Chapter 165 — The Duel
Two pillars of dark-green liquid surged toward Gideon—one from the front, one from behind.
At the same time, the Venom Angel leaped into the air.
The three-pronged assault sealed every possible escape route.
Meanwhile, Mashal's palm continued spewing foul liquid, attempting to flood the entire backstage in corruption.
Gideon's earlier sneak attack had been effective—but it had also exposed the locations of his relics.
Hiss—
Energy collided violently in the air.
Mashal frowned.
He had destroyed only a handful of the hidden holy artifacts.
The rest now glowed faintly, continuously purifying the corrosive liquid into white vapor.
"All of them are high-grade relics…"
His eyes narrowed.
Even for someone from the Vatican, this was extravagant.
Every incoming strike was once again repelled by the invisible barrier around Gideon.
"So he's the cautious type…" Mashal thought as he searched for an opening.
---
On the other side, Gideon was calmly assessing the battlefield.
Judging by the rate of holy-power consumption, each attack would require the protection of relics aged at least ten years.
Luckily, his stockpile was still plentiful.
No danger of running dry.
"But just in case… I should fake it a little."
His gaze fell on Mashal's palm.
All that dark-green liquid was pouring from the gap there—something that clearly connected to an unknown dimension.
Through the Spiritual Sight, Gideon sensed strange spatial fluctuations—similar to what he had felt at the exhibition hall before.
Back then, they sacrificed dozens of people just to draw a fragment of that power.
And that regeneration earlier…
Clearly, siphoning power from another world was far from easy.
He lifted his head and stared at the Venom Angel.
Summoning a creature like that must cost Mashal dearly.
He wants this over quickly.
If Gideon simply dragged things out, Mashal would eventually exhaust himself.
But then Gideon glanced toward the children.
With the sacrifice ritual destroyed, they were now the perfect hostages.
If that happened, he would be pinned down completely.
Gideon reached for several bottles of holy water.
In the next second, he vanished.
The barrier collapsed instantly.
---
"Holy Step…"
Mashal's pupils narrowed as he scanned the area.
"There!"
A venomous liquid pillar crashed toward that spot—
But it merely scarred a wooden plank.
At the same time, a wall of dark fluid rose in front of Mashal.
Splash!
A glass bottle smashed into it.
The wall corroded into a gaping hole—but quickly reformed.
Then more bottles flew in from every direction.
Forced on the defensive, Mashal recalled the Venom Angel to his side.
Most of the holy water was blocked—
But one or two bottles occasionally slipped past, hurtling toward the Venom Angel.
When he sensed the aura of twenty-year holy water, Mashal clenched his teeth.
"Hmph! Let's see how many bottles you really have!"
Gideon didn't take the bait.
Instead, he began throwing lower-grade holy water.
Whenever Mashal tried to counterattack—he would suddenly toss in a twenty-year bottle.
A perfect mix of bluff and pressure.
Slowly, Mashal realized he couldn't afford this stalemate.
He retracted the excess dark liquid, keeping only the Venom Angel.
Then he pointed it toward the children.
At first, Mashal had planned to take the blood sacrifices with him.
But now—
If he didn't end this soon, reinforcements would arrive.
And the entire operation would fail.
---
But Gideon had anticipated this.
Each bottle he threw earlier had also been part of a setup.
Three protective circles had already formed around the children.
The invisible barrier reactivated.
"Tch… A damn turtle," Mashal growled.
If maintaining the barrier weren't so costly…
He would've triggered that form long ago.
"Well then," Gideon smirked, "if you're a real man, open your mouth—I'll throw some holy water straight in."
Mashal ignored the taunt.
Gideon focused instead on observation.
Every time Mashal changed attack patterns—
His power withdrew back:
If I seal the source…
Gideon's hand slid into his bag.
He gripped three iron spikes.
He remembered Jolan using them back in the sunflower fields.
Later, he learned—
They were specifically forged to cut off external energy sources.
He had asked for several afterward.
Now—
He looked at Mashal.
"Hey. Round two."
His figure vanished again.
"Infuriating…" Mashal snarled.
Still, he sent the Venom Angel soaring overhead.
Three bottles flew—
Gideon reappeared.
Mashal dodged instantly.
The Venom Angel slashed down—
And finally—
Gideon showed an "opening."
When the Venom Angel lunged, he suddenly smiled.
"He's not aiming at me!"
Mashal's blood turned cold.
Then—
Three bottles of twenty-year holy water shattered in mid-air.
He immediately commanded the Venom Angel to retreat upward.
And he leapt back.
Splash!
Holy water drenched the ground.
"Tch. Your timing is sharp—but useless," Mashal sneered.
Gideon smiled.
"No. I've already won."
Mashal frowned and checked the Venom Angel.
No abnormalities.
Then Gideon spoke again:
"All sacrifice arrays were designed by this man."
Mashal narrowed his eyes.
"Who are you talking to?"
---
In the next heartbeat—
Scarlet spirits materialized around him.
Mashal had focused entirely on holy power—
And missed the threat of something far worse.
The dead lunged.
Pain exploded.
Something sharp drove through his limbs.
"You… you can command the dead?!"
Shock overtook pain.
Even Azazel could only control the dead through binding contracts—
Yet this man…
He was a priest.
The dead despised light.
So why were they obeying him?!
Gideon didn't answer.
Instead, he chanted:
"Sacred Nails, pierce the source beyond worlds.
Holy light, seal the darkness forever…"
White light bloomed across Mashal's body.
His power drained violently.
He stared at his palm—
The gap was sealing shut.
"You bastard… you're vicious…"
Mashal fell to one knee, face twisted.
Before his power could completely vanish—
The Venom Angel charged at him.
Boom!
Mashal slammed through the wall.
The Venom Angel melted away soon after.
In its final moment—
It stared directly at Gideon.
No longer empty.
No longer dead.
"He shares sight with the summon…"
Gideon muttered.
---
Meanwhile…
Inside the hall—
Haggai commanded the Corrosion Walkers, locked in a deadlock with Abraham.
The possessed audience was still alive—
And Haggai couldn't risk them.
Then—
A thunderous crash erupted from the stage.
Mashal's body burst through the air and slammed into the seating area.
Blood covered him.
Limbs broken.
Seeing his companion in such a state, Abraham frowned and turned his gaze toward the stage.
The church members present followed his line of sight.
A moment later, a cross thrust out from a hole in the wall—and Gideon jumped out after it.
"You heretics are really strange," Gideon said flatly. "There's a perfectly good doorway, yet you insist on smashing through walls with your heads."
He pointed toward the stage wall.
There were three holes there now. Two were Mashal's handiwork—the third had been smashed open earlier by Jolan.
Staring at Mashal in the audience, Gideon added, "If you'd just used those holes, would you've ended up in such a sorry state?"
The hall fell instantly silent.
Haggai, Silas, and the others wore strange expressions as they looked at Mashal—there was even a trace of pity in their eyes.
They didn't know what had happened backstage, but after witnessing Gideon's methods more than once, they could guess this man had been thoroughly outplayed.
Abraham also turned to look at his companion, a question in his eyes.
"Cough… bastard…"
Mashal's facial muscles twitched violently. After a long pause, that single curse escaped his lips—followed by a mouthful of blood.
A surge of sinister energy erupted around him. Even the iron nails embedded in his body began to crack.
Then a hand pressed down on his shoulder, and the violent power instantly subsided.
"In your current condition, you can't unleash that power," Abraham said calmly, pushing up his glasses.
Mashal's chest heaved.
After a moment, he forced himself to calm down. "Thank you. I was reckless."
Abraham glanced aside.
Soon, a woman with a vacant expression walked over and pulled the iron nails out of Mashal's body one by one.
"Be careful," Mashal muttered. "That bastard on the stage is cunning—and he's carrying a lot of high-grade holy relics."
He rubbed his hand as dark-green liquid began to seep from his body once more.
"We're withdrawing," Abraham said.
"What? I haven't killed him yet—and we haven't secured the blood sacrifice either!" Mashal snapped coldly.
"Azazel's teleportation array is about to activate. We're out of time," Abraham replied.
"The Skull of Despair is just as important—and the ritual procedure itself needs time."
Mashal snorted. "You're right."
Then he looked at Gideon, burning that face deeply into his memory.
The next second, the audience suddenly began to move.
Though their expressions were vacant, their movements were eerily orderly.
The rune-corrupted clergy surged toward the exits—
while the ordinary spectators charged straight at Haggai and the others.
Haggai was about to unleash the holy power transformed inside the Corrupted Walkers—
but Gideon raised his hand, stopping him.