Chapter 114: CH 114

Hagen was walking in front. The unnatural outline of her head was looming behind the black veil. Nemo was no longer a guest of the Abyssal Church. The anomalies under the solemnity of the church began to climb out of the dark crevices. It wasn’t the terrifying scene outside the church, but some kind of spiritual distortion. They seemed to be entities, whispering ill-will in the corner. They walked underground, and the passage became darker. Nemo didn’t even dare to exert much force on his legs, for fear of accidentally tearing apart the confinement of the erosion spell.

If this scene was placed on an ordinary person, it was probably tantamount to being firmly entangled by a poisonous snake whose venom was flowing through their blood and its fangs was pressed against the arteries of their neck. Hagen generously turned her back towards the “uninvited guest”, firmly believing he could not escape.

However, Nemo was quite sure that he could, even easily, break away, like brushing the twine threads that was stuck on his clothes. This fact didn’t make him feel happy or fulfilled but brought him pain similar to frostbite.

He was getting stronger. Every second he was getting uncontrollably stronger. It was like an invisible dam finally cracked and released the torrent of horror that followed. Nemo knew what this meant. Even if he used his feelings to deny that fact that “he’s the Demon King”, his reasoning was slowly accepting this unnatural power. As the cognition became clearer, the power became stronger. Truly a cycle of despair.

Hagen didn’t know the happenings behind her back. She reached out her hands and opened the heavy door in front of her. A pungent bloody aura enveloped by strong smell of spices rushed out.

A huge underground hall appeared in front of Nemo. This was about the same height as the church’s nave on the ground. On the wall was the familiar statute, except that this Ulysses had no flesh, only bones. The huge bones were embedded on the side of the hall, with amazing courage, as if the entire hall would be torn in half in the next instant.

In front of the statue, in the center of the hall, a huge round stone platform stood high, and several magic arrays overlapped with each other, which were deeply engraved on the stone platform. After approaching, the rancid smell of flesh became more suffocating. The entire stone platform was covered with thick layers of dark brown dirt, reflecting an uncomfortable luster, and it seemed to be slowly squirming in the fire.

There were two demon warlocks in the room. The preacher with only a mouth on his face behind the sermon table, and the middle-aged man with a lot of movable tentacles sticking out of his facial features. The tar-like demon warlock had disappeared.

Together with Hagen Ingram and Nemo himself, there were only four people in the entire room, but it contained the three strongest combat powers of the Abyssal Church.

“It’s not like a prison here,” Nemo said. He knew he should look scared but at this moment he was really powerless. He glanced at the stone-carved bones, and an indescribable sadness firmly grasped him.

“Yes.” Hagen turned her head, with a little smile in her voice.

Nemo knew where her self-confidence came from, and he found the familiar aura the first moment he stepped into it. He first came into contact with it at the Church of Repentance in Hailem…

Fragments of Ulysses’ skull were embedded in the skeleton statue.

It was in much better condition than the one in the Church of Repentance. It was well preserved and enshrined. The remnant power on the bones had long lost mental control, and the sense of oppression was like a huge wave above to be photographed. If they didn’t make corresponding preparations in advance, let alone a demon warlock, a superior demon who wasn’t qualified can’t even put up a half-hearted resistance.

It should have been like this.

The spiritual dam completely collapsed, and the facts were cruelly spread out. Nemo couldn’t even lift his head with a sigh. Now he wasn’t a naïve fool who had vague cognition, or his strength was restrained, or the uncertainty that he was a demon warlock.

The power of the Demon King couldn’t interfere with him for even half a minute.  Nemo tentatively touched the next power and found that he could easily take control, just as simple as picking up copper coins on the ground.

There was no doubt that it was once him.

Since bringing Nemo into the area, Hagen had safely shifted her attention. She used her fingers to draw complex trajectories in the air in front of her. Light screen one after another appeared and the images of the battle from all angles were unobstructed. “Cherick, our people are up against Aurorae. His condition doesn’t seem right. Go and have a look. Only me and Zachary are needed here. The outside command will be handed over to you.”

“Old rules. After the sacrifice begins, the church will automatically seal. Pay attention and use the protective covers.”

The man with his facial features full of tentacles nodded, and made a suffocating whine, causing the tentacles hanging on his chest to sway up and down. Nemo stood silently in place, minimizing his sense of existence as much as possible.

“I’m very sorry, Mr. White.” After watching her colleague leave, the Bishop of the Abyss finally turned her attention back to Nemo. “Our sacrifices just ran away at this juncture. I think you might know something.”

Nemo shut his mouth tightly, without any intention of answering.  Hearing that name, his gaze swept across the skull of the statue, showing a trace of sadness.

“…What a pity,” Hagen sighed softly. “Then let’s get started, Zachary.”

The demon warlock with only a mouth on his face nodded. The two reached out their hands together. Chains made of flesh stretched out from the dark brown dirt, entangled Nemo’s body, and dragged it unceremoniously onto the stone platform. The standard black robe previously used for camouflage was ripped open with two big mouths and the mask that a demon worshipper would wear fell to the ground. The black-haired young man looked embarrassed.

But he showed no resistance. He seemed to be completely subdued by the demon’s aura in the room and was obedient as a sheep.

Hagen was puzzled for a moment. It may be that the strength of this superior demon was really low, even worse than the nightmare leopard. Although it was a bit strange that he didn’t resist, it made sense to assume that he was subdued by the aura.

He couldn’t escape anyways. The demon warlock who was supposed to be used for sacrifice disappeared and all the human sacrifices were rescued by unknown forces, but a genuine superior demon should be enough to make up for these losses.

The magic array under the dirt revealed a red light, reflecting the entire hall, and the skeletal stone carvings under the red light looked even more hideous. The chain of flesh tightened tighter as if it was going to strangle the sacrifice alive.

The ceremony had officially begun.

The sacrifice would slowly and painfully die out and his flesh would be swallowed by the Church of Silence and turned into pure power. Hagen patiently drove the sacrificial array that was carefully embroidered, ready to guide the coming power…

But no power poured out. No screams sounded. The Church of Silence was not automatically sealed.

The black-haired young man slowly climbed up from the stone platform. The flesh chains broke silently, and rancid blood gushed out from the cross-section. “White”, who was supposed to be a sacrifice, was expressionless. His hair was scattered by the rough dragging, and his damage robe was wet with black and red blood. It looked like a pale corpse crawling out of pile of corpses.

The cross-shaped pupils swept across the cloth bags scattered on the ground. Black and red particles the size of peas was scattered among the filth piled up by rotten meat. He struggled for a while, as if he wanted to bend over to pick it up, but in the end, he only let out a small sigh.

He straightened up and grabbed a broken flesh chain casually. A dark arc light spread along the chain to all formations. Hagen felt a sharp pain in her chest and a fishy sweet smell rushed into her throat. The control of the magic array was taken away forcefully, and the overwhelming power made it impossible for her to resist.

“Thank you. Now I know how to manipulate it.” Their sacrifice finally opened his mouth. His voice was gentle and calm, but the intonation didn’t sound very pleasant. “I apologize for what I am about to do first. Sorry, I have to tear down this place.”

As the Bishop of the Abyss, Hagen’s most indispensable thing was combat experience. She didn’t plan to be in a daze for a few seconds. She had to quickly suppress the opponent. “Zachary, emergency plan!”

As she ordered, all the light screens went out. She concentrated all her strength on the attack. Countless arrays bombarded Nemo. The attack was fierce, like a sharp breath of a blade. The preacher reacted equally as quick. A snow-white bone floated out of the stone skull and a majestic force rushed to the back of the black-haired youth.

It was a perfect attack with no weakness. Even if Aurorae himself was here, it was impossible to escape unscathed.

Hagen didn’t stop. As long as the other party had some breath left. She didn’t mind if the sacrifice limbs were broken and was dying. As long as he lived until the ceremony was completed, it didn’t matter what form that life was.

But to her surprise, the magic array was staggered in the light. The other party didn’t even raise his hand to make any gesture of resistance. “Mr. White” just stretched out a hand causing the bone fragment to fly into his palm as if he had summoned it. Those sharp and powerful spells collapsed on their own in front of him, bursting like soap bubbles.

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“You didn’t ask Colestoro’s will and force him to live,” the black-haired young man said unhappily. He stood firmly in front of the stone sculpture of the Demon King’s skeleton. “You think he’s too ‘weak’, so his opinion isn’t important.”

The sacrifice clenched his five fingers. Hagen heard a slight crack that made her back cold.  Her heart was beating wildly…

The man crushed the fragments of Ulysses’ skull.

“You said that there is only one person you really believe in, Ms. Ingram,” the handsome and pale young man continued, “but have you ever confirmed his will?”

“How dare you speak blaspheme—” as the white bone powder drifted in the air, the preacher roared. “Archbishop, we must immediately… Archbishop?!”

Hagen Ingram stopped her attack. Transparent liquid dripped under the black veil.

She had felt this exact hostility, many years ago, at the bottom of the Abyss. She firmly believed that it was her revelation; that hostility that was so powerful it was as if a blade had scraped through her bones, and a poisonous needle had shattered her brain. It was the miraculous power that crushed the soul.

The Bishop of the Abyss picked up her skirt with very slow movement and then knelt down without any doubt.

Ignoring the plasma-soaked skirt, she let out a hoarse cough, took off her veil, and threw it aside. “I’ve been waiting for you, master.” Her voice echoed in the hall. “I never thought I would see you again in my lifetime.”

A faint vibration came from the ground, and then it became more obvious. The whole church began to shake and slowly sank below. Hagen Ingram seemed indifferent to this. She maintained a half-kneeling salute, raised her deformed head, and looked eagerly at her God.

Nemo felt uncomfortable all over, mentally.

He took the magic array that was feeding Colestoro from the hands of the Bishop of the Abyss and used his softest strength to crack the array. The bag of sandpoint plums that Oliver gave him had fallen into the dirt and could no longer be ingested. His enemy was half kneeling in front of him, and he didn’t feel any emotion resembling pleasure at all.

He did what he had to do, but he didn’t get the slightest joy of victory.

“I’ll tell you very clearly. I don’t like this,” Nemo said slowly. Hagen Ingram recognized him so at least this saved him the trouble of explaining. “I am not your God. I treat you…”

He clenched the empty small cloth bag with his hand, which was covered in blood. Not a single sandpoint plum was left in it.

“…Without mercy.”

The preacher stood still and after a few seconds, he knelt down in a daze, without saying a word.

“I only have one question I want to ask you, my Lord.” The Bishop of the Abyss seemed to be completely immersed in her own world. Her several pairs of eyes were shining and full of tears. “Why did you come?”

“Coincidence. I don’t know.” Nemo pulled out a wry smile. “Besides, can you stop calling me ‘Master’? I don’t want to dominate you at all.”

“Yes, you don’t need to worry. We will naturally exercise your will. Our army is always ready to fight for you and is committed to transforming the surface into an Abyss suitable for you,” the preacher name Zachary opened his mouth tremblingly. His voice was eager, and still in a trance. “Our knights are scattered all over the world, constantly summoning your family members to—”

Nemo’s heart beat violently for a few seconds. He flashed to the preacher and grabbed his collar.

“Your people…” he squeezed his voice desperately from his throat. “Answer me. Have your people been to Roadside Town in Alban recently?”

Nemo could feel his hands trembling. He took a few deep breaths before he suppressed his hostility that was almost out of control. The church trembled more severely, and the cracked voice was mixed with countless anxious shouts. The people in the church were evacuating, but he was completely disinterested in their situation.

“If you really want to recognize me as a God so much,” he smiled bitterly, “I suggest you dissolve on the spot. Do you hear me, Ms. Ingram—”

However, the demon warlock with the deformed head was gone, replaced by an extremely beautiful woman. She had beautiful long dark gray hair, an alluring face, and rosy and plump lips, but her expression ruined all this. She looked panicked; her eyes were full of fear. Seeing Nemo’s gaze swept over, she almost cried.

“Our contract is completed!” she screamed and slumped to the ground. “She fulfilled her wish and is dead—”

“You’re her demon.” Nemo’s throat tightened for a while and his emotion somewhat exceeded his tolerance. The voice couldn’t help but sounded numb. “What was her wish? It’s not ‘to see the Demon King again’. You’ll never agree to that kind of condition.”

“Of course!” the demon yelled, awkwardly pulling back the black dress. “She just ‘wants to know the truth about the existence of the Demon King’. Who knows what she thought she had figured out! You… don’t come here. This flesh doesn’t have much power. You can’t use it—”

She may be the unluckiest one in the entire Abyss. A superior demon who just descended to the surface wanted to return immediately. No one had ever told her that after successfully descending to the surface, there would be a risk of directly facing the Demon King.

She began to seriously consider the possibility of escaping by suicide.

‘It’s all that woman’s fault,’ she thought angrily. At first, she thought Hagen Ingram was just a mage who was focused on spell research, and the ‘truth about the existence of the Demon King’ was just a theoretical study. She just needed to provide the other party with a long enough life span. Considering Ingram’s excellent strength, she gladly accepted this wish.

And now, that crazy woman has completely disappeared. All that was left was ecstasy, lament, and relief from the bottom of her heart, and one last sentence.

“The law has not been broken… Well, I’ll be waiting for my God.” This was the last thing that was left by the Bishop of the Abyss. Her voice was so low that only she could hear it. “It’s been a great honor to be born in this world.”

The author has something to say:

Nemo is sure he’s the Demon King, but he’s not happy…

Hagen did perceive the truth, and then gracefully typed GG*√

*Good game.

Kinky Thoughts:

LMAO. Hagen got her wish and was like peace out, all yours superior demon. Meet my God.

Well, it’s finally confirmed what most people suspected Nemo is.

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