Nirvana Karnam stepped into the mansion's final chamber, his gaze falling upon Amon, who loomed menacingly over a subdued Bane. A wry smile curved across his lips.
The first thing Amon noticed was the man's beauty, striking, almost unnervingly so. He bore a resemblance to Leon, the Hero chosen of this generation. Yet where Leon radiated divinity and resolve, Nirvana's presence twisted those same features into something grotesque. His green eyes gleamed with unhinged madness, and his laughter was a sound that scraped against the soul.
But then, as the Pope of the Utopia Church fixed his gaze upon Amon again and again, he did something utterly unfathomable.
Nirvana… began to weep.
"My child… You have lived a terrible life…"
The Pope of the Utopia Church cried as if someone had murdered his mother as he approached Amon. Feeling a sense of unease, Amon pulled Nyx out and brought out all of his suns and moons. All of his mana combined could have destroyed the mansion a thousand times over, but Amon waited. Mainly because he wished to observe the new enemy, and he was particularly interested in how this man had turned Bane against him.
"How dare you! This is the Pope of the Utopia Church! His Holiness, Nirvana Karnam! You should kneel at his feet and embrace his love!"
One of the Pope's followers yelped, only to be met with Amon's deathly gaze. Facing those golden eyes, the follower fell to his bum as he couldn't withstand the invisible pressure that Amon was emitting.
"Calm, calm… We are all brethren here. There's no need to blow things out of proportion."
Nirvana settled himself, allowing his tears to dry up. He still wished to run to Amon and give him an embrace, but the man halted and stayed with a confident smile.
Amon felt unnerved. This was the first time an enemy had shown him such goodwill that he'd almost mistaken him for an ally. Nevertheless, Amon didn't lower his guard and asked the question that plagued his mind.
"Did you make Bane betray me?"
"Betray? No, he's following his heart! He wishes for you to become the most influential person in the Republic, and the best way is through my help!"
Only after Nirvana mentioned it did Amon start to feel something was amiss. Bane's mana signature had traces of tampering, and the source was none other than the handsome mana before him. Nirvana had unquestionably done some mind control, but Amon wasn't adept at magic to figure out how. The only thing he could do was bring Bane back to Yue and let her diagnose him herself.
"The Utopia Church… How are you linked to the Demon Cult?"
"They fund us! Our doctrines differ, but that doesn't matter all that much! As long as we can live our life in accordance with our pleasure… we're happy to work hand-in-hand with the Demon Cult."
"Even if it kills thousands of people?"
"The mantra of our Utopia Church is simple… We live only for the sake of pleasure. If sacrificing a million souls is needed for one person's pleasure, then we will fulfil that wish!"
Surprisingly, Nirvana was being cooperative. Anything that Amon asked, he would answer happily, and with much more detail than he'd expected.
"So you're feeding the Demon Cult with followers… so that they can summon demons? Is that what's happening?"
"Heh, you guessed it correctly!"
Like a madman, Nirvana threw his arms into the air and beckoned to his followers. The chaos dolls convulsed, their Magatamas erupting with torrents of demonic mana that warped the air itself. The flesh golems followed, howling in voices torn between ecstasy and agony as their bodies pulsed with the same vile power.
Renee and Maelle instantly drew their weapons, bracing for the inevitable clash. Only Amon remained unmoved. His eyes cut through the chaos, fixed solely on Nirvana, who stood at the centre of it all, channelling an energy unlike anything Amon had ever felt.
It wasn't mana. It wasn't holy power. Nor was it demonic.
It was something else… something alien, beyond the boundaries of all he knew.
"The Utopia Church… is founded on love and pleasure. We don't worship the Goddess, and neither do we pray for the coming of the Demon King. All we want is to live our lives in pleasure. And that's what I give to my followers, and what I would give to you… Amon Solaris… or should I say, number 23." Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novel✶fire.net
At that revelation, Amon's emotions surged. He had never imagined that anyone besides Yue could so effortlessly uncover the truth of his past life. Yet as he watched the Pope's eyes shift, no longer human, but something far beyond, the unease within him deepened.
Within Nirvana's pupils burned a single blood-red star, a mark that seemed to pierce the veil of reality itself. Under that gaze, Amon felt stripped of every secret, every layer of self exposed before the man who claimed he only wished to "save" him.
"The eyes bestowed upon me by the Prophet… No, by the Demon King himself."
Nirvana's power surged, his body swelling with that unfathomable energy as the chaos dolls and flesh golems lunged forward, mindless thralls rushing to subdue Amon for their master's will. But Amon was not about to yield.
In an instant, white flames erupted from his body, consuming the air as his form shifted, scales of light and fury marking his transformation into Dragon Form. Above him, the seven suns roared to life, burning with divine wrath as their fire coiled around Nyx's black blade.
He breathed a single word, barely a whisper.
And then, he slashed.
The hidden mansion burned into ash as the foes were pushed back with a single blade. Most of them survived, showing the sturdiness of the Demon Cult's creations, but they weren't completely broken. The chaos dolls were gradually fixing themselves using the demonic mana provided by the magatamas, while the flesh golems were putting on a show, but revealing their high regenerative properties.
As for the followers of the Utopia Church, they were all dancing within the white fires, as if trying to enter salvation through bathing in Amon's might.
But even after Amon had unleashed his strength, Nirvana simply stood there, sobbing and weeping as if he had seen the most dreadful scene of all time.
Amon was flabbergasted, but he didn't stop in the slightest. Instead, the sense of uneasiness was rising, as he felt that Nirvana was capable of doing something more, something that he couldn't stop. Hence, he rushed forward with the intention of ending the Pope before he could do any further damage.
"My precious child, you have suffered!"
A strange green light seeped from Nirvana's soul, twisting into spectral tendrils that coiled around Amon and halted his movements. He struggled to break free, but the grip was unyielding and disturbingly gentle.
For the first time in his life, that touch brought him… comfort.
Then his gaze met Nirvana's.
The Pope's ethereal eyes were bleeding, crimson tears streaming from sockets that seemed to open into infinity. Within those pupils, the blood star pulsed, and as Amon stared into it, the weight of his soul began to lift.
A trance took over him. He could feel the mental locks, the cruel seals once placed upon his psyche by the scientists who had forged him into a weapon, beginning to unravel.
And then the memories came—memories of his existence as Number 23.
Of the atrocities he had committed.
Of the countless lives he had lost.
But this time… it was different.
He wasn't just remembering.
"You… what did you do?"
Nirvana ignored Amon's cries and smiled like a suffering father shielding his child. Pulling Amon into his embrace, Nirvana whispered with a tired, yet blissful expression.
"You… who loved more than any other… were forced to seal your emotions. You… who yearned more than any other… were forced to bury your desires. You… who felt more than any other… were forced to lose all sense of direction."
In Nirvana's embrace, Amon felt comforted—relieved, even. But at the same time, he felt grief, anger and more importantly… sadness. All of the misdeeds that Number 23 had committed as a weapon… were now burnt into his mind as war crimes.
How many people passed on because of his blade? How many families were broken apart? How much… suffering had he caused?
Amon couldn't fathom it… and as he glanced up at Nirvana, the Pope of the Utopia Church, he felt a strange sense of comfort.
"I forgive you… You who loved more than anyone else… You aren't Number 23, nor are you Amon Solaris… You will be reborn in the Utopia Church, as my companion."
Amon was tempted to take that offer. The pain that he felt, and the comfort that Nirvana offered… it was too good to pass up. But Amon recalled the people who relied on him. Leon, Eldorin, and most importantly, the woman whom he'd promised his future… Yue.
They were all relying on him… and he couldn't let himself go just yet.
Hence, Amon let out a beastial roar.
Within Amon's soul, the Sun and Moon converged, and the collision birthed an eruption of power that obliterated the mansion in an instant. Renee and Maelle barely escaped, dragging the unconscious Bane with them as the explosion hurled the Pope and his followers across the ruins.
When the dust settled, Amon stood alone amid the devastation, his body trembling, his strength slipping away, not from exhaustion, but from the lingering corruption gnawing at his mind, the residue of the Pope's tampering.
Seizing what little clarity remained, Amon staggered toward the two sisters. His voice was faint, but resolute, as he gave them his final order.
And with that… Amon Solaris fell to the ground, defeated for the first time in his young history.