The dust settled, and the refracted light laid out a brilliant path. Light and shadow overlapped, and vitality surged forth as the rebirth of all things celebrated the arrival of a deity.
The Goddess’s phantom stood amidst the greenery, watching as the flora bloomed, bore fruit, and then withered into decay, as if constantly simulating the cycle of life.
Ailaira shifted her gaze toward Sillirora, who was floating in the sky, and spoke with deep disdain.
“This was a newly renovated house. How are you going to compensate me for this?”
Her poor new home had not even lasted one month. In the aftershocks of the collision just now, it had been reduced to ashes. Not a single brick or tile remained.
Sillirora’s face was filled with sorrow, and tears of pity flowed from her eyes. She spread her arms and prayed mournfully, “O unreachable Witch, can even the light bestowed by the Goddess not wash away your filthy and unrepentant soul?”
“As a child of man and a creation of the Divine Mother, Ailaira Green, you should feel ashamed! I will send you to meet the Divine Mother. Use the rest of your life to atone for this blasphemous crime!”
“Meet her?”
Ailaira rose to her feet lazily, staring at the blurred phantom of the deity floating behind Sillirora. A thought suddenly occurred to her, and the corners of her mouth curled into a malicious smile. “It seems that perverted Goddess didn’t tell you, did she? Do you know why she sent a dog like you to find me?”
“It’s because I didn’t just refuse to enter the Godrealm to meet her; I successfully escaped from her hands. So, it’s the Goddess who is obsessively chasing after me.”
“Silence!”
Ailaira’s words easily pierced Sillirora’s heart. She raised her hand and condensed a golden human mold forged from divine power.
It carried the aura of both rebirth and destruction as it lunged toward Ailaira. This was the Mold of Man, one of the legendary instruments used by the Mother Goddess of All Things to create humanity.
The Holy Breath Church also possessed such a Divine Instrument. Any human who touched it would be returned to their primal state of life — absolute nothingness.
“A person as deceptive and hypocritical as you is unworthy of the life granted by the Goddess.”
“Return to your source!”
Facing the approaching sarcophagus, which resembled an iron maiden, Ailaira didn’t back down. A massive Ritual Magic circle took shape beneath her feet. [Simplification] reduced the steps required to draw the Magical Power lines, and [Compress] shortened the time needed for material sacrifice and operation. The magic array emitted a brilliant cyan glow, and in an instant, a violent gale erupted.
“8th-Tier Ritual Magic — Rending Song of the Wind Charm Crow’s Cry!”
The howling wind sounded like the wailing of Demons, sending a chill to the bone. Every movement of the air contained the sharpness of a violin string.
Cyan gusts wove together into a chaotic melody, striking the Mold of Man countless times. Instantly, the screeching sound of knives scraping against a wooden box filled the air.
Although the object before her was not a physical entity, it was a Universal Conqueror Instrument condensed from Sillirora’s divine power. It symbolized the deity’s rule over the mortal world. How could a mere 8th-Tier spell hope to block it?
The magic fell upon the phantom of the Divine Instrument as if it were nothing more than a harmless breeze.
It only slowed the descent slightly. For Sillirora, this cost only a portion of her mental energy. Under the reinforcement of the divine power she frantically drove forward, the Mold of Man was already right before Ailaira.
No matter how fast Ailaira deployed her magic, it was meaningless under the absolute suppression the Gods held over humanity.
‘Then… what if a part of me isn’t human?’
Seeing the Mold of Man hovering over Ailaira’s head, a hint of joy surfaced in the depths of Sillirora’s eyes.
Without a doubt, Ailaira was about to be forcibly reverted to a state before life began. Since the Mother Goddess of All Things governed the birth and death of humanity, this was equivalent to returning Ailaira to the Goddess’s hands.
‘Divine Mother, have I completed your trial?’
Sillirora slowly drifted down from the sky. The pain of her soul being torn apart forced her to kneel on one knee. She coughed up a large mouthful of fresh blood, and the light surrounding her dimmed significantly.
A sharp stinging sensation filled her mind, as if her soul were being pierced into many pieces, each competing to escape this fragile shell.
This was the price of a human wielding divine power. She had originally intended to use her hidden identity to convert believers and let them share this burden, but it was all that City Lord’s fault!
Now, there were hardly any living people left in the city, so she had to bear all the backlash herself.
“Damn it. I clearly considered that the Mercury Witch might have gathered information on me in advance, so I specifically chose to strike at those who didn’t know my abilities. In the end, I was still discovered!”
“However, I still succeeded! Divine Mother! Do you see? Your most devout believer has completed your trial!”
Just as Sillirora was begging for the deity’s favor, an unusual sound coming from beneath the Mold of Man caused her excited expression to freeze. Sillirora turned her head in disbelief, only to see a crack appearing on the Mold of Man, which should have been indestructible. Immediately after, it shattered with a bang.
Ailaira walked out completely unscathed. She reached out and brushed the golden fragments from her shoulder, tossing her silver hair that shimmered like a galaxy.
The dragon blood on her arm flowed like lava, and as it dripped onto the ground, it immediately began to sear the earth. She waved her hand at Sillirora and mocked her emotionlessly, “Yo. You looked just like a puppy begging for its master’s affection just now.”
“But it seems your master doesn’t like you very much. Let me guess… was her first response to you something like: ‘Bring her to me’?”
Ailaira raised both arms. Her originally fair skin expanded instantly, growing pale white scales that adhered to her body like armor.
The Dragon Claws growing from her fingertips radiated a sharp light. Not only that, but countless silver-white tentacles floated behind Ailaira, weaving into a bizarre scene like a spider’s web.
The Life Force provided by the Elf Bloodline caused her ears to grow pointed and long, and the withered grass and trees she stepped on bloomed with new life.
The Highland Dwarf Bloodline stabilized Ailaira’s footing on the earth, ensuring her internal organs weren’t crushed by the overwhelming power of the bloodlines.
Finally, the Sea Dragon Bloodline suppressed the fluctuations in her body temperature, causing a thin white mist to swirl around her, making her look like a monster emerging from the fog.
Sillirora watched with wide eyes as Ailaira, whose body no longer resembled a human save for that beautiful face, walked toward her step by step. Even in her heart of firm faith, a crack appeared. But that was immediately followed by an endless rage that scorched her entire spirit. “Ailaira Green!!”
“You’ve given up your humanity?!”
Ailaira admired her brand-new form. This was the limit to which she could currently push her body. From the outside, she indeed looked a bit inhuman.
“It doesn’t matter. At least on a mental level, I still consider myself human.”
“Damned heresy! I’ve changed my mind. I can never let you return to the Divine Mother’s embrace. That would be an insult to the Gods!”
Sillirora took a deep breath, and her form began to transform once more. Only this time, the object of her mimicry was the deity in her heart!
Staring at the mimic of the deity appearing before her — Sillirora’s avatar — Ailaira let out a wanton, bloodthirsty laugh. At this moment, she finally understood the thrill Andrea felt when she pinned down Kuchierkan.
This was an emotion she hadn’t gained from battle in a long time. Ailaira brandished her claws, also mimicking Andrea’s posture. She hooked her finger provocatively at the fake deity across from her.
“Come. Let’s start settling the debt between me and her by starting with you.”
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