What's that?

The moment I declared the start of the match, the Exorcist clad himself in a golden light, much like how a Paladin would call forth a divine coat of armour. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Coated with a golden hue, the Exorcist's physical and magical ability was enhanced in an unnatural manner.

Usually, one would cast magic power from within themselves, which gave them a finite amount of magic power to work with. However, on top of his magic power, a golden stream of mysterious energy flowed into the colossal Priest.

I couldn't understand what that golden stream was… It was neither magic power nor was it spiritual energy. It didn't have anything to do with souls either; otherwise, my special 'vision' would have identified it instantly.

I couldn't comprehend what I was looking at, and my mind scrambled for any hypothesis. I completely disregarded the Exorcist and his danger as I innately understood… There was nothing the man could do to harm me.

Leaping from his feet, the clergyman uncharacteristically used his pistols and fired multiple bullets at me. Seriously, what kind of Priest uses guns in the first place? Nevertheless, the bullets were all laced with the same golden power; all supplied by the mysterious stream that came out of nowhere.

Unconsciously, a barrier warped around my body, deflecting all of the shots from the Exorcist. They bounced back in ricochets, forcing the man to dodge his attack like a child scrambling away with fear.

Wait a minute… Why would he need to evade bullets laced with his Holy magic? Does that mean Holy magic could damage him as well? Doesn't that counter every Holy Church doctrine that claims Holy magic was only capable of harming enemies of the Church?

How strange…

The more I looked at it, the more mysterious Holy power became.

Perhaps I was doing it all wrong… I shouldn't be looking at the Exorcist himself to decipher the origin of Holy magic; I should look at the golden stream that supplies him with that enigmatic energy. Besides, there was no point in paying attention to the man I was fighting, as he was far weaker than me.

Opening the 'vision' that allowed me to peer into souls and observe the River of Life, I carefully examined the golden stream.

Like a string attached to a puppet, the golden stream stretched for kilometres. However, it didn't take long for me to identify its source—a crack in the dimension of souls that linked the two places together. The stream got thicker each time the Priest prayed, and this mysterious energy strengthened his magic power.

Hold on a second… Does Heaven exist? If I traced the energy through the dimensions, would I get to the fabled Heaven where all devouts of the Holy Church eventually enter?

Only one way to find out…

I sent a trace of magic power into the alternate dimension, hoping to find white, glimmering gates with rainbows of life and eternal jubilance. I'd expected to find Saints with infinite Holy magic and Angels with flaming swords and glorious wings that would never decay.

However, I didn't experience an otherworldly trance. I didn't feel anything akin to a God.

The only thing that existed in that mysterious dimension… was just plain energy.

But unlike magic power or spiritual energy… The energy within this realm was something completely different. It was filled with emotions, blind hopeful energy, and… faith. This wasn't Heaven… This wasn't Hell…

It was a dimension… powered by emotions… powered by… faith.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I peered around the dimension, looking for methods on how this absurd construct could even exist. It didn't take long for me to find my first breakthrough, mostly small holes that led to distant places.

One led me to a chapel where forty faithful believers listened in on a sermon while the Priest prayed over them. Another brought me into a household where a family was praying next to a fireplace. The next showed me a scene of a test-taker cramming a prayer before her studies.

The sources of the mysterious energy were just as varied as it was strange. Billions followed the Holy Church, and whenever one of them offered a prayer, a small trickle of energy flowed into this dimension. The energy was insignificant, as small as a drop of seawater before an entire ocean. Yet, they were the source of this mysterious dimension.

How many prayers? How many believers had to offer their hearts and emotions for this dimension to grow so big over the years?

I get it now… The source of Holy magic wasn't an almighty God in the sky.

It was the collective power of every human being who believed in the Holy Church. Their prayers and emotions combined trickles of their magic power and souls to form a different energy. One that was foreign to the natural system couldn't be explained through magical science.

Faith…

The Holy Church gets its power from the Faith of their believers. Faith energy… I didn't think such a thing could exist. Utilising this entirely new system to draw its powers, the Holy Church can make miracles beyond the understanding of science.

When believers pray with the Holy Church in their hearts, they send Faith energy into this alternate dimension. The more people believe in the Holy Church, the bigger this dimension grows. And with Faith energy at their disposal, they can generate miraculous magic which could even threaten the strongest Vampires.

If they spread news of how dangerous Vampires can be and ask their followers to pray to kill them, the Faith energy within this dimension would become fatal for Vampires.

And since Faith energy runs on the emotions of humans, the stronger the feelings, the more powerful Holy magic was. From there, the Holy Church could utilise this energy for its benefit. Be it to slay Vampires or create miracles to indoctrinate other believers further.

How interesting… So the Holy Church never did have God on their side. No, was God even real then? And more importantly… Could I use this Faith energy as well?

If all it took was for people to pray with Faith in their hearts, what if their Faiths were towards some other entity? What if there were another religion humans could pray to that didn't involve the Holy Church? What if… They prayed to a Progenitor such as myself?

I wanted to ask an infinite number of questions, but I wasn't given the time or space.

While I was roaming the Faith dimension, a sudden shockwave brought my attention back to the fight. The Exorcist, still eager to best me in battle, shot bullets around my feet and channelled a considerable amount of magic power laced with Faith energy. The magic power was then turned into Holy magic that was deadly for Vampires and Outer Demons alike. And before I knew it, a thunderous explosion shook my barrier, causing my connection in the Faith dimension to be cut.

Tch, how annoying…

I could have killed the man with a thought, but I endured this inconvenience.

I still wanted to learn many things about this Faith dimension and Holy magic in general. Fortunately, the Exorcist in front of me seemed adept at handling Holy magic. Case in point, when he saw me utterly unharmed from his ultimate attack, the man threw his pistols away and knelt on the ground.

At first, I'd thought he had disregarded his pride and wished to beg for mercy. But I was quickly proven wrong as he grabbed onto his rosary and started to pray.

At that moment, the golden stream that linked the Priest to the Faith dimension solidified and almost became tangible to my special eyes. Like a tube descending from the heavens, my enemy drew in a vast amount of Faith energy and circled it with his own magic power.

I see… Now I understand why only clergymen from the Holy Church could use Holy magic.

While anyone who prayed and believed in the God of the Holy Church could supply Faith energy to the Faith dimension, only a selected few could draw out the Faith energy. Individuals such as Priests and Bishops could use Holy magic without restrictions, while the common folk couldn't.

As for the reason why that's the case… It must be the rosaries acting as catalysts.

I don't know the exact conditions to draw out Faith energy, but it seems that having a rosary specially created by the Holy Church was integral. Otherwise, one couldn't access the artificial Faith dimension created by the Holy Church.

Draining almost everything he had left, the Exorcist used virtually all of his magic power to pull off a majestic summon. A ray of golden light burst from the crack of the dimensional walls, forming a humanoid figure with six wings on its back.

Golden flames were wreathed around its wrists and ankles while a mysterious choir song buzzed within my mind. Without a doubt, the man summoned an Angel, a mystical being I'd only heard of in legends and stories.

I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't think that Faith energy could be used to create otherworldly beings.

In my scientific career, watching an Angel being summoned would be the highlight of my studies. Yet, after I'd solved the mystery of Holy magic and had peeled off the Face of God… I couldn't hide my disappointment.

"How disappointing…" I muttered unconsciously.

The Priest heard my words and abruptly took one step back. With his power and religion challenged, the devout clergyman shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Progenitor!!! My Lord has given me the power to summon an Angel!!! I may not be a match for you, but a six-winged Angel has the power to defeat ancient Vampires!!! You won't leave this battle unscathed!!!"

Hmmm? So does this Exorcist actually believe in God? Even though he's one of the highest ranking members in the Holy Church? Wait, does that mean he's unaware of Holy magic's true nature?

Ahhh, it must be necessary for all members of the Holy Church to believe in God. In order to fool their believers and enemies, they must first fool themselves. And for them to synchronise with the Faith dimension, they must have more Faith than the average human.

Perhaps only the Pope would know the true Face of God.

A mindless dimension that draws energy from their believers.

Arghh… And here I was, hoping for a higher being, such as a deity or God. To think that reality was far more boring… Once again, I could hide my disappointment.

"An Angel, huh? What's the big deal about that?"

I raised my hand and attempted to destroy the Angel with one spell. However, before my fingers could cast the spell, a curious thought came to my mind.

Since all Holy magic came from the Faith dimension… What would happen if I cut that connection? If that was possible, doesn't that mean I would have countered all Holy magic?

My curiosity beat my desire to crush the clergyman, and I immediately got to it. Using my Destruction and Life rings, I cast a spell that cut the connection between the Exorcist and the Faith dimension. It was a cursory spell I casually created on the spot, yet…

"H-Huh?"

The shining golden ray that illuminated the Angel dissipated away as the Exorcist was cut out from the Faith dimension. The magic power he supplied was drained back into his body while the Angel itself fizzled out like it didn't exist. Rather, Angels never existed in the first place. It was a manifestation of Faith energy that was imagined by humans who first created the Holy Church.

"Y-You… W-What did you do?"

"Hah…"

The Exorcist was tongue-tied and amazed by the ease with which I dispatched his Angel. To tell the truth, I was surprised as well. I didn't think it would be so easy to counter Holy magic. I'd thought I had to fight a bearded man in the sky, but all I needed to do… was cast one spell.

"You sure are a disappointment."

With a sigh, I flicked my fingers and sent a shockwave flying through the air. It collided with the Exorcist and sent him flying a full kilometre back. With how sturdy the man's body was, he wouldn't die from my casual flick. But a few broken ribs and ruptured organs were an inevitability.

And as expected, the Exorcist stood up from my attack, blood dripping down his lips. Forcing himself onto his shaking feet, he stared at me with laser eyes that could pierce through metal.

Shock… confusion… fear…

All of those emotions were cycling through his mind. Now that I have become a Progenitor and, ultimately, a 'final boss' that all life forms fear. I have gotten used to seeing those eyes. After all, they were the same eyes I had when I was weak and feeble.

But now… I was the apex predator.

"If you want to live… You'll have to show me something better than that."