Chapter 171. Descent

After moving like a character in Prince of Persia and climbing or descending walls, he finally cleared three of the five tumors. Some Ghouls and more Blood Mages joined the fight but were quickly killed.

Rathma's ghost appeared again, continuing the story.

[The prophecy became my burden. There were others who knew. Ones that couldn't understand the nature of such a thing. I knew Inarius would be driven to interfere, believing that it was about him. He saw himself as a savior, piercing Hatred's heard in Hell.](Rathma)

Michael's face changed colors. There was too much information, and one piece stood out among what Rathma said.

'In Hell!? Shit! Doesn't that mean Inarius wants to invade Hell to fulfill the prophecy, then!? So they are not amassing military strength for a defensive war but for an invasive one instead!? Has he gone mad?'

From the few things he remembered about the lore of Diablo, the High Heavens managed to push back the Burning Hells invasion but never truly defeated them due to the immense numbers they had.

"Yet now, this crazily arrogant pigeon believes he can do so with a handful of fanatic priests!? Holy crap! He's gonna get everyone killed, this bastard!"

Seeing the MAP identify the place he was in as Angelic Memorial, Michael grew even more displeased.

He advanced quickly, hoping to find some good news. If Rathma knew so much of the future, he surely made preparations.

His attention was drawn by the sound of heavy armor hitting the ground as it moved, distracting him from Rathma and Inarius. Though, he couldn't see anything around or behind him.

After destroying the fourth tumor, he searched for over half an hour for the last one, which he found in the Demonic Memorial. Seeing the name, he knew what was coming.

He killed more Ghouls, Demonic Bats, some undead, and more Blood Mages until he stood in front of a massive statue of Lilith. Surely enough, Rathma manifested again.

[So I locked the gates to Hell. It was only a matter of time before Inarius would discover what I'd done and come demanding the key.](Rathma)

Leaving aside the familiar feeling Rathma gave due to Michael's Class, hearing the implied meaning was enough to disturb him.

Sighing, he moved forward silently, paying attention to the sound of rattling armor, which could be heard from time to time.

After destroying the fifth tumor, he followed the receding tentacles and reached the place where he was supposed to advance deeper into the Necropolis.

[Oh, you refuse to give me the Key!?](?)

Hearing the sudden angered voice, Michael almost tripped and fell. He recognized it and turned around to find the phantoms of Inarius and Rathma standing face to face.

[You stand in the way of the savior. The holy blood in your veins should be boiling!](Inarius)

Hearing the righteous anger in the pompous bastard's voice, Michael felt like puking. 

No matter how he looked at it, Inarius was too blinded by his pursuit of redemption to see the truth at his feet. 

Rathma stood calmly facing his 'father,' the difference in size between the two being rather threatening. 

[Nothing you do will change the future I saw.](Rathma)

[*Yelling* I... *Calming down* I create my own destiny, and this prophecy of yours is just a small part of it. It is wider, beyond the comprehension of ungrateful spawns such as yourself.](Inarius)

Hearing the angel's words, Michael shook his head and completely lost hope in him. There was no way in hell he could beat Lilith. 

He was blind to the utmost.

Watching the final tumor vanish and the way forward clear, Michael advanced. After ten minutes, he saw the two figures continue their conversation.

[All you must understand is that once I am victorious in Hell, the High Heavens will welcome me home where I belong.](Inarius)

[*Sigh* I wish it would be true, father.](Rathma)

Hearing Inarius's desperation, Michael understood just how much he wished to make amends for his betrayal of the High Heavens. What stood out even more was the sadness in Rathma's voice.

'What does he think won't come true? Inarius's return to High Heavens? Or his victory against Lilith? Also, wasn't Lilith banished from Hell after betraying them when she fled with Inarius? This... Ugh... I have a bad feeling about this.'

Moving forward at a more hurried pace, he reached a spot called Serpent's Passage. The sound of armor hitting the ground was even louder, annoying Michael even more.

"Fuck this place! I'm being followed. Judging by the sound it makes, that damned thing should be huge. *Sigh* Always fucking hard to deal with this shit instead of just being easy for once."

The annoyance didn't detract from the amazing beauty of this place. It was a true Necropolis, easily spanning a size much larger than that of Kyovashad.

Even remembering huge metropolises back on Earth, the building sizes and architecture of this place put them to shame.

If only he could take his time to explore this place quietly, without being worried that a giant metal demon might stomp him into a blood puddle.

Unaware of it, Michael subconsciously increased the pace at which he moved, almost running from whatever or whoever was behind him.

Jumping over a gap in the bridge, Michael was instantly greeted by a blood-red monster.

[Outsider! Beyond this chamber, there's nothing but death and mourning. How fitting it shall become your grave...](?)

Stunned at the sudden appearance of a Boss-level creature, Michael didn't know how to react for a moment. 

Resummoning his minions, he had them attack since the creature was hostile. Furthermore, its choice of words, as well as its name, brew worrisome thoughts in the Necromancer's mind.

[ Lilith's Lament (Boss) - Level 51 ]

The creature stood tall, probably around four meters, and floated above the ground. Its face was morphed and deformed by anger and sadness. 

That didn't stop it from attacking the Necromancer, though. With arrows of darkness shooting at him and his minions, and at other times, with the puddles of cursed poison it created at Michael's feet.

The fight was hard and grueling. For a moment, he thought he couldn't win and was preparing to flee. Until the sound of armor crashing against the floor came from behind him.

Both the Boss and the Necromancer turned around to see who the intruder was. Michael was shocked to see a giant made of armor, standing almost as tall as the Boss.

It was a Knight Penitent for sure, but what drew Michael's attention was the armor itself.

"Is that armor?"

[This is no mere 'armor,' Necromancer!](?)

[Admonisher. Michael is here to see Mother Prava.](Vigo)

[Hmpf! This is a holy vessel of the highest craftsmanship! It may uplift the repentant sinner directly to the Light. Can 'armor' do that!?](Knight Penitent Admonisher)

He remembered this conversation when he arrived at Kor Valar to ask for Inariu's blessing.

He also remembered what the Admonisher said next.

"It looks too large to move in."

[Faith, rather than flesh, moves this suit. Tough, how, it is only known to a privileged few. The practice has been long abandoned.](Knight Penitent Admonisher)

"That's a rather interesting thing to say, seeing that you're assembling it."

[*Sigh* Something big is coming. Holy war. Mark my words! She wouldn't have asked me to prepare a relic like this otherwise.](Knight Penitent Admonisher)

"Prava did? It seems that the future looks more bleak than I initially thought."

[Let's go. Don't keep her waiting.](Vigo)

Realizing it should be one of the church's weapons, therefore an ally in the fight against Lilith's Lament, Michael turned to attack the Boss without hesitation.

The gigantic mace in the hand of the steel-Gundam hit the floor, and a shockwave of light was hurtled at the Boss, hurting and pushing it back.

Annoyed, the Boss roared, and a blood-red aura was emitted from its body. Michael found it similar to what the Butcher used to cleanse itself from debuffs, but the Knight Penitent didn't seem to think so.

[Stick close!](Knight Penitent)

Michael moved close to it, watching the giant armor kneel into a praying position and use his mace as support. 

Immediately after, a familiar but much larger bubble covered the two, while the Boss seemed to have used a 'party-wipe' skill.

The floor was fully covered by blood, which boiled, and Goons 2 and 4 died in seconds, as the space under the bubble wasn't enough to cover all of them.

Shocked at the damage, Michael quickly resummoned the two Reapers once the skill ended, and the fight resumed. 

The Boss was unhappy, as it kept using strong skills every couple of seconds, including melee hits that covered a large area and destroyed all his Skeletons in one blow, as well as a stupid amount of dark arrows that avoided the minions and homed in on the Necromancer himself.

Luckily, the Knight Penitent saved him multiple times. What was even more ridiculous was that the Boss used the party-wipe skill four more times during the fight, but he was protected each time by the same bubble cast by the giant armor.

Michael fell to the floor with only the Golem alive and wasn't even bothered by the two Legendary drops at his feet. He was too tired even to think, much less collect.

He watched gratefully as the Knight Penitent moved closer and kneeled before him. Shocked, he quickly stood up.

"What are you doing!?"

[Help me undo... the armor. Father's Grace must be removed by others, not the wearer. The latch is behind the head.](Knight Penitent)

Slightly surprised, but not by a lot since it was a huge mound of metal and probably stupidly heavy, Michael quickly found the latch and pushed back the helmet.

There was no head to be found behind it, making the Necromancer yelp. Only then did he realize that the armor was over three meters tall, meaning that it was impossible to see the head at this height.

Moving his hands lower, he found the second latch and, after some effort, pried open the chest part of the armor, making it look like a window being opened to the sides.

"Damn, that's heavy! How the hell are you walking in this thing... Huh!? Vigo!?"

Blood started flowing on the ground from inside the armor now that it was pried open. 

Inside it, Vigo stood as if suspended on a cross, covered in bandages. The pieces of armor that he had just pried open were covered in nails, previously piercing into the man's flesh.

Both of his hands were similarly impaled by multiple nails to the channels leading to the armor's arms, hinting at how the damned thing actually functioned.

"Vigo... who... Who did this!?"

 [I... have done all that was asked. The pain is gone now, friend. This was a just punishment.](Vigo)

"What are you talking about!? This... this looks like a medieval torture device!"

[A stronger man would have refused Vhenard's bribe.](Vigo)

Hearing the words, Michael felt electrocuted. Did the church... no! Did Prava punish him in such a manner because of that!?

Looking at the man and the insane pool of blood both inside and outside the armor, the Necromancer couldn't find any words to speak.

[Neyrelle...Neyrelle! Is she safe!?](Vigo)

"Yes, friend. She is safe and happy."

[*Wincing* Our meeting is no coincidence. I came here to help.](Vigo)

Seeing the man talk to him but look in a place different from where he was sitting, Michael knew Vigo didn't have much time left. With such intense blood loss, it was a miracle that he survived throughout the fight.

"You did help, friend. I couldn't have won without you."

[Haha! That's good.](Vigo)

With the last bits of strength he had left, he pulled out his left hand and wrenched it out of the nails.

Then, he opened his palm and presented an item to Michael. It was a bloody amulet. Even throughout the pain and suffering he endured, he kept it firmly between his fingers as the luck charm Vhenard promised it to be.

Barely managing to move his arm forward, Michael closed in and provided a slight support. The labored breathing stopped, and a sad smile appeared on his face.

[Will... you give this to her, for me? I should never have taken it...](Vigo)

"I will..."

[Friend... it's so dark. I have repented, but... do you think I was too late?](Vigo)

Saddened while watching the man's eye lose focus, Michael forced himself to smile.

"No. Not too late. The Light has come to carry you home, Vigo. Do you not see it?"

[Yes... yes... I see it now. They have come. Haha! They... have... come...](Vigo)

Silently praying for the man's soul, Michael calmly removed him from the 'Father's Grace' armor.

He couldn't help but increasingly hate Inarius more and more with each passing second. Prava as well.

'In the end, this sort of religion is just as parasitic as it was back on Earth. Why does it need to exist in the first place?'

Placing Vigo's body in his inventory, Michael kicked the armor hard and watched it fall into the abyss under the Necropolis. War ahead or now, he didn't want to see this cursed thing in front of his eyes ever again.

Seeing the coffin in his inventory, he shook his head in dismay.

"You didn't need that armor to prove your worth, friend. We all make mistakes. It's what makes us humans. Trying to mend them was more than enough."