Chapter 33-Saint Corroded?

When the two protagonists regained consciousness, they found themselves in Beaconburg, chained by light energy manacles to a golden pedestal. 

Alan wasn't in a hurry to deal with these two protagonists. 

However, their disappearance in the Kingdom of Rivenland's Valer caused significant unrest, stirring reactions akin to a stone causing ripples in a pond. 

Both protagonists and antagonists, tacitly aware, were accumulating energy and looking for the right moment to act.

The problems with Saint Christine's "Dance of Moon Goddess" during the ceremony were only minor issues compared to this development. 

After all, Christine was neither a protagonist nor an antagonist, but now two protagonists had vanished. 

This indicated that the conflict between protagonists and antagonists in Valer, Rivenland, had officially begun.

At that moment, many protagonists and antagonists started to mobilize. Simultaneously, in the distant sky to the west, a black and red glow streaked across the heavens.

It appeared to be a massive meteorite enveloped in black smoke, originating from the west. 

Additionally, dark clouds shrouded the distant west, with eerie red lightning flashing intermittently. That area was the location of the Divine Pillar, the Abyss of the Demon World.

It seemed as if the abyss itself had awakened. A torrent of dark aura suddenly burst forth from the Abyss of the Demon World, transforming into meteor-like streaks shooting across the sky.

The sight of the dark red glowing "meteorite," shrouded in black smoke and heading straight for Rivenland's capital, Valer, was astonishing. 

Upon impact with the forbidden-tier spell "Sky Curtain" barrier in the sky, a dark red light exploded, and a massive ghostly face appeared on the "Sky Curtain," leading to its shattering.

Countless transparent, glass-like substances fell from the sky, but before they could crash into the ceremony venue, they abruptly stopped mid-air. 

The majority of the fragments were lifted by a faint purple energy, attempting to return to their original position in the "Sky Curtain" to restore it.

When the "meteorite" hit the "Sky Curtain," black smoke swept out, and its energy continued to spread downwards, seemingly locked in a continuous standoff with the "Sky Curtain." 

Queen Agatha, who was controlling and repairing the "Sky Curtain," felt a headache brewing. 

The "Sky Curtain" was a forbidden-tier spell, the highest level of magical existence in the Human World, and the sudden force from the abyss had blasted it open, challenging even her 4-star king-tier abilities to maintain it.

Despite the stalemate between the two energies, a unique young figure descended from the sky. The young man wore a black robe shrouded in mist, adorned with swirling stardust. 

His appearance was sinisterly pale, with crimson eyes. It was the protagonist, David!

David had successfully located three hidden caches of the demon world. 

What he hadn't anticipated was that some items from the demon world caches were imbued with demonic wills that had slowly coalesced to form the will of the Ancient One. 

The Ancient One's will seized the opportunity to invade his body, attempting to take control over David.

However, the revived Ancient One failed to possess David. His protagonist system, uniquely powerful, blocked the invasion of the Ancient One's will, but remnants of this will still fused with him. 

This young man, now appearing with all of David's memories, also harbored the will of the Ancient One. 

His purpose here was directed towards David's teacher—Saint Christine of the Moon Goddess Sect.

After David landed from the "Sky Curtain," the Ancient One's will within him transformed into a wisp of black smoke and darted towards Christine, who was in the midst of performing the "Dance of Moon Goddess." 

This sudden development shocked everyone present, leaving them bewildered about what was happening.

Many chose to flee, alarmed by the powerful collision of forces they had just witnessed above their heads. 

The instant shattering of a forbidden-tier spell suggested that the power in play was far beyond what most could handle. 

The sight of David, imbued with demonic energy, also sent chills down the spines of the onlookers.

Saint Christine, performing the "Dance of Moon Goddess," saw this unfold and felt the latent power within her bloodline becoming increasingly restless. 

Her eyes, usually glowing with the silver light of the Moon Goddess, suddenly flickered to blood red before returning to silver, only to change again rapidly.

The black smoke that had emerged from David's head floated towards Christine and entered her head. This spectacle stunned the surrounding crowd, leaving them at a loss for what to do. 

Even the clergy and bishops of the Moon Goddess Sect seemed unsure of how to respond.

"Act quickly, the Saint is in distress!" a bishop of the Moon Goddess Sect called out.

The bishops of the Moon Goddess Sect, one after another, released silver-white light from their artifacts, aiming to suppress whatever was affecting Saint Christine.

Christine herself also began trying to suppress the sudden surge of blood-colored demonic aura within her. 

This aura was so violent and fierce that even a mere glimpse of the blood-mist-like presence plunged the surrounding people into hallucinations resembling a battlefield strewn with corpses and blood.

However, the bishops, being bishops and bolstered by the sacred artifacts of the Moon Goddess Sect, soon deployed their own divine radiance in an attempt to suppress the demonic aura emanating from Saint Christine. But they failed.

The reason they had not intervened during Christine's initial mishap in the "Dance of Moon Goddess" was because the dance required complete immersion and devotion. 

Only through such dedication could one communicate with and potentially summon the Goddess of Moon. Initially, despite the errors in her performance, the bishops held hope that Christine could overcome and suppress the disturbance, then resume and successfully complete the dance.

But the situation had changed dramatically. The "Dance of Moon Goddess" had failed, and Saint Christine had been overtaken by the will of a dark god. 

This meant that if the dark god's will continued to control Christine, she would become a puppet of the dark god.

Thus, the bishops of the Moon Goddess Sect had no choice but to intervene. Yet, they had underestimated the terrifying nature of the dark god's will within Christine and her strength in this altered state. 

Eventually, as the blood mist around Christine solidified into a massive demonic maw threatening to engulf everything around her, the sacred artifacts of the Moon Goddess Sect bishops shattered one by one.

The bishops of the Moon Goddess Sect, with the divine radiance of the Goddess of Moon enveloping them, initially stood firm against the onslaught.

But as the demonic aura intensified, their light began to wane, reminiscent of candles flickering out in a gust of wind. 

Soon, the first bishop succumbed; his divine radiance was completely extinguished. Under the relentless assault of the blood-colored dark aura, his body rapidly corroded into a bloody sludge, leaving behind a skeletal figure standing in a grotesque, haunting pose.

One by one, the remaining bishops met the same fate. 

Their powerful divine light, once a beacon of the Moon Goddess Sect, was overpowered, shattered, and devoured by the relentless dark aura. The once-sacred ground was now a scene of horror and despair.

Amidst this chaos, Saint Christine, the Moon Goddess Sect's most revered figure, resumed her dance. 

But the elegance and purity that had once defined the "Dance of Moon Goddess" were now replaced by movements that were twisted, bizarre, and utterly terrifying. 

Her limbs contorted into unnatural angles, and her body twisted in ways that defied the natural human anatomy.

To the horror of the onlookers, a massive blood-red demonic shadow loomed in the air, casting an ominous presence over the entire ceremony. 

The shadow emitted eerie, rustling noises, resembling the sound of sinister whispers that penetrated the ears of everyone present.

In no time, those who had lingered at the venue began to experience disturbing symptoms – bleeding from their ears, followed by tears of blood trickling down from their eyes. 

Realizing the gravity of the situation, they scrambled to find special purification potions to stabilize their condition, their steps quickening as they sought to flee the nightmarish scene.