The Holy Lands. The Papal States. The Archbasilica.
Deep in the most divine location of the Holy Church, the Pope stood over a congregation of his most trusted servants. Nine hundred Priests, ninety Bishops and nine Cardinals were gathered in the Archbasilica; all knelt down in prayer in a circle formation which created a pipe of Holy power which increased exponentially with each chant of their scripture.
Gold and white magic particles filled the cathedral as the chants continued in robotic unison. Trained to pray and funnel their magic power all day, the nine-hundred and ninety-nine clergyn channelled all of their energy into their prayers, all while closing their minds to any external factors.
If Jin were present, he would be absolutely aghast by the amount of magic power within the chapel. The magical power in the chamber was enough to match a Progenitor and then so, and that wasn't the end.
While the priests are constantly in prayer, their connection with the Faith Dinsion could never be broken. Thousands of years of magic power were available at the fingertips of the Holy n, and they were utilising every ounce of it at the mont.
Why?
Baishe, the Serpent of the Skies.
Shaped just like an oriental dragon, the Demon Lord didn't look like a horrendous beast that terrorised the minds of the plebeians or a monster worthy of fear and acrimony. Its glorious silver scales and thick, divine dragon beard made it look like a mythical creature from human legends. It was more apt to describe the silver dragon as a Guardian God rather than a Demon Lord. If anything, Baishe was an Outer Demon that seed part of the Holy Church, with its divine markings and enthralling silver hue.
Alas, looks were deceiving.
Of the three Demon Lords that humanity was familiar with, Baishe was, by far, the most dangerous.
While Eyghon road the earth with no purpose in mind and Cthulhu reigned over the oceans, actively fighting against the Everwinter House, Baishe alone was the Demon Lord responsible for the deaths of millions.
With its ability to fly and be anywhere it chose, the Demon Lord had terrorised countries all over the planet. Coupled with the fact that nothing could challenge the flying serpent in the skies and its tendency for aggression, Baishe was widely considered to be the most dangerous of the three known Demon Lords. And since most of its targets were human settlents, the Demon Lord was classified as humanity's greatest enemy.
This was why Baishe's greatest foes weren't the Vampires or the Werewolves… But the guardians of humanity itself.
The Holy Church.
"Where is Baishe going?"
The Pope asked one of his subordinates to track the Demon Lord while the rest of the congregation channelled their Holy power into one.
"Baishe has just destroyed Sialuc and is headed towards Laekyr."
"Wasn't it just at Yudonia?"
"Yudonia has fallen, your holiness…"
"That quickly?" The eighty-year-old man nearly got a stroke when he heard about the demise of yet another country. It has barely been an hour since Baishe's appearance, yet it has thoroughly wiped two countries off the face of the Earth.
Such was the danger of a flying Demon Lord. Containing it to one location was virtually impossible. Moving at speeds that no jet could match, Baishe could move from country to country with almost complete impunity. The best way humans could deal with the Demon Lord was to hide underground and pray for the nace to pass by unnoticed.
"Yudonia, Sialuc and Laekyr… It's targeting the Papal States on purpose."
The Pope lanted the fact that three of the Holy Church's most valued countries had fallen from the wrath of the Demon Lord. Not only that…
"Plus its trajectory… Baishe is targeting the Archbasilica." The wizened old man frowned and barked: "Do we have an ETA?"
"... If it ignores Laekyr, fifteen minutes."
"How frightening… But God is good. He has foreseen this tragedy and has prepared us for the Demon Lord's arrival."
The Pope prayed skywards with a genuine smile on his face. Because of the threat that Jin posed, the Holy Church had gathered the pieces needed to summon an Archangel at any given ti. While its initial use was for assassinating the new Vampire Progenitor, with the appearance of Baishe and its endless charge through the Papal States, the Holy Church had further use for the Archangel.
And as the ritual neared its completion, the Pope turned to the lanky, buff man behind him and said:
"While we didn't intend to use the Archangel this way, we don't have any other choice. Fret not, Father Amorth; we will get the Progenitor next ti."
"It's all part of God's plan."
The Head Exorcist of the Church, the man responsible for gathering the pieces needed for an Archangel in the first place, nodded in agreent. After his devastating loss to Jin, the Head Exorcist returned to the Holy Church in sha. However, his failure didn't dampen the Pope's faith in his most trusted right hand. In fact, it was strengthened by the fact that the Head Exorcist had faced the Progenitor and returned in one piece.
"Father Amorth, while I'm commanding the Archangel. I will leave the defences of the Archbasilica to you."
"Leave it to , your holiness." Father Amorth knelt down and accepted the order. "May the Lord be with you."
"An."
The Pope smiled and walked into the centre of the magical circle. Holy power dropped down from the heavens like sacred rain and congregated onto the massive cross at the centre of the Archbasilica. The dinsions shook while the grounds of the Holy Land trembled in response to what was to co.
Energy was drawn from the Faith dinsion, breaking the thin layers of the dinsional walls. Sonorous prayers echoed throughout the chapel as the clergyn continued to pour their hearts and souls into the one ritual that was considered most sacred.
Until finally…
A pillar of ever-flowing light erupted from the magic circle and was raised to the heavens. The pillar broke through the clouds, creating a massive hole in the sky where the boundaries between the Faith and material dinsions were blurred. And within the Holy pillar, a certain form started to take shape.
One giant egg.
That was the first impression of the summoned being. However, in ti, Holy magic continued to descend and force the ethereal being to take a different form. Eighteen wings of purity burst free from the egg, each possessing a unique trait far beyond anything a human could create.
Divine flas burned all the enemies of the Holy Church. Wings of light that healed anything within seconds. Wings made from sacred trees which bound all heretics who defied the Papal States…
The list went on.
But the wings were only half of the Archangel's powers.
Blessed with divine eyes, the Archangel could see through all of Creation and determine every weakness its opponent had. Wrapped in sacred garb, it possessed defences beyond most fortresses and couldn't be destroyed by magic or physical damage alone. Immune to heat, cold, poison and every ailnt on the planet, an Archangel was the perfect existence beyond anything humanity could offer.
And finally, the golden halo that sat on top of its crown.
Just simply by existing, the Archangel could create a sanctuary that weakened its enemies and strengthened every attribute it had. Using its halo as a catalyst, it could endlessly draw on the infinite magic power of the Faith Dinsion, continually empowering its attacks till the end of ti.
It could summon righteous fire and divine lightning to smite its enemies, drawing upon the elents to aid in its battles.
Contrary to popular belief, an Archangel wasn't an existence that sat at the right hand of God and granted rcy to all those who sought forgiveness. No, an Archangel was a far more sinister creature. A summoned being that lived for one reason and one reason only…
To exterminate all enemies of the Holy Church.
"My fellow brothers in God," the Pope's voice resonated within the ritual's nine-hundred and ninety-nine clergyn's heads. "May God bless us with infinite strength to defeat the threat to humanity."
"An!"
"May your souls be blessed with endless happiness for your sacrifice this evening!"
"An!"
"And finally… May God lead us through the tunnel of heaven and bring us light before dawn!"
"An!"
❖❖❖
Urgh… How cringe.
Shrouded in the darkness, I watched the mories of Father Amorth of how the Holy Church summoned the Archangel. While the two behemoths were interlocked in battle outside, I squeezed my way into the deepest parts of the Archbasilica and observed the entire ritual and the fragnts needed to start it all.
Typically, it would have been near impossible for to infiltrate this secure location undetected. After all, even if the entire Holy Church was engaged in the Archangel summoning, they had centuries of traps and defences that I had to sneak through before I could get to the heart of the cathedral.
Fortunately, I had an insider who made my infiltration infinitely easier.
Father Amorth, who had been brainwashed to beco my servant, opened the locked doors with a smile. He was even 'kind' enough to let read his mories, which allowed to witness the cringe mont when the Pope summoned the Archangel.
From what I gather, these nutjobs weren't aware of the Faith Dinsion and truly believed that God was real.
Well, at least it made my job easier. If they weren't aware of the Faith Dinsion, all I needed to do was cut their connection with the mysterious place and their Holy power wouldn't work anymore.
In fact, if I wished to stop the Archangel right now, I could just cut the connection of the Pope to the ritual, and the entire spell would fail.
But I won't do that yet.
After all, the Archangel was helping tie down Baishe. Not to ntion, I could learn plenty of things from the Archangel and the flying Demon Lord. Particularly the Archangel.
Since it was created using Faith energy, I could do the sa with my creation magic. Granted, gathering that much power would take a long ti, but it was worth a shot. As for Baishe the Demon Lord…
"Notify if sothing happens. I will watch the fight between the mighty Archangel and the Demon Lord."
"Yes, my lord."
Loyal to alone, Father Amorth knelt down in reverence. Watching this scene, I couldn't help but feel proud. Almighty God my ass, you couldn't even keep your strongest Priest loyal to the Holy Church.
Warping through Spaceti, only one thought remained in my mind.
"Now, Angel vs Demon… Who will win that battle?"
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