"The Saint's Sanctuary" was a completely enclosed space. To ensure reverence for the Living Saint, the "Blessing" ceremony began in a fully sealed state.
It could only be opened by personnel from within after the ceremony, not by anyone from the outside.
However, the door, which could usually be opened easily, now seemed welded shut and utterly impossible to open. Dozens of bloody handprints and claw marks, gouged out by bare hands, were imprinted on the door, creating a look of profound despair.
The followers of the Imperial Cult outside the door could never have imagined that the world inside and the world outside had already become completely different.
On one side was the sanctity of the Ecclesiarchy temple, while the other had completely devolved into a terrifying hell of rampant demons.
The boundary between black and white, separated by a single door, being so harmoniously close was also unexpected.
Murky, yellowish-green eyes, skin that was purplish-white, and a long, bizarre tongue—all these features indicated a demon of Slaanesh.
He didn't understand why a corpse, having received the blessing of a Living Saint, would turn out like this. Kenmei had checked it thoroughly at the beginning, and there had been no tampering with the body.
Now it seemed, the corruption of the demonic forces of Chaos was truly omnipresent.
Thanks for the invitation; he had just witnessed the "Living Saint's Blessing," and now he was presented with the "Return of the Living Dead."
Especially the latter spectacle was too intense; Kenmyo Isayama found it somewhat unappealing.
A perfectly curved arc of a blade swept around, the crisp clang of the sword tearing through the air, emitting an incredibly piercing low hum.
Nearly twenty approaching living dead developed vivid bloodlines across their bodies, and masses of blood erupted, their dismembered bodies falling to the ground.
Kenmyo Isayama glanced at his slightly varicose arm, still not pushing himself.
Not only that, but in the spacious hall, there were four massive, two-meter-tall red hound-like creatures, entirely composed of psychic energy, tearing and biting with teeth and claws, rampaging like bulldozers, constantly hunting the monsters. Everywhere they passed was a scene of devastation.
This enclosed space would be perfect for burning with fire-based psychic abilities, but only if Kenmyo Isayama was impervious to high temperatures and didn't need to breathe.
Kenmyo Isayama swung his blade forcefully, splattering blood from the edge onto the ground.
"You really won't let me rest for a second."
Kenmyo Isayama genuinely felt helpless. Since arriving on this planet, he had been continuously repeating two tasks: "capturing people" and "killing people." His eyes hadn't closed since he opened them.
He had to confirm that all the killed bodies were indeed the individuals in question, supervising the execution of four or five thousand people, which had exhausted him. He had just finished a mountain of work, finally arrived here, hoping for a short rest, but it had turned out like this again.
It would be best if neither the living nor the dead entered.
Can't ashes receive the Saint's blessing? Can't they be buried?
From now on, Kenmyo Isayama remembered this lesson: bodies must be cremated as quickly as possible. Even bodies undergoing inspection could rapidly decay under the influence of corrupting forces.
Roughly estimated, there were at least three hundred living dead here, eager to pounce on Kenmyo Isayama and Frey, who was cowering in the corner.
So, the Arch-Sister, who had been impaled through and through, could just pray for herself over there.
The giant, thorny, mutated tongue belonged to a deceased Battle Sister. Both her physique and body curves were significantly different from the Sisters Kenmyo Isayama remembered from Tossak-Rome's memories.
That's why Kenmyo Isayama didn't recognize her. The opponent used so many illusions, which led him to make the mistake of relying on an outdated image.
And there were over a dozen such special fallen Sisters, furiously slaughtering the novice Sisters of the choir.
Moreover, several fallen Sisters were eyeing the coffin of the living dead, but the holy power prevented them from approaching.
"Damn it, you cursed demon!"
Arch-Sister Brino's delicate face was filled with pain. Large beads of sweat dripped from her forehead due to the intense agony. In this life-or-death crisis, it was no time to conceal her power.
As someone discovered by the Imperial Cult since childhood and designated as one of the candidates for the next Saintess, it was because she could summon the power of this "Living Saint," who had slumbered for an unknown number of years.
I, reborn, using my past life's body, what's wrong with that?
Brino Harwell's golden eyes stared fixedly at the sacred coffin, and then the Living Saint within seemed to sense her.
The pure white giant angel made of energy, which Kenmyo Isayama had seen before, reappeared in the arena. However, this time, it was infinitely closer to materialization compared to a mere phantom.
Both the concentration of its power and its overbearing effect on demons were incomparable.
Substantial expressions appeared on the angel's face, and it was especially furious.
Life should only get better. How could the human race's situation be worse than when the Living Saint was alive?
In this era, the power of the Evil Gods ran rampant so brazenly, it was an utter humiliation to the heroic spirits who had once sacrificed for the Imperium.
The Living Saint even had a feeling that the mortal world had already been thoroughly corrupted by Chaos demons, and humanity was merely barely clinging to existence.
A massive halo appeared above the angel's head, and then an extremely dazzling light erupted.
This light was completely harmless to Kenmyo Isayama and Frey, but for the demons, which symbolized evil, it was truly outrageous.
One by one, they encountered an irresistible terrifying force, and under the illumination of this halo, they melted away like snow.
The Living Saint had a special attack effect against demons. So, even the high-ranking fallen Sister whose tongue had pierced Brino Harwell's body, under this flash, was like meeting her nemesis. Her entire body began to be covered in flames, and she screamed continuously as she violently burned.
But what Brino Harwell didn't notice was that even while screaming, the eerie smile on her face never ceased.
As that body was nearly consumed by fire, the tattered fallen Sister's body gradually began to turn into a black sphere.
Kenmyo Isayama sensed something was wrong and immediately raised his Bolter, loading it with psychic energy, and fired at the black sphere.
If he wasn't mistaken, the enemy possessed the ability to change bodies. And its next body would be Brino Harwell, the Imperial Cult's next Saintess candidate.
However, the fallen Sister's tongue had already remained there. The sphere Kenmyo Isayama saw was just the tip of the iceberg; most of it had long since corroded inside like poison.
The bullet missed.
But Kenmyo Isayama was also decisive. He had to decapitate the Sister before the demon could completely corrupt her.
Brino Harwell knelt on the ground, letting out a painful roar. She looked up; one eye had already turned into murky green pupils, while the other eye was still golden.
The pure white figure was also in great pain, its disheveled wings wildly flapping against the ground.
Just as Kenmyo Isayama swung his blade, about to strike Brino Harwell's slender neck, a purple magic circle, carved with forbidden runes and emanating a terrifying aura, appeared beneath her.
Extremely terrifying magical fluctuations emanated from within. Just a shockwave that tore through space struck Kenmyo Isayama, and he lost control, his arm went numb, and the blade nearly slipped from his grasp.
Kenmyo Isayama was thrown ten meters, breaking two pillars.
A colossal figure appeared from within the magic circle. A giant purple hand grabbed the tormented angel. With just a slight squeeze, the slender neck was twisted off, and it was discarded like trash.
"Hehehe, look."
This purple armored figure that appeared on the field was the High Chaos Lord known as "The Undying" Lucius, from the Emperor's Children legion, a traitorous faction of Slaanesh.
"What have I found?"