Chapter 386: [Core of Existence]
At this moment, in mid-air, Airi and Anima had completely enveloped Lilith within the sphere of light, restoring calm.
If it weren’t for the transparent barrier still above Cosmos, and the fact that everything on the ground had been flattened, leaving only wasteland and ruins, one might have thought that all the disasters that had occurred were just a figment of their imagination.
“Weren’t you missing? How are you here?”
Shien turned his gaze to Leisha, his face still filled with confusion.
Leisha smiled wryly.
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you when we have the chance.” Leisha brushed aside the topic and said to Shien, “I never thought you would appear here, and even get involved with Lilith.”
Leisha truly hadn’t expected this.
Therefore, when she first arrived and saw Shien, she was startled.
But now wasn’t the time to worry about such things.
“Are you alright, Mr. Shien?”
Lasha asked Shien.
Beside her was not only Leisha, but also another girl.
“I… I thought I was going to die…”
Elise, at some point, had joined Lasha and the others, her face still pale with lingering fear.
Clearly, Elise had almost died during the disaster caused by Lilith and seemed to have been saved by Lasha and her group, which was why she was here with them.
“I’m fine.”
Shien shook his head, replying to Lasha, then turned his gaze to the sky.
Airi and Anima had landed.
“Not bad.” Airi started with a compliment. “Being able to do this much against that lunatic, you’re more capable than I thought.”
It seemed the Dragon Demon was quite satisfied with Shien’s performance.
On the other hand, the person Shien didn’t recognize, whose eyes were tightly closed yet seemed to be staring intently at him, made Shien clearly feel her “gaze” on him.
“You are…?”
Shien frowned and asked.
Although he didn’t know who she was, Shien could sense an astonishing magic power and an incredibly vast life force, making him wary of her.
Naturally, the other party wouldn’t underestimate Shien either.
After all, Anima had also witnessed Shien’s performance, not just Airi and the others.
Therefore, Anima bowed respectfully to Shien.
“I am Anima. Please address me by my name.”
Her attitude was as if she was facing a very distinguished guest.
Shien didn’t mind.
However, her name instantly revealed her identity to Shien.
“You said Anima?” Shien asked in surprise. “You’re the Goddess of Life?”
“Wh-what?” Elise trembled beside him, looking at Anima with shock and excitement.
Undoubtedly, this was the first time Elise had seen the Goddess of Life, the object of her faith.
Although she was the Goddess of Life’s representative in the human world, since she hadn’t received a blessing and hadn’t been to the Divine Realm, Elise had never seen the Goddess of Life in person.
Or rather, many people never had the chance to see the god they worshipped.
Gods usually only appeared in the human world when they needed to bestow blessings. Otherwise, they would stay in the Divine Realm, rarely appearing in other realms.
Therefore, apart from going to the Divine Realm, one could only see a god when receiving a blessing.
As the beastmen saintess, Elise had coincidentally met a few goddesses due to her status, but seeing one of the Three Goddesses at the pinnacle of the Divine Race face-to-face like this was a rare opportunity, not only for her, but even for the Pope of the temple and the king of a nation.
That was why Lucy, who was allowed to visit the Divine Realm at any time and was even invited by the Divine Race to live there, was so special.
Meeting the goddess she worshipped and prayed to for the first time in her life, Elise was naturally shocked and excited.
“Thank you for your hard work, Saintess Elise.”
Anima didn’t neglect Elise and patted her head affectionately.
“Ah…”
The color returned to Elise’s pale face as she obediently let Anima stroke her head, moved to the point of tears.
The goddess she had worshipped and devoted everything to was right before her, even personally comforting her. This alone made Elise feel that her life was complete.
Anima treated Elise like her own child, then smiled at Shien and said,
“Perhaps this is the first time you’ve met me today, but I’ve been watching you for several days, so please don’t be so polite.”
There were many things in Anima’s words that Shien wanted to ask about.
But compared to those things, what Shien wanted to know most urgently was the current situation.
“What did you do to Beatrice… to Lilith?” Shien couldn’t help but ask. “Did you seal her again?”
Shien couldn’t help but worry about this.
If that were truly the case, then all his efforts would have been in vain.
“Don’t worry.” Airi seemed to see through Shien’s thoughts and explained readily, “That’s just temporary isolation, just like what you did in this city called Cosmos.”
Shien had used a barrier to isolate Cosmos from the outside world, turning it into an independent area.
Airi and Anima had simply done the same thing.
Of course, what these two did wasn’t on the same level as the barrier Shien had cast.
After all, it was a joint effort by two of the Six Demon Lords and the Three Goddesses. The intricacies involved were beyond Shien’s current understanding.
But hearing that it was only temporary, Shien was somewhat relieved.
As for the other half of his worries, it was still too early to let them go.
“Right now, Goddess Lilith should still be struggling.”
Anima’s smile vanished as she said these words.
“Struggling?”
Shien’s attention was immediately drawn.
“That’s right.” Anima nodded. “The rational half has returned to the main body, but the evil god’s instincts, as the ruler of darkness and chaos, won’t easily allow her to possess rationality. Therefore, in order to regain her body and power, and become a true goddess, the rational half must struggle against her instincts of darkness and chaos.”
If this struggle was successful, Beatrice would regain everything and completely control her body and power.
And if she failed…
“…It will be very dangerous, right?”
Shien asked in a low voice after a moment of silence.
Anima didn’t answer, but simply nodded.
The atmosphere immediately became oppressive.
Everyone was silent, looking at the sphere of light in mid-air, not knowing what to say.
Shien was the same.
“That fool.” Shien said helplessly. “She could have waited a little longer.”
If she had waited a little longer, Shien could have found a way to weaken Lilith’s power further, giving Beatrice a better chance of success.
“This outcome is already quite good.” Anima said, “Originally, it was almost impossible for the rational half to return to the main body. Now there’s at least a glimmer of hope, unlike before, when there was no hope at all.”
“That’s true.” Airi also said indifferently, “The evil god’s power isn’t something that can be easily weakened. Otherwise, the Divine Race could have done so and helped the other half return when Lilith rampaged on the land last time, right?”
“Yes.” Anima sighed. “No matter how badly injured, Lilith wouldn’t care, nor would she be affected. I can guarantee that.”
Otherwise, Lilith, sealed within the crystal, wouldn’t have been covered in wounds as Shien had seen.
Those wounds were inflicted by the Divine Race in their attempts to stop her rampage.
But they had no effect, leaving the Divine Race completely helpless. In the end, they could only combine the power of the Three Goddesses to seal her.
This time, there was a turning point.
“Because of the Holy Sword’s power, this time, Lilith isn’t just injured, her power has also been suppressed and weakened. That’s why there’s a chance, right?”
Leisha voiced her thoughts.
“If her power hadn’t been weakened by the Holy Sword, even if the rational half could return, it would be difficult for her to regain control of her body, right?”
Lasha said with an impassive face.
“That’s right.” Anima said softly. “The rational half is now constantly trying to fight against the weakened power of the evil god. Judging from the situation, it doesn’t seem hopeless.”
“But the chances aren’t high either, right?” Airi glanced at Anima. “Otherwise, that other half wouldn’t have entrusted the [True Mark] to this boy.”
Airi’s words made Leisha and Lasha fall silent, and Elise was shocked.
“Beatrice entrusted the [True Mark] to Mr. Shien…!?”
Elise was shocked, even stunned.
“[True Mark]?”
Shien frowned, as if realizing something, and rolled up his sleeve.
The rune mark left by Beatrice before she returned to her main body was still there.
“What is this?”
Shien couldn’t help but ask.
It was Anima who answered Shien’s question.
“That’s the foundation of our Divine Race, a core of existence.”
Anima turned her head, her closed eyes seemingly looking at Shien.
“We, the Divine Race, were born from Goddess Omniis and are the only race that can achieve immortality.”
This was something that had been mentioned before.
The number of goddesses in the Divine Race was limited and fixed.
Even if they died, they would reincarnate after a period of time and be resurrected.
“Unless our Supreme God dies, our Divine Race will never disappear.”
Anima said.
“The reason we can achieve this is because even if our bodies and souls are destroyed, our ‘core of existence’ will remain, and eventually, a new body and soul will be reconstructed around it.”
These words made Shien’s heart skip a beat.
If that were the case, then wouldn’t that mean…
“The other half entrusted to you is her core of existence—the [True Mark].”
Anima’s voice slowly reached Shien’s ears.
“If it’s destroyed, she will completely disappear, unable to reincarnate or be resurrected.”