"I understand."
"You should go back and rest. We'll handle things here."
"The Vatican will take care of this matter."
Upon hearing this, Adrian nodded slightly, watching the pale priest stumble away. Only he and Savis remained at the crime scene.
Savis cautiously stepped half a pace closer, lowering his voice to ask, "Your Eminence... do demons truly exist in this world?"
His eyes held a trace of undisguised fear, yet also a glimmer of excitement.
"Could the legendary hell dimension... also be real?"
Adrian didn't answer immediately. He surveyed the crime scene—a faint scent of sulfur still lingered in the air, mixed with the smell of candlelight and old wood.
"What you really want to ask is whether Heaven also exists, right?" Adrian turned his head, seeing through the guy's thoughts.
Savis gave an embarrassed smile, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the holy emblem hanging on his chest.
"The hell dimension does exist," Adrian's voice was calm but carried an undeniable weight.
"And it's an extremely dangerous place. Don't have any curiosity about the hell dimension, Savis."
He paused, his tone softening slightly. "As for Heaven... as long as you believe, it exists."
He didn't tell Savis that Heaven had been silent for many years. Light in this world was gradually fading, suppressed by the ever-spreading darkness.
Whether among the ancient gods, the Celestials, or abstract entities, gods representing light were hard to find.
Without further words, Adrian turned and began to meticulously inspect the scene. A bizarre symbol was drawn on the ground, composed of complex geometric lines and indecipherable text, with dried dark red bloodstains remaining in its center.
He frowned slightly—having only recently reawakened his memories, his understanding of the Vatican's records concerning the hell dimension was limited, and this symbol was beyond his comprehension.
"Photograph it and send it back to the Vatican."
"Have them find out which demon this symbol belongs to."
Adrian instructed.
Savis immediately complied, taking out specialized equipment to photograph it from multiple angles. Even though he couldn't identify the symbol's origin, he could feel the powerful aura coming from the air.
Adrian secretly estimated that if this demon's true form was in the hell dimension, it'd likely possess Skyfather-level strength.
Such a powerhouse would be considered top-tier even in the vast reality dimension.
"No wonder it dares to cause trouble so openly..." Adrian muttered to himself.
Just then, his eye caught sight of a familiar outfit.
A man in a cloak, wearing an arcane pendant on his chest, stood silently in the shadows beyond the cordon, as if merging with the surrounding darkness.
"Come in and take a look, friend," Adrian said in that direction.
The man in the shadows was visibly startled, then slowly walked out of the darkness, revealing a sharply defined face.
"Are you speaking to me?" he asked with some surprise, his gaze scrutinizing.
"Who else?"
"Isn't the Sanctum Sanctorum specifically for handling these kinds of matters?"
Adrian smiled faintly.
Upon hearing this, the man's surprise deepened, but he quickly regained his composure.
"I didn't expect the Commander of the Star Saint Legion of the Vatican to know about the Sanctum Sanctorum." He said as he elegantly stepped over the cordon and approached Adrian and Savis, his gaze immediately drawn to the symbol on the ground.
"How is it?"
"Can you identify which one it is?"
Adrian asked.
The sorcerer gazed at the symbol and formation on the ground, his brow furrowing deeper. "An old friend."
He finally sighed. "He really is persistent, isn't he?"
Just then, Savis's device beeped.
"Your Eminence, the Vatican has sent back information!"
"It's Valac, the Duke of Serpents, one of the 72 Pillars of Solomon!"
He quickly scanned the data, his voice involuntarily rising.
"The 72 Pillars of Solomon?" Adrian raised an eyebrow. No wonder he possessed Skyfather-level strength.
The strongest among the 72 Pillars of Solomon even possessed god-level combat power, making them powerhouses even within the hell dimension.
The hell dimension is the most unique of all dimensions, formed by an infinite division, where almost all hell gods from various pantheons can claim a place, and the 72 Pillars of Solomon are definitely among the best.
"Exactly, it's him," the sorcerer confirmed with a nod.
"He's been quiet for a long time since we sent him back to the hell dimension last time."
"Valac is a pretty troublesome demon, with an extraordinary obsession with the reality dimension."
His tone revealed a sense of gravity.
"But with the Vishanti's grand formation, how could he bypass it and directly descend into the reality dimension?" Adrian questioned.
The Vishanti's grand formation uses Earth as its vessel, constructing protection through three Sanctums. Even someone like Dormammu, the dark dimension lord, couldn't forcefully break through, and Mephisto could only send down a projection.
How could Valac descend into reality with a simple ritual?
"You actually know about the Vishanti's grand formation?" The sorcerer was surprised again. Even though it wasn't a top secret, few outside the Sanctum Sanctorum knew about it, and the Vatican's understanding of it should be pretty limited.
"Actually, you have a misunderstanding," the sorcerer explained.
"The grand formation itself isn't impregnable—otherwise, the Sanctum Sanctorum wouldn't need to guard it constantly. It wouldn't be difficult for those demon gods to destroy an unguarded grand formation. The true purpose of the grand formation is, first, to isolate the reality dimension from other dimensions, preventing endless harassment from weaker demons; and second, to weaken the power of extremely strong entities."
He pointed to the ritual pattern on the ground: "For example, this Duke of Serpents, Valac, whose true form in the hell dimension definitely has Skyfather-level power. But after descending with the aid of a ritual, even I could fight him. The Vishanti's grand formation is never all-powerful."
Adrian thought about it. Indeed, in various parallel universes, Earth had been invaded by demon gods many times, and demon smuggling incidents also happened frequently.
The Vishanti's grand formation served more as a filter and weakening mechanism—the true guardians had always been the Sorcerer Supremes. After the Ancient One's death, the grand formation was even destroyed by Dormammu's followers.
Had it not been for Doctor Strange wielding the Time Stone, Earth would've fallen long ago.
As for entities like Chthon, the God of the Underworld, and Set, the Great Destroyer, their power even surpassed the Vishanti, and the grand formation had limited restrictions on them. What truly constrained them were Mother Earth Gaea and the God-eaters slumbering in the reality dimension.
Thinking of this, Adrian suddenly understood.
"We're one step too late."
"He's already descended into the reality dimension through the ritual. This is likely to be a fierce battle."
The sorcerer's voice pulled Adrian back from his thoughts.
Adrian gazed at the symbol on the ground, which seemed to still be subtly writhing, and calmly ordered: "Since the ritual is here, he'll definitely descend at this location. We can simply wait for him. Savis, notify the evacuation of nearby residents."
"Yes, Your Eminence!" Savis realized how serious the situation was and immediately began contacting the Vatican.
Adrian didn't place all his hopes on the Sanctum Sanctorum. Since the Vatican had decided to return to the extraordinary world, it was inevitable that they'd deal with the hell dimension in the future.
Plus, he himself held a strong investigative interest in dimensional demon gods.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to search for fragments of the Darkhold. Now that he had the opportunity to personally experience the power of the hell dimension, he naturally wouldn't miss it.
The Vatican's efficiency was crazy high, and soon the sounds of evacuation could be heard in the distance.
"Aren't you afraid of causing panic by doing this?"
"You know that in this era, the existence of demons and gods has been infinitely downplayed."
The sorcerer looked at Adrian with some surprise.
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