The torrential rain had long since soaked his body. Water streamed down the dark crimson bat-like wings spread behind him, dripping into small puddles on the ground. On the deep red wing membranes, intricate demonic patterns pulsed like throbbing veins, emitting an eerie glow.

Suddenly, Rivern’s heart pounded violently, and a searing pain spread through his entire body, as if he were being consumed by flames.

He knew he was gradually evolving into a complete demon. It wouldn’t be long before his skin darkened, horns sprouted from his head, and his legs lost their human form.

Rivern lowered his gaze to the puddle in front of him, staring at his reflection. His crimson eyes were both alien and terrifying. The priest’s white robes he wore were tattered, stained, and filthy, hanging off him like a cruel joke.

The ring that had once bound him had been reduced to ashes.

In a sense, he was now completely free.

One less prisoner for the light, one more soldier for the dark.

That was how it was supposed to be.

However—

Standing at the crossroads of fate, Rivern chose a path of no return.

He picked up the crystal vial that had fallen to the ground. The black cloth that once wrapped around it had completely unraveled. Inside, the golden liquid swirled restlessly, as if it were alive, pulsing with energy.

Rivern studied it intently, his crimson eyes gradually turning gold as they reflected the light emanating from the vial.

Then, he opened it.

Brilliant light burst forth, flooding the world around him.

In that instant, the raindrops forgot to fall, and time forgot to move.

The radiant light coalesced midair, forming a magnificent and elegant figure—seemingly a man. His body shone so brightly it was almost translucent, obscuring his features from view.

Rivern tilted his head back, watching as the light surrounding the humanoid figure in the sky gradually dimmed. A mocking smile crept onto his otherwise expressionless face.

"Once I fall into darkness again, those who punish me will no longer be from ‘Dawn Prayers’ or the ‘Sevenfold Verdict.’"

Rivern repeated the words Spike had once told him, murmuring to himself, as he gripped the only weapon left to him—a staff.

The figure floating in the air opened its eyes amid the curtain of rain. Its shoulder-length hair glimmered like light itself, and its pristine white skin radiated a warm, jade-like luster. Bathed in divine brilliance, it exuded an aura of sanctity and authority.

A pair of enormous pure-white wings unfurled behind the figure, and it hovered high above, gazing down at Rivern with an air of superiority.

Rivern chuckled. "So, the one meant to punish me is the Winged Celestial, after all."

He recalled Spike’s parting words, "Open the crystal vial… and I will get my wish to die…?"

Rivern stared at the radiant being in the sky, and with unwavering resolve, he declared, "Sorry. This time, I choose to live."

On the other side, the Winged Celestial drew a longsword from its back and dove toward Rivern with fierce speed.

Rivern raised his staff horizontally, managing to block the first strike, but it took him two steps back to regain his footing.

"Where is that traitor Nafal??? Answer me, demon!! My patience is wearing thin!!"

Traitor? What did that mean?

The celestial’s opening words left Rivern completely baffled.

Using the brute strength inherent to demons, Rivern shoved the Winged Celestial away. With a sweep of his bat-like wings, he retreated several meters, putting distance between himself and his opponent.

"I don’t know why you’re calling him a traitor, but Master Nafal has already passed away," Rivern said, his voice tense.

Hearing the celestial refer to Nafal as a traitor filled Rivern with irritation. Anyone could be a traitor, but Nafal? Never.

The celestial’s expression shifted to one of shock. "Dead? How did he die?"

"Killed by a group of rebels in Northsail," Rivern replied coldly.

The Winged Celestial burst into laughter upon hearing this. "The so-called strongest human priest in the Realm of Reality, killed by a bunch of nobodies? Hahaha, poetic justice at its finest!"

Rivern’s gaze grew colder as he stared at the celestial. "What do you mean by that?"

"Who told him to be so bold as to seal me away?" the celestial sneered, arrogantly flicking its hair. "He overreached, drained his own strength, and in the end, it’s only fitting that a bunch of ants finished him off."

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This was something Rivern had never heard before—why would Nafal seal a celestial?

If this celestial had been tasked with watching over him, then Nafal’s act of sealing it could indeed be seen as treason.Seeing the look of astonishment on Rivern's face, the Winged Celestial appeared somewhat surprised. "You didn’t know? Weren’t you two in cahoots?"

The celestial raised its longsword and pointed it at Rivern. "No matter. You’re going to die here today anyway, so I’ll tell you the truth. At least you can die with your curiosity satisfied, demon."

Without haste, the celestial began recounting the story.

In truth, Nafal alone did not have the power to restore Rivern, who had already become an Enslaved Fiend, back to human form. So the High Priest sought help from the Realm of Light. The followers of the Goddess of Light, Hekarian, responded to Nafal’s plea and dispatched a Winged Celestial to the Realm of Reality to aid the Goddess’s apostle.

However, when the celestial met Rivern, it discovered that Rivern had already crossed the threshold of an Enslaved Fiend, evolving further toward becoming a full-fledged demon.

Intrigued, the celestial secretly conducted an experiment on Rivern.

Not long after, Nafal began to notice something amiss. It turned out that the celestial’s intentions toward Rivern went far beyond mere surveillance.

The ring Rivern had received from Spike was a magical artifact specially crafted by the celestials for him. Hidden within it was an exceptionally powerful control spell. This magic not only suppressed the dark power within Rivern but also enabled him to use holy magic.

Thus, Rivern’s ability to wield holy magic was not due to being chosen as an apostle by the Goddess of Light, Hekarian, like other priests. Instead, it was the ring’s unique effect.

In other words, anyone who wore such a ring could, to some extent, wield holy magic.

At the same time, the ring caused holy magic to act as a poison, gradually corroding Rivern’s body and eventually transforming him into a mindless tool, obedient only to the celestials.

How was this any different from the demons creating Enslaved Fiends?

Upon learning the truth, Nafal was filled with rage and decided to seal the celestial. He was willing to incur the wrath of the Realm of Light to put an end to the experiment.

Nafal succeeded in sealing the celestial but was gravely injured in the process. Thus, when the rebels ambushed him in Northsail, he was defenseless and met his end.

"Serves him right!" the celestial sneered. "Had he cooperated with us, what would have been the harm? But no, he dared to act recklessly and sealed me without permission! An arrogant fool who didn’t know his limits!"

The celestial’s furious gaze fell upon Rivern. "And you, demon. You’re just as unfortunate. Opening that vial means you’ve run out of luck. The fact that you’ve evolved to this state proves that holy magic of this level can no longer bind you. The experiment is a failure, and as per the agreement, I will kill you."

With that, the celestial swung its longsword, unleashing a barrage of golden sword strikes that streaked toward Rivern.

The golden sword strikes shattered the already crumbling ruins, sending debris tumbling to the ground with a thunderous crash.

The celestial squinted, only to realize that Rivern was no longer where he had been standing.

For a brief moment, panic flickered across the celestial’s face.

When he lifted his gaze, a dark crimson wing was diving straight down from above.

Rivern swung his staff with full force, catching the celestial completely off guard.

A faint golden shield flared around the celestial, barely managing to withstand the terrifying power of the demon’s strike.

"You think you can kill me?"

The shield shattered, and the celestial found himself mere inches away from the demon.

In Rivern’s crimson eyes, the celestial couldn’t help but see his own face—twisted with fear and humiliation.

The celestial had reached his breaking point.

"You filthy creature, get away from me!" he roared at Rivern.

In the next instant, a radiant brilliance erupted around him, swirling like a storm. The surge of light forced Rivern back and transformed the celestial’s pristine white wings into a shimmering gold.

With the speed of a shooting star, the celestial charged forward, his longsword colliding fiercely with Rivern’s staff.

This time, the staff that had accompanied Rivern for so many years could no longer withstand the force—it broke.

The celestial’s blade finally pierced through Rivern’s defenses, driving forward with unrelenting precision.

This is it, the celestial thought, confident of his impending victory.

What the celestial didn’t expect was that the blade stopped mere centimeters from Rivern’s chest.

Rivern had caught the blade with his left hand, halting the attack.

Dark crimson blood trickled down the sword’s edge like serpents slithering along its surface.

Rivern fixed his gaze on the celestial before him, a chilling smile spreading across his face.

Suddenly, he lifted his knee and delivered a powerful kick, sending the celestial flying.

The once-majestic being crashed into the ground, splattered in mud, now a picture of disheveled disgrace.

Before he could rise, the shadow of bat-like wings loomed over him, heralding yet another brutal strike.

The celestial had no time to evade and was sent flying, slamming into a still-standing stone wall.

Rivern picked up the celestial’s fallen sword with his bloodied left hand. With a powerful beat of his crimson wings, he surged forward.

In a flash, the blade drove downward with unerring precision.

The celestial’s eyes widened in terror. Those once-proud eyes now reflected nothing but fear.

Slowly, he moved his gaze, realizing the blade had pierced the stone wall mere millimeters from his ear, leaving him completely unharmed.

The celestial suddenly realized two things: first, this demon's power had long surpassed what he, a lower-ranking celestial, could handle; and second, the demon clearly had the chance to kill him—so why hadn’t he?

"If a person cannot fight with their own will, how are they any different from a corpse? Even a celestial of the Realm of Light has no right to strip humanity of its will," Rivern admonished sharply.

But the celestial failed to grasp the meaning behind his words. "What are you trying to say?"

Rivern’s gaze turned cold once more. "Don’t you understand? That’s why Master Nafal risked everything to seal you."

"Human will? You, a demon, dare to call yourself human?"

Stripped of his weapon, the winged celestial was far from surrendering. He lunged at Rivern with his fists raised.

Rivern swiftly dodged, leaping into the air and landing at a safe distance.

The Winged Celestial began channeling holy magic to attack Rivern.

The "Chains of Radiance" struck Rivern, but he severed them effortlessly with a single slash of his blade.

Once again, the celestial had underestimated the demon’s speed and strength. Rivern’s knee struck his abdomen, the impact sending a wave of pain so intense that the celestial nearly blacked out.

"You seem mistaken. I never claimed to be human," Rivern whispered in his ear, his voice laced with sinister amusement.

"What are you trying to do? The Realm of Light will never forgive you, you cursed demon!" the celestial spat, his voice filled with fury and desperation.

Rivern laughed softly, extending his hand to wrap around the celestial’s neck. His grip tightened as he reached for the pristine white wings, his sword’s edge pressing mercilessly against the base of the feathers.

The icy sensation radiating from the blade made the celestial shudder involuntarily.

"W-what… do you want from me…" the celestial stammered, fear seeping into his voice.

"I want you to do me a little favor," Rivern murmured, lifting his gaze to meet the celestial’s.

A sinister crimson glow flickered in Rivern’s eyes, casting an eerie light on the celestial’s pale and terrified face.