578 Cruelty Is Approaching

A sea of black flames enveloped the invading believers. Laeticia — or, to be more precise, 'Dark Laeticia' — laughed maniacally. Guarding the gate by herself was an incredible feat — one she achieved by relentlessly assaulting the invaders.

Some guards that had gotten enough rest attempted to help Dark Laeticia, but they were met with a cold glare. \"Sit down, useless trash! Outta my way!\"

It was a horrible reception, but it allowed the gate guards to get the rest they needed.

\"For some reason, I think this Laeticia is really cool. Oh, her name is Jeanne, now, right?\" Nydore mumbled. With Laeticia dealing with the enemies, Nydore finally had the chance to rest and nurse the wounds on her fingers, and while doing so, she watched Laeticia fight.

Unfortunately, even Laeticia could not wield such great power for too long. Minutes later, the black flames visibly weakened, and her legs began to wobble. After a final wave of black flames blew back some invaders, Laeticia almost toppled over; she leaned on her black flag at the last minute, preventing herself from falling.

The Warrior Walker saw this and hurried over.

\"Didn't I… make myself clear? Don't you dare… ruin my fun…\" Laeticia growled between deep breaths.

The Warrior Walker took a page out of Baiyi's book and flicked Laeticia's forehead, causing her to fall. She caught Laeticia midfall, though, and said, \"Don't be stubborn. You need to rest.\"

\"Urgh! So… annoying!\" Laeticia grumbled a final time before shutting her eyes. The dark aura around Laeticia dissipated, leaving the girl in her regular state.

Laeticia's new power made her almost invincible, and she could draw an unlimited amount of energy from the Void because of the connection she shared with Baiyi. However, all that power placed a heavy toll on Laeticia. The longer she remained as 'Dark Laeticia', the more exhausted she became. Laeticia had now fainted from exhaustion because she had used her 'Dark Laeticia' form for too long.

\"Take good care of her,\" the Warrior Walker said, passing the sleeping girl to the Shadow Walker. Then, the Warrior Walker commanded the gate guards to return to their stations.

The Shadow Walker caressed Laeticia's face in interest and said, \"My, my. Who would have expected such a drastic personality change? What an interesting consequence of using the Forbidden Power. Now I can't help but what would happen to Mia, Hope's little darling, if she draws from his power? Would she become Dark Mia?\"

\"A heart as gentle as hers could never connect to power as cold and dark as this,\" the Warrior Walker quietly replied. As one of Baiyi's women, the Warrior Walker had a deeper understanding of his power than most of the Voidwalkers.

The Shadow Walker did not reply. Without wasting more time, she left with Laeticia in her arms.

The Archangels in Shamshire soon received news of Kimaris's demise. Paimon, who no longer felt calm, coldly said, \"The Highest Lord's beloved mortal has chosen corruption over Salvation, after which she slew Kimaris in cold blood!\"

\"Slew?!\" Baal exclaimed in shock.

Angels were carefree because they believed themselves superior. If an angel's host died, the angel's soul would just return to the Divine Realm; thus, angels believed they were above death. The Archmage felled two angels, but they did not die; instead, they continued to speak with the Archangels. Falling in battle only meant defeat to them, not death.

\"There is no other explanation as to why Kimaris' soul did not return to the Divine Realm. Our brother is lost for good,\" Paimon gloomily said. \"This… This is an atrocity, enabled by that Forbidden Power! Why did Lord Dalos not impose punishment for such a crass transgression?! Why does he let these blasphemous mortals — who use powers well beyond their scope of knowledge — be? Why has he not sent his vassals here to join our cause?\"

Void Energy was so powerful, it could be used to kill angels. Thus, it only made sense for Dalos to target people that use this deadly power. However, on the list of 'Sins committed by Voidwalkers', which was read out earlier, wielding Void Energy was not mentioned.

Four gods had agreed with calls to judge the Voidwalkers; this was why they had jointly declared war on Baiyi and his crew. However, only the God of Time and the God of Nature dispatched angels to punish the Voidwalkers. The Power God and Life God chose to support the angels with simple blessings.

This made one wonder if there was a deeper meaning behind their simple actions.

The more Paimon thought about this, the more his doubt grew.

\"Halt, Paimon. Do not cross the line and make baseless accusations against our lords,\" Baal whispered, \"Lest you suffer the same fate as your predecessor.\"

Gods were strict with the power they delegated to their subordinates, so the authority and knowledge possessed by these subordinates were limited. If the Power God did not consider the Voidwalkers' use of Void Energy a sin, then no Archangel had the right to indict them for that.

Knowing of the enemies' transgression without being able to dole out punishment greatly annoyed Paimon. The only reason he did not act was because the memory of Noirciel's agonizing punishment remained fresh in his mind.

\"Truthfully, this is not our priority,\" Baal said. \"I, too, have been keeping an eye on that group for some time. However, the fallen saintess is not our primary target; our main target has not appeared yet.\"

\"That's because he is currently stealing my lord's Arbiter's Rights!\" Paimon snapped. He was under extreme duress. The angels had not expected their mortal targets to thwart their plans, time after time, with unconventional means.

\"We can no longer dilly dally. We must use our full power to subdue them!\" Paimon growled.

\"If a fallen saintess can kill an angel, then I fear to imagine how powerful their wicked leader will be. If we are not sure when he will appear, then charging over there will be unwise. After all, any one of us that falls to that terrible power is lost forever,\" Baal said. \"Then again, the longer the battle goes on for, the more unpredictable it will become. No; we must gather everyone under us for an all-out attack. At that time, I'll show my trump card.\"

He then took out the half-split scepter from before. \"Humans are slaves to their hubris. Unlike other animals, they exaggerate their little victories over Nature, to deceive others into considering them superior,\" Baal said darkly. \"Humans will only hide when Nature unleashes her wrath. At that time, humans will have to face the truth; they are insignificant, fragile, and mortal.\"

After receiving Baal's command, the angels hovering below him took their various positions, after which they commanded the believers to go all-out in their assault on Arfin City.

The lives of the believers no longer mattered to the angels. This was a strategy that could result in the massacre of the ten million believers. Those that survived the Voidwalkers' attacks were sure to fall, along with their families and enemies, to the anon catastrophes.

\"Are you certain that we shouldn't have our allies to retreat first?\" Paimon quietly asked.

Baal's reply was cruel enough to disgust even the Voidwalkers. \"We can only use Bella's power one more time; it will be a great shame to waste it, don't you agree? Furthermore, those people are faithful; just as they live for their faith, it is only right that they die for it, as well. When this is over, I will prepare the ritual of Salvation for them.\"

As the Archangels finalized their plans, the believers charged towards Arfin City like mindless zombies. Their number was so great, even the Archmage was short of breath.

The sky above Arfin City began to darken. The ground trembled in a manner that signified the approach of a great calamity.