"Ah—"
A shrill scream rang through the sky, but it was quickly stifled.
Countless people's eyes rolled back. Their bodies shriveled visibly as life drained from them.
In the streets, inside homes, and across the squares, thousands of human-shaped husks collapsed, then crumbled into ash that scattered on the wind.
The entire Western European Main City had become a vast, efficient Soul Extraction Factory.
Streams of black-red energy, so dense they were almost liquid, surged skyward from every corner of the city. They converged into a colossal tornado spanning heaven and earth, then roared toward the Altar of Wrath outside the city.
On the city wall, the surviving soldiers and commanders watched in horror.
They had been spared for the moment because they stood at the center of the Divine Grace Aura, but this hellish sight chilled them more than any enemy could.
Richard stood at the edge of the torrent, arms spread wide, his face twisted with utter madness and delight.
He could feel his god's power surging at an unprecedented rate.
Outside the city, the Altar of Wrath received the immense Soul Sacrifice and began to hum under the strain.
Upon the throne, the once-blurred Black-Red Figure swelled to more than ten times its former size.
Its outline sharpened. Dark-red armor bristling with vicious bone spikes formed around it, and a pair of eyes burning with flames of destruction opened in the void.
"Roar!"
A roar charged with tangible destructive will erupted from the Divine Throne.
This time, it was no invisible psychic shockwave.
It was a visible ring of dark-red Destruction Aura.
The ring expanded faster than sound.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In the sky, dozens of Aerial Factories were operating at full speed. The instant the ring touched them, they exploded one after another, breaking into metal