Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 980: Kill the Fallen Angels! (9k words updated)
Saint John grabbed the corner of Aiwas's clothes from behind and threw Aiwas backwards without thinking.

While making physical contact, she also dispelled the darkness in front of Aiwas' eyes.

At that moment, Aiwas felt as if it was daybreak - although the distracting thoughts and desires in his heart did not fade, he suddenly became sober.

Although this untimely dispelling also removed the negative status of Aiwass, it didn't matter now. Because his body was not digitized, even Aiwass himself couldn't fight with all his strength when enduring three layers of "corruption".

Among these people, perhaps only Saint John, Mu and Ligia can do it... and the three of them combined have no output at all.

This is also the reason why Aiwas asked the Great Guardian to take Cardinal Fafner, Cardinal Galatea and Master Chongbo away. The four of them have "inner demons", and that special obsession makes them afraid that they can't bear a "fall" once. If Zhu Tang was here, it would be the same.

"Try to stop him, Aiwass."

Saint John’s voice was gentle and calm: “I feel very uneasy about the power he is gathering…”

"……I know."

Aiwass responded in a deep voice: "I have a way."

That should be the instant kill spell.

Now it seems... its performance mode should not be to "kill" everyone, but to use the power of the law to directly "corrupt" all the existences on this land and enslave them. The current "accumulation of power" is actually just following the channel opened by the "Tail Ring" ritual, leaking power bit by bit and trying to break through the wall of balance.

"Then leave it to you."

Saint John smiled with relief.

There was no trace of timidity or sadness in her eyes, but rather an incomparable calmness... even a little impatient.

Aiwass understood her.

——As a dedicated person, now is the "time for the highest dedication."

Saving the world and all living beings by sacrificing oneself... There is no better ending than this. It is much better than the ordinary and mediocre ending of "lifespan exhaustion" or "death from old age"!

Faced with the second wave, St. John did not retreat at all.

"If I were a torch..."

Saint John chanted in a low voice, and the long white hair behind him slowly floated up.

It starts from the corners of clothes, then the long hair, and then the skin and flesh.

Her whole body was burning—

This is the most powerful healing magic of the Torchburner, the [Ultimate Sacrifice] that should have been mastered at the seventh energy level!
Once activated, it cannot be stopped - by constantly burning your own health limit, it causes periodic healing and dispelling to all friendly forces around you!
——The brilliant white sun blocked everyone’s view!

Behind [Fallen] there is a black, ugly, placenta-like heart, which constantly emits dark ripples; and the white sun blocking in front of them is also constantly emitting weaker but higher frequency white ripples.

As the white waves swept through their bodies, their minds instantly calmed down, and their physical strength and vitality immediately recovered to their peak state.

And Heleqin launched another charge without hesitation! That was not based on Aiwass's command, but his own action.

He charged again, emerging from thin air.

With just one shot, the Fallen Angel's heart was completely pierced!

But this time, blood spurted out, flesh and blood shattered...but the Fallen Angel's expression did not change at all.

After the blood burst, his chest was filled with dark energy.

He just glanced at Heleqin, and the "Black Sun" on the back of his head instantly stabbed out a black illusory spear, which flew out and pierced through Heleqin's chest!
Although the spear was pure black, it could be seen that it was exactly the same shape as Heleqin's dragon spear!

This is a new mechanism that appears in the highest difficulty level called "Anti-War".

——[At the beginning of the fall, evil is repaid with evil]!
The human heart can be like a mirror, reflecting back the malice it receives - and the "malice" that continues to spread and intensify as it is reflected forms the original "sin."

Any damage sustained in [Fallen] form will be reflected.

This means that even at this stage you must keep the healer and cannot use the simplest method to pass the level, otherwise you will be killed by the bullets.

If Heleqin was not an undead, this blow would be enough to kill him.

But even faced with such a heavy counterattack, Helechin did not retreat at all.

He didn't even take a step back, but stood there firing one shot after another, launching a torrential rain of attacks on the Fallen Angels!

That would have led to a counterattack that would have shattered him to pieces - but the attack he made would be repaired instantly.

This was an unfair fight.

However, after being sealed by Aiwass, Heleqin already had the mark of wrath.

Now, under the catalysis of [Degeneration], just thinking of Fafner bound by chains made him so furious that he could not control himself and was completely unable to control any of his actions!

He was completely out of control and no longer obeyed Aiwass's commands.

But at this moment.

Cardinal Galatea, who had been basically helpless due to the Fallen Angels' superior resistance to illusions, finally took action.

Under the influence of the Tail Ring Ceremony, the power of other gods will be isolated as much as possible, making the "signal" here "bad", so the Sand Clock cannot directly intervene with the gods, and can only rely on mortals to attack the Heavenly Official.

But even though she cannot use the divine descent technique, she can still communicate with the twin mirror at any time and use the advanced divine techniques from the twin mirror.

——[Mirror discarded]!
A high-level divine spell that can temporarily remove the "mirror" attribute of a designated target!

Although it sounds useless, it can do some very scary things - for example, it can make the sea no longer reflect colors, and the sky no longer blue; for example, it can make people's eyes lose the ability to reflect light and become blind... but because this is not a "blind state", it cannot be dispelled.

The target chosen by Cardinal Galatea is the Black Sun behind [Fall]!
The ability of unlimited counterattack was sealed instantly.

This caused Heleqin's violent attack, which would have killed him instantly, to actually land on the Fallen Angel instead of hurting himself in the slightest!
Although this attack itself did not bring any results...it did attract the attention of the Fallen Angels.

Right at this moment.

A dark green stream of light came silently from the top of the distant psychic tower.

It didn't make any sound and instantly pierced through the Fallen Angel!

The dark green beam of light directly punched a large hole in the middle of the Fallen Angel's chest. It was about the size of two fists placed side by side - and dense cracks spread all around. The thick deathly aura and extreme cold froze the wound, emitting a dark green aura.

This is the most powerful spell that the first generation Black Phase can master as a lich.

——Everything is dead!
Using the psychic tower as a wizard tower extends the casting distance...so that the casting distance of this spell, which was originally only sixty meters, is extended to more than ten kilometers.

If this attack hits another fifth-level transcendent, it will instantly make them disappear - it should not have made "a big hole", but the whole person should have disappeared. Whether it is living or non-living, as long as it can be destroyed by time, it will be reduced to ashes under the effect of the spell...

However, when it fought against the Fallen Angel, it only created a hole through its body.

But just this one hole is extremely deadly at this moment——

The concept of [Death] itself vaguely involves the law. The power of [Fall] cannot repair the body, so the big hole in his chest cannot be repaired and is even spreading.

The Fallen Angel's pupils suddenly became lively.

His consciousness began to gradually awaken.

And Aiwass also realized...the time had come.

If you want to kill the Fallen Angel, now is the best time!

but……

The "Paradise Lost" that was originally planned to be used to kill the Fallen Angels had just been forced to be used once.

If Aiwass hadn't used Paradise Lost to offset the Fallen Angels' Paradise Lost, the Fallen Angels would have been able to kill everyone instantly. The power of Paradise Lost was equivalent to 666 bombardments of the current world's maximum power - the Fallen Angels couldn't bear this power, and Aiwass and the others couldn't bear it even more.

...However, without the "White Wing Form" of Paradise Lost that has been strengthened by fusing with other Sin Beasts through "Redemption of Sins", it is impossible to directly kill the Fallen Angels with overwhelming force, and will be offset by Paradise Lost with the same power.

Although "Redemption of the Deadly Sin" can reduce the cooling time of Paradise Lost by one day, Aiwass now has three deadly sin beasts, so it can only reduce it by three days. The remaining three days of cooling cannot be reduced in any way.

——Then what should he do?

Use the Light of Elysium?

Or is it death in desolation?
Or is it the way of pastoral care?

Three thoughts emerged in Aiwas' mind one after another, but he completely rejected them.

Aiwass chose another route, which was the tip given to him by Cardinal Galatea when he used the advanced divine arts:

He remembered what he gained from helping the Lord of Scales and Feathers defeat the Supreme Queen of Heaven.

[Adaptation-Essence of Atlas: A magic potion made from the essence of Atlas, the "Supreme Sky". When you die, you will be reborn stronger (once only)]

There is no point in being reborn after being defeated by the Fallen Angels.

Aiwass had thought about this before.

Because the Fallen Angel is not an unintelligent "Dungeon Boss", he will also learn and grow. If his own information is exposed, even if he is strengthened, his chances of winning will be very low.

Therefore, this chance of resurrection must not be regarded as a "safety net after failure". Aiwass was challenging an enemy that he could hardly defeat. If they could kill Aiwass once, they could also kill him a second time.

Rather than betting on whether this "stronger stance" can turn the tide of the battle...

——It’s better to use it to finish off the enemy!

"Boss," Aiwass asked in his heart, "If I use the 'Essence of Atlas' to be reborn, can I launch the second Paradise Lost?"

Aiwass seemed to hear a relieved laugh.

"of course."

The Lord of Scales and Feathers spoke in a magnetic and deep voice: "This is a magic potion I made myself. It can completely revive you immediately after death, and all your abilities can be used again... But, do you plan to use it now?

"Perhaps you can use other abilities to defeat the Fallen Angel. Such precious power... that is your second life. There is no second Bear Angel, so you will not have a second chance like this.

"If you use it to kill the Fallen Angels, it would be the same as dying once, right?"

The voice of the Lord of Scales and Feathers seemed to carry some kind of bewitching power.

At that moment, Aiwass even felt that the master of "Fallen" was not the Fallen Angel in front of him... but the Lord of Scales and Feathers who was attached to him for fun.

But the moment Aiwas made this decision, he decided not to change it.

"——I think this 'second life' is not a good thing."

Aiwass thought to himself.

As the saying goes, those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes...If a person has assets, he will become weak, and if he has ties, he will be cautious. Only those who have nothing can move forward courageously.

In the face of "life", all living beings are lacking.

No one has a second life, so it is the most equitable asset.

However, the gift from the Lord of Scales and Feathers gave Aiwas a second life.

——This seemed to be an extremely generous gift, but it made Aiwas’s transcendent soul no longer pure.

He always thinks - I still have a life.

Perhaps there are many enemies who can defeat him once, but how many can defeat him twice?
Without the courage to ignore death and move forward...he became fragile instead.

[——Question 1: Do you have the courage to face death? ]

[——Question 2, do you have the courage to challenge an invincible enemy? ]

[——Question three, do you dare to abandon the victory you have already achieved in order to seek a greater victory? ]

The words that Aiwass used to torture the little knight in the past now came back to him word for word.

"... Boomerang, it really hurts."

Aiwass smiled bitterly and put his hands on his forehead.

Only when people are irreversibly on the path of death can they burst out with fearless courage.

"——So I'm going to give it up."

Aiwass said, activating the Dissolving Soul: "That second life didn't belong to me in the first place...!"

He stretched out his hand and suddenly tore it forward - as if he wanted to tear his head apart, and forcefully pulled his soul out of his body!

While Saint John is continuing to treat me, I'm afraid this is the only move that can kill me instantly!
At that moment, Leah and Vinesh, who were temporarily out of their bodies, and Helechin, who was now out of control, were all startled at the same time - even Helechin woke up!
Following the contract, they were extremely aware of their master's death!

Fear, despair, and disbelief emerged in my heart.

Aiwass fell to the ground in front of the lifeless and soulless body.

But at this moment, the golden, misty soul left the body.

A deep red blood mist seeped out and immediately condensed into a second Aiwass in the air!
He restored Aiwass's youthful body - and Aiwass's body was filled with divinity, almost exactly the same as the Fallen Angel today!
The so-called "becoming stronger" turns out to be this mode!
Now Aiwas has a stronger body, more vigorous vitality... and most importantly, he possesses the same divinity as a higher-level phantom demon!
The gradually awake Fallen Angel watched this scene with a complicated look in his eyes, but he remained silent as if possessed by "Fallen".

Aiwass spread his white wings again and flew high into the sky. He held Saint John in his arms to prevent her from being accidentally hurt by his Paradise Lost.

——Redemption from great sins!
Leah, Vinez and Heleqin turned into three streams of light and merged into the white wings behind Aiwas.

Three of the six white wings suddenly grew larger and turned into deep red, purple-black and forest green.

"Light——"

Aiwass roared and instantly unfolded Paradise Lost again!

Compared to the Lost Paradise before, there were three smaller colored magic circles outside the triple ring behind him. They were not very coordinated - there were two on the left and only one in the upper right corner. It was the same as the distribution of the wings behind Aiwas.

Fallen Angel looked at everything in front of him and felt somewhat relieved.

"Light...?"

Looking at that familiar face.

At that moment, he seemed to remember the day when he first met the "snake".

Lucifer lay under the tree, basking in the sun leisurely.

A smiling young man with long blond hair and wearing a monocle walked up to him, waved his hand and said a silent hello. Then he lay down beside him, basking in the sun together in silence.

That was an era when people could understand each other's intentions without language.

——By the way, what was the expression on the face of the “snake” when it looked at you that day?
A question that he had never thought about suddenly emerged in the mind of the Fallen Angel.

Is it regret? Is it expectation? Is it treachery? Is it nostalgia?
Or...

Looking at the increasingly bright and dazzling “Paradise Lost” before his eyes, the Fallen Angel closed his eyes as if pierced by the light.

"…The light is too bright, I can't see anything clearly."

(End of this chapter)