Long-term salvation

The roar was like the sound of thunder, piercing into the souls of those who were undergoing trials, bringing them strength and forcing them to open their eyes to witness, to witness a great feat never seen before in the world!

Bishop Raphael opened his eyes and struggled to stand. He smelled a strong odor of sulfur and found himself standing before a stone staircase leading upward, surrounded by fallen rocks and mud. Not only him, but also Father Amos and Constantine, they held rifles, their faces showing a faint mixture of fear and reverence.

Going up the stairs is the monastery courtyard, which is the only way to escape from this place.

But no one moved. They were waiting, waiting for the order from the person in front of them.

Then, Bishop Raphael turned his gaze to the figure standing before the hellish wind—Rhodes stood before everyone, facing the rippling filthy water—a few sparks flew past the silver hair, extinguished in the drizzle, and turned into the most inconspicuous ashes.

"Although He is the Savior, He broke five loaves and two fish to feed the world, but I will only distribute the weapon made of steel, bringing strength to the weak, salvation to the innocent, and judgment to the betrayers."

"Listen, you who have committed sins, I will not drive you in the name of God, nor will I forgive you in the name of the Savior."

In the darkness, Bishop Raphael and Constantine heard Rhodes' voice. That voice dispelled all the demonic sounds around them, and it was so clear that it seemed like thunder exploding in their ears:

"Listen, those who have committed sins, your end is only death. You will not fall into hell, nor ascend to heaven. In my eyes, there is no such thing as offsetting merits and demerits. You will only die sooner or later, be despised and forgotten by everyone, and turn into the most ordinary soil in this earth. Even so, you are still willing to follow me?"

Ahhh... this is a question that requires no hesitation... how can you ask such a question?

Tears welled up in Bishop Raphael's eyes as he clenched the pistol in his hand. This thing felt so cold in his hand, but it was this very coldness that could take human lives and kill the real nightmares that emerged from the passages of hell.

The perfect circle suddenly expanded, and the energy of the supernatural dimension turned into a visible wave rolling in. They were ready to fight, shoulder to shoulder, in the name of the devil, with the order of the monarch, seventy-two legions of demons crowded to break out of this narrow passage!

In the tomb, evil green fires ignited in the empty eye sockets of eighteen mummies. They walked down the steps and picked up their weapons. In the foul energy brought by the demonic tide, they even had the courage to challenge the Son of Man.

If that’s the case, what else is there to say?

The trigger was pulled, the firing pin hit the primer, the bullet rotated and detached in the barrel, and the shell was ejected, flashing like a spark in the devil's eyes.

The metal beast, imprinted with human rage, knocked open the demon's supernaturally twisted skull, crushed the rotten brain inside into a pulp, and then flew out from behind the head, leaving a filthy trail of blood in the hot wind.

As one demon fell, three more leaped out of the darkness. They had the heads of a man, a goat, and an ox, spewing from their mouths a dizzying, fetid mist. Thousands of eyes opened within the mist, then transformed into shrunken, withered corpses. The demonic army had so many bizarre forms, each a nightmare conjured by the human imagination and materialized in the night.

Rhodes dodged the rusty sword and smashed the corpse's head with a punch, causing the remaining headless body to fall into the torment of golden flames. The shrill screams of pain resounded throughout the underground cave and spread to the distance under the dark sky with drizzling rain.

The raging flames instantly illuminated the entire underground cave, dispelling the darkness, evaporating the rain, and igniting the demons!

Unlike in Paris, the monster at this moment did not have a wide enough rift in the inner world to provide power. Now, this power was being bound by a certain consciousness and turned into a weapon to attack Rhodes.

More importantly, Rhodes could not aim at the world crack there, nor could he seal it with the bullets transformed by the power of the evil god's offspring - the original puddle was already filled with demons, and they approached little by little, using the darkness emanating from their bodies to compete with the golden flames, trying to dispel the sun's brilliance with numbers.

"Tsk...get out," Rhode said to the three people standing on the stairs, "The terrain here is too narrow, we will be squeezed to death!"

But just as he arrived in the courtyard, Rhode saw Father Thomas leading Julia and her daughter out of the building. They were covered in wounds, their clothes were tattered, and they looked very miserable.

"My Lord, look above the monastery!"

Rhodes looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the possessed boy was floating upside down above the spire of the monastery, and the two mummies of the archbishop and the exorcist were floating upside down with him... like a blasphemous trinity!

Dark purple lightning streaked across the sky, allowing darkness and shadows to roam unchecked. The ground surrounding the monastery began to crack, oozing lava with the stench of sulfur like a festering ulcer. Smoke and dust mingled with the demonic ash ignited by the flames, tormenting the noses and lungs of everyone present, slowly stripping life from their cells, and gradually channeling it into the supernatural dimension, where it could exert its power.

The demon's malicious and mocking screams echoed throughout the land, and a nearly endless demon army poured out from the passage. Looking at the humans below, Asmodeus slowly spoke with arrogance and cruelty that were evident in his words:

"At this moment, facing my might, what can you do as a human being?"

Rhodes glanced back with contempt, then took out a flare gun, pointed it upward, and fired. The red flare, like a raging fire, flew straight into the dark clouds, illuminating the small area in a destructive crimson.

Then, destruction really came here.

A bullet fired from afar, wrapped in explosions and torrents, directly pierced through the demon army rushing towards Rhodes, clearing out an entire empty and bloody passage - the roar of the red wolf at this moment overwhelmed all the noise - the demon's broken limbs and arms fluttered down from the sky, and the corrupt and evil blood mixed with the rain, cursing the entire earth.

This is far from the end!

A torrent of metal, woven from machine gun bullets, came from the other direction, covering a thousand meters in an instant. Golden whips lashed through the air, lashing out at any demon that dared to advance, ripping them apart and melting them into pieces etched with shards of steel.

Amidst the roar of gunfire, the painful cries of the demon army were heard everywhere.

Rod opened his arms and enjoyed the moment.

The breathless Father Amos looked at Bishop Raphael, then asked everyone else to stand together, slowly and firmly reciting passages from the Bible, using bullets and bayonets to force the surrounding demons to retreat.

The corpses that were not burned by the golden flames were snatched away by the rolling and trembling cracked earth. The power of the supernatural dimension tightly wrapped around the broken corpses, causing them to slowly merge, allowing the filth to overlap and connect with the filth, turning into a muddy swamp - new, equally crazy and selfless demons were born from it - coupled with the constantly pouring out demon army, it was as if hell had come to the world.

"You! You are clearly the Lord of life, the high priest who walks the world in the name of holiness!"

Hatred appeared on the face of the possessed boy, Asmodeus. He roared angrily, yet harbored a fear that he would never admit.

"You command the chief of Solomon's demons, enslave the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, and now command those fleshless machines to form your legions—are we the ones who are blasphemous, or are you the one who is more blasphemous?!"

"Whatever you say, demon, what I need to think about is how to crush you."

A sneer curled up at the corner of Rhode's mouth as he watched the monastery slowly crumble before him. A perfect circle, covered in countless pitch-black flies, rose from the ground. Every ripple echoed, and a swarm of demons emerged from it. Their twisted skulls were stained with madness and anticipation, vainly attempting to crush humanity's savior and rush into the surrounding towns to feast...

Yes, that's right. Rhodes needed them to expose their biggest weakness - the crack in the other world that summoned demons - to himself.

Pride is the root of original sin.

Steel is my strength.

A T-80BV tank suddenly appeared above the demonic tide. The more than 40-ton steel behemoth crushed all the demons under it, causing the supernatural flesh and bones to collapse under the heavy pressure of real steel, breaking bones and tendons, gushing dirty blood, and howling in agony!

The 125mm tank gun aimed directly at the perfect circle protected by layers of demons. A flash of muzzle flame flashed, and the demonic flesh wall exploded with a roar. Hundreds of cloudy eyes, thousands of slender fingers, and tens of thousands of twisted bones swirled in the hot wind, ignited by the golden flames, like thousands of meteors streaking across the sky.

Rhodes opened the tank's hatch and used the heavy machine gun to mow down a group of demons. He then jumped out of the tank amidst the fire of destruction from his beloved ones and roared at Constantine who had hurried over with the others:

"Constantine! Come and help me. Open a passage for me. We must close this crack today!"

"understand!"

The tank fired again, but the gunner was not very skilled - Father Amos pressed the fire button, but the shell flew out of the barrel and passed through the side of the perfect circle. The roar made the two women in the vehicle scream. They cried and squeezed into the narrow cabin, trying to avoid the running loader, and asked loudly if they could do anything.

"Just stay out of this damned machine, ladies!" Father Amos shouted, kicking Bishop Raphael, who was driving. "For God's sake, back up, Bishop Raphael!"

"Which damn lever should I pull... I'll try, ahaha, hallelujah!"

The steel behemoth retreated violently, but Constantine, who was operating the heavy machine gun with difficulty outside, looked calm. Years of military training had made him an elite soldier, and now he was capable of carving a bloody path for his savior in the raging demonic tide.

Heavy machine guns roared, tank guns roared—

Rhodes moved forward.

Chapter 226: Come to me, Michael! (3.6K·3/3)

Flowers of gunfire bloomed at Rhodes' feet.

He pulled out a long sword burning with golden flames in his hand, and every time he swung it, he would burn several demons to death, but the latter were blessed by the world rift there, and their number was almost infinite.

Another shell flew past Rhodes' side, and the explosion and impact almost made him fall to the ground. But after he steadied himself, the road in front of him continued to extend like a thread pulled from a spindle - the devil would never let the savior of mankind reach the vital point - the long sword reflected the purest power, a gift from a higher status, and a sharp blade that evil monsters could never resist.

As the notification sounded that the pollution points in the other world were rapidly decreasing, Rhodes put away his sword and fired two shots in succession, smashing the surrounding mummies to pieces and kicking their heads like footballs towards the inverted cross that was emitting a dark glow.

Asmodeus ignored the provocation, mocking the powerlessness of God and the Son of Man, and loudly proclaiming that he would become the emperor of the world, stabbing 666 inverted towers into the earth, dragging all the continents and creatures into hell.

In the ever-increasing darkness, the possessed boy's eyes were completely evaporated, and blood-colored lava flowed out from them, becoming a rolling, blazing torrent.

"...Are you still stalling for time?"

Rhodes narrowed his eyes slightly. After observing carefully, he took out a flare gun and fired at the archbishop and the exorcist's corpse on both sides of the possessed boy. Two balls of red flames flashed past.

This startled Asmodeus at first, but when he realized it was just a firework, he smiled again:

"Are you trying to amuse me? That's quite a performance."

A faint wolf howl... no, the roar of a motorcycle engine! This wild cry suddenly broke into everyone's ears, even the giant beast isolated by steel could hear it clearly - the long red hair dancing in the wind was so eye-catching that it even dwarfed the beautiful face of the motorcycle rider.

The motorcycle raised its front wheel and rolled over the demon that was blocking the road, causing the twisted head to explode like a rotten tomato, with dirty blood splattering everywhere!

"little Red Riding Hood!"

"Respond to your call!"

Red-haired Nikki had a slightly ferocious smile on her face. She moved through the demonic tide like a flash of lightning. Any dirty hands that wanted to touch the leaping flames were cut off by the golden thread that followed. Marian, who jumped off the motorcycle halfway, held a machine gun, fired steadily, and moved forward calmly, stepping over pools of blood and stepping over the demon's body. In her eyes, there was only obedience to the decision of the master of her mind and body.

The motorcycle, which had jumped up from the ramp, fired four small missiles in mid-air, blasting away the swarm of flies and insects blocking the two inverted mummies. Then, Little Red Riding Hood took her hands off the grip, raised the weapon, and squeezed the trigger, again and again:

That is thunder, destruction, and the judgment that is coming.

The purest murderous intent pierced the inverted corpse, and the bullet tore open the shriveled muscles strengthened by supernatural power like a grinder, twisted and broke the dried blood vessels, crushed the bones, and destroyed everything.

When the bullet was exposed to the air again, the two mummies had already been broken in half - no, except for the head and calf, the rest of the body had turned into dust and brown blood mist, and merged into the continuous rain.

Asmodeus was extremely surprised, and at the moment when the two mummies collapsed, the road in front of Rhodes returned to normal. He then rushed into the demonic tide without hesitation, letting the flames ignite again!

A long sword emerged from Rhodes' hand. With just a casual swing, the weak demons that dared to stand in front of him were instantly reduced to salt pillars devoured by flames. Those who were stronger were only suffering more painful torture - accompanied by the demons' wailing, the flesh and blood constructed by supernatural power flowed down like melting ice, turning into puddles of warm and foul-smelling meat on both sides of the road.

The sun's brilliance illuminated this dark land for a moment, then dimmed, but this was enough:

Rhodes came close enough, so he loaded the bullets with the power of the Gate, and then pulled the trigger towards the perfect circle, one shot, two shots!

The perfectly circular [door] then began to shrink slowly like a whirlpool. This seemed to be a signal, causing the demons behind the door to rush out. However, they did not rush towards Rhodes and his companions, but chose to flee in all directions - their goal was to pollute the entire land and rush into the nearby town where tens of thousands of people lived!

By then, extreme human emotions will be induced by the creatures of the inner world, and another rift may really be created.

Rhodes looked up suddenly and saw the mocking look on the possessed boy's face... The devil must have been planning this for a long time. If it succeeded, then no amount of torture would be enough to stop it from going crazy.

"Tsk, these intelligent creatures from the otherworld are such a hassle. It's best to just kill them directly," Rhode frowned, feeling even more anxious. He turned around and shouted to Father Amos and the others who had climbed out of the tank, "Now follow Marian and the others to the town and keep those damned things out—"

[Side Quest: Twelve Trials: The Pope's Exorcist (Completed)]

【Task rewards begin to be distributed】

[Uncollected pollution points in the other world (outflow of high-threat artifacts from the other world)]

【Character exchange voucher has been received】

Huh? Wait, something's not right.

Rhode raised his eyebrows slightly and raised his hand to recycle the tank to save a few more points for using the power. At the same time, some doubts arose in his mind. According to the usual practice, the deductions should be the character exchange vouchers... In other words, the system was not only considering the current crisis, but also the future. The system obviously wanted Rhode to solve the problem once and for all.

【System Update】

[Emergency Mission: Execution]

Mission Description: Eliminate highly threatening creatures (clusters) from the otherworld to prevent the further expansion of the disaster.

As for that question… Rhode turned and saw Bishop Raphael standing there, looking back at him, still holding the camera. Father Amos and Constantine also had their eyes on him. Nikki and the others were about to leave on their motorcycles, while Father Thomas and Julia and her daughter were trying to start the wrecked car.

This is truly a complete explanation, and nothing could be more convincing than this.

Thinking of this, Rhodes reached out and took the exchange voucher that was emitting bright light. Just by holding it, he knew who would come.

“And another sign appeared in heaven: a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven crowns.”

Rhodes said with a smile, passing through the chaotic battlefield, following the whistling wind, his words clearly reached everyone's ears, including the ears of the demon god, who thought it was a praise for its strength and cunning and laughed heartily.

“The great dragon was cast out, that ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the entire world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

Rhode crushed the voucher, letting the light spread beneath the gloomy sky, letting the divine breath dispel the sulfur of hell. A crack appeared in the dark clouds, and sunlight—no, a light from an unknown source, from the heavens above, shone down, enveloping the savior of mankind.

"Yes, those who were guilty of heinous crimes fell, those who were strong on the outside but weak on the inside bowed their heads, and those who did not know how to worship bowed their heads. Who struck down the dragon? Who exterminated the countless demons? Who held the flaming sword and spread the glory of God to the world?"

Rhodes suppressed his smile, opened his arms in the light, and shouted loudly:

"Come to me, Michael!"

The girl with long pink hair slowly opened her golden eyes, her wings spread, and she flew through the clouds like a pure white swan.

The dark clouds parted, revealing a crimson sky near dusk. A mighty hymn drowned out the demonic host's clamor, dispelling the howling winds and allowing the truth of the human world to return.

Now, the beautiful girl with her white wings spread out threw herself into Rhodes' arms with a happy smile on her face.

Bishop Raphael, Father Amos, Constantine: "..."

Asmodeus: "...Whose name did you just call?"

Ignoring their bewilderment and helplessness, Rhodes gently stroked the girl's long pink hair in his arms, his fingers running through the soft hair. The faint fragrance and warmth returned a sweet and cloying girlish scent.

"No flowers."

Mika Seizono, one of the chairmen of the Trinity Academy Tea Party, has an active and cheerful personality and is good at creating a conversational atmosphere. She is not good at politics - or rather, her brain is not very good - but in the original game, there is a word that can describe her strength, that is, "Mika Seizono".

"I'm here, Sensei!" The girl's eyebrows curved so beautifully that Rhode almost fell into her golden eyes. "Sensei, if you keep hugging me like this, it might become irreversible, okay? I'm fine with it, hehehe."

Hiss... The unintentional critical hit of this pink-haired gorilla's single-threaded brain is truly terrifying.

After taking a few deep breaths, Rhode let the fighting spirit return to his body. He placed his hands on Weihua's shoulders, turned her around, pointed at the possessed boy lying upside down, and said:

"A demon has taken over the boy's body, causing the demon army to appear and escape. I hope you can cooperate with the others first—well, yes, there are others, I will introduce them to you slowly—in short, first deal with the demons rushing towards the human town, and then come back and try to free the boy with me."

"Okay, and I really don't like it when someone dares to make Sensei look up."

Shengyuan Weihua raised her head and looked at the possessed boy indifferently. The latter was silent for a few seconds, slowly fell to the ground, trembling like a chicken.

Ignoring the frightened demon, Mika adorably clenched her fists, and two small wings spread out behind her, almost enveloping her entire body. Then, she flapped her wings and took off, trailing two streams of milky white air in the sky. Lanchester MK1 submachine gun in hand, she rained down fire on the fleeing demons.