Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 677 Breakout! (Second update! 7k8 today)

The person who appeared before Bishop Donovan was a "saint".
—That was none other than the Holy See's "First Cardinal," the current head of the Saint-Lairon family, "Fenlake Saint-Lairon"!
A week ago, he came to the church in Argus, where Donovan personally received him and shared his authority as bishop with him, allowing him to live there without distractions.

Although Donovan didn't know why his brother had come to Argus City and the church without telling anyone, it was supposedly for seclusion—he had too many affairs of the Holy See and wanted to return to Argus City to seek a peaceful atmosphere and try to break through his bottleneck. Donovan believed him.

Bishop Donovan provided Finlake with all the necessary support, including accommodation at the church and food and clothing. On his first day, Finlake told Donovan not to tell anyone that his fellow saint had been there, and Donovan agreed.

Donovan unconditionally trusted his brother Finlake.

During that week, Bishop Donovan kept Bishop Finlake's arrival a secret, maintaining the normal operation of the church while taking care of Finlake's food, clothing, and shelter.

On several occasions, Bishop Donovan visited Finlake's secluded dwelling and indeed saw Finlake, but Finlake was always "meditation," so Donovan never disturbed him.

But ever since Finlake returned to Argus and came to the church, Bishop Donovan has had cold, blurry images appear in his mind almost every night after he falls asleep. These images are disjointed and fragmented, but they all point to one thing.

—It points to the “death” of Bishop Donovan and the “destruction” of the city of Argus!
Those nightmares haunted Bishop Donovan almost every night, keeping him up at night for days.

Donovan didn't know why he was having such a nightmare, but in his hazy state, he realized that it might be some kind of "revelation"—

Bishop Donovan is the "Holy Cardinal of Enlightenment".

He was not just an ordinary Holy Cardinal of Enlightenment—when Bishop Donovan was a “sixfold destiny,” his profession in [Radiance] was “Enlightenment Messenger”—he could always vaguely receive some revelations from “The Great Sun in an Instant,” the forms and contents of which varied, but there was always a time when they would come to pass.

Unlike his second brother, Azle Saint-Lerran, the "Second Cardinal" of the Holy See, who was a "Winged Messenger" and could actively seek a clearer and more explicit manifestation and revelation from the Great Sun through the ritual of "divine revelation," he was not like his brother.

However, Bishop Donovan, who once served as the "Enlightened Messenger," could also receive revelation from the Great Sun in an instant—although he passively received such revelation, in a sense, he could foresee more than the "divine revelation" made by the "Winged Divine Messenger."

Donovan had no idea whether the nightmares he'd been having these past few days were revelations from the Great Sun. If so, to be honest, Donovan felt... his first brother, Finlake, had returned just in time; perhaps his brother could help him resolve these crises.

And now.

In Bishop Donovan's eyes, he saw his brother, Finlake, finally emerging from his "seclusion"—

"Brother."

Donovan looked at his brother Finlake, the First Cardinal of the Holy See, who appeared somewhat thin in Bishop Donovan's eyes, and the golden light in his eyes had dimmed.

Donovan could sense his brother's weakness. It seemed he was encountering some obstacles in his attempt to break through his "bottleneck."

"You...failed?"

Bishop Donovan braced himself against the armrests of the throne to sit up straighter, and asked Finlake with some concern and worry.

"..."

But Finlake did not respond to him. He simply walked forward, step by step, his footsteps echoing clearly in the bishop's seat and reaching Bishop Donovan's ears.

As his figure emerged halfway from the shadows of the corridor, Bishop Donovan saw a somewhat eerie smile on his brother's face.

His expression was somewhat stiff, and his lips were dry and dehydrated, but he was still smiling—revealing two rows of bright white teeth, and letting out heavy breaths from between them.

"Don...No...Van..."

Finlake bared his teeth, still smiling, but in his eyes, where the golden light had dimmed, a faint red tinge gradually welled up from the edges, and a tear, like blood, streamed from his right eye—

"Run...run!!"

"..."

"...?"

Donovan stared at his "brother".

"What--"

—Buzz!!!!

A sharp, explosive sound pierced the air and reverberated throughout the entire bishop's seat!
Donovan suddenly sensed that his "brother" Finlake's aura had changed!

It was a dark and deep spiritual surge that made people feel a chill even from a distance; it was definitely not the aura of "Fenlake"!

"What are you—"

Bishop Donovan's pupils trembled as he stared at his brother, who was laughing while shedding tears of blood. Before he could utter a complete sentence, he suddenly saw Finlake's figure vanish in an instant!
Immediately afterwards—right where Finlake had just been, a mass of pitch-black chaos suddenly appeared and then rapidly expanded, expanded, expanded!

Wow!

—Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!

The air around Donovan had become heavy and stagnant, and the noise of flowing water made his senses increasingly dulled.

He could see and hear nothing around him more and more clearly.

In Donovan's eyes, all he saw was his "epistemus," the white dome inscribed with the "sun" emblem, the walls adorned with murals of past "Saints Leran," all rapidly melting and then vaporizing in this stagnant atmosphere—

At the same time, whispers flooded his ears—a hissing sound like snakes, a whisper with the timbre of "Fenlake," and a voice laughing wildly:

"I didn't fail...brother..."

"Hiss..."

“My dear brother… Donovan…”

"Hiss..."

"us……"

"..."

--boom!!!!!

Donovan raised his right hand, which held a golden scepter. He then unleashed a holy surge of annihilation towards the darkest, most chaotic shadow before him!

The surge of light, radiating brilliant golden brilliance, dispersed the chaotic mass, but then, even more viscous black corrosive liquid condensed again from the surrounding area, knotting into new shadows amidst spiderweb-like threads—

From that chaos emerged a head—the head of "Fenlake Saint Leron"!

This time, its expression was no longer smiling; instead, half its face showed sorrow, and the other half showed anger. It looked at Donovan and let out a sobbing sound.
"Why...did you reject me...my brother..." "..."

Bishop Donovan did not respond to it.

His eyes gleamed with golden light, his face contorted with rage, and his somewhat obese and bloated body sprang from the throne. He landed on the ground, untouched by the black blood of chaos, and silently raised his scepter toward the chaos that had revealed the face of "Fenlake".

“Don’t try to fool me with his appearance,” Bishop Donovan said angrily. “You are not him, absolutely, absolutely not him!”

boom--

A heavy booming sound had just erupted from the tip of the scepter.

A dazzling golden light had just condensed and appeared at the tip of Bishop Donovan's scepter, but the next moment, in front of Bishop Donovan, a large hand shrouded in chaotic darkness materialized out of thin air. It directly grabbed Donovan's scepter and the radiant tip of the staff!
The sharp claws of the giant hand had already pierced into the scepter. The spiritual energy of the [Radiance] accumulated on the tip of the scepter was suppressed, eroded, decomposed, and eliminated by that chaotic hand!

The scepter had dimmed, then completely lost all spiritual response, and all its light vanished—

Bishop Donovan's pupils dilated in shock. He stared at the scene before him, his mind filled with the image of his brother, "Fenlake Saint Leron."

What he saw was the power wielded by his brother Finlake.

—“Holy Interpretation”!
That was the authority held by Finlake's brother... But now, the figure shrouded and enveloped in "chaos" before him, a chaotic figure displaying the appearance of "Finlake Saint Leron," was actually using Finlake's authority!
"How can it be……"

A look of panic crossed Donovan's face. He wavered, and his hand holding the scepter began to tremble.

The “Holy Liberation” he saw—although the authority of this [Radiance] had been corrupted—was still “Holy Liberation”, without a doubt, it must be “Holy Liberation”!
"you……"

"..."

“My dear…brother…”

From the chaotic black mass, half of the sorrow and anger on Finlake's face vanished, and it laughed again, a laugh so joyful, yet so sinister—

"I am real...you and I...we are both real..."

"us……"

--boom!!!!!!!

The chaotic "Fenlake" didn't finish its last sentence.

Its sound was then interrupted by a massive explosion, and the dark chaos was swallowed and torn apart by a surge of light that came from behind. In Bishop Donovan's eyes, he saw another figure appear after the void created by the blasting open of the chaos.

A young-looking figure, dressed in a white robe, held another scepter in his hand, his golden gaze meeting that of Bishop Donovan.

He was a young saint.

But the aura emanating from him—such a surging, pure spiritual energy, surpassing even Donovan's—made Donovan immediately realize that he was a saint far more powerful than himself!
Donovan had no recollection of this figure—he didn't know the saint, and had never even seen his face before!

"You're cleared of suspicion for now, Donovan."

The young saint smiled at Donovan and said:

"I'm here to save you."

……

Outside the city of Aguz.

To the south—beside a hill about a mile from the city of Agus—a fully armed paladin commander clad in gleaming gold holy armor raised his head.

She had already felt it, almost at the same time—an unprecedented and intense spiritual shock emanating from the very heart of the city of Agus!
Monine, the Templar Commander known as the "God Hunter" and the "Sword of the Holy One," had her eyes, which were burning with golden light, suddenly burst forth with intense brilliance from beneath her visor.

"Luo Xiu... has taken action."

Her deep voice emanated from within her paladin helmet, and behind her stood the twelve Templar Knights of the "Godhunter" Order, who were accompanying her.

Monigne set off.

She gripped the "divinely forged" holy sword in both hands and began to run—before her, a rugged but open road drew ever closer, closer and closer, until the original scene suddenly vanished, replaced by crimson—a hellish crimson surrounded by mountains of corpses and seas of blood!
"--roar!!!!!"

"—Roar!!!!!"

Monine had already seen it—the infernal crimson scene that Luo Xiu had mentioned to her and the Holy Maiden when she struggled through a certain illusory barrier, a scene that had drastically changed in the rocky ravine!
Thousands, no, tens of thousands of "abyssal beasts" and "demons," countless ferocious and terrifying monsters, tens of thousands of scarlet eyes, all swept towards Monigne!

In Monigne's eyes, she saw a tall, robust figure amidst the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, at the center of the countless abyssal beasts and demons—

"Crimson Warrior" Hatulrag!
Luo Xiu reminded himself that this was the most dangerous enemy—and Monine had come here to face this most dangerous enemy. He had to eliminate him here and not let him leave to affect Luo Xiu or Her Highness the Saintess!

--boom!!!!!!!

The moment Monigne saw "Crimson Warhead" Hatula, the divinely forged holy sword that he had raised high came crashing down on him!
The flames, radiating intense golden light, hurtled toward Haturag, the "Crimson Warhead." But the next moment, a crimson pillar of blood shot into the sky, forming a high wall in front of Monine. When the fierce strike struck the wall, it unleashed a tremendous shockwave, shattering along with the crimson wall!
And as the crimson walls crumbled—

Where Haturag, the former leader of the Crimson Warhead, once stood, that giant, crimson figure had vanished.

In Monigne's eyes, a fiery crimson light instantly surged as she saw Haturag's hideous giant face appear very close to her!

“Acpilus was right…you really did come!”

In Monigne's ears came a clear, deep sound, like the roar of a beast.

The sound was then engulfed by an even more violent and intense noise. To Monigne's astonishment, the crimson war head that stood before her, as tall as a small mountain, was now held aloft by Haturag, along with a massive and ferocious crimson sword.

The crimson battle blade fell violently, colliding with Monigne's holy sword and unleashing an unprecedentedly violent shockwave!
--boom!!!!!!!

Terrifying roars erupted in waves amidst surging crimson and blazing gold light!

Simultaneously,

Behind "Crimson Warlord" Haturag, thousands upon thousands of abyssal beasts and demons roared and howled, forming a terrifying red sea that spread toward Monine and the "God Hunter" Templar Knights.
Behind Monigne, the "Sword of the Holy Land," the twelve Templar Knights also raised their holy swords high. They had witnessed this scene countless times before; the blades of their swords blazed with intense golden light. They strode towards the surging red sea, charging like twelve arrows—

The battle has begun!

……

(End of this chapter)