Badge in Azure

I might have done a lot of things that are against the teachings of the Codex, but I remain the staunchest of believers.

The great head inquisitor took his golden book and approached the altar that Saleen built while being escorted by the golden-armored knights. His mind was calm as he blessed himself with prayers.

Even the most powerful of mages did not possess as many pure status type spells as buffing spells in the divine arts. The golden-armored knights did not ride quickly.

The status buffs on the great head inquisitor grew by a layer with every mile they rode. White holy light shimmered and leaked under the black robe, as if it was an angel made of pure energy was hidden beneath the robe.

The judgment had only begun. Don did not go about it per the ways of the Holy See. He did not inquire anything and simply said with his rusty voice before every holy master chained at the pillars, “In the name of the Goddess of Nature, I judge you to be sinful!”

Don forcefully placed a green seed that he had acquired from Nailisi into each and every one of the holy master’s bodies. The green seeds absorbed energy in a frenzy after they entered the bodies of the holy masters before sprouting within the bodies of the holy masters.

While fear was obviously seen in the eyes of the holy masters of the Holy See and they struggled hard, the chains that Saleen chained them up with were something he had crafted for the moment. They mimicked the Shackles of the Fallen left behind by Goddess of Nature.

Saleen did not know much about the rules on the Shackles of the Fallen, but the holy masters’ levels were too low, far lower than that of the Divine Baby. The Shackles of the Fallen replicas that he had crafted shackled the souls of the holy masters tightly, making escape impossible.

The holy masters undergoing judgment were unable to speak. They had no choice but to see Don going about his business with restraint.

The seeds were something nurtured in the purgatory of the fallen and had a bit of divinity of the Goddess of Nature in them. Having such seeds growing inside the bodies of the holy masters was akin to dripping cold water in a boiling hot cauldron of oil.

One of the 12 holy masters 2qw finally unable to endure the suffering and opened his mouth. “I’m wrong! I want to repent!”

“Let him down.” Saleen looked at the holy master, whose pain-filled expression was lightened considerably after hearing his words.

That holy master had chosen to fall and betray the Lord of Glory. As such, the Goddess of Nature’s Seed of Punishment was no longer growing inside them. The resulting plant left in their body no longer continued to harm them.

The remaining 11 holy masters glared at the one begging for mercy with despise in their eyes. The holy master who begged for mercy was thrown into the purgatory of purification by Nailisi.

The troubled parts of their body would gradually be erased within that purgatory. They still had plans for that holy master. While they were but a level four fallen holy master, Don still needed extra pairs of hands.

The remaining 11 holy masters did not get to despise their fallen brethren for long. The Seeds of Punishment that Nailisi had created were simply growing too fast, so much so that it was hardly even meant for punishments.

She had no control over the divine powers of the Goddess of Nature. If it had not been for her double’s help, Nailisi would have never been able to create something with divinity in it. She was a demon, not a god.

Saleen was very satisfied. If a god were to punish a person, the process would have taken a very long time. That was not the kind of judgment that he wanted. He was simply trying to get those who tailed them to show themselves.

The fact that they were able to follow Saleen’s group for days without being shaken off meant that they were able to travel quickly. If Saleen were to turn around and chase them, there was no certainty his group would have been able to catch up.

What he wanted most at the moment was to execute the dozen of holy masters quickly to prevent further troubles of them being rescued.

He had seen how the great head inquisitor went about killing the villagers. Even though Nailisi had more than 100,000 demons under her command, the great head inquisitor would have been able to make short work of all of them given time.

Unless he was able to unleash ample numbers of ancient figures, there was simply no way pure numbers would have been able to do any harm to an enemy of such a level. The only things that he was able to rely on were the followers by his side and his own power.

“Defilers! Cast off the evil intentions in your minds and accept the cleansing of god…” The great head inquisitor’s voice was heard from several miles away.

The entire altar shook. The green holy light above the altar was dispelled by the purifying voice. The four holy masters’ souls cheered and began to leave.

Eleanor brandished her longbow and shot elvish life arrows at them, which hit all four of them almost instantly. She lacked the ability to target souls on her own, which was compensated by Saleen’s instant Sensory Sharing. It enabled her to shoot down all four souls in mere moments, which meant less than one-fifth of a second.

A level eight royal elf’s prowess at archery was hardly different from that of a level nine human archer. Furthermore, Eleanor was armed with Seven Nights, which was an equipment equal to a godly item and allowed her to use her own abilities to the fullest.

“Proud, unbridled ones, prepare to bask in the wrath of god.” A huge sun appeared in the air when the great head inquisitor finished casting.

The sun was not all that hot, but it encompassed the entire altar. The green holy light at the altar was completely dispelled. The sun, however, came a little too late. The bodies of the remaining 11 holy masters were rendered completely stiff, covered in something like the bark of a tree. Their internal organs were all turned into plant fibers.

The holy masters quickly withered under the holy light in the air, breaking down to ashes all over the place as the wind blew.

Saleen’s body became wrapped in a cloudy mist. The mist spread and shrouded the entire altar. Nailisi had opened the portal to the purgatory of the fallen quietly. Twenty-four chains sneaked out of the portal.

The purgatory of the fallen was the space she had the most control of. While the rules within the purgatory of devils were complete, its level was not high enough. As for the purgatory of purification, it lacked stability. The purgatory of elements also only had two major elements.

The power of the Shackles of the Fallen came directly from the Goddess of Myers. While the goddess herself had perished, the 24 chains were items that belonged to the goddess and had retained their powers. Even Saleen’s family badge would not have been able to destroy it.

No one shrouded in the mist was afraid of the holy light shining from above. All within the mist surrounded Saleen and were ready to move. Don was the only one who sneaked outside the mist with the God-hunting Spear in his hand. His body turned spectral and sank into the ground. He hid right beside one of the killed holy masters.

The God-hunting Spear’s attributes were all wiped out by the purgatory of purification. It had become a weapon more suitable for Don, especially when he was hiding, since the spear no longer emitted any energy fluctuations.

The galloping of the warhorses sounded like war drums. Over a hundred golden-armored knights appeared between the mountains, charging straight for the altar. The great head inquisitor did not charge at the forefront. He had instead been surrounded by 12 adjudicators as he prepared to cast powerful divine spells.

The 12 adjudicators chanted prayers quietly. Saleen could not afford to ignore that situation.

The 12 level nine holy masters were chanting long prayers at the same time. If the divine spell were to be completed, it would be more difficult to deal with than a level 10 magic spell. After all, the one who was in charge of that divine spell was a level 10 holy master.

Saleen lifted his arm. With a spin on the star chart of his Starline Bangle, the Thunder Dragon Blaster materialized. Four dragon claws clung to his arm as a bolt of electricity sparkled at the barrel. A lightning icicle was fired.

The lightning icicle zipped through the golden-armored knights as if it had a life of its own. Saleen had no way of targeting the great head inquisitor, but he had no problem targeting any one of the 12 adjudicators. The great head inquisitor had halted the divine spell when the lightning icicle reached them.

If there was one way that divine spells proved better than magic spells, it was that the recoil was small when halted all of a sudden.

The great head inquisitor stopped the large-scale divine spell. It did not harm anyone around him. An “X” mark on the cover of the golden book in his hand rose, blocking the lightning icicle.

The lightning icicle sparkled with electricity and instantly adjusted its angle over a dozen times within several feet, but it still blasted straight onto the large “X” mark.

The great head inquisitor was one whole level higher than Saleen, so it was immensely difficult to circle around the great head inquisitor’s defense by controlling the projectile alone.

While the enemy’s attack was also halted, the “X” mark could have only been used again in another two or three hours. That meant the “X” mark had been rendered completely useless in that particular battle.

The great head inquisitor found it rather regrettable. The mark had been an offense-type skill. It had been a miscalculated move to use it for defense.

The second icicle came before them in no time. Saleen had no intention of stopping before he was able to hit someone. The golden-armored knights clashed with the demons.

Things were looking dire for Saleen’s group. With the exception of the two supreme demons being able to withstand the impact, the other demons were all forced onto the altar by the knights, making them utterly incapable of stopping the knights’ advance.

The golden book on the great head inquisitor’s hand automatically flipped to another page. A black symbol, which looked like a straight horn, flew out. The symbol was more straightforward. It simply clashed with the lightning icicle from Saleen, which was shattered. The horn-like symbol flew for another 300 feet or so before it dissipated.

The great head inquisitor was able to keep calm. When the third icicle reached him, the golden book automatically flipped to the third page. It sent out a cut-off square symbol. The icicle blasted right onto the cut-off part of that symbol.

Everyone heard a crisp crack within a radius of hundreds of feet. The icicle had shattered, but the symbol that the great head inquisitor had unleashed also shattered.

Saleen’s mind was incredibly calm. He shot the fourth and the fifth icicles at the same time, targeting two adjudicators.

The great head inquisitor’s golden book flipped to the fourth page. There was a wavy symbol on that page, which was divided into three sections. The symbol flew out and swiped the fourth lightning icicle in midair before crashing into the fifth icicle.

Both symbol and icicle shattered at the same time. But, the fourth icicle swooped down from above, crackling with electrical energy as it went for the head of an adjudicator.

The adjudicator threw a metal disk in his hands calmly, sending it flying at the lightning icicle. The metal disk was only the size of a palm, but it immediately turned into a three-foot target as it hit the air.

The great head inquisitor’s mouth ticked. He was about to do something to stop it, but he was too late. The sixth icicle was right before them as the golden book flipped to the fifth page.