Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 637 Whereabouts (4k5, First Update)
In a daze.

First Cardinal Finlak Saint-Larren walked deeper into the room of the Chief Cardinal in the Divine Sanctuary.

He walked into a long corridor, where the light emanating from the stone lamps on both sides of the wall gradually dimmed until he came to an empty stone wall. With Accipile's help, he gently raised his right hand.

Finlake opened his right palm, his five fingers already pressed against the stone wall—

Buzz! ! ! ! !
A trembling hum came from above the white wall—or perhaps behind it. Strands of pure white interwoven with gold were outlined on the wall, extending evenly outwards from where Finlake's fingers were pressing.

Dozens, even hundreds, of sacred runes of unknown meaning appeared, and the stone wall gradually emitted golden light, its base color becoming increasingly transparent.

That was a "barrier".

Furthermore, under the influence of Finlake's [Void] power, the stone wall was an intentionally created illusion. Only after Finlake dispelled the barrier did he and Accipiles enter the area behind it.

The dimly lit corridor that stretched downwards then came into view—Fenrique's eyes were still dim, but with Accipile's support, he still shakily walked down the steps.

Until he reached the end—a room with nothing around him except for an altar in the center.

At the very center of the altar was a statue of the god of the Sun's Fleeting Moment—but with subtle differences. The statue of the Sun's Fleeting Moment had a clearly sculpted face, and His eyes were vertical pupils like those of a snake; the golden light emanating from His body was dimmed and turned brownish; one could faintly see scales growing from His body, and beneath the scales, pale gray blood seeped out.

—That is a statue carved from the remains of Saint Leron, which his descendants have guarded for generations!
But it was from Finlake's generation that the idols changed—but that did not affect, or rather, most of the time did not affect, the direct connection that "Saint Leron's bloodline" like Finlake had with the Eternal Kingdom and even the Great Sun.

at this time.

The distorted statue, combined with the enclosed and dimly lit interior, created a subtly eerie atmosphere.

Finlake sat down before the statue of "The Great Sun in an Instant," bowed his head, and began to recite a sacred prayer—

"It allows my soul to ascend..."

"I pray for the holy baptism of [Radiance], that my ignorance may be cleansed, and that I may witness true miracles..."

"..."

In Finlake's chanting.

Achilles—He gazed at Finlayk with a smile, and at this moment, His aura was gradually changing. The brilliant golden light emanating from His body had almost dissipated, replaced by a deep, dark purple that enveloped Him, revealing His true form as a ferocious "demon".

Achilles, the "Primal Demon".

He was watching Finlake, waiting for Finlake to truly connect with the Great Sun Moment and another "being," in order to attempt to obtain a "divinity"—

Buzz! ! ! ! !
Suddenly, the statue of "The Great Sun in an Instant" erupted with a tremor that even Accipile felt!

Finlake, who was praying, suddenly opened his eyes, which were filled with horror and fear, and his mouth opened wide uncontrollably.

"what……"

"Ah ...

Finlake began to roar like a madman!
"The Great Sun rejected me..."

"They rejected me!!!"

"..."

Accipiles watched him, and at the same time He saw that the expression of the "idol" had also become ferocious, and its serpentine vertical pupils emitted a scarlet light, while a series of rustling hissing sounds came from nowhere in the air.

It was as if an invisible giant serpent was flicking its tongue at Finlake—which deepened Finlake's already muddled consciousness, pushing him to the brink of madness!

"..."

"fail……"

Achilles, the "Primordial Demon," had completely lost his smile.

He sent Finlake to "make contact" with—besides the Great Sun Moment, there was also the pillar god of [nothingness].

The hissing sound that came from the air was the echo of the "Vicious Serpent" swimming by!

Achilles knew that both the "Great Sun in a Moment" of [Radiance] and the "Void Serpent" of [Nothingness] had actually "rejected" Finlayk.

The battle report's claim that the demigod of [Void], "Matriarch of Delusion" Arivia, has been killed appears to be false—[Radiance] rejected Finlake because Finlake was no longer pure; as for [Void] rejecting Finlake, it's because the 'Serpent' doesn't need more followers.

Accipiles had already learned this from Finlake's condition.

His expression had become extremely ugly. He had intended to make Finlake one of the demigods of either [Radiance] or [Nothingness]—in this way, his own status could also change, and he could regain the power of a true "Primordial Demon".

Achilles—He was originally a ten-winged angel, but after the fall of Saint Leron, he was demoted to an eight-winged angel. He later fell and became a demon, a "primordial demon" who possessed the same rank as a ten-winged angel as a "demon god," but did not have the power of a true "demon god."

Even due to the inherent contradictions of his destiny, Accipiles found it difficult to stabilize his own form, so he needed a vessel—the Saints of Leron throughout the ages were his vessels, pools of blood from which he could slowly recover his power.

It could be said that...Acpilus also knew that he was probably the weakest of the "Primordial Demons".

However, even though the Abyss is still sealed, it is the only "Primal Demon" on the surface. Because it was originally an "angel" of Saint Leron, it was not sealed. Although it has severed almost all ties with the Abyss, it has preserved itself until now.

now.

Accipiles watched Finlake as his expression grew increasingly ferocious, sensing that Finlake's spirituality was teetering on the brink of collapse.

Accipiles raised his arm.

A rich spiritual energy immediately condensed in His palm, and that spiritual energy then flowed into the statue of "The Great Sun in an Instant"—

hum...

A low hum and a slight vibration were heard.

Gradually, the tremors emanating from the depths of the statue ceased, and the lingering echoes from the "Vicious Serpent" in Accipile's ears also gradually faded away.

Achilles sacrificed a portion of his power to the "Vicious Serpent"—

The serpent, having filled its belly and freed itself from hunger, was able to depart contentedly from the fact that it no longer chewed on Finlake's soul like a delicacy.

However, Accipiles himself became weak from "feeding" the snake.

He coldly watched Finlake, now lying unconscious on the ground. Accipiles knew that Finlake had to live no matter what; if he continued his madness, even Accipiles himself would be affected.

However, it's clear that there's no way to seek a promotion from Finlake.

Finlake's chances of advancement were gone—his fate was completely sealed. Accipile, therefore, had to seek a new path.

"Perhaps... another 'Saint Leron,' Yazler..."

"And Fafnir... that 'primordial demon' spoke of as the 'authoritarian' heir... perhaps we should still obtain Him..."

"..."

Accipiles murmured.

And His form gradually became faint and blurred.

He has temporarily returned to Finlake's body, awaiting the next opportunity, and the one after that.

Accipiles had plenty of patience.

He believes—He has believed it unconditionally for millions of years.

He will eventually regain his status as a 'demon god,' and perhaps even gain power surpassing that status. Time will be on his side; he believes... he will eventually get what he desires.

……

The next day.

The capital was pitch black.

As usual, Luo Xiu, acting as the acting cardinal, handled several new matters at the palace where the "Holy Court" was stationed.

As the inventory work continued, the Holy Court had many more matters to handle. Luo Xiu also traveled to the Supreme's headquarters to participate in several meetings, discussing decisions regarding the handling of the Dark Capital after the war.

It has been basically decided that most of the resources and population of "Dark Capital" will be transferred, while this city, which was originally the capital of the Dark Duchy, will be razed to the ground.

Because the empire's rule is difficult to extend to this extent—the Supreme Council has reached a consensus in several meetings that once the expeditionary force withdraws from the Dark Capital, the remnants of the Dark Army, who are lying dormant, may immediately launch a counterattack against the Dark Capital. If too many troops are stationed there, it will be a considerable burden on the empire.

In fact, since the outbreak of the "War of Judgment", the Imperial Ministry of Military Affairs had already reached a relatively clear conclusion on how to deal with the occupied territories after the war - the Imperial border would only extend about a thousand miles beyond the original border, covering the adjacent dark cities and important resource points, while the more peripheral occupied territories would be abandoned directly.

Therefore, the area of ​​the occupied territory that was usurped into the Empire was actually only about one-tenth of the original territory of the Dark Principality.

The "Fafna Territory" was within the empire's borders, but the empire's rule could hardly extend any further. Talented individuals capable of governing the frontiers were scarce, and how to deal with the resurgence of remaining forces was a problem that still troubled the ministers of the Imperial Military Affairs Department.

In fact, during the negotiations with the delegation from the Golden Kingdom, Emperor Augustusville seemed to have promised to exchange some of the occupied territories for more services and resources from the Golden Kingdom to the empire.

The Golden Kingdom plans to establish four new vassal states based on about one-sixth of the original territory of the Duchy. These vassal states will be governed by the Golden Kingdom Federation, but will pay tribute to the Empire and provide the Empire with troops to maintain border security.

Luo Xiu had already learned of this from Gurt, the "Golden Elder" of the Fesera family. In fact, the Empire's treatment of the Dark Duchy's territory in his previous life was quite similar, and most of the remaining land of the Dark Duchy was razed to the ground, leaving it as unclaimed wasteland.

It was subsequently used as a place of exile. The empire, the Golden Kingdom, the theocracy, and even the Pure Land of Kassapa were exiled there to fend for themselves. As long as no new "Duke of Darkness" emerged, such places of exile remained necessary, at least for the empire—there was no easier way to deal with internal troubles.

……

June 11, 768 (Tianqi calendar)

The Imperial Expeditionary Force has packed almost all of the Black Capital's reserves and population into a vast army.

At this moment, the ragged "nobles," now reduced to "slaves," were being gathered by imperial soldiers before the dark gates of the capital. The expeditionary force had also completely left the city and was arrayed before it—

This day marked the triumphant return of the Imperial Expeditionary Force.

The mighty army triumphantly marched towards the empire. As the dark tide gradually overflowed the pitch-black capital, flames rose one by one from the buildings in the capital and its various districts.

The flames burned ever brighter, turning the buildings into scorched earth in an instant—and above the capital, the two floating cities of the "Sage's Tower" unleashed a barrage of runic cannon fire towards the capital.

—Boom! B ...

The dense, earth-shattering roar of artillery fire sounded like celebratory music bidding farewell to the victorious expeditionary force.

From this day forward, "Dark Capital" will be forever erased from the map of the continent of Fanor.

The Dark Principality will forever be history—once the fire consumes this black capital, no one in the future will know what it once looked like.

Only dust remains—like the countless ruins buried beneath the sands of this place in the past.

……

Beyond the pitch-black capital, on the other side of the expeditionary force's triumphant return, lies a rugged mountain range resembling the skeleton of a colossal beast.

A black figure—a woman dressed in a long, misty black dress, her face shrouded in fog—was watching the great fire burning in the dark capital.

Her lips parted slightly, but it seemed as if she couldn't make a sound.

There were three more people standing behind her.

A maidservant dressed in a black court dress, standing silently behind the noblewoman;

The figure was draped in a black cloak, holding a chaotic scepter that emitted jet-black mist in his left hand and a chaotic demonic sword that also emitted jet-black mist in his right hand;

A man with his arms crossed over his chest, his face etched with black battle scars, and a gloomy expression.

"Madam... Lady Alyvia."

Valentina, the "handmaid" and "messenger of peace," inquired of her mistress before her:
"Where...should we go?"

"..."

"I do not know."

Ilivia shook her head indifferently.

She was still gazing in the direction of the dark capital. Behind her, the "Crow of Chaos" Mastert and another surviving "Pillar of Darkness," Alek Upton, the "Soul Shatterer" of [Bitter Tea], remained silent, awaiting the Matriarch's instructions.

"...The continent of Fanor probably has nowhere for us to go."

After gazing for a long time, Ilivia said softly:

“We should leave… from the Pure Land of Kassapa, through Fanor, to the border of the Golden Kingdom. There, we will board the ferry that crosses the Sea of ​​Mist.”

"As for going to the Shattered Continent or the Storm Continent... it doesn't matter. We should rebuild our strength and take back what is rightfully ours when the time comes."

"The serpent gave me this insight... As long as we remain hidden in the shadows, the supreme emperor will never be at ease."

"Moreover, we have not completely failed... The Pope of the 'Holy Court,' that Lord of Lorend, has fallen. They have lost such a vital force!"

"But as long as we can gain new power..."

"..."

"Therefore, we must first go to the Pure Land of Kassapa."

From beneath the cloak obscuring his face, Mastert, the "Crown of Chaos," spoke a deep voice—

“Those Elf Kings… won’t let us pass easily. Mistress, the best route is to change our appearance and go directly through the Empire, or through the Theocracy.”

"This is the fastest way to get there..."

No, not at all.

"The wicked mistress" Arivia interrupted Mastert.

She said softly:

“Let’s go to Kassapa Pure Land… that royal court that has been isolated for hundreds of years, there are things I want to see there.”

As she said this, Ilivia licked the corner of her mouth with her snake-like tongue.

A dark light flickered in her eyes, and behind him, "Envoy of Peace" Valentina, "Crown of Chaos" Mastert, and "Soul-Shattering Sword Master" Alek said nothing more.

Only Mastert raised his right hand slightly and tugged at his cloak.

He had long since broken free from the influence of his mistress, Ilivia.

He was thinking of a destination completely opposite to that of Ilivia.

……

(End of this chapter)