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Ch. 321 The Gate of Heaven
🕑 Added 2024-03-12 16:00:04 +0000 UTCTruly a Lord of Hell!
What could be a fatal injury for other demons had no effect on Mephisto.
In the blink of an eye, the massive wound on Mephisto's neck had completely healed.
Not only that, the Divine Sun Power that had surged into his body from the edge of the Holy Sword was swiftly dispelled.
Seeing Mephisto's neck fully restored, Russell wasted no time and launched another attack.
Although Mephisto was still affected by the Gravity Swamp, he had learned from their previous encounter. He didn't attempt to block Russell's attack in a conventional way but instead tapped into his inner demonic power.
Just as the Holy Sword in Russell's hand was about to strike him once more, an energy barrier formed from demonic power appeared instantly, blocking the path of the Holy Sword.
Swoosh!
The golden Holy Sword grazed across the blood-red energy barrier, creating a burst of golden sparks.
With his attack thwarted, Russell decisively abandoned the offense and employed the super-speed granted by his Kryptonian physiology.
In a near-instant, he disappeared from in front of Mephisto, repositioning himself near Doom.
They had lost the initiative!
Though reluctant to admit it, the fact remained. Apart from the initial surprise attack, Mephisto had quickly adapted to Russell and Doom's combined assault.
Seeing Russell back at his side, Doom dispelled the Gravity Swamp to conserve his magical energy.
"He's more formidable than I imagined," Russell said to Doom.
"If he wasn't, I wouldn't have specifically invited you here," Doom replied, his gaze remaining fixed on Mephisto with an unspoken gravity in his tone.
"This is his home turf, and a prolonged battle doesn't benefit us," Russell said, releasing his grip on the Holy Sword in his right hand.
"Shall I go next, or will you?" Doom inquired.
Though Doom's question seemed straightforward, Russell understood the underlying message. He was asking who would take on the role of the primary attacker in the upcoming phase.
"I'll go," Russell affirmed, transferring the Holy Cross from his left hand to his right.
He took a deep breath and, with a mental command, rapidly circulated his Divine Sun Power within him. The radiant aura resembling the sun on his body became even more dazzling.
Moreover, he directed his Divine Sun Power into the Holy Cross he held in his right hand.
Upon obtaining the Holy Cross, Russell had absorbed most of its divine power into his body, using it to enhance his Divine Sun Power. To unleash the true potential of the Holy Cross, he needed to charge it with his own Divine Sun Power.
On the surface, this might seem peculiar. After all, if he knew he would need the Holy Cross to battle Mephisto, why absorb its power into himself beforehand?
However, these were entirely distinct matters. By absorbing the Holy Cross's divine power into himself in advance and then recharging it with his Divine Sun Power during battle, he essentially made the Holy Cross an extension of his own power.
In battle, especially at the level of a Skyfathers, the distinction between whether the power used belonged to oneself or not held significant weight.
Strictly speaking, it could be a matter of life and death.
Therefore, despite seeming somewhat cumbersome and peculiar, Russell still needed to absorb the Holy Cross's divine power into himself beforehand. Only then could he exert complete control over these powers.
As the Divine Sun Power continued to pour into the Holy Cross, it emitted a powerful aura of Heaven.
This Holy Cross was a pure creation of Heaven. What Russell was doing now was simply allowing it to emanate its original aura in the depths of Hell.
Feeling the aura of Heaven emanating from the Holy Cross, Mephisto, from a distance, furrowed his brow in displeasure.
As a demon born and raised in Hell, Mephisto had an intense aversion to the heavenly aura.
Though he didn't know Russell's exact intentions, he knew that he couldn't allow Russell to continue down this path.
With a thought, Mephisto, hundreds of meters away, suddenly appeared before Russell and Doom.
His black cane in hand moved like a blade, thrusting toward Russell.
Mephisto's attack was swift, but Russell's reflexes were not slow.
As the black cane was about to pierce him, Russell raised his left hand and caught the cane.
Then, under Mephisto's watchful eyes, he grasped the Holy Cross he held in his hand and forcefully struck Mephisto's chest.
Seeing the Holy Cross approaching, Mephisto didn't hesitate. He raised his left hand, which had already manifested its demonic form, and swiftly reached for Russell's heart.
A demon's regenerative ability was naturally quite impressive, especially within Hell itself. In Mephisto's current strategy, he was willing to trade wounds for the opportunity to take Russell down.
As a Skyfathers level being, and in his own domain of Hell, Mephisto had absolute confidence in his regenerative capabilities. Even if Russell's blow inflicted a severe injury, he wasn't concerned about dying here.
However, if Russell's heart were struck, even with his Kryptonian physiology, Russell would undoubtedly be in serious trouble.
Kryptonian physiology was powerful, but it wasn't invulnerable to all attacks.
Despite Mephisto's intentions to strike Russell's heart with his sharpened left hand, he couldn't change his course in time from such a close distance.
The Holy Cross held by Russell, which had been aimed at Mephisto's chest, suddenly altered its trajectory, heading for Mephisto's left hand.
His sudden change of tactics alerted Mephisto, but it was already too late.
The Holy Cross, held firmly in Russell's hand, struck Mephisto's left hand like a dagger.
Then, a blinding burst of golden light erupted from the Holy Cross.
In Heaven, the Holy Cross is merely an ornament, not a weapon.
However, no one ever said that ornaments couldn't be used for combat.
Not to mention a metal creation like the Holy Cross; even a chopstick or a toothpick can be used as a weapon to kill.
The dazzling radiance emitted by the Holy Cross instantly engulfed Russell and Mephisto, as if a sun had spontaneously emerged between them.
Mephisto's constitution was indeed formidable, but the Divine Sun Power on the Holy Cross had a pronounced restraining effect on him.
With the blessing of Divine Sun Power, the Holy Cross effortlessly pierced through Mephisto's hand, causing purple demon blood to spurt from Mephisto's palm.
Success!
Feeling the gushing demon blood from Mephisto's left hand, Russell knew he had made the right gamble this time.
The Divine Sun Power was indeed effective at countering demons within Hell. However, it was important to note that the Divine Sun Power was not the same as the sacred power from Heaven.
While Russell did not possess the sacred power of Heaven, he had the Holy Cross from Heaven. Using the remnants of the Holy Cross's divine power and its inherent heavenly aura, Russell successfully disrupted the demonic power within Mephisto's body, preventing Mephisto from maintaining perfect control over himself, unlike at the beginning.
Once the demonic power in his left hand became uncontrollable, Mephisto finally realized Russell's true intentions.
Mephisto couldn't remember the last time he had bled, but one thing was certain; he was genuinely angry now. Being injured by a human from the mortal realm in his own domain of Hell, especially in such a manner, was a profound humiliation for the Lord of Hell.
Just as Mephisto was about to let Russell experience the terror of a Skyfathers level being, an unsettling premonition flashed in his mind.
No, things weren't that simple!
Although Mephisto had guessed Russell's true intentions, it was already too late. The divine power and heavenly aura emanating from the Holy Cross had connected to another dimension of Heaven through the spatial fluctuations that appeared overhead.
This...
Sensing the spatial fluctuations above, Mephisto finally understood what Russell was planning. He might not know who Russell truly was, but he was certain that someone like Russell, an awakened wielder of divine power, wouldn't engage in pointless actions during a battle.
Russell's attack had indeed caused him injury on the surface, but it wouldn't affect the upcoming battle in the slightest. Once the Holy Cross left Mephisto's left hand, his demonic power would recover from its chaotic state. Restoring the damage to his left hand would be a matter of moments.
Thinking this through, Mephisto realized that the Divine Sun Power emanating from the Holy Cross was excessive, to the point of being wasteful.
What exactly was Russell planning?
Although the blinding golden light obstructed Mephisto's view, preventing him from seeing Russell's current actions, he was sure of one thing: Russell's left hand was gripping his cane, and his right hand held the Holy Cross. Both of Russell's hands were occupied, making it impossible for him to strike Mephisto.
In an instant, Mephisto's mind raced through several guesses. He was attempting to predict what kind of attack Russell would launch next.
However, Russell did not attack as Mephisto had anticipated. Or rather, Russell's current goal was not to attack Mephisto.
In his pursuit of defeating Mephisto, a Skyfathers level being, within Hell, Russell faced a daunting challenge, especially before he had reached that same level himself.
Although he had many means of attack at his disposal, he needed to close the gap in power between himself and Mephisto. The longer the battle dragged on, the more disadvantaged he would become.
So, Russell made a decisive choice: to summon the Gate of Heaven.
Similar to the Gate of Hell, the Gate of Heaven was also a form of magic.
Although Russell's hands were currently occupied, it did not hinder his ability to summon the Gate of Heaven. What was more critical was that he had already drawn out the remaining divine power within the Holy Cross and all the heavenly aura it contained.
In this situation, whether he meticulously drew magic circles or performed magical gestures was irrelevant to the summoning of the Gate of Heaven.
As for the blinding golden light that enveloped him and Mephisto, it was merely meant to confuse and obscure Mephisto's senses.
While Russell hadn't explicitly discussed his tactics with Doom, upon seeing Russell activate all the remaining divine power and heavenly aura within the Holy Cross, Doom surmised Russell's true intentions.
Having teammates with similar abilities and thinking processes certainly had its advantages.
Once Doom began assisting, Russell didn't waste any time.
With a thought, he mobilized his Divine Sun Power within him and created the magical spellwork required to summon the Gate of Heaven out of thin air.
Subsequently, he activated these magical patterns in sequence.
The magical patterns formed by the Divine Sun Power began to activate one by one. Overhead, Russell and Mephisto felt strong spatial fluctuations.
This...
Sensing the spatial fluctuations above them, Mephisto finally realized Russell's intentions. Although he had guessed them, it was already too late.
The divine power and heavenly aura emanating from the Holy Cross had connected to Heaven in another dimension through the spatial fluctuations above.
The magical spellwork required to summon the Gate of Heaven had been completely activated. Russell was prepared with the vast amount of energy required.
Even though Mephisto was the Lord of Hell and the current representative of Hell's will, he couldn't stop the impending appearance of the Gate of Heaven. His demonic power inherently clashed with the sacred power of Heaven.
Even if he tried to forcefully prevent the Gate of Heaven's manifestation with his Skyfathers level power, he wouldn't succeed. The rank of Heaven far surpassed that of a Skyfathers.
Unless Hell's will fully awakened, no one could halt the Gate of Heaven's appearance now.
At this moment, Russell didn't continue grappling with Mephisto. He released his left hand and decisively withdrew the Holy Cross, which was embedded in Mephisto's palm, retreating several dozen meters.
As he retreated, he felt the call and response from the sky.
Using the Holy Cross stained with Mephisto's blood and his own Divine Sun Power, Russell had successfully misled the Gate of Heaven, making it believe that he was a Heavenly Angel under attack by demons from Hell.
Russell did not refuse the summons and response from the Gate of Heaven. He connected to the Gate of Heaven using his Divine Sun Power.
Until now, the first step of his plan had been truly completed.
With the Divine Sun Power connected to the Gate of Heaven, Russell felt an indescribable surge of vast energy and the presence of an eternal will that seemed to have existed since time immemorial.
