Versatile Mage: Get the Desert Emperor clone at the start

Chapter 426 Death's Servant, Former Archangel Uriel

Over time.

That feeling of being stared at by an invisible gaze, originating from the very core of my soul, did not diminish with habit; on the contrary, it became clearer and more profound, like a noose that was tightening ever more!

Michael could even "see" those indifferent, empty eyes with unparalleled clarity in his meditation and in his dreams.

They hovered in every corner of his consciousness, and no matter how he tried to cleanse his mind with holy light or how loudly he prayed, he could not dispel this ever-present terror.

This once majestic and composed archangel now had sunken eyes, his golden hair had lost its former luster, and his words and actions revealed a nervous tension. He felt like he was going crazy!
Just when this mental torment reached a critical point, almost completely crushing his will.

The unexpected finally happened.

The black and white mark that had been dormant for two whole weeks suddenly reacted without warning when Michael once again tried to resist the gaze in the secret chamber of the temple!
It was no longer a cold mark, but instantly transformed into a miniature, rotating spatial vortex!

A powerful and eerie suction force was not acting on his body, but directly on his consciousness and soul!

Michael felt a violent mental disorientation, and the scene before him twisted and changed like ripples on water.

After he managed to calm himself down, he found himself in a strange, gray space with distorted light. There was nothing beneath his feet, and he was surrounded by flowing mist that seemed to be made up of countless wailing fragments of souls.

What shocked him even more was that in the center of this eerie space stood a figure that was both incredibly familiar and utterly foreign to him—

That figure was none other than Uriel, one of the seven archangels, who had perished in the fierce battle to defend the Holy City, in order to stop the invasion of the void and various demons!
“Uriel?” Michael exclaimed, his voice filled with disbelief and astonishment.

However, the "Uriel" before him was completely different from the comrades he remembered.

In my memory, Uriel was surrounded by a blazing holy light symbolizing judgment and fire, majestic and powerful.

However, the "Uriel" in front of them still faintly retained the outline and aura of an angel, but the originally brilliant angelic light had dimmed to an extreme degree, almost imperceptible.

Instead, a thick, deep, dark gray energy, exuding the aura of the River Styx, coiled around his spirit like a living thing.

The essence of this energy is the same as the black and white mark imprinted on his own soul, and they are exactly the same!
It was the aura of a pure, lifeless servant of death.

“Michael…” “Uriel” actually spoke.

"My master told me... to take you away."

These crystal-clear words were like ice water poured over Michael's head, instantly snapping him out of his daze!

He suddenly realized that this was not a hallucination or a sign of mental derangement!
This "Uriel," exuding an aura of death, truly stood not far in front of him, existing within this strange space that had been temporarily created!
After the initial shock came overwhelming anger and the humiliation of being desecrated!
A holy flame instantly ignited in Michael's golden eyes. He stared intently at his opponent, his voice trembling with extreme rage: "Who are you?! How dare you impersonate a fallen angel of my Holy City and desecrate heroic spirits!"

Uriel's expression remained unchanged in the face of Michael's stern questioning.

He replied, "I am Uriel, and I am not in disguise." He slightly raised his arm, which was wrapped in gray-black energy.

"But now, I have been reborn and serve under the great Death God Kindred, becoming his servant."

"Serving...the Grim Reaper?!" Michael was struck dumb. But he forced himself to remain calm and carefully sensed the other's soul fluctuations.

Despite being covered and transformed by that dense aura of death, the soul's fluctuations, that unique primordial imprint...

Indeed, the essence of the being before him is Uriel, who fought alongside him back then!
This confirmation had a far greater impact on Michael than facing a complete imposter!

A crack in his unwavering resolve began to spread, a sign of his belief crumbling.

He was heartbroken, his voice filled with grief, indignation, and bewilderment: "Uriel! You...you, as a noble angel of the Holy City, upholding the will of light and justice, how could you...how could you bow down and compromise with demons, becoming a servant of death?! What a depravity!"

Uriel remained unmoved by Michael's scathing rebuke, as if those words about glory, faith, and stance had long been erased from his dictionary.

He simply repeated that predetermined mission calmly, or rather indifferently: "Michael, face reality."

"Since the mark of death has chosen you, resistance will only increase your suffering. Accepting this destiny is your only choice."

Before he finished speaking, Uriel's arm, enveloped in gray-black energy, suddenly rose, no longer a verbal admonition, but a direct action!
A concentrated, deathly shockwave, imbued with the corrosive power of the Styx, hurtled toward Michael with incredible speed!

"you dare!"

Michael was shaken to his core, but his fighting instincts remained.

He roared, and a dazzling golden light erupted from his body, transforming into a holy shield burning with holy flames, blocking his way!

"boom--!"

The impact of death and the divine shield clashed violently in this strange, gray space!
The bright flames intertwined with the chill of the Styx, and gold and gray-black clashed and eroded each other wildly.

In their first exchange, both men were violently shaken, and neither gained the upper hand!
Michael did not expect Uriel to actually attack him.

Uriel was a sixteen-winged seraph in his previous life. Now transformed into a Death God's servant, although his power attributes have changed, the purity and grandeur of his power seem to be no less than before. In fact, due to the strangeness of the Death God's power, he appears even more dangerous!

Two former comrades who once stood shoulder to shoulder to protect the holy city and shared life and death are now engaged in a fierce battle here!

And this is just the beginning.

A subtle ripple appeared on Uriel's indifferent face, a ripple that seemed to be both mockery and a kind of resolute determination.

His spirit trembled slightly, and a pair of enormous wings of light suddenly unfolded behind him—the shape still vaguely resembled the outline of an angel's sixteen wings.

But each wing no longer flowed with pure holy light; instead, it transformed into something like the River Styx, with an ever-burning gray flame swirling around its edges.

Immediately afterwards, a tremendous power erupted from his body.

At the core of that power was none other than the blazing holy light that originated from the same source as Michael!
But this holy light was as if it had been soaked in ink, presenting a murky golden-black color. The two completely opposite qualities of light and death were twisted and intertwined within it, exuding a rebellious aura that made people's hearts tremble.

(End of this chapter)