After flashing two more low-power fireballs at two other possible gathering spots, Belial carried his hammer and slowly walked toward the church that had been stained black. As expected, there were traces of those three old acquaintances here. They all wanted to come out and were close to success.
They were not the main bodies, only parts of power and awareness, but the next step would be easy. With that strength, they could kill freely, snowball, and then call their main bodies over. "Could you just die quietly? I really do not have much time."
In an instant, a pitch-black fluctuation spread from the church, dimming even the overwhelming light. At the same time, strange scenes appeared, ruins, wreckage, mass graves of countless corpses, and dark rivers filled with wailing resentment. Each looked real yet drifting and unreal.
Three beings, realizing they might be forced out, projected their Divine Kingdom to appear briefly. Even a single projection of Divine Kingdom, though only an illusion, was enough to disrupt normal Laws of the world. With three overlapping, if not for the light Belial had spread earlier, just this short moment could have destroyed all of Cathedral City.
They did not keep their domains expanded to thousands of meters around the church. When they sensed the sun approaching, they all shrank their domains together to concentrate their strength. They recognized that familiar light and the hammer, and they knew what he intended to do.
"This is a large ritual. To break it, we cannot rely on Belial forcing a miracle this time, so we need other methods. Honestly, this is the normal process." "As long as he rings the bell, and Lilith adds her effort over there, the foundation of the ritual can be completely wrecked. The calculations say it should work."
Ham and Bella were using data collected remotely by Lilith to complete the analysis in the background. The foundation was simply too large to erase outright in a short time. But by performing a ritual action within it and causing interference, it could trigger a chain reaction like falling dominos and destroy it completely.
"Still, if Belial could really let his main body act, one slap would finish it. Doing all this is such a hassle." The two continued complaining, remembering how in the past they could just lie down while fights happened. Now that Belial was restricted, they had to stand up and work again.
Belial kept moving. As he walked slowly, he fired several more precise fireballs, wiping out other places that tried to surface. Although he consumed a great deal of power, the light on his body did not fade and instead grew brighter.
To others, it was Holy Light that healed injuries. To the gods of Abyss, it was painfully dazzling. Three enormous figures appeared at the same time within the chaotic domain.
They all looked bizarre and fierce, with chaotic Magic, resentment, and souls forming massive beast-like shapes that opened huge maws and roared. Belial glanced at them and immediately felt at ease, because he did not recognize any of them.
If they were not extremely obscure, then they were the lowest kind of nameless trash that had never even shown a proper shell. Usually, this kind of enemy died with a single slap, since only monsters were meant to fight monsters. His steps grew even more arrogant.
The three projections exchanged looks and decided that rules did not matter. They would charge together. Like mountains collapsing, they rushed in as Belial lightly raised his hammer and smashed upward with force.
"Boom!" It was like a supernova erupting in an instant, with blinding light and endless blood-colored halos grinding against each other. All of it was tightly controlled within less than a thousand meters.
"Come on." "Come on, come on, come on!" "Eighty! Eighty! Die already! Today I am flattening the mountain!" It felt different from past fights, but Belial still swung the hammer with enthusiasm.
He just kept smashing, blow after blow. Vast Holy Light mixed with golden divine Lightning Magic, and each strike sent up blockbuster clouds of crystalline Shard fragments, shining like another sunrise. An ecological domain spread freely across the area, absorbing the expanding kinetic force and heat, or else each strike would have reduced the ground to ruins.
Endless golden branches spread and writhed as if alive, extending into the sky. In this frozen moment, anyone lucky enough to witness the scene could only stare wide-eyed. A sun collided with three towering, evil figures steeped in resentment and blood-red light, and each impact burst into endless radiance.
Let us talk about these three fellows. Abyss had been starving for a very long time, and almost anyone there had once thought about smashing the shell above into a Shard and then rushing inside to feast. Most only thought about it, very few acted, and even fewer managed to do anything meaningful, but whoever came would more or less see that familiar guy dressed in White Tier white, holding a hammer.
In the past there was even a Dragon by his side, but after some incident long ago, only this one person remained. His combat power was not impressive, and he could not use much strength up there anyway, so every attempt usually ended without success. This time he came again as usual to block them, but something felt off, since when had he become this reckless.
Within a kilometer centered on the cathedral, the area had already turned into chaotic land where Laws shattered into Shard. The cost was higher, but because of this the three gods could pour more power into the area. The barrier of the World here had grown extremely weak, space looking like clear glass that would crack into a Shard at a touch, still firm but loose enough for three Evil God to project far more strength, their forms growing massive and nearly blotting out the sky.
Yet they still could not leave this small kilometer zone. Golden branches swayed and spread, greedily drawing power to seal off the shockwaves and spread of force from the battle of the four. Belial grew more excited as the fight dragged on, because the field favored him, and the longer it lasted, the better it was for him, as long as the others ran out first.
He simply spun in place like a top, every hammer strike erupting with golden Gold Rank flames and Lightning Magic. With ease he tore apart the blockbuster black curtain and bloodlight into fine Shard. Each blow looked like the sun rising again, and from the outside it seemed as if a blazing sun charged among three huge shadows, its light burning away every trace of filth.
Shrieks of suffering evil spirits echoed within. The light and heat of each strike were stronger than the last, and after taking too many hits, the Evil God realized that each hammer did more than smash their manifested minds. It directly struck their true bodies deep in Abyss, inflicting nearly irreversible wounds on both their cores and their Divine Kingdom, pushing closer and closer to the World.
Three Divine Kingdom suddenly flared with uneven bursts of light. Something was very wrong. That was their first shared thought, because if this guy had possessed Ethan Stone's level of strength back then, things would never have come to this, and worse, if the fight continued, they would certainly lose.
The enemy had the field and faith on his side, while they had almost nothing left. Their earlier setups were already smashed, so what was left to play with. Who else could help them now, when all Abyss Cultists had already been wiped into a Shard by Belial's sweep.
Then it hit them, there really was still one left. Using the brief chance of manifesting on the ground, their awareness spread elsewhere. That person would help, no matter the price.
"Divert the sun and weaken the barrier?" Elfido sat calmly on his throne, having already dismissed everyone, and he felt the descent of three great wills. In truth, he had prepared long ago, because anyone with eyes could see the golden radiance piercing the clouds, the massive Holy Light, and the violent energy surges from multiple ritual sites.
"Heh, of course it can be done. As a loyal ally, I will give my full support." His face no longer hid its dark cruelty, because the moment the sun rose, unbearable pain tore through him, almost burning his soul, and the armrests of the throne were crushed into a Shard under his grip.
Resentment coiled around his soul, churning and turning into filthy mire that threatened to swallow him whole. This was only a sign of its appearance, and he was not even being directly targeted. So just as they said, no matter what, Elfido would help them.
At this moment, his heart held not only tension and anger but fear. He felt like a vile thief watching the rightful the Lord approach with a blade, coming to demand payment in blood. The three had already expected this outcome, and without lingering, they withdrew, saying nothing about reward or cost, since at Elfido's level, merely using such power already carried a price.
"Someone, come." "Yes."