Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 538 "Four-winged Angel" Azphiel (6k6)

The "Saint" Franya, holding the [Holy Silver Grip] in her hand, is emitting an increasingly dazzling pure white light.

An illusory door gradually opened behind her, and the sacred figure of Azphiel, the "four-winged angel" with whom she had contracted, condensed from it.

Golden and white ripples were spreading in the air, sacred music was floating in the air, and the spiritual concentration of the surrounding [light] was rising rapidly until it filled to a certain point.

"...I heard your call, Franya."

From the dazzling divine form of the Four-Winged Angel Azphiel came His voice filled with tenderness, love, and compassion.

Luo Xiu also looked towards Him.

The first thing he saw was Him gradually spreading out His four holy wings that shone with pure white light.

That was the most important symbol of His divine personhood as a "four-winged angel." Then, the nearly overflowing radiance gradually dissipated, revealing His truest holy form—

It was an archangel who looked like the most flawless sculpture, silent, kind, and majestic.

He should be a neutral angel.

Gender has lost its meaning of distinction to Him. He can be a loving mother and a kind father.

And He looked very young, as if tens of millions of years had left no traces of wear and tear on Him, only making Him look more sacred and solemn.

There seems to always be a quiet smile on His face, without a trace of worldly dust, and there is a hint of sadness and compassion between His brows.

Those golden holy eyes, like burning fire, seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, and they flashed with a soft and firm light. They were neither too cold nor too warm, maintaining an indescribable balance.

The pure white holy robe and the ribbon engraved with sacred inscriptions were draped over His body as gently as if it were nothing. His arms were spread out like a scale, and his body floated in the air. He looked calmly at the person in front of him, His contractor, the saint whom He had been guiding for a long time, the "Saint" Frya Mayerling.

"...My lovely child, Frenya."

The smile on the face of the Four-Winged Angel Azphiel became more and more gentle. He looked at Frenya so gently and asked her:

"You look a little confused, my child."

"What confuses you so much?"

"..."

"I want to ask you, Azphir."

Franya looked at Azfiel and asked him:

"About what you told me about the 'devil'."

"For demons above the 'True Ancestor Demon'... their true names must be revealed before they can be truly and completely killed. Is this true, Azphiel?"

"..."

The "Four-Winged Angel" Azphiel remained silent upon hearing this, but a gentle smile still appeared on his face.

The silence made the people present, including Luo Xiu, Davild, Franya and Monine, hold their breath and wait for his response.

The surroundings fell into complete silence. Luo Xiu could even hear his own pounding heartbeat.

Although he already knew the answer, the atmosphere made him feel nervous.

“…This is true, Frenya.”

Finally, after a long while, Azphiel nodded slightly.

Luo Xiu nodded slightly, and Davild breathed a sigh of relief. He finally verified that what he saw was not false.

As for the expressions on Franya and Monine's faces, when they finally learned the truth from the "four-winged angel" Azphiel, they only felt that their emotions became more complicated.

Luo Xiu then turned his gaze towards Franya.

Her beautiful face, like white porcelain, was somewhat gloomy at this moment. She lowered her head in silence, or perhaps thought for a long time, before she raised her head again and looked at the angel Azphiel who was still full of love and tenderness.

"Then why didn't you tell me this?"

Franya's voice has become somewhat anxious.

"If we had known this earlier, Teacher Monine and I would have been able to target those demons with real names more effectively. And you... Azphiel, you always carry out this kind of 'conquest' silently and alone. What is the meaning of this? Or, what is the meaning of hiding this from us?"

Franya's voice was trembling a little.

It carries the implication of being anxious and eager to get an answer.

And there was still that gentle smile on Azfiel's face.

He gently flapped his sacred wings and landed at a height almost the same as Franya. He extended his right hand to the young saint in front of him and gently stroked her head.

"Because it would be more dangerous to you than it would be worth, my child."

Azfiel stroked Frenya's long hair and said softly:

"Destroying the 'true names' of those blasphemous gods and the True Name Demons of the Abyss is indeed the only way to truly kill them."

"But that True Name is not necessarily their weakness. It may be their weapon, a poison to us, my child."

"Chanting the blasphemous true name engraved on the Styx is actually a process of 'enduring backlash'. Enduring the backlash is the first step towards 'overcoming' - but you still don't know, my child. What if you can't endure the backlash?"

"..."

"Unable to withstand... that kind of backlash?"

The expression on Franya's face was a little stunned. She lowered her head and murmured softly.

She still did not know the steps to "break the true name". She only knew it from Davild and Luo Xiu. That was to recite the true name analyzed by the "Four-Winged Angel" and the angels above. In Franya's heart, that was all.

"If you fail to withstand the backlash of your 'true name', your body and even your soul will be possessed by that blasphemous demon, my lovely Franya."

While Franya was thinking, Archangel Azphiel smiled and shook his head.

The compassion in His eyes deepened. As Franya and Monine, the Holy Sword, looked on in astonishment, He slowly said:
"The true name is the essence of the existence of the ultimate demons."

"To chant His true name is to touch His essence. Then the result will only tend to two kinds—"

"Take away his power, or be taken away by him. There is no third possibility."

"And if we, the sons of the God of Glory, use this to take away the power of the demons, we are also accumulating the root of blasphemy... In the long run, our destiny will no longer be pure, and the glory we see will become dim. That is not what the great Lord wants to see."

"You are still too young, my lovely child, little saint of glory."

"You have never seen that during the 'Age of Gods' there were holy apostles who eventually became demons."

"That is because too much darkness has accumulated, and it is difficult to turn back. It has completely deviated from its destiny and is falling and sinking endlessly towards the opposite end..."

"Some people cannot bear the burning fire of reciting their blasphemous names, and thus become their blasphemous puppets. They lose their souls and become empty shells, and they are still hiding in the dark."

"That is no longer [Glory]... its inner core has been completely eroded and eaten away. Frenya, you should be able to imagine that this is definitely not a sight we would like to see."

"..."

Azphiel, He still maintained His gentleness, but His voice was slightly heavier as He spoke these words.

"..."

Franya and Monine were silent for a long time after hearing this.

Davild did not say anything. What Archangel Azfiel said was indeed a real danger, and Davild had experienced it personally.

At that time, I and the "Archbishop" Luo Xiu beside me chanted the full real name of "Wild Hunt Demon" Gabriel with him.

The dark flames that burst out from within him were "backlash", but because Gabriel was essentially just an ownerless "chaos spirit", he could still easily withstand the backlash of His true name.

——But what if the "Wild Hunt Demon" Gabriel is the "Original Demon" or even the "Original Demon"?

What Davild could foresee was that the "backlash" would definitely be more violent, a hundred or a thousand times more violent!
If he could not withstand the backlash of "His True Name" and fell into it completely - according to what the Archangel Azphiel said, the worst price would be that his power would be taken away by the devil, the medium price would be death, and the most serious price would be that he would be reduced to a puppet with his soul destroyed, or even degenerate into the devil himself!

"..."

Just thinking about this made Dawild feel horrified.

The information about the "real names" he reported to the "Holy Court" actually contained such a secret but deadly danger. What Archangel Azphiel said must not be ignored. This might be the reason why the holy angels were unwilling to reveal the "real names" of the demons now!

These were the thoughts in David's mind.

……

Luo Xiu listened to the words of Archangel Azphiel and frowned in accordance with the atmosphere.

He already knew about the "backlash" of his real name, but to be honest, most of the time it wasn't as serious as what Azphiel said.

However, the most serious consequence of failing to resist the "backlash" is being possessed by another's body and becoming a puppet, or even being lured into degeneration and becoming a new demon.

However, that usually only exists in situations where there is a difference of two major realms, such as the failure of the True Name of those below the Sainthood to resist the "True Ancestor Demon", and the failure of the True Name of the Five Fates to resist the "Original Demon".

The only reason that the "Sixth Fate" that could cause the current level of his "Sixth Fate" to be backfired and turned into a demon puppet with its soul dissipated and its body remaining was because he had recited the true name of the "Original Demon" incorrectly. As for the Seventh Fate... perhaps the Pillar God of the Abyss, the "Lord of the Devouring Abyss", would have to come in person to completely corrupt it.

Unlike Saints Franya, Monine, and Davild, who knew nothing about this, Luo Xiu really knew this.

He did feel that Azphiel was hiding something, and there was a complex feeling that he couldn't explain. But one thing Azphiel said did attract Luo Xiu's attention -

He said that the power taken from the source of the devil by "destroying the true name" would become the blasphemous abyss accumulated within oneself.

But Luo Xiu did not have such a feeling. His condition had always been intact, and he did not feel that the "Kanpo Zhenming" had induced him to become corrupt.

Is it because I have actually truly embarked on the path of the [Abyss] and thus can ignore or tolerate these minor and profound reasons?

Or is it because I actually have the physique of an "Adventer"...

With the arrival of versions 2.0 and 3.0 of the previous life and the emergence of the [Abyss], chanting the real name of the devil is also a common method used by the natives of the Apocalypse World. In fact, the archangels can't always hide it.

Perhaps what Azphiel said was true, but He did not yet realize that in less than half a year, the "scarlet tide" and "upside-down abyss" would come.

At that time, the information about the demon's "real name" will be made public. There is no point in hiding it because of some minor dangers... Luo Xiu thought.

But even if he knew this, Luo Xiu would not say anything more to Franya, Monine and Davild. Now that he had such an argument with Archangel Azphiel, he would be suspected.

Luo Xiu was not happy to be constrained by such suspicion.

He looked up and saw that the "Saintess" Franya, the "Sword of the Most Holy" Monine, and the "Heavenly Ring Holy Knight" Davild were all still silent, thinking about something. The Archangel Azfiel was also watching them with a smile.

After a while, He continued:

"You still know too little about the 'devil'... our mortal enemy of 'eternity'."

"Franya, my lovely children, I hope you can remember this."

"Some demons...what they let you see may not necessarily be their real names."

"If you chant, you will fall into His trap. It is a vicious curse disguised as a fragrant poison, which will harm you."

"Some demons will even disguise themselves as demons with lower True Names. I once encountered a 'First Progenitor Demon' who disguised himself as a 'True Progenitor Demon' and tricked a Saint who only had a fifth-level destiny into chanting His True Name."

"Then, the saint was seized and used as a puppet, and eventually he was transformed into a follower, and then into a new 'True Ancestor Devil'."

"What's worse, it doesn't even appear in front of you as a 'demon'."

"That could be a human, or even a fellow member of the Glory whom you often see. His 'real name' may have been inscribed or tampered with by Him personally, and then integrated into the places you often come into contact with."

"For example, the sacred prayers - they can also become part of what the demons 'robbed' and 'tampered' with. If you recite them without being careful, you will be in danger."

"There are also those who have become puppets of that blasphemy, and will turn to you to narrate that blasphemous name. They will not show anything unusual, for their souls and their inner selves are empty."

"..."

Archangel Azphiel patiently and gently narrated all this to Franya, as well as to his fellow Glory members, including Ross, Monine and Davild.

His tone was gentle, and although he was describing these deadly dangers in detail, at least during the narration he would not make the followers of the Light in front of him feel too worried and frightened.

The atmosphere is still peaceful.

Franya and Monine also nodded frequently. They did remember what Archangel Azphiel said, and decided to continue according to the Archangel's narration.

"I remember."

The Saint, Franya, raised her head and looked at the smiling archangel, and said:
"Thank you, Azphiel. I have no more doubts or concerns."

"..."

"You are a very good child, little Frenya."

Archangel Azphiel nodded slightly and responded gently.

He then looked at Franya, and the smile on his face faded slightly, becoming more serious and solemn, as he instructed the Saint in front of him:
"So, Frenya."

"Before you become strong enough to discern - regarding those blasphemous 'true names', I still hope that you will just know them instead of trying to chant them."

"Your radiance is so pure that it should not be tainted by impurities. And I am with you. I will destroy the blasphemous name and destroy the blasphemous demon. Such a thing should be left to me."

"This way, you won't be in any unnecessary danger, little Frenya. What you should do now is to try to open the door to the Stars again and advance to the Seventh Fate as soon as possible."

"The Pope is waiting for you to inherit his position as a 'demigod' and become the new 'Celestial Minister'. I am also assisting you for this, my lovely child."

"..."

"I know."

Franya nodded gently.

She knew that after Pope Lorende returned to Eternity, she would be the only successor to the Holy See. Taking over Pope Lorende's "demigod" heritage was indeed her innate mission.

But she already felt the difficulty - just like she had tried twice to break through the bottleneck, to find and open her "Star Gate" again, but both times ended in failure.

Although she was still very young - now Franya was only 19 years old, and several cardinals of the Holy See, including Pope Lorende, were very patient with her. But Franya knew that Pope Lorende didn't have much time left.

Recently, Pope Lorentz has been saying that his time is up.

Pope Lorente also did not know how he would return to the "eternal" heaven. It was just that in the revelations he had received from praying to the Sun for several times in the "Divine Revelation" ritual, the majestic and glorious god had only shown an incomprehensible obscurity.

This has never happened before.

Pope Lorente also knew that what he prayed to the Sun for was the future of himself and the Holy See. But the dim light was the answer for the moment.

Pope Lorente only hoped that it was his own future, not the future of the "Holy See".

Although the Pope never talked about this with other cardinals, eternal knights, and red deacons, Franya was raised by Pope Lorente since she was a child. When he had free time and taught her, Pope Lorente would talk about this with Franya in a half-chitchat way.

This made Franya anxious - and she also knew that... with her own strength, there was not much she could do for Pope Lorende, who was like a father to her.

The only thing she could do was to advance to the seventh level of the destiny of [Glory] as quickly as possible and become the "Holy Crown of the Sky" that the Pope earnestly hoped she would become - that was the path that Pope Lorente had paved for her by using almost all the resources of the Holy See.

[Holy Crown of the Sky] is a priesthood that was discovered by Pope Lorente based on his own experience as a "Bishop of the Divine Crown" and "Holy Principal of the Divine Crown", and is closer to the origin of [Glory].

That suits Franya, and Pope Lorendo really believes that she can reach the height he expects step by step.

"..."

In the depths of Franya's heart, she was thinking about these things over and over again.

The archangel Azphiel, who had been looking at her tenderly, did not say anything for a long time, but gave Franya enough time to think and digest.

Until the confused and bewildered look on Franya's face finally faded away, and gentleness returned to the face of Archangel Azphiel, which was full of divine brilliance.

"It seems that you have completely thought it through and understood what I said, my lovely little Frenya."

"…Um."

Franya nodded.

Then she heard the Archangel Azphiel ask her:
"So, Frenya."

"I want to know, who told you...about those extreme demons and their 'real names'?"

……

"..."

Archangel Azphiel asked.

Luo Xiu, who had been listening to the conversation between Franya and Azphiel, suddenly felt a string in his heart tighten.

Because Franya's eyes were looking at Davild, while Davild and Monine's eyes were looking at herself -

Archangel Azphiel also looked at himself!
"..."

"…Um."

In Luo Xiu's ears, the Archangel Azphiel's somewhat heavy voice came.

The gentle, kind, and compassionate expression on his face had disappeared, and he was looking at Luo Xiu with a serious, cold gaze.

A hostile and isolating spirit has locked onto him. Luo Xiu can clearly feel that Archangel Azphiel is full of vigilance and distrust towards him at this moment!
"you……"

"An archbishop... your aura is indeed extraordinary."

He spoke, questioning Luo Xiu:

"How do you know that extreme demons can only be killed by their true names?"

"Is it the angel you contracted who told you this?"

"..."

The Archangel Azphiel exuded a spiritual power that locked and enveloped Luo Xiu like a cage, making Luo Xiu feel as hot and painful as if he were pricked by a red-hot needle.

Although "He" was not a fatal threat to him, this feeling was obviously not pleasant. Luo Xiu frowned slightly, and he also looked directly at Azfiel, and said clearly word by word:

"That came from the mouth of the 'Greedy Tyrant' Brigantes - the True Ancestor Demon I killed."

"Everyone in the expedition can vouch for me. And you - Azphiel, I am not your enemy. You don't need to be so hostile and wary of me."

As he spoke, Luo Xiu raised his right hand, and the tip of the sacred scepter in his hand emitted a golden glow. Bright light patterns also flashed on the back of his hand. He used the 'Divine Seal' to summon the angel he had contracted with - summoning the 'Four-Winged Angel' Tatya to come!

Behind Luo Xiu, the holy door emitting a divine glow slowly opened.

The "Four-Winged Angel" Tatya obeyed the call with the sacred posture of a Valkyrie, and at the same time exuded the same divine spirit as the "Four-Winged Angel" Azphiel. That was the silent proof that both she and Luo Xiu belonged to [Glory] and were not puppets of [Abyss]!

"..."

Archangel Azphiel, the seriousness, hostility and vigilance on His face gradually disappeared.

He indeed felt that the spiritual light emanating from the young "Archbishop" in front of him and his angel was as sacred and pure as that of Franya and himself.

Those were not the walking corpses whose souls and roots were invaded by the blasphemy of the Abyss, but indeed comrades who could be trusted. In the perception of Archangel Azphiel, He had indeed sensed this.

"..."

"I already know."

Archangel Azphiel, who had regained his kindness and gentleness, nodded slightly to Luo Xiu and Tatya, who was also a "four-winged angel".

And He did not forget to leave a message:

"If that was told to you by another 'True Ancestor Devil'... then as I said before, it is very likely a 'trap'."

"I hope you will all remember what I said today. The demons of the Abyss... they are far more complicated enemies than you can imagine."

Having said this, Azphiel raised his arms slightly.

His right hand pointed to the sky, where the holy door to eternity was opened. His four sacred wings were also spread out, lifting his body and ascending into the holy door.

Soon, He passed through the holy door and disappeared from everyone's sight.

Until the "Holy Door" was finally closed in everyone's sight.

Only His voice remains, still lingering and lingering in my ears.

It is like His everlasting admonitions and warnings.

……

(End of this chapter)