Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

Ellian sat to the side, tilting his head and silently watching Lyle. Was Mr. Raymond popular? In Andrea?

"The dragon has been resurrected. He is no longer a lich, and he is the crown of the dragon race. But why does he like me? My situation is almost the same."

"Almost?" Lyle thought for a moment. In the previous battle between angels and dragons, the dragon father wore a shining dragon crown, while the angels only had seraphim halos formed from condensed power. Mr. Raymond hadn't used his full strength; as the strongest paladin and a pioneer of the era, he had never worn his own crown.

"Humanity - Crown of Holy Light"

"The Crown of Humanity doesn't belong to me; it's on the Pope's head, and I forced it on."

"..." In other words, the Lich King's Crown was not the first crown that Mr. Raymond refused.

Why aren't you wearing it?

Raymond removed his helmet and faced the stained-glass window to pray devoutly.

"While I was alive, I did not have the ability to bring happiness to everyone. I was a warrior, but not a good leader. The Pope was more suitable for it than I was."

"As for now, isn't it ironic that humanity's holy light is in the hands of a lich?"

Therefore, the knight who destroyed the Age of Dragons never accepted the glory that belonged to him throughout his life, so how could he possibly accept the lich's crown?

"Even so, I can still feel the connection between myself and the Crown of Light. That connection will protect me when I die, preventing me from being lost like other liches. I still have a responsibility; after death, justice will be my creed."

Lyle lowered his head.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Raymond. But I have to do it…”

“Don’t worry about it. As far as the result is concerned, you did very well, exceeding my expectations.” Raymond patted Lyle on the shoulder. “You showed me your sense of justice. I admit, you’ve grown a lot.”

Lyle wanted to say a few more words, but Mr. Raymond's golden soul flames had already locked onto his face.

“Lyle, you are very much like my brother, the water angel Galaron.”

Lyle forced himself to remain calm, recalling the blood-red angel who had been tricked to death. He couldn't think of anything in common between himself and that mad angel, so he could only humbly say, "Senior Raymond, you must be overestimating me. How could I possibly be compared to an angel? Galaron is your brother, so he must be much better than me."

“I’m not referring to power…” Raymond raised his skull, gazing at the spiral pattern on the ceiling, his gentle voice drifting into reminiscence.

“Galalon is a nobleman among the Crusaders. He possesses humble and gentle qualities, making everyone in the Papacy feel at ease when interacting with him. He is a leader welcomed by all, and I am quite certain that the archbishops all prefer him. Galalon has the same charisma as you; he can unite everyone in the Holy Light around him. George is reckless, and Raphael is still inexperienced, but only Galalon, in my eyes, is a perfect nobleman, far superior to ordinary people.”

"If there's any flaw in the Water Angel, it's his mercilessness, which is exactly like yours, Lyle. During the Crusades, Galaron didn't kill a single life, whether it was a follower of the Holy Light or his enemy. Extending a helping hand to the weak is the mercy of the Holy Light. He is extremely gentle to the weak and icy cold to the bullies. Galaron was the only angel who opposed me; he opposed my launching that Crusader Wars. Even after his protests were ineffective, he set an example. Norbergon, that was his holy sword, he blunted the blade, transforming the power of the Water Holy Sword entirely into healing power, in accordance with their leader. The Purifier Legion also discarded their swords, picked up their staffs, and became a pure priestly legion."

Surprisingly...

Lyle recalled the blood-red angel's ferocious appearance and couldn't imagine that the blood-soaked angel would do such things.

"May the light have mercy?" Lyle recalled the weakness that Mr. Darkness had once told him about Raymond.

Raymond nodded. "That was Galaron's plea. His words, his feelings, what he faced were just like yours, Lyle. So I stopped. I fell into a daze again. Time seemed to have given me another chance to choose."

"So what was your choice last time?"

Mr. Raymond turned his head, and the flames burned silently within the skull.

That's another story.

……

Ellian and Lofdi closed the chapel doors, giving the two purists some private space.

"His Excellency the Bishop did not drive us away."

“But we will respect Your Majesty’s privacy; it is what a subordinate should do.” Elian sensed something, his sharp gaze piercing into the darkness on one side of the door, or more specifically, the darkness lurking in the corner.

Elian bowed in that direction.

“Your Majesty George, I am also a Divergent, so you no longer need to hide.”

No one replied.

Elian shrugged at Lofdi. "Perhaps I'm mistaken. How about we go to the City of Wanderers for a drink? Lord Lofdi, I remember you really like the elves' Moonlight Juice."

The Celestial Spirit followed the nun away, saying, "That was one of the few non-stimulating drinks... and it tasted pretty good."

Long after the two members of the Holy Light departed, the shadow spewed out a writhing mass of darkness. Bandages crawled like snakes across the twisted shadow, eventually transforming into a bandaged man.

Mr. Darkness pressed himself against the door of the Chapel of Holy Light, trying his best to sense everything inside.

He exhaled and rested on the gate like a climbing vine.

"Are you talking about those things, the cause of everything?"

"The Light's Reverse Scale".

Chapter 608 Unintentional Shadow

I absolutely loathe this tedious guard duty, and I'm also somewhat annoyed by Raymond's condescending orders. Okay, okay, I have mixed feelings about him. I admire his idiotic, self-righteous pronouncements about justice, but I despise his animalistic rate of advancement. We grew up together, and he was clearly a gifted individual like me, yet he trained so hard. Now, he's the leader, and I'm relegated to being a mere angel.

[My brothers, this battle is dangerous. You must guard the outer perimeter and prevent any monsters from escaping.]

Damn it, it's dangerous, so you make me assist in the battle? You act like you're doing me a favor by leaving me off the battlefield. What a bastard leader.

I surveyed the towering, ancient forest outside the barrier, the edge of the dragon's nest, with growing irritation. The terrifying roar echoing in my heart intensified, and my mood worsened.

This is the suppression of the power of the times. That dangerous dragon father is waiting in his lair, waiting for the next sacrifice, or his death god.

I knew Raymond was strong, even so strong that I was powerless, but a bad feeling kept growing in my heart. Using the Holy Sword to leave another mark of holy light, I began searching for my brothers who, like me, had remained outside. This was no dereliction of duty; if those giant lizards triggered my mark, my Judge would show these reptiles what surprise was.

There are two directions, one pointing towards that nice guy and the other towards our little brother. Raphael is currently weak, but I'm more worried about that idiot Galaron; he's even dumber than Raymond. When he was fifteen, he was bitten by a poisonous snake, and he even endured the venom to help that crazy snake shed its skin. Raymond and I secretly roasted that snake, keeping it from Galaron. If he knew, heaven knows how long he'd cry.

Galarón is troublesome, but mess with my brother and I'll make you feel even more troublesome.

I am the burning catastrophe, the angel of fire who slays darkness, George Edmont.

I quickly arrived at the barrier area guarded by the Purifier Legion. Those foolish priests who only wore chainmail to the battlefield were all gathered together, their holy light coalescing into a wall, enveloping them in a radiant iron cage. My brother, whose mind was only on others, was also within this dazzling barrier.

Upon seeing my arrival, Galarón had a cold expression, but still opened a small gap in the protective shield.

【Mind Barrier】, a large-scale defensive divine spell. The heavenly voice of holy light can convert any unbeliever. Purifier knights who cast the spell with this belief will transform this thought into a tangible wall. This divine spell, which lies between matter and spirit, can transform all impacts into the power of holy light. Moreover, it is idealistic and unidirectional. People inside can easily come out, but cannot easily go in.

"Wow! It's only been a few days, and Mr. Nice Guy has become increasingly timid! Even the sealing barrier we four angels jointly set up can't put your mind at ease, right? We have to add another mental barrier." I looked at Galaron's face. That handsome face had become even more weathered by this war. Dark circles had encroached on his eye sockets, and his skin was pale and bloodless. Who knew if he had gone on another self-mutilating hunger strike? Galaron looked like he could collapse at any moment, and even after the war ended, I suspected he would never recover from his illness.

In his eyes, we were probably bloodthirsty killers, even though we firmly believed in our own sense of justice.

Galaron didn't answer my question, only turning his face away. He was being emotional, as if the enemies we killed had become the sins he bore. It was clearly unnecessary, but I couldn't be bothered to stop him. My angel brothers were stubborn to an annoying degree in some ways.

Despite Galarón's seemingly unwilling-to-communicate demeanor, my years of experience with him allowed me to uncover his true nature. This idiot is like pure water; you can see right through him.

I turned my head and looked at the barrier he had deliberately hidden.

The sealing barrier, established by the four archangels of the Holy Light and the glory of the Crusades' conquest, had an opening the size of a city gate in the area under Galaron's jurisdiction. Thunder and roars, burning and howling were pouring out from the center of the barrier through this gap, constantly impacting the mental and spiritual barriers.

"Holy crap! Galarón! Are you rebelling?! This is such a huge breach! Raymond's orders are that not a single monster should be allowed to escape!"

"They are not monsters, they are dragons!" Galaron tried to roar louder, attempting to drown out me, but he was too weak. "Have you executioners not killed enough yet?!"

I got furious. This is a shameful betrayal. I really want to chop this sickly guy to death.

"Do you know what you're doing? You're going to ruin all our efforts. If even one dragon escapes, we'll face endless retribution!"

"Have you all been blinded by war?! The dragons are finished, and their remaining descendants can only eke out a living. Just because of past mistakes, are you going to wipe out an entire race, a species? Raymond is destined to win. I had a feeling this war would turn him into a monster surpassing even the dragon father! He will wantonly exterminate any creature that resists him! What's the difference between us and the dragons?!"

I grabbed Galaron by the collar and roared at the top of my lungs.

"There's no difference!!! But anyone who dares to harm my people! I'll slaughter them all! Genocide? Ridiculous! I'll kill my enemies! Crush their bones and scatter their ashes, and not only that, I'll erase their existence, make them disappear from history!!! What's wrong with becoming a tyrant of the new era?"

Galarón's blood surged, and I could see a distinct flush on his face. He fell silent, as if rendered speechless by my scoundrelly behavior. I thoroughly enjoyed the moment and couldn't help but feel a little smug.

"Relax, Mr. Nice Guy, I'll do the dirty work. You tore a hole, and I'll sew it up for you. It's that simple. You've dutifully carried out the leader's orders, and I'm just here to chat with you."

I easily stepped out of the mental barrier and headed towards the rift. A dense accumulation of residual power had gathered within the barrier, and a dangerous aura was growing stronger; I had to hurry.

[For all our suffering compatriots, let us exact eternal revenge on our enemies.]

Power erupted. An irresistible, terrifying force descended from the sky, transforming into a storm and flames. Dazzling light illuminated the entire barrier. The power was gathering and expanding, searching for an outlet, and right before me was the only one.

In an instant, death and destruction engulfed me.

"Idiot!" A not-so-strong body rushed in front of me.

"Holy Light, light up the world for those who have no light!"

Galaron stood before me, cleaving the storm with Norbergen. His back glowed, his flesh and blood burned, and the healing light constantly reshaped and repaired his power. He stood before me like a giant.

As the outpouring of power ended, the half-cooked Galaron collapsed into my arms. He had broken through the mental barrier I had prepared earlier, all to save me.

I bit my lip and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.

"I don't need you to save me, I can handle it."

Galarón looked like a dead man at that moment, and the residual heat from his back burned my hand.

“I know, but then you have to owe me a debt. I need care, I need treatment, I need this wound open. You can’t stop me, because you are George, my brother.”

Damn it, that bastard.

Just as I am familiar with my brothers' personalities, they are also familiar with my weaknesses. I hate owing favors to others.

“A monstrous dragon tore through the barrier and nearly killed you. I arrived just in time to save your life. The dragon escaped. That’s my report. How does it go?”

“Okay.” Galarón closed his eyes, enjoying his peace.

"Don't get your hopes up too high. With that kind of force just now, the dragons inside might all be dead. Even if they're not, they might not be able to find this opening..."

"Roar!!!" Before I could finish speaking, a giant dragon with tattered wings and burning with holy flames charged towards the gap and escaped from before us. She didn't attack us, following her instinct for survival and avoiding threats. She was so close to escaping the gap and flying towards freedom. There lay land untouched by the Crusaders, and forests where hatred could not ignite.

The spear of God pierced the dragon, and right before us, the giant lizard had its wings broken.

Her power was exhausted, and she transformed into human form, looking at us with eyes remarkably similar to ours, eyes filled with a familiar light. This scene moved Galaron; he released my hand and staggered to the humanoid dragon mother's side, the warmth of the Holy Light descending upon her, along with the judgment of the Holy Light.

They definitely stared at each other for a while. I even suspect Galaron was brainwashed; they stared at each other for a long time without either of them noticing...

God has come.

The new king of the era, Raymond Meloch, the angel of light, my leader, my brother. But now I can only call him God, for it is the only fitting title. His divine might is like a prison, his divine wrath like the sea; his body and armor are bathed in light, I cannot see his helmet, I cannot see his face, I only feel the blinding light.

“Raymond…sir…”

“No need for that, George, we’re brothers.” He’s definitely not my brother. That idiot Raymond would never give off that feeling, that feeling of wanting to be grateful and bow down in worship.

"My...child...save her..." Those were the mother dragon's last words. A dragon egg the size of a palm appeared in Galaron's hand, and my heart sank.

“I will…” Galaron stroked her scaly face.

"The Holy Light will remember your deeds, my brother." Raymond spoke again, his voice filled with reason. At this moment, he was like a tyrant. "Give me the dragon's orphan, Galaron."