it, but no bed.

It was as minimalistic as it could be. Other than the chair being larger than usual, it was hardly any better than cottages of poor people. There was even a puddle on the floor, making the house look less than clean.

This is what your god laid out? Saleen found that unbelievable.

“When are you going to do the deed?” Saleen turned around and asked the red-robed bishop, who was feeling extremely frustrated. They had wanted to summon the double of the Lord of Glory for the expressed purpose of killing the age in front of them.

However, from the looks of it, the mage did not seem to be fettered at all, so much so that he even asked about the deal feverishly. That mage would probably provide anything that he would need to get the ritual underway.

Saleen said, “I had killed quite a lot of your people by the time you guys showed up. You might have lost some supplies. Tell me if you need anything. I’ll be happy to provide.

“Are you insane?” The red-robed bishop was unable to help but ask. He felt his head would blow from the frustration pent up in him if he kept it to himself.

“Not really. In truth, us mages, like you holy masters, want very much to witness what gods are like with our own eyes. What is different is that you would get to your knees and worship him when you see him, while I am going to kill him instead.”

The red-robed bishop’s expression was extremely gloomy. Saleen rescinded his territory, as it was too much for a level eight holy master to bear. The holy master looked like he would pass out at any moment.

The holy master ordered his underlings in a terrified manner. “Get to it, quick!”

Materials for laying out the divine rune charm array were all found in his space equipment. He was not actually qualified to make the trip, but all high level holy masters in the Pivotal Council were afraid of the dangers, so a newly appointed red-robed bishop was sent instead.

If he was able to finish the Holy Sacrifice, he would be able to be ranked among the Pivotal Council after he returned.

He realized why the elders said that. Returning alive was not possible. Saleen slowly rose into the air and wrapped himself in mist, concealing his true face.

Rafel brought the metal angels and descended from the Floating City, joining Saleen in the mist.

Rafel said to Saleen with a severe expression, “My lord, are you sure you want to let them proceed with the Holy Sacrifice?”

” I am. I’m going to challenge a god’s double.”

“You might die.”

“I won’t. My luck still holds. At the very least, there were no signs of my death shown in astrology.”

“Your astrological prowess is only at level ten, while the Lord of Glory is a level 15 god, making it possible for him to conceal all the signs. Prophecies are the forte of gods.”

“I can’t just stand around and let him take his sweet time.” Saleen pointed at the stone house below. “By the time he gets here, he will be fully prepared. I know a thing or two about the god, and he is very powerful. If he is able to bring angels with him when he advents, no one on this plane will be able to resist him.”

“My lord, I’m afraid you are still not getting it. My current powers are sealed at level 12. I’m fully confident of being able to kill any conventional level 12 beings, but if it is the double of the Lord of Glory, there is no way I would be able to fight him.”

“Are you afraid of death, Rafel?”

“No, I’m not.”

“I’m a human, and I’m not,” Saleen answered with a smile.

Rafel was able to do nothing but sigh. She was already thinking about how she should take on a god’s double. She had Nailisi prepare ample amounts of divine crystals for her back on the Floating City.

There was also a huge amount of divine crystals from Nature City, and Rafel carried as many as possible with her. The upcoming battle would be tough. She had lost protection from her own god, so she had to rely on her own power to fight.

It was an indescribable feeling.

In the past, when she was fighting for the Metal God, regardless of how grave her injuries were or if she died, none of it had been able to strike any fear into her. She would always be revived and her powers restored in the Metal God’s divine kingdom.

It seemed as if Saleen was the only one who did not fear any of what was to come. Every single follower by Saleen’s side was preparing for the worst.

The holy masters began laying down the divine rune charm array under Saleen’s scrutiny. Nicholas descended from the Floating City, feeding him details by his side.

Saleen looked at the holy masters work, intrigued. It seemed that, like mages, using divine spells borrowed elemental powers. It was only the way the powers were borrowed that was different.

Mages used their own magic chords to manipulate ambient elements, while holy masters gained the power of their god after praying, allowing them to manipulate elemental powers using divine powers. Fundamentally, divine arts and magic had the same origin.

The difference however, was that magic studies branched out to details regarding each of the elements, while divine spells were cast using a mix of elements instead. Even divine arts of light used by the Lord of Glory were not actually pure light element.

The 3,000 believers waited in silence. Saleen took the time to do a head-count, finding that the total number of believers exceeded 3000, even after 100 or so ran away. Materials required for such a grand array were not considered expensive.

That was something that holy masters were able to claim superiority over the mages. Magic arrays laid by mages often required very expensive materials, and the higher the level of the magic array, the more expensive the materials became.

It was said that by the time a human exceeded level 15, a mage would only require their own magical powers to lay magic arrays. That was how one-time-use magic arrays functioned.

None of the holy masters actually wanted Saleen to stand around and watch, but he was far more powerful than they were. It was very peculiar for him to allow them to lay the divine rune charm array out. Things would get very messy if they asked that Saleen leave them be.

Nicholas had never laid such a large Holy Sacrifice array. He was having a great time watching from above, totally forgetting how terrifying the enemy he faced would be if the double of a god advented.

From that point alone, one could consider Nicholas a qualified fallen holy master.

Fallen holy masters, like mages, would put meals and sleep aside just so to look into divine spells. They even forgot about their own life and death at times.

The preparations were done more quickly than Saleen expected. The huge divine rune charm array circled around the saint’s stone house and was finished in little more than three hours. However, none dared to try and enter the stone house.

Things had changed. If someone entered the stone house and failed before the Holy Sacrifice, it would affect the array’s stability.

The only way to do it was to let the god select one out of the 3,000 himself. In truth, it did not matter if he was unable to find any among the group. If all 3,000 were sacrificed, their god would be alerted all the same. Everyone who participated in the Holy Sacrifice were younger than 16. Even if they were not saints, they could be considered pure.

The holy masters dared not slack, as none of them knew if the mage would just change his mind. Even though the mage had agreed to let the Holy Sacrifice be carried out, it was still best for them to hurry.

The red-robed bishop in charge ordered the others to take their seats in the divine rune charm array, before beginning to lead the prayers.

Saleen had no idea what they were saying, but Nicholas did. It was a language of the gods that belonged specifically to the Lord of Glory. It was hardly a difficult chant, as believers often heard it and were required to learn the tongue diligently. Everyone in the Lord of Glory’s heaven was required to speak in god language. Anyone who failed that requirement would forfeit their right to enter heaven.

Nicholas explained that to Saleen, who chuckled. “A good method indeed. Tell the people to learn the god language and they will forget where they come from. If there was only the Tanggulasi Empire left on the mainland, I’m afraid its history would need to be rewritten. Humans would think that they were creations of their god instead.”

“That never crossed my mind, my liege. It really does seem to operate in such a manner.”

Saleen thought that the god really did know what he was doing. Details like that seemed insignificant, but if a plane were robbed of its history, it would make the plane all that much easier to control. That was not the case with Myers Mainland, as only the Tanggulasi Empire—the poorest of the four empires—was controlled by the Holy See. The believers never got to know true history, thinking that whatever their god said was truth.

There had been a good number of gods destroyed by humans in the past. If they learned such truths, it would be far more difficult to have anyone join the ranks of the Holy See.

Saleen was irritated by the voices of 3,000 believers praying at the same time, but he was unable to dispel them using Thundering Sound. He was there to witness how powerful a god was. If he dispelled the voices, he would not be able to achieve what he was out to achieve.

The little girl that Saleen had taken with him was alone in a room on the Floating City, with no one keeping an eye on her. It was a form of imprisonment, as Saleen did not want her to come out, at least not before the Lord of Glory advented.

However, the little girl was sitting at the center of the room, and vague light was seen shimmering on her head. She was chanting prayers in god’s language as well.

She looked to be about five or six, but she told Saleen she was 12. She did not lie, however. A pure believer was unable to lie, or their god would punish them for it. She was unable to lie even to her enemy.

She began to pray at the church when she was three years old, picking up the language of god in just one year. She stopped growing after she reached the age of five, remaining looking like a little child.

She was a very famous person in that small city of hers. The red-robed bishop who had protected her had been her teacher in theology. She was only able to officially address him as her teacher at the age of 16, so she did not actually lie to Saleen.

The little girl prayed devotedly. Light glowed at where her heart was, spreading out to her entire body. Runes formed between her skin and muscles.

None of the 3,000 on the ground were able to evoke such an effect. The most apparent among them were just had light shining above their heads. There was not a rune to be found.

The saint’s stone house remained quiet, no miracles sen.

One whole day had passed, and Saleen was feeling rather tired. The followers were repeating their prayers for the third time. The prayers were frighteningly long—over 100 times longer than the longest magical chants. He was baffled as to how was it possible for them to deal with all of that. Didn’t any of them get tired of singing praises for such a long time?

“My liege, bad news!” Nicholas pointed at the sky and saw the Floating City shake. A huge crack burst from the center of the city, intense light shooting down.

Saleen evaded right away, not bothering to even try to block it.

It was as if a huge magic cannon had hit the ground below. A huge 100-meter chasm formed around the saint’s stone house. The believers and the holy masters were nowhere to be found.