"Thou shalt repay thy presumption with pain!"
Amidst the clang of swords, Pride and Sloth descended from the heavens, piercing Michael's knees with a speed that was clearly slow yet impossible to dodge, forcing the archangel to his knees.
Michael struggled with all his might, but to no avail.
At this moment, he suddenly experienced the fear and helplessness of the heretics he had judged. In the past, he had always been the one administering the judgment. Now, he was the one being judged.
Christianity's special attack in the domain of original sin was effective against pagan gods and believers, and even more so against its own heretics. The pressure, like a sharp sword hanging over his head, was so oppressive that he could barely breathe.
Possessing the authority of judgment, he knew that this pressure that seeped into his bones was the suppression of a superior being over those who possessed original sin. As an angel created by God, he should not have any original sin. But under the "Lord's" declaration, his doubt was seen as a presumption against the Lord.
To face the Lord and not submit was considered pride; to face the Lord and be unable to distinguish truth from falsehood was considered sloth.
"O Lord! Please grant me the wisdom to distinguish truth from falsehood, please grant me the courage to choose, please forgive my wavering heart!"
Michael continued to pray.
But God still did not respond.
And at the same time, along with the pain of swords piercing his flesh, Su Mo's voice continued to sound.
"Thou shalt repay thy arrogance with thy eyes!"
Wrath and Gluttony struck out together, both piercing Michael's eyes.
The four swords began to tremble slightly, forming a barrier that was sufficient to suppress the angel's spiritual rank.
Michael's vision went black.
As a Three-Digit Full Authority Domain existence, even if he lost his eyes, he should have had the ability to see his surroundings. But at this moment, a conceptual deprivation made him deaf and blind. His vision was black, and he could not distinguish the direction in front of him.
I can't just sit here and wait to die!
Sensing the aura of death, Michael finally stopped praying to the Lord and began to pray to the Son of God.
The Light of the Divine Right bestowed by the Lord had now completely lost its response. Under Su Mo's judgment, he had lost the authority to use this Cosmic Truth. But it didn't matter. Su Mo could at most manipulate the Lord's authority, not the Son of God's authority.
Therefore—
"The Son of God once said that whoever drinks this wine is like drinking the Son of God's blood. As long as they do not deviate from their covenant with God, they will surely be forgiven!"
Blind, Michael still accurately fumbled for his Gift Card, from which he extracted a bottle of wine from the Garden of Eden and drank it in one gulp.
The wine itself did not have many other effects, but at this moment, as a ritual item, it was sufficient to activate a Christian miracle.
The Son of God had once, in his name, borne the sins of all humanity at once, and he had also promised that whoever drank this wine, as long as they abided by the new covenant they had made with him, would be absolved of their sins. Therefore, this ritual could be used to eliminate one's own sins.
When facing the judgment of original sin, this move was quite useful. It was originally a ritual for believers to baptize themselves. He had never expected that it would one day be used by an archangel.
Supported by a Three-Digit level spiritual rank, the ritual took effect immediately. The aura of original sin in Michael's body gradually faded, and the four swords began to shake, showing faint signs of being broken free.
Seeing this scene, Su Mo spoke at the same time. "I refuse to forgive!"
With just this one sentence, the wavering Seven Deadly Sins swords gradually quieted down.
Abiding by the new covenant might lead to salvation, but in the end, it was still God Himself who decided whether to grant salvation.
And at the same time, Su Mo continued to speak. "I once said, thou shalt have no other gods before me."
This was the first of the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament of the Bible, and also a commandment that laid the foundation for the faith of the one and only God. It was just that later, as the Old Testament was replaced by the New Testament, people intentionally or unintentionally forgot this point, and placed the Son of God in a position of worship even higher than God the Father.
Normally, no one cared about this point, but now, this one point alone was enough to find Michael guilty. Because he recognized the Son of God, he already had another god.
"I also once said, thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them."
Next, Su Mo stated the covenant of the second of the Ten Commandments.
Before his voice had even fallen, the bloody cross in Michael's hand suddenly became hotter than lava, or even the sun. The place where he touched it stung like a thousand needles, causing him to subconsciously let go, and it instantly fell to the ground.
The prohibition of idolatry was one of Christianity's most advanced aspects, and the Son of God had also inherited and emphasized this point. However, just as the Son of God's order to prohibit the holding of church services was ignored, idolatry was a desire rooted in the human heart and could not be forbidden.
The statues of the Virgin Mary were a matter of course. The cross on which the Son of God was crucified was also regarded as a holy relic. By now, the cross itself could be said to be a typical feature of the biblical church. And evidently, this behavior was also forbidden.
And Michael's divine might as a guardian god was exactly the same as Saint George's: a cross stained with blood. On this commandment, he had also committed a grave sin.
As for the other commandments used to guide the lives of believers, they were of no use at this moment.
"You have violated the covenant between you and God, and bear the great sin of rebelling against God!"
The words of power turned into sharp blades, completely fixing the original sin on Michael's body. Even six hundred billion indulgences could not wash away the sins on his body.
Then, Su Mo continued to manipulate his mythological ritual, the Seven Deadly Sins, and Envy and Lust tore open Michael's abdomen.
"For I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me!"
Along with the final judgment, Su Mo held the final Greed in his palm, walked to Michael, and spoke the final words of judgment.
"Thou shalt repay thy betrayal with blood!"
The final blood-red longsword pierced Michael's chest and nailed him to the ground.
Pride, Sloth, Envy, Wrath, Greed, Gluttony, Lust, the seven swords symbolizing the seven deadly sins, resonated in unison and formed the final domain of judgment, Crime and Punishment.
Looking at Michael, who was now completely unable to move, Su Mo shook his head. "I gave you a chance. Evidently, you failed the test."
If the other party had not sought help from the Son of God at the last moment, but had held fast to his faith and been devoted to the Lord, Su Mo had actually thought about sparing his life. After all, when the gods of the Little Garden world changed generations, their power might not be lost, but their memories and experience would be much worse.
And what he needed was Michael's memory. As long as he was the true Lord, taming a mere archangel was not a difficult task.
Unfortunately, the other party's faith did not receive Su Mo's approval. Compared to God, the other party trusted the Son of God more.
Thinking about it carefully, it was quite normal. The original Michael who had come all the way from the Old Testament era had long since perished. The Michael before him was the second generation summoned personally by the Son of God from mythology. The current mythology of Christianity was mainly based on the New Testament. Even the divinity of the same god would inevitably have some differences.
Since he was a god summoned personally by the Son of God, it was not strange for his stance to be biased towards him.
"It's just a bit more trouble for me, but it's not a big problem."
Under the suppression of the Crime and Punishment domain, Michael was in a near-death state and could not break free for a while. This gave him plenty of time to make his own arrangements.
If he were to kill Michael just like this, the third-generation Michael would not inherit his memories. Therefore, there had to be a carrier that could export and store his memories.
Thinking of this, Su Mo's figure suddenly disappeared from Avalon, and even from the entire Little Garden world, for a moment. In the next moment, when he appeared, there was suddenly an angel behind him.
This angel held a crimson longsword, had a golden halo on his head, and his appearance was identical to the dying Michael. Even the aura of his divinity was almost exactly the same. The only difference was the spiritual rank fluctuations he emitted.
A Five-Digit level spiritual rank, in front of a Three-Digit archangel, was humbly weak.
"O Lord! Where is this? What are your orders?"
Mysteriously brought to this strange world, the Michael from the Campione! world knelt piously on the ground, trembling with fear from the pressure of the dying Michael's spiritual rank.
As the first god to be created by Su Mo, he was really confused. He had been staying in the divine domain of the Campione! world just fine, fighting demons when there was nothing to do, or leading the angels to sing praises to the Lord who created them in the Garden of Eden.
How was he suddenly captured and brought to this strange place? Not only was the Lord's aura becoming more and more profound and incomprehensible, but even the angel next to him, who was pierced and sealed, with a strangely familiar aura, possessed a pressure that surpassed the limits of his imagination.
So, what was going on?
Looking at the Michael from the Little Garden world, who was trembling with fear from his aura, but whose expression showed no instinctive fear, and whose gaze towards Su Mo was one of unconditional trust and admiration, Su Mo nodded in satisfaction.
A life created by himself was more reliable. Although he was a bit weak, everything about him was under control. Without using any power, he could also understand the other party's psychological activities.
He's the one!
At this moment, he had completely forgotten about using and then discarding this Michael, and directly said, "From now on, his position is yours. You will be Michael!"
"Yes!"
The Five-Digit angel reflexively nodded and accepted the order, then looked up with a confused expression. "Forgive my foolishness, I cannot comprehend your divine will. But, Lord, I am already Michael!"
"What I mean is, become the Full Authority Domain level Michael of this world," Su Mo explained.
"Huh? Full Authority Domain?"
The Michael from the Campione! world widened his eyes, even more fearful. "Isn't the Full Authority Domain exclusive to the Lord? Your subordinate cannot overstep. You, you—"
"Shut up and carry out your mission!"
Su Mo ignored the astonishment and fear of the creation before him and slapped the halo of the Campione! world's Michael, pouring all the detailed information of the mission he had arranged into his mind.
After learning about the world he was in and that the so-called Full Authority Domain was not omniscient and omnipotent in the absolute sense, the Michael from the Campione! world finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness!
Since the Lord could bestow upon him the power of a Three-Digit, then the Lord must have already surpassed the Three-Digit. And this was also the master's order, so it was not overstepping.
After barely overcoming the loyalty barrier in his heart, he finally had the mood to experience the power that was constantly being transmitted from the Crime and Punishment domain next door.
His original divinity was constantly devouring the Three-Digit divinity of the Little Garden world, and his body was gradually being replaced by a stellar body constructed from second-type stellar particles.
His spiritual rank was climbing step by step. The devouring between the same type of divinity was perfect, without any rejection.
Feeling his own power rapidly surpassing the Four-Digit, surpassing the sum of the divine domain of the Campione! world, Michael suddenly felt a sense of unreality. The gaze he looked at Su Mo with was full of reverence, and his loyalty, which had long since maxed out, was now unshakable.
As expected of the almighty Lord, he can do anything! Even this almost omnipotent power could be freely bestowed upon others. If the other gods of the Campione! world, or the gods of the Little Garden world, knew about this, they would surely be envious to the point of their eyes bleeding.
Sometimes, following the right master was more rewarding than fighting for tens of thousands of years on your own. From a Five-Digit to a Three-Digit, with just a trivial price, he could ascend to the heavens in one step.
As for the price itself, which was the Michael of the Little Garden world, his opinion was just a trivial matter.
At least, in the eyes of the Michael from the Campione! world, this was nothing more than a traitor and a heretic who had betrayed the glory of the Lord. To share the same name with such a person was simply a disgrace.
To wash away this disgrace, he had to complete the Lord's orders and establish new merits for the Lord!
For example, the mission the Lord had now arranged for him.