Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 616 Skull Incarnation
On the back of Quesanx's dragon, Franya knelt gracefully, the scepter she held, [Holy Silver Grip], constantly emitting pure white light, enveloping both her and Luo Xiu's figures.

The spiritual energy of [Radiance] filled the surroundings, isolating Luo Xiu from all external interference, allowing him to complete the advancement process steadily and single-mindedly.

Franya was staring at her—her golden eyes reflected Luo Xiu's entire being, watching him with his eyes closed and head bowed, paying attention to his state.

"..."

do not know why.

Franya felt that when she stared at Luo Xiu for a long time, her cheeks would unconsciously become hot and her heart would race.

She had never felt this way before—and she didn't know what this strange feeling came from.

Perhaps it started when... when facing that "Devouring Dragon," Luo Xiu stood in front of him, shielding him from a potentially fatal attack... it all began from that moment.

But back then, she didn't have this obvious, fluttering feeling as she does now... Franya thought to herself.

At the time, she was simply shocked that someone was willing to go to such lengths to protect her. She had already thought about how to repay him—as a "saintess," it would be easy for her to give Luo Xiu what he needed. Franya didn't think any further.

It wasn't until Luo Xiu held her hand and hugged her waist that this feeling became clear.

"..."

Franya felt somewhat confused.

These jumbled and superfluous thoughts made it impossible for her to focus on prayer.

However, since the protective barrier had already been built, she put down the scepter, and her right hand naturally rose up to gently touch her cheek, feeling it was a little hot.

She turned her head away, her bright golden eyes no longer looking at Luo Xiu, but at the vast sky.

Clouds drifted past Franya, and the noisy wind could not be heard within the barrier, but a refreshing coolness could be felt.

Meanwhile, the fluttering feeling in Franya's heart gradually subsided.

"……call."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

As a "saint" of the [Radiant] Holy Court, she knew she should maintain inner peace, and the previous excitement was clearly inappropriate.

She subconsciously tried to "purify" herself, but it had no effect. Only by channeling her spiritual energy to calm herself could she find some peace.

In any case, she felt that she would no longer be affected by that feeling of excitement, and then turned her head back to look at Luo Xiu.

Luo Xiu remained seated with his eyes closed, head bowed, leaning against the dragon's spine. Franya watched him, sensing the changes in the spiritual energy within him.

At a certain node.

Franya suddenly sensed that Luo Xiu's spirituality had become fervent and flamboyant—

That's the prelude to spiritual elevation!

Franya's eyes, fixed on Luo Xiu, suddenly gleamed. Sensing this change in Luo Xiu's spirituality meant he had indeed opened and passed through the [Gate of Stars], and was about to touch the [Pillar of Stars], completing the final step of his advancement!

Looking at Luo Xiu, whose consciousness was still in the sea of ​​spirituality, Franya felt happy.

That made her even happier than when she herself advanced to the seventh level of the [Radiant] destiny.

Now it's just a matter of waiting, waiting for Luo Xiu to return from the "Sea of ​​Spirituality" and land with Quesanx on the battlefield. Then they can launch a counterattack against the exposed Black Pillars and seize the final victory in the Judgment War!
"..."

Franya was thinking about these things.

A smile appeared on her face, and she raised her scepter again. After this brief rest, her spirituality had been largely restored, and she was able to use many sacred arts again.

A soft, pure white light then surged and burst forth from the tip of the [Holy Silver Grip] staff, forming more than a dozen bright halos that stabilized Luo Xiu's spirituality and accelerated the recovery of Franya's own spirituality.

The sense of spiritual "sublimation" felt from Luo Xiu grew stronger. Luo Xiu's return, his "awakening," was very close.

But at the same time—

Wow!!!
A violent wind noise vibrated through the barrier from both sides and reached Franya's ears.

That was not [Radiance]—it was a more twisted and violent power, and in Franya's eyes, she also saw another scarlet figure filled with chaotic energy!

A "Pillar of Darkness"!
From afar, Franya could smell the distinctive bloody odor of the [Red Lotus] emanating from that pitch-black pillar filled with a violent spiritual aura.

The aura he exuded was far more intense and terrifying than that of the other "Pillars of Darkness." He was now charging towards him at top speed, the crimson dot rapidly growing larger until it was less than three hundred meters away from him and Quesanx!
"--roar!!!!!"

At the same time, Franya heard the dragon Quesanx let out a resounding roar.

He violently flapped his dragon wings, stirring up a gale that intertwined with crimson lightning to form a terrifying lightning field, which surged along the impact path of the [Red Lotus] black pillar!

Amidst the dense thunderclouds and deafening roar, Franya could no longer see the dark pillar. Instead, she heard a strange, deep voice—

The saintess of the 'Holy Court' is Bartel Hertrons—you should know this name.

That's one of the two 'Black Pillars' that previously hunted me down. Be careful, and I hope you can keep my friend's safety in your hands.

The voice entered her mind directly, and there was no one else around except Luo Xiu. But Franya knew that the voice must have come from the dragon she was riding, Quesanx.

"Is that you, Sir Quesanx?"

"..."

"……Roar."

"...It's me."

Quesanx let out a low growl, and to Franya's ears, it was the same sound as before.

She confirmed that it was indeed Quesanx speaking to her—only then did she realize the name Quesanx had just uttered. Bartel Hertrons—that was the name of the black pillar of the Crimson Lotus who was following closely behind them!
Franya was not unfamiliar with his name; on the contrary, she was wary of it—rumor had it that the Dark Duke had two of the most powerful "Dark Pillars" as his close attendants, and Bartel was one of them.

He is the "incarnation of the skull" Batel!

……

"Skull Incarnation" is one of the most powerful professions in the [Red Lotus] destiny path.

Legend has it that the pillar god of the fate of [Crimson Lotus], "Destruction Seat," once extracted a portion of his own power and divided it into three parts to forge his original four apostles. One of them could not withstand it and died, while the other three were able to ascend.

Those were the three earliest demigods of the "Destroyer" constellation—"Burning Skull", "Blood Sea", and "Other King".

That actually corresponds to the advancement of [Red Lotus]'s destiny and the three main directions - killing, blood sacrifice and beast transformation. Even though these three paths are constantly changing and new branches appear, the general direction has never changed much from beginning to end.

These demigods are long gone, and the fall of "Burning Skull" is definitively recorded in the history of the continent of Fanor.

It was suppressed by the combined forces of the demigods of that time, namely the Supreme, the Lost, and the Radiant, and its place of destruction is now within the territory of the Dark Principality.

But at that time, there was no Dark Kingdom, or even any major kingdom other than the "Kasyapa Pure Land." This land was then divided among many kingdoms of varying sizes.

It is said that the shockwaves that erupted when the Skull Lord fell even annihilated an entire kingdom in this region. This event also led to the collapse of the fragile balance between the various kingdoms, resulting in the First War on the Fanor Continent, which eventually gave rise to the rudiments of the current Empire-Duchy-Pure Land-Theocracy-Federation structure.

However, the divine body and true divinity of "Burning Skull" were lost after that divine war—it wasn't until the outbreak of the Judgment War that the Empire learned that it was the Dark Duchy that discovered and recovered the divine body and divinity of "Burning Skull".

The Dark Grand Duke seems to want to create another "demigod" to serve as his arm and source of power. His most loyal subordinate, Bartel, is the best vessel for this. The Dark Grand Duke compels him to constantly try to absorb the power contained within the "Burning Skull" divine body, which becomes the opportunity for his transformation and the root of his ascension to the "Skull Seat Incarnation".

"..."

These thoughts had already subconsciously entered Franya's mind.

As the Holy Maiden of the "Holy Court," she possessed almost complete knowledge of the history of the continent of Fanor—especially the history of its extraordinary evolution and transformation. She knew this clearly, and therefore could understand just how terrifying the enemy pursuing them could be.

"--roar!!!!!"

As Frania raised her scepter, her gaze fixed on the area beyond the thunderclouds, wary of the "Skull Incarnation" Bartel, and began to perform a holy prayer, she heard Quesanx unleash another resounding roar.

He retracted his colossal wings that blotted out the sky, and his massive dragon body, carrying Franya and Luo Xiu, swooped down towards the ground at high speed—the final landing point was clearly visible, the location where "Red-Clad Deacon" Hardy and several Sky Pillar Knights and Great Sages surrounded the Black Pillar and the Lich King!
Quesanx completed a detour high in the sky—in fact, he had informed Quesanx of his plan before Luo Xiu prepared to advance and enter the "Sea of ​​Spirituality".

He was confident he could advance to become the "Lord of the Lightwing"—after which he would return to the battlefield. Meanwhile, Franya would also have ample time to recover. The intervention of two "Sevenfold Fate" Saints would accelerate the annihilation of the four "Black Pillars" and one "Lich King" who were currently under lockdown!

Even with an anomaly like Bartel, the "Skull Incarnation," appearing behind Him, Quesanx's course of action would remain unchanged. Meanwhile, Frania stood atop the dragon's back, gazing in the direction of the "Skull Incarnation," and raised her scepter—

"—Azipher, the Six-Winged One, I beseech you to descend."

She performed a sacred prayer of summoning.

She summoned the archangel she had contracted—Azifer, who, along with Franya, ascended to the "Celestial Crown" and simultaneously sublimated into a "Six-Winged Angel"—to the battlefield!

When dealing with the several Black Pillars before, she didn't summon the Archangel Azipher—but now Franya really needs to rely on His power.

Holy light, like a golden rain of crystals, descended from behind Him, and the divine form of the six-winged angel Azipher coalesced from it—the kind and gentle archangel Azipher had descended, and His hand was already gently resting on Franya's shoulder.

"Oh, little Franya, my lovely child."

Azifer smiled, but He quickly sensed the high-level spiritual aura and terrifying pressure emanating from the dragon in which Franya was, and His smile faded somewhat.

He looked further into the distance—at the blurry figure surging amidst the churning crimson thunderclouds, and sensing the violent aura emanating from that divine body, Azifer's smile vanished completely.

"...You always seem to run into trouble...my lovely child."

Franya could hear a hint of bitterness in Azifer's voice.

"Quisanx is an ally, Yatesfield."

Franya pointed at Luo Xiu and said to Azifer:

"The dragon you saw, the one traveling with Rosh, is Quesanx. And our true enemy lies there—"

She then pointed to the churning thunderclouds, in the direction of "Skull Incarnation" Batel.

Yatesfel looked in the direction she was pointing.

He saw a scarlet rift suddenly tear open within the surging thunderclouds—

Batel tore through the thunderclouds with his bare hands, and the burns from the dragon lightning on his body were rapidly healing. His eyes had turned bloodshot, and a fanatical, sadistic smile appeared on his face. He continued to charge towards Franya!
Even the spiritual essence within the thunderclouds he tore apart was molded into an enormous and long, crimson sword, which he then wielded in his hand and, from a distance of over a hundred meters, slashed down at Franya and Quesanx!

--boom!!!!!!!

In an instant, Franya's vision was completely covered by crimson—she could hear a series of soft cracking sounds, the sounds of her several sacred barriers breaking as they could no longer withstand the pressure.

The dozen or so barriers crumbled like paper before Bartel's fierce strike. Franya felt a little flustered—but then she felt a surge of power rising from the very source of her spirit; Azifer's right hand had gently grasped her right wrist.

He raised the scepter with Franya, guiding her to regroup her spirituality—before the "Skull Incarnation" Batel shattered all the barriers, he unleashed a long-accumulated surge of brilliant light in his direction!
--boom!!!!!!!

That blocked half of Batel's fierce slash and blasted his body backward by more than a hundred meters. A moment of doubt appeared on Batel's face, but then, a scarlet sword, even larger and more blazing than before, condensed in his hand once again.

Bartel raised his right hand again, and a heavy sense of oppression enveloped Franya and Azifer.

What they didn't notice was—

at the same time,

Luo Xiu, who was leaning against the dragon's spine, opened his eyes.

……

(End of this chapter)