Chapter 363: The Demands of the Deity

Celia stared at Ansu's hand tightly gripping hers, then slowly raised her eyes to meet his gaze.

She had never seen such an emotion in his eyes before—gloomy and obsessive, as if harboring an impending storm.

It was so unfamiliar that it was almost frightening...

“Ansu...” It took her a long moment to squeeze out a bitter smile, and she nodded gently. “Alright, I trust you.”

As she spoke, she curled up in her chair, hugging her knees, and slowly buried her head.

“Ansu, actually, I was lying to you just now.”

Her voice was muffled, her mood hitting rock bottom. “I don't want to die. Our happy life has only just begun. How could I bear to leave this world...?”

“Celia.” Ansu took a deep breath, gently shaking her arm. “Wait for me. I have something to take care of.”

Celia looked up, her eyes still misty. “Where are you going?”

“To the Talin autonomous territory.” Ansu gazed at her. “I'm going to find Freya. I'll use her God-Descent to contact the Goddess of Holy Light. Trust me, I will find a way.”

Celia froze slightly.

Ansu's fingertips brushed gently through her hair as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

“I'll be back soon. Wait for me here.”

There were no other plans left to try. This was their last, sliver of hope.

There was no shame in asking for help... and it would be a waste not to use his connections.

Soon, the glow of teleportation magic lit up the laboratory.

Celia sat dazed, hugging her knees as she watched Ansu's figure gradually fade away within the deep blue magic circle.

...

The northern border, Talin autonomous territory.

A cold wind swept fine snowflakes across the long streets, carrying the crisp, cold scent of pine needles in the air. At this time of year, the temperature always plummeted, burying the entire land under a thick blanket of ice and snow.

Ansu had arranged to meet Freya in the church's backyard. She had been waiting there early. The moment the light of the teleportation circle flared, she eagerly rushed forward to greet him.

“Lord Ansu!”

Ansu stepped out of the magic circle and looked at the little Holy Maiden, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

She was wrapped in a thick, white, furry coat, her hood down. The pair of cat ears atop her head, which she used to keep strictly hidden, now twitched gently with excitement.

She must have deliberately kept this trait on display to unite the various demihuman tribes of the North.

(Actually, she hadn't.)

At first glance, Freya's appearance hadn't changed much, but her gaze was far steadier. The once soft, cute, and gentle little Holy Maiden had now shouldered too many heavy responsibilities.

Ansu had barely found his footing when Freya threw herself directly at him.

She wrapped arms tightly around his waist, pressing her warm cheek against his side, her eyes instantly turning red.

“Lord Ansu, why did you keep such a serious matter from me...?”

“If I hadn't missed you so much and secretly asked Vera about how you were doing, I wouldn't even have known that you and everyone else on the team were cursed by the God of Magic. In fact, in just a few days, everyone would...”

Halfway through her sentence, her voice broke into a sob.

“Didn't I say that I would definitely be fine?” Ansu patted her back helplessly. The chill he had brought in with him was mostly dissipated by her warm embrace.

Freya let go, looking him up and down through her tear-filled eyes. Seeing that he seemed to be in decent spirits, her heart finally settled a bit.

She gently pulled back Ansu's sleeve and saw the hideous, blood-red, eye-like pattern. Taking a deep breath, she asked, “Is this it... the curse of the God of Magic?”

Ansu nodded, his expression turning solemn. “Freya, I need your help.”

“Okay,” she replied immediately, without a single moment of hesitation. “No matter what it is, I will definitely do it!”

“I need you to perform a God-Descent.”

Freya paused. Although she didn't know why Ansu wanted this, she still nodded.

“Alright, I'll take you into the deep mountains of the northern foothills. A God-Descent makes too much of a commotion, so we need to find a remote and hidden place.”

With that, the two of them headed north.

After entering the mountains, the coniferous forests covering the slopes were dusted with a light layer of snow. The valley was so empty that not a single human voice could be heard, only the rustling of snow falling onto pine branches. It was indeed an ideal place to cast divine arts.

Freya walked to the clearing in the center of the valley. Closing her eyes, she gently placed her hands over her chest and began to devoutly recite her prayers.

“Supreme Lord of Holy Light, Your believer offers this devout prayer...”

“Please grant me the strength to channel Your divine will...”

A pure, dazzling holy light slowly emanated from her body. The glow grew brighter and brighter, eventually transforming into a blinding pillar of light that shot straight into the sky, illuminating the entire valley in a brilliant white.

Standing at the edge of the pillar of light, Ansu saw Freya slowly open her eyes. A faint trace of divinity now lingered in her pupils, as if a lofty deity was gazing down upon the mortal world.

“Freya,” Ansu spoke in a deep voice. “Help me convey my request to the Goddess. My team and I...”

He paused, correcting himself. “To be precise, the members of my hero party have been struck by a death curse from an evil false god. I implore the Goddess to intervene and lift this calamity.”

A moment later, the soaring holy light slowly receded, and the valley returned to its snowy silence.

Freya opened her eyes. The divinity in her pupils had faded slightly, but her expression had become exceptionally complex.

“The Goddess says... She can indeed help you. She will unite with the other righteous gods to expel the God of Magic once more, saving you and everyone in the hero party.”

A weight was lifted from Ansu's chest, and the anxiety that had been plaguing him finally subsided.

“That's wonderful...”

“However, the Goddess has conditions,” Freya suddenly changed the subject.

“Is it to launch a holy war and spread the faith?” Ansu had actually prepared himself for this and was already calculating his bottom line.

But Freya shook her head gently.

“No, it's not that. Do you remember the previous divine decree? The Goddess commanded me to collect the scattered divine spark fragments of the God of Nature.”

She looked up to meet Ansu's gaze. “This time, She demands that you assist me in gathering all the fragments of the God of Nature. Currently, there are two locations where the fragments' whereabouts are relatively clear...”

Ansu was taken aback; he hadn't expected this.

But he also knew that the Goddess of Holy Light attached extreme importance to this matter. Back in the North, when the Goddess tacitly allowed Freya to keep the first fragment, She had entrusted the task of gathering them to her.

He fell silent for a moment before asking again, “And once all these fragments are collected, what is the ultimate plan for them?”

Freya replied, “The Goddess said She will choose other vessels, like me, to host them.”

Vessels...

Ansu subconsciously knit his brows, feeling an instinctive aversion to the word.

He could see right through the Goddess of Holy Light's calculations.

Just as he had previously guessed, according to the rule of the "Immortality of Gods," the divine throne of the God of Nature would never remain vacant. Either the original entity would revive, or a new god would take its place.

Rather than waiting for an uncontrollable new god to be born, it was far better to split the divinity into several portions and stuff them into mortal vessels she could control. This would keep potential rivals weak, scattered, and... manageable.

It was incredibly devious...

Seeing Ansu remain silent, Freya suddenly closed her eyes, her brows furrowing slightly.

It seemed another divine decree had entered her consciousness. When she opened her eyes again, her tone carried an even greater sense of helplessness. “Finally, the Goddess urges you to form a holy army as soon as possible.”

“A holy army?” Ansu raised an eyebrow. “Where does She want me to strike? The demon army? Or...”

“Strike...” Freya's eyes became exceptionally complex. “Strike Benalu City. We must destroy it as quickly as possible.”

“Benalu City?” Ansu was dumbfounded. How could it be here? That was his and Vera's home.

But in an instant, he figured it out.

The Empire's Benalu City was the core of the entire continent's magitech industrial system, a booming city of steam, gathering the world's most advanced magical and technological achievements.

Once this place was destroyed, the progress of magic civilization would regress by at least a thousand years. Human civilization, which had barely managed to recover from the Great Collapse, would plummet back into the dark depths of ignorance.

And the more ignorant and desperate the era, the more conducive it would be to the spread of the Holy Light faith.

Freya came to the same realization at that exact moment.

She stood frozen on the spot, cold all over.

The merciful supreme deity she had believed in for so long had finally torn away her gentle mask right before her eyes...

Exposing her coldest, most utilitarian, and cruelest essence completely naked before her.

...