Chapter 590: Awakening

At the same moment, within the void of the Astral Plane, a colossal ship of peculiar shape, overall rectangular, floated there. It was 300 cubits (133 meters) long, 50 cubits (22 meters) wide, and 30 cubits (13 meters) high, gliding lightly and effortlessly through the astral realm.

In the small chapel set up inside this great ark, Pope John Honorius, with a cold and stern expression, gazed ahead. The deity he served granted him a vision peering into that magic tower in Atlanta, thereby also perceiving the magical radiance emanating from the spire of the 'Land of Fate.'

"Divinity Level Thirteen!"

Cardinal Weimar Medici seemed to ponder, narrowing his eyes: "I wonder if this stems from the fate he controls—"

"The possibility is extremely slim. Although he harbors great ambition regarding fate, I am more inclined to believe that he will compromise with reality and choose easier laws, such as life and death, disorder, or the yin and yang aspects of the world. After all, even an existence like Ananke, born at the dawn of this world, ultimately abandoned 'fate,' and at that time, her divine position as a Law God was only mid-tier."

This was the Guardian Angel, Cardinal Isolde Alank. Though his tone was dismissive, he did not speak definitively: "Of course, the specifics still depend on the prayers and divine office sequence published by his church. Or, we can judge directly through combat."

"It is fate!"

This was a cluster of radiance on the left side, beneath John Honorius.

There were four such clusters of light, arranged above Isolde Alank and Weima Medici, flanking the Pope—these were the avatars of the four Archangels. According to the Radiant Canon, the Pope is the representative of the Lord of Radiance in the mortal world, equal in status to the 'Son of God,' and his rank is above all angels.

Even after the final schism of the Radiant Church, this rule remained in effect—the Pope of the Old Church, the Patriarch of the Northern Church, and the 'Archbishop of Canterbury' of the Protestant 'Anglican Communion' were all tacitly recognized by the angels as possessing the rank of 'Son of God.'

And the one speaking at this moment was the Angel of Harmony, the Angel of Friendship, the Angel of December, the Angel of Friday, the Avenger of the Radiant Lord, the King of Angels who guarded the planet Venus in place of Lucifer—'Anael'.

His saintly name during his time as a saint was 'Elijah of the Thunderbolt'.

"My spirit tells me that it is indeed the power known as 'Destiny'. Our enemy, Andre Lee Willenstein, is already a Fate Lord of the Thirteenth Divine Rank—"

It was as if a cold wind had swept through this small chapel, the atmosphere freezing, and the faces of everyone present were exceptionally solemn.

"Your Holiness!"

A cardinal holding a silver cross stepped forward from among the many attendees: "Do you still intend to stand by and watch, Your Holiness? Watch the enemy of the Lord gradually steal the Lord's glory?"

Pope John Honorius remained silent, but the Guardian Angel Isolde Alank wore a displeased expression.

"Withdraw!"

He barked sternly, and his status as a Seraphim lent overwhelming pressure to every word he uttered: "How dare you question the decision of the Living Son on Earth?"

The cardinal's face turned as pale as paper, and he weakly retreated several steps. It was not until 'Chancellor' Kader Kitely spoke: "Kajeron's action is indeed overstepping, but Your Holiness, we too must indeed make a choice. This may be our only chance in the next ten years to resolve the issue."

This magnate who controlled the most formidable armed force of the Holy See, the 'Inquisition', drew everyone's gaze toward the papal throne.

"But this choice may also yield nothing after a disaster."

This was another cardinal, Danny Hankins: "I must warn you all! Today, the Wiltonshire family has over three hundred and seventy legendary warriors armed to the teeth, six thousand 'Storm Troops' with legendary combat power, and tens of thousands of outlaws at the extra-legal level, all stationed outside our churches in major American cities!"

"What does he want? To storm the churches and kill people?"

"How dare he be so rebellious?"

"Heretic! How venomous and dark is this sinner's heart?"

"Sinister intentions! Such a villain deserves to be covered in sores and fall into the deepest hell!"

"I think even Robespierre and Talleyrand in their time were not one ten-thousandth as sinful as he!"

Inside this church, a vast storm of divine power suddenly erupted. Except for the Pope and the four Archangels, everyone's eyes blazed with anger.

Danny Hankins, however, remained calm: "That is a man who reached the pinnacle of mortals in just a few years, his hands stained with countless blood. I can say for certain that if war truly breaks out, our 'Sanctuary Department' can only ensure the safety of three hundred and twenty of our churches. If we cannot guarantee his death, then the Wiltonshire family's forces can sweep all our branch churches in America within three days."

"Silence!"

The oppressive voice of the Guardian Angel Isolde Arlanc once again suppressed the commotion. A faint trace of electricity flickered in his pale golden eyes.

"Don't forget this is before the Holy See! His Holiness has his own plans, and you must not—"

"No need for that, Arlanc!"

Interrupting the Guardian Angel was Pope John Honorius himself. This old man, clad in sacred robes, his face covered in wrinkles and aged beyond description, spoke without emotion: "I imagine the four Archangels also harbor doubts? So let me offer a brief explanation. The heretic's raised butcher's knife is indeed fearsome, but the 'Archbishop of Canterbury' of the Anglican Communion has agreed to provide maximum necessary support for our actions. Moreover, I think you all should know that our enemy has a fiancée from the Medici family. Medici, I trust that soon there will be good news from Pittsburgh, correct?"

The Miracle Angel Weimar Medici's gaze flickered: "Regarding the situation there, I can only say I will do my best; I dare not guarantee absolute success! But as for timing, it is indeed very—"

His voice halted, and then, with a look of shock and astonishment, he stared at John Honorius, whose face was rapidly growing younger and whose majesty was increasingly heavy.

The Pope himself was also utterly stunned, but then his eyes became immensely complex, filled with reluctance, bitterness, piety, and honor.

At that moment, everyone in the church rose from their seats and prostrated themselves before John Honorius. Even the four light orbs began to change; they no longer descended as spiritual projections but simultaneously manifested physical forms, each with three pairs of wings, purple-gold feathers, armor of holy light, golden crowns, and holding scepters, and they too prostrated on the ground.

They knew that this state of John Honorius meant only one thing: their God was beginning to awaken—

At this moment, on the twenty-second floor of the 'Silent Crown' mage tower, the joy on Consul's face gradually stiffened as he saw countless enormous spears of light tearing through space, hurtling toward the neighboring 'Land of Fate' magic tower.

…

Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, the once steel city, black deathly mist now pervaded, surging through the streets, trying to infiltrate buildings through every crack and crevice. And at the city's center, above the Carnegie Building, a sixteen-story magic tower hung in the sky.

Pittsburgh's magical energy defense array had long been activated, but for some reason it was riddled with holes. Yet this sixteen-story magic tower, unrecorded by any magical association, had taken over most of its functions.

Powerful magical energy cascaded down from the tower, repelling most of the black mist.

And in the demiplane surrounding the magic tower, Angela Medici, dressed in a blue evening gown, stood at the edge of the plane, gazing down at the city below with sorrowful eyes.

"Miss, our people have already taken the fourth magic tower and are trying to repair the magical true power there. But things aren't going well elsewhere; the Dragon Witch Cult's resistance is very fierce. They must have received strong external support, as their firepower is extremely powerful."

This was Lina·Eldridge. At this moment, she was wearing a 'Dawn' light magical battle armor produced by Light Magic Industries, a new product from the company. Although its overall level only reached that of 'War Mage'-class magical battle armor, its advantage lay in being form-fitting and lightweight. In both weight and shape, it differed little from ordinary armor.

But if a careful observer looked closely, they would notice that beneath this layer of 'Dawn' light magical battle armor, Lina·Eldridge was actually wearing a set of biological armor. Its shape was unlike any biological battle armor model currently sold by Rising Sun Biopharmaceutical Company.

"So, in the next few hours, we might have to give up hope of repairing the magic tower array. By the way, our people even found 'Earth Knight'-type bio-hybrid armor on those guys."

"That's normal. Although the 'Earth Knight'-type bio-hybrid armor is currently only sold to member states of the Atlantic Treaty Organization, Rising Sun Biopharmaceutical Company has already sold about twenty thousand units so far. And now, Andrei's opponent is also our enemy. Lina?"

Just as Angela was speaking, she noticed something unusual about Lina·Eldridge. She suddenly turned to look at her head maid, and then saw that behind Lina, the two pairs of pure white, glorious wings of light were now covered with 'ink spots' that were spreading continuously.

Although Lina's expression was calm, her eyes clearly showed that she was forcefully suppressing her own pain.

"Obviously, your head maid, my dear sister, has fallen! That's the bad thing about the Holy Hall clan—everything is either black or white. If one abandons the light, if one defies the Lord's will, the body will be filled with the power of darkness."

At this moment, another young girl appeared not far from Angela's side.

She wore a suit of black armor, and behind her spread two pairs of pure black wings. She looked at Lina with a gaze that held both admiration and mockery.

"She took a shortcut and turned a deaf ear to the will of the Lord of Radiance—how could she not fall? But I really didn't expect you to have such courage, Lina! Have you finally reached the point of becoming the disgrace of the Eldridge family?"

Lina·Eldridge couldn't be bothered to respond to her. After a light snort, she simply turned her head away and remained silent.

"Delfinia?"

Angela was not too surprised by the arrival of this Lady of the Void Night: "Amo sent you here, right?"

"Yes, Miss Angela!"

Delfinia's demeanor toward Angela was respectful, tinged with bitterness: "In accordance with the master's will, today I am to serve as your personal bodyguard."

Her feelings were quite complex. If her body had not undergone that mutation, if fate had not led her astray after the age of twelve, then Angela's future head maid would have been her, Delfinia·Eldridge.

After that, Delfinia had originally thought there would be little interaction between them. But things had come full circle, and she, Delfinia, had still become a vassal under that couple.

The fate and destiny of this world are truly wondrous—by the way, that guy would soon become the master of fate!

"Although I'm a bit worried that Amo might not have enough power, having you by my side, Del, makes me feel much more at ease."

Angela smiled slightly, then pointed at Lina with some concern: "Lina, she—"

"She's fine!"

Delfinia knew what Angela wanted to ask: "She stole the power of the Radiant Church and did it cleverly enough, using demigod-level bio-hybrid armor to suppress the backlash. A Power Angel is equivalent to demigod-level power—isn't it only right to endure this bit of pain? Compared to the strength she's gained now, it's nothing. My sister may be foolish, but in terms of willpower and ability to endure pain, she can still be trusted. She'll get through it."

Lina·Eldridge also clenched her teeth and nodded slightly: "Angie, don't worry."

In that short time, nearly half of her two pairs of wings had turned pure black. But at the same time, pure white holy flames began to burn beneath Lina·Eldridge's feet, causing the girl's delicate face to twist directly, and the veins on her neck bulged.

—That was the Punishment Holy Flame, used by the Radiant Church to deal with the fallen.

"Better speak less before you've endured the punishment!"

Delfinia sneered and continued to explain to Angela: "The key is the psychological blow; she probably can't accept it. At a time like this, when tens of millions of believers of the Lord of Radiance are on the brink of danger, she actually received such an order. Actually, if she thinks about it, it's probably that someone has usurped the authority of the Lord of Radiance. Although He is called omniscient and omnipotent, this kind of thing has happened often in the Radiant Church—otherwise, it wouldn't have split."

She then withdrew her gaze from Lina: "Miss Angela, when I came, I already spotted Odin's Twilight Dragon City. I'm afraid the final battle is about to begin."

Twilight Dragon City—that was a city built by Odin, which had been drifting through the Astral Plane for two thousand years, carrying many sleeping powerful dragon liches. Those dragon liches that could not establish a divine kingdom or gain the protection of the Supreme Dragon God used this method to bypass the Treaty of Separation between Humans and Gods and avoid the erosion of time.

And Odin was the progenitor of dragon liches, said to be a child of the Supreme Dragon God. His name in the dragon tongue meant 'Destroyer, Devour, Master.'

He was once the Dragon God of Destruction; after his fall, he transformed into a dragon lich, and the Dragon Witch Cult was founded by him.

"I understand. The government won't give them much time. Neither will Amo—"

Angela couldn't help but let out a light sigh: "I'm ready, Del!"

Then she saw a thin figure walking through the air from the thick fog opposite. When she recognized the person, Angela's delicate body stiffened.

"Father!"

The newcomer was Michel·Medici. He stopped eight thousand meters away and did not try to come closer. He looked at Angela with a gaze full of helplessness and affection.

"In the end, I couldn't help but want to see you, my dear daughter."

Michel's gaze lingered on Angela, then he looked with satisfaction at the magic tower behind the girl: "Did Andrei build it for you in secret? That guy—I didn't misjudge him. He treats you very well, even going all out. This tower must have a name, right?"

"Dream Fortress!"

The naming of a magic tower is usually related to its specific functions, but Angela made no attempt to hide it: "Stop it, Michel. Such a crazy thing is not what my father should do. As long as I'm here, you won't complete this final step."

"You're determined to stop me, aren't you, Angie?"

Michel·Medici showed no great disappointment; his gaze was merely somewhat complex: "Even after knowing the reason for your own existence?"

Angela's whole body trembled slightly, and the last trace of color drained from her face: "I know. It's my mother! Diana·Olivia! Angela is already dead, isn't she? The reason the current Angela exists is all because of my mother's fantasies, her divine authority, her soul power. But Father, that still shouldn't be your reason for launching this magical ritual and pushing tens of millions of people into the abyss of death. They haven't done anything wrong, and they shouldn't have to sacrifice their lives for me and my mother."

At this moment, Delfinia and Lina beside her were both stunned, looking at Angela in shock.

They were not surprised by the phrase 'pushing tens of millions of people into the abyss of death,' but rather by the secret, the truth that Angela had revealed before that.

"So, you still want to stop me?"

Michelle Medici sighed again. "You know, Angel, there was a time when I regretted raising you to be too kind. But later, when I thought about it carefully, I realized I hadn't really taught you much. Kindness must be your nature, perhaps also your mother's will. I—forget it! That's enough; there's no time left for us to continue talking. Angel, if you decide to stop me, then go all out in today's battle. This magical ritual is the dream of my life. I won't go easy on you just because you're my daughter."

After saying this, his figure directly dissipated, like splashed ink, vanishing without a trace.

That figure had been an illusion all along, yet both Lina and Delfinia present were completely unaware.

"I knew long ago that Mr. Michelle's talent could rival, or even surpass, that of 'Miracle Angel' Weima Medici. He should have been the greatest illusionist in this world."

Delfinia sighed, then looked at the sky. "It's already here, Miss Angela!"

Angela also noticed the anomaly in the sky. First, a super-large magical energy vortex appeared, tearing a huge rift in space-time from the outer layers. Then a massive city, filled with deathly aura, gloomy and shaped like a battleship, forcibly squeezed in from the astral plane.

Angela's heart sank, and she unconsciously clenched her right hand. Feeling the leather glove on her hand, all distracting thoughts in her mind were eliminated. Unparalleled confidence burst from the depths of her heart and spread throughout her body.

This glove was very similar to the 'Loki's Hand of Deception' she had worn before, yet it had many differences. Even the material was different; the scales embedded on the outside were like dragon scales, containing pure divine power beyond ordinary imagination.

It was a mythical armament personally forged for her by Amo, and the outer layer of the glove was made from the twenty-four hardest scales of the feathered serpent 'Kukulkan'. Inside, there were four other mythical materials of the same grade.

Angela thought, what did she have to fear?

The Primordial Dragon Lich Alduin was indeed powerful, but she didn't believe he could exert his full combat power in the material world under the constraints of the 'Treaty of Separation between Humans and Gods'. With Amo backing her, she would never lose to him!

At this moment, Delfinia reached upward. The strange power of space erupted from her to the maximum extent. Thus, the 'Twilight Dragon City', which was almost squeezing into this world, encountered great resistance and got stuck in the interlayer between the prime material plane and the astral plane.

Then, in the next instant, a full twenty 'Magical Energy Annihilation Cannons' bombarded the outer perimeter of this battleship-shaped city. Although they caused no damage, they triggered huge magical energy fluctuations.

Eight of them came from Angela's 'Fantasy Fortress'. Her magic tower was exactly the same specification as Li Mochen's 'Destiny Home'. Hence, it had eight 'Magical Energy Annihilation Cannons', with a power level as high as thirty-three, equivalent to the full-force strike of a deity with a divine rank of five.

The remaining twelve came from two sources: Delfinia's 'Void Throne' and Moses Raimor's 'Crimson Sunset'.

At the same time, Angela noticed four blood rivers with powerful auras appearing on the southern horizon. When bursts of dragon roars came from inside the 'Twilight Dragon City', and several huge bone dragons, two to three hundred meters long, flew out of the ship-shaped city, the four blood rivers immediately swooped down and engaged these ancient-level dragon liches in battle.

Angela recognized that these were the four ancient vampires, including Odyssey Ventrue. They were fiercely fighting the ancient dragon liches with their agile postures and powerful bloodline abilities.

Dragon liches are usually weaker than when they were alive, while these ancient vampires seemed to have grown much stronger after Lilith and Caine awakened.

Odyssey Ventrue and the others, while avoiding direct confrontation, managed to tie up their respective opponents.

But at the same time, a huge dragon claw broke through the barrier between the astral plane and the prime material world near the Carnegie Building.

"Who dares to flaunt the authority of space before Alduin, before the true son of the Supreme Dragon God?"

At this moment, Delfinia seemed to be under extreme strain; her forehead was covered in cold sweat in a very short time.

"Get back!"

Angela's eyes were icy as she stared at the huge dragon shadow in the astral plane.

Ancient dragons usually measure between two hundred eighty and three hundred twenty meters, but this dragon in the astral plane was at least nine hundred meters long.

Moreover, its body was intact. Although it was a dragon lich, it had flesh, scales, claws, and teeth—everything a living being should have.

Yet the girl named Angela Medici did not back down.

"You who have defiled the name of dragons! The Supreme Dragon God has no such son as you!"

"You're right, little girl! Time Dragon Zafkiel is the true son of the Supreme Dragon God, not this filthy thing."

Behind the 'Fantasy Fortress' magic tower, a bronze dragon, one hundred twenty meters long, with bronze-colored scales, shuttled in. In front of it, an invisible membrane formed, blocking the giant dragon claw from further intrusion.

"As the price for the dragon clan's covenant, I've taken the one hundred fifty-two billion gold shields you placed in the Carnegie Building, little girl!"

At this moment, in a warehouse on the middle floor of the Carnegie Building, a large amount of gold, gems, and soul coins rapidly disappeared, as if swallowed by an invisible beast.

Alduin in the astral plane was in a state of rage.

"A green worm whose scales haven't even grown!"

Its dragon claw continued to penetrate deeper, and the immense force caused spiderweb-like cracks in the surrounding space barrier.

The bronze dragon, unconcerned, shrugged casually. "Destruction! Devouring! Domination! Worthy of the legendary Alduin. But you can't get in, can you? A mid-level divine authority of destruction can't do anything to time—Grand Disjunction? Damn!"

A green beam of light shot from the southern sky. It was unknown who sent it, but it contained powerful magical force.

Even this powerful time-wielding bronze dragon had to first hide its dragon body within time. As it looked back with some worry, it found a four-hundred-meter-long ancient blue dragon manifesting in front of the magic tower.

Its immense power also froze the surrounding space-time. Its fierce dragon eyes stared into the void. Its dragon claw collided head-on with Alduin's. The vast shockwave shattered countless glass facades in the city below.

The problem was that this clearly oversized ancient dragon had never been seen before.

"Are you—Isidora? No, Driscoll? Not like that either? Is there someone like you among the blue dragons?"

After a moment, the bronze dragon narrowed its eyes, realizing something. "It's an illusion! Damn, I thought it was real! Are you a descendant of the 'Dream Dragon God' Olivia? But this is too strong, too abnormal. I doubt even Olivia could do this. It's like a real ancient dragon, and an especially powerful one at that!"

Angela's gaze remained cold. If Li Mochen were here, he would not be surprised to find that his girlfriend had entered the state of 'Heavenly Heart Divine Illumination', and at the fifth level, the ultimate limit.

"Get back, filthy dragon! Whatever your purpose, this Carnegie Building will be a place you cannot set foot on today."

The two dragons fought across a layer of space barrier, initially mainly with claw strikes. But then Alduin's head suddenly 'inserted' into the prime material world. Its massive head, ninety meters long, was like a skyscraper in volume, spewing black flames from its mouth.

After skillfully evading, the blue dragon counterattacked fiercely, biting at Alduin's neck with strength not inferior to Alduin's.

This shocking scene made Delfinia turn back and look at Angela with awe.

Medium divine authority 'Fantasy', minor divine authority 'Reality'! In addition, there should be a powerful mythical armament helping, likely that glove, a treasure personally forged by Li Mochen.

This being who had climbed to the pinnacle of the world had also shown astonishing talent in alchemy in recent years.

But what shocked Delfinia even more was Angela's fantasy and control over the 'blue dragon'. It was indeed incredibly real, down to the patterns on the scales, the texture of the dragon skin, and the scent from its breath—all lifelike.

Beyond that, Angela's utilization and control of power and mana made Delfinia's hair stand on end. She wasted not a single bit of mana, using every ounce of power to its fullest.

This made Delfinia think of Li Mochen, wondering if even her master could not do it as well as Angela.

This girl—was her talent so outstanding?

After a full three seconds, Delfinia snapped back to attention and shifted her focus elsewhere. At this moment, the powerful dragon liches emerging from the 'Twilight Dragon City' had increased to twelve, putting the ancient vampires in danger.

Without hesitation, Delfinia banished three of them into the astral plane—this was not her limit, but she had to reserve some power for contingencies.

Meanwhile, the bronze dragon also joined in. Time-wielding bronze dragons are undoubtedly among the most powerful of all dragons. It soon suppressed the remaining four powerful dragon liches on its own, with ease.

Her sister was holding off a dragon lich that had approached within less than two thousand meters of the Carnegie Building. Their fierce aerial battle instantly caused the collapse of many buildings.

Lina Aldrich's power was insufficient; she had achieved the rank of 'Power Angel' through external forces and shortcuts. However, the biochemical implant in her body helped her control those external forces not originally hers.

And the divine artifact 'Scythe of War' in her hand gave her the qualification to contend with an ancient dragon.

The only concern was that the wings behind her were growing darker, while the punitive holy flame缠绕 on the girl was becoming more domineering and vigorous.

Delfinia glanced worriedly at Lina, then turned her gaze elsewhere.

The remaining forces of the Dragon Lich Cult seemed exhausted, but that by no means meant their danger was over. In fact, the battle had only just begun!

Even if the Holy Church of Light could not act directly, they would surely not stand idly by. And Michelle Medici had yet to make a move.

Then there was the dangerous person the intelligence director of the Rising Sun Group had warned her about, whose whereabouts were still unknown.

"You've been fooled by Michelle's illusion, Delfinia!"

Angela's sudden words startled Delfinia.

She steadied herself and looked ahead, only to find that the target she was about to banish had changed from a powerful dragon lich to the vampire Lamberton Toreador.