Valak stood there thoroughly baffled, but no one present could offer him an answer.
The nuns had absolutely nothing to say to him, while Father Burke and his two companions were equally mystified by the situation.
Sister Irene, however, was not slow to react. Or rather, she had long planned to move the very instant she regained control over her body.
Clutching the vial containing the Holy Blood hanging at her chest, Irene dashed straight toward the larger doors further off to the side. That was the room where the Duke had originally summoned the regular gateway to Hell.
The current situation was highly unfavorable to him. Valak knew this perfectly well, but knowing it did not mean he would just stand by and let himself be slaughtered.
After plotting for so long, everything had come to nothing. If Valak could just nod calmly and accept his fate, he wouldn't be a demon. Infinite rage surged within his chest, and with a harsh screech packed with malicious power, he slammed toward Irene's back.
Amidst the overwhelming chorus of prayers, Valak's power had already been suppressed to an extremely weak level, but even so, it was enough to send Irene crashing to the floor.
Ignoring the nuns entirely, Valak continued to stride toward Irene.
"Look here!"
However, Father Burke had already raised his gun. Blessed silver buckshot showered over Valak like rain, and this time, the demon had no strength left to intercept it.
"ROAR!"
A completely unhuman cry echoed through the entire hall. The blast didn't inflict massive damage on Valak, but it was enough to keep him from pursuing Irene any further.
The long-sealed doors were violently thrown open by Sister Irene. The room was already flooded with water, and one didn't even need to think to know it was holy water.
Yet, even such a vast amount of holy water still failed to entirely suppress Valak. His terrifying presence struck fear into Irene's heart once more.
She unscrewed the glass vial of the Holy Blood of Jesus at her neck, and without sparing a single drop, poured it all into the holy water.
This time, Valak truly lost.
Accompanied by unwilling resentment and pure hatred, his figure was rapidly sucked into the gradually closing gates of Hell until the rift sealed completely shut.
Maurice witnessed the scene, and despite his lingering terror, he was the first to speak. "Is it over?"
"Yes." Father Burke took a deep, heavy breath. "It's over. We passed the Lord's trial, closed the gates of Hell, and thwarted the evil plot of a demon lord."
An overwhelming ecstasy wanted to burst from his heart, but what concerned him even more were these suddenly appearing nuns.
Upon closer inspection, he recognized that these nuns were in a spiritual state, just like the ones he had seen earlier in the chapel.
But... why?
The exact same question Valak had possessed cropped up in his mind.
Irene ran back as well. Looking at these deceased yet still holy souls, her nose grew a bit sour with emotion.
"You all...?"
"Our mission is at an end," the nun standing at the very front spoke. "This was the Lord's trial, and having passed it, we have received the grace to ascend to Heaven."
Irene and Father Burke could not help but show looks of yearning and religious fervor, and even Maurice beside them didn't fare much better.
Though he currently held no official title or status within the church, he considered himself a devout believer now.
The three of them knew very well that when they eventually died, having passed the trial, they too would follow in the footsteps of these nuns to Heaven.
"Amen..."[x3]
Just then, crisp footsteps echoed from outside the door. Even with their limited vision, the trio noticed the nuns shifting to make way respectfully.
And this was..?
They imagined many different figures, but when Seia finally appeared before them, they still felt a sense of unexpected surprise that somehow felt perfectly natural.
"My Lord..." Father Burke was the first to react. Just as he was about to kneel, he was stopped by Seia's holy power.
"No need for such formality, Father Burke."
Seia's voice was as calm and unhurried as ever, and her face wore her usual faint smile. "Right now, I am not entirely that entity. Just treat me with your ordinary attitude."
Right now? Not entirely?
Father Burke thought it over and reluctantly accepted the explanation, but it was impossible for him to actually interact with her the way he did before. Even if he tried to fake it, he was still somewhat stiff and restrained.
Irene also realized that Seia's identity might not be simple, but her understanding wasn't as clear as Father Burke's, so she was still able to maintain her previous demeanor.
As for Maurice, his attitude from beginning to end was to treat Seia as an untouchable high-society figure, so no real change could be seen in him.
Before the eyes of the three witnesses, the nuns gradually turned into particles of light and vanished into thin air. Even the masked nuns who had been controlled by Valak to attack the trio regained their sanity under Seia's power, dispersing right along with the others.
They knew they were heading to Heaven.
Even though they knew that they would go there in the future after passing their own trial, seeing this scene still made the three of them yearn for it in their hearts, wishing they could follow them on the spot.
The Valak incident was finally resolved.
Seia intended to observe this world a bit more. After bidding farewell to the three, she directly crossed the holy realm, returned to Dublin Cathedral, and chose a time when the bishop was praying alone to appear before him.
Sensing the sudden intensity of holy power in front of him, the bishop immediately opened his eyes.
"Welcome back, My Lord."
He couldn't help but shed tears once more. "A calamity spanning centuries born from the mistakes and sins of the mortal world... Were it not for the mercy bestowed by the Lord, how could mankind ever repay this sin..."
When he learned that this gateway to Hell had opened in the mortal realm, the bishop had felt a suffocating dread.
That was something that, once opened, would bring disaster to the entire mortal world, equivalent to directly connecting Hell to the material realm.
At that point, the mortal world would become a playground where demons roamed at will.
Seia was somewhat unaccustomed to the bishop's dramatic attitude, so she had no choice but to interrupt. "This is not the only disaster in the mortal world."
Hearing this, the bishop's body froze.
He knew it wasn't the only one because the Archangel Gabriel had already appeared twice in the past. But from the context of her words, she clearly wasn't referring to those previous two times, but rather that there were even more to come.
The mortal world... how did it become like this? Once upon a time, the descent of an angel existed only in legends, and humanity stood on equal footing against demons.
But now, why were there such frequent descents to the mortal realm?
Without Seia even needing to speak, the bishop knew the answer. It was because humanity had stirred up far too much trouble. But why was that?
Thinking of the church, which was now incredibly declined, the bishop felt an immense bitterness in his heart.
Because while people today were not as easily deceived as in the past, they also did not possess the devout faith they once had. The terrifying thing was that the things modern people could do after being corrupted were far greater than what people of old could manage.
Thinking of this era devoid of faith, and then of the legends of the Archangel Gabriel, a terrifying possibility flashed through the bishop's mind, making his skin crawl.
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL