Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 621 The Fall of the Fool
The first person to discover "Bloodworm Fool" Calidorn was a "Guardian of the Holy" from a church in the Empire.

Under Calidorn's trembling gaze, he saw the Guardian's face filled with a fanaticism he couldn't comprehend, clutching the head-sized [Skull of the Martyr], charging toward Calidorn.

The surface of the [Martyr's Skull], which originally emitted only dark red light patterns, suddenly turned deep red, and the surrounding temperature also began to rise sharply at the same time, all within a short moment.

--boom!!!!!!!

Beside Calidorn, the two "Obliteration" level golems protecting him didn't even have time to intercept the guardians rushing towards him before he exploded—his flesh and blood, along with the dense spirituality within the [Martyr's Skull], expanded in an instant, burning away all spirituality within a radius of several meters!
The explosion was incredibly powerful, almost equivalent to a full-force attack from a Saint who had reached the "Fivefold Fate Path" level. Although the explosion occurred some distance from Calidorn, it still caused a deep dent in the surface of one of the "Destroyer" golems that was affected, melting a section of its surface.

And this is just the beginning.

—BOOM! ...
The second, third, and even the twentieth "Triple Fate" guardians, each holding the "Skull of the Martyr" in their hands, were already within twenty or thirty meters of Calidorn, fearlessly detonating themselves!

In an instant, the location where Calidorn stood was engulfed in a raging sea of ​​fire. The two "Oni"-rank magical puppets he had summoned for protection were placed within the flames, and even more "Triple Fate" guardians, carrying the [Skull of the Martyr], charged towards Calidorn.

—Boom! B ...

Explosion after explosion.

In just a few seconds, nearly a hundred "Guardians of the Saints" detonated the [Skull of the Martyr] in front of Calidorn.

Although he promptly crushed the magic crystal inscribed with the spell and activated a protective barrier to shield himself from the violent and chaotic spiritual influences of the outside world, the two "Destroyed" magic puppets had already melted in the explosion. Their core magic crystals were completely shattered, turning into broken scrap metal, and could no longer function.

Those two "annihilation" puppets alone were simply no match for such a terrifying bombardment.

"..."

Calidorn's brain has crashed.

He subconsciously maintained the protective barrier, but his gaze was fixed blankly on the outside of the barrier, on the guardians who kept emerging from the surging red mist and firelight, their bodies burning with scorching flames, their faces bearing a mocking and fanatical smile, and their hands holding the activated [Skull of the Martyr].

"crazy……"

Calidorn's lips trembled as he murmured—

“They are all crazy…”

"..."

The scene he witnessed far exceeded his mental capacity to bear.

Calidorn felt that the Imperial Church's "Guardians" he was encountering were simply insane beyond description.

He was expelled from the Tower of Sages simply for refining flesh and blood into worms. And now these terrifyingly fanatical "Guardians of the Saints"... are clearly even more insane than he is!

Calidorn couldn't help but think this way, and he suddenly felt that compared to these "Guardians of the Holy Spirit" he had seen, he could even be considered good—but now he couldn't think any further.

—BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
Without the protection of the two "Obliteration" golems on the outer perimeter, almost all the "Guardians" who were holding the "Skull of the Martyr" rushed to the protective barrier of Calidorn and detonated it when the barrier entered the optimal explosion range.

In the vision that Calidorn saw, his protective barrier, which radiated crimson and azure light, had been ravaged by cracks of varying depths after being violently struck by the explosions of the [Skull of the Martyr] hundreds of times.

It has become shaky. Now, it is Calidorn's turn to feel fear.

Because he knew one thing clearly—

Among all the "Saints" whose destinies are known, those who attain sainthood through the [Intelligence] destiny are undoubtedly the weakest in essence.

Without the "Puppet" and "Runes," relying solely on his physical abilities, Calidorn knew he couldn't even contend with a Saint of the "Sixfold Fate."

In other words, if he were to remain trapped here and subjected to the relentless bombardment by these holy protectors who knew nothing of death, he might—he might really die!
The forbidden sage of the "Sevenfold Fate" was killed by a transcendent being of the "Threefold Fate"—an event unheard of in the entire continent of Fanor, and even in the world of Apocalypse. But now, Calidorn has indeed foreseen that he might truly face such an end.

His eyes began to bloodshot.

If I don't do something soon, I'll really be stuck here forever!

"Get out of my way!!"

He roared, his face contorted and contorted with rage, his former composure gone.

While enduring the deafening roar of the surrounding explosions, he tried his best to draw upon all his spirituality to maintain the protective barrier.

At the same time, his mouth was open, wide enough to fit a fist, and he clenched his right hand and put it into his mouth.

"—Squeak squeak squeak!!!"

A sharp, insect-like chirping sound came from Calidorn's belly—his right hand, which he had placed in his mouth, had already embedded a red insect brain, and he then pulled its writhing, twisting hindquarters out of his mouth—

That was a "blood worm"!
It was also much fatter and larger than any of the Calidorns that had been deployed to the battlefield.

When "Bloodworm Fool" Calidorn lacked flesh and blood to refine worms, he had a sudden inspiration: could he use his own flesh and blood as materials?

The "blood worm" hidden in his abdominal cavity was actually created by Caledon from his own organs; it was the "king" of all blood worms. Caledon used it to control the other blood worms, but he could also use it to "unleash" even more forbidden power—

"Squeak!"

The twisted, crimson worm was held tightly in Calidorn's hand, writhing and emitting a sharp, piercing hiss.

Kalidorn's expression turned fierce. He simultaneously drew a runic dagger from his waist with his left hand and made a shallow cut on the Insect King's abdomen.

Crimson insect blood and murky organs gushed from the wound, and the insect king struggled even more violently, before Calidorn hurled it away.

The Insect King was thrown to the ground—then, instinctively, it swarmed towards the scrap metal of the puppets not far in front of it. Its crimson insect blood had stained the remains of those "annihilated" puppets. It devoured the scattered, broken cores, which became its new cores, reviving the "annihilated" puppets.

Buzz! ! ! ! !
The sounds of wheels turning and air pumps roaring returned, and before Calidorn, he saw a giant golem, as large as a mountain, rise up again, transforming into a sturdy shield before the "Guardians of the Holy."

"Gargoyle of the Earth," that was the original name of this "Cataclysm" puppet—but now, its image has become distorted and abstract.
Where the "head" should have been was empty, while a six-eyed insect brain emerged from the abdominal cavity; the left arm, tightly connected by insect blood, was originally its right leg; and the right leg was supported entirely by the scrap metal remains it had absorbed. This twisted posture even created a bizarre balance.

It was even absorbing the remains of the golems and the flesh and blood of the dead Black Army and Expeditionary Force soldiers. Its form was visibly growing larger, and its power was climbing toward a terrifying extreme.

The "Twisted Gargoyle" has rapidly surpassed the upper limit of "Cataclysm" and reached the rank of "God Throne"!

--boom!!!!!!!

On the twisted gargoyle's body, the sticky flesh burst forth with a scarlet, scorching light, and countless lasers shot out from the gaps, instantly annihilating the dozen or so "Triple Fate" guardians who surrounded it.

That did indeed slow down the onslaught of those strange, fanatical Saint Protectors as they breached the protective barrier. Calidorn was delighted; he felt he could now ignore the Saint Protectors blocking his path—

—Boom! But the next moment, his vision was filled with an incomparably dazzling golden light.

Then came a deafening roar in his ears, so loud it felt like his eardrums were about to tear—he couldn't see what was happening, but he felt a rush of heat to his head, his brain throbbed with pain, and his heart nearly stopped.

"—Eeeeeeeeeee!!!"

His last puppet—the "Throne" rank bloodworm puppet, the "Twisted Gargoyle," which had absorbed a large number of puppet remains and corpse flesh and blood—was erupting with a shrill scream from its core worm brain.

Under such a terrifying surge, half of that twisted body was quickly reduced to ashes. The backlash he suffered forced Calidorn to accept, though unwilling to believe it, the fact that the twisted puppet of the "throne" had "died" in an instant!

His pupils trembled uncontrollably, and the panic and despair rising deep within him made him unable to do anything to resist, even though he knew he was on the verge of death.

He even stumbled backward, his heel tripping over the corpse of an Imperial knight lying there, and he fell into the shallow ravine overflowing with blood.

He struggled to his feet several times, but felt something pulling him down. The right hand of the Imperial Knight's corpse suddenly clenched, gripping Calidorn's ankle like an iron hoop.

That nearly annihilated Calidorn—

He could no longer stand up, but he could hear the even more fanatical shouts of the "protectors of the saints".

The guardians of the saints chanted "Bishop" and "Luo Xiu" like a tidal wave, and the number of guardians who rushed into the sea of ​​fire with the "Skull of the Martyr" and detonated themselves around the barrier also increased.

—BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
Terrifying explosions and deafening roars echoed continuously. Until, for a fleeting moment, in Calidorn's eyes, he saw a deep black crack appear on the surface of the barrier—

Crack!

A crisp cracking sound accompanied the entire barrier shattering like glass.

Countless guardians, howling with excitement, charged forward, clutching the [Skull of the Martyr]. Kalidon could hear countless overlapping, reverberating booms emanating from a very close distance.

He soon lost his hearing as well—his eardrums ruptured and bled from the excessively loud explosion, his vision blurred from the direct, intense heat, and he gradually lost all his senses.

But before he could see anything else, amidst the surging, intense light, he saw a sacred and majestic figure with ten wings on its back.

The last thing Calidorn saw was the "Ancient Dragon Bishop" Rosh Carlos, whose face was filled with a divine and compassionate smile, and who finally raised his scepter towards him.

……

--boom!!!!!!!

The pent-up [Heavenly Torrent] burst forth from the tip of the scepter held by Luo Xiu, its intense and dazzling light completely engulfing the body of "Bloodworm Fool" Kalidon.

Luo Xiu stared at what was in front of him, watching the thin silhouette gradually become one with the flames.

The spiritual aura belonging to "Bloodworm Fool" Kalidon can no longer be sensed.

Luo Xiu simultaneously felt the fervent gazes directed at him from the surrounding players, and discussions about Kalidon and himself quickly became a hot topic in the [Player Forum] and [Chat Channel].

Luo Xiu, who descended from the sky and instantly killed the "Pillar of Darkness," even though the players couldn't see his stats, they could still tell that their "Bishop" was now at a certain level, having reached the "Sevenfold Fate" and the "Limit of Man" level of a Saint!

"Bishop! Bishop! Bishop!!"

"..."

Such fervent shouts were incessant, as if the players' "Bishop" Luo Xiu had become a totem-like symbol in their eyes.

Luo Xiu could feel their fervor and enjoyed it. He smiled and nodded to the players, but his gaze still pierced through the surging light mist, fixed on the spot in front of "Bloodworm Fool" Kalidon.

Previously, nearly six or even seven hundred "Guardians of the Saints" players detonated the [Skull of the Martyr] around Calidorn. Even the forbidden great sage Calidorn of the "Seven Fates" was brought to the brink of death in such an explosion.

Luo Xiu suddenly descended from his previous hovering position, delivering a fully charged final blow to Kalidon. The final kill reward belonged to him, and new content popped up on his panel—

You have slain "Bloodworm Fool" Kalidon (lv.91)

【…】

This is the second "Pillar of Darkness" that was killed by itself.

This means that you are now guaranteed to obtain the second "God's Birthday" quality feat in the "Judgment Day of Dark Omens".

Luo Xiu, who was looking down from the sky, had a clear view of Kalidon's attempt to escape the battlefield. He knew that Kalidon was trying to flee to the densely populated area of ​​players, and even for a forbidden sage with the seventh level of [Wisdom] destiny, going there would be no different from a lamb entering a tiger's den.

Luo Xiu therefore did not pay attention to Calidorn at first—he had been hovering high in the sky, controlling the entire battle.

At this moment, the battlefield situation has reached its peak—the number of "Pillars of Darkness" remaining in the mission panel has dropped from 14 to 8. Six "Pillars of Darkness" have already fallen, while the "Chief Executioner" and the "Executioner" have suffered even greater losses.

Although the Imperial Expeditionary Force also made considerable sacrifices, it was worthwhile—the balance of power had completely tilted in the Empire's favor, and victory was a foreseeable prospect.

Luo Xiu was thinking about these things.

He was still in the "Holy Wings Avatar" state, and there was still about half of the time remaining in the [Pilgrimage to Heaven] realm. Suddenly, the holy wings behind him unfurled, and amidst the players' fervent gazes, he once again soared into the heavens.

His gaze had already turned to a more distant place—

That was the battlefield where Augustus the Great and the Dark Lord fought fiercely—a true battlefield belonging to the "demigods."

The true end of the decisive battle will be decided at the moment when the demigods of order and annihilation decide the life or death of the victor.

At the end that Luo Xiu was gazing at.

The fiery crimson and the chaotic black were clashing and overturning each other. Even from a considerable distance, Luo Xiu could sense that it was an absolutely terrifying forbidden zone that should not be approached lightly.

A moment passed as I gazed at the battlefield of the "demigods".

Luo Xiu turned around and flew back to the battlefield where Franya, "Red Butler" Hardy, and the others were still.

He was going to resolve—to completely end that battlefield.

Luo Xiu already had a premonition—

I should... soon be able to witness the end of this "judgment" war.

……

(End of this chapter)