The people of the church whispered lines of spells. Each, particularly holding the old books and crosses in their hands. Everyone except the Head priest closed their eyes and focused on recreating the instrument. The object was floating above their heads, shining in otherworldly brilliance. The golden light flashed over the entire hall.
The sparkles kept falling from the object. These sparkles were unstable mana from each one of them. More people came from the closed entrance.
The people who were coming used incantations to enter the church. There was a hidden, high-level barrier planted around the black chur, preventing regular humans from entering.
If someone were to barge in, they would turn to ashes. Right now, they were releasing their pain and regret into this sole object. The more they release, the more the mould is purified by magic.
The head priest was sweating a lot. Still, they poured everything into a single point. He cast the last utterance of the spell.
"Holy grace. Please help me to shine in the utmost excellence, from a world of decay. Let the fire purify all devious acts of humanity. Be pure as fire, free from the pollutants of curses. I inject the heavenly will into this. Please bless O kind valour!"
Everyone opened their eyes with golden light. Time and space are distorted in imbalance. The church's background slowly faded away. The young priests and nuns were losing control due to imbalance, with blood dripping from their eyes.
They were coughing up blood. Some of them collapsed on the ground. Others exploded, spilling blood all over the black church.
The smell of blood loomed over the air. But the remaining persisted on completing the ritual despite losing their lives. Most people who died were the inexperienced and young who carried a large amount of spiritual burden on them.
More people were continually dying. But people inside this church were starting to enter and continue the same ritual. Their eyes were hollow, revealing less life.
The semi-head priest shouted, "Everyone was near to completing this ritual. Don't give up because if we did, then we'll lose our last hope to the final calamity."
All of them clenched their fists even when the background was more bloody. From the dead, many are becoming monsters or pseudo-spirits. They couldn't handle the divine light coming from the above object.
The nuns were yelling from the pain, even male cries and growls were heard from the dimension they are in right now.
But they only slightly distracted the experienced high priests. They were committed to completing the process. That doesn't mean they're okay. They are bleeding too. Since they are more professional, they are more prone to resistance than young people.
[Gungnir!]
"Recreation Finalised." The head priest shouted with all his might. "Temporarily Disperse!"
The large beam of light shot upward in the black dimension. That light becomes a sun, bringing light to these sinful spirits and monsters. All of them shrieking from pure agony.
"Ritual completed." The head priest smiled gently. "Finally, it was successful after the 50th trial."
The people knelt in exhaustion, feeling pain and crying. They didn't want to repeat the same mistake and ritual. It nearly cost their life; others who were weak died near them.
The women were crying in horror, seeing dead bodies and blood around them. The squirming hearts, organs and intestines near the skeletons. Some trembled while fixing, coming out of the mouth.
They were in the black dimension, distorted by the church. There were 545 remaining out of 12690 participants in the ritual. It was like the end of a war.
Or it was a war.
"Hahaha, Gungnir… It is still not enough to end the calamity, but it is still precious." The head priest wiped the blood coming from his nose. "Five times…Then another one with massive scale, I have to purge that cursed object from the system. Then only I can find peace."
"This thing isn't still enough?!" The semi-head priest yelled. "We took many more lives in the process, so how can we compensate for their lives?"
He asked in a regretful tone. He knew their sacrifice in bringing this object from the past had caused significant damage. He didn't want to repeat this ceremony ever again.
The head priest placed his hand on his forehead. He glanced at the bloody massacre that happened today. His lips quivered.
"We have no choice but to fight the war; unlike in the past, the entire humanity is seized under a calamity because of systems." He tried to cast a healing spell on the remaining audience. "I'm sorry for everything. I'm helpless also. This time we're also going to fight instead of being mere onlookers."
"Have you thought about what you'll do if you fail this time?" The semi-head priest got angry. "Even if we're going to fight, do you think these people have the strength for war?"
"If we can't fight, then we will assist them. The righteous masters who fight this time. These 'they' will also join to monitor the game." The head priest kept a stern look on his face. "If anyone betrays in this game, it is going to be them, not us."
"But have you thought about the outcome of this war? Will they erase this 'system' forever to finally achieve freedom from this misery?" The semi-head priest shouted, "They don't want this fight to repeat."
"I hope they'll be able to."
-Break-
Alon Angelcraft arrived at the abandoned Sanctuary on the northern side of Fuyuki City. This time, he is here searching for something. He entered the Sanctuary. Only his footsteps echoed in the entire Sanctuary.
He looked around, taking off his cooling glasses, and he smiled.
"old folks! I know very well you are hiding here watching my move here." He shouted, in a manic manner, "If you want to live, come out from the shadow or else!"
Then a shadow strike against Alon, but no scratch marked his skin. Before the shadow can attack again. Alon Angelcraft laughed as he snapped his finger.
A ton of chains struck the shadow before exposing his real identity by piercing him with big pointy needles.
"You bastard from the Angelcraft family!" The man cursed him, casting magic in secret. "Why are you here? At this place?"
Alon Angelcraft came near to him with a smile. He placed his hand on the man's chin. His eyes shone in a purple colour.
The man's eyes also shone purple. He lowered his defences; he stood there, lifeless.
"Tell me where your boss is? I know they are in here." Alon laughed, "I mean no trouble, only want to talk to them."
The man answered lifelessly in a robotic manner. "They are on the 12th floor. Take the 2nd door on the 3rd floor, which will be the easiest way to reach to our boss."
After saying this, they collapsed on the ground. He spat out blood from his nose and mouth. But his soul was consumed by the person behind Angelcraft.
He snapped his finger as a door opened from nothingness. Both of them walked slowly to the entrance. But there was an owl-spaced mask on the wall, keeping an eye on him and his companion as its owl-like eye blinked.
-Break-
After a few moments, he reached the 3rd floor. There were three separate doors ahead of him. He chose the 2nd door as the shadowy man told him. But as I entered the room, everything changed.
"A spooky trap or arrogance." Alon laughed at his destination. "I can't believe everything happened just like what I wanted."
The room distorted its background, like colours changing on a Rubik's Cube, rotating vertically and horizontally nonstop. Then everything clicked in the same colour.
The table and chair appeared out of nowhere. The person had worn shadowy robes just like the man he had met before.
But this person was far stronger than the man he just killed. Alon knew this and expected.
"What does a foe from the angelcraft family want from us?" The man revealed a harsh voice. But Alon sat on the seat near him.
He closed the distance between them as equals, but they weren't.
Alon Angelcraft asked, "Grail is revived temporarily in a perfect form, isn't it?"
"What if it is…" The man answered in a tranquil manner. "Have you come for stuff as you did in the past?"
"…no, no, this time I want to do something new." Alon smiled, putting on the cooling glass. "For our both benefits."
"Clearly state your intention." The man answered, "Otherwise, go. I'm not in the mood to fight."
"I know you know that someone like me doesn't come with this place without any explicit intention."
Alon looked around this room. He thought, 'A place created by magic, he is the deal.'
"You're wasting my time." The man's eyes glowed green. "If any business, come to the point already"
"Okay, okay, it is about the 'upgraded system' I want to discuss with you. This time, the summoning ritual was perfect compared to 1st holy war, and this time, by default, we're going to use maximum for the holy grail, unlike in the past." Alon Angelcraft leaned back in his seat. "We're going to war on a massive scale worldwide. And it is going to be fun."