Chapter 169 Archangel (3)

"Oh? The Archangel is doing surprisingly well."

Hidden within the dimensional barrier, I watched the fight between Baishe and the Archangel with popcorn in my mouth. As expected for a Demon Lord, Baishe was throwing out cataclysmic magic by the second, disregarding any harm to the planet or any innocent spectators.

One minute, the Demon Lord would throw a flaming tornado that would melt mountains and vapourise oceans; the next, it would spit out an energy beam strong enough to disintegrate countries into dust.

If I were to compare the three Demon Lords I'd faced, Baishe was far more destructive. Furthermore, I could feel burning emotions pulsating out from that serpentine body as its aura radiated with wrath and disdain. Truth be told, I would rather face Cthulhu again than this ferocious beast.

All of Baishe's attacks were geared towards complete destruction. From its massive breath to the hurricanes, it generated with a whip of its tail. Should I battle the Demon Lord, an entire continent or two might be wiped off the face of the map.

As for the Archangel…

Like an annoying fly that wouldn't quit, the Archangel evaded Baishe's rampage through pure dexterity and evasive arts. Holy power trickled down from each of its wings, creating a sanctified domain that strengthened the being of pure light while weakening the Demon Lord tremendously.

It summoned out swords of Holy light. Created sacred flames that would repel the beings of Hell. Brought down righteous vengeance with thunderbolts beyond anything nature could provide. At the same time, it healed the scorched earth by creating roots and vines, sending a forest to bind the flying serpent.

Yet, even after all its advantages, the Archangel couldn't land a fatal blow to Baishe.

Baishe was far too slippery and powerful. Don't get me wrong; the Archangel was by no means weak. Judging by its skills and powers, it could easily annihilate apex Vampires like Matriarch Innocence or Sirius Moonreaver. Heck, it might even be strong enough to challenge the first Progenitor, Dracula Bloodborne.

However, the Serpent of the Skies was just on another level.

It possessed an endurance only rivalled by Eyghon, as none of the Archangel's attacks worked on its scaly hide. Furthermore, even though the Archangel was fast, the Demon Lord was far more agile and quick. It moved through the air like a fish in water and easily bypassed the sound barrier with every evade.

Destructive capability, defence and speed. Baishe didn't lack any of it. No matter how the Holy Church had designed the Archangel, it pales in comparison to the Demon Lord that had lived thousands of years.

But the Archangel wasn't without its merits…

"How did they manage to fit that many spells into the Archangel? Did the Holy Church make its wings into a catalyst? And that Halo… Maybe I can use that…"

I thought aloud as I pondered how to create my own Archangel.

While I was confident that I could defeat anything the Holy Church threw at me, that didn't mean I couldn't learn from the archaic organisation. If I could create my own army of Angels or even make an Archangel just as powerful as the sanctified being the Holy Church called their trump card… I would have created an unstoppable army. But more importantly, I could use them to protect my four lovers and my two weak parents.

It should be a simple matter with my Creation magic.

I continued to analyse every move of the Archangel with renewed interest.

Firstly, its eighteen wings were imprinted with magical runes that housed spells of every element. Fire spells, water spells, wind spells… They were enchanted through a special carving method that strengthened the Archangel in various ways.

Next, there were an array of enhancements all throughout the Archangel's Holy body. To absorb Holy power from the Faith Dimension and utilise it well, the Archangel was specially crafted to hold a large amount of energy far exceeding anything ancient Vampires could possess.

And finally, I could see the various mechanisms that made the Archangel strong enough to contest the powerful Demon Lord. How it summoned its weapons, created elements, and channelled its domain… Everything was laid bare for me to see.

"Interesting… It seems like I should create my own Faith Dimension as soon as possible. I'll have to ask Lilith for help when I get back."

Speaking of dimensional magic, I instantly thought of my Bloodmate, who had returned to the Moonreaver House. Like the other girls, Lilith worked hard for our future as husband and wife. Mainly, she would help set up a Nightmare Realm where I could settle the Valter House.

If I told her the truth about the Holy Church's magic and the fact that God wasn't real… I wonder what kind of adorable face she'll make?

Oops, I nearly went off-topic.

Focusing back on the battle at hand, I could see the fight was nearing its eventual conclusion. Although the Archangel was heavily injured, as long as it had its massive golden Halo to facilitate its connection to the Faith Dimension, it would never fail to regenerate. As for the Demon Lord, Baishe couldn't keep up the endless destructive Dragon breaths for long.

After all, it was separated from the Demon Realm. It couldn't regenerate magic power like the Archangel nor recover its lost energy. Therefore, it had lost almost a third of its magic power since it invaded Earth.

But the Demon Lord wasn't dumb. It knew it was on a timer, and it knew the Archangel's weakness. Hence, it made an all-out attack plan to rip the Archangel's Halo into pieces, leaving it stranded and ending the Holy Church's summon.

"GRROOOOARRRR!!!"

The Demonic Dragon roared with immense hatred, seemingly asking why it had to expand this much effort to defeat a lower existence. And moving at the fastest speed I'd ever seen a lizard move, Baishe slithered through the skies and attempted to bite off the Halo from the Archangel's crown. However, something unexpected occurred…

Before the Archangel's weakness could be exploited, the massive being of light disintegrated into particles and rearranged itself a few kilometres away. Angered and annoyed, Baishe tried to bite the Halo again. However, the Archangel evaded its attack once more as if it had predicted everything the maddened serpent would do.

No, it wasn't as if… The Archangel was predicting Baishe's every move.

I didn't notice it since I was entirely focused on its magical abilities, but now that I looked closely… The Archangel's eyes were shining with a mysterious glow. A sacred aura that couldn't be compared with anything else from the Holy Church resonated within those deep golden pupils.

They were eyes that could stare into one's soul. A vision that could pierce through all weaknesses and divulge every mystery on the planet. And if my theory was correct… It could see the future.

It might only be able to see a few seconds into the future, but that was more than enough in a battle where nanoseconds mattered. Foresight was something that I hadn't uncovered, even after unlocking four of my rings. So…

How on earth did the Holy Church manage to do so?

I continued to observe the fight; this time, I paid more attention to the Archangel's eyes. Each time it evaded the Demon Lord, used its eyes to analyse Baishe's movements, and channelled magic power from the Faith Dimension… I tried my best to observe and understand everything about the Archangel.

"Wait… Don't tell me that's how they did it?!"

I came up with a hypothesis on the spot and was desperate to test my theory. Alas, I didn't have Holy power or Faith Energy readily available. Therefore, I could only watch as the Demon Lord continued its vengeful battle against the Archangel. Even until the moment its eyes failed the Archangel.

"GRROOOOARRRR!!!"

Baishe's persistence paid off as it increased speed to a point where the Archangel's mystic eyes couldn't follow. Unable to move fast enough to protect itself, the Archangel's Halo was stolen by Baishe's jaws, and it was smashed into particles of light with one crunch.

As it had lost its catalyst, the Archangel could no longer channel Holy power from the Faith Dimension. Without its transcendental healing, the Archangel could only serve as a punching bag for Baishe. Using a mixture of its Draconic breath and flaming tornadoes, it was only a matter of time before the Archangel lost all of its power.

Watching the Archangel go from an absolute terror to a mere pinata instantly made me lose respect for the Holy Church.

Seriously? The Holy Church thought that they could kill me with this weak summon? If it couldn't even injure a Demon Lord, what made them believe it could assassinate me?

However, just when I thought the show was over…

"PSSSTTTT!!!"

Blood spewed from Baishe's neck as a golden, flaming spear of pure light and holiness pierced through the Demon Lord. Skewered by the sudden attack, Baishe's eyes looked down at the Archangel in shock, as it couldn't believe what had happened.

In one final burst of energy, the Archangel channelled all of its energy into one spear to deal a fatal blow to the Demonic being. And as if it were a hero in a novel, the moment the Archangel gave its final sacrifice, it dissipated into mere light particles, leaving behind no trace that it ever existed.

No trace other than the massive hole in Baishe's chest.

"GRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOARRRR!!!"

Angered beyond any measure, the Demon Lord let out one gut-wrenching roar that shook the mountains and distorted the atmosphere. The skies howled with its piercing screech, and the entire planet felt the full extent of its frustration.

The Demon Lord had won, but it had come at a significant cost. Its injury wasn't closing up and bleeding rivers of blood every passing second. Unlike Cthulhu, it seemed like Baishe didn't possess transcendent regeneration. Given its impregnable defence and overwhelming speed, perhaps it didn't need to evolve a regeneration ability.

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Alas, that arrogance had finally come to bite the Demon Lord in the ass.

"Haha, I would have to thank the Holy Church for being so kind."

Not only did they show me the full extent of an Archangel's ability, but they had also uncovered Baishe's only weakness. And now, it's time for me to reap the rewards.

Taking advantage of Baishe's confused mental state, I teleported from my hiding spot and above the howling Dragon. And before it could even notice my presence…

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

I sent a meteor hurling down from the heavens and smashed the Demon Lord back onto the planet. An explosion, one that was just as destructive as Baishe's own Draconic breath, burnt the majestic, silver scales of the Demon Lord while significantly weakening the injured beast.

However, even injured, Baishe was still an apex creature. It broke free from the crater I'd sent it and flew right to my eye level.

We exchanged glances as I started to read the emotions within the Demon Lord.

Shock, anger, and most importantly… Fear.

Perhaps it could sense Cthulhu's life force lingering on my body. Or maybe it recognised that I was an existence equal, if not greater, than a Demon Lord. Nevertheless, my blood began to boil, and my inner child took over my beating heart.

I was going to do something that all boys dreamed of.

It's time to slay a Dragon.