THE VILLAIN'S POV

Chapter 572: The False Light

The world changes every day, ceaselessly—especially in times of war.

A full week had passed since Frey and his companions reached the holy island and uncovered one of the Church’s secrets: Noctherra , the City of Eternal Night—a place where the sun never rises.

Seven days...

On the seventh, the long-awaited clash was fated to begin.

At the summit of the great edifice—where the golden World Tree stood like the Church’s beacon ..

the three bishops gathered, along with most who held the rank of metropolitan.

They were waiting.

”It’s time,” Blattier said, his eyes kindling with a pure white light, his face twisted with contempt for those who dared oppose him.

”Recovering Vermithor’s bearer is top priority—and slaying Frey Starlight is equally important. With his fall, House Starlight falls in its entirety, and the Empire loses its greatest weapon. Keep that in mind.”

Platini and Calistes nodded as one.

”We’ve already prepared the stage for them. Let’s welcome them properly.”

The battle was about to erupt, and the Church had readied its strongest weapons.

”Calistes, you’ll remain behind. Make sure no one interferes with the legacy transfer. The new Saint must be ready as soon as possible.”

Blattier issued his orders; Calistes inclined his head.

”Have no fear. Not a soul will cross this threshold.”

Turning toward the spring behind him, Calistes’ gaze fell on Uriel Platini, who had lain there for many days. Whatever rite was being conducted in that place—it was nearly complete.

Above them, the World Tree shuddered from time to time, releasing a strange resonance as its glow intensified, feeding Blattier and the others with an inexhaustible stream of holy aura.

The tree was their greatest weapon—and the Saint was of immense importance as well. Plattier had no intention of retreating now.

The Church was about to fight at full strength—against Frey Starlight and Snow Lionheart, who had come dangerously close to the forbidden.

Snow led the way, Frey at his back.

They climbed swiftly, scaling the vast structure, their bodies steeped in a threatening aura ..especially Frey, whose murderous intent chilled the air.

They stormed into that land like a temple, ready for war ..and they didn’t have to wait long.

The instant they appeared, a terrifying heavenly light descended from nowhere and drove them into the ground where they stood.

Before them stood five men in a strange formation, chains curling around them and binding them to a peculiar angel that floated above.

”Do not kill Vermithor’s bearer—he is of our flesh and blood! As for Frey Starlight, show no mercy! Death to any who defy the Lord of Light’s will!”

The one in the center shouted— a middle-aged man with black hair and harsh features, clearly their leader.

Frey and Snow endured the initial strike, but their eyes slid to the angel hovering over the five.

”That isn’t a War Angel...”

The being before them was neither the same type nor the same might as a War Angel, yet it was stronger than ordinary angels. Taking repeated blasts from it would be unwise.

”Fire again!”

At the leader’s command, the angel unleashed another volley.

But Frey and Snow were already gone—one blinking away with teleportation, the other vanishing with Void Step.

They aimed to erase the angel in a single, swift strike ..

yet as they closed in, dozens of lights flared from afar, raining down upon them from every direction without mercy.

They held firm, but both were taken aback by the sudden appearance of so many stronger angels.

Wings spread above them, while below, Church followers advanced—bound to the angels by strange chains.

It was as if they were feeding the angels power—their very life force.

The followers were pallid, like sufferers of a chronic anemia, while the angels above them brimmed with strength.

Encircling Frey and Snow, they bombarded them without pause. The two held the line—especially Frey, who tore through the Church’s ranks at a speed the naked eye couldn’t follow.

”Has your blindness gone so far that you can’t perceive the truth?”

With a single sweep of Balerion, he sent a vast violet arc that lopped five heads at once, then vaulted skyward to strike the angel.

”You bind your souls and cast away your lives to feed a worthless creature that dies to a single stroke of my blade.”

Amplifying his aura through Dark Sister, Frey shot forward like a black meteor and smashed into the angel—erasing it completely.

At the same time, Snow Lionheart unleashed his arsenal of elements, throwing the field into chaos as he faced multiple foes at once.

Despite the difference in numbers, the tide did not favor the Church at all.

Fighting on multiple fronts, Snow’s eyes caught the faces of many followers straining in desperation to stop him.

”I don’t understand. Why struggle this hard? Why throw away your lives to serve a being you know nothing about? Is your life so cheap?”

Through Vermithor, Snow sent wave after wave of pure light aura, its clarity surpassing the strength of the assembled angels combined.

”Are humans truly this easy to manipulate?”

Snow was clearly hesitant when it came to killing the Church’s followers—men and women deceived and driven by faith and blind devotion.

”Don’t bother, Snow. They believe the Lord of Light is their god—and their god ordered them to exterminate people like me,” said Frey, fighting nearby. Unlike Snow, he did not hesitate to kill them—right or wrong.

”They chose death for their cause. So let’s give them the death they wanted.”

Frey was about to cut down more when a man in a black mask appeared out of nowhere and launched a rocket-like punch. Frey caught it with his sword at the last instant, yet the force hurled him back, smashing him through the temple wall.

Through the eye-slits of the Nameless mask, Frey studied his new opponent with interest as he stepped from the rubble.

”That was a good punch.”

Before him, the man bared his face—it was none other than Mikhael Platini, the bishop.

He was over two meters tall, white-haired, gold-eyed, with a massive scar over one eye.

”Frey Starlight... You dare speak of the noble sacrifices made by the Lord of Light’s faithful?” Platini said, drawing every Church follower’s gaze; their faces lit at the sight of him.

”You’re nothing but a bloodthirsty monster—fighting for slaughter and ruin. We, on the other hand, have a cause worth fighting for, in the name of the Lord of Light who showed us the way and led us out of darkness.

”Even if the Church’s followers die a billion times, their fate will still be better than that of a demon in human skin—faithless and honorless.”

Turning to the Church’s ranks, Platini shouted:

”Any of the faithful who die today will find eternal bliss! And our enemies will rot in the torments of hell!”

He goaded them to throw their lives away, promising impossible rewards no sane mind should believe.

Platini’s words inflamed the Church even further, filling them with zeal to fight for the false cause that had blinded them.

”The Bishop is right!”

”Follow the Bishop! Let’s purge the world of this monster who knows only bloodshed!”

They raved like fanatics, beyond reason or debate.

From behind them came another man, his aura pressure hammering the air as he clapped, a smile on his lips.

”Well said, my friends. Today, the whole world will learn that our cause is the righteous one.”

It was the High Bishop Blattier, joining the fray himself.

Listening to it all, Frey laughed; Snow held his tongue.

”I’m honestly impressed—at your ability to spit that much nonsense with such straight faces,” Frey said dryly, stepping toward Blattier and his retinue.

”Have you gone so mad you craft a lie and then believe it yourself? Come on... spare me the drivel about faith and piety. Let’s just fight to the death.”

Frey’s words only enraged the faithful further; they had just heard him mock them and everything they did.

”You insolent heretic who doesn’t know his place,” Blattier snarled, advancing with Platini at his side and the Church’s retinue massed behind them.

”Believe me, I know my place very well,” Frey replied. ”I’d love to expose the lie you used to fool the whole world—but as you can see, that would take far too much time and effort.”

There was nothing worse than trying to convince a zealot that his religion is false—a lie spun by another man. Instead, Frey chose the other path.

”Killing you all will put an end to this farce. So let’s stop talking and destroy each other with everything we’ve got!”

They stamped the ground and launched forward together, detonating the earth beneath their feet.

The High Bishop cloaked himself in a mantle of holy aura, twin blades of light forming in his hands.

His swords met Frey’s dark twin blades, holy and shadow clashing, each aura trying to devour the other.

As the two dueled, Platini flashed in beside Frey and drove another lightning-quick punch—only for Snow Lionheart to parry it at the last heartbeat, forcing him back.

”I’m your opponent, Bishop.”

”Lionheart...”

In seconds, the four were fighting at blistering speed, wreaking colossal destruction as the Church’s followers swarmed to encircle them.

The clash between Frey and Blattier moved so fast that no one else could hope to intervene.

One wielded two dark swords; the other, swords of pure light.

Every strike released a terrifying surge of aura as their blades met.

”Blattier... you damned old snake. I see you’ve hidden quite a lot up your sleeves.”

With a swift slash, Frey ripped a great swath from Blattier’s robe, exposing his body—etched across it were the same blood sigils his followers bore, carved deep into flesh.

”So that’s the secret of your strength?” Frey sneered, as Blattier tried to cover them.

”This power is beyond your comprehension, Frey Starlight.”

”Beyond my comprehension? Do you truly believe borrowing scraps of power from your followers will let you defeat me?”

Blattier was an SS-class fighter—standing among the peak of human warriors. But that was nowhere near enough to face the Frey Starlight of today.

Frey had pondered it for a long time; at last, the Church’s strange rites made sense.

”Those blood sigils are just catalysts for your sacrifice rituals. In exchange for your followers’ souls, you gain... things. Angels. Or enough power to fight above your rank.”

He didn’t know how the Church had gotten its hands on such a thing. But for each Church follower who died, the bishops gained a measure of power in return.

Frey had killed many of them already—and had, indirectly, funneled their strength to the man before him.

Exploiting those sacrifices—the souls of thousands—Blattier had forced himself up to fight at a level comparable to SS+.

Blattier said nothing. That silence told Frey he was right.

”I don’t know if that power is permanent or temporary... but let’s see how long you last, Blattier.”

Frey’s body flared, power rising still higher. Despite his opponent’s sudden surge, he did not seem troubled .. in fact, he looked... entertained.

They hurled themselves at each other again, harder than before ..determined to end this lopsided battle.