I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

Chapter 136 The Twilight of the False Gods, The Coronation of the Abyss

A fierce wind howled over the ruins of the holy city of Lumen, carrying with it a strong stench of blood and the acrid smell of scorched earth.

Rhodes hovered in mid-air, his eyes tightly closed. The golden sphere of light, formed from the souls of ten thousand fanatical believers, was currently unleashing a raging storm within his body.

These were not ordinary souls, but rather "faith aggregates" forcibly fused together by the Church through decades of brainwashing and divine array patterns. The moment Rhode swallowed them, these ten thousand souls did not immediately perish, but instead erupted in Rhode's sea of ​​consciousness with a deafening hymn of holy praise.

"Heretics! Accept the purification of the light!"

"Burn him for the sake of the great God!"

"Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!"

A thousand fanatical voices echoed in Rhodes' mind, and golden holy flames attempted to burn outwards from his internal organs, trying to completely purify this madman who dared to devour the core of a divine weapon from within. This kind of rule attack that directly affects the soul level would instantly burn even a demigod-level powerhouse into an idiot.

However, a smile of enjoyment appeared on Rod's lips.

"Is that all? Your anger, your faith, are nothing but cheap seasoning to me."

Rhodes let out a cold, mocking laugh within his mind. The next second, the "Abyss Star Vortex" that had been lurking deep within his soul...

It erupted with a roar.

If the souls of those ten thousand fanatics were a burning golden sea of ​​fire, then Rhodes's Abyss Vortex was a black hole large enough to devour the entire universe. Pure darkness erupted from the center of the vortex, transforming into countless black chains covered in barbs, mercilessly piercing into that golden sea of ​​fire.

"Snap! Snap!"

A chilling chewing sound echoed within Rhodes' body. The laws of the abyss mercilessly crushed the fanaticism and faith within those souls, stripping them away into their purest essence, which it then greedily devoured.

The hymns turned into mournful screams, and the golden flames were quickly extinguished by the dense black mist.

As a vast amount of soul essence was continuously poured in, Rhode's aura began to rise at an illogical speed. The dark golden magic patterns on his body began to transform, the originally complex patterns gradually simplified, and finally transformed into several ancient, profound abyssal runes that seemed to contain the ultimate truth of the universe's destruction, deeply imprinted in his bones and flesh.

"boom!"

A visible black pillar of energy shot straight into the sky from above Rhodes' head, instantly shattering the last remaining glimmer of holy light in the sky.

The sky for hundreds of miles around darkened completely at that moment. It wasn't just that dark clouds covered the sun; rather, even the light was forcibly stripped away by the force field emanating from Rhodes.

The shackles that mortals could not overcome have been shattered.

Rhodes slowly opened his eyes. His once dark red pupils had turned pure black, and deep within them seemed countless galaxies were being destroyed and reborn. He gently clenched his left fist, and the surrounding space immediately groaned under its strain, as if he could crush the entire world with just a little force.

Ruler of the Abyss, Realm of Gods!

He lowered his head, his dark eyes, devoid of any human emotion, locking onto Pope Clement VII on the high platform below.

Clement had stopped muttering to himself. He looked at the man in the sky who seemed like a demon god descending to earth, feeling the absolute pressure that made even his soul tremble. The emptiness and despair in his eyes suddenly transformed into a kind of madness, a final burst of energy before death.

"You think you've won? You filthy abyss worm!"

Clement stood up abruptly, tearing off the magnificent robe that symbolized the Pope's supreme authority, revealing his withered and aged body. Shockingly, his chest, abdomen, and even face were covered with dense, blood-red markings.

"I, Clement VII, have served God for eighty years, and I will never allow the glory of the Papacy to end in my hands! Even if I fall into the deepest hell, I will drag you down with me!"

The Pope let out a beast-like roar, and he bit his tongue, spraying a mouthful of blood containing the essence of his entire life onto the papal scepter in his hand.

"With my blood, with my soul, in the name of all popes! Unseal, Holy Lance, Shadow of Longinus!"

This is the Vatican's most crucial and absolute secret, the ultimate trump card passed down orally from pope to pope. Deep beneath the holy city of Rumen lies a broken spearhead used by the gods to slay the ancient gods. Clement is currently offering his own soul as a sacrifice, forcibly summoning a projection of that divine artifact.

"Buzz"

As Clement sacrificed himself, the entire ruined land began to tremble violently. A blinding crimson light shot into the sky from the cracks in the ground, converging above Clement's head into a phantom spear ten feet long, its entire body flowing with the blood of the gods.

The moment the spear appeared, the surrounding abyssal domain was forcibly pushed back dozens of meters. An ancient, desolate aura, carrying the terrifying power of absolute "hit" and "god-killing" rules, firmly locked onto Rhodes in mid-air.

Clement's body shrank visibly, his hair turned snow-white in an instant, and his skin peeled off like withered tree bark. But he was laughing wildly, laughing hysterically.

"Die! Turn to ashes under divine punishment!"

With his last ounce of strength, Clement pointed his withered finger at Rhodes.

"Whoosh!"

The projection of the Holy Lance transformed into a crimson bolt of lightning, tearing through space with overwhelming force, heading straight for Rhodes' heart.

And it went. Its speed was too fast, so fast that it transcended the dimension of time. The moment Clement's fingertips fell, the tip of the spear had already touched the black robe on Rhodes' chest.

However, Rhodes did not dodge, nor did he even raise the "Calamity" sword in his hand.

He simply gazed silently at the holy spear imbued with the rules of god-slaying, and then slowly extended his right hand.

"Smack."

A crisp sound.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Clement's maniacal laughter froze instantly, his eyes bulging out of their sockets as if he were witnessing the most unbelievable and absurd scene in the world.

In mid-air, Rhodes' right hand firmly grasped the crimson projection of the holy lance. That terrifying power, capable of piercing continents and slaying gods, was like a fragile glass tube in Rhodes' hand, unable to advance even an inch further.

The Holy Lance struggled violently in Rhodes's hand, emitting a piercing buzz, and the crimson divine blood tried to corrode Rhodes's palm.

"The rules of god-slaying? Interesting." Rhodes looked at the spear in his hand, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. "Unfortunately, this is just a projection. Moreover, I am now more like a god than the god you speak of."

As soon as he finished speaking, Rod's right hand suddenly exerted force.

"Crack! Bang!"

In Clement's utterly desperate gaze, the projection of the Holy Lance, which carried the last hope of the Papacy, was crushed into countless crimson fragments of light by Rhodes' bare hands, vanishing in an instant like fireflies scattered by the wind.

"No—this is impossible—Gods—why—"

Clement's legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground once more. This time, his mental defenses completely crumbled. His proud beliefs, the trump card he had sacrificed his life for, seemed like a laughable joke in the face of absolute power.

Rhodes' figure slowly descended, finally landing on the ruins in front of Clement.

He looked down at the old man who had once controlled the fate of more than half of the continent's inhabitants, his eyes cold and devoid of any warmth.

"Clement, do you know what disgusts me most about your Vatican?" Rhodes' voice wasn't loud, but it was clearly audible in the silent ruins.

Clement did not answer, but stared at the ground, trembling like a senile old man.

"You disguise greed as sacredness, and murder as salvation. With your so-called faith," you raise the humans of this continent like pigs and sheep, periodically harvesting their souls to offer as sacrifices to those insatiable false gods of the astral plane."

As Rhodes spoke, he slowly raised the "Calamity" sword in his hand.

"You keep calling me a heretic, a demon. But at least, when I kill, I never do it under the guise of saving them."

Clement seemed to be provoked by these words. He suddenly raised his head, his face covered in blood, and roared at Rhodes, "What do you know! Without the protection of the gods, humanity would have been swallowed by darkness long ago! We are maintaining order! The gods are supreme. You destroyed the Holy City today, and the gods of the Astral Plane will never let you go! They will unleash true divine punishment, roasting your soul in the holy fire for ten thousand years!"

"Yeah?"

Rhodes sneered. Instead of severing Clement's head with a single sword strike, he plunged the "Calamity" sword into the ground in front of Clement.

"Buzz!"

A stream of extremely pure abyssal demonic energy flowed down the sword and into the earth, instantly severing the last connection between Clement's body and the element of light.

"Aaaaaah!" Clement let out a wail ten times more agonizing than before. Rhodes did not kill him, but instead used the power of the abyss to forcibly strip the "Seed of Holy Light" from his body. For a pope who had been bathed in holy light for eighty years, this stripping was no less than draining his marrow inch by inch.

A few seconds later, the wailing stopped.

Clement lay sprawled on the ground like a lump of mud, his holy light completely drained. Now, he was less than an ordinary farmer, just a frail old man on the verge of death.

"Kill me—please, kill me—" Clement pleaded weakly. Having lost the support of his strength and faith, he now only wanted a quick death.

"Kill you? That would be too easy on you."

Rhodes drew "Calamity," using the tip to lift Clement's chin, forcing him to look up at his surroundings.

"Look at this city, look at your proud holy city. From this day forward, this is no longer a holy land of light, but a throne of the abyss. I want you to live, to see with your mortal eyes how your church falls apart, how your idols are toppled, how your faith is trampled underfoot."

Rhodes snapped his fingers, and a ball of black abyssal demonic energy entered Clement's body, protecting his dying flame and ensuring he wouldn't die easily, but forcing him to endure the excruciating pain of the abyssal aura at all times.

"Someone come here," Rod said calmly.

The void twisted, and several abyss demon generals clad in black armor and exuding a terrifying aura knelt down on one knee behind Rhode.

"dominate!"

"Hang this old thing on the highest ruin of the Holy City Cathedral. Chain him with the cold iron of the abyss, and let him wail day and night."

I want everyone on the entire continent to know this is the consequence of believing in false gods.

"Yes, sir!" Two demon generals stepped forward and dragged the desperate Clement away like a dead dog.

After dealing with the Pope, Rhodes turned around and surveyed the vast ruins.

The holy city of Rumen, once a miraculous city inhabited by millions and a repository of the continent's greatest wealth and art, is now nothing but scorched earth. The remaining Templar Knights and priests were almost entirely wiped out in the aftermath, and the few survivors have gone mad, wandering aimlessly through the ruins.

Rhodes ignored those ants. He took a deep breath, gripped the hilt of the "Calamity" sword with both hands, and aimed the tip at the most crucial underground spiritual vein node of the Holy City.

"In the name of the Lord of the Abyss, I hereby declare..."

With the blessing of the laws of the abyss, Rhodes' voice transformed into rolling thunder, not only resounding throughout the Holy City but also crossing thousands of mountains and rivers, exploding in the ears of every living being on the entire continent.

Whether it was the Ice and Snow Empire in the far north, the Magic Council in the east, or the various forces hidden in the shadows, all the powerful figures raised their heads in fear at this moment, looking towards the direction of the Holy City Rumen.

"The age of theocracy ends today!"

"Boom!"

Rhodes slammed "Calamity" deep into the earth.

The raging power of the abyss, like a flood bursting its banks, poured wildly into the earth's spiritual veins along the sword. The spiritual veins, which originally flowed with pure light elements, were instantly dyed as black as ink.

The earth began to churn violently, and countless thick, black stone pillars rose from the ruins, piercing the sky. These pillars were carved with totems of the abyss, exuding a suffocating aura of death.

Centered on the Holy City, the land within a radius of thousands of miles began to rapidly turn to sand and blacken, its vitality completely stripped away, transforming into an absolute abyss of demons. This place will become Rhodes' new base of operations on this continent.

Having done all this, Rhodes slowly drew his longsword.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

"Buzz"

An indescribable, terrifying pressure suddenly descended from the endless sky. This pressure surpassed the limits of the laws governing this continent, carrying an absolute indifference that viewed all things as worthless.

Rhodes suddenly raised his head, and two beams of light shot out from his dark eyes, piercing straight into the sky.

Above the once pitch-black sky, space suddenly rippled like water. Then, an enormous "eye," formed from pure golden light, slowly opened in the gap between the astral plane and the material plane.

That eye was enormous, almost taking up half the sky. It had no pupil, only endless coldness and majesty.

The moment that eye opened, the temperature across the entire continent plummeted, and all living beings instinctively felt a...

The tremor originates from the depths of the soul; it is the instinctive fear of lower-dimensional beings when facing higher-dimensional beings.

Astral gods!

The destruction of the six-winged angels, the dissipation of the souls of ten thousand believers, and the contamination of the Holy City's spiritual veins by the abyss finally angered the true gods who sat high on their astral thrones. They traversed endless dimensions, casting their gaze upon this mortal ant who dared to challenge divine authority.

A grand, cold, and emotionless thought exploded in Rhodes' mind: "[Heretics—your sin—deserves death.]"

This thought contained an extremely terrifying mental impact; if it were Rhode before his breakthrough, he might have felt dizzy. But now, having already entered the realm of gods, he merely gave a cold snort.

"Get out of my head!"

The abyssal vortex within Rhodes' body reversed wildly, and an incomparably violent abyssal will transformed into an invisible sword, which fiercely stabbed back along that spiritual connection!

"boom!"

The giant golden eye high in the sky flashed suddenly, and a tiny crack appeared in the surrounding space. Clearly, even the gods of the astral plane hadn't anticipated that this heretic on earth possessed the power to defy their will.

"[Remnants of the abyss—you—cannot escape—divine punishment—is about to descend.]"

The giant golden eye gazed intently at Rhodes, as if trying to etch his soul imprint into it. Then, space rippled once more, the giant eye slowly closed, and vanished into the depths of the astral plane.

The sky returned to the abyss's darkness.

Rhodes stood there, feeling the lingering divine pressure in the air. Instead of fear, a fervent fighting spirit rose on his lips.

"Divine punishment? I'll wait."

Rhodes carried "Calamity" on his shoulder, the wind whipping his tattered black robes. He gazed at the endless void, his eyes gleaming with a chilling ambition.

"The Papacy has fallen, and the faith of this continent has been trampled under my feet. False gods of the Astral Plane, wash your necks clean and wait!"

"One day, I will personally shatter that astral gate, drag you all down from your lofty thrones, one by one, and plunge you into my abyss!"

Rhodes turned around and strode toward the newly risen Abyss Throne in the center of the ruins.

His figure disappeared into the endless darkness, but the whole world knew that a tyrant more terrifying than any god had been officially crowned on this land.