If not for seeing it with her own eyes, no one would believe that beneath Antler City, the southern hub, there was such a vast altar hidden away.
Perhaps, compared to the thousand-year capital Rodel, it lacked a trace of mystery and beauty; perhaps, compared to the Dusk Ruins at Titan’s Cliff, it was a little less solemn and grand. Yet even someone as well-traveled as Vyea could not deny the magnitude and wonder of this altar beneath Antler City.
Pale gray mist enveloped the entire underground altar, everything blurred and indistinct. Even Vyea, whose eyes missed little, began to suspect that this altar hollowed out the entire underside of the city.
“This is the end of the sewer…”
Anna said softly, her sky-blue eyes growing calm.
Ever since they entered the sewers, her behavior had become much more restrained. It wasn’t just because she lost to Vyea, but something about this place affected her.
This was a land where the gods descended.
As a believer, it was necessary for her to remain as silent and solemn as possible.
“Wow~ wow~ wow!”
On the other side, Xiaolu cried out in awe. She’d been in this city for decades and never realized there was something like this beneath her feet!
Hmm?
Suddenly, Xiaolu flexed her palm in midair, her eyes filled with puzzlement. The air here actually blocked the flow of information.
That is to say, no method of transmitting messages could function in this place.
“Yeye-jie, communication is forbidden here!” Xiaolu reminded her, bubbling with excitement.
“Hmm. Not simple at all…”
Vyea replied lightly, standing on the edge amidst broken walls and ruins, gazing into the distance at the altar. There, shrouded in gray haze and impossible to see clearly, a faint scent of blood drifted from within.
It seemed the ritual had already begun.
She had come to this city more than once before, yet never discovered such a grand altar hidden underground.
“Anna, what’s at the center of the altar?”
“Sorry, I don’t know. And I can’t tell you.”
Anna shook her head slightly while tidying the folds of her black dress. At least, as a believer, she had that basic professional ethic.
“And besides, as I’ve said, bringing you here was not my own will. It was the guidance of the Evil God.”
“Oh?”
Suddenly.
Vyea felt her heart thumping wildly, the Hero’s Mark on her chest beginning to burn.
“Come…”
“Please come…”
“Please, come over here…”
A whispering summons, as soft as fine rain, echoed from the center of the altar, as if welcoming her arrival.
“Did you hear that?” Vyea covered her ears, only to find the voices echoed inside her mind, again and again.
Anna looked blankly at Little White Fur, pondering for a long while before snapping back to her senses, realizing why Vyea had said “did you hear” when there were only two people here.
So, the Spirit of the All-Seeing Eye had always been following them?
But.
Aside from the sound of trickling water, what other noise could there be here? Anna wondered silently, but replied, “Maybe you offended the Evil God, and now He wants to have a word with you.”
How could there be so many blessings in the world? Hah, if you offend the Evil God and still expect to escape?
Anna thought darkly.
“Little White Fur, how about you and I pray and chant the Evil God’s revered name together? Maybe things will get better.”
As she spoke, Anna clasped her hands, lowering her voice in prayer.
“Master of Resurrection and Rebirth.
My flesh is but a dying candle in the wind,
Yet my soul gazes up at the eternal morning star.
I beg You to turn the water of the River Jordan into oil,
To mix it with the prophet Elisha’s salt…”
Sincere words of prayer poured from Anna’s lips one after another, and at the same time, a subtle trembling began at the center of the altar, growing steadily stronger!
Rumble—!
“Stop!”
Vyea’s expression changed drastically as she turned toward Anna and shouted, “Stop at once!”
Anna continued chanting the prayer, as if she hadn’t heard Vyea at all. Her voice grew louder, filled with a divine resonance:
“Let this mortal body become a vessel of testimony—
To be healed, revealing Your might,
Or to endure, bearing witness to Your grace…”
At that moment, it was as if ten thousand voices chanted in unison!
Dong~!
A heavy, ancient bell tolled in the altar’s center, sending ripples through the dense gray fog.
“Yeye-jie, that one’s not right in the head!” Xiaolu panicked at the sight of these anomalies. “We should run! Let’s get out of here!”
“I’m right here. What’s there to panic about?” Vyea said. “Don’t be afraid.”
She stood there, her petite frame exuding an unshakable steadiness like a mountain.
Xiaolu suddenly fell silent. She realized, even if her body had become a Slime-girl, Vyea’s heroic pride was still etched deep in her bones.
Such a person would never fall!
“Divine Power, Third — Equilibrium of the White Tiger.”
Vyea stepped forward, for the first time solemnly declaring the full name of her power. A milky-white aura burst forth, cloaking her like an emperor’s presence, balancing completely between the strength of a Hero and the body of a monster girl!
Now, she could unleash her powers as she wished, without fear of backlash from overuse.
In the past, faced with such a situation, she wouldn’t have bothered with troublesome powers—she’d just wield the holy sword with her own body and cut everything down.
Anna lifted her gaze. The blue in her eyes had turned pitch-black, as deep as an abyss. She looked at Vyea, the corners of her mouth twisting into an inexplicable smile.
The Evil God had descended.
“Divine Power,”
Vyea stepped forward again, facing Anna, raising her not-so-large fist. At this moment, she was truly furious. From the moment she entered Antler City, someone had been watching her from the shadows.
And then, everything had been set up just for her—to lure her here?
This was not amusing.
Vyea spoke in a low voice:
“Second — Divine Strength of the Bull!”
Her punch seemed light and effortless, yet the Evil God-possessed Anna was forced to retreat again and again.
Boom!
An unstoppable force poured from Vyea’s fist. Xiaolu felt the entire underground palace tremble! Dust and pebbles rained down from the ceiling!
“This power… it really is you!” Anna’s black eyes were full of delight. She spread her arms wide, as if wanting to embrace something. “Aren’t you afraid a single punch will smash this place down, and the whole city with it?”
“You underestimate my control over my own power.”
Vyea’s face remained cold as she raised her fist at Anna, then slowly opened her palm, proclaiming solemnly like a deity:
“Divine Power, Eighth — Departed Soul of the Spiritual Goat!”
Anna suddenly stiffened, her pupils flickering between black and blue, her beautiful face twisting with pain.
The black spirit within her was being forcefully dragged out by an invisible hand!
“Come out and face me!”
“No—wait! I mean you no harm!” The Evil God-possessed Anna spoke rapidly. “An old friend of yours entrusted me to return something she left for you!”
Seeing Vyea only hesitated for a moment, without stopping her actions, Anna hurriedly added, panicked:
“Do you know? Flavail left you a child before she fell!”
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