Chapter 83
83: The Ceremony... and a Dream
"Alright, alright~ Miss Evelia, please stand over here~"
Jasmine smilingly pulled Evelia to the other side of the altar, then gestured for her to stand still. Amya stood not far from the altar, watching Evelia, who was about to undergo the baptism ceremony, with slight concern.
"Next, please close your eyes and empty your thoughts. The Lord will wash away all sin and evil from your body..."
Jasmine stood opposite Evelia. Mysterious runes faintly flickered within her rose-gold beautiful eyes. Holy light shot through the stained glass windows above the cathedral dome, pouring directly into the altar before them. Suddenly, circles of golden ripples appeared out of thin air in the originally empty altar. These wave-like ripples continuously expanded and extended outward, eventually transforming into a pool of pale golden holy water that filled the entire altar.
God-given Magic...
Watching the golden holy water in the altar, Amya's brows furrowed slightly.
Reputed as the most peculiar and mysterious type of magic, its founder was also the creator of the Holy Church. Since its inception, only those within the Church could use it, and it could inflict extremely massive damage on hellish creatures such as demons.
And this holy water was one of the core creations of God-given Magic.
However, despite her numerous concerns, Amya still stood silently to the side, witnessing the ceremony's progress.
She believed in Evelia. Since she said it would be fine, Amya would not interfere too much.
"العناق، النوم، المعمودية، المباركة"
(Embrace, slumber, baptism, blessing) (Angel language)
Jasmine murmured in a low voice. The runes at the bottom of her eyes began to grow increasingly clear as the ceremony progressed. A faint golden droplet slowly rose from the holy water in the altar, gradually moving forward until it floated before Evelia's brow.
『Tsk... didn't expect this Miss Saint's Angelic to be quite standard.』
As a purebred angel, Amya naturally understood Jasmine's prayer. Although Amya had not witnessed many Holy Church initiation ceremonies, she could say with certainty that among all those she had seen conduct initiation ceremonies... Jasmine spoke Angelic the best.
She vaguely remembered that when she was in Heaven watching TV before, she came across a program introducing Holy Church religious culture. One segment had them publicly invite a Cardinal to perform a baptism for believers in the audience who wanted to join the Church. And even that Cardinal's Angelic... gave Amya the feeling of someone who grew up in China only speaking Mandarin trying to listen to a Cantonese person speak Cantonese...
Just... weird...
Especially since Gabriel was there at the time too. After hearing that Cardinal's slightly "dialect-accented" Angelic, she just rolled around on the bed laughing until her stomach hurt...
And someone like Evelia, who could have Jasmine the Saint personally conduct her initiation ceremony, was definitely rare. Most initiates' ceremonies would be conducted by priests or ordinary bishops, and their Angelic... hiss... had the same aesthetic appeal as listening to Shampoo speak Chinese when watching Ranma 1/2 as a child...
" يا رب، اغسلها من القذرة وجعلها في أحضان النور."
(Lord, please cleanse the impurities from her and guide her into the embrace of light) (Angel language)
Finally, Jasmine's prayer was nearing its end. As she extended her slender hand to gently brush across the holy water in the altar, the droplet formed from holy water that had been quietly suspended before Evelia's brow suddenly touched her forehead. In an instant, divine radiance scattered like water spray in the air, and the light and sacred intent within the cathedral reached their peak.
Amya stared with slightly narrowed eyes at this sacred and solemn scene before her. After feeling that nearly tangible divine light, she had nearly rushed forward to pull Evelia out!
That was the Church's core holy water! An absolute natural nemesis for demons! And it had been directly touched to Evelia's forehead! The key was that this girl was completely fine! Was this still the demon she remembered?
In contrast to the tension and anxiety in Amya's heart at this moment, Evelia had unknowingly entered an extremely wondrous state. The instant that holy water droplet touched her forehead, Evelia felt as if someone had suddenly splashed a basin of water on her face, cold and chilling. Then she felt her body begin to fall without warning. An intense sensation of weightlessness washed over her, causing her to open her eyes almost instinctively.
Then, she saw a scene of epic beauty, or perhaps tragic beauty, a vision of myth.
Magma symbolizing Hell covered the earth. Mountains and rocks of various sizes rose from the magma. Countless magical beasts and hellish creatures stood atop the peaks under the leadership of the three-headed Hell Hound Cerberus, letting out angry roars.
Pitch-black Demon God Pillars covered in scales stood like pillars supporting heaven and earth, connecting sky and ground. Their massive tentacles, each with a radius of a hundred meters, waved recklessly. A giant whale too massive to describe in words swam beneath the golden sky curtain, its melodious and ethereal cries sounding as if they came from a bottomless abyss of darkness. A fallen figure holding a snake-shaped spear trod upon magma, raising the spear in hand toward the end of the sky that rained down supreme golden light. A giant wolf symbolizing greed stepped upon a palace forged from gold, its cunning eyes filled with ferocity. Endless swarms of pitch-black flies that could never be satiated covered half the sky. Countless pairs of crimson compound eyes flashed with the same indescribable emotion. A curvaceous demon girl looked up at the golden light screen at the end of the sky with eyes that looked down on everything. Beneath her lazy and enchanting gaze, a faint pink light flickered past.
At this moment, countless black and white feathers slowly drifted down from the air. Each feather contained violent magic power sufficient to flatten an entire city. The owner of these feathers, that fallen angel possessing three jet-black wings and three pure white wings, stood with a solemn expression atop a rocky ridge not far from the Demon God Pillar.
However, all of this could no longer attract Evelia's gaze. At this moment, her expression was dazed as she stared blankly at that red silhouette atop the Demon God Pillar.
A wine-red-haired young girl sat expressionlessly at the edge of the Demon God Pillar. The girl appeared to be only six or seven years old, her skin white and tender, her exquisitely beautiful and cute face like the world's most refined work of art. She looked even smaller than Evelia, wearing only a loose red robe to cover her body. Her eyes, brilliant as gold, were filled with determination.
Suddenly, as if noticing something, the girl subconsciously turned her head and glanced in the direction where Evelia was.
Golden eyes and pale purple eyes, their gazes quietly met at this moment.