Through the dazzling, irresistible brightness, Zhou Yi could clearly see the figure inside.
Her body was protected by three pairs of enormous, snow-white wings, either unfolded or folded, and a simple white linen robe gave her an extremely sacred aura.
Her delicate face showed neither joy nor sorrow, and not the slightest hint of gender difference was discernible. Her downward-gazing eyes reflected only an ethereal indifference and emptiness, as if her heart held no personal will or emotion. She was an angel from mythology, recognizable at a glance.
The angel soon descended to the ground. But it didn't land; it glided through the air barefoot. The gentle flapping of its large wings gave it the ability to move through the air. As it did so, a special divine power instantly emanated from the air, and even faint, indistinct sounds became clearer.
Zhou Yi was very familiar with this voice; it was heard every Sunday in churches—the hymns in which many people sang praises to God. However, compared to mortal voices, this voice was clearly brighter, more melodic, and more profoundly impactful.
If he were a devout believer, he would have certainly fallen to his knees by now, thanking God for his favor. But here, only Zhou Yi was present, and he was completely unbelieving.
"Who are you?" Zhou Yi stepped forward, carefully examining the angel in front of him and asking.
The appearance of this gender-ambiguous angel, neither male nor female, at this time and place, puzzled Zhou Yi. Was it a trap set by Yahweh, or was it the guardian of this seal? Why had it appeared at precisely this moment? These were all questions he needed to understand.
"O mortal, I am Archangel Uriel, under the command of my Master. By my Master's sacred order, I guard the seal of Lilith, the night demon. O mortal, you have defied my Master's sacred order and audaciously approached my Master's sacred seal with the defilement of a demon. Withdraw, perhaps I will forgive your sins. Otherwise, you will surely receive my Master's punishment!"
Archangel Uriel maintained an expressionless demeanor, but in Zhou Yi's view, extremely arrogant words spilled from his mouth.
Zhou Yi responded almost instantly with a wide smile. He floated through the air in two or three steps and stood directly in front of the angel, this being named Uriel. He said to him:
"Forgive my sins, punish me? Come, here I am. Let me see how your Lord punishes me, or how your Lord preserves His honor!"
Upon hearing this, Uriel's eyes, which had been fixed on the ground, instantly widened. Although his calm, silver-grey eyes still showed no sign of emotion, the turbulent divine power in the surrounding air almost proved just how angry the angel was at that moment.
"Blasphemy! O faithless mortal, you who blaspheme against my Lord! You will be cast into the abyss!"
It roared loudly, its clear voice echoing through the air like a great bell.
But Zhou Yi was not one to be intimidated by such shouts. He laughed wildly, and the exuberant divine power within him was instantly unleashed, echoing like an unending tsunami in this small space. The deafening roar could almost penetrate to the deepest point of his soul.
Flames also erupted intertwined from Zhou Yi's body, forming a fiery cloak that enveloped him in a dazzling golden light.
He said nothing else. There was no need to. Zhou Yi raised his hand and reached out toward Uriel. Almost instantly, the void exploded, and the infinite divine fire transformed into several fiery fire dragons that pierced the void, baring their teeth and claws and attacking Uriel.
Faced with this sudden and violent attack, Uriel spread all three of his wings. Feathers, filled with sacred radiance, scattered around him, forming a shimmering shield he intended to use to ward off the fire dragons' assault. At the same moment, a golden spear began to appear in his hand.
He was clearly confident and had even considered a counterattack. But in reality, he had no chance of launching one.
The gleaming, dazzling protective shield he had just erected offered no protection; it was instantly pierced by ferocious fire dragons. The dragons' enormous mouths plunged almost instantly into Uriel's body and the broad wings on his back.
Feathers were scattered in the scorching fire of the fiery dragons, and countless thorns were reduced to ashes. While Zhou Yi's sharp, fiery fangs didn't tear Uriel's body apart, they penetrated deep into his flesh, burning away much of his internal tissue.
Uriel was reduced to a tattered rag doll in the fire dragon's mouth; the golden spear became a mere ornament hanging in the air. Even in this state, the angel showed no change in expression, let alone screamed or cried out.
This situation made Zhou Yi feel that something was missing. It wasn't the case that Zhou Yi's mind was so twisted as to want to hear the cries of others, but Uriel's reaction didn't resemble that of a conscious being at all. If he had to make a comparison, Zhou Yi thought it resembled more of an intelligent artificial intelligence.
If all of Jehovah's angels were like this, then we would truly have to look at the being called God with a new perspective. Having such subordinates makes it possible to imagine what God is like.
In the angelic hierarchy, the being called an Archangel belongs to the highest rank of the mid-level angels, coming only after the holy Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones. Holy angels hold an extraordinary position in mythology, no less than the chief deities of other pantheons. Even Seraphim, like Lucifer, are recorded as having rebelled against God and fallen to hell.
Therefore, Archangels are the highest-ranking servants of Yahweh. In Christian culture, they are referred to as messengers of God, tasked with carrying out God's commandments and administering angelic teachings. In a sense, they are Yahweh's confidants.
So, what would Yahweh, the master, do when his confidant faced great danger? This thought had just occurred to Zhou Yi when the answer automatically appeared before his eyes.
The golden spear, suspended in mid-air, suddenly spun and flew toward Zhou Yi, piercing him. The bright, sacred light at the tip of the spear almost solidified into strips, and the tearing sound of the wind transformed into an all-encompassing vortex. In an instant, an unprecedented power erupted, giving the impression that this spear possessed a divine power capable of piercing anything.
Yes, divine power. At that moment, Zhou Yi sharply felt the intervention of a force far stronger than the Archangel's. This force took control of the golden spear and attacked Zhou Yi. Judging by the intensity of the attack, it aimed to kill Zhou Yi as quickly as possible.
However, the result, as one might say, was not satisfying. Zhou Yi swung a fist against the seemingly formidable spear, and the swirling golden divine fire instantly enveloped his fist the moment it struck the spear. The spearhead and Zhou Yi's fist made direct contact, and then, starting from the spearhead, the entire spear completely shattered and disintegrated. Not a single remnant remained; both the sacred light and the remnants of the spear were utterly destroyed by the flames in Zhou Yi's hand.
This was clearly unexpected for the unseen attacker. The attacker's divine presence began to retreat almost instantly. Simultaneously, a column of light descended from the sky, illuminating Uriel's shattered body. The bright, sacred light seeped into his body through openings in his face, causing his body to glow brilliantly.
The next moment, Uriel's wings suddenly tore apart, and a brilliant ball of light shot from his chest. It flew straight upwards along a column of light. His shattered body, without the aid of his divine power, was instantly reduced to ashes by the fire dragon.
"They're trying to escape!" Seeing this, how could Zhou Yi not understand this trick? He roared and suddenly slowed down the flow of time.
This situation caused the rapidly rising stream of light to suddenly transform into a dark mercury and slow down to an unimaginable degree. Under these conditions, Zhou Yi immediately lunged forward.
He ran towards the bright light that Uriel had transformed into and, with a single punch, pierced the light barrier directly, releasing the luminous ball of light. Simultaneously, with his other hand, he pierced the infinite void, returning directly to the end of the column of light.
He had already spotted a figure lurking nearby, a mass of light and shadow. It seemed intent on fleeing. This made Zhou Yi smile mockingly. How could he let it escape so easily when he had already discovered it?
His five fingers instantly passed through the void, immersing themselves in light and shadow. Zhou Yi instantly felt as if he had touched something that existed between the spiritual and the material. Pure physical contact seemed incapable of interfering or harming it. The moment he applied force, this spiritual-material thing instantly dispersed like light and shadow, escaping from between his fingers.
This surprised Zhou Yi, but he quickly understood the situation and transferred divine power into his hand. Ordinary physical contact wouldn't work, but the situation changed instantly when the divine power was activated.
Zhou Yi's divine power overpowered the mass of light and shadow like a natural enemy, allowing him to tear off a large piece from it with minimal effort. Instantly, a scream rose from within the light and shadow, as if thousands of people were screaming simultaneously.
And at that very moment, Zhou Yi's time-slowing effect ended, allowing the mass of light and shadow to quickly escape his grasp. It was as if it had entered a void imperceptible to Zhou Yi, completely shielding itself from his pursuit.
However, it was clear that it had forgotten Uriel, or rather, abandoned this being. Compared to its own life and death, the being that transformed into light and shadow had clearly forsaken the poor angel.
But that didn't matter. What mattered was, who was this mass of light and shadow? Zhou Yi thought about this and opened his palm. The light and shadow he had just plucked were there. Under the influence of his divine power, this mass of light and shadow began to almost become a tangible entity.
It was covered in an emerald green shimmer, taking on a wing shape, and looked as if it were made of emeralds. Who could it be?
Zhou Yi gazed at the canopy, lost in thought. Before long, he found the answer in the mythological texts he had recently studied.