Chapter 88: Chapter 65: The Most Blasphemous Episode
Rage surged.
Death sang its praises.
A river of blood flowed backward, reaching for the heavens!
Hundreds of Commanding Mages knelt in piety, slitting their own arms and letting the scarlet blood flow freely!
The Bone Mountain collapsed. The remains of countless dead creatures writhed and converged, piling up before the Abyssal Teleportation Gate to form a colossal altar of blood!
Demons within a thousand meters of the altar prostrated themselves, their trembling bodies betraying a terror the bloodthirsty creatures could not conceal!
As this horrifying aura, wrapped in endless rage, spread across the battlefield, even the rising sun turned a dark red under its corrupting influence, staining the sky.
Albert held his sword with both hands. After a long night of high-intensity combat, his Steel Wings were broken, and his Steam-Powered Backpack had expended its last ounce of energy.
Reinhardt gripped his Giant Axe. With every breath, his chest heaved violently. Demon’s Blood continuously coated the scabbed-over stains on his Morphic Armor, layering upon it like a suit of Demon Blood Armor.
The dawn was crimson. Faint light slanted down, shining upon the two men through the thin, post-rain clouds and casting long, narrow shadows.
The Demon corpses and river of blood at their feet writhed and twisted as if alive, converging on the palace-like altar of blood.
Swarms of Demons knelt on the ground like the most devout believers.
The battlefield, which had thundered with the cries of war before dawn, was now so silent you could hear a pin drop.
A damp wind, reeking of rust, brushed against Reinhardt’s cheek.
The horrifying silence was broken by Albert’s hoarse, parched voice.
"A Great Demon..."
From the Mortal defenders on the walls of Frostfire Fortress, to the thirty-year veterans of the Iron Blood Battle Group, and even the freelance Judges from Infinitis—Reinhardt had vaguely heard all of them speak of this dreadful, taboo title.
And now, he was beginning to understand why the conversation always came to an abrupt halt whenever someone mentioned rumors of a Great Demon.
This aura permeating the battlefield’s air was an unknown Domain, something he had never encountered before.
Powerful.
Bloodthirsty.
Filled with eternal, violent rage!
This was a terrifying power that not even the strongest Earth Knight he had ever seen could rival!
At this moment, Reinhardt even thought he could hear mocking whispers from behind the blood altar, wordless murmurs from the deepest pits of the Abyss.
His left hand, which hadn’t tired even after slaughtering hundreds, no, thousands of Demons, now trembled uncontrollably. Even his breathing grew ragged.
The moment Albert sensed the Great Demon’s arrival, he saw his own future. In this war, not a single Imperial Knight, himself included, would survive.
Perhaps those as powerful as Lord Heinrich or Lord Sedon could resist a Great Demon’s assault, but in this war with no reinforcements and no route of retreat...
...death was the one fate no Imperial Knight could escape.
Out of the corner of his eye, Albert saw Reinhardt’s ceaselessly trembling left hand and let out a heavy breath. It reminded him of an old memory from his first year of service in the Infantry Legion, when he had come off the battlefield and cried like a child.
So he reached out and grabbed Reinhardt’s wrist, trying to comfort the Empire’s New Recruit Knight. They fought for the Empire, and they would die for the Empire. It was every Knight’s destiny, and it was their final moment of glory.
But.
Before the words of comfort could leave his lips, he looked into Reinhardt’s eyes. It wasn’t the panic of a new recruit scared out of his wits, nor the fear of impending death.
He saw a strange, playful mockery in Reinhardt’s gaze, as if he were communicating with someone who wasn’t there.
Then.
Before Albert’s very eyes, the New Recruit Knight turned to look at him and quipped inexplicably, "I just heard a voice, Angel.
Guess who was talking?"
Albert froze for a second.
Reinhardt continued, "The voice told me that if I kill you, I’ll receive an even greater blessing. I asked it who it was, and it said I already know."
Hearing this, Albert broke out in a cold sweat!
His soul nearly flew out of his body in fright!
’My Radiant Divine Emperor—!’
Dense crowds of Demons were kneeling on the ground. The blood altar for the Great Demon’s arrival was complete, and an aura of carnage and rage soared into the sky!
And Reinhardt’s dark joke, in this environment, was so out of place it was bizarre enough to make one’s hair stand on end!
’He’s completely insane!’
Albert even believed Reinhardt’s soul had been completely corrupted by the power of Avernus! That he was transforming into an Abyssal Demon!
He cautiously took a step back, tightened his grip on his sword hilt, and prepared to execute Reinhardt at a moment’s notice. "And how did you respond?" he asked tentatively.
Reinhardt tightened his grip on his axe handle, turned to Albert with a strange smile, and didn’t answer for a long time.
At this moment, time seemed to stand still. Immense pressure built up, bit by bit, inside the Radiant Angel’s heart, threatening to overwhelm him.
If Reinhardt fell to corruption, the power and blessings he possessed would instantly elevate him to a Great Demon under Avernus’s command!
That was an absolute power he could not hope to face, even if he gave it his all!
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Albert was sweating bullets.
But Reinhardt, as if his prank had succeeded, didn’t answer the question and instead burst out laughing.
"You were scared, haha—!"
A Blood Sacrifice for our lord, blood to summon the Great Demon!
In such a solemn, sacred, ’Holy Land’ filled with slaughter and blood!
Carried on the cold wind, Reinhardt’s laughter was incredibly jarring!
The pious Commanding Mages, who were kneeling on the ground performing the ritual, all raised their heads to glare at him with fury!
Blasphemy—!
BLASPHEMY—!!!
Even the Demons kneeling on the ground turned their heads to look at Reinhardt!
The blood altar was not just the scene of a ritual to summon an Abyssal Great Demon; it was the very embodiment of Avernus’s supreme will and majesty!
Reinhardt’s dark humor.
It was the equivalent of a Demon bursting into a holy cathedral in the Radiant Holy City while Imperial Priests were praying devoutly before a Radiant Holy Image, only to make jokes about the Divine Emperor into the ears of the Priests and Imperial Angels while repeatedly accusing them of being disloyal.
Such blasphemy—!
If any Demon dared to do such a thing, its name would be added to the kill list of every single Imperial Judge, and zealous believers would surely charge into the Abyss to hunt it down!
Far on the other side of the battlefield, Sedon and Heinrich also heard Reinhardt’s laughter and exchanged glances of dismay.
The Braggart Knight, Maxim, who had been fighting alongside the two lords and was already exhausted, heard the faintly familiar laugh. He clutched his head in resignation and thought, ’It’s over. We’re really done for this time! That guy Reinhardt has definitely lost his mind!’
Reinhardt, of course, was no madman.
But he was extremely annoyed by a voice nagging endlessly in his head. He wasn’t a native of this world; he didn’t possess that kind of devout Loyalty.
Furthermore, he had absolutely no interest in so-called Evil Gods.
He would only live as a human, and he would only die as one.
As for the fanatical retaliation from the followers of Avernus...
...Reinhardt figured that a chair built from the bones of these human traitors and Demons would probably be quite comfortable to sit on.
Of course, that was all assuming he could get out of here alive.
