The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion - Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Catching Up to Past Sins – 2
“I guess they wouldn’t be able to form a faction if they weren’t at least this strong…” Damian sighed in irritation.

He had poured a significant amount of power behind that [Flame Tempest] spell, yet the faction still had individuals powerful enough to endure it.

“Well, no biggie…”

Damian shrugged as he sensed movement among the debris and detected numerous presences closing in on his location from different directions.

Damian turned his gaze back to the debris below, sensing the presence of those who had survived the [Flame Tempest] spell.

As figures emerged from the wreckage, their bodies bore severe burn wounds and scars from the devastating attack.

More than fifty people had survived, while around two hundred had perished.

Yet, Damian could sense even more approaching from all directions, only to meet the same fate.

“You… it’s you… you monster,” a weak voice called from below, catching Damian’s attention.

He looked down and saw one of the seven leaders of the [Lord’s Disciple] faction clutching his wounded body, struggling to stand. Fear was written all over his face.

It wasn’t just him.

Other surviving leaders of the faction, along with their remaining members, slowly rose from the rubble.

They stared at the figure hovering in the sky, his presence radiating a dark aura, a jet-black spear in his grasp.

But beyond fear, they felt confusion.

This man resembled the monster some of them had fought in the power-ranking battles.

However, he was taller, far more refined, and unnervingly beautiful.

The presence he exuded was vastly more overwhelming than before.

Still, there was no doubt in their hearts.

This was the same man.

The unmistakable dark spear in his hands confirmed it.

Damian tilted his head with a smile, clearly amused by their bewildered expressions.

He knew he had changed, but he hadn’t realized just how much. Since evolving into a [Superior Human], his appearance had undergone significant transformations.

His height had increased from 6’3″ to 6’6″.

His once jet-black hair had turned into a mix of light brown and black, growing slightly longer at his arm joints.

His ocean-blue eyes had become even more striking, glowing like neon lights.

His once-pale skin now had a subtle fairness, and all excess fat had completely disappeared.

Yes, he had changed a lot.

But not enough for people to forget the power in his gaze or the overwhelming presence he emitted.

And, of course, his Awakener title, “Infinity,” remained the same.

There was no way the Awakeners of Solart could mistake him.

The members of the [Lord’s Disciple] faction certainly hadn’t.

They knew the monster had come to prey on them.

But why?

Most of them suspected that their seven faction leaders might have the answers.

Yet, little did they know, even the leaders themselves had no clue what had triggered this catastrophe.

Or rather, they had committed so many vile, despicable, and heinous acts under the Vatican’s banner that they couldn’t pinpoint which one had given birth to this vengeful monster.

“Why… just w-why are you doing this?” Matteo Bianchi, barely clinging to life after the surprise attack, asked, wiping the ash from his mouth.

“Why? You don’t know?” Damian raised an eyebrow, then scoffed as realization struck him.

Of course, the Vatican had wronged countless people in countless ways.

There was no way they would remember unless he told them.

And that thought alone made Damian even more furious.

“I suppose that was my mistake. I should have mentioned exactly what heinous act you committed before I attacked, shouldn’t I?” A vein visibly throbbed on Damian’s forehead.

Matteo Bianchi immediately regretted his question.

He could see it, the dark aura surrounding Damian growing thicker and more oppressive.

But it wasn’t just Damian’s own power.

The sinister energy also came from [Recna, The Spear of Torment], which pulsed in response to his emotions, unleashing a dark mist that wrapped around him.

“Let me tell you what you did wrong…” Damian’s voice was eerily calm.

“I was once a helpless child, much like those who were even worse off than me. Kids who grew up in an orphanage under the Vatican’s trust.”

As he spoke, the pressure in the air grew heavier, suffocating the Awakeners of the [Lord’s Disciple] faction.

“Do you know what your Vatican’s greed for money, for spreading faith, for controlling everything led to?” Damian spat, his face twisting with disgust.

“Just thinking about what those children, those disabled children, those terminally ill children, had to endure because of your greed makes my blood boil. They prayed to you. They worshipped you, believing you would help them.”

Damian’s figure slowly descended to the ground as his [Wind Avatar] form faded.

“I don’t care what kind of nonsense you spewed in the name of God,” he continued, his voice laced with venom.

“But you could have at least tried, just once, to do something good. To actually help those children who desperately needed it. But you didn’t, did you?”

His piercing gaze locked onto the faction leaders, his expression cold and unforgiving.

“You’re nothing compared to that old Pope. At least he tried to make a difference. But you… you never even gave him the chance, did you?”

As soon as Damian mentioned the orphanage, the leaders of the Vatican knew why this monster had been after them from the beginning.

And it wasn’t just them.

Others who had taken part in the Vatican’s heinous acts could also guess what had happened to make this monster seek revenge.

They couldn’t help but regret ever joining this group of despicable individuals, but at the time, they had no choice.

They needed money.

They needed to make a living.

So they took whatever they could get, even if it meant working for these wretched people who exploited others, especially children.

Weak, sick, and disabled children.

They knew from the beginning that they were going to hell for the things they had done, but greed had blinded them.

And now, standing in the presence of a grim reaper who had come to reap them for their sins, they could do nothing but feel regret.

The seven leaders felt their feet turn cold.

Sweat formed on their bodies, their blood pumped faster, and some of them even forgot to breathe.

They knew the kind of horrors they had inflicted on those who had come to them seeking religion, faith, and God, only to find corrupt individuals exploiting them in His name.

There were even darker crimes that had never come to light, but Damian had managed to uncover them.

Things like selling orphaned children for human trials to big pharmaceutical companies, child trafficking, and even reports of Vatican higher-ups sexually abusing children.

Damian didn’t even want to think about it. It filled him with nothing but fury and a cold rage he could barely contain.

He wasn’t the only one. Many of the awakened individuals watching everything unfold through the [streaming function] of the system felt sickened by what they had learned about these people from their home world.

Among those watching was a group of women: Maria Lucia Augustine and her eight sisters, once warrior nuns of the Vatican.

But after corruption spread and the seven corrupted generals of the Vatican killed their father, Pope Alexander, and attempted to kill them, they had fled.

They survived long enough to obtain their classes, complete the trials, and reach the First Tower Realm, Solarta.

But even then, those who wanted them dead followed them into the First Tower Realm, continuing their hunt.

Maria and her sisters were strong, but they weren’t as insanely powerful as Damian, who could take on an entire faction by himself.

They had no choice but to keep running.

To make matters worse, their enemies had even allied with factions from other worlds in order to capture them.

They had been lucky to escape until now.

“So, he’s another person who suffered at the hands of the Vatican, huh?” Maria muttered.

“They’re reaping the seeds they sowed. All their past sins are finally catching up to them,” one of her sisters, a woman with short brown hair, said while shaking her head.

“His face is filled with fury. He’s going to kill them, isn’t he?” another sister asked.

Even though she knew the horrors these men had committed, she still felt bad about someone dying.

She couldn’t help but feel a sliver of pity for them, even if they didn’t deserve it.

Maria noticed her expression before placing a hand on her head.

“Grace, listen to me… They are suffering because of what they did. Like everyone else, their actions have consequences… ugly and terrible consequences.”

“You can feel bad for someone dying, but they don’t even deserve that.”

Grace nodded, and so did the other sisters who had been listening to Maria’s words.

Then, they all turned back to watching the war unfold.

“I didn’t know he had such a history with that faction…” Shiru said with a sigh.

“Wait, other than his name, do you know anything else about him?” Sir Holloway asked.

“No, and I don’t think he’d be very welcoming if I asked about his past,” Shiru replied.

“That’s true. He seems like someone who only looks forward, but at the same time, he wouldn’t let the past hold him back either,” Sir Holloway remarked, deep in thought.

As he continued watching, he couldn’t help but compare Damian to his master.

“The more I look at him, the more he reminds me of my master… I have no doubt they would get along well.”

Back to the war, Damian suddenly felt hundreds of figures appearing from all directions.

Within minutes, just as Damian was about to make his move, they had surrounded him on all sides.

These were all the Awakeners who had become members of the [Lord’s Disciple] faction.

Right when Damian started his war, many of them began to return to their territory.

After all, it was their faction’s territory; they couldn’t just let someone come in and do as they pleased.

At the same time, many wanted to claim the rewards for defending their faction from the intruder.

Damian looked at the newly arrived Awakeners who had come to “save the day,” an amused smile on his face, but the vein on his forehead told another story. “Look at you, came to save the day, didn’t you?”

“Who do you think you are? You think you can do whatever you want? You’re asking for death, aren’t you?” one of them asked, pointing his sword at Damian.

“You think you’re some big shot just because you managed to take down the castle? And even that was a surprise attack! Do you even have the balls to fight without childish tricks?” another one snorted.