Volume 6, Chapter 82 – Hidden Beneath the Holy Light (Part 3)

“At that time, I thought of the Tower of Ymir again. If I were to swap my soul with his, could I live forever using his body?”

“But you failed.”

There had never been a case in the church where Julius had suddenly become younger or changed his appearance.

“Yes, I failed. My soul was unable to enter the Fallen’s body. And because the experiment failed, his body underwent a strange change. His legs took root in the tower like a plant, and his consciousness gradually disappeared with the passage of time. I thought this was a very meaningful thing and did not stop it from happening. After a week had passed, that Fallen had turned into the thing you see behind you—he had become a mindless lump of flesh.”

“…These lumps of flesh were all once living Fallen?”

Recalling her experience of touching the lump of flesh just now, a sour taste welled up in Evelyn’s throat—her stomach was churning.

“As Fallen, it is only natural for them to dedicate themselves to the church.” Not at all feeling that his actions were cruel, Julius’s smile became even more sinister. “The lump of flesh that the Fallen had turned into eventually stopped growing. In order to figure out what on earth this thing was, I carefully dissected the pulsating lump of flesh. And it was at this moment that a golden thing suddenly appeared in the core of the Tower of Ymir. After circling above my head for a while, it took the initiative to drill into the lump of flesh that was overflowing with blood. I was also disturbed by the strange movement and was devoured by the lump of flesh in retaliation. When I regained consciousness, the lump of flesh had already withered and died. However, there were still two lives left in the entire Tower of Ymir.”

Besides Julius, the other life should have been the lump of flesh. But since it had already died, what was the new life?

Afraid to hear the answer, her body uncontrollably, Evelyn kept retreating, her gaze, which had been looking for a weakness, also directly moved away from Julius.

However, the more Evelyn showed this appearance, the more satisfied Julius became. He advanced step by step, pressing down on her like a wall.

“After I woke up, I found that I had become a Fallen, and my ability was precisely that of the Fallen’s reverse growth. However, there was another thing that I was concerned about.” A ferocious smile gradually appeared on Julius’s face. He questioned Evelyn in a condescending tone. “Guess, what was the other life?”

“…I’ll kill you.”

Unable to think of a better word, Evelyn gritted her teeth tightly, her nails digging into her palms, dripping blood drop by drop.

This was exactly the scene Julius wanted to see. With a mad laugh, he cruelly and undisguisedly announced in a loud voice.

“It’s you, Evelyn Anna Ymir Shalu!”

In an instant, a buzzing sound, as if her brain had been hit hard by a blunt object, echoed in her head. Her vision began to blur, and her body went limp. A heavy weight seemed to be pressing on her chest, and even her breathing became sluggish.

“What did you say…?”

What should have been a refutation was now exceptionally lacking in confidence.

When Julius had spoken of compatriots and another life, she had already guessed the answer.

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An absurd, yet irrefutable fact.

Evelyn could only try her best to tell herself that everything Julius had said was a lie, but another voice in her mind told her that he was not lying.

As if he felt that this blow was not enough, Julius continued to pursue with a smug look.

“If we call the lumps of flesh in this room the losers, then you and I are the successful angels. You and I both have the ability to hatch them after touching them. But we are not without our differences. I have obtained the ability of reverse growth, while you have the blessing of the Tower of Ymir. Although you have evolved from a lump of flesh transformed from a Fallen, you do not have the markings that symbolize a Fallen. To this day, I have not yet figured out what the golden ball of light released by the Tower of Ymir at that time was.”

“However, after that golden ball of light entered the lump of flesh, the effect of the grace of God from the Tower of Ymir became much weaker, and even the magic power was weakened as well. So I think, that was probably something like the Heart of Ymir. There is some kind of connection between you and the Tower of Ymir. No, this is obvious. The evidence is that from the moment you were born, you have possessed the most characteristic ability of the Tower of Ymir. And, you can also wield the Staff of Divine Retribution, which requires at least a thousand points of magic power to use.”

“Impossible. I was raised by my parents. My memory… couldn’t have deceived me.”

Saying a refutation that even she herself found laughable, Evelyn, whose whole body had gone limp, could only use the Staff of Divine Retribution as a tool to support herself.

As if to shatter Evelyn’s insistence, Julius stated a fact that Evelyn had expected, yet was unwilling to accept.

“Of course, this was my deliberate arrangement. Shortly after you were born, I immediately used the Tower of Ymir to create an angel’s womb in the same way—that is, the lump of flesh that gestates angels, hoping to gather the abilities of more Fallen into myself in the same way. That way, as long as I go on an expedition alone, I can defeat the kingdom and the empire.”

“Unfortunately, since then, I have tried various methods, deliberately being swallowed by the lump of flesh, and swallowing the lump of flesh. None of these methods have allowed me to have new abilities. However, I discovered during the experiment that the ball of flesh would naturally rupture and produce something I called an ‘angel’.”

“The naturally hatched angels are always no different from monsters. Only the lumps of flesh that I have touched can barely have a human form. But this is not absolute. From the results of hundreds and thousands of experiments, I do not have the ability to hatch an existence like you, which has intelligence and an appearance completely indistinguishable from a human. And they are the real weapons that could possibly complete the great task of unifying humanity.”

“Therefore, I have set my sights on you. As an angel like me, and one who has been given the protection of the Tower of Ymir, you may be more talented in hatching than I am. In the eyes of an ordinary person, this is a time-consuming gamble, but to me, a dozen or so years are but a fleeting moment.”

“With your ability to eliminate negative emotions, you are the best candidate for the next Pope. The believers will spontaneously support you. Therefore, I arranged for you to be in a family that could not have children, so that you would have real memories. Then, when you started to remember things, I deliberately let the Fallen into the city, and then, by shrinking the search range of the paladins, let the fleeing Fallen slip into your home, creating a scene that would make you hate the Fallen. From your time as a vagrant in the slums, to being adopted by the church, and even the food being stolen and being beaten in between, it was all arranged by me.”

“I did all this to make you hate the Fallen who had ruined your life. As long as you loathe them, the future experiments will not cause you any psychological burden. At the same time, you will be more suitable for the position of Pope. You may not be able to understand my actions now, but when humanity has driven away the Blood Clan and you have become the Pope of a glorious era, you will thank me for what I have done.”

“I… am a Fallen…?”

Not paying any mind to Evelyn’s dreamlike muttering, Julius touched his chin with great regret.

“The only pity is that there was a small mistake in the middle of changing you. I didn’t expect that when you were living on the streets, your personality would become unexpected. Nasty, cunning, not at all like what a Pope should be. But these are not problems. Personality will not change your talent.”

“After you became the next Pope, I had the Fallen ambush you time and time again. The purpose was both to deepen your resentment for the Fallen and to test your qualifications as an angel hatcher. As long as you create an unprecedentedly powerful army, you are the most suitable person to become the Pope.”

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“Now, I have won the bet. You are indeed more qualified as a hatcher than I am.”

“What a joke!”

A hysterical voice, almost a roar. Evelyn grabbed her silver hair and shouted.

Why did Yisi stop her from slaughtering the Fallen? Why did she have the same purification ability as the Tower of Ymir? Why did her divine power disappear with the destruction of the Tower of Ymir? And why was she the only one who could use the Staff of Divine Retribution?

If the blood of the Fallen flowed in her body, and at the same time, she had the power of the Tower of Ymir, then everything would make sense.

But to know where she came from was undoubtedly a punishment.

To be born from a monster transformed from a Fallen, and then to go back and slaughter countless Fallen?

This was so ridiculous that it was laughable.

Too absurd, and too hopeless.

The heavy burden made it extremely difficult for Evelyn to breathe. She couldn’t even stand up. A vortex of guilt and despair entangled her tightly. In the end, she could only kneel on the ground like a person who had lost all their strength, her eyes staring blankly ahead.

Appreciating Evelyn’s despairing appearance, Julius slowly advanced with unusual satisfaction.

“Hehehe, if you hadn’t come to the fifth level and had agreed to cooperate with me, you wouldn’t have ended up like this. More often than not, not knowing the truth is a kind of happiness.” Walking to a position only half a step away from Evelyn, Julius reached out to her, grabbed her hair, and prepared to drag her into the hall. “You should fulfill your duty, angel—ugh?!”

“The one who should die is you!!!”

Without any warning, Evelyn, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly shot up. At the last moment, she turned the tip of the Staff of Divine Retribution and stabbed it into Julius’s chest with its sharp end, her beautiful face filled with a triumphant smile.

“Did you think I would just give up resisting like that, Julius? You’re too naive! If I were a woman who could be so easily defeated, I wouldn’t have been trying to escape the church all this time!”

Her whole body roaring with the flames of anger, Evelyn pushed the divine staff forcefully. While Julius’s mouth was wide open in pain, she plunged most of the divine staff into his chest. Immediately after, she pulled out a hand, drew a short blade from the side of her long boot, and without any hesitation, plunged it into Julius’s heart.

Tssk.

The sound of a sharp object piercing a body. But Evelyn did not end it there. She let go of the short blade that had already been plunged into Julius’s heart, took a big step back, held the Staff of Divine Retribution with both hands, kicked Julius hard in the chest, and ruthlessly pulled the staff out of his body.

And then.

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—Escape.

Just as she had said just now, she had indeed suffered a huge blow for a moment. But she was not a weak woman. Julius had made a huge mistake in one thing. The life in the slums had taught her not only a nasty personality, but also the principle that life was more important than anything else. The facts Julius had stated could certainly break the psychological defense of most people, but they were ineffective against her. If this was enough to make her give up resisting, then her time of struggling in the slums, fighting against hunger every day, would have been for nothing. She was not a young lady who would give up on escaping and accept her fate just because of a few words about her origins.

Julius’s calculations had been wrong from the beginning.

All she had to do now was to escape.

Evelyn was very clear about the difference in strength between her and Julius. Although she had just pierced his heart, as the Pope, Julius not only had learned the holy arts, but also had the resources of the entire church as his backup. It was not impossible for him to be carrying an item that could reverse death and pull a person back from the brink.

As long as Julius was given a moment to breathe, the one who failed would surely be her.

She absolutely could not let Julius succeed. She had to kill him with her own hands.

Running wildly in the passage, Evelyn cast aside Julius’s various statements from her mind. Her heart was filled with only triumph. She even subconsciously looked at her right hand, savoring the moment the short blade had pierced Julius’s heart.

“The one who should die should go to the grave early. I’ll definitely give you a good lesson after I get out.”

Returning to the fork in the road again, Evelyn directly chose the passage on the right. Since the left led to the angel’s room, then the right must be where the Tower of Ymir was. As long as she entered the tower, she could escape the temple from the sky bridge.

By then, she would leave everything to Yisi. Even if she had been deceived, she would accept her fate.

Gritting her teeth, Evelyn plunged into the passage on the right. But just then, a creepy voice sounded from behind.

“Hoh, I really have to admire your psychological fortitude. It’s a pity the difference in strength is too obvious. With you at only level 25, even with a stamina-enhancing magic potion, it’s impossible for you to escape from my grasp.”

Evelyn turned her head.

Julius was appearing with flight magic, less than fifteen meters away.

Damn it.

Drinking the magic medicine made from mixed blood, Evelyn chanted an incantation.

“□□□—[Ice Lance].”

A total of four ice lances, as thick as an adult’s arm, immediately shot towards Julius in the sky. But Julius just waved his divine staff and broke the ice lances.

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An expected result.

Evelyn continued to chant.

“□□—[Accelerate], [Power Blessing], [Frigid Wrath].”

No longer a child’s play like [Ice Lance], this time Evelyn used the inherent magic of the Staff of Divine Retribution. A huge sheet of ice, condensed from ice, filling the entire passage like a flyswatter, slammed down on Julius. The grand momentum even made the surrounding walls emit a grating, ear-piercing sound.

However.

“□□□—[Light Slash].”

Julius easily cut through the ice sheet with a sharp blade, a layer of coldness on his face.

“Although I don’t mind playing a game of cat and mouse, you should also know when to stop.”

When his voice appeared again, it was already beside Evelyn.

A golden blade of light arrived behind Evelyn in the blink of an eye. Even though she had already commanded her legs, which were about to be cut, to dodge, her body could not keep up with her brain’s reaction.

This is bad.

The difference in strength was obvious at a glance.

Once her legs were cut off, everything would be over.

However.

“Haaah!”

A suddenly appearing long spear shattered the blade of light.

Yisi inserted herself between the two, the corners of her slightly raised mouth filled with provocation and mockery.

“Julius, the end has come.”