Bam!

Wayne kicked down the church’s front door with Mona following him closely. In the courtyard behind him, the knights guarding the church had all collapsed.

Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Dulin was on the same level as Saint Paul’s Cathedral on paper, but because of the love and hate relationship between Windsor and the Church of Heavenly Father, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral surpassed Saint Paul’s Cathedral in both influence and foundation.

Saint Patrick’s Cathedral’s Archbishop, Hodgson, was a legendary mage with his own knight order, while Saint Paul’s Cathedral was spearheaded by Archbishop Gunther, a Gold-ranked mage, and the knight order had been forcefully disbanded and converted into a tactical team.

In a real fight, Saint Paul’s tactical team would be no match for Saint George’s Order of Holy Light, let alone for the knight order of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.

Once the Church of Heavenly Father united the faith in Windsor Federation, Archbishop Hodgson’s status would rise further.

Wayne looked at the old man with a kind face, declaring first, “The Papal State sent us. You’re in trouble!”

“Young man, the envoys of the Papal State should have a letter personally penned by His Holiness the Pope and a cardinal notice from the Papal State, as dictated by the standard procedures. Do you have those?” Hodgson smiled and spoke like a kind old man. His grace made Wayne seem like a delinquent looking for trouble arrogantly, just because he had power.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures. As the Papal State’s envoy, I’m not required to abide by the drawn-out administrative process when time is of the essence.”

Wayne insisted that he was sent by the Papal State. As a reincarnated angel, calling himself an envoy was unwarranted humility. Even the Pope would consider it a terrible understatement. He could’ve been bolder.

“Young man, I don’t know who taught you that, but I do have something to settle with you on behalf of the church.” Hodgson’s amicable smile faded, replaced by a solemn look. “Many evil sects pretending to be part of the faith of Heavenly Father have been emerging within the Republic of Erland. The mastermind called himself an envoy sent by the Papal State to fool the local churches, allowing the evil cults to roam free. Am I wrong?”

As Hodgson spoke, a large number of clergy members swarmed out. Totaling over fifty, the men and women were either knights of the order of guardian knights or elites of the administrative departments. There were also a few elderly members with silver beards and unreadable aura.

Hearing the Archbishop, they each brandished their weapons and flanked the uninvited visitors, blocking the front entrance of the church.

“Heretics who defile our faith, you’ll pay for your sins with blood.”

“Blasphemers!”

“Take the two dark mages! Burn them!”

The clergy members snarled, readily sticking the villainous labels of heretics, blasphemers, and dark mages on Wayne and Mona. The Church of Heavenly Father had always been good at false accusations.

Mona looked at them with a poker face and calm eyes. No amount of extreme curses could shake her resolve. She had entered battle mode since she equated the evil gods with demons.

Wayne, on the other hand, could not let things slide. How could he possibly tolerate such abuse after accepting the role of a reincarnated angel? He memorized every single face of the clergy, as well as what curses they had uttered. Every one of them would be dropping loot tonight.

His gaze was so provocative that it was clear he had to be a demon from the evil faction. That left the clergy members enraged. They had never met a heretic this arrogant. Before they could continue their curses, a woman with short blonde hair dressed in a long white robe slowly walked over.

Her expression was cold, and her aura even icier. Her golden eyes contained no trace of emotion, making her seem like a machine. Wherever the woman went, the clergy members shut their mouths, respectfully making way for her.

Wayne looked at her. The woman had an average face and a chest as flat as an airport runway. She had to be rich to own a private airport[1].

Sorry, I don’t like the alphabet A.

Wayne turned away after a glance, patting Mona on the bottom. “I’ll leave this to you, Mona.”

Mona froze. She had been in battle mode. Getting her bottom patted right in front of so many people made a strong sense of humiliation rise in her heart.

While she felt humiliated, though, she also felt the thrill of doing something taboo, leaving her mentally exhausted but also wanting more.

Which made her even more mortified.

The angel descending to the human world came up to Hodgson. Seeing what had just happened, her eyes glinted with derision and disgust.

“Lady Angel, these two dark mages pretended to be envoys from the Papal State and have been supporting a good number of cults masquerading as faiths in the Heavenly Father. They barged into the cathedral and beat up...”

Hodgson listed all the crimes Wayne had committed, and the crowd erupted into echoing accusations. He then said in a lowered voice, “That woman seems to be a descended angel, under the control of a Sacred Tome of Golden Law. Be careful. I’m guessing that the man beside her has stolen a sacred tome.”

Hodgson’s voice was just low enough to express his intention to keep this between him and the angel while making sure that all the clergy members could hear him. No wonder he could be the Archbishop, while the others were nothing but his subordinates.

“I understand.” The angel nodded coolly. Sacred wings unfurled from her back as she floated into the sky, wielding her sacred lance.

Mona was about to make a move when Wayne took a step forward and said, “Angel, the Archbishop you’re with is in cahoots with evil gods and demons, trampling over the faith in Father. He is a demon’s lapdog in the human world. Are you sure you’re going to betray your faith and fight for evil?“

He welcomed a fight, but he had to make himself clear before the fight began. He would not allow the other side to evade responsibility by using misunderstanding as an excuse after the fight. Be it a human or an angel, everyone had to pay for their actions!

Wayne had always been good at setting up traps.

The angel had signed a contract with Hodgson, summoned by his Sacred Tome of Golden Law to descend through a clergywoman with a holy spirit constitution. She had worked with Hodgson for years; their partnership was pleasant enough. Due to their established relationship, of course she was going to believe Hodgson and ignore everything Wayne, a stranger, said.

Even without the established working relationship, she had just seen Wayne grope Mona. Her summoned colleague was under control and thus unable to resist, but her twisted face showed powerful emotions.

Even a blind person could tell which of them was evil.

The angel looked down at Wayne with obvious disgust, irritating Mona. Ignoring the fact that her opponent was an angel, she grasped her necklace and drew the Sacred Lance of Heaven, radiating boiling waves of holy intentions.

In a semi-released state, the lance was over two meters and fifty centimeters long. Raising the lance, Mona unfurled her wings and took flight to confront the angel mid-air.

“This isn’t a fight for you. Go set up a barrier to protect the cathedral!” Hodgson ordered. The demon had lost his composure after being exposed, and a terrible fight was about to break out. All clergy members should evacuate.

Aside from the few white-bearded old men, everyone else escaped the church and got into position to activate Saint Patrick’s Cathedral’s barrier to guard the site of Father’s authority from the demon.

In the air, the angel saw Mona’s sacred lance, her indifferent eyes flashing with surprise. She demanded, “This lance shouldn’t be in your possession. Where did you acquire it?”

“It’s from my master.”

The angel fell silent. They only had one master—the Heavenly Father above anything and everything. However, Mona clearly wasn’t referring to the Heavenly Father.

“You’ve fallen!”

“No, you’re blinded by lies.”

They exchanged precious few words, each coming from their own belief while lacking the eloquence to convince the other. They raised their lances and gave their greetings, preserving the last of each other’s dignity.

Boom!!

Two rays of white light clashed. The moment the tips of their lances collided, blinding radiance exploded, accompanied by deafening rumbles. Violent sonic waves came crashing down, leaving cracks on the marble floor. The colored murals peeled away amid the tremors, and the stained glass windows shattered in an instant. The wild currents sent the shattered glass flying like a meteorite rain.

The clergy struggled to uphold the barrier and protect the cathedral, but as the battle escalated, and the stray energy waves became increasingly powerful, they faltered. Soon enough, they ran out of mana.

The once sacred and untouchable cathedral was rendered a ruin with damaged walls.

Two figures glowing white weaved around in the cathedral, both their wings pristine white and their golden eyes cold and emotionless. They were each wearing a battle armor conjured with Holy Light.

After a clash, they halted. Both agreed that if they continued the fight, the cathedral would take the brunt of the impact. It was better to continue the fight in the courtyard outside.

“Hodgson, activate the barrier!” the angel demanded, flying through a broken window.

Above the courtyard, Mona was waiting with her lance held up. Once the angel joined her outside, she made a sweeping motion with her golden sacred lance. While restrained, its radiance still contained powerful enough Holy Light to bring down the sky.

White sacred flames fell like flower petals, interwoven with killing intent. The air thickened from the intense pressure and threatened to suffocate everyone.

Under the moonlight, the cathedral’s tall spire had been sliced off. Two white figures crossed paths in the air, their blazing white lances leaving afterimages. The resulting impact shook the cathedral and brought up dust. The architecture was on the verge of tilting and collapsing.

It would’ve collapsed already if the white-bearded old men had not joined to reinforce the barrier.

Around the church, layers of barriers deflected light and contained sonic waves to prevent civilians outside from seeing the fight between two angels. Standing inside the ruined cathedral, Wayne caught the shaking space around him and cursed.

Mona had refrained from unleashing her maximum output, but the angel she was facing was incredibly powerful, definitely not your average angel. Suddenly, it wasn’t clear who would triumph.

“Demon, the cathedral is down because of you. You must pay with blood.”

Hodgson clutched his Sacred Tome of Golden Law. Though there was no longer anyone around, he insisted on sticking to his role and never went more than a couple of sentences without cursing out the demon. He seemed intent on framing Wayne for the crimes.

“Enough already. We both know who the demon is.” Wayne raised his eyebrow. “I really do come from the Papal State, and the Pope knows the sins you’ve committed. Would you like to guess how much longer it’ll be until the Papal State’s army arrives?”

Hodgson’s pupils contracted. His lies could only buy him time. Once the Papal State’s main force arrived, all his preparations would be for nothing.

He had to move now!

1. Airport is used to describe a woman with small bust in Mandarin. ☜