The Holy Trials 8

Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;

as destruction from the Almighty it will come!

Therefore all hands will be feeble,

and every human heart will melt.

They will be dismayed:

pangs and agony will seize them;

they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.

They will look aghast at one another;

their faces will be aflame.

Behold, the day of the Lord comes,

cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,

to make the land a desolation

and to destroy its sinners from it.

Isaiah 13:6-9

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"Behind these doors are monsters similar to the one we've just slain with great difficulty," stated Tanya, pointing to the metallic door in front of her—one made of green iron and even greener liquid.

The same color as the eyes of the zombies.

The elegant, if slightly eroded wall of the hall Tanya's group stepped into was fused with the harsh and unnatural metal of the door. The cracks surrounding the frame of the door were filled with the green substance—forcing reality to accept this door.

It was this substance that was affixing the towering door to the wall - the glowing, putrid, and foul liquid that was the source of the plague.

Every soldier here knew what they were dealing with at the sight of the green matter.

The door itself had many veins under its metallic skins, highlighted by the flow of the plague, fluid traveling in them—throbbing like blood veins. Like something connected this door to the heart of the plague.

The door was inviting them. An incessant hum caressing their ears. The call of the Devil—the song of Evil.

Or at least, that's how Adam felt when looking at the out-of-place hinged barrier at the entrance of the laboratory.

I don't know what Albion did to create these kinds of abominations, Adam thought, his gaze fixed on the pulsing metal veins before him. But it all needs to be purged. The more I find out about the plague, the more I understand why my presence is needed.

The sheer malice exuding from this door tugged at his mind constantly, and judging by Tanya's slight flinch when she first noticed the giant gate, he wasn't the only one realizing how wrong things were.

"Or worse," continued Tanya, exercising her theatrics, knowing that her group would suffer casualties. "There could be vile creatures prowling behind this wall. Albion's creations have destroyed this very landscape, and their dark intentions know no end. However, we are at the heart of their operation—the place where this disaster all started!"

The stern tone she employed and the words she used struck the dangerousness of this operation in the soldiers' minds. Adam narrowed his eyes, also realizing how important that place is.

So this is the starting point…

Adam unconsciously gripped the sword that he had unveiled earlier when they stepped into this room. The abused edge of his weapon would have to make do—the core of everything was before his eyes.

"But we must march forward! The whole Empire is behind us, waiting for the completion of our mission. For God is behind us, protecting us from the corrupting touch of the Devil. Will you back down, when in front of the source of every ailment this very earth has experienced? Would you back down, when you finally have between your fingers the opportunity to stop the very plague that took your wives, your children, your friends, your parents?" Tanya said, one fist clenched above her heart.

I must be grateful for my time in the Church, Tanya smugly thought. Even though it was against my wishes, I learned a lot about manipulating the masses there.

"Would you return to our Empire, still licking its wounds from the strike of evil it suffered, and tell the citizens, ashamed, that you weren't able to fulfill your promise? That you weren't able to fulfill your duty? Or would you rather hold your head high, mission completed and Europe liberated from the rampant unholy, wicked, and sinister plague?!" The passion in Tanya's voice struck the soldiers, having never seen her act like this. Their eyes lit up as they finally understood how much Tanya cared for the Empire.

The members of the operation that were afraid after looking at the maleficent door puffed up their chest, the fear stuck in their mind all but dissipating, eyes gaining a confident glint. Others that were already ready to lose their lives so long as they completed their duty only had their morale bolstered even higher.

Tanya's eyes roamed over the soldiers in front of her. She held back a sigh at the sight but otherwise seemed satisfied with the faces she was witnessing.

"I think you gave your answers, soldiers." Tanya turned around and walked towards the demonic entrance, her holy energy bubbling inside of her.

The slight glow her feminine frame exuded fought against the darkness of the room—and the darkness of the door.

Tanya put both of her hands on the cold green metal, which emitted a piercing hiss at the contact of the light of God, and opened the door.

She pushed, powered by the power Being X gave her, as the metal doors split open, revealing an even uglier sight.

The black fog that engulfed the room as soon as the slightest gap appeared made every soldier flinch, while Adam's body tensed as he recognized this feeling. A necromancer?!

This could become bad, this could become terrible. The black fog that was sucking up the light emanating from Tanya was eerily familiar to the young Church member. While heavily distilled, it was the same aura that made him pursue the path of the Lord's blade.

It was the same aura that still occupied his worst nightmares.

Adam's fear disappeared as an old memory resurfaced. One that he would never forget.

The aura reminded him of his powerless self, watching his sister taken, her soul violated and her body discarded by someone he would never forgive.

The black and gold ornate cape. The pure white body. And the piercing blue orbs seeping out of the empty sockets. The being, so unnatural, oozing power and paralyzing a younger Adam.

Hades.

Adam bit his lips to the point of drawing blood. All of those that dare call themselves Gods and trample on the life of humans, Adam seethed. I will put an end to all of this.

The rage crept into his mind and reminded him of unpleasant feelings. Despite the intense experience, Adam's face was unnaturally calm—if one ignored the veins bulging on his forehead, and the blood dripping out of his lips.

His eyes were laser-focused on the black horizon the opened door revealed. The black fog retreated, scared by Tanya's holiness, but it never disappeared. The young woman lit up the path and acted as a guide as the gulping military behind her followed her.

Adam, standing at the back of the group, absent-mindedly imitated the soldiers and walked into the necromancer's lair, one foot at a time. However, his mind was dripping with wrath—yet analyzing every detail that he could find.

He had learned to control his rage to some extent. God had helped him transform it into a weapon aimed at the unholy creatures of the world. A necromancer, while probably not dangerous to Tanya, could spell disaster for the weaker members of our group, thought Adam.

The question of how to not waste the lives of the soldiers and how they could be useful against a necromancer stuck in the Church member's mind made him hold back a sigh, knowing how ineffective normal weaponry was against the forces of the supernatural. At least, considering the density of the black aura, the necromancer is simply not that strong. At this level, they should make weak zombies and slightly stronger abominations—acting more like a flesh crafter than an actual necromancer.

With no other information, Adam couldn't make any plans. However, he trusted the calm and confident pace of Tanya, who walked through the darkness without paying attention. After all, as an agent of God, there was no way that Tanya already wasn't aware of the type of enemy they would have to face.

Adam didn't doubt for a second that she already knew much more than him. If the soldiers here die, then it means that their time was up, and God is ready to welcome them for the final judgment, realized Adam.

Ultimately, their fate was in God's hands. He only had to focus on his mission.

"Stop," Tanya abruptly said. Her order made the repeating tapping of the soldiers' boots hitting the ground end. The light coming from Captain Degurechaff increased, revealing a large room in front of them. The hall was fit to be called a laboratory, with multiple tables filled with the equipment of a chemist—only filled with fluorescent liquids, and the green matter so familiar to the squad now.

The foul smell permeating the room made a few stomachs churn, and the pools of green liquid flowing from the destroyed or spilled tubes had to be dodged.

But suddenly, a hoarse voice resonated throughout the room. "Well, it's been a while since I had visitors."

Everybody turned towards where the sound came from, rifles ready to fire at any moment. Tanya's eyes narrowed as she illuminated the room, unveiling a husk of a body, seemingly partially fused from the waist down with a wall displaying the same aesthetics of the door that led to this place.

The rifles levered to him only made him chuckle, producing a deep, uncomfortable sound from his throat. "You'll have to excuse me… Welcome. I did not expect Imperials to find this place so soon. Or maybe more time than I thought passed?" he asked, looking at the leader of the group—Tanya.

His body was eerily similar to the flesh of a zombie, but the sole difference was the glowing green liquid concentrated in his torso, between his lungs. His flesh was thin enough and transparent enough that the ball of this liquid was visible, forming something of a core.

Judging by his state, it affected his body to an untold degree.

I have never seen something like this, recognized Adam. What kind of experimentation did this man go through?

However, Tanya cut to the chase. "Are you doctor Albus Nicholson, the man behind the plague?"

"The plague?" asked the man stuck in the wall. "Ah… So the higher-ups decided to release it in the end?"

The disturbing laugh that ensued was grating to hear. This man has lost his mind, thought Adam.

"Answer the question."

The unsettling laughter continued. "Yes, that is me. I am the genius behind the Y-Virus."

"Y-Virus?" Asked Tanya.

The living corpse smirked. "And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. Zechariah 14… Surely you know about it? I am pretty sure the Empire, despite being full of heathens, is a self-proclaimed Christian country, right? The Y of the name comes from, hehehe, YHVH obviou-" The blinding light cutting through the part of his left arm that wasn't fused with the door interrupted his blasphemous speech.

Tanya didn't react to the monster's speech, however, Adam did.

"Argh!" screamed the being in a blood-curling tone that only his hoarse throat could make.

Now at the forefront, Adam calmly walked towards the screaming husk of a man, his sword still shining with his holy energy.

"I… will not," Adam said, punctuating each word. "Let you sully his name like this."

No blood poured out of the sliced arm, dangling around from the wall as the entire forearm was fused with the structure. But Albus Nicholson still felt the pain overwhelming his decrepit brain.

"Now," said Adam, looking straight into the old doctor's eyes—the yellowish eyes filled with green little veins not bothering him in the slightest. "You will talk, talk about everything you know."

Tanya, with her eyebrow raised at Adam's reaction and the soldiers stuck between understanding and shock, watched the scene. The Half-angel would let Adam take care of the negotiation with the enemy so long as it was successful. It's less work for me after all, thought the blonde woman.

The doctor, despite being the brilliant mind behind the deadliest weapon ever created, was relatively weak to the agony his frail and putrid body could suffer, and it only took a couple of minutes of torture—Albus's body being extremely weak to Holy energy—to get information out of his mouth.

"I'll talk, I'll- ARRGH!" Albus Nicholson said, but because of the torment, he had to force each word out of his mouth; his pained groans were both therapeutic and terrifying to the soldiers. On the one hand, the perpetrator of the worst biological weapon was currently suffering, but Adam's impassive face, paired with gleaming eyes, was a frightening terror. "I'll, huff, I'll talk!"

"T-The Y-Virus is just- STOP, Stop, stop, didn't I just say that I would talk?!" The doctor—sweating—saw the glowing edge of Adam's sword approach his body once more.

Adam paused, and retreated, coldly looking at the heretic in front of him. "Very well, don't leave any details."

"Of course!" Albus cackled. "Alright, alright… The Y-Virus is the repurposed version of a purple liquid we found in an ancient ruin in Albion… Th-This ruin was an undiscovered treasure—or at least that's what we thought at first. The atmosphere…" Albus gained a faraway look and shivered. "Any-Anyway… In this ruin, we found a purple liquid that turned our soldiers into powerful creatures. Not only were they more powerful than ever, but they were completely subservient to the one holding the unholy grail."

"The unholy grail?!" Adam's eyes widened.

"That's what we named the cup holding the purple liquid… It looked like a darkened version of the grail, so the name was fitting…" said the doctor. "Anyway, we kept this secret for a while during our war with the Empire… But since we didn't want to reveal our secret weapon, we wanted to make a less powerful but more devastating version of the purple essence. And that's what the Y-Virus was made for."

"Give us the details of the processing of this virus, and any cure for it," said Captain Degurechaff, her big blue eyes shining through the darkness of the room.

The curt tone of the intimidating woman made the doctor gulp in fear once more.

"There's no cure for the virus… In fact, it's not a mere virus, it's more… magical. The odds of healing the people affected are none." The doctor stole a glance to the side.

While Tanya kept asking questions to the doctor, Adam followed the doctor's gaze.

Albus trailed with his eyes the Church member for a second, before flicking his eyes to Tanya.

"What is it?" whispered Tanya, when Adam passed right next to her.

"There's something weird there…"

Tanya's breath hitched and narrowed her eyes towards Albus Nicholson.

"W-What?! I did nothing!" He said, defending himself. His eyes flickered between the two owners of holy energy, and his lips trembled slightly. "O-Oy! You should be careful out there!" Albus spoke the words to Adam, who approached the location he eyed previously. "There's… There's a bit of dangerous stuff in this area!" His voice fluctuated more and more as his tone increased.

Tanya didn't hesitate to whip out her rifle—the watching soldiers copying her action.

"Doctor Albus Nicholson…" Her tone was menacing, and made the man shiver—but he wasn't removing his eyes from Adam's back.

What… is that? Alarmingly pondered Adam. The incessant thrum he was hearing coming from the obscurity in front of him was staggering. He kept walking in the resident darkness, one step at a time, under the watchful eyes of Tanya and her soldiers.

"Found anything?" One asked, but Adam didn't answer.

The sudden swing he had to duck to avoid was enough of an answer.

The arm he dodged was huge but humanly proportionated. The bronze color of the flesh glinted in the darkness, reflecting the holy light suffusing Adam's body.

Of course, Adam's sudden action did not go unnoticed and Tanya immediately shot a bullet through the already cut and tortured body of the doctor. "What is that?!" The sudden attack made her react immediately, demanding answers from the only one who knew what was going on.

But Albus Nicholson endured the pain with a muffled cry and, with his trembling lips, smirked at her. "T-That's… Your end…"

The soldiers all spread around the area, their guns cocked towards the zone where the gigantic arm appeared. Since the only sources of light were the green liquid and the auras both Adam and Tanya emitted, they could not discern the enemy.

The palms clenching the grips of the rifles sweat, as time passed with no sign of the hidden creature prowling in the dark.

This bastard… Tanya's glare felt like it could kill a man. If you didn't have good information for us, I would have already put a bullet between your eyes.

But the doctor was unbothered by the situation, and simply laughed hysterically, the pain he felt all over his body ringing through his brain.

It was to the piercing laugh of Albus Nicholson that the creature made its second move. Coming from an unexpected angle, the Titan's fist impacted the most exposed soldier in its wake. He didn't even have the time to scream as it crushed his head like a watermelon.

"... S-shoot this thing down!" Lieutenant Karl's panic rippled through the soldiers, taking just a second to register what just happened.

The soldiers that were splattered by the blood froze, and that was enough for the Titan to achieve his next kills as his fists rushed towards them.

The sound of the wet matter and the blood coloring everything around them was more deafening than the sound of their skulls being crushed by the force generated from the fists of this creature.

"Men, engage the Titan class zombie - standard procedures!" said Tanya, taking her eyes off of the doctor to realize how bad things went. The heavy and intimidating 20 feet tall creatures could creep into this room.

She ignored the way Albus' laughed harder once he saw the blood of her soldiers.

Adam wanted to rush towards the monster, but just at the moment where his foot was about to leave the ground, he felt his hair rise on his body.

*Swoong*

Once more dodging the attack coming from the darkness, Adam realized something very important. "There's two of them!" He said, the intensity alarming the soldiers.

I have to take care of it! Adam decided. When he had to block the next strike with his sword and was sent reeling a few feet away, Adam sweated. Never mind, I have to hold it here until they can take care of the other...

His blade held together despite the strength displayed in the swing, something that Adam felt relieved by.

Where is it… Adam thought, his mind alarmed because he could still not detect what was hitting him.

The next strike came, and Adam dodged yet again. However, his increased stats from the killing of zombies allowed him to hit back with his new skill, [Blade Of Wrath].

As he jumped back, the bronze fist of the monster crashing down on the floor where he was an instant before with a loud thud, Adam's sword shined with a golden light.

*Swoosh*

Taking a big swipe, Adam saw the arc of holy light crash into the wired muscles of the Titan…

And cut through its arm completely.

No cry of pain, just the loud sound of the forearm and the fist hitting the ground, elevating dust in the air once more.

The rest of the arm rapidly retreated in the dark fog—somewhat impenetrable by his holy energy.

That cut through him?! Adam gaped, surprised by the effectiveness of his skill. Maybe I have a chance at taking this thing down…

Feeling confident, Adam shot a glance towards the other fight going on in the room, where the other Titan exposed itself completely.

"Retreat from the monster!" shouted a lieutenant, gesturing to the soldiers to step back. "Prepare your grenades!"

Tanya was flying around the room, getting the attention of the monster. With a loud buzzing noise, a far deeper golden color than Adam's blade illuminated her rifle and rang with the sound of bells. She discharged this light the next moment and it crashed into the Titan's body—destroying a good portion of the upper half of its body.

Both Adam's and Tanya's attacks took a good toll on their reserve of holy energy, as evidenced by the panting produced on both sides.

However, Adam's opponent was far weaker than Tanya's, as the body of the Titan regenerated slowly, apparently only bothered by the corrosive holy energy flowing through its body.

"Aim…! And throw your grenades!" The lieutenant's order was clear. While not all grenades ended up inside the body of the Titan—with some missing their mark—the belly of the creature was suddenly full of powerful explosives, ready to detonate.

And detonate it did.

*BOOOOM*

The explosion was deafening and generated a powerful blast of winds that made Adam cover his eyes.

The fragmentation grenades destroyed the Titan's body from the inside, leaving remnants and bits of the monster everywhere around the room. It also shook everything up because of the sheer impact, and most tubes and glass bottles exploded, letting out all the liquid containing the plague on the floor or the tables.

"... What?! How?! How do grenades made by mortals can injure Titans, never mind destroying them?!" If Albus' head still had blood running through it and not the plague liquid, it would have been red from rage with indignation and shock.

Can't you just stop talking, thought Adam with a tick appearing on his face, having to listen to Albus' every word while within earshot.

Adam's patience was wearing thin. While he was still paying close attention, unwilling to die because of his carelessness at the hands of the skulking Titan, he lamented the fact that the explosion was not loud enough to stop Albus from babbling.

The church member gritted his teeth when he narrowly dodged the next attack from the shadows, coming from the same arm he had just cut off. The regenerating power of these Titans is no joke, winced Adam.

But the next moment, something unexpected happened.

Instead of going to Adam, the concealed weaker Titan shifted through the room, staying unseen, and tore open the green iron wall where Albus was stuck into.

The sudden sound of iron being torn apart made every soldier whip their heads around, thinking that they were going to suffer yet another sneaky attack.

The Titan, invisible, burrowed through the entire building in an instant. By reflexes, Tanya shot another blessed bullet towards the source of the sound.

"Lord, grant me your strength…" The influx of holy energy staggered Adam. It was the reappearance of the sun. The humongous ball of holy energy that Adam witnessed the first time he entered this world.

Tanya instantly repelled the darkness from the room. It disappeared as if it never existed, to begin with. The world lit up with God's might, and Tanya became a beacon of light.

It's her Half-angel form! Realized Adam.

"And I shall strike the infidels!" Tanya recited, before the entire section of the castle in front of her vanished.

Gone. Reduced to nothingness. The silence of the powerful blow stretched as nobody could speak. It was as if they saw they had opened their eyes for the first time.

Neither the invisible Titan nor Albus Nicholson survived that strike.

The holiness coming out of Tanya dwindled as she hovered towards the ground.

It's a good thing praying does not use my reserves, thought Tanya, still feeling winded by her previous attack on the other Titan-class zombie.

Nobody could talk.

Adam looked at the beautiful woman called Tanya and continued looking. His mouth displayed a thin line, and he swallowed the lump stuck in his throat. Seeing this performance from close felt like a revelation to him. The might, the elegance, the holiness of a Half-Angel displaying her strength was too beautiful for him.

However, it was a familiar sensation that broke him out of his trance.

"Well… Our captain solved the problem, I guess…" said Lieutenant Karl, his quiet voice piercing the silence. He did not know what else to say.

A sentiment echoed by the gaped mouths and silence from the soldiers.

Meanwhile, Adam's eyes widened for another reason.

Objective completed.

Return to the main dimension in 5…

4…

His body disappeared slowly, leaving small particles of golden light behind. I see, I fulfilled the Lord's expectations, thought Adam, a serene smile on his face.

He nodded, happy that he had accomplished what the Lord wanted from him.

3…

"Tanya Von Degurechaff…" The Church member called, his voice cutting through the silent admiration of the Captain. Tanya turned her head towards him, and she jerked back when she saw his body slowly disappear.

"W-What is happening to you?" She said with a rare expression of surprise on her face.

2...

"Know that I have completed my mission for the time being. I am thankful for being graced by your presence, as God wills it." His last words were short and expressed his feelings towards the first Half-Angel he had ever met.

1…

"Wait a sec-" Tanya answered, extending her hand towards the dissipating body of the dark-haired man.

Transfer starting…

Adam saw blurry words before his world faded to black.

Dungeon completed: Ancient Evil I

Completion rate: 100%

Unlocked Dungeon: Ancient Evil II

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There is an advanced chapter on my Pat re on if you'd like to read it a week earlier. Feel free to check it if you'd like to support me: Pat re on .com (slash) HiddenSword

I have finally created my own discord, for my two ongoing stories, here's the link if you want to come and chat: discord .gg/UQ4YbqphM9

A/N: I'm only going to post a chapter a week now, I want to make them longer and better to improve my writing. Finally out of the Tanya Universe, but I hope you didn't think that it would be the last time that we see Tanya in this fanfiction :)