Chapter 1805: Chapter 1804: Gate of the Underworld
Dawn City·South Gate
Sudden and intense radiance shook the towering city walls, causing the massive gate to hum.
In the depths of the dim night, gigantic hovering machines, shielded by fighters and drones, slowly attempted to approach the gate.
Vislo raised his head, looking at the scene displayed on the monitor and the radar filled with flashing dots, he raspily said, "Use frequency-reducing missiles, first hit them with automatic anti-aircraft guns."
He glanced at the radar screen filled with dense light spots, "Those that come out first are low-value drones. Those Sky Behemoths seem to be moving, but they’re hardly moving. They’re trying to exhaust our anti-aircraft missiles. Don’t fall into their trap."
"Yes!" a young officer beside him nodded and immediately turned towards the communications area.
"General," another middle-aged officer walked over at this moment.
Vislo turned his head to look at the middle-aged officer, "How’s the situation at the Glorious Palace?"
"Mr. Christos still hasn’t responded," the middle-aged officer quickly said, "the broadcast just got cut off, things seem quite bad over there, some Evil God believers mixed into the ceremony."
He sighed, "I said this ceremony shouldn’t be held."
"Saying anything now is hindsight," Vislo took out a pack of cigarettes, glanced at the screen, and handed one to the middle-aged officer, putting one in his own mouth.
The middle-aged officer handed over a wind-proof lighter, lighting the cigarette in his mouth.
Vislo took a deep drag, rasping, "Military matters are ours, politics are theirs, and since they have such intentions, they must have their reasons, they won’t stop doing it just because there are risks."
"Should we send troops back and see if we can save Christos and the others?" the middle-aged officer glanced at the screen and whispered, "but pulling out troops might let the conglomerate breach defenses."
"No need," Vislo sighed lightly, "before tonight started, Christos gave me the strict order that under no circumstances can we recall the City Defense Army to support the inside, everything is to prioritize defending the city."
The entire command room fell silent.
"If Mr. Christos," the middle-aged officer paused slightly, "dies tonight..."
"That’s their business, those dealing with politics naturally have their ways of succession, our order is," Vislo raised his head, looking at the screen, "never surrender."
"Report!" Just then, a young soldier walked over.
"What’s the situation?" Vislo looked at him.
"Weather monitoring reports, it seems fog is rising around us." the soldier quickly said.
"Fog rising?!" Vislo was slightly taken aback.
——
Dawn City
A roaring helicopter sliced through the sky, standing in the plaza, within the dim night, a glowing head burst out of the helicopter, carrying two Gauss Sniper Rifles, descending from the sky, crazily shooting at Dest below.
However, as those bullets landed on Dest, they shriveled up like hitting steel, pattering onto the ground.
Dest looked at the descending bald head, gently receding.
Suddenly, brilliance floated in the void, carrying surging power, directly sweeping the bald head away, crashing into the crowd on the ground.
At this moment, Dest suddenly realized something, and immediately turned around.
Behind him, a beautiful blonde woman had already landed beside Christos.
Her gaze swept over Christos’ hand pressing on his pocket, she directly reached out, into Christos’ clothing pocket.
"Selena?" Sett beside recognized this arriving blonde woman.
Purple-orange radiance instantly spread onto her body, extending the battle, her body suddenly stiffened, pupils losing their sparkle, her entire body began sparking with crackling electricity.
Yet her body followed the original ’command,’ pulling out a jade green leaf from Christos’ pocket.
In a burst of electrical sparks, she suddenly exerted force, crushing the leaf.
Bang—
Surging power instantly flooded out from the leaf, after a brief pause, directly collided with the purple radiance.
Boom—
A violent rumble directly blasted the few people on the podium.
Nearby staff protected Sett, rolling onto the ground, and Selena’s electrified body flew backward, then adjusted her position mid-air, slowly landing on the side, supporting the bald head on the ground.
The silver-suited Christos also flew forward at this moment, rolling to the front of the plaza.
He staggered up, looked at Dest above, and raised his hand unwaveringly, saying, "You’re lying!"
His voice, without the microphone amplification, wasn’t loud, but like a breeze, swept across the night, ringing in everyone’s ears.
Those who were doubting and hesitating in the crowd began clamoring again.
And at this moment, Dest simply raised his hand, purple radiance gathered in his hand once more.
But this time, before the radiance in his hand fully gathered, surging orange brilliance instantly rushed from the statue, flying towards Dest, piercing through the purple radiance surrounding him, slamming into his body.
Dest’s entire body instantly flew backward, slicing through the sky, crashing onto the plaza.
"Ellenska!" Dest raised his head, looking at the statue still gathering orange radiance, slightly furrowing his brow, "How much power do you still have hidden here."
He raised his hand, an illusory emblem surfaced in his hand, and then in the next instant, that illusory emblem vaguely became some sort of twisted physical form.
Surging purple radiance burst from the emblem in his hand, carrying his body to fly.
The orange radiance hit his body again, but this time, it didn’t shake him at all.
"Just a dead angel," he grasped the phantom crest, his gaze sweeping over Christos, Sett, Selena, and others below, then looking upward at the surrounding noisy crowd, "Even if he has any power left, it won’t harm me in the slightest."
He clasped his hands together, holding the crest, and a surging brilliance instantly burst from his palms, blossoming into distorted and dazzling rays that gathered together, flowing inward into his body.
His cheeks grew increasingly frenzied at this moment, he lowered his head, looked at the people below, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth, as if he was immersed in an extremely delightful realm, his entire being feeling ethereal.
But his body curled again, seemingly wrapped in a certain agony, causing all his nerves and muscles to contract and tense at this moment.
A terrifying and twisted pressure spread out at this moment, carrying a suffocating sensation, rushing in all directions.
"The great Grim Reaper is your deity, yet you so disdainfully reject your deity, not even acknowledging His name and identity."
He opened his arms, harboring a certain frenzied hatred and resentment, the twisted flesh under his body pulsating and contracting, like distorted souls tearing within him, wanting to burst out from his body.
"You’re full of lies," supporting her bald superior, Selena raised her head to look at the figure in the sky, "I’m not a believer of K, but I can sense ’K’ has absolutely nothing to do with your so-called Grim Reaper. What He does is nowhere close to these despicable means you’re employing now."
"Ignorant! The myriad changes of gods are beyond our mortal understanding," Dest’s twisted face cast a glance at Selena, then he lowered his head to gaze at the noisy crowd below.
It’s unclear if it was because of Christos’ words, or just being frightened by Dest’s appearance.
The crowded audience started retreating swiftly, attempting to leave the square, while some still-conscious staff quickly organized the evacuation.
"And you all!" Dest glared angrily at the crowd leaving, "You foolish sheep, not knowing what you truly believe in, your stupidity even angers the Divine Being!"
Yet before his words completely fell, an electronic lighter whizzed through the air, hitting him.
"None of your business!" a young man raised his head to look at Dest, "What right does a monster like you have to comment on ’K’? Go worship your Evil God! Monster!"
"Get out! Get out of Dawn City! Leave with your Evil God!" Some people in the crowd seemed influenced, turned, and shouted at Dest.
"Monster!!! Monster?!" Dest raised his head, his twisted body struggling intensely in the sky.
"Stay calm! Stay calm!" Christos coughed up a mouthful of blood, shouting loudly, "Everyone evacuate orderly! Evacuate orderly! Cough—"
"Evacuate, where are you going?!"
Yet before Christos could complete his sentence, Dest in the sky chuckled hoarsely. He raised his hand, the twisted flesh surging beneath him, with a mighty purple brilliance instantly coiling around him, rapidly gathering behind him.
He raised his head, looking at the statue still wrapped in purple light, attacking him, and opened his arms.
The mighty purple light surged like a lake or ocean behind his body, gathering swiftly, forming a huge and broad portal of light.
This portal of light was so vast that the gigantic statue standing in the square seemed small in front of it, only faint orange brilliance accentuating the statue’s uniqueness.
And at the moment the portal formed, thick fog began to encompass all directions.
"But my lord is merciful and kind, now, the lord is giving all of you the opportunity for eternal life."
Accompanied by his hoarse words, the surging fog started covering the sky densely in all directions.
The surrounding originally noisy crowd was instantly enveloped by this fog.
In the very center of this fog, the portal of light rapidly solidified, visible to the naked eye.
The purple brilliance slowly faded, transforming into a deep purple portal, seemingly constructed of stone.
An ancient and aged feeling slowly emerged from the portal, weighing down on everyone’s hearts.
Old runes, ancient marks, accompanied by purple brilliance, slowly surfaced on the portal.
"What is that...?" Christos raised his head, looking at the enormous portal within the fog, frowning slightly.
"Gate of the Underworld." A voice surfaced behind him.
He turned around, just in time to see the blonde-haired Selena supporting Bald Smith coming over.
"I’ve seen this door once in my family’s book collection," Selena raised her head, looking at the huge portal in the sky, "But back then, what I saw was more like a simple sketch of the door, with a lot of mystical symbols omitted, this is my first time seeing the real appearance of this gate."
"Gate of the Underworld, where does it lead? The Netherworld from those legendary tales?" Christos asked quietly.
"Not entirely," Selena shook her head slightly, "According to what I read in that book, the Gate of the Underworld indeed leads to the Netherworld, but it’s not a passage from reality to the Netherworld, rather it brings the Netherworld to reality."
She turned to look at Christos, reciting quietly, "’When the Gates of the Dead open from the mist, the realm of the departed will manifest on earth, all living beings will bow at the feet of the Lord of the Underworld, gaining eternal life.’"
Accompanied by her recitation, the surrounding fog seemed to surge at this moment, as if responding to a certain hymn.
"Eternal life," Christos looked at the surrounding fog, "Is it directly becoming the undead?"
"That book didn’t explain it, only had this chant," Selena shook her head, "But I assume that’s what it means."
"So, if the Netherworld descends on reality, everything surrounding gets enveloped by the Netherworld, and everyone dies becoming the Netherworld’s undead?" Christos raised his head, looking at the giant portal, "That’s not a ’good news’."
"Is the Legion Commander not in the city now?" Smith asked quietly beside them.
"No," Christos shook his head, sighing, "The syndicate found a way to lure him away, otherwise today’s incident wouldn’t have happened."
The entire fog grew increasingly silent.
"Dest followed me for at least a few months," Sett’s figure limped out of the fog, "And he’s been in contact with me for many years."
He raised his head, looking at the huge twisted figure in the sky, "I’ve never doubted him."
"That’s not your fault," Christos shook his head, also raising his head to look at Dest in the sky, "The Church of the Grim Reaper seems to have prepared far too long for this day."
"Will the City Defense Army return?" Smith asked.
"No," Christos shook his head, "Now the syndicate is already besieging the city."
"Look, what is that?" At this moment, Selena suddenly raised her head, looking up at the sky.
In the fog above, a vague reflection appeared.
