Chapter 241: The Process

Chapter 241: The Process

Using a holy-type magic weapon as a foundation to create an Evil God through an Evil God Ritual seemed far-fetched at first. However, with the Demon Sword Sect as a precedent, it was indeed feasible. The reason for not choosing a magic weapon with Light Element power was because Light Element power and Holy Element power were different. Even though they appeared very similar, Light Element power countered Dark Element, while Holy Element power not only countered Dark Element but also suppressed all evil-type powers!

Dark Element was merely a category of power, like day and night, and could not be labeled as inherently evil. However, evil powers could indeed be derived from the Dark Element. For example, many Necromantic Creatures preferred to be active at night and could even gain additional enhancements.

Strictly speaking, Holy Element power was also a derivative of Light Element power, but it took the characteristic of suppressing evil to an extreme. According to the records of the Sanctuary Church, there were Evil Gods capable of using Light Element power, yet they could not employ the derived Holy Element power. It was important to note that Holy Element could encompass the Light Element system.

Based on this, they selected holy-type magic weapons for the “god-making” experiment. The Sanctuary Church possessed many holy-type magic weapons. For this experiment, the lowest quality magic weapon used was a High-Level Magic Soldier, and they even had several top-tier magic weapons that surpassed high-level quality.

However, all attempts to use these magic weapons as the foundation for the Evil God Ritual ended in failure. The Spellcasters speculated that this might be due to the rejection of different power systems. Of course, relying solely on holy-type magic weapons was insufficient to draw a definitive conclusion. Therefore, the Sanctuary Church introduced magic weapons from other systems into the experiment, including many of the evil type… Where did these magic weapons come from?

The Sanctuary Church did not only trouble Witches—such beings had become increasingly rare over the past century or so. While dealing with Witches, they devoted more effort to cleansing the recurring cults. Naturally, the evil magic weapons seized from these cults were used without hesitation.

Unfortunately, using magic weapons other than the holy type for the Evil God Ritual still ended in failure. Not even a trace of an Evil God’s will emerged. What did this mean? It was impossible to use magic weapons as a foundation to create an Evil God! If it were possible, even in failure, the numerous Detection Magic spells deployed would have detected a faint trace of the Evil God’s will.

The absence of such traces indicated that this path was not viable.

This was highly unusual. The Sanctuary Church’s vast intelligence network ensured that the information they obtained about the Demon Sword Sect was almost entirely accurate. The other party’s Evil God was indeed born from a magic weapon. Yet, despite using a large number of magic weapons as the foundation and even offering high-quality sacrifices for the Evil God Ritual… there was no reason for an Evil God’s will to fail to emerge.

As for the sacrifices? Most were condemned prisoners or Cultists whose traces of the Evil God’s power had been Purified. Purifying the traces of an Evil God’s power from a Cultist was extremely troublesome and could only be done under specific conditions. Otherwise, the process would simply allow the Evil God to claim everything from the Cultist—similar to… purifying contaminated water into clean water.

Although the cost was high, the Sanctuary Church declared that they were wealthy and did not mind. After all, they could not capture innocent people for these experiments. Since those Cultists deserved death, making use of them before their execution was a way to make them pay for their actions.

With numerous failed experiments, some began to analyze that the issue might lie with the magic weapons themselves. The magic weapons they used differed from those in the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. The magic weapons in the Magic Weapon Summoning Book were Projections, yet their quality far surpassed that of magic weapons of the same level. Moreover, they possessed extraordinary growth potential that normal magic weapons lacked. Perhaps it was these characteristics that made the magic weapons in the Magic Weapon Summoning Book suitable for creating an Evil God. After all, the Demon Sword Sect’s magic weapon also originated from the magic weapon Apophis.

Once they hypothesized that the problem might lie here, they immediately began new experiments in this direction. As for why they had not considered this earlier—with hundreds of various types of magic weapons available for experimentation, who would bother using the obviously “borrowed” magic weapons from the Magic Weapon Summoning Book? Moreover, Projections seemed far less reliable than physical magic weapons in hand.

Having tried all available methods, they had no choice but to attempt this. Trying still offered a chance of success; not trying meant the god-making plan would essentially be shelved, at least until the Demon Sword Sect was completely eradicated. Afterward? They would need to locate the individuals who used the Demon Sword Sect’s Evil God Ritual to create an Evil God, gather more information, and only then begin a new round of experiments.

For the first attempt, they chose Apophis with thorough preparations… After all, this magic weapon had previously succeeded in creating an Evil God through an Evil God Ritual, so the chances of generating a new Evil God were high. Moreover, the Bloodline Power used by the Demon Sword Cultists… aside from the Evil God’s power that triggered the Bloodline Power, the Bloodline Power itself carried no evil aura. It was entirely self-based, fueled by one’s own blood—similar to Battle Qi yet entirely different!

Not only was its lethality formidable, but its controllability also surpassed that of Battle Qi. However, this power had no connection whatsoever with Elemental Power… It was even more extreme than Battle Qi!

At the very least, the Sanctuary Church had records of many special techniques related to Battle Qi usage. These techniques could violently harness external Elemental Power, wrap it in Battle Qi, compress it, and unleash it. Such Battle Qi techniques required the Battle Qi Warrior to reach a sufficiently high level and possess refined control over Battle Qi. Using them without meeting these conditions was not unleashing a powerful move but rather self-destruction.

In any case, Bloodline Power lacked evil characteristics. Given the opportunity, the Sanctuary Church did not mind adopting such a power. With thorough preparations, they naturally prioritized Apophis. They succeeded in creating an Evil God. Under these preparations, that Evil God’s fate was merely to be suppressed obediently, with no chance of escape. A completely controlled Evil God could only dutifully provide its power…

However, the Evil God Ritual based on Apophis also failed. What invigorated the experiment participants was that this failure was not as uneventful as before. It was indeed a failure, but the Detection Magic clearly captured fluctuations of the Evil God’s aura. Strangely, the Evil God’s will, which should have appeared first, did not emerge. After several attempts, the results remained the same.

Perhaps it was because Apophis had already been used in an Evil God Ritual once. This magic weapon had established some connection with that Evil God. This connection caused the Evil God Ritual performed with Apophis to only trigger that Evil God’s aura without generating a new Evil God’s will. No Evil God would idly watch another Evil God with identical characteristics appear, as such an existence would only continuously siphon away power that should belong to them.

Since the magic weapon Apophis was no longer viable, they proceeded with other magic weapons. After all, it was confirmed that magic weapons from the Magic Weapon Summoning Book could generate an Evil God. This reinvigorated the experiment participants who had hit a bottleneck, and they embarked on new experiments with renewed enthusiasm. Some suggested trying with an Intermediate Magic Weapon first. Azure Wrath, an Intermediate Magic Weapon, was a holy-type weapon and perfectly suited for a preliminary test.

Others opposed this. Although Azure Wrath was good, it was ultimately an Intermediate Magic Weapon from the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. Even if its actual effects were no worse than normal physical High-Level Magic Soldiers, its classification in the Magic Weapon Summoning Book remained as such. The gap between it and the High-Level Magic Soldiers in the Magic Weapon Summoning Book was still significant. If they were to use one, they should use the latest holy-type High-Level Magic Weapon from the Magic Weapon Summoning Book—Holy Spirit Hammer.

“You only chose Azure Wrath because of its appearance! Isn’t it just because that magic weapon looks better than a hammer!”

With both sides having valid reasons, a heated debate ensued. The final decision was to use a High-Level Magic Soldier… Why? The reason was simple: whether they used a High-Level Magic Soldier or an Intermediate Magic Weapon, it would not affect the resource consumption of the ritual. In that case, why not choose the higher-level magic weapon? If the High-Level Magic Soldier succeeded, the resulting “Evil God” would undoubtedly be stronger. Even if not in raw power, there would be a disparity in abilities.

Having found the correct path, after only a few attempts, a special Outsider among Evil Gods emerged… an Evil God with the Holy Element attribute. If this were revealed, anyone familiar with Evil Gods would find it hard to believe. Yet, at that moment, it happened under the watchful eyes of many secret members of the Sanctuary Church participating in the experiment.

Afterward, all information regarding the experiment was classified as top-secret by the Sanctuary Church. Most of the experiment participants were placed under strict gag orders. These gag orders were not mere contracts but magical prohibitions. Anyone attempting to leak information would trigger the prohibition instantly, leaving no opportunity for disclosure—it would erase all memories related to the entire experimental process from their minds!

This erasure acted directly on the Soul. Even if someone tried to restore the memories through other Magic, it would be impossible. Of course, such thorough cleansing would leave the individual’s Soul incomplete… However, not taking their lives outright was already considered “lenient” by the Sanctuary Church. An incomplete Soul was still better than death!

Moreover, most participants in the experiment were genuine researchers. This experience granted them rare and precious insights they might never encounter again in their lifetimes. Asking them to forget such knowledge? It would be like asking for their lives! To preserve this experience, these individuals would likely refuse to reveal any related information even with a knife to their throats.

As the mastermind behind the experiment, Achille knew more of the inside story. He had even personally faced the “Evil God” that emerged. Setting aside the peculiar feeling it gave, his impression of that Evil God was that it completely lacked the chaotic and disordered traits typical of Evil Gods. It was quite worthy of its own attribute, giving off a very holy and pure impression. However, Achille was not swayed by this initial impression.

After all, it was still an “Evil God” born from an Evil God Ritual. Its holy appearance might just be a disguise! Many Evil Gods possessed deceptive traits that made them seem harmless and approachable. Otherwise, how could they easily brainwash those with weak wills and turn them into fanatical Cultists?

This Evil God was immediately controlled by the Sanctuary Church upon its emergence. Considering its unique characteristics, the method of control was not outright violent, though it was still the most stringent. It had no chance of escape, which could be considered preferential treatment.

Currently, that Evil God was housed in a specially constructed “Hall” by the Sanctuary Church. They planned to select a suitable group of supporters to receive its power bestowal. These supporters would be closely monitored by the Sanctuary Church to prevent any information about this Evil God from leaking and to avoid unaware individuals unknowingly forming some “follower” connection with it.

Taking out a pendant adorned with two holy wings from his clothes, Achille stared at it for a long while. As someone who had directly faced the new “Evil God,” it had given him a “gift.” This pendant could unleash some of that “Evil God’s” power, such as bestowing a blessing on a target. The blessing did not affect their future lives but enhanced their combat prowess. More remarkably, the extent of enhancement depended on the user. Its main function was to guide the user’s power to release the blessing, with the power itself primarily supplied by the user.

The pendant was taken by the Sanctuary Church for extensive examination and was only returned to Achille the day before. After nearly a week of rigorous inspection, it was confirmed to have no hidden dangers before being returned. Had there been any issues, it would have been sealed away. Even so, upon retrieving the pendant, Achille was given additional instructions: he must carefully observe every detail when using it.

Standing up from the rock he was sitting on, Achille shifted his gaze elsewhere. Several figures were approaching the Canyon. Although the traces in the Canyon had been repeatedly cleared by the Sanctuary Church, leaving nothing behind, people could still make oversights. If any issues arose, it would be troublesome. Moreover, through his observations during this period, Achille found Oss’s character to be commendable. If not for him already becoming a Demon Sword Cultist with no turning back, Achille would not have minded recommending him to the Sanctuary Church for additional training.

Aside from his character, another notable trait was his exceptionally good luck. During this time, Oss had encountered many fortuitous events that others might not come across in years or even decades. Knowing that Oss’s recent goal was the experimental site of the god-making plan, Achille felt it necessary to personally wait for his arrival here. By observing him further, if Oss were to once again demonstrate his good luck, Achille could promptly appear and thoroughly eliminate any minor traces that might cause trouble.

“This place doesn’t seem to have anything special, does it?” One of Oss’s companions observed their surroundings, looking somewhat puzzled. Everything appeared completely normal.

“Since the employer asked us to investigate here, we should still check carefully,” Oss said. Truth be told, he managed to secure this low-difficulty, high-reward Quest largely due to his remarkable luck…