Our Family Has Fallen

Chapter 1289: Chapter 704: Illuminating the Path Ahead (2)

Baldwin only saw the Lord quickly rush up to catch the falling Junia, initially thinking that was all, but after a moment of calm, the Lord’s face showed even more surprise mixed with anger.

At this moment, the light that had fallen silent on Junia rekindled, but as if it was being expelled, turning into a stream of light.

What made Baldwin feel even more uncanny was the sense of being targeted, without a doubt, because the flash was rushing towards him.

It was too fast, even Baldwin couldn’t react in time, but it was then accompanied by an indistinct roar from the Lord, and a large hand actually caught the light.

The moment they touched, the flash seemed to perceive something and burst into dazzling light in Lance’s hand, but it was instantly devoured.

This time, Baldwin and the others witnessed an iconic scene with their own eyes.

Lance caught the light.

Or perhaps, even the light could not escape the great power of sacrifice.

But Lance paid a hefty price, the entire arm was severely burned by the final explosive power, the skin was charred and carbonized, and the exposed muscles were not intact, with remnants of flesh and clothing fused together.

Lance calmly retracted that arm, as if it wasn’t his arm that was injured, the scars on it visibly healing, continuously regenerating flesh replacing the charred necrotic flesh, forming scabs that fell off.

In an instant, smooth white skin appeared on the arm, showing no trace of injury, as if it was never hurt.

However, the resentment grew stronger—damn it, I just got a new outfit!

He had only eight sets of formal clothes for the four seasons, one had been severely damaged just yesterday, and the newly replaced one was ruined again shortly after.

Possessing me was one thing, but ruining my clothes was another.

Fortunately, at this moment, the offerings from the sacrifice caught his attention, leaving no room to dwell on the matter, because the offering was...

Divinity +5

"So this is what they call a Saint?"

Lance whispered, falling into contemplation.

The body was probably just a host or a vessel for that light, as long as the light parasitised it, it could become a saint.

Of course, it could also be as just witnessed, with another consciousness taking over, and Lance was very sure that had he not intervened, Junia would have awakened as another consciousness deemed a saint.

Lance didn’t care what it was up to, what it was, whether good or bad, anyone who tried to harm him had to die.

Yet, the keywords "vessel" and "parasitic" made Lance frown, as if he’d heard them somewhere before?

Adding to it, gods walking among men...

He quickly realized something again, his heart stirred.

To harbor the power of the gods, isn’t this the origin of the God of Pigmen?

And wasn’t the last time he encountered divinity also from the sacrificial offering of the God of Pigmen?

The real reason for the God of Pigmen’s failure couldn’t be due to insufficient divinity, unable to withstand the presence of that outer being.

And it’s speculated that acquiring divinity might be related to religious worship, could it be that the patriarch cultivating those pigmen was actually to accumulate divinity?

Also, with the two existences in the Beast Lair, one the God of Pigmen, the other the Formless Flesh, one providing divinity, the other the Heart of Flesh, all intentionally left behind by the patriarch for his plan.

Although these were Lance’s conjectures based on existing information, they logically flowed smoothly.

So, could it be that with all these acts, the patriarch’s true aim was to seize this divinity?

Such tangled threads weighed on his mind, but Lance didn’t have much time to dwell on them, as Junia slowly awakened.

Only then did Lance come to and support her, "Are you alright?"

"It felt strange, what was that thing?" Junia, not being an ordinary delicate woman, immediately questioned upon regaining consciousness.

Without hesitation, Lance seized the opportunity to respond.

"That saint wanted to invade your body to resurrect from it, I thought the Church actually had some kind of holy person, to occupy others’ bodies, how is this different from those in cults, those evil wizards?

Indeed, the Church merely grasps some extraordinary pathways, monopolizes them, and through religious packaging appears glamorous, but beneath lies a hideous reality."

If the Church’s followers heard this, they would probably confront Lance, they would eagerly welcome the descent of a saint into their own bodies, indifferent to their consciousness being devoured.

Instead, Lance’s interference disrupting the ritual, they likely viewed him like those Ascension Cultists, blaming him for depriving them of their "Ascension" opportunity.

In fact, those who engage in religion are all similar, with talk of going to heaven or ascending, all just individuals seeking benefits for themselves.

At least Lance, when using people, offered something in return, while their gains were only in the mouths of those Divine Envoys, utterly intangible, the very laughable point.

Both Junia and Baldwin had discussed these issues because they had doubts about the Church all along, and under Lance’s "education," faith and religion were separated, leading to thoughtful consideration of Lance’s words.

Indeed, if occupying someone else’s body for resurrection, isn’t this, at first glance, a terribly evil ability, how did the Church become like this?

What’s even more frightening is, if saints are nothing but clusters of parasites, then what exactly is the Holy Light?