Kang Oh didn't celebrate for very long. After all, Valan was on his knees, Sraka's greatsword embedded in his chest.

"Master Valan." Kang Oh looked him over. Evil energy was spreading from the cut. "I'm going to take it out now."

Kang Oh removed the greatsword with his overwhelming strength. Then, he pulled a health potion off his belt and sprinkled it onto the wound.

However, the wound wouldn't close. Plus, the evil energy prevented Valan from moving properly.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm... ok, so go and stop... the ceremony..." Valan said arduously.

"Understood. Please rest here. I'll go and finish this." Kang Oh laid Valan down comfortably, and then turned his attention to Amak.

Despite the ruckus, Amak was still sleeping as if he were dead. The hole in the air, a direct result of Jaila's ritual, had remained unchanged too. It had gotten large enough for an adult to pass through it. How many people had they sacrificed for it to get like that?

'At least it won't get any larger.'

Today would mark the end of Jaila's ritual. Kang Oh would make it so.

"Hoo." Kang Oh approached Amak and raised Demon Sword Ubist into the air. Then, he forcefully thrust downwards.

Stab!

The jet-black greatsword pierced Amak's dried up, mummy-like body. Amak's body shook. 

At the moment, Amak was focused on using Jaila's energy to repel the remnants of Mahakan's holy energy. Thus, he couldn't move an inch right now. 

What if he moved, you ask?

He would explode. Amak's body was akin to a bomb; one that would go off at just the slightest touch.

However, Kang Oh's blade had pierced through his body. Moreover, Kang Oh added an Abyss Predator to it too in order to ensure Amak's death.

Bam!

The abyss energy seeped into Amak's body. Amak's body already contained Mahakan's holy energy and Jaila's evil energy. 

So what if Ubist's overflowing abyss energy was pushed inside too?

Amak's body inflated like a balloon.

It kept going and going!

Of course, there was no balloon that would keep inflating forever.

"N-No..." Amak opened his eyes and said his final words.

Pop!

Amak exploded, causing red shards of light to go flying everywhere. It was like the fireworks that marked the end of a festival.

[You have defeated the Evil God's High Priest, Divine Punishment Amak.]

[You have killed a treacherous villain who led the Evil God Worshippers and spread pain, terror, and death to countless people.]

[Fame has increased significantly.]

[Combat-related side stats have increased slightly.]

[You have acquired the title, He Who Judges the Wicked.]

[You have leveled up.]

The Evil God's High Priest was no more. With the High Priest dead, the ceremony couldn't continue.

However, things wouldn't end peacefully. Amak had sacrificed tens of thousands of people to bring Jaila into this world. Tens of thousands!

These people's souls were converted into evil energy, and were sucked into the hole.

Souls were essentially packages of information. These 'packages' were used to fill the container that was the Evil God's body! However, Amak's death caused this container to shatter.

Spew!

The giant hole in the sky began spewing sticky, tar-like liquid. The amount was out of the ordinary.

It was almost like the water from a collapsed dam. It would probably flood the city soon.

He knew, even without his Hyper Intuition's warning, that he needed to get out of here. The energy was purely evil, giving off the stench of death, destruction, and chaos. Getting caught up in that definitely wasn't a good idea.

Kang Oh quickly took a look around. The Evil God's sacred treasures rolled across the altar. He picked up Nemeth's Skull, Jaila's Bronze Knife, and Ilunati's Snake.

His intuition was screaming that he shouldn't let the evil energy and those sacred treasures touch each other!

That's why he picked them up. In the process, he picked up Sraka's greatsword too, and stashed it into his inventory.

'Now I just need to get the people out of here.' Kang Oh placed Ubist and Sarahoff into his inventory, and pulled out Blood.

His red wings stretched out.

"Please hold on tight." Kang Oh cradled Valan and soared into the air. He then flew over to the battlefield nearby.

The battle was already over.

There were only a few Evil God Worshippers left.

"I killed the Evil God's High Priest and prevented the ritual!" Kang Oh yelled, and people cheered.

"Uwaaah!"

"Kang Oh, Kang Oh!"

"We can celebrate later. I may have prevented the ritual, but that stuff has started to come out." Kang Oh pointed at the top of the altar.

The evil energy devoured the top of the altar, and was beginning to creep downwards. Fortunately, it didn't spread very quickly.

"W-What is that?" someone asked.

"We should stay away from it," Kang Oh said.

"Mm, alright. Everyone, follow me!" Aman yelled.

Although there were a few Evil God Worshippers left, they weren't worth worrying about. 

Kang Oh grabbed Aman. "We should spread out and leave."

"Spread out? Why?"

"I've retrieved all of the Evil God's sacred treasures. That includes Nemeth's Skull, which has the power of Forced Conversion. Haven't you noticed that the mist has begun to clear up? There must be some people here that have regained their minds. We should leave while rescuing them."

"Mm, you're right. Did everyone hear him?"

"Yes, sir!" the Great Forest's warriors yelled.

The Witch's Forest and Bart's party nodded their heads. Asu clenched her fist and looked resolute. Even now, she looked so cute.

She'd been on an entertainment show lately, and had instinctively responded with a crowd pleasing reaction. 

"We're going to save as many as we can. Get a move on!"

The detached force scattered throughout the city.

* * *

The main force had dealt with most of the demon army. All eight of the super demons had been killed.

However, no one could defeat Nemeth. Hundreds of people were killed by his fists. He had felled several renowned individuals as well.

"I think it's time that I intervene," Burkan said.

He had wanted to intervene earlier, but he'd stopped himself. After all, General Hannibal had warned him that the Supreme Commander couldn't act rashly.

But now it was time for him to step forward. 

The tides had turned in their favor, so if he took down Nemeth, the battle would be completely over.

"Please be careful. And bring some guards with you."

Twenty knights stood behind Burkan. All of them were renowned, skilled individuals.

"Of course." Burkan grinned.

At that moment...

Something extraordinary happened.

A middle ranker, Jackie Chan, fearlessly rushed at Nemeth. Nemeth thrust his fist, but then... Shards of light suddenly spilled from his body.

Nemeth wasn't the only one. The tattooed Lubatchi was undergoing the same thing. 

Annihilation Umtara was the only one unscathed.

"What?"

"What's going on?"

It was just so sudden. The troops halted and watched as the situation unfolded.

"Aah, no!" Lubatchi's desperate voice rang out. However, it didn't change anything. His body crumbled and broke into pieces.

Nemeth's body underwent the same process. The only difference was that he swung his fist and foot one last time in order to kill at least one more person.

In the end, Lubatchi and Nemeth completely disappeared. Seeing that, Burkan had a hunch.

"The detached force did it."

"The detached force?" Hannibal asked.

"Nemeth and Lubatchi were revived by the power of a sacred treasure. So the fact that they disappeared means..."

"The Evil God Worshippers have lost their sacred treasures. Now that you mention it, the Forced Conversion mist has disappeared too," Hannibal said.

"Yes. And the only ones capable of doing so would be Master Valan and the detached force."

"That's good news."

"Indeed." Burkan stepped forward. "Protectors of the Continent! The detached force has stopped Jaila's ritual, and has retrieved the Evil God's sacred treasures!"

Then, the battlefield was filled with cheers.

"Is that true?"

"Wow!"

"Uwaaaah!"

"Now, all that's left is for us to dispose of these insects and rescue the people of Franco. You can do that, right?" Burkan said strongly.

"Of course!"

"Kill them all!"

"Yes, sir!"

The brigade's morale couldn't be any higher. Whereas the Evil God Worshippers' morale had hit rock bottom.

"N-No way!" Umtara couldn't believe it. No, he didn't want to believe it.

However, he had seen the proof firsthand. Both Nemeth and Lubatchi had disappeared without a trace. 

Umtara looked around. 'The battle's lost. If that's the case, then... I have to get out of here.'

"Everyone, protect me. I'm getting out of here."

He planned on sacrificing the other Evil God Worshippers and demons in order to escape.

'I'm one of Lord Jaila's disciples. If I survive, then I can gather forces again. Perhaps I'll even become the High Priest.'

It was an unreachable dream.

"Where do you think you're going?" The Invincible Gladiator, Burkan, stood before him.

"D-Damn."

He resisted futilely. 

Sometime later...

Burkan smoothly swung his gladius, which arced beautifully in the air.

Whoosh!

Umtara was split in two. The last of the Evil God's Disciples had been sent to hell.

Hannibal approached him. "I received word from the detached force. As you anticipated, they stopped the ritual and killed the Evil God's High Priest."

"Yes."

"But once they stopped the ritual, the evil energy engulfed the city."

"So?"

"We have to save as many people as possible and escape the city."

"We don't have much time. Get a move on!"

Like the detached force, the main force tried to save as many people as possible. Due to their efforts, they saved several people.

However...

The evil energy had covered the entire city. Franco had become a city of death, completely uninhabitable by the living.

"Aah, our city!"

"No!"

The people had lost their home and their way of life. 

According to Priestess Tasla, purifying the evil energy around Franco would take dozens of years. 

She also added, "Demons will continue to spawn here. Evil individuals may gather here in the future and try to bring back the Evil God's followers. So we'll need to periodically dispose of the demons, and purify the area."

The task of purifying the city would go to the churches' paladins and priests. Tasla would lead this endeavor.

The Adventurer Guild would take care of the demons. Eventually, the adventurers would come to this city and wipe out all of the demons.

What would eventually become a popular hunting ground, the City of Death, Franco, had been born.

* * *

"Ugh." Valan grimaced in pain.

"Are you alright?" Kang Oh asked concernedly. 

Not only was Valan missing an arm, but his skin was pale and there was a giant wound in his chest.

Applying a health potion, or having a priest cast healing or curse dispelling spells wouldn't make it any better.

The wound wouldn't close, and the Evil God's energy filled it to the brim.

"I'll have to take you to a healer."

Since health potions and healing spells didn't work, that was his only remaining option.

"Stop making such a fuss. I won't die easily," Valan relaxed his brow and said firmly. "By the way, good job."

"Excuse me?" Kang Oh looked shocked.  He'd never heard Valan compliment him before.

"I said good job."

Kang Oh's lips curled upwards.

"I did good, didn't I?"

"Cut the crap," Valan retorted.

Kang Oh grinned. "Hehe. Anyhow, I think we should take you to a healer first."

"Head for the main force. We need to see Burkan."

"Why?"

"You retrieved the Evil God's sacred treasures, right?"

"Yes."

"We have to take care of them somehow so that the Evil God's followers can't retrieve them. I'm not in good shape right now, so Burkan's our best bet. They should have a healer there, so they can look me over too."

"Can't we just destroy them?"

"Even I can't destroy them. Even if you could, you'd just be releasing all of the stored up evil energy inside." Valan pointed at Franco, which was engulfed in darkness.

Kang Oh understood what he meant. He'd rather not destroy the sacred treasures with Sarahoff.

"Let's go." Kang Oh supported Valan.

The battle with the Evil God Worshippers was over, but they still had the aftermath to deal with.  

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