Chapter 254: Outcome

Chapter 254: Outcome

The smooth progress didn’t last long. The moment the offerings transformed by the Evil God Ritual Array became a kind of ‘blood water’ and gathered towards the Magic Arms, touching it, that blood water seemed affected by power ful centrifugal force. All of it flew outward, splattering beyond the rune patterns, quickly dissolving. The Evil God Ritual Array drawn on the ground was utterly ruined.

“It failed.” Zheng Yichen withdrew his Mana and pulled out the Holy Spirit Hammer. “Try again?”

“Unnecessary,” Irene spoke. The instant the Evil God Ritual failed, she captured an unusual trace of aura. It wasn’t due to attribute conflict of the Magic Arms causing failure—it was disrupted by the ‘Evil God’! That ‘Evil God’ aura emanated from the Holy Spirit Hammer, though only for a split second.

Zheng Yichen pulled out Apophis…

“Using this will definitely also fail,” Loris stated.

“Fine, fine, fine! Then use this?” Zheng Yichen brandished the Sword of Promised Victory.

“Though it’s a High-Level Magic Soldier, I think this one is more suitable.” Zheng Yichen glanced at the Magic Arms Dan Marina pointed to. Was it Azure Wrath?

He retrieved Azure Wrath, a Magic Arms possessing a Sacred Attribute even among Intermediate Magic Weapons. Redrawing a new Evil God Ritual Array on the ground, Zheng Yichen suppressed the urge to add extra strokes—clearly, this thing tempted one to include new elements.

It definitely had ill intentions, otherwise why such temptation? Adding even part of the structure altered the entire array, introducing more unknowns. Only a fool would do such a thing.

Plunging Azure Wrath into the core node of the array, he repeated the previous steps with the offerings. The ritual progressed similarly, but this time, the catalyst transformed from the offerings successfully coated Azure Wrath. Zheng Yichen stared intently at the sword.

A Sacred Attribute Magic Weapon, touching this ‘evil’ substance, fused so peacefully. The foundational Magic Weapon trembled slightly. Zheng Yichen quickly glanced at the weapon’s true form stored in his Personal Space. It remained normal… so normal the entire weapon distorted, forcibly stretched into the form of a small light-being.

Especially the Light Ribbon wings appearing behind the figure made Zheng Yichen rub his eyes, making sure he wasn’t mistaken. Such distinctive wings—damn, this ‘Evil God’ looked exactly like…?!

The legendary ‘Wait for my signal!’ …Ahem!

As the Evil God Ritual Array fully activated, the small light-being solidified. Its distinctive armor aside, what truly captured Zheng Yichen’s focus was the gradually forming hood.

He tried to see the ‘Evil God’s’ face before the hood fully settled, only to be disappointed. Even after the ritual completed, he saw nothing. The manifested ‘Evil God’ scanned its surroundings. A faint, disdainful snort sounded in the air as Azure Wrath appeared in its hand. The surrounding ritual array shattered instantly.

It then noticed Loris and the others. Zheng Yichen keenly observed a subtle hitch in its movement. Well, stared down directly by three Witches… the pressure on this newborn ‘Evil God’ was immense.

“Much smaller body… and truly no face visible…” Zheng Yichen mentally grumbled, lowering his head to peer intently at the under-five-foot ‘Archangel’. Could fewer ritual offerings cause this ‘Evil God’ to shrink?

“My Lord.” After a brief pause, it approached Zheng Yichen, drove Azure Wrath into the ground, and knelt on one knee. Its voice was gender-neutral.

“Huh? Tyrael?” Staring at the ‘faceless’ being before him, Zheng Yichen asked with uncertainty.

“…I am not ‘Tyrael’.”

“Then where’s your face?” Zheng Yichen curled his lip, unconvinced!

“My manifested form serves only to reflect the weapon. This appearance? It stems from the influence of my Lord’s power.”

“Eh?” Zheng Yichen scratched his head, puzzled. “You mean… impression?”

‘Tyrael’ nodded. “Impression is the most crucial part. My Lord’s power is truly great.”

A freshly formed Evil God’s form is highly mutable. Furthermore, Evil God Rituals are inherently bloody and twisted. Any Evil God born without an indescribably terrifying look counts as ‘pretty’ or ‘handsome’—how good could they look?

Zheng Yichen somehow used ‘impression’ to influence this… Strictly speaking, it was the fragment of his Spiritual Power embedded within the Magic Weapons. That fragment contained parts of his personal information, mostly the thoughts and concepts he held while forging the weapon. Within that information lay the image of ‘Tyrael’. Yet, the actual born ‘Evil God’ wouldn’t fully conform to that blueprint. Remember, even standard Evil Gods often adopt distorted forms to deeply influence Cultists—traits the initial Cultists find appealing.

After all, those initial Cultists perform the ritual; their impressions shape the Evil God’s initial form. Cultists wanting extreme wickedness get an Evil God skewed accordingly. “Wicked already?” Okay, “more terrifying” fits better. Impressions matter, but they never amplified like they did here, becoming the dominant factor.

“Alright, enough flattering him. Can’t you see his tail’s raised?” Dan Marina stepped forward. She resisted pulling the ‘Evil God’s’ hood—pointless, since she’d already ‘seen’ beneath it: nothing. Removing it would just reveal a headless infantry soldier wearing armor. Strictly speaking, the ‘Evil God’s’ wings were its actual core…

“Communicating so rationally shows the offerings didn’t affect its intelligence. Good.”

“My Lord granted this capability.”

“Tsk tsk, I really am impressive!” Zheng Yichen rubbed his nose, visibly smug. Dan Marina glanced at him but stayed silent, continuing her observation of the ‘Archangel’. Even hindered by Zheng Yichen’s unusual power from perceiving its depths fully, her close inspection still gleaned much information.

This ‘Evil God’ couldn’t truly be called one; the aura it emitted was Sacred, utterly genuine, without the slightest pretense!

“Expected… yet undeniably incredible,” Dan Marina remarked with sincerity. Things related to Zheng Yichen were always uniquely unpredictable. What should be utterly impossible still forcefully manifested!

“Born of corruption yet remaining pure. Is that it?” Irene scrutinized the ‘Archangel’, her gaze practically itching to seize it, strap it to an experiment table, and commence invasive research!

“I am no true Archangel of Justice,” the ‘Archangel’ shook its head, addressing Zheng Yichen. “I am an ‘Evil God’ born from a consciousness rooted in evil. While I despise such rituals, I cannot hate them—without them, I wouldn’t exist.”

These words felt less like answering Irene and more like explaining its existence and thoughts to Zheng Yichen.

“Can you contact other… similarly born ‘Evil Gods’?” Zheng Yichen pointed to the hammer and magic sword planted nearby. The ‘Archangel’ cast a glance at them and shook its head slightly.

“Regretfully, I cannot contact them. Our ranks currently lie on different levels.”

Hmm? Difference between an Intermediate Magic Weapon and a High-Level Magic Soldier? Zheng Yichen stroked his chin thoughtfully before turning to Dan Marina. She seemed lost in thought. He considered tapping her head but feared disrupting her. He settled for waiting. Irene, however, couldn’t restrain herself. Approaching the ‘Archangel’, magic glowed faintly on her hand. Yet the ‘Archangel’ turned its featureless visage towards her.

Action belying its calm tone, it swiftly tucked itself beside Zheng Yichen’s leg. The message was clear: it couldn’t fight, but it could hide.

“Finished thinking?” Zheng Yichen asked Dan Marina as she gradually refocused her gaze.

“Mhm. Can mostly guess the Sanctuary Church’s line of thought now,” Dan Marina replied, throwing an extra look at the ‘Archangel’. “Provided the ‘Evil God’ they ‘hold’ resembles him… my deduction likely holds true.”

“Hold? Can they truly hold it?” Loris stated calmly, devoid of scorn, merely stating a fact.

“Hold? Impossible. The true forms of the Magic Arms reside with Little Dragon. At most, they’ve detained something akin to a Projection.”

“But they don’t seem keen on coming out,” Zheng Yichen pointed at the two Magic Weapons. He’d spoken plenty to them already. Whether unheard or due to extreme aloofness, they offered no response. “Should I threaten them by smashing the weapons?”

“Hey! You really say such things right in front of him?” Dan Marina glanced at the ‘Archangel’. Its genuine reverence for Zheng Yichen was plain.

“Mere words. Wouldn’t really do it—can’t bear to,” Zheng Yichen shook his head. If he truly intended that, he’d have acted long ago.

Seeing Irene relentlessly closing in, the ‘Archangel’ lifted its head, reclaiming Zheng Yichen’s focus. “My Lord, please refrain. Destroying the Magic Arms’ true form deals severe injury, yet it does not cause us… no, them—to vanish. It frees them. Allows them to become true ‘Evil Gods’.”

“Hmm? Breaking control through that?” Dan Marina pondered. That fit. The connection between Zheng Yichen’s Magic Arms and their Projections was absolute. Using a Projection as a foundation for an Evil God anchored those Evil Gods’ roots to the true weapon.

Zheng Yichen’s unique power grants him absolute control over his Magic Weapons. An Evil God rooted in a weapon lacks the Authority to destroy that weapon itself. Further, they can’t sever their own roots like suicide. Yet… that doesn’t mean escape is impossible.

If Zheng Yichen destroys the weapon? The cases differ. Beyond Azure Wrath, the Evil Gods linked to the Holy Spirit Hammer and Apophis have Cultists. Apophis, especially, boasts a larger following. Should their true weapon explode? They’d suffer immensely. But an Evil God endures if its essence survives unharmed—recovery is possible.

Azure Wrath, however, was just born. Cultist-less. Destroy its true weapon and, lacking any foundation, it must dissipate.

“I can fix that vulnerability for you,” Irene offered earnestly. “No transaction needed this time.”

Dan Marina smiled knowingly at Irene. “Like we don’t know what you’re thinking?”

“Hence the free service,” Irene deadpanned, then turned to Zheng Yichen. “I will discipline those disobedient Evil Gods for you.”

“Disobedient? Hard to say yet. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

Irene shot Dan Marina a look laced with growing irritation. Are you deliberately opposing me? Would shutting up kill you?

“Besides, I started investigating this mess first. Hoping to snatch it midway? Ask me?”

“Resolved through play?”

“Solving things lightly shows true skill,” Dan Marina shrugged lightly. “Can solve this while having fun—problem? Also, the Sanctuary Church side… Are you truly looking to join in? Are you planning to craft a new Alchemical Avatar?”

Irene fell silent momentarily. Assembling those materials back then might’ve seemed casual, yet they were immensely valuable—not easily found, even by a Witch. Exposing her current Avatar over this wasn’t worth the cost.

“And… stop scheming toward it, putting Little Dragon in a tough spot,” Dan Marina cut off Irene’s next words swiftly, leaving the other Witch speechless and inwardly seething.

Eventually, Dan Marina obtained her desired result. She departed the experimental site, the ‘Archangel’ in tow. She promised to find it suitable placement and managed to lure Irene away too. Since Zheng Yichen needed to examine materials Dan Marina left, further work on the Magic Weapons was impossible. Waiting served no purpose, making Irene an easy target for Dan Marina’s ‘temptation’.

Lastly, Loris cleaned the area. The valley underwent a complete purge. Saturated with destructive energy, it annihilated every last trace of the Evil God Ritual…