Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 595 Accipile

"First Cardinal" Finlake asked in a flat voice, looking at the Devouring Dragon before him, whose fragmented body was bound by shackles inscribed with divine inscriptions.

The sacred runes radiating golden light floated on his raised hand, his five slender fingers. He gently pinched one of them between his thumb and middle finger, and the rune quickly turned pale.

Wuwuwu——

A sound like sobbing came from the air, and golden and white light emanated from the divine lock that bound the severed head of the Devouring Dragon. The restraint and suppression on it lessened slightly, allowing it to open its dragon jaws slightly.

Only that one dragon skull—the Devouring Dragon's pupils emitted an eerie light, and it trembled as it let out a low, hoarse roar—

"You really can hear me..."

The Devouring Dragon did not finish its sentence.

A hint of impatience appeared on Finlake's face, and he then slightly squeezed the sacred rune with his middle finger and thumb.

--hiss!!!

*Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!!*

A series of explosive sounds suddenly filled the air, and the divine lock binding the head of the Devouring Dragon ignited instantly, the holy flames igniting His blood and spirit from the inside out.

"--roar!!!!!"

The Devouring Dragon let out a painful roar, its dragon eyes suddenly widening and trembling as it looked at Finlake's cold figure.

“I only want to hear your part about the ‘deal,’ you progenitor demon.”

Feeling that the Devouring Dragon had suffered enough punishment, Finlayk raised his right hand, and the flames that had been burning Him gradually died down.

"As for the rest... I have no interest."

"..."

"The First Cardinal of the 'Holy Court'..."

After enduring the scorching heat of the holy flames, the Devouring Dragon's voice became extremely weak.

Fear appeared in the dragon's eye, which was locked onto the direction of Finlake.

He sensed from the cardinal before him not only an aura of [glory], but also an aura of [nothingness], and even an aura of [the abyss] that was of the same kind as Him.

Before Him, Finlake seemed to make no attempt to conceal such aura, but rather displayed it nakedly.

Perhaps he is a "demon"—or perhaps a demon resides within him as well.

Although the Devouring Dragon believes that it is absolutely impossible for a Saint of Radiance to embark on the path of the Abyss, it is indeed possible for the demons of the Abyss to tempt a Saint of Radiance to fall and thus achieve "symbiosis".

If a demon of sufficiently high rank can merge with the essence of a Saint of Radiance, then indeed Radiance and Abyss can coexist within it.

This allows both to obtain power that is completely contrary to their original destiny, and to become containers for this contradiction in each other.

But this requires a period of adjustment.

The cost is that both saints and demons have their rank capped, while the benefit is that they can obtain almost double the power at the same rank.

The fallen "saints" have gained immortality from the demons, and the demons have thus become immune to the purification and destruction methods of the [Radiance]. Unless they are facing an absolutely overwhelming force, nothing can destroy them.

In the memories of the Devouring Dragon from the "Age of Gods," he once saw the "Filthy Sun Saint," who was seduced by demons and fell into the "Abyss."

However, their numbers are few; the Devouring Dragon has only ever seen one. The "Sage of the Filthy Sun" is not well-regarded in either the [Radiance] or the [Abyss], and is considered heretical in both paths of destiny.

However, this ancient forbidden inheritance disappeared millions of years ago when the Seven Abyss was sealed by the Apocalypse.

But the "First Cardinal" before him gave the Devouring Dragon a strange sense of déjà vu—

Finlake Saint Leron, the current First Cardinal of the Holy Court, is also a direct descendant of Saint Leron, the original Apostle of the Radiant Ones. The Devouring Dragon senses that he is powerful yet eerie.

It was difficult for Him to describe why a human being could give Him such an almost "indescribable" intuition.

"You can hear my voice...you are one of us..."

"..."

"The Devouring Dragon" Fafnir Ramzanx continued, before Finlayk frowned, seemingly preparing to crush the second sacred rune—

“If you are one of them… I command three ‘True Ancestor Demons’ and thirteen ‘High-Ranking Demons,’ and I can give them all to you…”

"Lying dormant within the 'Holy Court,' under the watchful eyes of countless people, must have been very difficult, my compatriots..."

"..."

He said these things to Finlake.

He's gambling big.

If Finlake is not a demon, or if he is not possessed by a demon, then I will certainly die. But this outcome is not the worst, because if I say nothing, I will still die in the end—

But what if Finlake really is a demon?

What he had said held immense appeal for Him. And he had even greater leverage to sway his own people.

"..."

The air became stagnant.

Silence, long silence.

As the Devouring Dragon had anticipated, the First Cardinal, Finlayk, did not make a move.

He merely narrowed his snake-like eyes slightly, scrutinizing the shattered demon before him, and gradually loosened his grip on the sacred inscription.

After a long while, he suddenly laughed.

That serious, seemingly indifferent expression "shattered".

It was as if he had become a completely different person in an instant.

"You are very perceptive, Primordial Demon..."

Even his voice changed.

But soon, Finlake's expression became blank, his raised hand fell limply, and he stood there in a daze.

He seemed to have lost consciousness, or perhaps fallen into a deep sleep, while gray mist rose from his body, within which appeared the figure of an "angel"—

"Ha ha ha ha ha……"

The "angel" let out an ethereal laugh, and His form was being reshaped, constantly being reshaped in the gray mist of nothingness.

The first was the "eight-winged angel," the most holy and flawless angelic form, an exquisite illusion bestowed upon Him by nothingness.

His long, flowing golden hair immediately twisted into writhing snakes, and hundreds of scarlet snake eyes all looked toward the Devouring Dragon, hissing.

His wings also rose with gray mist and blazed with dark flames; and on His forehead, twisted horns symbolizing "demon" quickly protruded.

--"demon".

The Devouring Dragon made the right bet; a demon does indeed reside within the body of the "First Cardinal," Finlake!
The demon, resembling an angel, perfectly disguised itself as a true angel under the power of [nothingness], but the Devouring Dragon could not see through it—it only felt that there was an inexplicably huge gap between itself and that demon, like an insurmountable chasm.

That demon must also be a demon with a "true name," and it is definitely not just a "true progenitor demon," nor should it be just a "primordial demon"...

"..."

"The primordial...demon..."

In the Devouring Dragon's eyes, the demon, which resembled an angel, was reflected. A low, trembling voice emanated from its slightly open jaws, revealing a hint of fear.

That stems from the depths of their bloodline—the instinctive fear of lower-ranking demons towards higher-ranking demons.

"You're talking about... your 'fellowships,' the Primordial Demons."

A playful expression appeared on the "angel's" face.

“I don’t need them, because my ‘followers’ are far more numerous and far more powerful than yours.”

“My dearest friend, Cardinal of Saint Leron, I should have killed you for him, so that I could have stayed in the Holy See more easily and conveniently… You should have been devoured by me, becoming part of my power, the progenitor demon.” “But I cannot bear to do that, I cannot bear to harm my own people… So I can give you a chance.”

"..."

The "angel" smiled as she spoke these words to the devouring dragon—

"Believe me, I want to 'save' you... the Primal Demon."

“But I already have the retinues of four ‘progenitors.’ If you want me to accept you, you must give up one of them.”

"So, what will you offer me?"

"..."

He appeared calm and patiently awaited the Devouring Dragon's reply. He was also ready to act at any moment, even though he said he couldn't bear it; his demonic nature meant he would show no mercy whatsoever to his fellow demons.

"..."

“I possess the ‘divine offspring’… and I will offer Him to you.”

The Devouring Dragon opened its jaws and spoke with some difficulty to the "angel"—

“I spent a very long time… hundreds, even thousands of years, transforming the former crown prince of the [Authority], that 'Dragon God Child' Helmond, into the heir of the [Abyss]…”

“I had only recently regained my freedom. I wanted to go to the hiding place of Helmond, the ‘Child of the Dragon God’ who was about to complete his transformation, to devour him and thus ascend to higher realms… but I failed.”

"That divine heir should still be there... The location where it was hidden was sealed by the saints of your 'Holy Court.' Those saints shouldn't have discovered it yet... Since you have a position in the 'Holy Court,' you can go and retrieve it..."

"That is me, the offering I will make to you..."

"..."

"Oh……"

A moment of surprise appeared on the "angel's" face when she heard the Devouring Dragon say these words.

He clearly knew the fate of authoritarianism—

All the ancient dragons scattered across various destinies initially originated from [authoritarianism].

He clearly knew of Helmond, the "child of the dragon god," but was unaware that the Devouring Dragon had transformed him into the heir of the Abyss.

"You've brought some fine offerings... Primordial Demon."

The "angel" smiled, sticking out his tongue, the forked tip of which lightly licked the corner of his lips, his holy face flushed with excitement.

The heir of the Abyss—or rather, the heir transformed from a former "demigod" whose destiny was shattered—can enable the already demon god to advance further, ascending from "demigod" to a truly supreme being comparable to a "demigod."

In that case, he would no longer need to live such a wretched and hidden life in the "Holy Court." He would also no longer need to worry about the "ten-winged archangel" summoned by Pope Lawrence posing a threat to him.

“Alright. If you really are the ‘child of the Dragon God,’ I can spare your life.”

He said to the Devouring Dragon:

“I am not a cunning demon, this is a ‘contract’.”

“So now, tell me where Helmond is… Once I get Him, I can get Finlake… I can get him to let you go.”

"..."

"In Fafnir."

The Devouring Dragon's jaws trembled as it struggled to unleash its last trump card—

“In Fafnir, at the bottom of the Blood Cave where the ‘Lord of Blood Sacrifice’ once stood, within the cocoon of the dead dragon placed atop the blood sacrifice altar, reciting my true name will evoke a response.”

"..."

"very good."

A radiant smile appeared on the "angel's" face.

Then, He raised His right hand, which caused the First Cardinal Finlake, who was in a dazed state, to also raise His right hand.

The sacred runes on Finlake's fingertips began to linger and burst forth with a somewhat dazzling light once more.

Wuwuwu——

A piercing wailing sound echoed through the air once more, and the divine lock once again bound the remnants of the Devouring Dragon.

The freedom that had been granted to it to slightly open its dragon jaws and make a sound was now taken away. Then another golden pillar descended from above, enveloping, suppressing, and sealing the devouring dragon.

He was frozen in time again. Apart from being able to see his broken body bound by hundreds of divine locks through the pillar of light, no other trace of his presence could be sensed.

And the demonic aura emanating from the "angel" was fading away.

The demonic horns that had risen between His forehead disappeared, and the dark and gloomy wings behind Him began to shine with brilliant golden light again. His aura became sacred once more, just like a true "eight-winged angel".

His snake hair also loosened and became smooth again, cascading down like a waterfall of golden starlight.

And His hand gently rested on Finlake's head.

Finlake's somewhat unfocused eyes regained their light; he seemed to have "awakened," and his consciousness returned from chaos to clarity.

"..."

"Well……"

He had a headache.

“What did you do…Achilles…”

"What... happened just now?"

"..."

“I just wanted you to get some rest, Finlake.”

Achilles, the eight-winged angel behind Finlake, smiled and said to Finlake:
“You’re too early to face a true ‘Primordial Demon,’ so I’ve dealt with him for you.”

“I have what I wanted to know. You don’t need to think about Him anymore, Finlake. But I need you to keep Him for now.”

"..."

"……it is good."

Finlake nodded.

He looked up and frowned slightly as he gazed at the Devouring Dragon, now frozen within the sealing pillar of light.

“But Accipiles…you are the angel of our ancestor Saint Leron, but our ancestor did not leave you here to hide everything from me.”

“Even…you are already a ‘fallen angel’ due to wear and tear…in order to conceal your wear and tear from Lorend, you begged me to allow you to taint yourself and accept the ‘nothingness’.”

“I helped you conceal the other saints, but that wasn’t so that you could better conceal me…Achilles.”

"Tell me, what exactly did you say to the Devouring Dragon, and what agreement did you reach with Him?"

"..."

“I will tell you, Finlake.”

Accipiles smiled and gently stroked Finlec's head as if comforting a child.

“But before that, Finlake, I have something I need you to do.”

He said to Finlake:
"Let's get ready and head to the Dark Principality, Fafnir City."

“I don’t want any saints to follow me; I have something I want to confirm there.”

……

(End of this chapter)