Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 581 Demosth Nolan
Demostre raised his knife.

His weapon—the [Holy Dragon Slayer]—was emitting a crimson glow that rapidly swirled and dissipated around him, its light enveloping the sealing pillar of the Devouring Dragon and also Demosth.

Then, a bright golden light emerged from the crimson, and the golden and red flames intertwined like threads. The air they passed through seemed to be rippled, and from them condensed a blurry and ethereal phantom of an ancient dragon slain by the Holy Dragon Slayer.

"Roar……"

"--roar!!!"

As Luo Xiu watched Demoste's retreating figure, he also heard a distinct ancient dragon's roar emanating from around him.

Demosth raised his sword—his spirituality had already pierced through the Pillar of Heavenly Punishment, overflowing towards the Devouring Dragon suppressed and sealed within it.

Under Luo Xiu's gaze, he saw the Devouring Dragon's previously frozen, colossal body tremble violently. It struggled to move its two heads, its deep, crimson eyes turning with difficulty towards Demosth, fear now visible within them—

"you……"

"..."

Demosth did not respond to any of His voice.

The excitement and fervor on his face intensified as he sensed the extremely rich ancient dragon power and spiritual aura emanating from the Devouring Dragon.

"beauty……"

"Extremely beautiful..."

"..."

Demosth murmured, and the intense crimson light that had been swirling and intertwining in his eyes now took over more strongly.

He could no longer suppress a strange, craving deep inside him; he knew he should restrain himself, but he could no longer control it.

The next moment, his hand holding the knife suddenly swung down—

"..."

--laugh!!!!!

The longsword, gleaming with golden and crimson light, slashed into the pillar of divine punishment, but instead of producing a huge, booming explosion, it emitted a sharp, piercing sound, like leather being torn apart.

The Pillar of Divine Retribution, the sealed pillar of light maintained by the "Holy Sword" Monigne, was not affected in any way by Demosth's strike.

But inside, the "Devouring Dragon" Fafnir Ramzanx had an extremely long bloody gash running through its body, from its head to its neck, back, wings, and tail.

"Roar!!!!!"

He then unleashed a deafening, piercing roar. Even though He was sealed away, the sound of this roar still pierced through the Pillar of Heavenly Punishment and clearly reached everyone's ears.

His body, which had been cleaved apart by Demosth with the [Holy Dragon Slayer], began to gush blood uncontrollably in the next instant.

The dark red, pitch black, and deep silver blood then splattered out of the beams of light, scattering across the surrounding ground.

It was like a rain of blood.

When it landed on the ground, it exploded in a series of violent bursts, and within a very short time, it eroded the ground, leaving behind pitted and uneven erosion marks.

Demosth stood beneath the rain of blood, enjoying this "bathing," a look of pleasure on his face.

"what……"

The blood of the Devouring Dragon, besides corroding the surrounding ground, also poured onto Demosth's body.

The spiritual energy, filled with a profound and mysterious aura, erupted with a violent hissing sound the moment it came into contact with Demostre's skin and armor, accompanied by wisps of smoke rising upwards—a reaction of erosion.

However, the blood of the Devouring Dragon failed to leave any trace of corrosion on Demosth's body.

It was as if His blood had been spilled on an incorruptible surface, while His spirituality and power had been “absorbed” and “digested” by Demosthenes.

On Demostt's face, rows of fine dragon scales appeared.

As the "Dragonblood Knight Commander," Demosth, who has bathed in dragon blood several times to gain power, already exhibits obvious dragonification characteristics.

Even though the "Devourer Dragon" did not fall into the abyss, it was still a great ancient dragon of extremely high status.

Demostre has a natural affinity for His power, but the extremely high spirituality of [Radiance] also helps him isolate himself from the relatively superficial and profound corrosive influences, allowing him to "perfectly enjoy the power of the ancient dragon."

This is the process we are currently going through.

Demosth disturbed the Pillar of Retribution, piercing through the pillar of light to deliver a [Holy Dragon Slayer] strike to the Devouring Dragon, his sole purpose being to take its blood.

The terrifying power contained within the blood of the Devouring Dragon also surprised Demosth.

“He…ah. This power…has indeed surpassed Aranbis…”

Demosth murmured, seemingly savoring the memory, but the blood-drawing shower did not seem to satisfy him. Gazing at the ancient dragon trapped within the Pillar of Heavenly Punishment, Demosth once again raised the longsword in his hand.

"That's fine, Demosthenes."

But just before Demosth was about to strike, a woman's voice, filled with authority and displeasure, came from behind him.

That was the voice of Monigne, the "Sword of the Holy One"—

“You brought your fellow members of the ‘Holy Blood’ here to receive Him, not for you to ‘enjoy’ Him alone, Demosth.”

Monigne was already standing a few feet behind Demosthenes.

Before Demosth swung his sword again, the same spirituality as him enveloped him, as if an invisible wall had been erected in front of Demosth.

That caused Demostre's slashing motion to falter.

Demosth then turned to look at Monigne—

"Ah... Monigne."

The excitement in his eyes had not diminished, but it seemed that Monigne's interruption had caused him to suppress the fanatical expression on his face, and he had returned to being the serious and uncompromising "Dragonblood Knight Commander".

He gazed at Monigne for a long time.

Demosth slowly lowered his right hand, which was holding the sword. The brilliant gold and crimson light that had been emanating from the blade of the dragon-hunting sword gradually receded back onto the blade.

He sheathed his long sword behind his back.

"I was just conducting an inspection."

Demostre said:

“I have proven that what you have ‘hunted’ was indeed an ancient dragon of extremely high rank.”

"He has even surpassed any of the ancient dragons I have ever hunted... Heh. To be honest, I really want to kill him right now and bathe in his blood..."

"..."

“You can’t do that, Demosth.”

Monigne sighed and said:

"Do not forget His Holiness the Pope's instructions to you. You must restrain your nature, Demosth. If you continue to indulge yourself like this, you will only drift further and further away from [Glory]."

"..."

Demosth did not respond to Monigne's words, but simply gazed at her calmly.

In Demosth’s eyes, the deep red that had almost completely filled his pupils finally surged with golden light from the center again, and the golden light, which symbolized divine radiance, gradually drove the deep red to the edges.

In Monigne's perception, the power of the "Templar Knight Commander" before him—his own [Radiance]—had finally returned. Although it was only a temporary return, he could finally feel the [Radiance].

"Of course I know."

Demostre said:

“But I don’t aspire to become a demigod, so it doesn’t matter. Lorend sent me here, and I will take the Devouring Dragon back, but in the end, I will still be sent here to kill it.”

“That’s a story for later, Demosth.”

Monigne shook his head. "At least for now, at this very moment, Demosth. The comrades of the 'Holy Blood' are all ready, and we are also fine here. I will remove the [Pillar of Divine Punishment], and it will be up to you to seal it again."

"What you can do..."

“Then let’s begin, Monigne,” Demosth interrupted her.

“I don’t like to say too much. 'Devouring Dragon,' I can sense that He is very weak right now, and that is thanks to you. But if He resists, and you cannot stop Him, I can kill Him on the spot.”

"……it is good."

Monigne sighed again.

Whether in terms of authority within the Holy Court or in terms of strength, Demostre was superior to her. To be honest, Monigne somewhat disliked this Dragonblood Knight Commander, but the Holy Court did indeed need his power.

His identity was indeed quite special, and Monigne knew this. So she said nothing more, but simply drew her holy sword from behind her.

at this time.

The "Holy Blood" knights under Demosth's command, including the four vice-captains Shul, Cantron, Loya, and Metra, had positioned themselves around the Devouring Dragon in four directions and locked onto it.

Monigne and Demosth stood directly in front of the Devouring Dragon.

All those who will "unseal" and "reseal" the Devouring Dragon are ready.

……

Luo Xiu and Franya stood at the edge, cutting off the Devouring Dragon's retreat.

Luo Xiu watched all the actions Demostt had taken against the "Devouring Dragon" and couldn't help but be astonished.

Demostre is indeed very strong; this is real, perceptible, and visible to the naked eye.

But what surprised Luo Xiu was not only that, but even more so...

“…'authoritarianism'”.

Luo Xiu murmured, half to himself and half to the "Saintess" Franya beside him, asking:

“Demosth…he undoubtedly wields the power of [authoritarianism].

"He doesn't seem like [Radiance]...not at all. But why..."

"..."

"Are you asking why Demostre can use the power of the [authoritarian] ancient dragon so openly?"

As if knowing what Luo Xiu was wondering about, Franya turned her head slightly and looked into Luo Xiu's eyes.

Their voices were low and soft, audible only to them. Franya whispered:

"It's not really a secret. It's just that Demostre's full name is actually 'Demostre Nolan'."

"..."

"……what?"

Luo Xiu was stunned.

This was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing.

The panel detection for Demostre does not display Demostre's full name as this, but rather as "Demostre Saint-Lerran".
"Saint Lelangen" is the holy name of the first Apostle of the [Radiance]. Luo Xiu had always thought that Demosth should have some bloodline or inheritance of the first Apostle.

"He is the son of Emperor Augustusville, the fourth prince. After the Holy War, Emperor Augustusville sent him to the Holy Court as a link to form an alliance with the Holy Court, and he received training from the Holy Court."

While Luo Xiu was pondering, Franya said in a soft and ethereal voice:

"Apart from Pope Laurent, he was specially trained by the First Cardinal—Prime Cardinal Finlake Saint-Lerran."

With the tacit approval of Emperor Augustusville, and also to mislead outsiders, Demosthenes was given a second name, the more well-known 'Demosthenes Saint Leron'.

“Demosth, he has fully embarked on the path of Glory. Even though he was born into the Supreme Realm, we do not deny that he is indeed exceptionally talented in his cultivation on the path of Glory.”

"His ability to become the 'Priest Templar' he is today...is indeed almost entirely due to his hard work and talent."

"Also because of his status,"

Franya paused for a moment, then said,

"The Holy Court granted him almost complete autonomy, and the Supreme Being did not interfere much with his wanton and undisguised seizure of the power of [authority]."

"..."

"……I see."

Luo Xiu nodded.

He understood why Demosth's blatant use of authoritarian power hadn't aroused much suspicion or hostility from the Supreme.

Although the fate of [Authority] has completely collapsed, the three legitimate paths of the Empire—the extraordinary and the saintly—have obtained and wielded the power of [Authority] as an "ancient inheritance." As long as they do not do it too obviously or excessively, the [Supreme] side tacitly approves of this.

While they may be wary—as Albert was wary of the "Chains of Time," and Pampas was wary of the [Dragonfire Demon Sword] and the [Dragonbreath Scepter]—the [Supreme] usually does not suppress or prohibit too drastically as long as the power of [authority] they wield does not exceed the threshold of danger.
However, someone like Demostre, who so openly uses the power of [authority] and exudes an aura of [authority] comparable to that of a true ancient dragon, would normally have been closely monitored by [the Supreme] and even killed long ago.

Demosth remains active to this day—his imperial background has indeed granted him considerable leniency.

However, Luo Xiu was aware that several princes with red crowns were still keeping a close eye on him and watching his every move.

"..."

"That's enough small talk, Luo Xiu."

After Franya finished speaking, her expression turned serious, and she gripped her scepter, the divinely forged relic called the Holy Silver Grip, in her right hand.

"Teacher Monigne, it's time to break the seal on the Pillar of Divine Retribution."

Franya said in a deep voice:
"...Be prepared, Luo Xiu. We will stand guard here. If the Devouring Dragon breaks free and escapes, we will stop it here."

“I know.” Luo Xiu nodded.

He had already drawn his weapons, gripping the scepter in his right hand and the demonic sword in his left, and had fully mobilized the spiritual power of his own [Radiance].

His gaze was also fixed on the area not far away, watching for any movements of Demostre, Monigne, and the four Sun Knights of "Holy Blood".

He saw.

Monigne, the "Sword of the Holy One," has raised her holy sword high.

"—This concludes the discussion."

“I will confess the sins that God has condemned, and I will hear their repentance.”

"—The karmic fire of divine retribution is about to reach its end."

"..."

Monigne was performing a sacred prayer.

Golden flames gradually rose from her body and from the blade of the holy sword she held, while the pillar of light sealing the Devouring Dragon shimmered with mottled light.

The seemingly solidified pillar of light now appears to melt.

Everyone saw that the enormous body of the Devouring Dragon, sealed within the Pillar of Divine Punishment, began to tremble once more due to the loosening of the pillar of light.

He may be excited, or he may be afraid—but that doesn't matter.

The constraints of the Pillar of Divine Retribution are gradually fading, and the four Sun Knights of "Holy Blood" are standing on the outer edge, performing a new prayer.

From the edge of where they stood, a bright glow emerged.

That is a larger, already risen realm, a new "cage" that shrouds the Devouring Dragon.

……

(End of this chapter)