Sunlight poured down like golden silk, illuminating the entire altar in a brilliant splendor.
Ning Busan knelt before the statue, his voice low and pious:
“O great God of Light, Ruler of all things, embodiment of light and hope, please hear the prayer of Your most devout servant...”
The commoners fell to their knees one after another, pressing their hands together and praying in hushed tones.
As time passed, the altar began to vibrate slightly, as if some power were awakening within it.
Believing that the God of Light was responding to their prayers, the crowd showed expressions of pleasant surprise, and their demeanor became even more devout.
The runes carved into the altar began to shimmer with a faint glow, converging toward the statue.
Ning Busan did not raise his head, but his faint intuition told him that a pair of majestic yet loving gold eyes was silently watching him.
Suddenly, the twelve stone pillars surrounding the altar began to hum, and the runes engraved on them flared with an eerie red light.
Ning Busan's brow furrowed slightly as a trace of unease welled up in his heart.
He saw the surrounding commoners and nobles retreating one after another, staring at him with eyes full of terror and disgust.
Novalia roared, “Ning Busan, take off the crown on your head, quickly!”
Ning Busan instinctively reached up to touch the crown, but a searing, burning pain shot through his fingertips.
The seven gems on the crown were undergoing a terrifying transformation—
The amethyst of humility turned into the deep purple of pride;
the sapphire of temperance transformed into the eerie green of greed;
the ruby of charity was replaced by the scarlet of wrath;
the topaz of diligence was stained with the dull yellow of sloth;
the emerald of forgiveness bled into the dark green of envy;
the moonstone of chastity fell into the pink of lust;
and the diamond of generosity was devoured by the pitch-black of gluttony.
Enduring the searing pain in his fingertips, Ning Busan ripped the crown off.
But it was already too late.
Seven dark beams of light shot out from the gems, weaving into a massive net in the sky.
The Holy Spirit Festival... had been interrupted.
Just then, Phil stepped out from the crowd and shouted:
“Ning Busan is actually a servant of demons! I have personally witnessed him using dark magic. He must have been ordered by the demons to deliberately sabotage the Holy Spirit Festival!”
“Your Majesty! Lord Elion! Lord Saige! I request that Ning Busan be executed on the spot to appease the wrath of the deity!”
The moment Phil stepped forward, Ning Busan understood exactly what had happened.
Someone had tampered with the crown, replacing the light-element crystals on it with dark-element ones!
Needless to say, William and Phil had to be behind this.
Ning Busan looked toward William.
A smirk played on William's lips as he silently mouthed to Ning Busan, “You're dead.”
Ning Busan's fingers rubbed against the gems on the crown, his gaze dark and unreadable.
This time, he was truly pissed off.
To take his life, they actually dared to sabotage even the Holy Spirit Festival.
Fine, fine, fine. So this is how they wanted to play?
If William and Phil survived past today, his name wasn't Ning Busan!
Phil continued to clamor, “Execute Ning Busan! Appease the wrath of the deity!”
No sooner had his voice fallen than echoes immediately rose from among the commoners: “Execute Ning Busan! Execute Ning Busan!”
Most people were still rational, knowing there had to be some trickery behind this.
Yet, a portion of the ignorant commoners still joined the condemnation, their eyes filled with rage and disgust as they looked at Ning Busan.
Saige and Novalia exchanged glances, their faces pale with anger.
They had clearly inspected everything thoroughly; items containing dark elements should have been absolutely impossible to appear at the Holy Spirit Festival.
Why had such an accident still occurred?
Elion narrowed his eyes, his gaze toward Ning Busan brimming with killing intent.
He knew Ning Busan had a demon by his side, which was why he had strongly opposed it when the Mage Association recommended Ning Busan to be the High Priest.
Sure enough, an accident had happened now.
As for the King, his thoughts were even more convoluted.
He guessed that this matter was inextricably linked to William, and he was extremely furious at William's unauthorized actions.
However, the Holy Spirit Festival had already been interrupted, and now that Ning Busan had become the target of public condemnation, it would be better to take this opportunity to get rid of him.
The King cleared his throat, but just as he was about to speak, Ning Busan spoke first.
“Your Majesty—”
Everyone fell silent instantly, their eyes fixed on Ning Busan in the center of the altar, waiting to see what he had to say.
“Your Majesty, are you sure you want to shed blood in front of the statue of the God of Light?” Ning Busan asked with a half-smile.
“Besides, the ceremony has only been interrupted, not ended. Do you not plan to continue?”
The King frowned, his expression shifting unpredictably. After hesitating for a long while, he finally said, “In that case, the ceremony shall continue.”
Just as Ning Busan was about to throw away the crown in his hand, a surge of dark power poured endlessly from the seven crystals like a rising tide, instantly enveloping the entire altar.
The runes on the altar began to twist and deform, and the patterns that originally symbolized light turned hideous and evil.
Phil cried out in alarm, “What is going on?”
This wasn't his doing!
He had only secretly switched the gems on the crown; what was happening now?
A cold, low laugh echoed above the altar. The sound was like a whisper from the depths of Hell, sending shivers down the spine of everyone who heard it.
Terrified, the crowd looked up and saw a tall figure slowly materializing above the altar.
He wore a long black robe, and his face was breathtakingly handsome, yet filled with an unparalleled arrogance.
Six pairs of black wings flapped gently in the air, stirring up a dark airflow that swept across the area like a tempest.
No one had ever seen him, yet everyone knew his identity.
There was only one twelve-winged demon in Hell—Lucifer, the Demon King of Pride and the current Lord of Hell.
Everyone backed away, staring at the demon in the sky with eyes full of terror.
Lucifer slowly descended before Ning Busan, his fingertip gently pressing against Ning Busan's forehead. A pitch-black brand instantly surfaced, radiating a heart-palpitating, evil aura.
“When heaven and earth collapse and all things return to chaos, you shall stand at the peak of Hell, looking down upon the annihilation of all living things.”
“The unquenchable hellfire shall bow to you, and a sea of blood and bones shall pave your throne.”
“Your destiny is bound to Hell, until all returns to nothingness.”
Lucifer's voice was low and cold, echoing between heaven and earth, lingering for a long time.
Ning Busan felt like he was suffocating.
What is he doing?
Bro, what on earth are you playing at?
The crowd stood frozen in place, utterly shocked by the scene before them.
However, something even more shocking occurred.
A dazzling light poured down from the horizon like the Milky Way hanging upside down, filling heaven and earth with a brilliant splendor.
The God of Light had personally arrived.
Rate on N.U.
