: Opening the Gates of Heaven

They left the building and headed towards the Devil's Castle.

Barnum's map marked the routes into the city.

Two resurrected corpses, a human and a cat, walked down the main road.

Along the way, Qiao Ye sensed many powerful auras, and some even briefly glanced at them.

But no demons stood in their way.

Moreover, Qiao Ye also noticed that the atmosphere today was different from yesterday.

There were a few other resurrected corpses walking unsteadily on the road.

They moved slowly but resolutely toward New Orleans.

"It's like a pilgrimage," Qiao Ye couldn't help but think.

Finally, Castlevania was in sight.

New Orleans is dead.

Qiao Ye had silently repeated this sentence to himself many times.

But when he actually stood in front of the gates of Dracula's Castle, he realized the weight of those words.

The main road that once led to the French-speaking region is now cut in half by a black city wall.

As if growing from the earth—

The black stone bricks are covered with dark red patterns, like congealed blood vessels.

A dark red light emanated from the cracked ground, and the air was filled with a mixture of sulfur and blood.

Above the city gate, there was a line of scarlet text—

Give to the Lord what is His, and to the devil what is devil's.

The moment Qiao Ye stepped through the city gate, he sensed a change.

The air became heavier, and the temperature rose.

A sticky sensation slid across his skin, as if an invisible membrane was enveloping him.

New Orleans is still there.

But it's no longer New Orleans, a human.

The spire of St. Louis Cathedral was cut in half, and black flags were stuck in the broken edge.

The flag, embroidered with distorted symbols, fluttered in the wind.

On each flag, a huge black bird was perched.

They have human faces and crow bodies, and they are looking down at everything happening in the city.

The statue in the center of Jackson Square is long gone, replaced by a huge withered tree.

The tree was thirty meters tall, its branches stretching out in all directions, each branch laden with things—

Faded photographs, charred letters, broken dolls, rusted pocket watches...

Qiao Ye's [Occult Knowledge] activated at this moment—

Memorial Tree for the Deceased

In the twisted legends of Voodoo, every soul has its own memento. On the day of the Dead, they return to retrieve them.

Qiao Ye looked at the tree.

When the wind blows, the thousands of relics sway gently, like countless hands beckoning.

The area around the tree was densely packed with kneeling people.

are people.

At least he was once a human being.

They have human features, but their skin is dark, even if they have white or Asian facial features.

Her body was covered in chalk patterns, just like the [Bokko's Wife] that Qiao Ye had once seen.

Those people knelt on the ground, their foreheads pressed to the ground, muttering incantations.

The sounds were mixed together, making it impossible to make out the specific content, but a wave of fervor washed over them.

[Demon Hunter Knowledge] provides the following information—

[Demon Familiar]

Humans who worship demons will become corrupted by the very thing they worship.

Upon seeing this, Qiao Ye suddenly realized what was happening.

"etc……"

He whispered to Sienna, "Is today some kind of special day?"

This scene is indeed a bit too grand.

"I don't know, meow..." Sienna just shook her head.

Qiao Ye and Sienna walked close to the wall.

Nobody was watching them.

Two resurrected corpses, the lowest level of existence, not worth paying attention to.

They crossed the edge of the square.

The deeper you go, the stranger the shapes of the buildings become.

Some houses had walls covered with dried corpses.

The mummified corpses were arranged in various poses—

Some were sitting, some were standing, and some seemed to be dancing.

Ahead was a larger square.

In the center of the square stands a statue of a god.

It has eight arms, each holding a different object—

Knife, bone, drum, snake, skull, candle, feather, bell.

It has three faces, each with a different expression.

There are more people here.

Hundreds, thousands of people, like a dark, surging tide.

They struck the ground with the bone clubs in their hands, one strike after another, creating a certain rhythm.

Someone cut their wrist, and the blood flowed out, which was then collected in a bowl.

The person next to him took the bowl, dipped his finger in the blood, and drew a talisman on the kneeling person's forehead.

drum.

The sound of chanting incantations.

Footsteps.

They mingled together, buzzing like countless flies swirling around my ears.

Until an old woman in a white robe came out.

Her face was covered in white bone powder, her eyes were surrounded by red circles, and her lips were painted black.

She held a snake staff in her hand, with a black snake coiled around it, its tongue flicking.

The old woman spoke.

The sound wasn't loud, but the entire square fell silent.

"Loa is listening."

The thousands of people behind him responded in unison:

"I'm listening!"

"The dead are watching."

"look in!"

Today is the Festival of the Return of the Souls.

"Eid al-Fitr!"

"The door is about to open."

"The door is about to open!"

The sound was like a tide, surging in wave after wave.

Qiao Ye stood at the edge of the square, watching this scene.

Sienna squatted at his feet, motionless.

Just then, a hand landed on Qiao Ye's shoulder from behind.

"What are you two doing here?"

Qiao Ye turned around.

That was a man.

His bare upper body was covered in bone powder, and he wore a wooden mask with two red glass balls inserted into the eye sockets.

He held a bone club in his hand, with feathers tied to it.

He tilted his head and looked Qiao Ye up and down.

"A newly arrived resurrected corpse?"

Qiao Ye didn't say anything.

The man glanced again at Sienna, who was standing at Qiao Ye's feet.

"Cats too?"

He suddenly laughed.

The laughter came from behind the mask, muffled.

"Interesting, Loa likes new things."

He turned around and pointed towards the center of the square.

"Go stand over there, the ceremony is about to begin, all the deceased must be present, otherwise—"

He paused.

"Otherwise, Loa will be unhappy."

Qiao Ye turned around and limped over.

The old woman paused with her snake-staff, and the entire square fell into a deathly silence.

Then, the statue behind her opened from the bottom.

A lifelike crystal image rose up.

Upon seeing the crystalline image, Qiao Ye's pupils instantly contracted.

That's his father!

The goal I sought by venturing deep into the dense fog.

Right in front of him, less than a square away!

The old woman approached the crystal statue with a devout expression.

"We have found the perfect body."

She said, "Today, you will all witness the Lord's resurrection!"

"But before that, let us first welcome our distinguished guests from afar."

"Open--

"Heaven's Gate!"

The words fell.

The clouds in the sky suddenly parted.

The blood-red sky parted, revealing a pure white expanse never before seen.

Light gushed out from there.

Then they appeared.

From a distance, it looks like winged humans descending from the sky.

They have flawless features, their gender is indistinguishable, and their skin is as pure as marble.

Holding scriptures in his hands, with pure white wings on his back, and wearing a white robe embroidered with gold thread, untouched by dust.

Their eyes were closed, and their faces were expressionless.

Only compassion and mercy that transcend joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure.

【Angel】.

Qiao Ye's knowledge of occultism allowed him to recognize those beings.

At that moment, thousands of angels slowly descended.

It's like some inescapable destiny is descending upon the world.