"How did I become like this?" As if awakening from a long dream, the old priest looked at his own existence.

Massive sins clung to his body, merging with the demonic aura at a speed far beyond his anticipation.

He knew he carried sins, but had always reminded himself through divine guidance that completing the experiment would redeem these sins.

Thus in his understanding, his sins would disappear and be redeemed through this process.

Even though he hadn't completed the experiment yet, divine guidance would still be present—he absolutely wouldn't fall into becoming a demon!

The Abyss Will hadn't even intervened yet;

merely through the demonic aura emanating from Naimes and some authority activation, the old priest's transformation had already accelerated to something resembling a bloodline user's metamorphosis.

Reality shattered all delusions.

"So, I've already become no different from a demon?" The old priest looked at Naimes standing before him, gazing at that somewhat familiar face, yet his thoughts drifted uncontrollably to the past.

The moment the experiment ended, his disciple—Ron, Naimes' father—went mad.

For a long time, he had comforted Ron's heart by saying they were only temporarily creating sin, and that once the experiment concluded, they could cleanse their sins and benefit humanity.

Yet the experiment failed.

When Ron and his wife were disposing of failed experimental subjects and burying a five-year-old child's body, they heard news from colleagues outside—that Naimes, the same age, was waiting at their office entrance for them to come home. Read complete version only at ⓝovelFire.net

At that moment, Ron later told the old priest, he experienced hallucinations—seeing that corpse as Naimes.

So when he saw his wife burying the body, Ron immediately attacked her.

After regaining clarity, Ron didn't stop his assault but continued attacking other staff members.

Ultimately, in the chaotic battle, Ron suffered severe injuries.

The old priest rushed over to see his disciple one last time.

"The Church actually didn't punish us—I can no longer face this world or myself."

"The very existence of this experiment is the greatest problem, and we who facilitated all these issues are beyond redemption."

The old priest hadn't listened carefully at the time, merely activating divine magic to treat Ron's injuries.

Then...

"It wasn't like that!" The old priest suddenly spoke in rebuttal: "I didn't know Dartmenli would use Ron's personal items to continue experiments!"

"I just thought—I harmed Ron, I comforted him again and again, making him continue the experiments."

"So I couldn't face seeing him anymore."

As the old priest spoke, numerous Nest Beast blood vessels suddenly rotated, those blood threads rapidly piercing into his body.

Some blood threads seized a vial of medicine on the old priest's person, extracting all the liquid within and injecting it into his own body.

Simultaneously, the old priest was channeling his spiritual energy to resist his demonic transformation.

An intense holy power burst forth from within him.

The nearly completed demonic transformation was momentarily paused.

Then the old priest's body suddenly began burning violently, the demon-like black scaled skin almost instantly burning away under this combustion.

Revealing the magma-like flesh and blood beneath.

Naimes raised an eyebrow slightly, already swinging a testing strike.

The blade swept past the old priest, easily cutting through his flesh.

Yet this minor injury couldn't truly harm him.

The magma-flowing flesh rapidly fused together, the fiery light growing increasingly intense.

Then the old priest completely transformed into a 'being of light'.

Every part of his body glowed with that golden-white radiance of coal burning at its extreme in a furnace.

"Like a Saint, walking this world."

"Shedding human form, revealing truth."

"His flesh golden, his blood golden."

"As if divine might, as if divine aspiration."

The so-called Saint resembled such an existence.

Naimes retreated, no longer testing further.

The situation was now clear—the old priest had finally recognized his own existence at the moment of demonic possession.

His rebuttal to Naimes wasn't actually explaining to Naimes, but telling himself not to be influenced by others' words.

That was true demonic temptation—if he also believed himself to be such a hypocrite, a selfish villain, then his last bit of humanity would disappear.

Only then would demonic transformation truly complete.

"I need to thank you, Naimes..." the 'Saint' said, raising his hand to estimate roughly forty-two seconds remaining.

Forty-two seconds later, his activated blood and executed bloodline spell·Holy Blood Ascension would reach its limit—after which he would be completely incinerated.

He had finally understood his lifelong experimental research, then applied it to himself.

The so-called Saint could never be created through bloodline experiments.

No matter how they experimented, Holy Blood could never create true Saints.

"You made me understand—only faith's ultimate expression, only souls blooming with ultimate realization, can bear holiness."

Why most divine churches primarily use holy-type divine magic—this was precisely the reason.

Faith naturally contains holy elements.

The key to Saints isn't about gods granting power—first one must possess the qualification to bear holiness, then gods grant power to create Saints.

"Indeed, the Oath God has problems."

"Though of course, my own situation isn't right either."

Despite having only forty-two seconds, the old priest showed no urgency to act.

He was even explaining his discoveries to Naimes.

Normally, when a soul capable of bearing holiness appears, the god this soul believes in would sense it and almost immediately arrive to grant power.

Yet the Oath God showed no movement whatsoever.

This could only mean the Oath God's problems were particularly severe.

It also indicated the current old priest wasn't a true Saint.

He had merely, in desperation, understood his sins and errors, ceasing that self-contradiction.

Then used his researched Holy Blood medicine to forcibly stimulate and refine the potential of his demonized body.

Finally injecting that obtained holy power entirely into his soul, entering a temporary state of enlightenment.

"Neither holy, nor commandment."

The old priest's evaluation of the Church now fell upon himself.

"Then for the sake of other innocent people, I decide to kill you, Naimes!" The old priest solemnly declared: "You are the last life I will take after removing myself."

"Such you finally makes this final act not entirely dull." Naimes could feel the intense threat emanating from the old priest.

But at this moment, Naimes smiled.

"Of course I must also thank you—for testing out the Oath God's current state for me."

"Allowing me to reclaim what was once mine."

As Naimes spoke, massive amounts of faith power began flowing across his body.