The Black Rain

Just as he was about to say something more.

A hunched figure staggered through the corridor, silently passed them, and headed towards Irena.

All three of them were stunned, unable to react for a moment.

They had seen this old man before and only knew that he was an old man in charge of cleaning.

‘Is he going to his death?!’

However, before Leon could grab the old man.

A wave of magical power belonging to the Top-Tier erupted from his body.

The magical power formed a protective shield around him, protecting him as he charged into the ice and snow.

“Top-Tier?!”

Jianye suddenly understood what he was trying to do.

But if he did that, this old man would most likely die on the spot.

Charn didn’t look back, nor did he say another word.

His cloudy eyes, at this moment, shone with a resolute light.

Having watched for a long time, he was very clear about what was happening outside. He could also sense the terrifying power contained within that out-of-control young woman’s body.

Charn also understood that in his injured state, the consequences of forcibly trying to stop her were predictable.

But he didn’t have time to weigh the pros and cons.

For every second he delayed, the ice layer crept closer to the orphanage.

For these children, he was willing to pay any price.

Charn charged straight into the ice layer. A bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped him. If not for the protection of his magical power, he would have become an ice sculpture in a second.

He walked forward, step by step.

His gaze was locked on the silver-haired young woman floating in mid-air.

“What is he…”

Leon was stunned, and Land was also extremely surprised.

Even if that old man was at the Top-Tier, forcibly breaking in might just be a waste of his life.

Jianye frowned, her feelings complicated.

“Hoo hoo…”

Charn exhaled white breaths and finally reached the spot below Irena.

…

“God… please protect this child, please grant peace to this lost soul…”

He prayed in a low voice, his withered hands forming a sacred spell seal in front of his chest.

He mobilized the origin of the magical power in his body and poured it all into this seal.

Immediately after, a golden light, as warm as a spring day, suddenly erupted from Charn’s hands.

This light was not brilliant, but it penetrated the violent, icy magical power and enveloped Irena.

The out-of-control ice magic instinctively resisted. The golden net of light and the azure cold tide clashed violently, making a “sizzling” sound.

Golden light was constantly being submerged, frozen, and shattered, but more light surged forward, one after another, and penetrated.

The overflowing magical power began to weaken little by little, and the ice layer stopped spreading.

The price was.

The ice element, following the magical power extended by Charn, began to backlash.

Charn’s face turned ashen at a visible rate. His hair, eyebrows, and beard were covered in white frost.

The skin on his outstretched hands began to lose color, turning bluish-purple.

The cold gradually invaded his body.

He gritted his teeth, his voice growing weaker and weaker, but he never stopped.

In a shadow of the orphanage, the little girl named Dylan stood quietly at some point.

Her face was expressionless as she watched Charn’s back in the ice mist.

Two lines of clear tears silently streamed down her cheeks.

She had already gotten the answer they wanted.

…

Servia, at the Church of Creation.

“And so, God said, may the lost finally see the morning star, for this is the beginning of eternity.”

Kristine finished reading the last sentence of the scripture.

As she closed the scripture, the first segment of the Sacred Rite ended.

She turned and walked into the church to change into her ceremonial robes.

Next was the second segment, and the real main event of the night: the Sacred Rite prayer.

The countless believers, common people, and nobles below, like First Princess Aphra and First Prince Oscar, were now holding their breath.

Their gazes were focused on the huge, circular magic array, over fifty meters in diameter, that had been meticulously drawn in front of the church.

A tense sense of anticipation filled the air.

Years of bountiful harvests had raised the crowd’s expectations for the Sacred Rite to their highest.

They longed for the Saintess to create an even greater miracle.

“Let the Sacred Rite begin!”

With a loud announcement from a cardinal holding a scepter.

Kristine slowly walked out from a side corridor.

She had shed her previous church robes and was now wearing a pure white ceremonial dress, embroidered with complex and sacred patterns.

Her silver hair was elaborately styled, and she wore a small tiara inlaid with radiant stones.

The moonlight and lamplight fell on her, casting a hazy halo. Her already beautiful face was given an even more inviolable holiness.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, she walked steadily into the center of the magic array.

Dozens of high-tier priests, in white robes with gold trim, stood around the array in specific positions, their expressions solemn.

There were no unnecessary words.

With a gesture from the cardinal, all the high-tier priests closed their eyes and clasped their hands in front of their chests.

A low and deep chanting of hymns began to sound.

At first, it was just a faint resonance, but it soon merged into a grand and solemn wave of sound.

At the same time, a pure golden light lit up on their bodies.

Streams of magical light, under guidance, extended from their bodies and poured into the complex patterns of the array at their feet.

“Voom.”

The array let out a low resonance.

The patterns gradually lit up with a brilliant golden light, starting from the outer edge and quickly converging towards the center.

The light grew brighter and brighter, illuminating the entire church as if it were daytime.

A sacred aura spread out. Many devout believers couldn’t help but shed tears and whisper prayers in unison.

Kristine, at the center of the array, became the focal point of all the converging energy.

She let her hands hang naturally at her sides, tilted her head back slightly, and closed her eyes.

Her long eyelashes cast small shadows in the light.

She could feel a vast magical power pouring into the center of the array.

She took a deep breath, her cherry lips parted slightly, and her ethereal chant joined the priests’ chorus.

Her voice was not loud, but it penetrated all the other sounds and reached everyone’s ears clearly.

Under Kristine’s guidance, the huge golden energy that had gathered at the center of the array soared.

It transformed into a huge golden pillar of light, dozens of meters in diameter, which shot up from Kristine and into the deep night sky.

The pillar of light tore through the clouds and converged at a point high in the sky.

Countless people looked up, firmly believing that the pillar of light would transform into a brilliant rain of golden light in the sky, bringing God’s blessing to this land.

Aphra and Oscar’s gazes followed the pillar of light that reached the heavens, a trace of shock on their faces.

Although they had seen it several times, this year’s scale was clearly even larger than before.

The only one in the entire venue who did not look up was the former Pope, Randolph.

He sat in his seat, gazing at Kristine, his expression unreadable.

No one knew what he was thinking.

The hymn reached its climax, and the brightness of the pillar of light also reached its peak!

Countless people held their breath, waiting for the rain of light, which symbolized good fortune, to descend.