How did this trick happen?

Ciella couldn't figure it out. Just now, they were at the same distance and both endured the same attack. She could neutralize some of the power by releasing the Flame Counterattack immediately, but how did that guy manage to evade the power of the flame?

"Unfortunately, this time it's my victory, Headmistress Ciella," the boy said slowly as he pulled out a delicate dagger from his sleeve and approached Ciella.

Ciella had already decided that I am her enemy. If I can kill her, I will.

If before, the boy only targeted to force her to retreat because of Ciella's strength, now he had a good opportunity to kill this great threat, so naturally, the target should be changed.

"Although I'm sorry, please end it here," he said.

Ciella clenched her teeth and watched the boy approaching, still thinking of a strategy. As a Holy Rank magician, she naturally had a lot of powerful magic items in her storage space. But whether those ordinary means would be effective against an enemy of the same Holy Rank was still a question.

After all, even if the boy's Holy Rank power was as fragile as gold residue, there was still an essential difference between Holy Rank and ordinary levels.

But there was no room for hesitation at this time.

A faint light flashed across the necklace hanging on her chest, and magic began to gather--

"Magic items? Useless!" the boy immediately sensed this as well and his speed suddenly increased, appearing in front of Ciella in an instant, swinging his dagger.

Clang!

A crisp collision sound rang out as the blade struck a pure white diamond-shaped shield. The shield surface was smooth and lustrous, with a texture like jade. The dagger in the boy's hand was obviously not ordinary, but there was no trace left even after the strike.

[Physical Resistance] [Trinity Mode]

After two consecutive enhancements, the shield emitted a burst of light. Two identical white shields appeared on both sides, surrounding Ciella in a circle. They shared the damage previously borne by the first shield and fluctuated up and down regularly.

"It seems like I arrived just in time, Ciella, my friend. Are you alright?" the familiar voice said.

"I won't die... I never die." Hearing this familiar voice, the Headmistress couldn't help but relax a bit.

"Oh, my dear old pal, I swear to the goddess that I told you ten years ago to respect me, do you understand the concept of respect? Even if we're friends, we still need to follow the basic etiquette..."

Well, she didn't relax, in fact, she became more irritated.

"Have you been reading those brain-dead translation books again recently? Please speak normally!" Ciella interrupted.

"My dear old..."

"Do I need to broadcast to the whole academy about the time you secretly bought my drawings at the trading market?" Ciella threatened.

"Cough! Give me some face!"

The white-bearded old man in the white robe, who came out from behind the shield, was choked by his own saliva and coughed several times. He quickly approached Ciella, desperately making a gesture to keep silent, and whispered,

"I was just curious about what you were doing after that incident. Besides, this was told to me by a young person from the Mage Tower! They said it's a popular way of speaking these years..."

"Those so-called young people are just younger than you... And, no one would believe that the Great Sage would casually go to a fan convention, you know."

It shouldn't be funny, but for some reason Ciella couldn't help but laugh!

"Grand Sage Dia?"

Seeing the white-bearded old man appear, the boy was also taken aback. "You're even more impatient than I thought."

"Impatient?" Dia turned around, instantly dropping the cautious expression he had just shown. The marks of time on his face revealed his authority. "Impatient enough to give you a chance to kill a Holy Rank?"

"I'm quite looking forward to it…" The boy said hesitantly.

Dia tapped his staff on the ground and cast a teleportation spell on himself and Ciella. Then he looked up at the sky exposed through the collapsed ceiling.

The red Magic array still hung over the city, and the accumulation of magic had reached its peak.

"You have played your cards well, but do you really think they will stand idly by after such an incident? Young man, entering the Holy Rank only touches the doorway, there are boundaries that cannot be crossed."

Leaving behind these words, Dia disappeared with Ciella.

"Boundaries? You're asking the wrong person, Grand Sage Dia."

The boy muttered to himself and suddenly let out a smirk. "But calling me 'young man'? That doesn't suit you, does it?"

"Brother, brother, do you think they're really gone?"

A girl's voice came from the treasure room behind, and a head poked out from the almost collapsed ruins of the room, dragging two taller guys out to the main hall.

Actually, Vila had already teleported here with the two burdens, but mortals suffer when immortals fight, and everyone understands that. The two people fighting outside almost overturned the entire island, no one dared to show their heads then.

"Well, it wouldn't be wise for them to stay here. I thought I could force Ciella to leave, but oh well. As for Grand Sage Dia, he saved some people, but it didn't have much impact. It seems that the big guy up there has had his fill. We can get ready too."

"Mmm..."

Vila nodded firmly and then turned around, squatting down and poking Johannes on the ground. "Hey, hey, little Johannes, stop pretending to be unconscious. It's time to bring out the Divine Punishment Codex."

"..."

Johannes slowly opened his eyes, and after standing up, he looked at Vila and the person next to her with a gentle smile, someone who looked about the same age as himself.

Originally, Johannes had a glimmer of hope, but now it seemed that he couldn't escape. Miss Judicator was a force to be reckoned with. Your Excellency, you have really put me in a difficult situation this time.

Vila's actions had been strange from the beginning, but because people had always heard that the methods of the Judicators were not as upright as those of the Holy Knights, and sometimes they would cause great destruction without considering the consequences, Johannes could understand.

Although he was a disciple of the Pope, he leaned toward Heinrich's radical religious reform. Even the Pope secretly recognized Heinrich, which is why he sent Johannes to help.

Since they had already completely torn the grand facade of the church in the royal capital, Johannes was not a person who was bound by moral requirements. Bloodshed and sacrifice were inevitable in order to bring about change in the Temple Church, and it didn't matter whose blood was spilled.

But even so, there were things that he couldn't defy. At the very least, as a human, as a creature of the Main Dimension, it was absolutely forbidden to assist the demons without authorization.

It was humanity's own problem if they fought among themselves, but if it attracted the demons that coveted the Main World, they would be met with a collective attack.

At first, he wasn't sure when he saw Viola painting an unknown magic array, but when he saw that magic array extracting life force and converting it into energy Yuan, the truth became clear.

Originally, he had planned to pretend to be dizzy and see if he could make Lucas directly subdue Viola. But he didn't expect Viola to activate the magic array and slip away, and as soon as he arrived, he saw a fight between warriors. He couldn't believe that the "brother" she mentioned was a fierce person who could confront Ciella head-on and almost kill her.

So by now, Johannes had completely given up on the idea of sanctioning Viola and bringing her back to the church for judgment, even with the help of Angelo. Even if they joined forces, they couldn't take a single move from that young man.

Now all he could do was to send away the sacred punishment scriptures that they seemed to value. These artifacts in the church were equipped with a self-recovery spell formula, designed to prevent the accidental loss of sacred objects in case the holder died.

"Viola Judicator, your collusion with demons is already undeniable. Surrender immediately and come with me to the Holy See for judgment!"

Johannes deliberately spoke loudly enough for Angelo to hear from behind. As long as Angelo could buy him some time to activate the spell, they could at least to some extent prevent Viola's plan, no matter what that plan was.

While speaking, the spell of the sacred punishment scriptures hidden in his arms had already started to activate.

But just as the spell had barely started, it stopped. It wasn't because something went wrong with the spell itself, but because the supply of magic from Yuan was cut off.

Feeling the cold blade pierce his body, the pain spread along with the cold, Johannes couldn't believe it as he lowered his head and opened his mouth in silent screams.

A blood-stained blade protruded from his abdomen.

"Angelo...?"

"To be honest, your understanding is not entirely wrong. The so-called Judicator is completely different from a holy knight. We don't believe in gods, and we don't have any faith that we must uphold. We are just a group of... madmen who gather together for various reasons. Like me, I simply detest this world."

Angelo laughed softly. Instead of immediately pulling out his dagger, he gently supported Johannes' weakening body and laid him down.

"Don't worry, Johannes. My dagger has found the gap between your organs. It's just bleeding and pain, any random priest can heal. You won't die. I know that the sacred punishment scriptures are bound to your life, and the teleportation spell will be activated once you die. So, please watch what happens next with peace of mind."

Johannes, who had never experienced such pain, was in too much agony to respond to Angelo's words. His body completely weakened, his hands helpless, grasping the ground. His vision started to darken as the blood-red sky above gradually blurred into darkness.

"Here, this is it, the sacred punishment scriptures."

Taking out an ancient book from Johannes' embrace, Angelo handed it to Viola, while he himself stood up and looked up at the sky.

"You... you are quite interesting." Viola looked at Angelo with slight surprise. Angelo was not one of their people, and his actions at the moment were completely unexpected.

"It doesn't matter, as long as the outcome is good," the young boy said, taking the Divine Punishment Codex and patting the cover reassuringly.

"Well," Angelo's eyes sparkled with hope as he pointed at the Magic formation in the sky, "That should be the teleportation spell [Gate to Hell], right?"

"You know about that too?"

"Because I've studied it specifically. I've been looking forward to the day when demons would return to the human world since I was very young."

The black demons descended, flapping their wings, obliterating all light in the human realm. The former self, like a wretched stray dog, struggled in the slums of Blackstone City. How many others, just like oneself, were hoping for that sight?

In the mythological war, demons ravaged the land, and now they struggled desperately to survive. What difference does it make for someone like me, who is so insignificant?