Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

"So Mr. Raymond is completely unaware of the people he is being worshipped?"

"Yes, in his view, it's probably because the demons are outraged by the Holy Light. Believe me, he wouldn't be much happier if he knew the demons liked him, because it's practically impossible for the demons to have any potential followers of the Holy Light."

The two walked to the huge stands and found their seats, which were tiered like those in a normal arena. The central gladiatorial area was about half the size of a football field and was surrounded by a hemispherical light shield.

The Andrei and the demons sat clearly on opposite sides of the stands, indicating that the organizers had intentionally separated the two races.

"In the demon realm, quarrels often break out, eventually escalating into a martial arts arena where people fight both off and on the stage."

Lyle glanced at the group of handsome men and beautiful women sitting together, cheering and waving in their direction.

Andrei, deathly silent.

He coldly watched the male and female demons who were already caught up in the revelry.

A short man dressed in flashy clothes sat on the commentary platform. He was a dwarf demon with sharp horns, a lowly demon. His small stature was not pleasing, but his sharp tongue was eloquent, and he was also one of the few demons with enlightened minds, so he was not to be devoured.

He picked up a blue crystal; it was a magic microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 892nd Midnight Gladiator Match at the Black Abyss Arena! I am your commentator, Big Bigby!" The words were drawn out at the end, and the loud voice heated up the atmosphere.

The demons cheered, and even the Andrei people applauded.

"Bigbi's commentary is very interesting, and you'll definitely like it too."

"Welcome tonight's first challenger, oh, he comes from the elite Andrei! The brutal lightning messenger, the merciless storm lord! Let us welcome, Thunderclap of the Falling Heaven!"

Andre erupted in enthusiastic cheers, clapping passionately and standing up, forcing Lyle to listen carefully to what the gentleman had to say.

"Mr. Lei Ming, the president of the Weather Research Society, was once a member of the Magic Research Society. He is proficient in lightning magic and his magic power is about six locks."

The arena gates were flung open, and in the deep darkness, a long metal needle was hurled out and embedded diagonally in the ground.

A loud bang.

A bolt of lightning struck down from the void, hitting the long needle. When everyone opened their eyes again, a toe lightly touched the tip of the needle.

The figure, wreathed in dazzling electric snakes, stood on that thin needle, its entire body shrouded in a robe.

"So strong."

"As an epidemic doctor, your evaluation, which is not available even from a single person, has no reference value."

As Andrei's cheers gradually subsided, Bigby spoke again.

He first waved for silence, his face showing unprecedented solemnity. He raised one hand, and immediately a demon guard walked to a drum. As the booming drumbeats gradually became more rapid, Bigby roared.

"He is God's favorite, he is an angel who fell to earth. He possesses divine power, but he fell for love, abandoning the beauty of heaven and coming to our fiery Black Abyss Arena to fight bloody battles, all to pass one hundred and twenty holy trials and bring back his lover who was punished by the gods."

"Our King of the Abyss! The fallen angel with broken wings, supremely good and beautiful, supremely pure, the eternal champion, the fallen angel! Raymond Tos!"

The demons erupted in cheers as if they had witnessed a volcanic eruption, a landslide, and a tsunami. All the demons raised their hands and chanted that name.

"Raymondos!" "Raymondos!" "Raymondos!"

"That's a respectful term for the Great Demon Clan. Don't mind the opening remarks."

The other door slowly opened.

A blurry cloud rose into the sky above the arena.

Let there be light.

The clouds were torn apart, revealing a golden armor that resembled the rising sun. A holy song echoed in the air, and the phantom of an angel flew through the sky.

Raymond descended slowly from mid-air, stepping on the void staircase, each footstep like the sound of an ancient bell being struck.

Pairs of light wings unfolded behind him, with chains entwined around the wings.

Ten-winged, ten-chained angels set foot on the earth.

The demons' fervor had reached its peak; they climbed to the bottom of the stands and cheered at the light and shadow.

Raymond, like a global superstar, looked around and selected a lucky audience member for a close interaction. Two angelic phantoms sang and showered him with luminous petals.

The demons screamed, some girls fainted from ecstasy, and the rest began to fight each other to defend their ownership of the non-existent Raymond husband.

The demon race was in complete chaos.

Meanwhile, Andrei's side fell into a deathly silence, caught in an inexplicable awkward situation.

Lyle patted the sacred petals that had fallen onto his hat.

"Sir..."

"That's right, just like you thought, Plague Doctor. Raymond is telling you how cool the Holy Light is, so why don't you join us?"

Chapter Sixty-Eight: "Artificial" Fallen Angels

Raymond, supported by the demons, and Mr. Thunder, supported by Andrei, are locked in a standoff.

With Bigby's resounding shouts echoing throughout the arena, the gladiatorial combat began.

Before Raymond could make a move, a violent bolt of lightning struck him, and the aftershocks of the explosion stirred up dust, obscuring the battlefield.

But this did not affect Mr. Lei Ming's arrangements. He floated into the air and held the long needle that had pierced the field in his hand.

That was his staff.

No one can easily defeat a well-prepared mage. Lei Ming began his spellcasting, his eyes fixed on the billowing dust.

Before the sandstorm had even settled, his spell was already complete.

A large, lightning-streaked thundercloud enveloped Mr. Thunder.

The audience could only hear his laughter, accompanied by a booming sound from the clouds, like the might of heaven.

As the dust settled, Raymond appeared unharmed, looking up at the thunderclouds that had completely enveloped him.

"It's over, Raymond."

Mr. Thunder descended from the clouds. He no longer concealed himself; the long needle in his hand had become one with the lightning in the clouds.

“I will show you the most violent power in the world. Who would have thought that I could guide this power with just a thin needle-shaped piece of metal?”

The long needle was wrapped with condensed lightning, and the large amount of energy viscous into plasma. Occasionally, tiny arcs of electricity escaped and struck the ground, creating deep craters.

Lei Ming raised his weapon high.

“I call this spell Zeus’ Wrath.”

The plasma spear was thrown with lightning speed, sparking as it passed through the air. The sound barrier was shattered instantly, and before a sound could be heard, it pierced towards Raymond.

Lei Ming stared intently at his target, wanting to see him shattered into dust.

That dazzling light was the last thing Lei Ming saw.

A flash of light pierced the plasma, the needle lost its momentum, and spun as it stuck into the ground. The light spear continued its momentum, piercing Lei Ming's chest. Only after the body's remains were completely consumed by the holy flames from the large hole in his chest did that sound come to be heard.

"Longirulus!"

Amidst the cheers of the demons and the boos of Andrei, Raymond had achieved final victory.

At the last moment, Raymond projected a shining spear with holy light, neutralizing Lei Ming's attack and defeating him in an instant. The process was so effortless that it was like a giant beating a child.

"Faced with the thunderous attack, as powerful as the heavens, Remontos's expression turned solemn. He knew he couldn't withstand the blow, yet he had to. In the final moment, he remembered his beloved's name. It was love, it was love that brought victory to our fallen angels! Let us rejoice, for Remontos's beloved, Longinus!"

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh."

Lyle fell silent as he listened to Bigby's impassioned ramblings.

“Gentlemen, they don’t know who Longhirus is, do they?”

Longinus, the soldier who executed Christ the Son of Man, pierced Christ's body with his spear. His spear was consecrated by holy blood and became one of the relics of the Church. Clearly, the demons did not recognize it.

"You can't expect demons to appreciate the Bible. An imagined love story can always be inspiring. Besides, Raymond's partner Longsilus Bigby is really talented. He actually performed so well on the spot. I can record this passage. I believe that soon, the Literary Society will publish the 149th issue of the Fallen Angel Raymondos series."

“Mr. Raymond will definitely come back to cause you trouble.”

"No, it won't happen. The fallen angel Remontos has become a household name among demons, and we are now unharmed, so this small addition to the setting will naturally be fine."

Lyle frowned. He had an idea. It was like a stream of water flowing into a dry ditch. Suddenly, everything became clear, and things fell into place naturally.

"Mr. Raymond's fabrications, his stories about fallen angels, and his love stories were all done by your literary society!"

The gentleman tilted his head and straightened his top hat.

"Mr. Darkness's oversight and overall guidance, Mr. Delusion's character design, Mr. Reporter's publicity channels, my connections, and the united efforts of the literary society and all entertainment enthusiasts around the world."

"We created the legend of the fallen angel Remontos!"

"Do you Black Raymonds still have to be so self-righteous?"

"Plague Doctor, don't you feel anything at all? To portray a holy person as something else entirely, to make an incarnation of holy light revered by demons—that's the charm of literary creation!"

"Knowing the consequences of being exposed, you still continue to do this, sir. Your literary society truly deserves to be taught a lesson. Mr. Raymond really went easy on you." You scoundrels are still allowed to live.

"Don't worry, we are fully prepared. Do you see that light barrier in the arena? That's support from the Andrei Illusion Creator Society. In Raymond's ears, Bigby's explanation is quite different."

"The Dean, the Executive Committee, and the vast majority of members of the Andrei Society have tacitly approved of our star-making plan; it's our shared secret."

“You won’t inform on us, will you, Doctor of Plague?”

When the gentleman uttered those words, Lyle felt all eyes turn to him. He had indeed heard cheerful laughter from those around him while Bigby was explaining.

When a mistake is made by the majority, you will not be punished; this is called "the law does not punish the masses."

"Of course, that's a good thing. It's always good to be popular, and I'm sure Mr. Raymond will appreciate it." (And then, "Let you go see God.")

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Memories of Twilight

The first round of the tournament has now come to an end.

The ensuing gladiatorial combat was unremarkable.

Ten minutes of Bigby's passionate speech, thirty seconds of the challenger building up his big move, ten seconds of trash talk, one second of Raymond's one-hit kill, plus ten minutes of Bigby's fabricated praise.

The duel ended.

The repetitive nature of the tactics had numbed Andre's reactions; the boos from the losers had ceased, except for 4, which was the complete opposite. Every victory sparked a wave of cheers, but Lyle felt they weren't there to watch the gladiatorial combat, but rather to listen to Bigby's fabricated gossip about the fallen angel Remontos, satisfying their own yearning to get closer to their idol. Even if these stories were fictional, unscrupulous media outlets would later distort, whitewash, and spread false propaganda.