The black magic was dazzling in the night sky dyed white by holy light. Its evil aura spread endlessly, and Asmit's face grew uglier with every breath.
That power… he knew it too well.
The Abyss Realm!
"You—You're cooperating with those filthy demons?!" Asmit's composure finally shattered, his voice trembling with fury. "Fools! Do you even know what will happen if a demon descends into this world?!"
In his mind, there was no doubt. Mammon had lured him away from the temple so that the Abyssal demons could steal the Sacred Stone.
Mammon, however, frowned at the pillar of darkness rising into the heavens. The condensed magic was enormous, terrifying, as though a demon truly was about to be born.
Impossible. If an Abyssal demon had been sealed here in Hangcheng, Asmit would never have allowed it.
Then—what did Asmit mean by demon descent?
In that instant, a figure flashed across Mammon's mind: a woman in a red, gorgeous dress.
Lilith.
Mammon's eyes gleamed coldly. Yes… it all fit. He had thought her interest was merely disgust for the Light God Realm, even when he knew she was aware of the arrival of one Singer and three Redeemers.
But Lilith, a witch with bottomless cunning, would never stop there. Of course her true purpose was this—the descent of a demon!
Asmit hesitated only a heartbeat, glanced back once at the unconscious Ekbert, then shot into the sky toward the temple.
"If you still care for this world at all, don't harm Teacher Ek. The Abyssal Gate has been opened—someone must face the demons! You fools are nothing but pawns."
His cold voice faded into the distance as he disappeared from sight, leaving Mammon and the others behind.
The choice was obvious. Even with his hatred for Mammon burning, the threat of an Abyssal demon outweighed everything else.
"What… what's going on?" Li Yuqin's voice quivered as she watched Asmit vanish. "What's the Demon Gate?"
Shen Ji and Xiongshou stood silent, their wounds still bleeding. They had survived—but their relief was hollow.
Mammon's lips curved coldly. "We've been used."
"Used?" Shen Ji frowned. "The Light God Realm are intruders. Why is it wrong to fight them?"
Mammon's eyes narrowed, blood-red pupils gleaming. "Because every move has been orchestrated by Lilith. She inflamed the Alliance against the Light God Realm, exploited their brainwashing methods as justification, and guided us all into her trap. We fought her enemies, and cleared the way for the Abyss Realm."
Shen Ji and Xiongshou exchanged uneasy looks. It was true—the Light God Realm was dangerous. Yet if everything they had done only paved the way for the Abyss Realm…
"Then…" Xiongshou muttered darkly, "everything we've done was just making a wedding dress for the Abyss."
Mammon said nothing, only sneering as his gaze flickered toward Ekbert.
The Redeemer stirred. His injuries had vanished—broken limbs regrown, flesh made whole. Slowly, the old man stood, his once-kind eyes now glowing with a chilling green light.
Shen Ji and Xiongshou froze, their pupils contracting. The aura pouring from Ekbert was utterly alien—an abyssal corruption, cold and terrifying.
Mammon's smile sharpened. "So. You've awakened a blood ghost technique… Redeemer Ekbert."
Indeed. The once-righteous Redeemer of Light now exuded a power darker than night.
Ekbert lifted his gaze toward the black pillar of magic and sighed bitterly. "The boy Asmit was too hot-blooded. I warned him, again and again, his duty was to guard the Sacred Stone. And now… the Stone has fallen to the Abyss."
He looked back at them, eyes glowing with abyssal light.
"We may have been enemies before. But now… local powers of this world must stand together."
Shen Ji's heart sank. The sight before him was grotesque.
Once a divine Redeemer of Light, now twisted into a flesh-devouring ghost—Ekbert himself smiled in self-mockery.
"Do you think I desire this?" he muttered. "All my life I served the Goddess of Light. Now I live as a monster. An immortal body, endless strength—yet it is blasphemy to everything I believed."**
His voice hardened, cold resolve burning behind the abyssal glow.
"But I cannot fall yet. The Abyssal Gate has opened. I will not allow their demons to claim this world. If they succeed… then defeating the Abyss will be harder than ascending to the heavens."