After plunging his sword downward, Diss began to sweep it across. If the Temple were compared to a massive cake, what Diss was doing now was carving and churning through it.
A long time after Diss had bombed the Temple the first time, Karen could still see repair work underway when he visited.
The destruction this time would only be far more severe and exaggerated than before. Fully restoring it was no longer just a question of time; it also depended on whether the Holy See was willing to approve the budget for the Temple.
Many of the Temple's facilities—even the most unremarkable decorative landscape, setting aside its antique and cultural value—sat atop array inscriptions and were forged from materials beyond anything an ordinary priest could imagine. Naturally, the cost of repairs was astronomical.
Given the circumstances the Church of Order currently faced, the High Priest would never pour the church's resources here. With his personality, he would most likely prefer seeing a dilapidated Temple, saving him from having these elders put on haughty airs before him.
At that moment, along the outer perimeter of the Temple, star after star lit up, linking to one another. Soon, an immense astral radiance materialized above the Temple.
After teleporting through the Gate of Order, Mr. Hoffen had reverted to human form. Standing behind Diss, he continuously looked around, and seeing this, he immediately laughed:
"I told you! Last time, you bombed the Temple and caught them off guard. This time, they sent people to Mink Street with layer upon layer of contingency schemes—how could they not have prepared for the worst-case scenario here?
"The Stenace Sealing Array! Haha, Diss, they really gave you plenty of face! In the previous era, this was an ultra-grade array used to trap gods!"
Yet after the array was activated and a long time passed, it remained stuck in a warming-up phase—like a fishing net that had long been cast into the sea, yet never received the order to haul it in.
"Over there, over there, and over there! Diss, quick, over there too!"
Mr. Hoffen continuously called out directions, his eyes gleaming with excitement and thrill. He truly had never expected that in his old age... no, after dying twice, he would still have the chance to revel in such unrestrained delight alongside Diss.
The stars Diss had destroyed on a whim when he thrust his sword down earlier happened to be part of the array's anchoring points. The chasms carved out by his sweeping blade and the altars and buildings destroyed along the way were precisely the backups meant to serve as alternative nodes.
Below, a team of array masters was preparing to make temporary setups to force a manual lock. But before they could finish, Diss's greatsword came sweeping toward them. Chased across the grounds, the array masters had no choice but to abandon the plan, ditching the newly coalesced star-burst beacon and scattering for their lives.
In short, this ultimate-weapon-grade array served as nothing more than ambient lighting, completely failing to achieve anything.
Next, several defensive arrays flared up in succession within the Temple, but either they couldn't effectively pin Diss down, or they couldn't even fully activate.
The Temple Guard Commander stood on the terrace of a hall, watching the scene in the sky with a solemn expression.
Beside him stood the Temple Prophet.
The Prophet frowned. "Is it just bad luck?"
The Temple Guard Commander shook his head. "Have you ever seen a madman who remains absolutely sober? I saw one today."
"Are there any other options?"
"He arrived right in the Temple's heart all at once through the Gate of Order. The Temple's defensive systems were all designed against external threats. Subduing him without paying a price will be next to impossible."
The Prophet sighed. "Looking at it this way, it would've been better to let him bomb us once more."
"Yet evidently, he's no longer satisfied with just another bombing."
"Can we negotiate?"
"Negotiate what? We were in the wrong from the start."
At this time, the Oracle stood before a colossal stele, offering prayers. The ancient voice from before had emanated from beneath this very monument.
However, the entity who had spoken seemed to have no intention of fully awakening, perhaps deeming it not worth the trouble.
And as Diss's sword swept incessantly across the Temple, it had indeed avoided this place.
The Oracle smiled wryly. He finally understood now: that entity had only spoken up so that when the trouble began, it wouldn't disturb his resting place. As for how badly the Temple was ruined, he couldn't care less.
From the perspective of this being—or rather, the sleepers he represented—the current situation looked more like junior children brawling in the house. It wasn't worth the immense cost of awakening completely.
Of course, this was also because Diss was still a believer of Order who walked the path of Order. Had an outsider from a foreign faith dared cause such a racket, they would have awakened long ago to crush them.
The Oracle turned around. Since these esteemed figures could not be counted on, the Temple had to rely on itself.
He took out a ring of keys and let them float into the air. As the keys melted, they formed a massive white lattice.
"Acting in God's will, let the gift be unsealed."
The lattice parted, and a twelve-winged holy angel stepped forth. With a shield in its left hand and a spear in its right, it beat its wings and soared into the sky.
On the terrace, seeing the angel appear, the Prophet frowned slightly. "It seems those sleeping old fellows aren't willing to budge."
The Temple Guard Commander nodded. "Then we can only rely on ourselves."
With that, the Temple Guard Commander drew a leather whip from his waist and cracked it repeatedly in front of him. With each explosive crack, a shackle bound around a giant serpent in a small world deep within the Temple snapped open.
Finally, with a long hiss, a serpent of terrifying proportions, covered in crystalline scales, flew out from the small world to join the fray.
At the same time, the Temple Guard Commander ordered, "All elders, group yourselves by the surrounding stars. Watch over and support each other, and strike at opportune moments. No one is permitted to act alone!"
The Prophet asked, "Can we use our numbers to swarm him and finish him off?"
"Do you know how many of us would perish in the process?" the Temple Guard Commander countered. "If you're willing to pay such a price, it makes no difference to me—I can change the order."
"Sigh, forget it, then. Broken jars and pots can be replaced, but we should preserve our people as much as possible. By the way, did you give orders to the cavalry corps outside the Temple?"
"They can't be mobilized. The corps commander was temporarily swapped last night—Daan was transferred back."
"He guessed something would happen. Right now, he's probably hurrying over to watch the farce."
"If I were him, I wouldn't be in a rush. Wait a bit longer, and he might see an even bigger joke."
The Temple Guard Commander unfastened his divine robe, revealing the dark red armor beneath. Cracking his neck gently, he drew a blade and vanished from the spot.
Above, the twelve-winged angel appeared behind Diss and thrust its spear forward.
The spear pierced through an afterimage Diss had left behind. The true Diss appeared at another position, pointing his wooden sword at the angel.
However, when the terrifying power of the spell crashed into the angel, it merely shook its body slightly, failing to stop it from raising its spear to strike again.
"That's a high-ranking holy angel of the Church of the Abyss! It must be a gift from the previous era to thank Order for helping breach Heaven's entrance. Its feathers and armor have a natural immunity to spells of all elements. Diss, don't get tangled up with it! I can see the flesh beneath its feathers—it was cultivated and modified by your Church of Order's ancestors, and it likely carries the bloodline of bloodthirsty aberrant demons."
Diss took Hoffen's advice and stopped targeting the angel, instead plunging rapidly downward.
However, the giant serpent appeared below. Its towering body coiled as it opened its maw, a chilling vortex swirling inside in an attempt to swallow Diss whole.
The phantom behind Diss struck the serpent's head with three consecutive punches, forcibly beating the serpent's head downward. But its tail swept across the air, twisting and tearing space itself.
Diss brought his wooden sword across to block the tail. The power released shredded the flesh on the serpent's tail, exposing gruesome white bone.
Yet the serpent did not retreat. It continued wrapping its badly wounded tail around Diss, sealing off that pocket of space.
Armored from head to toe, the Temple Guard Commander appeared at that moment, raising his blade to slash down at Diss.
Diss's wooden sword circled swiftly, first shattering the spatial binding in one go, then sweeping back to knock the Temple Guard Commander away.
Before the twelve-winged angel could arrive, Diss disengaged once more.
The Temple Guard Commander looked at his blade. A notch had already been chipped into the edge. His blade was a divine artifact, and he hadn't held back in the slightest during that slash, yet the man had still parried it.
Was this fellow's strength truly this monstrous?
Though they had made countless preparations and contingency plans, the Temple had ultimately underestimated his power.
The Temple Guard Commander silently lowered his visor to conceal his face, and commanded at the same time:
"Keep releasing monster beasts and puppets! Use them to wear him down and suppress him! Remember, don't give him a chance to catch anyone alone—he has the ability to swiftly slaughter an isolated Temple Elder!"
The giant serpent turned its body and lunged at Diss once more.
"That's an offspring of a Spatial Serpent! Diss, use clones to create spatial vibrations and disrupt its senses!"
Three clones split from Diss, flying outward while sending shockwaves through space. The serpent was visibly disoriented and began wildly attacking the clones.
The twelve-winged angel descended once more, thrusting its spear. Diss shifted laterally, and the angel matched his movement. The two traced parallel bolts of lightning through midair, triggering piercing sonic booms.
During the clash, Diss reached out and grabbed the angel's spear. With his other hand, he drove a fist straight toward the angel's chest.
The angel raised its shield. Diss's fist slammed into it, caving it inward. The terrifying shockwave shattered the angel's arm and ribcage; extraordinary spell immunity proved feeble before pure physical force.
Yet soon, the grinding sound of flesh and bone reassembling echoed from within the angel. Its flagging momentum recovered in an instant, and its wings flared open, attempting to envelop Diss.
Diss exerted force through the hand gripping the spear, forcing the angel downward, and delivered a savage kick.
Boom!
The noble angel plummeted from the sky and crashed into the ground.
However, before Diss could catch his breath, four stars converged toward him, unleashing a combined forbidden curse.
Diss spread his left hand, chanting under his breath. Forbidden curse met forbidden curse, generating a blinding brilliance. The four stars were repelled backward. Diss had held his ground, but three more stars bore down from another direction, forcing him to temporarily give ground.
Yet with that first step back, the tide immediately turned against him.
A new golden-armored giant, a screeching phoenix, and a roaring divine elephant appeared one by one, launching consecutive assaults against Diss.
Among them, many monster beasts traced back to legends of the previous era. Though they were not original beings from that era that had survived to this day, they carried their bloodlines, and monster beast research institutes across every region provided continuous technical support for the church's pinnacle beasts.
After releasing the angel, the Oracle continued chanting. The steles across the Temple recording legends of deities began to glow. Dense prayers echoed, coalescing into spiritual chains that locked down the region around Diss.
After the Temple Guard Commander joined the battle, the Prophet brought out a pen and wrote ceaselessly in the empty air before him.
Reinforcing the stars, strengthening the beasts—using his abilities, he mobilized the power of faith stored within the Temple to grant blessings.
At this moment, although the Temple had chosen not to engage in direct brawl, it displayed its profound foundations in another manner, exerting all-around pressure on Diss.
"Diss, this won't work! You'll be drained dry! Even though you've nurtured that wooden sword until now, it's not a proper divine artifact after all—it can't perfectly bear your full power!"
Hoffen knew how strong Diss was, but such a situation was doomed to be unsustainable. Most importantly, in a high-level group battle like this, the influence of a weapon was simply too great.
Diss's gaze shifted toward a distant star. Atop it stood a hall housing a divine artifact.
The giant serpent closed in once more, opening its bloody maw. This time, Diss didn't dodge; he threw himself straight into its mouth.
Once inside, the serpent's belly rapidly swelled, spatial energy leaking out profusely. This forced the tightening encirclement to halt, wary of getting caught in the backlash.
Inside the serpent's belly, Old Hoffen rapidly gathered spatial magic to bolster his old friend. In other words, two opposing spatial forces were violently clashing inside the creature's stomach.
"Good to go!"
Old Hoffen shouted excitedly and ducked behind Diss. Layers of Order Cages formed around Diss to shield them.
Boom!!
The giant serpent exploded. Spatial turbulence rippled out, blinding the sensory perception of all people and beasts for a brief moment.
From the center of the explosion, a figure broke through the perimeter, plunging down swiftly and crashing into the hall atop that star.
Standing at the entrance of the hall was a female Temple Elder. As Diss crashed down, she charged forward, her dharma body channeling a spell as purifying energy gathered, intending to wipe Diss out while he was "heavily wounded."
However, before her spell could strike home, Diss appeared right in front of her true body.
The elder held a silver whip in her left hand. Just as she was about to lash out, Diss caught it bare-handed.
Old Hoffen stepped forward with the momentum, tapping his fingertip against the female Temple Elder's brow and whispering:
"Seal!"
In an instant, the elder's true body was sealed, severing her connection with her dharma body. With the dharma body's purification spell already fully gathered, lacking a command to release, it had nowhere to go but inward.
The fierce purifying power surged through the dharma body and simultaneously manifested on her true form.
"Aaagh!!"
The female Temple Elder let out a shrill scream as her flesh melted away to expose white bone. She collapsed to her knees, while her dharma body faded drastically, completely drained.
Diss walked into the hall. Inside stood an enormous pedestal—the place where the Scythe of War had once been enshrined.
"Summon the Scythe of War back."
Old Hoffen obediently began overriding the pedestal's array, though he couldn't help asking curiously, "Are you sure you can wield it?"
Diss didn't answer.
Soon, the Scythe of War was teleported back, standing upright on the pedestal once more.
Diss reached out and gripped it. On his first pull, he failed to dislodge it.
Old Hoffen frowned. "Its integrity is very high. Do you know how many controlling restrictions your Church of Order placed on it?"
Diss did not answer. Instead, he pulled a second time, pouring his soul will into it:
"Karen, lend it to me."
Shortly after, a response echoed from within the Scythe of War:
"Alright, Grandfather."
Outside, the encirclement reformed centered on the hall. The twelve-winged angel had already appeared at the entrance.
Hum—!
Diss smoothly pulled the Scythe of War free. Old Hoffen's eyes widened instantly.
"Who the hell is controlling it?"
The twelve-winged angel had just stepped through the hall's entrance when Diss appeared before it. The angel raised its shield and leveled its spear once more.
Yet a merciless black gleam flashed. Cracks spread across the angel's shield, followed by its hand, its arm, and then its torso.
The angel was cleaved in two.
Having just arrived at the star, the Temple Guard Commander sensed something was amiss and rapidly retreated. In his place stepped a golden-armored giant.
But no sooner had the giant raised its massive hammer than a black shadow flashed. The giant's head split open, spraying a chaotic mess of red and white pulp.
The Temple Guard Commander kept backing away. Four stars drew close, their four dharma bodies joining hands to cast a spell. Yet before their spell could take shape, the Scythe of War shattered one of the stars. Deprived of protection, the Temple Elder on that star prepared to flee, only for another slash to descend, severing their dharma body on the spot.
Then came the second, the third...
All who dared encircle and approach Diss—whether Temple Elders or monster puppets—were harvested ruthlessly under the razor edge of the Scythe of War. For the Temple Elders, however, he only shattered their dharma bodies without striking their true forms.
Gradually, the encirclement ceased to exist. The prey once cornered had turned into the most terrifying hunter.
Blood and shrieks became the cheapest commodities here, squandered wildly across the sky.
For many Temple Elders, this was the first time in their long lives experiencing such a sight: a "youngster" in their eyes had stormed the Temple with supreme dominance, pulled out a divine artifact, and with swing after swing, ruthlessly trampled their pride, self-esteem, and lifelong privilege beneath his feet.
The Temple Guard Commander ordered a retreat. That man was an enraged lion; do not go near him again.
The Prophet stopped writing, for he realized that no matter how many blessings he bestowed, all of it was meaningless before a single swing of that scythe.
In the end,
Scythe in hand, Diss appeared before the Oracle.
The Oracle stopped praying and let out a sigh.
Diss asked, "Why stop praying? Do you think your Lord has abandoned you?"
The Oracle shook his head and replied, "The Lord has not abandoned us. You are also a follower of Order. Perhaps... the Lord is shielding you."
Pfft!
The scythe pierced the Oracle's chest, pinning him to the colossal stele behind him. Blood tinted with faint gold gushed forth, dripping continuously.
From beneath the stele came a displeased voice:
"Child, you have dirtied my bed. Squabbles among you children should not disturb us."
Diss paid no heed to the veiled threat, merely saying calmly:
"Then you should have stopped them beforehand when they intended to disturb me."
Stele after stele began to tremble, seemingly incensed by Diss's words.
Yet gradually, the tremors subsided back into stillness. Evidently, they chose restraint after all.
Diss drew the scythe back. The Oracle's body slumped to the ground. Unconcerned with his own injuries, he stared in horror at the tip of the scythe, where his own heart, freshly carved from his body, hung impaled.
"You... you're going to..."
Diss vanished from the spot and arrived at the grand hall in the very center of the Temple—the Temple of Order within the Temple of Order.
Holding the Oracle's heart aloft, Diss watched as the temple doors slowly swung open. He stepped inside.
Beyond the solemn, stately outer walls lay a bottomless pit.
Around the pit stood countless high platforms, lined with dense rows of identity plaques. Beneath every plaque lay neatly folded clothing and personal effects.
Old Hoffen stared in shock. "Are these cenotaphs for your Church of Order's elders? Then this pit is..."
Diss answered, "The place where Elders of Order sacrifice themselves before their lives come to an end."
In ordinary times, the elders of the Temple would take turns according to a schedule, entering in groups to offer the power of Order.
And when they sensed their lives nearing an end, they would cast themselves and their godhead fragments into the pit.
This place was indeed the closest one could truly get to God—because it was here that God fed.
Old Hoffen said in disbelief, "Your God of Order is actually... actually eating... eating them!"
Diss turned and walked out of the hall, returning outside.
The bloodstained Scythe of War was tossed aside haphazardly, and he sat down upon the steps.
"Diss, I honestly don't know how you people in the Church of Order have endured this!
"Other religions only harvest captive mortals and ordinary believers. At their worst and most outrageous, they might target ordinary priests. But at the level of a Temple Elder, they already possess divinity—they hold traits akin to gods, beings standing at the feet of a deity.
"Yet even they are reduced to rations for your God of Order!
"Your guess was right, Diss. What you said about being pigs reared in a pen—it's true! This is how your Lord treats you! It's too outrageous, too preposterous!
"Hey, aren't you furious, Diss?
"Why don't I see any anger on your face?
"Good grief, I really can't understand it. This Temple has operated like this for so many years—why haven't they rebelled?"
"Because..."
Diss paused, then continued:
"They do so willingly."
Chapter 896