“A misunderstanding?” Iluvia's voice was airy, yet it carried a bone-chilling coldness. “I don't think so. When Orur sent you here, that wasn't what you said.”
“If I recall correctly... when you descended, you said you were following an oracle to crusade against a ‘fake god’?”
Zaror's breath hitched instantly. He then braced himself and hurriedly defended himself:
“Your Eminence! That was absolutely not my intention! My master was maliciously deceived by the Lord of Plague and Calamity, Mosator, who mistook you for...”
“Oh?” Iluvia let out a soft laugh, her tone suddenly turning freezing cold. “A fake god, or a weak and vulnerable new deity that would make it easy for you to take advantage of and divide up the Divine Authority?”
Every single word was like a clap of thunder exploding in Zaror's ears.
His heart sank. She knew their true calculations inside out!
“A misunderstanding! It really is all a misunderstanding, Your Eminence!”
Zaror wanted to argue further, but Iluvia could not be bothered to listen.
Her sacred and majestic voice echoed throughout the Divine Kingdom, carrying absolute authority that brooked no argument:
“Whether it is a misunderstanding or intentional, since you have crossed me, you must pay the price.”
Zaror's expression changed drastically.
He knew begging for mercy was useless and instinctively wanted to flee. But the moment the thought arose, he froze. This was her Divine Kingdom! Without the permission of the domain's master, let alone escaping, he couldn't even shake space in the slightest.
If he couldn't escape, he could only fight!
Since death was certain either way, he might as well fight for a slim chance of survival!
“Your Eminence! Forgive my offense!”
Before his voice could fade, the giant axe in his hand suddenly erupted with a golden light even more dazzling than before!
His aura climbed to its peak at this moment. Although he couldn't deploy his Domain, he gathered all his power into this single swing.
His massive golden hands gripped the axe handle tightly and swung it fiercely toward the Goddess!
A massive slash that seemed capable of tearing the world apart burst from the axe blade, carrying enough force to cleave mountains as it rolled straight toward the white figure!
This strike poured out all his power, the strongest force he could unleash at the Demigod rank!
Yet Iluvia didn't move an inch. She even raised an eyebrow, her tone carrying a hint of amusement:
“Struggling before death, are we...?”
She stood quietly in place, watching the slash whistle toward her.
Just as the axe light was about to reach her, she finally spoke slowly, her voice very soft:
“Stop.”
As those words fell,
heaven and earth instantly fell silent and still.
The massive slash, capable of tearing space apart, was frozen dead in midair.
At the same time, Zaror's axe-swinging motion froze halfway. He couldn't even move his muscles in the slightest, leaving only a pair of golden pupils filled with absolute horror.
Commanding the laws of reality with a single word!
This was an authority only an Ancient God who truly mastered the laws of reality could possess!
Only a bitter smile remained in Zaror's heart.
As expected, he never stood a chance from the very beginning.
Iluvia looked at the golden axe light blocking her view and frowned slightly, as if finding it an eyesore.
“Vanish.”
The moment the word left her mouth, the slash that concentrated all of a Demigod's power dissolved like melting snow. It vanished without a trace, failing to stir even a single ripple.
She nodded in satisfaction. Her figure flickered slightly, and in the next second, she appeared right in front of Zaror, surrounded by a sky full of holy light.
Zaror's eyes grew dim, and he completely gave up resisting.
With death staring him in the face, he actually calmed down instead. He didn't beg for mercy again—against such an absolute disparity in strength, begging was meaningless.
Seeing this, Iluvia was actually a bit surprised. She hadn't expected this Demigod to show some backbone at the end.
“Since that's the case, I will let you die with open eyes.”
As her voice fell, the hazy holy light shrouding her body slowly receded.
Her pure, flawless face, her snow-like silver hair, her eyes shimmering with sacred golden light, and slowly unfurling behind her back—
twelve pure, flawless, holy wings!
The moment those iconic angel wings fully unfolded, Zaror's pupils contracted sharply. His entire body trembled violently, his voice filled with an indescribable horror:
“Y-You are...!!”
“Devilitafil?!”
“You're not dead?!”
No wonder she was in the Starfall Forest...
No wonder he heard from Father God that she was a new deity...
No wonder she possessed a Divine Kingdom with fully perfected laws...
It turned out... it was her!
Devilitafil—she was back!
Zaror felt his limbs go cold as a cold chill rushed from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
It was over. Father God was in danger.
He even figured out another thing in an instant—no wonder Mosator had stayed hidden from beginning to end! That fellow had probably guessed her identity long ago and intentionally pushed the trolls forward to act as cannon fodder!
What an insidious Lord of Plague and Calamity!
Iluvia smiled softly as she watched Zaror's shocked expression and rapidly changing face.
Then, she took a step back. Before Zaror could snap out of his shock, she lightly tapped her finger.
Buzz—
Several condensed golden divine chains shot out from the void, piercing straight through his golden divine body.
“Ah—!!”
Zaror let out a painful grunt.
Immediately after, he was horrified to find that his source of divine power and source of life were being frantically drained along the chains!
His massive golden body dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye. His aura rapidly withered, and even his size began to shrink bit by bit.
She was actually draining his divine power source!
Zaror was utterly horrified.
He instinctively wanted to struggle, but his body couldn't move at all.
His gaze landed on the holy and beautiful figure before him. Those golden eyes were quietly watching him, with no mercy, no pity, and no forgiveness in their depths.
Only a profound calm.
A tempest raged in Zaror's heart at this moment.
The merciful Goddess of Light from a thousand years ago, the deity famous for protection and redemption, the existence who often chose banishment over slaughter even when facing enemies...
Was she really the same person as this “Goddess” who drained divine power at will before him?
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