Chapter 15: Leon’s Unyielding Stand

Even against enemies in angelic forms, Leon would never retreat—Naya was behind him.

“My Lord, a final mission awaits your completion. Leave this place to us,” the Cherubim said.

“Very well. Consider this Mercury’s ultimate trial for you. Once you’ve dealt with this man and woman, find me on the surface!”

The Archbishop declared, hoisting Liuli onto his shoulder before departing, leaving the Twelve Archangels of the Imperial Guard to block Leon’s path.

“Hey, hey—just leaving her like that?”

Leon was puzzled to find the girl offered no resistance. Was she truly so submissive?

Suddenly, one of the angels hurled a grappling hook!

In the dim light, it was merely a fleeting shadow, yet Leon skillfully dodged it.

With one hand, he seized the chain of the grappling hook, yanking the attacker towards him, then swiftly dispatched them with a single sword stroke.

Eleven remaining.

“It still feels a little strange to attack humans. But then again, with wings, can you truly be called human anymore?”

“Attack the girl!” the Cherubim commanded.

All of them flapped their feathered wings, soaring into the air!

‘This was going to be troublesome…’

A Throne Angel hurled a massive wheel!

Upon impact, it erupted with flames, spinning as it rolled towards Naya, crushing the bed of spikes in its path!

“Look out!”

One moment, Leon pushed Naya away; the next, he swung his sword, deflecting the diving attacks of three angels.

The flaming wheel roared past between him and Naya.

Naya hadn’t clearly seen what transpired around Leon. She only witnessed the light shield shatter and three angels fall, felled by dazzling sword techniques, resembling three bleeding doves.

Eight remaining.

Despite being heavily outnumbered, Leon remained steadfastly by Naya’s side as he fended off their attacks.

The next instant, he abruptly raised his hand, shielding Naya’s face, catching an arrow shot directly at her with his bare hand!

The arrow remained lodged in his palm, bleeding profusely!

Naya was truly startled by this; it was the first time Leon had been wounded protecting her!

Fortunately, she was a priestess. “Bear with it!” Naya snapped the arrowhead, pulled it out, and immediately began to heal Leon.

Naya glanced behind them, realizing they had reached the edge of the deep pit, with no way to retreat.

“Leon… what I’m about to entrust to you is all of my power. I believe you can defeat them!”

“You’re going to—?”

Naya leaned close to Leon, placing her hand on his sword. She prayed to Aio, and instantly, a radiant light enveloped the Light Howl Sword.

“Still flaunting your affection even at death’s door? Go die together!”

Two angels, each wielding a two-meter-long saw blade, dove towards them, one holding each end. “We’ll saw you to death!”

“This is the—surprise—I’ve prepared for you.”

The sword’s transformation into a light blade was not its final form. The light covering the blade suddenly expanded, becoming impossibly massive, even larger than Leon himself!

Leon swung the colossal light sword with immense force!

With a resounding ‘hum’ as it cleaved through the air, he bisected the two diving angels. Feathers scattered across the ground.

Six remaining.

The surviving angels present were utterly stunned.

“Do not fear! They merely took flight ahead of us!” the Cherubim loudly encouraged their comrades. “They are waiting for us in the heavens, waiting for Mercury to lead us all to fly together!”

The largest Throne Angel pushed the flaming wheel, grinding towards Leon! It gathered momentum, accelerating faster and faster, its force threatening to crush everything in its path!

Even if evasion was impossible, it mattered not. Leon swung the massive light greatsword, meeting it head-on!

Amidst gushing blood and exploding flames, the Throne Angel and the wheel were instantly cleaved in two.

‘How many were left?’

Leon spotted the angel who had fired the arrow, along with others wielding grappling hooks, fire pokers, and chains. ‘Even if you fly in the sky, you’re still within my reach!’

The next moment, Leon unleashed his self-created greatsword technique: Four-Strike Aurora—a wide-range area-of-effect devastating skill!

Like streaks of aurora borealis, the flying angels instantly burst into blood blossoms, and even a large section of the wall was cleaved away.

Only the Cherubim remained.

“I thank Mercury for granting me such a trial in this final moment!”

The Cherubim, wielding a spiky iron staff topped with a head-snaring loop, dove straight for him—they were the fastest enemy Leon had encountered so far.

With extraordinary reflexes, Leon evaded the attack, the Cherubim whistling past him.

A gash appeared beneath Leon’s ear!

That was close!

“Leon!? You’re hurt—”

“I’m fine. You can heal me later.”

This time, Leon tightened his grip on the colossal light greatsword.

The Cherubim circled once and returned. “I was a little off just now; next time, I’ll surely take your head!”

With that declaration, they dove down once more! Leon remained motionless? He stood as steady as a statue, clearly biding his time for an opportunity.

The instant the spiky iron loop closed around his neck, he swung his greatsword, preemptively striking the Cherubim down.

The Twelve Archangels of the Imperial Guard—all annihilated.

***

Meanwhile, the Archbishop had already reached the surface. He threw Liuli from his shoulder, casting her before the assembled believers!

“Behold!” he proclaimed, spreading his arms in a sacred posture, his voice booming.

“This girl is the last sorceress! As long as a single sorceress exists, Mercury will never ascend to heaven! But now! Everything will end! Erect the pyre! Burn her! Mercury will lead us! To! Fly! To! Heaven!”

Some believers cheered, others prayed, and some even hurled objects at Liuli. Yet, she silently endured the insults.

As she was surrounded by the believers and led to the pyre, she said to those binding her, “Please be gentle, or I can do it myself.”

“Alright! Everything is ready!”

The Archbishop raised his torch high. “May the holy flame in my hand bring an end to—”

Before he could finish, the door leading to the surface was blasted open by Leon!

The Archbishop himself was sent flying, propelled by a massive light greatsword!

In an instant, the Archbishop was buried beneath the collapsing walls. A murmur rippled through the stunned believers.

Leon raised his colossal light greatsword, pointing it at the thousands of Angelic Order followers. “Does a god truly require the sacrifice of an innocent girl to ascend to heaven? Such a god could never be a true deity!”