Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 42 The Iron Angel (Part 1)
At this moment, the people gathered around the various broadcasts looked completely bewildered.

They were indeed excited by the governor's speech, but the cases that Siron cited resonated deeply with them.

Those were carefully selected cases that basically covered most of the occupations of the lower classes, describing all their suffering as if he had done those jobs himself.

Some people began to weep and pray, but many more were confused. If the governor was telling the truth, then why were they still suffering?

How long will this pain last?
When will the future he promised arrive? And how will it arrive?

Siren leaned on his shepherd's staff, the transparent barrier created by [Stop] barely blocking the legendary knight's pressure. Four holy relics unfolded behind him. Apart from the snow rescue and Wintington's sermon, the relics were all blurry. One depicted a campfire, and the other showed Siren himself sitting at a dining table.

"Moreover, the governor keeps saying that God does not exist and that the church is a fraud, but he himself is imitating the church's actions."

"You proclaim a glorious past, emphasize the suffering of the present, and promise a bright future. Isn't this concept exactly the church's creation-fall-redemption ideology? It's just a governor's skin on."

"By guiding people's fantasies about the future, you suppress the pain of the 'present' and defend the mistakes you have made. People will, under your guidance, soothe the real 'present' by overdrawing their expectations for the future."

"Your claim that the future will be better, and your emphasis on the fact that that goal can only be reached under your and your organization's leadership, isn't that just a redrawing of the 'Messiah Moment'? Only when the Messiah (Note 1) returns will the unjust be judged, the righteous ascend to heaven, and the world become a paradise."

"In the church's mouth, only the church is the sole mediator between the present suffering and the bright future, while in your mouth, the governor's office is the sole mediator between the present and the future."

"Damn progressive ideas." Xilun muttered in a voice only he could hear, "You are by no means the only guide on the path that leads people from suffering to happiness. And the current suffering is suffering. No matter how good the promised future is, it cannot negate the current pain."

"You have stolen the church's ideas, embellished them with your own version, and are trying to deceive people."

"You keep talking about how great the church is, but you've just copied your version with the core of theology—you didn't even do a good job of plagiarism. At least I exempted everyone from tithes, while you only use the promise of a bright future to cover up the current predicament."

"you……"

"boom!!"

A violent bolt of lightning flashed, cleaving through the "Stop" sign and shattering the broadcast in front of Xilun.

Xilun fell to the ground in a disheveled state, but a victor's smile remained on his face.

Ryan cut off his broadcast, strode over, his military boots making huge drumbeats on the ground, shattering the marble. He looked down at Siren lying on the ground: "You're dangerous."

He grabbed Xilen by the neck and lifted him up.

“If you behave yourself as a bishop, I will protect your position, and then you can gradually transfer your power to me. In return, I will give you the respect you deserve, and at least things won’t turn out this badly.”

"But you love to show off too much, showing off your knowledge, showing off your abilities, showing off your existence, you never stop."

"Have you heard of the value of united front work? If someone causes too much trouble, I will try to appease them as appropriate. But if the harm that someone causes me while they are alive exceeds the cost of eliminating them, and also exceeds the cost of winning them over, then I will choose to eliminate them."

“If I kill you now, the people will hate me and my plans will be delayed for years, but that doesn’t matter. Everything will pass, including your existence. After all, you haven’t been here for more than a few days.”

"It's a pity we could have been friends."

Ryan exerted force with his left hand, but the next moment, a wall in the broadcasting room exploded!

Pale red steam suddenly filled the entire room. Amidst the mist and thunder, a sacred cross emerged from the thorns. The mechanical noise was like the tolling of ancient bells, and the roar of knights was like the descent of heaven!
Golden-red wings spread slightly, each feather tinged with red mercury, like burning blood or the wrath of a god. The pure golden scepter was swung out, and the huge red gem on the hammerhead burst forth with mercury-like divine power, blasting towards the flying Rein!
Steel Angel War Armor, β4 Type - Archangel, descends!
-
"Are you sure?"

Three minutes ago, Aldridge's face was ashen, a sword was held to his neck, and blood was flowing down.

“I’m sure.” The knight’s stern voice rang out as he held a sword and led Aldridge by the arm.

“I know the Ring is with you—the bishop has promised you that you can freely access the rare materials inside. Please open the gates of the Holy Treasury.”

"Sigh..." Aldridge turned back helplessly and glanced at the knight's unchanging expression.

With great reluctance, he pressed the ring into the keyhole of the door, and the heavy wrought steel door slowly opened. "This has never happened before," he said.

“Now we have it,” the knight said.

“What about the red mercury?” Aldridge asked.

"The power system for the elevators dedicated to the Holy Treasury and the bishops is separate from the main boiler, right? It uses a spare red mercury."

"...How do you know so clearly...There's only half a liter left. If we take it out, we won't even be able to open the door to the Holy Treasury."

"Half a liter is enough."

“But what about you? You’ll die!” Aldridge demanded angrily.

The knight laughed: "It doesn't matter. The armor that takes innocent lives in war actually exists to protect the church. Wasn't that the dream you had when you forged it?"

“Madmen! You’re all madmen!” Aldridge cursed as he climbed behind the armor and inspected the pipes.

“But the bishop said that we are all mental patients, only the symptoms that support us are different,” the knight said softly, stroking his sacred armor.

"Do you remember when we walked all the way from the train crash site to Speyside?"

“Of course I remember,” Aldridge replied.

"Do you remember how the bishop dragged you out?"

"...I don't remember, I was unconscious."

“But I still remember,” he said. “The figure in the black robe was very thin. The wind and snow almost blew him away. He used his back to support the falling steel plate of the carriage. He almost collapsed because he couldn’t catch his breath. He asked me if I could still move. I was too weak to do anything but shake my head. So he carried me by the hand and dragged me out of the wrecked carriage. Then he collapsed beside me. It was so quiet that only his heavy heartbeat and breathing could be heard.”

"Along the way, Kyle lost his brother and was distracted; Sam broke his leg and could only lie on the sled groaning; Mathilde had a secret in her heart and was afraid that doing too much would expose her; you hated the bishop in your heart and only agreed to use a few stability runes, without even using weight reduction."

“At that time, I thought to myself—he only has me left.”

“I kept a close eye on Kyle to prevent him from going astray, I watched over you and Mathilde to prevent you from betraying him, I pulled the sled the longest distance, and on that night when I lived on the railway tracks, I stayed up all night watching over him.”

Red mercury was poured into the platinum armor, and the condensation pipes throughout the armor flowed with a bright red light like blood vessels. The reactor began to hum, the mysterious metal became scalding hot, and the sleeping armor, like an angel awakening, awoke to the symphony of steam.

Logan slowly walked toward the armor, the tall, heavy armor revealing its internal structure to him, cheering and celebrating, seemingly rejoicing in the impending war and violence.

The rigid knight stepped into the scorching metal space, like an iron maiden. His armor closed, his mask fell down, and the clasps tightened, as the intense heat of 70°C seared his body.

Pale gold runes shimmered one by one, densely covering the entire armor, like a golden sea of ​​stars in the night sky.

Finally, in a blinding white light, Logan's vision became infinitely far, and he could see a 360° spherical field of view with no blind spots. Twelve observation filters were neatly arranged at his side.

The knight's muscles began to turn red, and the steel seemed to melt him like a hellish cage. A pale red mist rose from the bright red liquid behind him, and intricate gears pried open the scepter of heaven.

That night, I kept thinking—

"Even if it costs me my life, I will get him to Speyside!"

The knight's voice boomed through the steel, and the red mercury seemed to leap with life. The long-sealed wings touched the heavens once more. He took a step forward, flying out of the Holy Treasury in a white trail, then passing through the eighteen-story elevator shaft and flying away from the ground!

That is the monarch of steel, that is the knight of the messiah.
-
Note 1: Messiah, also known as the Anointed One or Christ. The Messianic moment refers to His second coming, in which He will completely defeat evil, conduct judgment, and complete redemption. It is an imagined era and a prophesied, beautiful future.

(End of this chapter)