Boom!

The mansion beneath their feet crumbled into fine dust. A lethal black wave of energy swept past Caelus and Sylvia. They had already activated Projection Frame to seamlessly dodge the destruction.

They looked at each other and frowned. The power behind that attack undoubtedly belonged to a Silver rank.

There were less than twenty Silver ranks in the entirety of Fortis City.

But it made perfect sense. The attacker stepping out of the dust cloud had a white, bone-like mask fused to the top half of his face.

A Hollowfied Player.

"Die!" the man shouted, his eyes completely devoid of rational thought. "Spawns of gods must be purged. This entire town will be used as a catalyst for us Null players to grow stronger."

Caelus hearing this, was naturally not going to let that happen.

"Calm down, brother. We can talk this out," Caelus said with a tone of deep urgency. "It is not too late to step away from the dark side."

Hearing this, the irrational Null player paused. It was as if an invisible force had forcefully struck his mind.

"What?" the Hollowfied player asked in sudden uncertainty.

"Like I said. It is not too late," Caelus said, shaking his head sympathetically. "We do not follow any gods here. Neither do the citizens of Fortis City."

"Lies!" The Null player growled, though his conviction clearly wavered.

"It is true," Caelus sighed heavily. "Have you ever actually seen a god before? There are plenty of myths, but I doubt anyone here has ever met one."

"People only believe what they are told. Can you blame the innocent civilians for believing false propaganda spread by the government to keep them in check?"

"Brother, I tell you, gods do not exist. It is just royal propaganda. Now, can you really blame the innocent people of Fortis City for that?"

Sylvia stood to the side, her jaw slightly dropped in pure dumbfounded shock.

What was even more baffling was that the crazed enemy actually adopted a deeply thoughtful expression.

"You are right, brother," the half-Hollowfied man nodded seriously. "It is that damned Royal Family’s fault!"

"Fortis City is not at fault. Gods must be fake. I have never seen one either."

"It is all the Royal Family’s fault!" the man yelled.

"Yes. You have finally realized the truth. You are incredibly smart," Caelus praised.

His lips were twitching violently. He was trying his absolute best to hold back a smile. To think his Silver Tongue trait would be this terrifyingly effective. He had never really utilized it in combat until now.

"Thank you, brother. I will go tell my friends in the city. We will go deal with the Royals and grow stronger!" The player bowed respectfully and sprinted off in the opposite direction.

"Was that Silver Tongue?" Sylvia asked, finally bursting into a fit of laughter.

She felt like she was watching a low-budget comedy skit. What made it hilarious was that it actually worked in reality.

"They call me the professional gaslighter," Caelus adjusted his collar smoothly.

"Anyway," Caelus grew serious. "That guy is probably going to get killed by his own friends for sounding crazy. For now, we need to focus on eliminating the rest of the Null players."

They were swarming everywhere. He could see the chaotic explosions from the sky. He and Sylvia immediately split up, hunting down the invaders block by block.

Just then, near the city center, Caelus felt a massive energy fluctuation.

It was coming directly from the central command tower. That was where the city’s main defensive barrier array was housed.

Caelus frowned. The other local Silver ranks were already busy holding off the Silver Null players in the streets. But the dark fluctuation radiating from inside the tower was entirely unordinary.

Should he risk putting himself in danger?

Suddenly, an ethereal female voice echoed directly inside his mind.

"Save my disciple. I will grant you a Holy Trait."

Caelus did not recognize the voice, but he was smart enough to deduce her identity instantly.

"You must be Mia’s master," he replied mentally.

"Yes. I am an Angel, a servant of the God of Boundless Light. Mia and her father are trapped inside. If you do not stop this, then Fortis City will fall. Aside from Sylvia Reign, you are the strongest being in this city."

"I will grant you my direct blessing to reach Silver I," the Angel pleaded. "Please."

"Fine," Caelus agreed.

He shot through the sky like a golden comet, violently shattering the tower’s reinforced glass window.

He landed inside the main command room. City Lord Leon and Mia were collapsed on the floor. They were bleeding profusely and barely clinging to life.

Standing over them was a man wearing a complete, bone-white Hollow mask with a single jagged horn protruding from it. He wore traditional black robes lined with white runes. He stared at Caelus with a crazed tilt of his head.

"Who are you?" the horned man asked. "Why have you come here to die, child?"

Leon and Mia forced their eyes open, a glimmer of desperate hope flashing through their pain.

"Are you at the mercy of a god? I smell sickening divinity on you," the man sneered. "But that is fine. I will slaughter all beings who bow to the gods."

"But why?" Caelus asked calmly. "Have you even met this Hollow King to follow him so blindly?"

The man’s expression turned cold. "Do you dare question our absolute faith? He is the sole reason we survive. When the gods discarded us, only the Hollow King pulled us out of our misery."

The man paused, looking closer at Caelus. "Wait. Are you not the rat that tried to eliminate Henry in the Ancient Domain?"

"Try?" Caelus frowned. "Does that mean he is not dead?"

"Of course not," the horned man laughed mockingly. "You were far too weak to realize it back then, but our Lord used his spatial powers to recall Henry to our headquarters at the last second. He is safe and sound, working hard to level up."

Caelus clicked his tongue in deep annoyance. To think a Null Player could escape total vaporization.

"What a letdown," Caelus said. "But what about you? Will your Lord come to save you?"

As he took a step forward, the sky above the tower parted. A blinding pillar of pure, holy light crashed through the ceiling and bathed Caelus in golden energy.

Ding!

[You have received the blessing of an Angel.]

[Ascension Initiated.]

[Rank: Bronze III -> Silver I]

[Your Divine Halo, Fighting Spirit, and Chaos Ring are being recalibrated.]

[+100, +2, +50]

[Your Region Domain buff of +5 is active.]

[Your Chaos Faction buff of +6 is active.]

[+163 Combat Score]

[Your Traits, Talents, and Skills have all been adjusted.]

Boom!

A terrifying, suffocating amount of power erupted from Caelus. The golden energy violently pushed the horned man back.

In the Origin Domain, a golden aura naturally ignited around a player to signify a specific milestone. Caelus was glowing like a miniature sun.

His combat score had forcefully breached the Gold Rank threshold.

[Combat Score: 112.23 (Silver II) -> 1.09 (Gold I)]

[You have acquired a new Class Skill for the Ender of Origin.]

Caelus ignored the class skill notification. His glowing red eyes locked onto the horned man.

He activated Chaos Perception Eyes. The appraisal failed to read the man’s hidden stats, but Caelus did not care. His visual prowess had doubled in power from the ascension. He could now perceive the world at 8x clarity and deal 8x critical damage on weak points. Likewise, his Telekinesis range had naturally expanded to 30 meters without expending extra Mind Power.

As for his Frost Monarch MOD granting the flat +50 Combat Score, he still needed time to properly recalibrate it to his new base.

"You dare use divine power in my presence?!" The horned man’s face twisted in pure rage as he lunged forward.

PROJECTION FRAME!

The world around Caelus instantly slowed to a crawl. Then, Caelus moved.

Boom!

His figure was impossibly fast. The horned man could not even track his shadow. Now that he was officially a Silver rank, his physical processing speed had evolved. He could now move and react at exactly 24 frames per second!

That was the equivalent of throwing 24 perfectly calculated punches within a single second. From his initial 6 at Iron, to 12 at Bronze, and now 24 at Silver.

He was an absolute combat unit.

Caelus’s fists blurred, crashing into the horned man’s chest 24 times in the span of a single heartbeat.

THUD THUD THUD!

However, the horned man barely flinched. He simply slid back a few inches, tanking the rapid barrage with his dense dark aura.

Caelus frowned deeply, stepping back to create distance.

Just as he suspected. His opponent was terrifyingly powerful.