The Angel didn’t wait for a response.

"Spirit Art, Purification Technique, Sequence #1: Celestial Sanctification!"

Holy flames erupted across the cathedral with intensity that made Rey’s Hollow Creature disguise evaporate instantly.

The divine fire sought corruption with predatory intelligence, flowing around obstacles to reach its target with inevitability that suggested no defense could truly prevent contact.

Rey’s Divine-grade armor flared to life, its defensive enchantments activating automatically to intercept the purification assault.

The holy flames struck the mystical barrier and—

"Guh!"

Penetrated partially.

Pain exploded across Rey’s body as divine fire made contact with his actual flesh beneath the armor. Not enough to kill, not even enough to seriously injure, but sufficient to make every nerve scream in agony.

The armor adapted immediately, its defensive matrix restructuring to better resist Spirit Art purification techniques. The flames weakened, their effectiveness diminishing as the artifact learned from the assault.

But Rey had no time to appreciate the armor’s capabilities.

The Angel was already launching a follow-up attack.

"Order Art, Dominion Technique, Sequence #2: Reality Binding!"

Space itself compressed around Rey’s position, attempting to freeze him in place through imposed physical laws that overrode normal motion principles. His Divine-grade armor resisted, but the technique operated at scales that even such high tier artifacts struggled to fully counter.

Rey’s movement slowed to a fraction of normal speed—not completely frozen but close enough to create catastrophic tactical disadvantage.

’He’s not even using his full power,’ Rey realized with cold dread. ’These are probing attacks meant to assess my capabilities, not serious attempts at elimination.’

Which meant the Angel was testing him.

Analyzing.

Gathering intelligence before committing to decisive assault.

Rey forced movement despite the Reality Binding constraints, channeling Ether through his armor to amplify physical capabilities beyond what the technique’s compression allowed.

"Chaos Art, Entropy Technique, Sequence #2: Reality Erosion!"

His counter-technique launched toward the Angel—corruption energy designed to dissolve the Order Art binding by introducing fundamental wrongness into the imposed structure.

The Angel didn’t even dodge.

The Sequence #2 technique struck his armor directly and dispersed harmlessly, divine protection operating at scales that made Rey’s assault seem like an insect attacking a fortress.

"Interesting," the Angel observed, his tone suggesting genuine curiosity rather than mockery. "You’re not actually a General, are you? Your mystical signature mimics Hollow Creature coherence convincingly, but your techniques demonstrate conscious tactical thinking rather than instinctive corruption response."

He gestured, dismissing the Reality Binding technique.

Rey stumbled as the constraint released, his body suddenly responding to normal physics again after seconds of forced compression.

"And that armor," the Angel continued, his enhanced perception analyzing Rey’s equipment with uncomfortable precision. "Divine-grade artifact, possessing adaptive capabilities which I just observed. No Hollow Creature should possess such equipment—they lack intelligence for strategic resource acquisition."

Rey didn’t respond, his mind racing through desperate calculations. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The Angel wasn’t attacking with lethal intent.

He was curious, gathering information, trying to understand what Rey actually was before committing to his elimination.

Which meant opportunity existed—however slim—to exploit that curiosity for survival.

"I ask you again," the Angel stated, his voice carrying authority that transcended normal speech. "What are you?"

Rey forced himself upright despite the pain from earlier purification assault, his mind working through possible responses.

Revealing his true identity would raise impossible questions. Maintaining the Hollow Creature pretense was clearly failing.

Which left—

Partial truth.

Carefully calibrated to satisfy curiosity while protecting critical information.

"I’m..." Rey began, his voice rough from pain. "I’m not one of the Generals. I’m a Searcher who survived Pride’s assault through this armor’s protection. I disguised myself as a Hollow Creature to advance deeper into the dungeon without attracting attention."

The Angel’s expression showed skepticism mixed with intrigue.

"A Searcher," he repeated slowly. "Who possesses Divine-grade armor, masters Chaos Art to High Sequence level, and survived an encounter with General Pride—an entity that required three Angels to defeat."

He moved closer, divine light intensifying around his form.

"Your story contains too many improbabilities to accept at face value. But I acknowledge you demonstrate unusual capabilities for a supposed mere Searcher."

The Angel raised his hand, mystical energy coalescing into concentrated form.

"I offer you one opportunity for cooperation. Surrender all relevant information about the Emperor of Death—his capabilities, his location, any intelligence you’ve gathered during your infiltration of these depths. Do so voluntarily, and I’ll ensure your death is swift and painless. The Five Ancients may even grant you rest rather than eternal corruption."

Rey’s mind raced.

The Angel still believed he was somehow connected to the dungeon’s forces—either corrupted Searcher or disguised servant of the Emperor.

’I can’t convince him otherwise without revealing everything,’ Rey calculated desperately. ’And revealing everything means Church scrutiny that would expose Ater’s arrangements, the Prince of Darkness, my true capabilities—’

"I don’t serve the Emperor," Rey stated, channeling genuine truth into his voice. "I’m trying to survive this nightmare like everyone else."

"Lies," the Angel declared with finality. "Your Chaos Art mastery alone proves Nether affiliation. No Aether-aligned practitioner develops such capabilities without deliberate corruption."

He prepared to attack again, divine light intensifying to levels that suggested this strike would not be survivable.

Rey reached inward desperately, contacting the Prince of Darkness through their soul-bond.

’I need your help,’ he transmitted with an urgency that transcended normal communication.

’Manifest physically. Fight alongside me. It’s our only chance.’

The Prince’s consciousness stirred with reluctance.

’Master, manifesting will reveal our connection to any observers. The Church will know you possess Chaos Art entity bound to your soul—’

’We’re dead anyway if you don’t!’ Rey interrupted. ’I can’t defeat an Angel alone. Together we might survive long enough for retreat or reinforcement!’

The Prince hesitated only microseconds before accepting the logic.

’Very well. Prepare yourself—this will be disorienting.’

VWUUSHH!!!

Darkness erupted from Rey’s shadow, coalescing into form that made the corrupted cathedral’s ambient wrongness seem benign by comparison.

The Prince of Darkness manifested fully—five meters of nightmare made flesh, its current degraded Tier 5 state still radiating power that dwarfed normal practitioners.

The Angel’s expression shifted from curiosity to alarm.

"Chaos Dweller...?!"