Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 45 The Good Shepherd
Aldridge sat in the St. Cure smoking cigars one after another, while Kyle blasted another guard soldier to death with a cannonball. Mathilde chanted a Holy Healing for Siren, supporting him with her left hand and blasting a knight's rifle to pieces with her right.

The door to Boiler Room No. 2 was kicked open, and Fafnir led the new recruits of the Holy Light Knights into the room, pointing a gun at the head of a regular knight.

"From now on, this area is under the Church's control," he said, and his knights scattered in disarray, finally managing to take control of the area.

The knight, with a gun pointed at him, dropped his weapon and equipment and took off his uniform at Fafnir's command.

With only one pair of underwear left, he looked helplessly at Fafner: "Kent, for the sake of our past colleagues..."

Fafnir looked at him coldly.

"Okay, okay—" He reluctantly took off his underwear and shivered in the corner of the boiler room.

Fafner Kent looked up, his face filled with worry.

"I hope the bishop is... alright?"
-
Logan seemed to be dead, with only the awakened archangel battling the governor amidst the thunder. The divine power had surpassed the limits that half a liter of red mercury could provide, yet it continued to fight.

Joseph stood before the altar and softly recited—

I am the Good Shepherd: The Good Shepherd lays down his own life for the sheep.

He said, but his hands and feet had stopped trembling; only tears were streaming down his face.

“The servant, being not a shepherd and not owning the sheep, abandoned them and ran away when he saw the wolf coming—and the wolf seized the sheep and scattered them.”

In the chaotic city of Speyside, the temporary headquarters on the sixth basement level had long been deserted, with only two women who had worked as church cleaners supporting Sam as he sat in the messy room.

The people they had previously hired had long since disappeared, and even some of the furnishings in the house were missing, with broken vases scattered everywhere.

When the conflict erupted between Siron and Raine, and the sounds of the battle were broadcast over the loudspeaker, they had already run away, knocking over Sam who tried to stop them and taking most of the portable items.

“Because he’s a servant, he doesn’t care about sheep,” Joseph said.

With Mathilde's help, Siren walked towards the door.

But he stopped and looked back at the battlefield between the Archangel and Raine.

"Forget it," Xiren sighed. "Even if we leave, where can we go?"

"My flock is here, and my knight is here too."

Mathilde pouted. "Your Maria is here too. Call me 'Mama' then?"

Xilun turned his head and looked at her face, which was dirty in the smoke, but her brown eyes were bright as stars.

"Thank you," he said with a smile.

In the empty church, above thousands of candlelight, Joseph continued his recitation.

People listened to the teachings, dim light shone through the church's stained-glass windows, and the wind and snow pounded against the heavy doors.

One by one, Xiren released Holy Healing, attempting to pull Logan's dead body back to life. A mist of light spread behind him, but in places he couldn't see, faint golden specks of light were emerging from that thin mist.

Like candlelight filling a church.

“I have other sheep… I should bring them here too, they need to hear my voice…”

Joseph said, looking into the distance, where people heading to the church were carrying torches that looked like a fire dragon.

More and more residents are fleeing the chaotic underground district and seeking solace or information at the church. Because the radio broadcast said: the church will always stand there, and God will always wait for His suffering people.

Helen looked at Logan and knew that beneath the armor, the human body was decaying while the angels were rising again.

"No one can take my life away; I am willing to give it up. I have the right to give it up, and I also have the right to take it back."

Joseph let out a long sigh, closed the holy book, and the thousands of flickering candlelight before him transformed into endless divine thoughts.

Behind Siren, countless candlelight converged into a golden starry sky. Suddenly, the light and mist trembled, and a sacred relic manifested its concrete form—

The bishop in black robes sat at the dining table, his left hand covering the wound on his right chest, his right hand gently stroking the sinner who had fired the shot in front of him. Even though he was seriously wounded, he compassionately comforted the sinful lamb.

Behind them, sinners in white robes stood on the altar, with countless candles and human figures casting shimmering shadows in the church, the hazy scene becoming the backdrop.

Blood of the Gospel

In an instant, Xilun understood the name of that sacred site.

And he had mastered that new divine art, and he began to chant loudly—

"Even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil, for I am with you." (Note 1)

He chanted, the sounds like heavenly music, like the law of nothingness, becoming the ultimate truth of heaven and earth the moment he spoke. Light spots and mists surged behind him, and the three and a half holy sites resembled church murals painted by the master himself.

The brilliant holy light fell upon Logan, and his soul, which had almost left the mortal world, returned to his body at this moment. His body was repaired in the flames, and his spiritual brilliance was eternal.

The unique effect of the Divine Art: Divine Grace Compensation—

Each person can only endure this once in their lifetime, at the cost of severely injuring the caster, in exchange for one chance to avoid death!
In an instant, blood soaked through Xilun's robes, making the black robes appear deep and rusty. His skin melted and tore under the high temperature, and the repeated heavy impacts cracked his bones. He lay on top of Mathilde, his whole body like boiling lava.

"Are you alright?! What happened?!" Mathilde quickly helped him lie down; two consecutive Holy Healing spells had almost drained her of her strength.
“It’s alright…” Xiren chuckled, though somewhat reluctantly, “This is the pain he endured…”

He raised his staff, and Holy Healing repeatedly fell upon himself and his allies around him. After the third Holy Relic was formed, the divine magic's interference with reality reached a new level, not only stopping bleeding but also having a certain effect on tissue regeneration.

He didn't know how much divine power he possessed, nor how many people were listening to the Mass presided over by Joseph.

All he knew was that his divine inspiration would never run dry until the Mass ended!
"This is a passage from the sacred texts," Joseph said in a low voice, his voice echoing beneath the church dome and reverberating in the howling wind.

"This is the discourse of the Son of God, in which he speaks of his relationship with believers, and the relationship between the Good Shepherd and his flock."

This is the "homily" part of the Mass, where the officiant explains the doctrine in conjunction with the readings of the scriptures.

But today's sermon is destined to be different from the past.

"Yes—it's a cliché story about believers and love. I've been a clergyman in the church for twenty years and have been presiding over Mass for four years. I've heard this story countless times."

Joseph held the candlestick and the crucifix, the dim light falling on the organ keys behind him, piercing through the swirling dust, and illuminating his sorrowful tears.

"But today, I want to tell you—"

"The Good Shepherd is shedding his blood for us, for he is the Good Shepherd. When the wolf comes, he will bite first; when the devil comes, he will call his name first."

Siren leaned against Mathilde, watching as Raine, whose body was shattered by the Archangel, finally turned his attention to him and charged towards him.

"Silon!!!" The roar was as powerful as thunder.
-
Note 1: This is from Psalm 23:4, which reads, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” The prayer in the text has been modified.

(End of this chapter)