“Reincarnation? Aren’t you afraid that the Goddess after reincarnation… won’t be you anymore?” Isavel’s brow twitched slightly.
The Goddess chuckled at the question.
“That depends on how you define ‘self.'”
“From my perspective, as long as the essence of the soul remains unchanged, then I am still myself. As for memories, experiences, and subtle differences in personality… those are just different materials used to shape the self.”
She stared at Isavel, her gaze piercing through the surface as if looking directly at the brilliance in the deepest part of her soul. A hint of gratification appeared in her voice.
“And from the current perspective… in the battle between me and the Evil Dragon that has lasted 1,000 years, I have won.”
“How so?” Isavel pressed.
The Goddess did not answer directly. She raised her right hand, palm facing upward.
Before long, a halo of light, whose form and color were impossible to describe in words, emerged from her palm.
At first glance, the halo appeared golden, but a closer look revealed it contained all the colors in the world.
Just by looking at it, Isavel could feel the majestic, vast vitality and creativity contained within.
Furthermore, within the range of the halo’s diffusion, all laws seemed to have been reconstructed.
The ubiquitous Magic transformed into a higher power, permeating the space.
“This is my Divinity,” the Goddess’s voice became solemn and majestic, “and also… your Divinity.”
The halo detached from her body and floated between the two.
“You only need to merge it into your body, and you will be able to cross the threshold of a Demigod and become… a true Goddess.”
“By then, you will have enough power to sever the ‘Root’ of the Abyssal Dragon left in this Ancient Battlefield. After that, even if the main body of the Evil Dragon revives in the deepest part of the Abyss…”
“Without the ‘Root’ to continuously draw power for it, its strength will certainly be less than one-tenth of its peak. At that time, it will be easy for you to kill it.”
The halo slowly drifted toward Isavel, carrying an incredible power.
As the distance closed, Isavel felt a sense of closeness and resonance from the depths of her soul.
The halo felt like a limb she had been separated from for many years; every ray of light was calling to her.
At the same time, the power within her body began to surge uncontrollably, producing a harmonious resonance with the Divinity.
However, Isavel did not reach out.
She stared at the Divinity within reach, her gaze deep. ‘Does merging with it require a price?’
It was her long-standing belief that any power required a corresponding price.
So even if this Divinity was hers, she still felt a price needed to be paid.
The Goddess tilted her head slightly, her long hair sliding over her shoulder.
A look of near-confusion appeared on her face, as if Isavel had asked an incomprehensible question.
“Why would there be a price? You are me, and this Divinity originally belonged to you. Now that it is being returned to its owner, what price could there be?”
She floated half a step forward, her fingertip lightly touching the floating Divinity.
A circle of soft ripples spread from the halo. When those ripples swept across Isavel’s body, she could feel certain shackles within her loosening.
“Furthermore, only after merging with the Divinity can you truly control Divine Power and possess the ability to sever the Root of the Abyssal Evil Dragon.”
“After all, the Root of the Abyssal Evil Dragon was formed from the divine husk it left behind. No matter how strong a Demigod’s power is, as long as it has not touched the realm of the gods, it cannot cause any substantial damage to it.”
The Goddess withdrew her finger and folded her hands over her abdomen again, her posture solemn.
“Accept it, Isavel. It was originally a part of you, your innate Divine Mandate, the power you must take back to complete your mission.”
Isavel remained silent for a moment. She finally raised her right hand, her fingertips lightly touching the halo.
The moment they made contact, the floating Divinity seemed to have found its home.
It instantly surged into her palm, then traveled up her arm, finally merging into the location of her heart.
There was no pain, no impact—only a sense of complete warmth, as if a broken Moon had finally completed its last arc.
All the light from the Divinity surged into Isavel’s body.
Her black hair fluttered despite the lack of wind, the ends dyed with a faint golden halo.
In the depths of her eyes, reflections of the starry sky began to flow, and her aura became increasingly ethereal.
At the same time, a majestic divine pressure erupted above the Goddess Temple.
Even the Storm of the Abyssal Ancient Battlefield was instantly shattered under the sweep of this divine pressure.
The demons near the Divine Court were crushed to pieces by this pressure.
Outside the temple, Saintess Adela hurriedly knelt on the ground in reverence, her eyes filled with fanaticism.
Inside the Goddess Temple, Isavel could feel the Magic in her body undergoing a qualitative transformation, becoming more refined, more vast, and more… close to the source of the world.
Divine Power.
This term appeared inexplicably in her mind, defining the new power within her body.
Except…
As she sensed the newborn power, her voice carried a hint of uncertainty.
“The Divine Power in my body… is very little.”
It wasn’t weakness, but scarcity, like the water in a kettle only forming a shallow layer.
“It is very little, right?” The Goddess replied calmly, having already anticipated this result.
“This is inevitable.”
“Magic is inherently one level lower than Divine Power. There is naturally a large amount of loss during the conversion. Ten parts of total Magic might only result in one part of Divine Power after conversion. However, the quality of this one part far exceeds what came before.”
The Goddess’s gaze fell on Isavel’s face, appearing somewhat indifferent.
“That is why I had you train the Rose Knights.”
Isavel’s brow furrowed. “…What do you mean?”
For some reason, she felt a sense of unease in her heart.
The Goddess’s voice remained calm, as if stating a natural fact.
“Once the Rose Knights enter the Demigod realm, they will accumulate a massive amount of pure Magic in their bodies. You only need to use a specific ritual to absorb the Magic from their bodies, and you will be able to quickly replenish the Divine Power within you.”
She continued to explain calmly as Isavel’s expression suddenly changed.
“At that time, although it still won’t reach my peak state from my past life, it won’t be far off. With that kind of Divine Power combined with your Divine Mandate, it will be more than enough to kill the Evil Dragon that has lost its ‘Root.'”
“Otherwise, let alone the Evil Dragon that lost its ‘Root,’ you wouldn’t even be able to destroy the ‘Root’ itself.”
Isavel’s heart sank continuously, and her voice turned cold. “Absorb their Magic?”
“Of course.” The Goddess nodded as if it were a matter of course.
“Otherwise, why do you think I had you take the trouble to train the Rose Knights, teach them, and let them improve so quickly?”
Isavel subconsciously clenched her fists, her eyes narrowing.
“You didn’t say their purpose was this before.”
“Did I not?”
The Goddess tilted her head slightly, her expression reminiscent.
“I remember saying very clearly that if you wanted to defeat the Abyssal Dragon, you had to train the Rose Knights. But I never said they could defeat the Evil Dragon.”
She looked directly at Isavel, her tone flat but cruel.
“You misunderstood, Isavel.”
‘Is that so?’ At this point, whether it was the Goddess’s manipulation or her own misunderstanding no longer mattered.
Isavel didn’t want to waste time on this topic. She stared at the Goddess and asked in a low voice, “What will happen to them?”
She was asking what would happen to the Rose Knights after their Magic was absorbed.
Actually, she already had a vague answer in her heart.
The Goddess remained silent for two seconds.
Then, she gave the answer that was already predestined.
“Magic is the energy source of life. After their Magic is completely absorbed, they will, of course, die. Even their physical bodies will rapidly collapse, and all traces of their existence will vanish together.”
Saying this, she paused, then continued in a voice so calm it was nearly indifferent.
“However, you must think carefully. Sacrificing them can save the entire world and end this war between the Abyss and the Mortal World. Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted to do most?”
“Isn’t it this obsession with ‘saving the world’ that has supported you to this day?”
Isavel did not answer immediately.
She closed her eyes.
What appeared in her mind was not a grand vision of saving the world, nor the expectations of billions of living beings, but Leanna, Teresa, and Iserine…
She knew that if she told them the truth, they would agree to sacrifice themselves to save the world.
Save the world?
No, some of them would willingly sacrifice themselves, not to save the world, but to save her, so that she could continue to live in this world.
‘They are the most innocent and kind girls.’
Sacrifice them to save the world…
Isavel opened her eyes again.
The hesitation in her eyes had disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented clarity and determination.
“That is what you like to do.”
She spoke each word clearly.
She turned around and took a step forward. At the same time, the corners of her mouth curled into a slightly wicked and resolute arc as she said coldly:
“I’m sorry, Master Goddess.”
“You are the high-and-mighty Goddess who saves the world and can sacrifice everything for the big picture. And I… am just the Villainous Saint who even the people of the world detest.”
Her footsteps paused, and she took a deep breath.
“To me, they are more important than the entire world. If saving the world requires sacrificing them… then I would rather give up on the world.”
In that instant, the hall fell into a dead silence.
The calm and softness on the Goddess’s face finally shattered completely.
Her pupils constricted, and the hem of her divine robe swayed slightly, betraying her inner shock.
For the first time, her voice carried obvious emotional fluctuations—a reprimand filled with shock, anger, and disbelief.
“Are you crazy? Without enough Divine Power, you can’t kill that dragon at all! In the end, not only will the world be destroyed, but the Rose Knights will still die under the dragon’s claws! They will die for nothing!”
This was her honest truth.
She could not imagine how Isavel would defeat the Abyssal Dragon in its peak state without Divine Power.
Once she was defeated, the entire world would be plunged into misery.
She was the Goddess; even if she had reincarnated, she should still care for this world!
Isavel merely shook her head.
Her voice was exceptionally calm, as if she were stating a truth that had long been verified.
“Without that Divine Power, I can still kill it.”
“Impossible!”
The Goddess shouted, interrupting her. Her black hair danced wildly without any wind, and the temple began to tremble slightly.
“Without Divine Power, you can’t even destroy the Root of the Abyssal Evil Dragon! Let alone the fully revived Abyssal Dragon! It’s just sacrificing a small number of human lives. I don’t understand why you are unwilling!”
“Why? Haven’t I already told you the reason?”
Giving her one last look, Isavel put her hands behind her back and walked out of the Goddess Temple.
“In my heart, they are more important than this world.”
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