Vehron had once been a city of scholars.
Its towers had risen like quills scratching the sky, its libraries filled with books written in every tongue the world remembered. But now, the towers were bristling with infernal sigils, their peaks crowned by flaming idols. The streets below pulsed with the crimson glow of demonic faith, and the cries of the enslaved echoed behind stained-glass windows turned into prisons.
At the heart of it all stood the Grand Basilica—once a monument to truth and knowledge. Now it served as a throne room for blasphemy.
The city belonged to the Cult of the Crimson Thorn.
And Liam had come to take it back.
The forces of the Dawnblood Citadel stood at the city's outer wall. His angels—winged beings of molten light and pure intent—floated silently above. His demons crouched at the edges of reality, leaking black flame and anticipation. And at their center stood Liam, clad in his noble raiments of god-forged crimson and gold, his staff of light humming with restrained wrath.
Elenari checked the straps on her armor and turned to him. "We're outnumbered. They've sealed every exit, corrupted the skies, and the eastern walls are reinforced with anti-divine wards."
Liam's golden eyes glowed. "Then we'll go through the sky."
Garran snorted. "Flying army, huh?"
Liam nodded. "For the first strike… yes. Seraphina?"
The angel stepped forward, her armor glowing, wings spread wide.
"Yes, my lord."
"Use your Lightstorm. Open the gate."
Seraphina nodded, rose into the air, and clasped her hands. From the sky, a halo of blades materialized, and she cast them down.
System Notification:
Skill Activated: Angelic Storm – SeraphinaDamage Type: Divine AoEResult: Outer Gate Integrity – 0%Enemies Slain: 142
A blinding column of holy fire struck the gate, vaporizing it and the cultists who had gathered behind it. Screams rose from inside the city, followed by war horns blaring in chaos.
Liam raised his hand. "CHARGE."
The battle that followed was brutal.
Vehron's inner sanctums had been turned into twisted fortresses, with priests of the Crimson Thorn channeling demonic magic to hold the line. They hurled flame, summoned shadows, and even tried to warp Liam's angels with forbidden hymns.
But Liam's army fought like gods.
One by one, enemy barricades were shattered.
Rune flickered through dimensions, severing cultist throats and sabotaging ritual anchors.
Elenari fought alongside Liam, each strike of her blades a righteous counterpoint to his divine fury.
Seraphina led an aerial sweep, purifying watchtowers from above.
Even Garran, who preferred direct brawls, hurled cultists from balconies and laughed as demonic reinforcements fell under his axe.
Liam moved like fire through the city, every spell he cast powered not just by magic—but by faith.His staff struck the ground—cracks erupted through enemy formations.He raised his hand—pillars of flame engulfed archers on the rooftops.He whispered prayers—his followers were healed mid-battle.
But at the heart of the basilica, something darker stirred.
Within the corrupted temple, the high priest Vaelith kneeled before the altar of Xarnor. Her robes billowed like liquid blood. Her mouth split open unnaturally wide as she drank from a chalice forged from the spine of a martyr.
Above her, Xarnor's eye pulsed through a tear in reality.
"Liam has come," she said.
"Then offer them despair."
Vaelith rose, and her body twisted. Her arms elongated into bladed appendages. Her eyes burned with infernal madness. She turned to the host of cultists behind her.
"Let them witness true devotion."
Back at the Grand Courtyard, Liam arrived just as the final tower crumbled.
His body pulsed with power.
System Notification:
Faith Points Gained: +10,000 (From liberated civilians)
Combat Modifier Active: Holy Ground Advantage
You are approaching a Tier V Cult Champion. Prepare accordingly.
The doors to the basilica exploded outward.
Vaelith strode into view, her form now warped and semi-translucent, like a bleeding shadow stitched into a woman's shape.
"You come, little god," she hissed. "But faith is mine here."
She raised her hands.
And from the streets and alleys, thousands of possessed Vehron citizens began to emerge—eyes black, limbs twitching, chanting Xarnor's name.
Liam's expression darkened. "You turned them into vessels…"
"They wanted purpose," she sang. "And now they are vessels of something far greater than you."
Elenari stepped forward. "We can't kill them. They're civilians."
Liam's jaw tightened. "Then we sever the cords. Rune!"
"I'm already working," Rune whispered, floating up above the battlefield.
System Notification:
Subsystem Activated: Soul SeveranceEffect: Allows non-lethal removal of possessionFaith Cost: 15,000Affected Targets: 2,000+
"DO IT."
The city roared.
A tidal wave of radiant force burst outward from Liam, sweeping across the masses. Black tendrils snapped. Eyes returned to normal. People collapsed, screaming, sobbing—but alive.
Vaelith shrieked.
"You dare undo me?!"
"I do more than that," Liam growled. "I end you."
The final battle in the basilica was a war of extremes.
Vaelith conjured storms of blood. Her body split into multiple forms. She teleported through shadows and tried to unravel Liam's divine core with blasphemous invocations.
But Liam countered with Throne-Bound Flame—an ability that turned every righteous prayer into raw energy. The more his people believed, the stronger he became.
And they were believing now.
He took her strike to the chest and answered with a pulse of burning light that sent her crashing into the altar.
Garran and Seraphina pinned her.
Elenari drove her sword through Vaelith's chest.
And Liam raised his staff—
Then brought it down.
The basilica exploded in light.
When the smoke cleared, nothing of Vaelith remained but dust and a faint scream that faded into silence.
System Notification:
Cult Champion Vaelith DefeatedRegion: Vehron – Liberated
Faith Gained: +20,000Followers Rescued: 780
Divine Reputation Increased: +40%
You have become a known entity among multiple divine pantheons.You have drawn the attention of the High Thrones.
New Stat Increases (Liam):Strength: +20Speed: +22Endurance: +25Magic: +40Control: +33Charisma: +19
Faith Points: 132,500Followers: 2,310Angels: 10Demons: 4
That night, Vehron burned—but it was the purging fire of renewal.
Liam stood atop the ruins of the basilica, watching the freed citizens pray—not to him, but with hope in their eyes for the first time in years.
Elenari came to him quietly.
"They'll sing about this one day."
Liam looked out at the city.
"Let them. But only if they remember who stole that song first."
She reached for his hand.
And for once, he didn't pull away.
End of Chapter 82