Familiar Void Power? A being that’s not to be trifled with?!
After hearing the Goddess of Life’s words, everyone was shocked once again.
Even the Goddess of Life considered it a “familiar existence that’s not to be trifled with.”
Could there really be beings in this world that even gods find troublesome?
…Or perhaps the Goddess meant that behind the Blood Demon stood another god?
Otherwise, her words wouldn’t make sense!
So this was just another petty conflict between gods? ‘How annoying,’ Omili thought. ‘And this time it even involved Little Truth!’
Since coming to work under the Goddess of Life, Omili had often come across gossip among the gods.
Her illusion of divinity had shattered completely, but she quickly made peace with it and even found it refreshing.
Because if the Goddess of Life were the kind of solemn, emotionless program-deity she had imagined, there was no way she’d allow Omili to flirt with the Saintesses…
The current Goddess of Life was rather selfish and cared about face.
As long as her interests and dignity weren’t affected, she didn’t care what anyone did.
Omili once saw a genius mage teasing Wisdom for ages in the library without facing any punishment.
Later, when Omili asked a colleague how to handle such a situation, the colleague simply said:
“If the Holy Maiden doesn’t like being treated that way, she’ll go complain to the Church or the Goddess herself. There’s no need to meddle.”
Omili found that reasonable and afterwards grew even bolder with the Saintesses…
Tia, on the other hand, was only half-understanding.
Was the Goddess of Life subtly hinting at the existence of the Hidden One?
If even the deities considered that being troublesome, Tia could only guess it was the Hidden One.
But if that were the case, why would the Hidden One use the Blood Demon to target Little Mist? She couldn’t figure it out—not at all…
Tia’s brain was struggling to keep up. These big shots had schemes layered upon schemes.
Meanwhile, Truth’s face flickered with displeasure as she keenly sensed a trace of killing intent from the Goddess of Life.
‘So the Goddess of Life wants to kill me outright? Seriously? Just because I made you lose a little face? That’s way too petty!’
No way! Following the Goddess of Life to that Fountain of Life could only lead to trouble!
So Truth touched her collarbone again and said with a hint of relief:
“Huh? It seems my pain has lessened a bit, and the demon aura has faded slightly too. Goddess, is this the effect of your divine miracle?!”
Truth gazed at the statue of the Goddess of Life with adoration.
“Is that how it is? Goddess, are you afraid my body can’t handle such a massive amount of Purification Mana all at once, so you decided to slowly peel away the Blood Demon’s aura from me out of consideration?”
“Uh… is… that so?” The Goddess of Life was a little stunned.
Everyone else also wore expressions of sudden understanding.
What? The Goddess hadn’t purified the demonic aura all this time because she was taking care of the Holy Maiden’s frail body!
They had thought the Goddess was incapable. So that was it…
Then the Goddess of Life carefully examined the demonic aura on Truth again.
She found that it had indeed decreased a little, and was steadily diminishing over time—just too slow to be obvious.
At this rate, complete purification would take nearly a month.
‘So the demonic aura fades on its own!’ The Goddess of Life realized.
While the Goddess was still pondering, Tia suddenly received guidance from a certain high figure in her mind.
She immediately stepped forward to support Truth and said:
“So, the Holy Maiden just needs to rest here quietly for a while? Wonderful! Thank you for your care, Goddess! Truth, pay your respects. Don’t be rude to the Goddess!”
Truth hurriedly performed a somewhat awkward Saintess Ritual. “Thank you for your care, Goddess of Life!”
“Mmhm… yes, that’s right. I was considering Truth’s body from the very start.” The Goddess of Life cleared her throat and declared:
“Let Truth recuperate in the cathedral for a while. According to my treatment, she should recover in about a month. In the meantime, I will send two more Shadow Guards to protect Truth and also suppress those blasphemers.”
“Goddess, could the Holy Maiden recuperate in Wangdu instead?”
At that moment, Ka Rui suddenly stepped forward.
“All academies will start classes in two weeks. If the Holy Maiden rests here, she’ll miss a lot of time! So I suggest we take the Holy Maiden to Wangdu for recuperation. There she can receive better care!”
“Huh?!” Truth glared fiercely at Ka Rui for his sudden interruption. ‘Damn it, does this priest really want me to go to Wangdu and be a good student that badly?’
Before the Goddess could respond, Truth clutched her chest and said with apparent pain:
“No. When Senior Omili carried me over just now, I felt short of breath and chest tightness, as if from too much movement. Long-distance travel would be very uncomfortable, I think.”
Tia was momentarily stunned, then quickly chimed in:
“Exactly! Didn’t we already say the Holy Maiden needs rest? Wouldn’t forcing her to travel all the way to Wangdu worsen her condition, Senior Ka Rui?”
“Then I’ll just teleport Little Truth there slowly,” Omili shrugged. Even at her slowest, it would only take a week to reach Wangdu.
“No! Your hands wander!” Truth refused decisively. Ka Rui also put his hands on his hips and said to Omili:
“Exactly! Your hands are far from clean. Stay away from the Holy Maiden!”
Ka Rui believed that Omili was definitely responsible for Truth becoming so wanton. So sending Truth to Wangdu wasn’t just about re-learning etiquette—it was also about teaching her shame!
“Hey?! Where am I not clean?!” Omili replied sheepishly, then quickly changed the subject.
“R-right! What about an Ultra-Long Distance Teleportation Array? One direct jump from Deya City to Wangdu.”
Ka Rui gave Omili a contemptuous glance at her feigned ignorance. “Ultra-Long Distance Teleportation Array? Do you think the Church is as rich as those local emperors in the North Empire?”
“Uh, well…”
What followed was Ka Rui and Omili proposing several methods to send Truth to Wangdu, but Truth and Tia rejected them one after another.
The three sides argued endlessly until the Goddess of Life, annoyed, silenced everyone.
“Let Truth finish her recuperation before departing. Don’t worry about Wangdu—I’ll have the Church postpone the start of classes by a month.”
Until the demonic aura on Truth completely disappeared, the Goddess didn’t dare let Truth run around.
If Truth died, it would be a slap to her own face.
Originally, she had planned to let Truth travel on foot to Wangdu with the new Hero Candidate for training.
Best to keep her on the Dea Plateau for now…
Postpone classes by a month?! Truth and the others were stunned again.
‘That’s a solution too?! As expected of the Goddess of Life—truly far-reaching influence…’
Still, it was acceptable. At least this bought nearly a month. When the month was almost up, they could find more excuses and keep stalling. No matter what, she would never go to Wangdu!
The Goddess of Life continued:
“Given the unrest in Deya City, I’ll send two more Shadow Guards to protect Truth. Let them also handle the blasphemers. Oh, and Truth, what do you want to do about Wangsheng City?”
“Wangsheng City? Those blasphemers are annoying indeed. Can we just raze it?”
“That’s not what I mean. I’m asking about their invitation for you to visit!”