The great gate trembled before Liam's outstretched hand, threads of divine fire unraveling like frightened serpents. The flames licked at the stone but parted beneath the golden glow of his aura—a command unspoken but undeniable.
He wasn't just a bearer of the God System anymore. He was its avatar. Its will. Its wrath.
With a resounding boom, the gate split open. Light surged forward, and the room beyond was revealed.
A vast chamber carved into the heart of the mountain—walls etched with forgotten prayers, floors soaked in the remnants of sacrificial blood, and at the center… the Altar of Origin. The place where the Demon Cult had made their final offering to birth the Prime Demon centuries ago.
It pulsed, alive. Rooted in sin. Drenched in the screams of those long dead.
Seraphina drew her twin blades, her wings aflame. "I sense something… ancient."
Elenari's eyes rolled back briefly. "It's watching. It knows we're here."
Liam's gaze remained fixed on the altar. "Let it watch. Then let it burn."
But just as he stepped forward—
A figure emerged.
From the altar.
A boy.
No older than fourteen.
His hair was white, skin pale, and his eyes—black voids with silver cracks—stared at Liam with unsettling familiarity.
Rune floated up behind Liam, tense. "That… That's a shard."
Liam narrowed his eyes. "A shard?"
"Of the Prime Demon. Not a full rebirth. Just a piece."
The boy opened his mouth, and a voice—layered, broken, like glass grinding against metal—echoed from him.
"He Who Claims Divinity Without Sacrifice. You are unworthy."
Liam stepped forward. "You know nothing of what I've sacrificed."
"Your pain is personal. Not cosmic. You lost a family. We lost a world."
The boy raised a hand. The altar pulsed. Power surged.
From the walls, the blood rose—twisting into forms, humanoid but eyeless, mouthless, made of nothing but rage. There were dozens.
Elenari gasped. "Blood Revenants."
Lio gritted his teeth. "I thought they were myth."
"They were," Rune whispered. "Until now."
System Notification: Boss Encounter Initiated
Demonic Shard – Malekh, Scion of the Prime Demon
HP: 85,000Status: Partially ManifestedAura: Realm-Breaking Corruption
Minions Summoned: 38 Blood Revenants
Objective: Destroy the Shard and Purify the Altar
Reward: ???Warning: Time-Limited Battle – 30 minutes until Shard reaches full form.
"Formation Alpha!" Liam roared, his aura exploding outward. His staff blazed with red-gold light.
Seraphina took the skies, cutting through two Revenants mid-air.
Lio engaged the frontline with divine-imbued fists, knocking aside the first wave like brittle glass.
Elenari began a chant, creating a ward that slowed the Revenants' regeneration.
And Liam—he charged straight toward the Shard.
Their blades clashed—though the boy had no weapon, the air around his hands was shaped like claws, raw demonic energy coiling with every blow.
Each strike sent out shockwaves. Each movement of the boy left afterimages.
But Liam adapted fast. His God System analyzed the patterns. Calculated the weight. Predicted the angles.
He struck low—then teleported mid-strike, appearing behind the boy in a burst of golden light.
System Skill Activated: Divine Flash Step
Cooldown: 30 secondsCost: 1,500 Faith Points
Damage Multiplier: +200%
The staff cracked against the Shard's side. He was sent hurtling into the altar, shattering bone and stone alike.
But the Shard only laughed.
"Pain. That's better. Now show me your heart."
The altar surged. Black tendrils burst from it, wrapping around the Shard. His body twisted, grew taller, more monstrous—horns emerging, limbs lengthening.
25 minutes left.
Liam turned toward the group. "He's evolving. We need to end this now!"
Just then, a scream rang out—Elenari collapsed, one of the Revenants having bypassed the ward with a suicide lunge. Blood bloomed across her robes.
Rune darted to her. "She's fading!"
"No," Liam growled. "Not again."
He placed his hand on her chest.
He wasn't supposed to care. He shouldn't care. But he did.
She believed in him.
That mattered.
System Action: Create Minor Miracle – Resurrection Light
Cost: 25,000 Faith PointsRequirement: Follower Devotion at 100%
Accept?[Yes]
"Yes."
Light enveloped her. Her wounds stitched themselves shut. Breath returned. Her eyes fluttered open.
"You brought me back," she whispered.
"I keep my oaths."
Elenari smiled through tears. "Then let me see for you."
Her third eye opened.
And the battlefield changed.
She pointed toward the Shard. "His soul is fractured. There's a piece missing. That's the core. Strike there!"
Seraphina created a diversion, and Liam took the cue—his entire body ignited in divine fire as he channeled the power of his system.
System Skill Activated: Divine Judgment Spear
Damage: True DamageEffect: Bypasses all resistancesCost: 60,000 Faith Points
With a cry that shook the pillars, Liam hurled the spear.
It pierced the Shard through the chest.
A sound like breaking glass—then silence.
The Shard screamed once—and was no more.
The altar dimmed.
Then cracked.
Then exploded into dust.
System Notification: Demonic Shard Purified
Divine Rank IncreasedFaith Points Gained: +75,000New Divine Trait Unlocked: True Devotion
True Devotion (Passive)
Resurrected followers now gain +10% to all stats
Your miracles cost 10% less Faith Points when used on loyal believers
Stat Increases:
Strength: +3Speed: +2Endurance: +5Magic: +7Charisma: +5Control: +6
Updated Stats:Strength – 134Speed – 117Endurance – 146Magic – 173Charisma – 107Control – 130
Faith Points Remaining: 260,000
Later, as the chamber grew still and the group gathered around a small fire, Elenari sat beside Liam, her hand brushing his.
"You chose to save me," she said softly.
"I didn't choose," Liam murmured. "It wasn't a decision. It was… instinct."
She leaned against him. "Then maybe not all instincts are cruel."
Rune floated quietly nearby, smiling.
In the ashes of the altar, something glowed faintly.
A seed of light.
Seraphina picked it up. "What is it?"
Liam rose. "A piece of divinity not yet corrupted."
He looked at it.
Then at his people.
"We'll plant it in the capital. And we'll grow a faith that never forgets pain—but never loses hope."
End of Chapter 72