Free Web NovelChapter 103: Chapter 78: Deadly Temptation and Unyielding Martyrdom (Part 2)
However.
’We can make a deal. I will grant you the power to protect this world. You won’t even have to change your faith. All you need to do is give me a little of your time and help me with one thing.’
It was his first time speaking directly with a Demon, and terror and unease spread wildly through the depths of Raphael’s heart.
He couldn’t tell if these were truths or lies meant to deceive him.
The Demon’s warnings and predictions about the future felt so real, as if Lord Hayden was already lying in a pool of his own blood.
To say he wasn’t worried at all would be to lie to himself.
But he believed that the Divine Emperor would not abandon this world.
He had never feared death. To die for the Divine Emperor and his faith was the highest glory for a Priest!
Raphael struggled desperately, trying to look away, trying to forget the knowledge, filled with evil power, that had appeared in his mind.
But this soul-rending power gripped his attention, forcing it to remain on the red gemstone.
Even for a moment, his heart began to yearn for power. The thought of claiming the gemstone for himself actually surfaced in his mind!
「Meanwhile.」
It wasn’t just Raphael who had noticed something was wrong. The other Cultivators who had returned to Caster Monastery also realized that the expressions on Reinhardt’s and Raphael’s faces were not right.
Their faces were filled with a morbid greed.
Evil power continuously flowed from the red gemstone.
High Tier Cultivator Hayden, Raphael’s mentor, strode quickly to Raphael’s side, intending to pull him away from the gemstone’s allure.
"Raphael, you have to get away—"
Before he could finish, Raphael, who had always been frail, suddenly grabbed his arm. A terrifying strength sent him flying!
The old Priest slammed heavily into the Monastery wall, the sound of breaking bones echoing crisply down the empty street.
The other Priests’ faces changed drastically at the sight!
"Lord Hayden! Dammit—!"
"That thing is corrupting the souls of Raphael and the Angel! Pull them away!"
"Oh, great Divine Emperor..."
How insignificant is the strength of a Mortal before a Demon? Three burly Cultivators tried to pull Raphael away, but not only could they not budge him, he threw them to the ground one by one, where they cried out in pain.
Raphael could no longer perceive the outside world. Knowledge of the Wizard’s Power ruthlessly assaulted his mind, but he held fast to his faith.
’No—!
He still had a great mission from the Divine Emperor to complete. He could not fall here!’
「At this moment.」
The Cultivators of Caster Monastery were shocked to discover a dazzling, incandescent white light constantly radiating from Raphael’s eyes.
He knelt on the ground, letting out a silent, agonized howl as arcs of incandescent white lightning spread around his body. The dust on the ground began to rise, disturbed by this Extraordinary Power.
And in that same moment.
They heard the unyielding cry from the depths of Raphael’s soul.
’Demon! The Divine Emperor’s radiance will never be extinguished, and your plot will never succeed! Even if you kill me, I will not submit!
AAAAH—
Brothers of the Monastery, if you can hear my voice, then kill me! Pierce my heart! With my blood, I will defend the Divine Emperor!’
A descendant of an Ancient Wizard, gifted with Mind Connection and foresight.
From any perspective, he should have been the easiest person in the city to corrupt.
The Thousand-Change Monarch had corrupted countless scholars and Priests renowned for their wisdom and reason, but that was only after they inadvertently glimpsed a corner of the world’s true nature.
Madness was the best possible outcome.
All it had to do was show Raphael the immense Extraordinary Power wielded by the Ancient Wizards, and reveal that the Radiant Divine Emperor he worshipped as a god was once just one of countless human slaves they had subjugated.
Even the most devout believer would be driven completely mad by the cruel truth of the world, ultimately falling into its embrace.
However, Raphael’s fanatical faith far exceeded the scope of its plans.
It could not understand why a human would have such immense resistance to the temptation of wielding Extraordinary Power.
That was the knowledge of the Ancient Wizards! The power to change reality itself!
With it, power, status, fame... everything others could only dream of would be within your grasp.
After mastering this supreme Mighty Power, ascending to become a God of the Human World was not just a fantasy.
But this young Priest was willing to use the very knowledge it had instilled in him, to burn his own life force, just to send one message to the Priests of the Monastery: kill him, the traitor on the verge of falling!
’Incomprehensible... Utterly irrational—!’
The Thousand-Change Monarch’s voice was filled with rage and humiliation that its scheme was not going according to plan, as Raphael’s corruption was the most crucial part of its plot.
Although it desperately desired to corrupt Reinhardt, and through that, receive the Formless Divine Monarch’s grace and the Mighty Power to become a Venerable Great Demon...
...it knew one thing very clearly. free𝑤ebnovel.com
The one it faced was no ordinary Imperial Knight, no mere Empire’s Chosen One or Abyssal Divine Chosen One.
Never mind the possibility that if it pushed him too far, he might suddenly fly into a rage, ascend to a Venerable Great Demon of Avernus, and charge into the Void Realm to tear it limb from limb.
Relying on a Void Divine Artifact from the Formless Divine Monarch, the Thousand-Change Monarch could only briefly shield Reinhardt’s mind and cognitive abilities; it was far from enough to achieve corruption.
That was why it had tried to corrupt Raphael, attempting to use the Extraordinary Power of Mind Connection to break through Reinhardt’s Mind Barrier and directly infuse him with the Formless Divine Monarch’s power, thereby achieving its goal of corrupting him.
This was also why it had been constantly taunting Reinhardt instead of using its usual method of gradually luring him into depravity.
Because Raphael, with his Wizard Bloodline, was the most crucial link in its grand scheme. The taunting nonsense was meant for him to hear, too.
The nonchalant attitude was simply to avoid arousing the Priest’s suspicion.
Compared to Mortals and other Imperial Knights...
...in its eyes, Reinhardt’s mind was a stubborn, stinking rock. Not even a Demon would try to communicate with a rock.
’You are but a Mortal, yet you dare to refuse this gift—!’
As the plan to corrupt Raphael’s mind utterly failed, the Thousand-Change Monarch’s furious and hysterical voice was transmitted through Raphael’s Mind Connection into the ears of every Cultivator present!
But the power and glorious radiance that erupt from human faith and courage in the face of despair is something a Demon can never predict.
A struggling Mortal.
Perhaps he was just worthless livestock in the eyes of the nobles, or perhaps he was just another nameless cog on an assembly line.
But the Radiant Divine Emperor still blessed every soul equally. He said they were the future of the Empire, a great light shining in the Dark Cosmos, the hope of the Human World.
The Cultivators of Caster Monastery, before they became Clergy, might have been local nobles or vagrants from the Lower City District.
But without exception, they were all just Mortals.
Hearing the whispers of a Demon on the level of a Great Demon for the first time, the horror in their hearts was a terrible thing beyond description!
Their souls trembled; it was as if the world of their faith was collapsing!
A young Priest who had once thought Raphael a madman stared with wide, incredulous eyes. The doubt and prejudice in his heart had long vanished, replaced by a voice echoing endlessly in his mind.
’Raphael, my brother Priest, is this the power you’ve been silently fighting against all this time?!
So evil... It’s absolutely horrifying!’
He couldn’t imagine how Raphael had endured it alone all these years. He felt a deep sense of shame for his previous doubt and arrogance.
But he had also heard Raphael’s plea.
He took out the dagger hidden in his sleeve for self-defense and, ignoring the protests of his brother Priests, walked step by step toward Raphael.
Martyrdom.
This was the most glorious moment for a member of the Clergy.
As he drew the dagger, preparing to pierce Raphael’s heart and end his brother Priest’s suffering...
...the Divine Emperor’s Angel—who, in their eyes, had completely fallen and was hopelessly lost to Demon Power—suddenly spoke.
"Congratulations. You briefly banished my soul. You actually succeeded. freewёbnoνel.com
But have you considered the consequences of your plan failing, Demon?"
