The winds that howled through the crumbling ruins of the Forsaken Cathedral carried with them the stench of burnt feathers and rotting divinity. Liam stood at the edge of a jagged cliff, his cloak torn, his breath steady but shallow. The divine storm that raged overhead was not of nature—it was a herald. A warning.
Rune floated silently beside him, her eyes narrowed. "He's coming."
Liam nodded. "Let him."
The ground trembled with a rhythmic clang—not from footsteps, but from the unnatural sound of chains dragging across stone and bone. From the heart of the ruined sanctum, a shadow emerged, cloaked in tattered robes of priestly white now blackened by soot and blood.
A monstrous figure unfurled wings not of light or feathers, but of jagged iron and rusted chain. The corrupted angel, once a guardian of holy law, now bore the title: Valas, Wing of Chains.
His voice echoed like a thousand dying prayers, guttural and wrong.
"Faith… is weakness clothed in illusion."
Liam stepped forward, gripping the Staff of Ascendant Flame. "Then let me show you what illusion can destroy."
System Notification:
Boss Encounter: Valas – Wing of Chains
Rank: S-Class Corrupted Celestial
Passive Ability: Blasphemer's Aura – Reduces all divine powers by 30% in a 100-meter radius.Active Abilities:
Chain Storm – Summons thousands of cursed chains to bind and crush.
Devour Faith – Absorbs Faith Points with each strike.
Heaven's Fall – Dive attack that channels corrupted divine energy.
Iron Embrace – Traps targets in an inescapable prison of living chains.
Valas's eyes glowed like molten steel as he raised his chained wings high. The air twisted, thickening with malevolence. Rune screamed, clutching her head.
"His aura... It's trying to suppress me!"
Liam didn't flinch. "Then stay out of it. This fight is mine."
Chains shot toward him like vipers. He reacted instantly, side-stepping, sliding low as two of them crashed into the earth where he'd stood. Dust and shards flew into the air.
He leapt, activated Heavenstep, and blinked above Valas. With a downward strike, his staff exploded in golden flame. The blow connected with Valas's shoulder—but the corrupted angel didn't even grunt.
Instead, he twisted his wing like a blade and cleaved through the afterimage Liam left behind. The real Liam had already landed ten paces away, panting.
"He's fast," he muttered. "Faster than the others."
Valas turned his gaze slowly.
"You carry divinity. But not reverence. I will chain your soul to the altar of false gods."
Liam smirked. "Try."
Combat Phase Initiated
Faith Points Remaining: 182,000Skill Used: Divine Step – Mirage Walk
Creates illusory clones for 15 seconds. Cost: 6,000 Faith Points
Ten copies of Liam spread out, each one moving with perfect precision. Valas roared and launched Chain Storm.
The sky cracked open as thousands of spectral chains rained from above, impaling the ground and tearing through the landscape. Several clones disintegrated, but one charged forward—Liam.
He held his staff low, summoned a [Divine Spear] mid-motion, and hurled it into Valas's wing joint.
A direct hit.
Valas staggered, screeching like a dying god. But instead of retreating, he surged forward.
One chain lashed out—crack!—and wrapped around Liam's arm, burning through his robe and flesh alike. Power drained.
-7,500 Faith PointsStatus Effect: Crippled Arm (Duration: 30 seconds)
Blood sprayed, but Liam grit his teeth and yanked the chain with his other hand, pulling Valas closer. Their faces were inches apart.
"I've fought gods worse than you," Liam snarled. "And I'll bury them all."
His eyes flared white. He activated a forbidden skill—one that could only be used when a divine enemy was physically bound.
System Skill Unlocked: Soul Rend – Angelic Edition
Tears a fragment of a divine soul, rendering them vulnerable. Costs 25,000 Faith Points.Warning: Consequences irreversible.
Chains exploded outward as Liam's hand drove into Valas's chest, ripping a burning sigil of divine essence free. The angel screamed—its voice fractured, like glass breaking across dimensions.
A light burst from Liam's chest as he absorbed the fragment. His power surged.
Valas dropped to his knees.
"You… you are not a god…"
Liam raised his staff one final time. "No. I'm what gods fear."
He brought the weapon down.
A flash of gold.
Then silence.
The battlefield stilled. Chains rusted and crumbled. The angel's body disintegrated, ashes taken by the wind. All that remained was the scorched earth and Liam, standing alone in the divine silence he had created.
Rune floated beside him, her tone subdued. "He was once a protector of the old temple. One of the original guardians of the Sanctum. They twisted him…"
Liam said nothing. His hand trembled. Not from weakness, but from control.
"I felt his memories," he said. "I saw his fall. He was… loved."
"And now?"
"Now he's a stepping stone."
System Notification: Boss Defeated
Valas – Wing of Chains
Faith Points Gained: +58,000
New Trait Acquired:Fragmented Memory (Valas) – +5% resistance to soul-based attacks; unlocks future memory visions.
Stat Increases:Strength: +6Speed: +5Endurance: +7Magic: +8Charisma: +3Control: +6
Updated Stats:Strength – 131Speed – 113Endurance – 137Magic – 160Charisma – 92Control – 119
New Skill Unlocked: Chain Requiem – Allows summoning of Valas's purified chains for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Cost: 12,000 Faith Points.
Liam turned to his followers. Lio knelt, eyes wide with reverence. Seraphina watched with concern and pride. Elenari clutched a relic that pulsed in rhythm with Liam's aura.
"You saw what I did?" he asked.
Lio nodded, bowing low. "You destroyed a fallen angel… like he was nothing."
"No," Liam corrected. "I destroyed what he chose to become. And I'll do it again."
Behind him, a ripple in space opened—a portal toward the Sanctum's inner halls. The next guardian waited.
And somewhere beyond, the High Priest prepared to awaken the one who slept in chains.
End of Chapter 70