THE VILLAIN'S POV

Chapter 565: Second Seraph

It took Frey and his companions only a handful of minutes to finally reach the other side...

Following Snow, who led the way bearing Vermithor, they crossed without trouble, and within moments the three of them were left breathless by the sight before them.

Noctherra—the Land of Eternal Night. A vast, boundless expanse where darkness reigned without end.

Gazing up, they couldn’t tear their eyes from the glittering stars studding the sky—so many they seemed like jewels and lamps lighting the world out of shadow.

Among them, a colossal moon looked down, adorning the heavens with its brilliant glow.

The moon was so near it covered a vast swath of the sky by itself; the atmosphere felt utterly otherworldly...

”Who would’ve thought the Church was hiding something like this...” Aegon said, taking in the lay of the land.

Before them stretched a sprawling forest, its trees carrying leaves that glowed with a faint green light, gently revealing the path.

The place was pure enchantment—so much so that all three felt as though they were no longer on Earth, but had set foot into an entirely different world.

”Where are we exactly?” Snow asked the obvious question—for this was no longer the holy island of Sicilia.

”It’s as if we were transported to another world altogether.”

That was how it seemed to Snow as he scanned their surroundings—but Frey, who had closed his eyes for a heartbeat, disagreed.

”No... this isn’t another world. We’re still on Earth.”

He opened his eyes, violet light kindling within them, and spread his aura outward; he had already uncovered the land’s secret.

”To be precise, we’re still on the holy island of Sicilia—we never left it.” At those words, Aegon and Snow both turned toward him; it didn’t sound logical.

”Explain, Frey. How can this be the same island?”

They had teleported through the passage the waterfall had formed, and nothing around them felt familiar.

But Frey had found the key. In the first place, his teleportation ability that brought them to the island had been configured to take them straight to Uriel Platini.

In other words, even if some force interfered with the transfer, they should have ended up near him.

And since Uriel Platini was, in all likelihood, here in Noctherra, Frey reached a strange conclusion after attempting to sweep the area with his aura.

”We’re still on the holy island of Sicilia, but...”

Pointing upward, he told them the truth.

”We’re above it—specifically above the island. This place sits in its sky, and if I’m not mistaken... the waterfall rich with holy power originates from here.”

Frey’s words finally allowed Snow and Aegon to grasp one of the Church’s secrets.

”So we’re standing on land built in the sky?” Aegon laughed, staring into the darkness overhead.

”This doesn’t look like a sky to me—we’re literally in space.”

A strange island, floating alone in the void, an immense distance above the ground below.

It was a phenomenon beyond anything they knew—how could this land stay aloft in space without falling? And how were they even breathing here?

However they looked at it, this place was not the work of human hands...

But it certainly brimmed with a terrifying saturation of aura—more even than the holy island lying beneath them.

Frey and the others were still lost in the wonder of it when a voice, from no discernible source, snapped them from their trance and dragged them back to reality.

”My children, my brothers... and my companions in this dark world—the shadows of our enemies have deepened, and now they strive to defile our land.”

The man’s voice was so loud it was heard everywhere; Frey and his companions could not pinpoint its origin.

But they recognized the speaker with ease.

”Blattier...”

The High Bishop of the Church—the very man they had come to find.

He continued, addressing others unseen.

”The night is long, and filled with darkness... but rejoice, beloved ones, for the Lord has spoken to me at last and illuminated my path—and I now bear His light to you.”

Joseph Blattier went on, his tone strange, like a self-styled messenger delivering a heavenly decree.

”The Lord of Light is still with us! He has granted us the power to conquer all our enemies!”

”The unclean who dared deny the Lord of Light’s authority and reject His existence now stand among us—and they have grown so bold as to set their filthy feet upon our sacred ground, seeking to defile us with their evil and their shadows.”

At that final part of Blattier’s address, the faces of Frey and Snow darkened.

”Frey...” Snow said, tightening his grip on Vermithor. Frey nodded.

”Yeah... they already know where we are.”

In the same breath, Blattier began to shout without warning.

”Those demons clad in human skins crawl toward us—shall we allow them to defile us?!”

”Rise, my children, my brothers—rise and answer their aggression with iron and fire!”

At his call—and as if by sorcery—

Hundreds—no, thousands—of torches flared to life throughout the forest encircling Frey and his companions.

The Church’s followers appeared everywhere out of nowhere, surging forward with weapons drawn toward their enemies.

”What in the hell is happening?!” Frey said, violet light sparking in his eyes.

He had been spreading his dark aura from the very beginning, and he hadn’t sensed anything.

Yet in a single instant, thousands of people were within his domain—as if they had been there the whole time.

”You’re telling me they have a way to slip past my senses this easily?”

Either they had teleported directly into place, or they had been here from the start and hid their presence...

Neither possibility felt plausible to Frey.

”If we wish to survive the darkness of this world, we must stop acting like humans.”

”The Lord of Light has spoken to me—His words washed this body clean of weakness and frailty. A great power awaits us, and we must open our hands to receive it. We must not act like humans, but take the Lord of Light Himself as our model and follow in His steps.”

”The Lord of Light would not forgive His enemies, nor grant them freedom—He would punish them for what they do.”

”And so, my beloved ones, we must fight—and purge this world of evil.”

Joseph Blattier’s heresy droned on for a long while, and battle was on the verge of erupting.

Frey had grown sick of listening, yet he couldn’t pinpoint Blattier’s location, and the source of the voice remained unknown.

It came from everywhere at once—like Blattier was whispering right beside their ears, ensuring they heard him.

Then, at the moment the Church’s followers drew near and the three prepared to fight—

the sky around them blazed, and a colossal being swept overhead on white wings.

”Let the purification begin.”

Blattier’s words rang out—and in the same instant, that War Angel appeared from nothing, opening her mouth toward Frey and his companions.

Their faces darkened at once, especially as they took a harder look at the angel.

Unlike the one that had appeared in the past, this time it was a different one.

The previous had seemed male; this one was female—her features unmistakably womanly.

But the pressure she exerted was the same—equal to the other.

In that moment, their fears became reality.

The Church...

”They have another War Angel,” all three said at once—just before the angel unleashed that immense beam of light capable of killing those at SS+.

The torrent of light descended like a waterfall, swallowing Frey and his companions whole.

The aura kept pouring for several minutes before the angel finally ceased, closing both mouth and eyes to recharge.

At the same time, a ring of holy power formed a barrier around her for protection.

Meanwhile, the Church’s followers rushed in, surrounding the crater of devastation the angel had left behind.

The pit was incredibly deep—but contrary to expectation, they found it completely empty, without a trace of their enemies.

Scanning their surroundings, they immediately began searching, shouts echoing everywhere like madmen hunting a prey bold enough to flee.

The War Angel, too, began circling above the forest in search of them—but found no sign.

At the last instant, before the beam of aura could strike their heads, Frey had used his teleportation ability to whisk them far, far away at random.

Noctera was vast, its forest stretching for terrifying distances, so putting space between them wasn’t hard.

And the moment they were clear, Aegon immediately produced a strange device that looked like a totem, which raised a crimson barrier around them.

Hidden among the trees, they watched from afar as the torches of the Church’s followers fanned out in all directions, searching.

”Looks like... they’ve lost our trail,” Snow said, as Aegon gestured toward the device in his hands.

”This Shadow Totem can perfectly conceal the presence of anyone within its field, so they won’t sense us no matter what.”

”It’s a handy tool. Its only flaw is it breaks after a single use,” Aegon added blandly, setting the totem down at their feet.

”So? What’s our plan? Do we fight them? That doesn’t seem optimal to me—that War Angel can suppress those at SS+.”

Not to mention, the battle wouldn’t necessarily end even if they defeated the angel; Blattier and his cohort were lying in wait somewhere...

Hidden among the trees while the Church’s followers prowled around them,

Frey and his companions began working out a plan—how to deal with their enemies.