Huh? What do you mean your mother is one of the seven deadly sins?!

The combination of the name "City of Angels" and the word "Succubus Queen" feels completely out of place.

"That's right."

Liu Ruyan turned around, her blood-red eyes flashing with a strange light.

You'll see when you get there.

Liu Ruyan didn't explain much, but just smiled mysteriously and waved her hand gently.

A crimson portal silently opened in the center of the palace, its interior radiating a pure, almost holy light that contrasted sharply with the dark red of the abyss.

"Let's go, Xia."

Liu Ruyan reached out her hand, her eyes filled with encouragement.

"Remember, whatever you see, don't be surprised."

Lin Xia looked at the door that radiated a holy light, took a deep breath, and suppressed the doubts in her heart.

"Um."

Seeing that Lin Xia was ready, Liu Ruyan took his hand without saying a word and stepped through the door that was a blend of crimson and purity.

The next second, Lin Xia felt a change in the surrounding environment.

Lin Xia subconsciously looked up and was instantly taken aback by the scene before her.

City of Angels.

The name perfectly matches the scene before us.

Pure, almost transparent white light gently bathed every corner, enveloping the entire city in a sacred and tranquil atmosphere.

The building soars into the clouds, with smooth and elegant lines. It is made entirely of stone that emits a faint white glow, and the spires and arches are carved with intricate and sacred patterns.

The streets were wide and clean, with strange plants growing on both sides that emitted a faint glow, and the air was filled with a refreshing scent, like that of a forest after the rain.

The residents were dressed in simple white robes or light-colored clothing, their faces beaming with peaceful and contented smiles.

They strolled leisurely along the street or chatted quietly in the open square, while children chased after glowing butterflies, their laughter ringing out like silver bells.

In the center of the city stands a pure white statue of an angel.

Everything seemed so harmonious and beautiful, full of order and peace, exactly what Lin Xia imagined paradise should be like.

"this……"

Lin Xia was completely dumbfounded. He turned to look at his mother, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Mom, this doesn't match what you said at all!"

This place was so beautiful that he questioned his existence. What was wrong with it?

Liu Ruyan's lips curled into a meaningful smile. She didn't answer directly, but instead extended her slender finger and gently wiped it in front of Lin Xia's eyes.

"Xia, take another look now."

Lin Xia felt as if an invisible filter had been instantly torn away from her eyes.

Lin Xia blinked and looked at the holy city again.

Om-!

An indescribable chill instantly shot from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my head!

Where is the holy light now?

The entire city was shrouded in a thick, murky, dark red halo, like congealed blood.

The elegant buildings were twisted and deformed, their surfaces covered with writhing, dark vein-like patterns, emitting a nauseating, sweet-smelling odor.

The so-called residents on the street no longer had peaceful smiles on their faces, but a kind of fanatical, numb piety. Their eyes were empty, and their movements were stiff, like puppets on strings.

The most terrifying place is the city center!

There stood a colossal statue, no longer a holy angel, but a twisted monster with broken bone wings on its back, a blurred face, and an aura of endless greed and malice!

Beneath the statue, a huge pool of blood churned with a viscous, dark red liquid, constantly bubbling and emitting a strong stench of blood and sulfur.

What made Lin Xia's scalp tingle even more was that the residents were lining up in a long queue, their expressions frenzied, and walking step by step toward the blood pool!

They chanted incoherent prayers filled with morbid fanaticism.

"Praise be to our Lord! We offer our flesh and blood! For eternity!"

"Faith is life! Infused with the Holy Blood! Receiving Glory!"

"For God! For God!"

Then, the person at the very front of the line, without hesitation, even with a relieved smile, jumped into the churning pool of blood!

Pfft!

Pfft!

Accompanied by a tooth-grinding sizzle and a faint scream, the jumper was instantly swallowed and melted by the blood pool, leaving not even bone fragments behind, only a few wisps of smoke and larger blood bubbles churning on the surface of the pool.

The procession, however, continued to advance numbly and orderly, as if performing a sacred sacrificial ritual.

"vomit……"

Lin Xia felt a churning in his stomach, and the intense nausea and fear made his face turn pale. He couldn't help but dry heave.

This is not paradise.

This is clearly a slaughterhouse from hell!

They are a hundred times more terrifying than the captive blood prey in Soto City!

At least those who eat blood still know fear, but the people here have been completely brainwashed and are willingly heading towards destruction!

Lin Xia turned to look at Liu Ruyan, her voice trembling with disbelief.

"Mom! This...this so-called angel, isn't he just an evil god?!"

A cold glint flashed in Liu Ruyan's bloodshot eyes.

"As I've said before, you can't judge things by appearances alone; labels are often put on by the victors."

"Now, do you understand? So-called gods do not necessarily represent light, and demons in the abyss are not necessarily all evil."

"Power itself is neither good nor evil; the key lies in the person who wields it and what it is used for."

Lin Xia looked at the pool of blood that was constantly devouring lives, and then at her mother's calm yet compassionate profile, her heart churning with turmoil.

Lin Xia vaguely understood the deeper meaning behind her mother's previous words, but the shock of the scene before her was too great.

Why would the gods do this?

Why can't the mother just say it directly?

Just how terrifying are these so-called rules and regulations?

Lin Xia opened her mouth, countless questions stuck in her throat, but seeing her mother's eyes, she swallowed her words and simply nodded heavily.

Lin Xia believed that her mother must have had a compelling reason for not telling him.

"Alright, that's enough of the education. Let's get down to business."

Liu Ruyan's tone instantly returned to its usual queen-like crispness, as if the hellish scene she had just witnessed was merely an unpleasant movie.

Liu Ruyan's sharp gaze swept over the magnificent church in the city center.

The next second, Lin Xia felt a blur before her eyes, and her body was enveloped by a gentle force.

When he looked again, he and his mother were already in a secluded corridor inside the church.

The place was dimly lit, filled with a rich incense aroma and... a deeper, more pungent smell of blood, barely masked by the spices.

A figure dressed in a pure white robe, with two pairs of wings emitting a faint white light folded behind him, was kneeling with his back to them before a small statue of an evil god, seemingly engaged in devout meditation.

The figure emanated a pure yet faint power fluctuation that was out of place with its surroundings—this was the true angel?

Or perhaps, an angel deceived by an evil god?