Throughout the years that the "Holy" City had stood, it had never been attacked nor faced any invaders.

Not only was its location a secret, known only to a select few Devils, but it was also covered in arrays and protected by the naturally dangerous terrain.

Most importantly, though, the Blasphemer's power quietly permeated throughout the city, allowing him to instantly sense any intruders.

With his powerful strength, any Devil who happened to chance upon the "Holy" City and succeeded in infiltrating it was instantly struck down.

As such, the city's residents had long forgotten their lives back in the River of Oblivion. Having lived in a Utopia for so long, they had never faced danger, much less fought against others.

Unfortunately for them, though, this was about to change.

--

In one of the city's main streets, a lone Devil could be seen walking, tightly clutching a book as he curiously observed his surroundings.

"What a beautiful city. Unfortunately, everything beautiful is destined to end one day.", the Owl Devil whispered as he made his way through the city.

Just when he was about to take a turn, a crimson light sprang from the ground and soared into the sky before exploding like a firework.

The moment the "firework" exploded, a powerful demonic energy surged in various points of the city with strength far beyond that of the common residents.

"The time has come.", the Owl Devil muttered.

After his gaze wandered through the pedestrians around him, he focused on one of them and lightly waved his wings.

A burst of wind shot toward the clueless Devil, who had yet to react to the sudden commotion, turning his body into ashes.

"Ah! Murder!"

"Someone's dead! Quickly! Ask the Saint for help!"

The pedestrians in the street froze.

They stared at what remained of their former neighbor on the ground as horror, fear, and anger appeared across their faces.

They screamed and yelled for help, like ordinary people who witnessed death for the very first time.

Yet, deep within their eyes, a hint of undisguised cruelty, madness, and murderous intent flashed.

The Owl Devil didn't care about these Devils' reactions.

Holding his thick book as always, he struck anyone he met on his way, turning them into blood mist.

A few pedestrians managed to escape his chase, but their end was destined to be no better than their fellow citizens.

Not long after they escaped the Owl Devil's clutches, another ranked Devil appeared before them and, with a wave of his hands, chopped their heads off.

Clearly, the Owl Devil's actions were not an individual Devil losing control, but a premeditated plan.

All the ranked Devils who had previously submitted to Liora had unknowingly infiltrated the "Holy" City and were taking advantage of the Blasphemer's disappearance to cause chaos.

--

In the seemingly endless white expanse, the battle between the two top ranked Devils was still going on.

Yet, although the two fought against each other, the changes in the outside world didn't escape their senses.

"Is this your plan? To cause chaos in my city?", the Blasphemer questioned, his face turning stern.

Surprisingly, although his subjects were getting slaughtered not far away from him, he still didn't lose control of his emotions.

Swinging his sword, his wings flapped once again as he increased the power of his blows, trying to get rid of Liora as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, even though he didn't hold back in the slightest, Liora's almost invulnerable defense and well-rounded combat power placed her in a nearly invincible position.

She calmly defended against his attacks for a few more seconds, finally stalling for enough time for the changes outside to affect this place.

Perhaps as a result of having his believers killed, the originally praying Devils behind the Blasphemer's back began transforming into mournful ghosts, with bloody tears flowing out of their eyes and dripping onto their faces.

The Blasphemer was obviously affected by this unexpected change, as his momentum weakened significantly and his aura became unstable.

Seeing this, Liora didn't hesitate to grasp this opportunity.

With a move of her mind, the sword in her hand turned into a giant, domineering-looking halberd, which she held with both hands before wielding it downwards with all her strength.

With a loud clang, the heavy halberd struck the Blasphemer's sword, its weight and power forcing him back.

A small cut appeared on his handsome, angular face, and for the first time since the battle began, the Blasphemer was actually injured.

"Are your believers the source of your power? No wonder you chose to build a city for them. Unfortunately, such a weakness is bound to be exploited by your enemies.", Liora didn't forget to taunt, wanting to distract the Blasphemer.

Her words indeed seemed to have worked.

As she continuously waved the halberd around, the Blasphemer was steadily forced back, unable to keep up with her pace.

Wide gaps appeared in the clouds beneath them, while the bright sun dimmed, losing part of its holy radiance.

The longer this went on—and the more of the Blasphemer's believers were killed—the more one-sided the situation became.

If things didn't change, it wouldn't take long for him to die in Liora's hands.

Liora understood this, and the Blasphemer, with his superb combat experience, understood it as well.

As such, it was not difficult for him to make his next decision.

"It seems that I can only resort to 'that'.", the Blasphemer whispered, his voice almost inaudible.

Steadying his body, he cast a sorrowful glance at the many weeping Devils behind his back and took a deep breath.

Opening his arms wide, he embraced the countless souls before a thunderous voice escaped his lips, echoing throughout the white expanse.

"Please, I request that you let me borrow your strength. Together, we'll surely fend off the invaders and protect our city.", he spoke passionately.

Coupled with his hero-like appearance and the holy wings behind his back, he really looked like an Angel forgotten by Heaven but yearning for light.

His words seemed to resonate with the many Devils.

Instantly, most of the mournful ghosts actually woke up and stared at him in shock and admiration.

"It's the Saint! The Saint shall protect us all!"

"With the Saint's power, justice shall prevail! It's only a matter of time before Order is established!"

The bloody tears dried off the ghosts' eyes as they showed an enlightened expression, like believers meeting their god.

"For the Saint! For Justice! For Order!"

Following a low prayer, the many souls bathed in holy light before they poured straight into the Blasphemer's body.

The moment they did, the Blasphemer's aura began growing at a rapid pace.

In a heartbeat, his aura had recovered to its peak, and yet, the improvement showed no signs of stopping.

A crown made of holy light formed on top of his head, shrouding him in a golden halo, as he stared emotionlessly at Liora and spoke in a solemn voice:

"Justice shall prevail! Evil shall be defeated!"

Facing the Blasphemer's passionate speech, even with Liora's composure, she found it hard to remain calm.

This was neither because of the sudden changes nor because of the improvement of his strength. What truly shocked Liora were the Blasphemer's Shonen protagonist-like words.

"The rumors are true. This person has truly gone mad.", she couldn't help but mutter as she watched the Blasphemer's power increase at an astonishing rate.

She didn't stop him, but stared at him with curiosity, watching him integrate his believers' power, will, and faith into his own body.

It was only a few moments later, when only a couple of souls remained, that she finally moved.

She didn't choose to attack the Blasphemer, but slightly parted her lips.

From within, a familiar flurry of garbled, inexplicable, and distorted words came out.

The white expanse was unable to contain the words' power as they rushed out, reaching the ears of every single Devil in the "Holy" City.

Whether it was the ranked Devils or the ordinary citizens, a crazy murmur rang directly in their minds.

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