Extraordinary Voyage

The "unknown" attack had not yet arrived, but the holy power, vast as the sea, had already been transmitted first.

The layer of blood curtain enveloping the sky was easily pierced with a large hole, then quickly dispersed.

The projection of the Evil God Perseus felt that pure white, scorching light even before Princeton did; in the passionate and rousing "opera" performance, His face froze instantly as if a false mask had been placed upon it.

Clearly, that soul-stirring familiar taste reminded Him of the "painful" encounter from time long past.

As a great being, half-human and half-god, in this material world where True Gods cannot descend, there was little left that concerned Him, but...that light was one of them!

"Is it a means left by that 'pseudo-god's' minions?"

Defeated and sealed a hundred years ago by an angel descended by the Black Iron Cross Church, and eight years ago, the Wells family began to plot and prepare. Now, after nearly a decade of preparation, a part of His power finally seeped through.

What He did not expect was that after such a long time had passed, the local church still had methods specifically targeted at Him? At this moment, naturally, there was a sense of dread when facing the power of restraint left by an old rival.

Having paid a huge price and taken a long time, sending just a projection with less than a tenth of His power, Perseus was not at all prepared to risk it lightly, for He could no longer bear the cost of another failure.

"Hehehe! The curtain call ceremony will have to wait for another time!"

Seeing that only a very few sailors on the sea were killed by His abilities and the city wasn't even affected by His power yet, dissatisfaction brewed in His heart, but He could only snort coldly, 'Thank the Gods for their mercy!'

At this moment, Perseus still maintained the elegant posture of an operatic performer, gently bowing in mid-air to give thanks. Then, His ostentatious figure, like a weathered fresco, began to peel away and dissipate into the air.

Perhaps in less than a second, He would completely escape here, and then after several years, He would return and present another grand "tragedy" performance to this city!

Buzz——

Yet at this moment, the space in which Perseus resided suddenly froze! His already dim figure quickly restored to its original state!

A pure white circular space quietly unfolded here, as if the whole world was reduced to only black and white, with the other places bright white and Perseus's body pitch-black as ink.

Outside the stark black-and-white space,

Amidst the solemn hymn and holy light feathers, a somewhat ethereal angel's shadow had unfurled its huge, snow-white wings, silently enveloping this space. In its hand, a dazzling weapon too brilliant to look at was slowly piercing forward.

"Oh no!"

By the time Perseus truly realized the attack had arrived, He found Himself securely imprisoned like a bug enshrined in amber.

Extraordinaries often do not measure each other by combat power, and for gods, it's even less so. Although their overall strength far surpasses mortals, their infinite power is only within their divine position or domain, while in other aspects, they are merely slightly stronger than Tier 4.

Losing the first move, His situation suddenly turned passive, for the power to lock space did not belong to the domain He excelled in.

"Hehehe, you won't stop me again!"

Perseus knew that the angel who had once sealed Him could not descend again in such a short time, and the local church could not afford that price. If it were merely a weapon left by an angel, even if He was just a projection now, it wouldn't mean He had no fighting chance.

Though compared to a warrior skilled in combat, He seemed more like a sinister mastermind behind the scenes, as a god at the pinnacle of power in this world, He also had his means of response.

In an instant,

The stationary, ostentatiously dressed, androgynous figure began to change constantly.

A fat and rude middle-aged man, a graceful and charming beautiful lady, a wise elder, a lively and adorable child, a solemn chief justice, a sneaky thief, and so on.

All the character images from the play appeared one by one and then subsequently shattered. Each character's sacrifice could only sustain a short period, yet allowed Him to temporarily open the confinement, escaping a certain distance outward.

This was His mythical form, the concept of an "opera performer" jointly formed by the countless varied stage personas He had once portrayed, which was also the core of His divinity.

No being that has obtained immortal divinity should be underestimated!

No one knows how many vivid stage personas this god, who created the form of opera, might have had. With this expenditure of the source of power, Perseus was indeed inching closer to the outer edge of the black-and-white space.

Crack——

Evidently, the spatial lock realized through mortal instruments failed to form a closed loop and still had loopholes. After Perseus moved to the edge of space, just by expending a few more stage personas, He broke through the barrier of space and escaped!

"Huff...ha..."

Although successfully breaking free, Perseus's expression was extremely unsightly; He couldn't even maintain the grotesque laughter.

The ostentatious figure of an opera actor was merely His earthly form; the mythical form was His true self. Just now, only ten meters separated them, yet He consumed nearly two-thirds of His divine essence.

If a large-scale evil sacrifice cannot be conducted several times in a short period, this portion of power will be impossible to recover.

However, the wisdom of the God makes Him refrain from uttering harsh words again; as soon as He escapes the predicament, His body starts to become illusory again, evidently intending to flee without saying a word...

"'Steam Fortress' main cannon fire!!"

A thunderous voice from the sea made Him look down.

"What is that?" A dazzling bright white light suddenly lit up on the sea surface at His feet, filling His vision.

Boom—

"No—!!!"

As Perseus was sent back into the monochrome space by a shot from the main cannon, he faced the stunning tip of the spear thrust by the Angel's Shadow, no longer having extra power to block it, and with a "boom," he exploded into ash!

Only a tiny particle of light, yet more brilliant than gold, gently floated into the golden vessel held high in the hands of a tall, graceful figure, under the control of an invisible force.

"Old Benedict has done well. The position of bishop in the Phaletis District is yours." Standing at the bow, Principal Princeton, who had just made a divine intervention, finally revealed a genuine smile as the dust settled.

After all, facing a Tier 5 Demigod standing at the pinnacle of power in the Main Material World, even if it was merely a projection, even with thorough preparations, no one could claim to have absolute confidence.

Restrict the involvement of Tier 2 and above extraordinaires in the hunt for the 'Killing Ghost,' limit more diversified methods of intervention by official wizards, continuously giving the 'Box of Dead Souls' opportunities, and even stepping in at critical junctures to save the day until witnessing the descent of the Evil God's projection; the old man was waiting for this moment.

Firstly.

Weakening part of the Evil God's power via the Church's hand; just the demise of this one projection could make this restless fellow languish for at least a century. Otherwise, just a mere 'Box of Dead Souls,' even if eliminated in advance, the Evil God could still find opportunities to throw out two or three or even more, addressing the symptoms but not the cause.

In addition, the power of the divine weapon, "Holy Spear: Durandal," was exhausted in this battle; without long-term worship, the great force of "Reversing the Gods" cannot be restored.

Various relationships are both cooperative and antagonistic; the natural opposition between the Wizard Association and the True God Church will not change due to temporary cooperation. Having two thorns in his side removed at once, how could Princeton not be pleased?

Moreover, even if the Church did not act as agreed, he had enough backup plans to deal with the situation; it's just that after this city crisis, it would be the Church's turn to face the public's trust crisis.

But since the result is perfect, the subsequent contingency plans can be permanently shelved. And Bishop Benedict, who cooperated in all this, deserves to get what he wants.

Furthermore, when the old man looked at the golden vessel held by Princess behind him, his mood became more and more joyful; the previous sacrifices were all worth it!

The projection of the Evil God made a grand entrance, overwhelming the scene, yet departed without a trace.

Perseus, who had already turned to ash, could hardly imagine that his actions had already been meticulously calculated by a bunch of humble mortals, with multiple emergency plans ready for each of his decisions.

From start to finish, He was merely a bargaining chip in the exchange of interests among mortals...

Hehe... A self-proclaimed great God?

"Bishop, confirm that the projection of Evil God Perseus has completely dissipated, and there is no sign of the seal reopening!"

In New Inn Cathedral, after conducting an impromptu ritual to activate the divine weapon "Holy Spear: Durandal," over a hundred priests were lying on the ground due to the exhaustion of holy power, only the higher-ranked holy professionals were slightly better.

Upon hearing the middle-aged priest's voice, the old bishop standing in front of the Goddess statue opened his eyes from prayer. As the presiding officer of the ritual, he, by virtue of his spiritual connection with the Holy Spear, had already confirmed the outcome more precisely than the middle-aged priest's detection.

"Goddess protection!"

"Goddess protection!" the middle-aged priest quickly followed.

"Double the frequency of grand services in the cathedral afterward; the power of the Holy Spear needs to be restored swiftly, or it won't be enough to intimidate heretics!"

Looking at the seemingly ordinary, even shabby iron spear held in the snow-white angel Holy Statue's hand beside the Goddess statue, old Bishop Benedict said solemnly.

"Your will, Your Excellency!

This time's Evil God incident, I've already had new hymns being compiled, soon to be sung by the choir, the Goddess's mercy forever cloaks her lambs!"

The middle-aged priest bowed slightly.

After seeing the old bishop nod with satisfaction, the middle-aged priest seemed greatly encouraged, saluted once more, then turned and retreated.

At this moment.

The citizens still sleeping soundly are unaware of what happened tonight, maybe never knowing for a lifetime...