Chapter 467: The Goddess of Holy Light’s Counterattack
Favor?
Qin Chu found Ekaterina’s word choice odd. Did she really think he was an emperor?
But it had been a while since their last… encounter. With so many women in his… care, it was difficult to… distribute his attention equally.
The seductive woman before him was clearly dressed to impress, her armor gleaming.
She knew he liked her like this.
She had just bathed, her hair, dried with Star Flame Battle Qi, carrying a faint, alluring fragrance. She wanted to rekindle his desire.
And it seemed to be working.
Qin Chu’s eyes lit up.
Ekaterina, the Crimson Valkyrie, a perfect blend of warrior’s strength and feminine allure, was incredibly tempting.
And after being forced to abstain during his recovery, his pent-up desires surged.
He had also been neglecting her lately. He had to… make amends.
“Ekaterina, come here.”
…
Around noon, Angelica, returning from her shopping trip, and the other women who had been managing the Holy See’s affairs, also arrived. Hearing the faint sounds from upstairs, they all frowned.
It had only been a few days. For him, those few days must have felt like an eternity.
Angelica sighed inwardly. So much for his rest.
Big Shaye smiled faintly, glancing at Little Shaye, then pulling her aside. She needed to discuss their… agreement, which was now clearly meaningless.
As Angelica prepared lunch, Ekaterina descended the stairs, her movements languid, her face flushed, her eyes hazy with satisfaction.
Despite her usual boisterous nature, she blushed under their gazes, averting her eyes.
A while later, Qin Chu emerged, his earlier weariness gone, his energy restored, unlike Ekaterina, who seemed exhausted.
If she hadn’t been so… thoroughly satisfied, their… activities would have continued.
After lunch, Veronica arrived, reporting on the Holy See’s reconstruction and the recruitment drive.
She also mentioned the merger with the Earth Mother Church. The preparations were complete. Once finalized, Qin Chu would control all religious authority in the Heavenly Continent.
In the Demon Beast territory, Loseweisse moved through the dense forest.
She was searching for Soul-Returning Grass, a crucial ingredient for Jie Luo’s resurrection, found only in the deepest parts of the territory.
The air was thick with the stench of Demon Beasts. After several days of careful travel, she had finally reached her destination, knowing the risks. If captured, her fate would be worse than Ronald’s.
The thought made her face pale, her body trembling.
Swoosh!
Airi’s blades, formed from her hands, sliced through a Demon Beast’s throat, its blood spraying into the air.
Despite her efforts to avoid detection, Demon Beasts, their senses far keener than humans’, were difficult to evade.
Fortunately, they were mostly mindless, charging blindly upon discovering her, easily dispatched, their corpses adding to the forest’s grim landscape.
The scent of blood stirred something within her, her golden eyes turning crimson, a low growl escaping her lips.
She lunged, her fangs sinking into the Demon Beast’s wound, her throat working as she drank its blood, a gruesome sight.
While foul-tasting, the blood provided her with much-needed energy.
If not for the risk of exposure, this forest would be a veritable feast.
Within moments, the Demon Beast’s body was drained, its withered husk tossed aside.
Her face, smeared with blood, looked almost demonic.
But she didn’t care. She would endure anything, any hardship, any danger, to resurrect Jie Luo.
And… Qin Chu.
That damned bastard. He was the reason for her current predicament.
She would kill him.
With each hardship, each torment, her hatred intensified, consuming her, a burning fire waiting to be unleashed.
She searched her mind for the most… creative methods of torture.
…
In the Void, within the massive cage, the Goddess leaned against a metal pillar, motionless, absorbing the faint threads of faith that reached her.
While most of the faith was now directed at Qin Chu, a small portion still reached her, a trickle of sustenance.
She couldn’t see what was happening in the mortal realm, the cage’s barrier blocking her vision, but the increased flow of faith suggested he was… busy.
It would be a long process.
But she had endured this imprisonment for a thousand years. Time was meaningless to her.
She could wait.
But the other beings in the Void weren’t as patient.
Even imprisoned, she could sense their growing restlessness, their anger and fear, through the chains binding her.
What was happening in the mortal realm that could frighten even these powerful, albeit grotesque, gods?
They seemed to be… plotting.
She felt a sudden unease.
Her chosen, Qin Chu, was in danger.
She had to act, to protect her only hope.
She stood up, her tall figure stretching within the cage, her arms outstretched.
The cage expanded, the chains straining, cracking, threatening to break, as holy light surged from her, turning the cage into a miniature sun, dispelling the Void’s darkness, its heat turning the black chains red.
It was her counterattack.
The seven entities, their consciousnesses intertwined, quickly retreated.
The Goddess of Holy Light, the most powerful of the Heavenly Continent’s native gods, couldn’t be allowed to escape.
Thousands of eyes opened on the surface of a massive sphere in the Void, like a miniature galaxy, their gaze terrifying, their power immense.
Beams of light, like meteors, shot from the eyes, striking the cage, forming a crimson sea of energy, a massive coffin, sealing it within.
The holy light was contained.
Silence returned to the Void.
But the silence was short-lived. Sharp beams of light pierced the crimson sea, and with a thunderous crack, one of the chains broke.
Holy light flooded out, the crimson coffin riddled with holes, decaying, dissolving.
Countless meteors shattered, their fragments forming black, snake-like tentacles.
Another god had intervened.
Chapter 468: The Goddess’s Struggle
The Goddess of Holy Light must be suppressed, never allowed to escape.
Tentacles, like black pythons, writhed in the void, their tips splitting open like mouths, their fangs biting into the cage’s massive pillars, sending showers of dust and debris.
The Goddess shuddered, whispers echoing in her mind, like knives twisting, teeth tearing at her consciousness.
The cage’s pillars were manifestations of her will, her most powerful defense. But any damage to them also affected her directly.
The Evil God’s chaotic, cold, and merciless will invaded her mind, a storm of madness and corruption threatening to overwhelm her.
But she had endured such assaults for a thousand years. She was… accustomed to it.
The chaos in her mind subsided as a thread of light, a beacon of hope, drew the tentacles away from the pillars, towards the massive chains binding the cage.
Crunch, crunch…
The chewing continued, but now, it was the chains, not the pillars, that were being devoured, some of them beginning to crumble.
A crimson light, like a meteor, streaked across the void, striking the cage, a silent explosion, the impact shaking the structure, cracks appearing on the pillars, the Evil God’s power seeping in.
A crimson mist enveloped the Goddess, her form twisting and distorting, sometimes thin as a sheet of paper, sometimes bloated and indistinct, grotesque shadows, like vengeful spirits, swarming her, tearing at her.
Her form disintegrated, seemingly consumed completely.
But on the other side of the cage, a new Goddess emerged, twelve massive, silver wings unfurling behind her, her aura regal and majestic.
And in that instant, all light in the Void vanished, absorbed by her wings, plunging the realm into an absolute darkness, a darkness beyond even Augustus’s spell, a darkness that seemed to erase the very concept of light.
The crimson sea turned black, the grotesque forms within reduced to dark outlines.
Here, only she possessed light.
Everything else was darkness.
But the darkness didn’t last. With a flap of her wings, holy light erupted, dispelling the shadows, the black sea receding, the vengeful spirits within dissolving, the tentacles recoiling.
This battle, fought with powers beyond mortal comprehension, was a spectacle even Qin Chu, Nagath, or Shaye couldn’t truly grasp.
Facing three Evil Gods simultaneously, she held her own.
But the danger wasn’t over.
A tall, elegant, androgynous figure, its beauty otherworldly, appeared above the cage, its aura a mix of feminine allure and masculine strength.
It extended its hands, one slender, one powerful, a corrupting power, the antithesis of holy light, emanating from them, seeping through the cage’s bars.
The Goddess’s hair stirred, transforming into countless figures, male and female, each breathtakingly beautiful, their forms intertwining, their whispers echoing in her mind, trying to corrupt her.
But her will, forged in a thousand years of imprisonment, was unyielding.
The momentary confusion in her eyes vanished, and her hair returned to normal, its silver strands flowing smoothly.
But that brief lapse in focus had given another god an opportunity. A green mist enveloped the cage, corroding the pillars, seeping through the bars, her body beginning to decay, the corruption even touching her soul.
Another god had joined the fray.
But then, a soft, emerald green light emanated from her, healing her wounds, dispelling the decay.
Dong!
A bell’s chime, echoing across time and space, reached her ears.
She froze, her movements slowing, becoming sluggish.
A massive, grotesque face, wreathed in blue and purple flames, appeared, its laughter echoing from all directions, its threads, like a net, ensnaring her.
…
On the Heavenly Continent.
No one knew of the battle raging in the Void, a battle beyond mortal comprehension.
Not even Qin Chu.
But he felt a sudden, intense pressure in his chest, as if his heart was being crushed.
The sensation made his face pale, sweat dripping from his brow, his breathing ragged, the Goddess’s Hair on his wrist burning, its light pulsing.
He clutched it, but the burning persisted.
Within him, the sapling trembled, its energy flowing towards some unknown destination.
He didn’t understand, but he knew it was connected to the Goddess, to the Evil Gods.
Time was running out.
He had to act quickly.
He looked down at his trembling hands.
He had to eliminate all traces of the Evil Gods from this world.
And…
He took a deep breath, sitting up, the Scepter of Holy Light in his hand.
He began chanting the hymn to the Goddess, the words flowing smoothly, effortlessly, unlike before.
He finished quickly.
A familiar vortex appeared.
And as it did, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, his ribs shattering, his body flying backwards, crashing into the wall, cracks spreading across its surface, blood spraying from his mouth, his internal organs ruptured.
Holy Healing quickly mended his injuries.
He slid down the wall, wiping the blood from his lips, his face not filled with fear, but with a strange… smile.
So this was the power of a true god, even a mere… echo of it…
He knew a terrifying battle was raging beyond that vortex.
A battle he couldn’t participate in.
He wouldn’t enter that vortex, but he could still… offer his assistance.
He gasped for breath, his hands outstretched, the Goddess’s faith he had accumulated flowing from him into the vortex.
“Veronica…”
“Have all the followers of the Holy See pray to the Goddess. No matter how important their other duties, they must pray.”
“Your Majesty Edson, have all your people pray to the Goddess.”
He contacted everyone he could.
He looked out the window, the milky white threads of faith, like a mist, gathering, flowing towards him, drawn by some unseen force.
Faith was the Goddess’s sustenance.
“Sylph, prepare yourself…”
“It’s time for your final treatment.”
