Masked Knight

"God’s Record!" Fielding’s expression changed. He looked at the stone slab in front of Prometheus in shock, "This is the God’s Record!"

Prometheus stood up and smoothened his clothes gently. Smiling, he said, "Exactly. The so-called God’s Record only recorded a little bit of historical truth, but those events were nothing glorious, so naturally, God is not willing to let anybody see this thing."

"According to the legends, the God’s Record cannot appear in this world!" Fielding asked in a deep voice, "How did you get it?"

Prometheus did not answer. He gently lifted the stone slab and walked slowly towards the ’Forbidden Door’ behind him.

The huge door was purely made of stone, but there was something strange about that door. If you put your ears on the door and listen, you could hear some whistling sound behind the door, and there seemed to be a faintly discernible force which could captivate one’s soul.

Prometheus held the God’s Record and sighed. He turned his back to Fielding without taking any precautions, and said gently, "This ’Forbidden Door’ has existed in the temple for thousands of years, and the temple has regarded it as the most sacred place, but nobody could open it... How ridiculous! Even if they wanted to open it, it is impossible! If it were not for me standing here, how will you people know the secret to opening this door? And who would know what is behind this door?"

As Fielding looked at Prometheus’ figure, he tightened his grip on the handle of his sword. He could not help staring at the back of Prometheus’ neck. A murderous look appeared in his eyes as he asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean?"

Prometheus turned and looked at him, and then he chuckled, "Fielding, you must have reached the Domain Master level? You’ve finally achieved some breakthrough during your training this time... sigh... "

He shook his head and sighed, "Actually, before this, I did not think highly of you. Among the two Paladins of the temple, I am more optimistic about Augustine. He is more talented than you. You are way too young, and your obsession is too strong, so I thought you will not be able to achieve the Domain Master level in your lifetime... But this is not your fault. Domain Masters have not appeared in the Roland Continent and Radiant Continent for centuries."

Fielding was silent for a moment. He sighed and walked forward slowly, saying in a low voice, "I never thought I would break through too. If it were not because I’ve met him... "

A hint of mockery flashed in Prometheus’ eyes, "Met him? That guy was certainly an unexpected marvel. All the while those who break through the level of Domain Master, which of them were not extremely talented, which of them had not undergone rigorous training? Even you, Fielding, from what I know, you are the first man in the Roland Continent’s history to have attained the Domain Master level before the age of forty. Maybe I was wrong, the obsession in your human heart will produce miracles... "

"What did you say... you said, ’your human’?" Fielding narrowed his eyes and raised his sword.

Prometheus shook his head and asked softly, "Are you anxious already? It is not time to attack yet, Fielding. I haven’t finished my story."

He held the God’s Record in one hand, and his other hand glided across its surface. A strange glow entered the stone slab from his hands, and lines of weird texts appeared on the stone slab.

"Have you heard of this saying?" Prometheus was calm, and he continued slowly, "The domain is the road to heaven!"

"The domain is the road to heaven?" Fielding stopped dead in his tracks.

Prometheus sighed again. He shook his head and said, "It is time to unveil the truth about everything."

He pointed to the ’Forbidden Door’, and there was an odd smile on his face. His voice sounded foggy, "This door, is the door to heaven!"

The door to heaven?

Shock was written all over Fielding’s face.

Prometheus was lost in his thoughts as he looked at the door. There was yearning in his eyes, as well as nostalgia. He then shook his head and whispered, "How many years has it been since I left that world? One thousand years? Or two thousand years? I’m afraid I can’t even remember it myself."

He then turned his gaze to the shocked Paladin once again.

"Fielding, it was written very clearly in the books of the religion of God, that this world was created by God. There was nothing wrong with this sentence. This world was indeed created by God."

"All beings, mountains, rivers, oceans, flowers, trees, birds, beasts, as well as human. The sun in the sky, the moon, the stars, all of them are the creation of God."

"However, when God created this world, He did not make humans the ruler of this world. Long, long ago, when this world was just created, humans were like other animals. They were just part of the living beings in this world, there was no difference between the humans and other animals."

"But human beings are too scary. Maybe God made a mistake, or maybe it was the act of providence, anyhow humans were so powerful that it was beyond God’s expectation. Humans have wisdom, wild ambitions, and creativity that other animals did not have! In just the short span of several thousand years, humans had conquered this world, and other living species became the humans’ slaves."

"It’s like you’ve planted some flowers and bred some animals in your backyard, but suddenly one day, you realized that your backyard had become an independent world. One of the animals that you kept there became the leader of the other animals, enslaving all other creatures. Besides that, they had also set up their own world and order, dominating your backyard, and seemed to gradually expand towards your threshold... At this point, would you be shocked?"

Fielding asked coldly, "So why didn’t God destroy this world?"

Prometheus was silent for a moment before continuing slowly, "God tried, but He failed."

"What did you say?!" Fielding asked hoarsely.

Prometheus’ expression was grave. He replied slowly, "Haven’t you read about the great flood recorded in the temple’s classics?"

"According to the temple’s classics, God the creator of this world was very angry because humans were full of sin. So, in order to punish mankind, he decided to destroy these creatures He created... " Speaking of that, Prometheus burst into laughter. There was a tinge of madness in his laugh, "Sin? Hahaha... The greatest sin of mankind was disrespect to God!"

"One month after the humans built the Tower of Babel, God finally became enraged. Or it could be said that... He became scared! So, He created the flood waters in an attempt to destroy the human world, forbidding humans from continuing the exploration of God’s territory. What did the temple’s classics say about that great flood? Hmph... God intentionally kept a few obedient humans as the seed of mankind, and it was due to God’s mercy that humans were not annihilated... Hahaha, another big lie!"

"Of course, God wanted to annihilate mankind. He wanted this species which was out of his control to completely disappear, but He can’t! Even God was not omnipotent!"

Fielding’s face was shrouded in doubt.

Prometheus shook his head and sighed, "You had received education in the religion of God since young, and your reverence toward God was already deeply rooted, so even though you were shocked by what I said, deep inside your heart, you will not completely believe me."

He paused before continuing.

"It’s not that God did not want to annihilate mankind, it’s just that He can’t do it! To be fair, the difference of strength between humans and God is like the comparison between ants and humans. When a human finds a colony of ants in his house, can he possibly kill every single ant? Hence, although God used tremendous superpowers to draw up a great flood which almost inundated the entire world, there were still many living beings which survived! Mankind did not go extinct, and the world did not die out too! Although the world suffered great damage, not long after that, it thrived again."

Prometheus paused and sighed. He then said in a grave tone, "Because the world already had its own order and rules!"

"So, after some time, God helplessly realized that the humans in this world became powerful once again and flourished. It finally dawned on him that although He created this world, it was already out of his control and it was impossible for Him to destroy it anymore. Hence, he changed his strategy... "

Fielding frowned, "So, like what you said previously, the religion of God emerged. Am I right?"

"Yes." Prometheus smiled, "But God was full of wisdom. He knew that he could not completely control the humans with just the religion of God."

He stared straight at Fielding’s face, "Have you ever seen the big reservoirs above rivers? Big reservoirs were built above rivers to control the flow of water by blocking the path of rivers."

"Hence, the religion of God is an oppressive existence. Its purpose is to suppress the growth of mankind, to suppress mankind’s exploration of higher realms, and to suppress mankind’s adventurous spirit as well as their initiative to explore the truths of this world! However, suppression is just a measure. God’s fear of humans is great, so he understood that he cannot completely control mankind with mere suppression. Human beings are the scariest and most powerful creatures in this world. Humans are weaker and slower than many other animals. A single human is no match for a huge beast, but now they have enslaved most of the living creatures on earth! This is because humans have wisdom! Because they have wisdom, they mastered powerful weapons, powerful magic, and sorcery, and became a powerful species. And among the humans, there is the most terrifying existence which truly threatens God!" Prometheus’ tone was very solemn. He pointed at Fielding and said, "Which is someone like you, a Domain Master!"

"You people have mastered the rules of space, learned how to utilize the rules, destroy the rules and even create new rules. Such capability has already threatened God’s existence! So, there is this door to deal with mankind’s top master like you! This ’Forbidden Door’!"

"Once humans become powerful, they can’t resist exploring God’s territory. God cannot tolerate such actions, but human’s growth is already beyond God’s control... The religion of God is just a religion. It will not be able to truly control mankind completely. Aren’t human beings always trying to explore God’s territory? Which is why God left behind a door leading to His territory for you humans! So there is this saying ’Domain is the road to heaven’!"

Fielding was full of shock. What he had heard in his entire life was not as shocking as what Prometheus said today.

"God feared the Domain Master because your status is already close to God... But take note, I said close! When a human reached the domain level, he already saw through the rules of this space. Though he still does not have the ability to overthrow God, he is already close... But God will not allow you to become truly powerful to be able to overthrow him! So, God was smart. He will wipe out the threats while they are still budding!"

He pointed to the door, "Fielding, this is the road to heaven for you humans who are Domain Masters! Behind it is God’s territory which mankind tried to explore for thousands of years! God left behind a door for you and make it seemed like you have saved lots of time in finding the road to heaven yourself. But this is just a trap. Or in other words, it is another shackle!"

Prometheus patted the God’s Record in his hands and sighed, "There are conditions to open this door. You need the keys!"

"One of the keys is this God’s Record as it contained the incantation to open this door. However, did you know how hard and dangerous it was to get this God’s Record... " Prometheus smiled bitterly. That powerful Hakone Serpent was already a half-god creature. Even the human Domain Master would be killed by the Hakone Serpent if they try to take the God’s Record by force!

This was like when you have rats in your house, it was better to set up a mouse trap, place some baits on it and wait for it to come take the bait, than wasting energy to try and capture it all over the place.

"As for the second key... "

Prometheus walked towards Fielding slowly. He looked into Fielding’s eyes and said softly, "To open the Forbidden door, it will require all the blood of a Domain Master... "

He shook his head and sighed, "I wanted to go behind this door very badly, but although I’ve gotten the God’s Record, I can’t possibly kill myself and offer all my blood to this door, right?"

"So, I’ve drawn you here because I need your blood, Fielding... " As Prometheus was saying this, a powerful aura radiated in full blast from his body!

An invisible domain immediately unfolded in this room. This was not a pure fighting energy of a warrior or a magical boundary of a sorcerer...

Fielding’s expression was stone cold and there was no sign of fear, "Prometheus, the reason you tell me all these is to kill me here? Have you forgotten that I’m also a Domain Master! Will you be able to kill me!"

"I don’t know... but I can try, because I really wanted to go behind that door... " Prometheus lowered his eyelids, "I’ve already lost one chance to restore my strength, and the only way left is to go home. My home is in heaven!"

He slowly held out a finger and swished it like a blade. Immediately, Fielding grunted in pain. He quickly used his sword to ward off the attack, but a bloodied arrow shot out from his shoulder.

Fielding clenched his teeth and retreated.

"Open up your domain, Fielding! Let me see your strength as a Domain Master!" Prometheus’ tone was eerily cold.

Fielding’s raging roar rang from within the temple. A loud boom followed, and the great hall at the peak shook violently. A boundless aura expanded within the temple and extended slowly from the peak to the sky!

...

On the steps below the temple, there were dead bodies everywhere. Those magicians wearing the clergy’s robes, and also several Holy Knights who stayed behind were all dead on the floor. There were blood stains all over the ground, and Rody, no, the Mystic Dragon, was standing above the steps silently.

One of his hands was stained with bright red blood and the strange glow in his eyes became stronger and stronger.

Below the steps, the long stairs which were a hundred over meters were already stained red by blood. The Mystic Dragon seemed to have walked up calmly from the hill of bodies.

Nedis was already vomiting. Although she already knew the Mystic Dragon was very powerful, she could not help but feel scared when she saw how Rody came all the way up here. Those people from the temple did not have the ability to stop him at all. They were killed by Rody in an instant with just a wave of his hand!

And now, there was no longer anyone alive below the temple!

The Mystic Dragon raised his head and looked coldly at the temple above. He frowned and said, "Inside, there are two Domain Masters fighting!"

As if to confirm his statement, there was a loud bang.

One corner of the temple crumbled, and a series of terrifying banging sounds came from within.

The Mystic Dragon looked at Nedis coldly, "Stay here!" He then let out a long howl and a shrill dragon groan. His body immediately rose a few meters above ground and shot towards the temple like a ray of light...

Boom!

Fielding fell down on the floor, and several cracks appeared on the stone floor. Half of the walls in the room had collapsed. The battle between two Domain Masters was about to overturn the temple.

Fielding’s sword had already been broken into half, the armor in front of his chest had disappeared, and one of his arms was broken. Blood was all over the left side of his face.

Prometheus was also very wretched. He knelt on the floor with one knee and kept panting. His robe was torn beyond recognition with blood stains on his collar, and he just spurted a mouthful of blood.

"Fielding, you’re not my match. Even though you’ve reached the Domain level, you’re just a warrior! But me, I not only possess the Domain powers of a warrior, I am also a sorceror!"

"Hmph!" Fielding snorted and stood up. The broken sword in his hand suddenly shattered, and countless fragments shot towards Prometheus like shooting stars!