Chapter 229: Difference Between Heaven And Earth

The priests stared at one another silently as Damian’s words continued echoing through their minds like a curse that refused to fade.

Their earlier confidence was gone.

Several priests tightened their grips around their staffs while others struggled to steady their breathing. Even the guardian angels hovering before them looked far less composed than before.

Because Damian’s threat did not sound like empty intimidation, it sounded inevitable. That was what truly terrified them.

The hesitation spreading among them became visible.

Within the massive shell of folded angelic wings floating above the battlefield, Gilbert watched the humans coldly through glowing golden eyes. For a brief moment, the archangel remained silent before his voice echoed directly inside Corbin’s mind.

’He has planted a seed of doubt within their hearts.’

Corbin’s expression darkened immediately.

’Without enough faith, their next attack will be bound to fail.’

’And once it fails,’ Gilbert continued calmly, ’their faith will plummet even further.’

Corbin slowly clenched his fist tighter.

’At that point they will no longer be able to call upon the power of Heaven...’

’Leaving them completely defenseless.’ Corbin completed the sentence himself.

His burning white eyes narrowed sharply toward Damian.

Truly this man had become something horrifying. To think such a drastic transformation could happen within such a short period of time. The Damian he once fought beside against Duke Haborym no longer existed.

This creature standing before him now was no different from a demon wearing human flesh.

"He also possesses Hellfire now," Gilbert finally spoke aloud for the first time.

The archangel’s voice was low and calm, barely louder than a whisper yet Damian heard every word clearly. His glowing violet eyes slowly shifted upward toward the floating cocoon of wings.

"Are they serious right now?" Damian asked flatly.

Rin immediately smacked his forehead with a paw.

"You still have your ring on," the fox scolded. "Obviously they can’t gauge your actual strength at a glance."

Damian rolled his eyes.

"Skill issue," he muttered beneath his breath.

Rin facepalmed immediately.

Meanwhile, the priests were far too tense to care about their casual conversation. Linda suddenly stepped forward from the formation, her expression no longer carried hesitation.

The silver spear in her hand disappeared into particles of holy light before she slowly stretched her palm toward the guardian angel standing behind her.

The moment her hand touched the angel’s spine, both their eyes ignited simultaneously with brilliant golden radiance.

BOOOOM!

Holy energy erupted violently around them. The nearby wind spiraled outward while divine scriptures began rotating around Linda’s body like orbiting stars.

The surrounding priests immediately reacted.

One after another, they stepped forward and placed their hands against their guardian angels as well. Golden light erupted throughout the battlefield instantly.

The holy pressure skyrocketed.

Meanwhile, Corbin remained standing alone. Within the shell of folded wings above him, Gilbert began reciting the incantation instead while Corbin’s burning white eyes intensified brighter and brighter.

The priests raised their voices together.

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of thee!"

The chant boomed throughout the fortress in perfect unison.

BANG!!!

A deafening thunderclap exploded across the heavens. A massive golden flash illuminated the entire battlefield brightly enough to force several demons to shield their eyes instinctively.

Even Damian’s attention finally shifted upward properly. Above the fortress, the skies had transformed completely.

Dark storm clouds twisted violently together while massive patches of golden light spread between them like cracks splitting apart the heavens themselves.

Golden lightning crawled endlessly across the cloud surface while violent winds tore through the battlefield below. The entire sky looked apocalyptic.

The demons stared upward with pale expressions. Even the priests themselves looked overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the power they had summoned.

"That’s a pretty powerful spell," Damian admitted dully.

Honestly, he was not entirely sure what impressed him most. The violent thunder, the twisting storm or the sheer amount of divine energy saturating the heavens themselves.

Everything looked dazzling and majestic.

"Unfortunately..." Rin muttered calmly. "...it’s still not enough."

His voice was drowned instantly.

BAAAAAANG!!!

A thunder strike exploded violently enough to shake the entire fortress.

Then it descended.

A massive pillar of golden light tore downward from the heavens with overwhelming force like divine judgment itself had finally fallen upon the world.

The beam was enormous and the pressure alone flattened parts of the forest beneath it before the attack had even landed.

Several demons screamed instinctively while others collapsed backward in terror. Even some priests looked shaken by the scale of their own attack. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Yet Damian remained completely unmoved. The demons instinctively turned toward him only to freeze. He still looked bored.

Slowly, Damian lifted one hand lazily toward the descending pillar of destruction while his expression remained completely indifferent.

"DIE!!!"

The priests roared together with bloodshot eyes but Damian only responded with a cold mocking chuckle.

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!

The golden pillar collided against Damian’s raised hand.

The world itself seemed to shake violently beneath the impact.

A catastrophic shockwave erupted outward instantly, flattening everything nearby. Dust and debris exploded across the battlefield while the ground cracked apart violently beneath the overwhelming pressure.

The fortress trembled as trees were ripped from the earth.

For several seconds, nothing could be seen beneath the blinding explosion of golden light and rising clouds of destruction.

Silence swallowed the battlefield completely after the explosion.

The deafening thunder faded slowly, leaving behind only the crackling remains of divine energy dancing throughout the ruined fortress.

Dust and debris floated endlessly through the air and the priests stood frozen.

Every pair of eyes remained locked onto the massive cloud of destruction at the center of the battlefield. Their hearts pounded violently inside their chests while cold sweat slid down several faces.

Please... Please let him be dead.

Several priests unconsciously clenched their holy scriptures tighter while others silently mouthed prayers beneath their breath.

Even the guardian angels stared ahead motionlessly.

For a brief moment, hope appeared within the priests’ hearts again. Then two glowing violet eyes appeared through the dust. A low chuckle echoed from within the debris.

"Well well well..." Damian laughed coldly. "Guess who failed to kill this devil."

The laughter crawled across the battlefield like ice flooding into their veins. Every priest visibly stiffened and several unconsciously stepped backward.

Fear spread instantly because Damian’s earlier words immediately resurfaced inside their minds.

If they failed, what followed would be nothing but gore and terror. The thought alone rattled them.

One priest nearly dropped his weapon entirely. While another began breathing heavily while staring toward the glowing eyes emerging from the dust.

"No..."

"Impossible..."

"That attack should’ve..."

Their voices trembled uncontrollably. Even Linda’s face had completely lost color.

Meanwhile, within the shell of folded angelic wings above them, Gilbert’s glowing eyes narrowed deeply. The archangel remained silent but the shift in his expression alone made Corbin’s chest tighten.

BANG!!!

A violent shockwave suddenly erupted outward from the center of the debris cloud. The dust exploded away instantly and what stood revealed robbed the battlefield of all remaining courage.

Damian still stood exactly where he had been. One hand remained raised calmly toward the heavens while faint smoke escaped lazily from his palm.

That was all.

The terrifying golden pillar capable of shaking the battlefield had accomplished nothing beyond slightly heating his hand. His four massive black wings spread behind him calmly while his absurdly long black hair danced wildly beneath the lingering winds.

Beneath him, several demons remained crouched low against the ground with horrified expressions.

Only now did the priests fully realize what had happened. The demons had lowered themselves beneath Damian’s body for protection.

This man had shielded every single one of them using nothing but his bare hand. The realization alone nearly shattered what little confidence remained within the holy army!