Chapter 1182: The Holy Word

Although it had been less than a week since he entered the Forsaken Land

of the Gods, Klein had long gotten a good understanding of the place

through Little Sun. He knew that normal humans, even saints, had to use

fire to create light in the darkness. Otherwise, it was very easy for

them to encounter dangerous monsters lurking in the depths of the

darkness, or be secretly devoured, disappearing without a trace, never

to be found again.

And at that moment, the elderly clergyman wasn't carrying any animal

hide lanterns. Instead, he passed through the fog in the darkness and

slowly entered the cathedral that was illuminated by the dim yellow

light.

If it wasn't for his deep and calm eyes that didn't show any signs of

madness, Klein's first reaction would've been that he had encountered a

special monster.

Of course, having a normal person's state of mind and being immersed in

darkness were contradictory traits. Any living creature with any

semblance of normal intelligence could easily come up with a conclusion

that this person might be even more terrifying than special monsters.

Klein had only met one person who could pass through the darkness

without being affected by it while having sufficient intelligence:

Blasphemer Amon!

Sensing that the faint yellow light was reflected on his face, the tall

black-robed clergyman with a slight hunch to his back stopped in his

tracks. Looking at the demonic wolf statue, he hoarsely asked, "Where

did the owner of this city go?"

Klein was the kind of person who would try his best to resolve a problem

peacefully if a fight with a stranger could be avoided. As he raised his

guard, he calmly replied, "I don't know where either---I just entered

the city---who knows where the owner went."

Just as he said that, the entire cathedral dimmed. A thin fog surged in

like a tidal wave from the outside, drowning the interior.

The lantern in Klein's hand failed miserably at illuminating the windows

and the situation at the door. It was dark outside, and nothing could be

seen.

In the blink of an eye, the cathedral that worshiped the demonic wolf

statue seemed to be isolated from Nois City. It was unknown where it was

located.

Klein's pupils dilated slightly as he looked at the clergyman with

wrinkles and white hair. He asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"

The hunched clergyman replied in a condescending manner, "I'm an

attendant by the Lord's side. I'm the Angel of the Holy Word, Steph. I

walk this land of the past that the Lord had passed on, doing so on

'His' behalf in search of the 'Blasphemer' hidden in the darkness."

As he spoke, the elder's figure expanded to a height of four meters

tall. Behind him, black illusory feathers appeared. Their shadows

intersected and formed four pairs of gloomy but holy wings.

*Angel of the Holy Word, Steph... An attendant by the Lord's side...

Land of the past... This is the Blessed of the True Creator, the Angel

of Fate's subordinate, a member of the Rose Redemption? It's no wonder

that "He" can walk in the darkness; "He" has the power of degeneration

protecting "Him"... That evil god is still searching for the Beyonder

characteristic of the Attendant of Mysteries?* Klein had no

choice but to raise his head and lock eyes with this clergyman who,

despite wearing a black robe, had four pairs of angel wings on "His"

back. This high-level existence angel's form remained wrinkled with

grizzled hair. There was a sense of contradiction in everything about

"Him."

Pretending that he had never made an enemy of the Aurora Order, he

calmly said, "That Blasphemer has long fled. I'm also searching for

'Him.'"

After staring at Klein for two seconds, the Angel of the Holy Word asked

in a low voice, "Who are you?"

It won't be convenient saying it out directly... Klein sighed

and smiled.

"I'm a lonely traveler."

After he gave this reply, he suddenly felt an extreme sense of darkness

developing within him. It then sank down and merged with the shadow

created by the lantern.

The pitch-black figure abruptly warped and came to "life," stretching

itself out to become another Gehrman Sparrow---one with sinister and

ferocious eyes and a solitary demeanor.

This... Klein's pupils constricted. Without any hesitation, he

reached out his right hand and grabbed outward at thin air.

At this point, if he hadn't guessed that Steph was using his "answer,"

he should've joined the Aurora Order and made the True Creator his god.

At this moment, he already knew what it meant by "Angel of the Holy

Word."

This was clearly the Angel of the Evil Word!

By using a person's reply, "He" could extract a portion of the ambiguity

or expand on it to create the effect of spirit language!

When Klein said that he didn't know where the owner of the city had

gone, Steph extracted the words "I don't know where I went," trapping

himself and isolating himself from the outside world.

When this angel revealed "His" identity, every word was enhancing "His"

level and strength.

When Klein answered who he was, it ended up separating "a lonely

traveler" from him.

From the moment "He" appeared in Nois City, there was a strong sense of

malice in the black-robed Steph!

And just as Klein was attempting to summon a particular image from the

Historical Void, the sinister Gehrman Sparrow seemed to share the same

thoughts as he did. He too grabbed at the same projection, canceling

each other out.

Seeing that his powers as a Scholar of Yore had been restrained, Klein's

eyes narrowed. Without any hesitation, he opened his mouth and said a

word in Jotun.

But in the next second, the word was stolen.

Standing at about four meters tall, the stooped Angel of the Holy Word,

Steph, had at some point in time grown a head covered in blood on "His"

left shoulder. It looked very similar to "Him," but was much younger---a

person who was approximately in the forties.

Around the head were two skinless arms that had mangled flesh. They had

"Grazed" different souls and had used Beyonder powers that could steal

thoughts.

At the same time, another bloody head grew on Steph's right shoulder,

one that looked to be in "His" twenties.

Amongst the three heads, one "Grazed" souls and stole Klein's thoughts,

while the other was staring coldly at the target, deepening the

self-awareness of the lonely traveler. The last one opened "His" mouth

and said, "You lie!

"You are the person who destroyed the son of God's descent ritual and

interfered with the Lord's descent twice!

"You are one of the targets I'm looking for!"

The corners of Klein's mouth twitched as he calmly said a word in Jotun,

"Leodero!"

This was the true name of the Lord of Storms!

The reason why this thought wasn't stolen was because he had lined up

his subsequent actions. The lineup was filled with the same content. It

didn't matter if the first thought was stolen, as it didn't affect the

subsequent thoughts.

This was a precious experience he had gained from fighting Amon.

Of course, if he were to meet Amon again, he suspected that such a

method might not work. Once the God of Mischief was prepared, "He" would

definitely come up with something new.

As soon as he finished speaking, the eyes of the Angel of the Holy Word

Angel, Steph, lit up with bolts of silver lightning.

They covered the entirety of Nois City, and they tore through the

darkness that enveloped the cathedral. They tore apart all the

corruption, concealment, darkness, vileness, and evil.

Inside, Klein and the sinister Gehrman Sparrow were situated at the eye

of the lightning storm. Without even a grunt, they dissipated.

Then, the terrifying, silvery-white, twisted electric bolts snaked the

area and swallowed the demonic wolf statue as well as the Angel of Holy

Words, Steph.

Amidst the dull rumbling sounds, the ancient city of Nois completely

collapsed, becoming a true ruin.

At the opposite side of the dried-up river bed, Klein's historical

projection quickly faded away, returning to the real world.

Right on the heels of that, Klein immediately used Flaming Jump to

distance himself from the Nois ruins. During this process, he pulled out

a few paper figurines and made them into "angels" to cover his tracks.

The desolate plains returned to its state of dead silence once again.

After an unknown period of time, the ruins where the cathedral stood

shook. Steph slowly stood up amidst crumbling dust and rock.

"His" completely white hair had thinned again, and "His" deep-black

clergyman's robe became tattered.

The Angel of the Holy Word left Nois ancient city in silence, got "His"

bearings, and walked deep into the darkness.

Half a day later, a figure approached the city's ruins from another

direction. It was none other than Klein who had made a huge detour.

He hadn't had the chance to check the ancient city of Nois previously,

and his return this time was motivated by the hope of finding actual

clues of that existence.

At a relatively far distance away, Klein repeated his observations above

the gray fog, summoned the historical projection, and hid in ancient

times, using the projection to summon another historical projection.

After finishing his preparations, he stepped into Nois once again and

returned to the cathedral in absolute silence.

Along the way, the corpses that had been lying dead on the ground had

either turned to ash or turned to charred remains, devoid of that creepy

and harrowing feeling.

*That fellow named Steph didn't die... From the looks of it, the remnant

divine powers of Storm here can only injure an angel...* Klein

stopped in front of the ruined cathedral and muttered to himself

wistfully.

Of course, he only found it a little regretful. He didn't expect to

finish off an angel so easily.

As he swept his gaze, he saw a few pieces of the demonic wolf statue.

The surface of it was dark black, and the insides were dark

red---nothing like commonly seen stone.

*These stones must be extraordinary for them to be used by that Dark

Demonic Wolf for "His" statue. Furthermore, they don't look like

something produced in the vicinity... Perhaps I can seek out the area

the Dark Demonic Wolf hid prior to Nois City by investigating them... As

a Miracle Invoker, or even an Attendant of Mysteries, that Dark Demonic

Wolf must be good at covering "His" tracks. It'll be very difficult to

track "His" whereabouts directly, but if I can find most of the areas

"He" had hid previously, I should be able to gain insight into "His"

habits and style...*

Once I know a person's past, I can predict his future! As he

thought, he took two steps forward, bent down, and attempted to pick up

a fragment of the statue.

At that moment, a charred hand suddenly reached out and blocked his

finger.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a charred corpse standing up!

The charred corpse's other hand held onto a crystal monocle and wore it

on its left eye.

Amon! Left eye... Klein's heart tightened at first before a

strong sense of doubt and suspicion surfaced within him.

In the next second, the charred corpse smiled and said, "Sorry, I wore

it on the wrong side."

As it spoke, it took off the monocle and moved it to its right eye.