Category: The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

Chapter 366: Magic Used for the Right Reasons

Shien’s blunt words not only stunned the Stalim family but also angered the female knights of the Severed Blade Knights.

“How dare you be so disrespectful to the Princess…!?”

The female knights pointed their weapons at Shien. Some even raised their hands, magic power surging around them, seemingly ready to cast spells.

“Stop!”

Capeline raised her hand, stopping them.

“Princess!”

The female knights seemed unwilling, not understanding why Capeline stopped them.

Capeline said coldly, “You are no match for him. He has plenty of ways to deal with you. Don’t humiliate yourselves.”

Capeline’s words were met with a regretful expression from Shien.

“Actually, you could attack me.” Shien curled his lip and smiled. “After all, there weren’t many spectators last time. This time, the rough guys from the Stalim Duchy’s First Knight Order are all here. Letting them see something you can be proud of would be quite nice, wouldn’t it?”

The members of the First Knight Order looked at each other, confused.

But the female knights of the Severed Blade Knights understood.

Something to be proud of?

What was that?

Obviously, it was their alluring bodies beneath their armor.

With just a snap of his fingers, Shien could destroy all their armor, exposing their bodies.

“So, ladies, did you wear more layers this time?”

Shien’s seemingly kind words made the female knights’ faces pale, their hands trembling as they gripped their weapons.

Especially the two female knights who had been stripped naked by Shien before, their faces were filled with terror.

Last time, being almost completely seen by Shien had already traumatized them. If this time they were exposed in front of everyone, seen by people from the Kingdom, the Empire’s rival, and these people were from the Stalim Duchy’s First Knight Order, who had been guarding the border and preventing the Empire’s invasion, they would definitely kill themselves.

“P-Princess…?”

The female knights looked at Capeline, on the verge of tears, completely at a loss.

Capeline continued to stare coldly at Shien.

“You can choose to hide it.” Capeline said, “But we will consider this as the Kingdom hiding something from us, and the Empire will strongly suspect that the Kingdom is behind this incident.”

Capeline tried to force Shien to explain from a diplomatic standpoint.

But she clearly chose the wrong person.

“That’s funny. Hasn’t the Empire always suspected that the Kingdom is behind this, which is why they sent you here to investigate?” Shien said disdainfully. “If you say so, then I can also say that the Empire orchestrated this incident to frame the Kingdom.”

“You’re saying we’re framing you?” Anger surged in Capeline’s eyes.

“Don’t act like I’m slandering you.” Shien, unfazed by her anger, said with an impassive face, “Everyone witnessed what happened ten years ago. It’s not like the Empire isn’t capable of such a thing. Are you afraid of being slandered?”

Capeline’s breath hitched.

The incident Shien was referring to was naturally the large-scale assassination that occurred in the royal capital ten years ago.

On the surface, people only knew that the Kingdom’s capital suffered this tragedy because of the Old Demon Faction’s invasion. Only a few high-ranking officials knew that the Old Demon Faction was able to invade the capital because of the help of spies from the Empire.

That’s right, Shien was referring to the incident with Diere’s mother.

Diere’s mother, Aldia’s wife, a noblewoman who married into the Kingdom from the Empire, was actually an Imperial spy.

Thanks to her, the capital’s barrier didn’t activate in time, allowing the Old Demon Faction to invade freely.

And all of this was orchestrated by the Empire’s high-ranking officials.

But afterwards, the Empire claimed that they hadn’t ordered it and that the noblewoman had acted on her own, that she had fallen and colluded with the Old Demon Faction.

Under such circumstances, the Empire shifted all responsibility, causing the Kingdom to suffer a great loss.

Others might not know the truth, but Capeline, as an Imperial Princess, definitely knew.

Therefore…

“You’ve already done the same thing once. I think it’s quite convincing to claim that you’re trying to do it again.”

Shien smiled at Capeline, but there wasn’t a hint of mirth in his eyes.

Capeline was speechless.

Precisely because she knew the inside story, she couldn’t refute anything.

If it were those qualified politicians, they could probably deny it with an innocent face, but Capeline couldn’t.

Although Capeline was overly persistent, stubborn, and somewhat neurotic, she was a person of high moral integrity, forthright, and righteous.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be called the Valkyrie.

Therefore, Capeline couldn’t refute Shien’s words.

Even though she was only seven years old when that incident happened and it had nothing to do with her, it was indeed orchestrated by the Empire’s high-ranking officials. Capeline had to admit that.

But she couldn’t admit it either, or it would cause big trouble for the Empire.

Therefore, Capeline was speechless, unable to respond.

As for Shien, he didn’t really intend to push the blame onto Capeline and make her a scapegoat.

However, he still wanted to vent some anger for Diere.

Moreover, since Capeline didn’t get along with his wife, Shien didn’t want to give her any face.

“Anyway, I’ve said my piece. You’d better not go in.” Shien said frankly. “Of course, if you want to court death, that’s your business.”

Shien came to warn them, not wanting to involve innocent people, because he was the one who had weakened Lilith’s seal, causing this evil aura to appear.

But if they didn’t heed his warning, Shien wouldn’t go out of his way to protect them.

“Your lives are your own. Make your own choices.”

With that, Shien ignored everyone and turned to face the land of evil ahead.

“Viscount Buztout.”

“Shien.”

Yuri and Limgir seemed to want to say something.

However, Shien was no longer in the mood to play with them. He waved at them, then drew the Holy Sword from his waist and slowly walked into the evil aura.

Soon, Shien’s figure disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Seeing this, everyone looked at each other.

“…Let’s go, follow him.”

Capeline was silent for a moment, then spoke without hesitation.

She wouldn’t be intimidated by Shien’s warning.

“Yes!”

The female knights also didn’t want to heed Shien’s advice and responded loudly.

Naturally, the same thing happened on the First Knight Order’s side.

“Trying to scare us? Does he really think he’s someone important?”

Sona scoffed at Shien’s warning.

Yuri and Limgir didn’t say anything, but they clearly didn’t believe Shien’s words.

“Let’s go in.”

Yuri ordered as if nothing had happened.

The two knight orders followed their original plan. One deployed a mobile barrier, the other collectively drank magic potions, and then they marched into the land of evil.

This would be the beginning of hell.

…

On the other side, as soon as Shien entered the evil aura, he immediately used a skill on himself.

“[Clear Mind, Still Water].”

This was the skill Shien had acquired earlier to counter Nien’s mind-reading ability.

Using this skill to eliminate distractions and enter a state of tranquility, Shien’s mind and spirit instantly stabilized.

With the help of this skill, the negative emotions that had been stirring within him immediately subsided.

“As expected, this skill is very effective against mental abilities.”

Shien felt relieved.

Since his maxed-out [Abnormal Status Resistance] didn’t seem to be enough to completely resist the evil god’s power, Shien had to rely on other means to prevent himself from going insane.

After all, Shien didn’t want to become a berserker who only knew how to go crazy and bite people.

“Fortunately, this skill is useful. Otherwise, I would have to unseal the Holy Sword and use its power to negate the effects of the negative status.”

Shien muttered to himself and began to walk forward.

Within the evil aura, visibility was extremely low. It was practically pitch black.

The evil aura was like a dense black fog, blocking more than ninety percent of his vision, making Shien feel like he was groping around in the dark.

“[Bestow: X-Ray Vision].”

Shien couldn’t help but use magic, bestowing the ability to see through objects upon his eyes.

This ability allowed Shien’s vision to penetrate various obstacles. Not only black fog, but even walls couldn’t block his sight.

This magic was one of the first Bestowal Magic spells Shien had learned.

As for the reason… ahem, everyone understood.

Since such magic with clear criminal intent was strictly prohibited by various countries, Shien didn’t dare to use it in public normally.

But now, Shien wanted to use this magic for the right reasons. Since there was no one around, he didn’t have to be sneaky.

Shien’s vision finally penetrated the black fog, allowing him to clearly see the scene within the evil aura.

However, upon seeing this, Shien’s expression changed.

He discovered several dark figures silently approaching him.

And his perception skills didn’t react at all.

“Are my perception skills being interfered with by the evil aura and rendered useless?”

Shien instantly understood the reason.

At the same time, the figures lunged at him.

Chapter 365: Already Been Negative Distance, Still Not Close?

As everyone was left speechless, Yuri from the First Knight Order looked directly at Shien.

“You are Viscount Shien Buztout, right?”

Yuri addressed Shien by his title.

“I am.” Shien also looked at him, glancing at the obedient First Knight Order knights and the silent Limgir, asking curiously, “And you are?”

“My apologies.” Yuri calmly introduced himself. “I am Yuri Stalim, the Knight Commander of the Stalim Duchy.”

“So, you’re the Knight Commander.” Shien acted surprised, but then said with a smirk, “Then, Duke Stalim is your…?”

“He is my older brother.” Yuri didn’t hide anything and even gave Shien a meaningful look. “Therefore, Limgir is my nephew.”

Shien naturally understood what he meant.

He was indicating that he was on Limgir’s side.

And since he was on Limgir’s side, if Shien opposed Limgir, he was opposing him as well.

Of course, on the surface, Limgir didn’t act hostile towards Shien.

“I didn’t expect to see you here, Shien.”

Limgir finally smiled at Shien.

His smile seemed harmless, as if he had met a close friend, full of warmth.

Clearly, after seeing Shien arrive and during the moment of silence, Limgir had adjusted his mindset and suppressed his hostility towards Shien.

“I didn’t expect to see you here either, Master Limgir.” Shien returned a big smile. “The last time we met seems to have been when Lucy and I went out to do some business, right?”

The corner of Limgir’s mouth twitched slightly.

The reason was simple: Shien had emphasized the words “Lucy” and “business.”

Those who didn’t know the situation might have some wild imaginations, suspecting that Shien and Lucy had gone to do something together.

At least, everyone present felt that way, their expressions turning interesting.

Surely, they knew who Shien was referring to when he mentioned “Lucy,” right?

If they didn’t even know the name of the Kingdom’s treasure, they wouldn’t deserve to be called humans.

Limgir’s friendly smile became somewhat strained.

However, he also knew that Shien was deliberately provoking him.

Therefore, Limgir suppressed the hostility that almost surged up and smiled at Shien.

“You have a poor memory.” Limgir reminded him kindly. “Our last meeting should have been at your ennoblement banquet, right?”

At that time, Limgir had indeed been present, and even Barry had attended, but they hadn’t spoken to Shien.

Shien first acted as if he suddenly remembered, then seemed a little embarrassed.

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t notice.” Shien said apologetically. “You know, at that time, all the members of the royal family were there, and I was busy entertaining Lucy, so I couldn’t take care of too many people. Please forgive me.”

These words almost caused Limgir’s suppressed hostility to erupt, accompanied by raging anger.

Once again, Shien had emphasized the words “Lucy” and “entertain,” making it sound like he had done something special with Lucy, fueling people’s imaginations.

This made Limgir want to curse.

It was obvious that Shien was deliberately using Lucy to provoke him, mentioning her name constantly and acting close and intimate with her. No matter how much Limgir tried to restrain himself, he couldn’t help but want to explode.

Yuri, standing beside him, saw everything clearly. Seeing that his nephew could no longer maintain his smile and his face had turned extremely ugly, he gave Sona a look.

Sona immediately understood.

“Hey, brat, don’t push your luck!” Sona stepped forward and shouted at Shien, “You’re just a viscount. Don’t address Princess Roselucia so casually. That’s disrespectful to the Princess and the royal family!”

Sona looked displeased with Shien.

But before Shien could speak, Yuri spoke first.

“Don’t say that. Viscount Buztout has a good relationship with Princess Roselucia. With the Princess’s magnanimity, it’s normal for her to allow him to address her casually in private.” Yuri said, then smiled at Shien. “However, Viscount Bezute should also be careful. It’s fine in private, but you can’t be so casual in public, or people will suspect that you’re using the Princess’s name to bully others.”

These words sounded like well-intentioned advice, but they were actually sarcasm.

He was implying that Shien was using Lucy’s name to bully others here.

Unfortunately for him, when it came to sarcasm, Shien had never been afraid of anyone.

“Is that so?” Shien acted as if he had been enlightened, saying with shame, “In that case, I’ll remember to tell the Princess next time. I’ll tell her that the Stalim family doesn’t want me to address her casually, so it’s better to take back her permission for me to address her informally, to call her by her name, and to not worry about status differences. Otherwise, I, a mere viscount, can’t compete with a Duke’s family.”

Shien’s words made the Stalim family members’ expressions change slightly.

If Shien really did that, the Princess’s impression of the Stalim family would plummet.

They were hoping to marry Lucy into their family, thereby allowing the Stalim family to return to the royal capital and re-enter the Kingdom’s center of power, hoping to one day regain the throne and fulfill their centuries-old ambition.

Therefore, they had to try their best to avoid anything that might lower Lucy’s opinion of them.

Although Shien didn’t know about this, he knew that these guys definitely didn’t want to offend Lucy and make a bad impression on her.

So, Shien made up a bunch of nonsense and successfully fooled them.

Limgir was the first to speak.

“You’re being too serious. We were just casually mentioning it.”

Limgir chuckled awkwardly.

“…Since the Princess has given such instructions, we naturally won’t interfere.”

Yuri also said after a moment of silence.

However, they felt frustrated.

Shien’s behavior, to put it bluntly, was like tattling.

As prominent figures in the Stalim family, Yuri and Limgir had to bow their heads to such “tattling.” How could they not feel frustrated?

As for Sona, he felt even more frustrated.

In his eyes, Shien was just someone who was using the Princess’s name to bully others. He couldn’t understand why Yuri and Limgir were so wary of this person.

(Just because he has some connection with the Kingdom’s treasure, there will be a day when you cry.)

Sona believed that Shien must have become arrogant because of his relationship with Lucy. But in reality, was it possible for the Kingdom’s treasure to truly be close friends with a viscount?

Absolutely not!

(He must think he can win the beauty’s heart and climb up the social ladder, not knowing that the Kingdom would never marry their most outstanding genius in a thousand years to a low-ranking noble of adventurer origin.)

Sona felt that Shien would eventually fall from grace and had no right to act so arrogantly.

Therefore, Sona was very displeased with Shien and looked down on him. If Yuri hadn’t stopped him, he wouldn’t have minded teaching this guy a lesson.

Shien’s gaze swept over the three of them, as if he could see their frustration. He smiled knowingly, as if adding insult to injury.

“Since you all say so, then forget it. I also want to get closer to Lucy. I can’t let some trivial matter affect our relationship.”

Shien’s cheerful words made Yuri, Limgir, and even Sona clench their fists.

If they could, they really wanted to punch that hateful smiling face.

Especially Limgir, who felt extremely uncomfortable hearing Shien’s words.

If he could, he would kill Shien right now.

Get closer?

Affect their relationship?

This was like rubbing salt in Limgir’s wounds.

However, now wasn’t the time to act against Shien.

Even if Shien was alone, who knew what that Demon Lord would do if something happened to him here?

Limgir could only endure.

Endure!

Endure!

Endure!

Limgir once again practiced the art of being a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

If Shien knew how Limgir was feeling at this moment, he would happily tell him,

“You know, when you pretend to be a pig, you eventually become one. If you keep enduring, you’ll really become a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.”

This poor young master didn’t know that Shien and Lucy were already close enough.

They had already shared a bed, how could they not be close?

They had already been negative distance, how could they not be intimate?

This scheming guy actually thought his family could win Lucy’s hand?

“He must be dreaming.”

Shien couldn’t help but say these words, making everyone stunned.

“I mean, you’re all good people. If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll treat you all to peaches.”

Shien quickly smiled at Limgir and the others, but his words made them feel like something was wrong.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on this.

Capeline, who had been silently observing Shien and his interaction with the Stalim family, finally spoke.

“Why are you stopping us from going in?”

Capeline, as if looking at a rival, stared at Shien and asked aggressively.

“Do you know what’s happening inside?”

Hearing this, Shien’s smile vanished. He no longer had the same attitude he had towards Limgir and the others.

This was only natural.

Shien still had some interest in playing with Limgir and the others.

But for this somewhat neurotic Imperial Princess, Shien only had one thing to say.

“So what if I know? Why should I tell you?”

Shien said bluntly.

“You…!”

Capeline was furious.

Chapter 364: “Have You Seen My Little Fox?”

The Dark Temple.

When Shien arrived here once again, it was enveloped in a pitch-black evil aura, as if surrounded by black fog, completely obscuring the scene inside.

The plain that was once the beastmen tribe’s territory now resembled a dark abyss, with only the undulating evil aura visible.

“This evil aura…”

Shien hovered in mid-air, gazing at the land of evil below. Negative emotions surged in his heart.

He felt an urge to lash out, to destroy everything around him.

“Good heavens…”

Shien’s expression became serious.

Even with the maxed-out [Abnormal Status Resistance] skill, he was still somewhat affected by the evil aura. It was unimaginable what would happen if he entered it.

“Could this be Lilith’s power, the evil aura that turned the ancient land into hell?”

Shien couldn’t help but think so.

And he also realized,

“It seems the seal is about to be broken. Although Lilith hasn’t fully emerged, her power is already starting to interfere with the outside world through the weakened seal.”

So, should he go in?

Shien pondered.

But as he was thinking, there seemed to be some other movement around him.

“Oh?”

Shien saw people approaching from all directions and raised an eyebrow.

Among the newcomers were members of the Stalim Duchy’s First Knight Order and the female knights of the Severed Blade Knights.

Katarine led the Severed Blade Knights as they approached, but suddenly called for a halt, stopping everyone at a distance from the land of evil. Their expressions were grave.

Clearly, the Imperial Princess had noticed the strangeness of the evil aura and prevented her people from approaching rashly.

On the other side, the members of the Stalim Duchy’s First Knight Order also approached and were similarly stopped by a middle-aged knight at the forefront.

Shien’s gaze fell on the middle-aged knight, who had a military bearing. His aura was extraordinary, his every move exuded a decisive air, and his level was as high as eighty-eight, the highest among everyone present. Shien couldn’t help but notice him.

Beside this man, Limgir and another middle-aged knight of level eighty stood like adjutants, clearly indicating that the man was in charge.

Shien didn’t know who he was.

However, he was certain that the man was from the Stalim family and was the leader of the Stalim Duchy’s side in this incident.

Now, this leader, like Katarine, first stopped the knights from approaching rashly, then met Katarine’s gaze.

Their eyes clashed, as if sparks could fly between them. It was clear they didn’t get along.

This was only natural.

One was the leader sent by the Kingdom, the other was the leader sent by the Empire. They were rivals, and it was normal for them not to get along.

According to the guard at the city gate earlier, the two knight orders had clashed many times before, even secretly attacking each other. It was evident how much they disliked each other.

At this moment, the two knight orders confronted each other.

“You’re quite fast, Captain Yuri.”

Katarine said calmly.

“Princess Katarine is also quite fast.”

Yuri responded indifferently.

Both sides had come to investigate and resolve the strange occurrences in Cosmos. Now that there was a new development, they naturally had to rush over immediately.

However…

“Since you’re here, why aren’t you going in?”

Katarine pressed Yuri.

“You’re the one who should be asking that, Princess. Why are you stopping here?” Yuri seemed unconcerned by Katarine’s provocation. “If it were any other time, with your usual style, you would have already charged in with your people, right?”

“I really want to.” Katarine snorted. “Unfortunately, I can handle it myself, but these female knights can’t just barge in.”

“So, Princess has also noticed the threat of this evil aura?” Yuri glanced at Katarine and asked humbly, “In that case, what do you suggest we do?”

“What? Are you trying to get information from me?” Katarine smiled, her eyes narrowed. “I’d like to know what the renowned Captain of the Stalim Duchy Knight Order plans to do about this.”

They stared at each other, then both snorted coldly and looked away.

Clearly, they were just testing each other, wanting to know if the other party knew the origin of this evil aura and what they planned to do about it.

However, both of them were unfamiliar with this so-called evil aura. They didn’t know what it was or how it was related to the strange transfer phenomenon. For the time being, they naturally couldn’t decide what action to take.

“Uncle.” Limgir leaned into Yuri’s ear and said, “This evil aura seems very strange. Just being here seems to be affecting the knights’ emotions. They’re all distracted. What should we do?”

“Should we go in, Captain?” Sona asked impulsively. “We also have magic potions that can enhance resistance to abnormal statuses. If we take them, this irritating feeling should disappear, right?”

However, Yuri didn’t act rashly.

“Don’t rush.” Yuri said calmly. “I feel this evil aura is very dangerous. I’m not sure if magic potions will be effective. It’s better to observe for a while.”

“Understood.” Limgir had no objections and nodded, falling silent.

“Troublesome.” Sona pouted, seemingly disagreeing, but she also obediently followed orders and didn’t act impulsively.

The First Knight Order began to discuss their next course of action.

On the other hand, the female knights of the Severed Blade Knights simply waited quietly for Katarine’s orders.

Katarine gazed at the land of evil ahead, her expression thoughtful.

“This seems to be the location of Elise’s tribal camp, right?”

Katarine recognized her friend’s homeland.

As Elise’s friend, although Katarine was an Imperial Princess, she had once been invited by Elise to visit this place.

Although it had been a long time ago, Katarine still vaguely remembered it.

“After the incident in Cosmos, when I came to this city, I never entered this area.”

At that time, Katarine was worried about her friend and wanted to check on her as soon as possible. However, before she arrived here, she encountered her friend, who told her that the beastmen tribe had been attacked by the Old Demon Faction, and her fellow tribesmen had been caught in the strange transfer phenomenon and disappeared.

Because of this, her friend, along with the beastmen priests, had left Cosmos, seemingly to pursue the culprits. Only a few beastmen priests remained here for guard duty, and the beastmen tribe was gone.

Therefore, Katarine hadn’t come here again.

Who would have thought that when she came here again, such a strange phenomenon would occur?

“Could it be that all these strange occurrences are because something happened to the beastmen tribe?”

Katarine couldn’t help but think so.

She didn’t know what secrets the beastmen tribe held.

However, since the beastmen saintess and her priest group had been stationed here for a thousand years, never leaving, there might really be some secrets here.

And something seemed to have happened to that secret, leading to all this.

Katarine figured this out, and her gaze towards the land of evil ahead changed.

“If this is the source of everything…”

Then Katarine had to go in.

After some thought, Katarine made up her mind.

“Deploy the mobile barrier.”

Katarine ordered.

The Imperial Valkyrie was going to use a mobile barrier to protect herself and her people before entering.

On the other side, the First Knight Order had also reached a conclusion.

“Send a small squad to scout ahead. Have them all take magic potions to enhance their resistance to abnormal statuses.”

Yuri decided.

Thus, both sides took action simultaneously.

But just as they were about to enter the land of evil…

“I advise you not to go in, or you’ll regret it.”

When this voice rang out from mid-air, everyone present was shocked.

“Who…!?”

Yuri shouted, the knights behind him entering a state of alert, drawing their weapons.

“Alert!”

On Katarine’s side, the female knights reacted instinctively, protecting Katarine in the center and drawing their weapons.

Everyone looked up at the figure descending from the sky.

And then…

“It’s you…!?”

Limgir’s eyes widened, his fists clenching.

“You…!”

Katarine’s pupils constricted. Looking at the figure, she exuded a sharp aura.

Shien landed on the ground in front of everyone.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just here to ask a question.”

Shien acted like a passing traveler, as if everyone present were just hospitable locals. He spoke awkwardly, seeming embarrassed.

“Excuse me, have you seen my little fox that ran away from home?”

Shien’s words clearly reached everyone’s ears.

“L-little fox…?”

Everyone present heard these words, which sounded like he was asking for directions, and they were all dumbfounded.

Little fox?

What little fox?

Did he have a pet fox?

He came here just to find his pet?

Everyone was speechless.

Chapter 363: Isn’t This a Bit Perverted?

Just like that, another day passed.

The next day, as soon as Shien woke up, he found that not only was Lasha standing by his bed, but Beatrice had also somehow slipped into his covers, sound asleep in his arms.

Shien patted Beatrice’s head and handed her, already fully dressed for some reason, to Lasha. He then got out of bed, also fully dressed for some unknown reason, and walked into the living room, yawning.

As soon as he entered the living room, Shien saw Elise pacing back and forth restlessly.

“What to do… what to do…”

Elise seemed very anxious, unable to calm down as she paced back and forth.

“What’s wrong with her?”

Shien was taken aback and turned to Lasha, asking in surprise.

“I don’t know.” Lasha replied calmly, “Ever since she moved in here, she’s been a bit anxious. This morning, it got even worse. No matter how much I try to persuade her, she won’t calm down.”

“Even you can’t persuade her?” Shien was surprised.

Ever since that day, Elise seemed to have become Lasha’s biggest fan, just like the maids and servants in the royal capital. She constantly addressed Lasha as “Big Sister” and was terrified of Shien. Every time she saw him, she would become wary and hide, while she obeyed Lasha without question.

Especially after witnessing Lasha’s incredible housekeeping skills, Elise’s admiration for her grew day by day. She followed Lasha around all the time, almost clinging to her.

Shien even suspected that Elise didn’t want to go back anymore, as she seemed happy all the time.

But now, Lasha was telling him that Elise had actually been anxious all along, and this anxiety was getting worse, to the point where even Lasha couldn’t calm her down today. Frankly, Shien didn’t want to believe it.

But it seemed to be true.

“Ah!”

Elise saw Shien entering the living room and, instead of avoiding him as before, she rushed towards him.

“You… Quickly release the magic suppression on me! Hurry!”

Elise grabbed Shien’s clothes, pleading anxiously.

“Wh… what’s wrong?”

Shien didn’t expect this saintess, who was usually terrified of him, to suddenly rush over. He was caught off guard.

Elise, on the other hand, seemed to be getting more and more anxious.

“I… I don’t know what’s happening to me.” Elise said anxiously, feeling like she was going in circles. “I just have this feeling, like something terrible has happened.”

These words made Shien frown.

If it were someone else, he might think that Elise was just putting on an act, trying to trick him into releasing her magic suppression so she could escape.

But Shien could see that the anxiety and urgency in Elise’s eyes were genuine. She didn’t seem to be faking it.

Moreover, Elise was the beastmen saintess. She might have some kind of intuition. Shien didn’t think she was just acting.

After a moment of silence, Shien reached out and pointed his index finger at Elise’s chest.

“Ah!”

Elise screamed.

Shien had pointed at her heart, accurately and swiftly, hitting her weak spot.

Shien, seemingly unaware, chanted softly,

“[Bestow: Release].”

With this chant, the suppression within Elise shattered and disappeared.

Magic power flowed through Elise’s body once again.

But Elise didn’t show any joy. Instead, she hugged herself, crouched down, and looked teary-eyed.

“He touched me… He touched me… That hateful man touched a place he shouldn’t have… Waaaaah…!”

Elise cried.

“Uh…”

Shien maintained his posture, his index finger still extended, as if only now realizing what he had touched. His lips twitched, and his face flushed with embarrassment.

Wasn’t that a bit too much?

But… It felt good…?

Shien wanted to recall the feeling.

However, at this moment, an icy gaze pierced him, causing him to shudder and abandon that thought.

“That’s sexual harassment, Master.”

Lasha said coldly, making Shien a bit scared.

Especially the way she called him “Master.” This maid never called him that normally. Hearing it now, Shien didn’t feel happy, but terrified.

Shien quickly said,

“A-alright, I’ve already released your magic suppression. Quickly tell me what happened.”

Shien forced a smile at Elise, uglier than crying.

“Sob…”

Elise was still sobbing, but she seemed to have heard Shien’s words. Wiping away her tears and glaring at him, she assumed a praying posture, closed her eyes, and began to channel her magic power.

“Clang!”

Holy light emanated from Elise’s body.

Bathed in this holy light, Shien only now realized that it was light condensed from an enormous amount of life force.

Under that light, Elise’s aura became erratic, as if merging with the world, or flying to a distant world. It was incredibly mysterious.

“Ah!”

After a while, Elise screamed again, opening her eyes, her face pale.

“I… I couldn’t do anything!?”

Startled by Elise’s scream again, Shien blurted out his inner thoughts.

“Mr. Shien…”

Lasha immediately looked at Shien, her gaze growing colder.

“Ahem…!”

Shien finally came to his senses, feeling even more embarrassed than before. He wished he could turn and run.

Unfortunately, this time, someone acted before him.

“No!”

Elise suddenly stood up, her face anxious, and rushed out, jumping directly from the balcony and leaving the inn.

“Hey!”

Shien didn’t expect Elise to suddenly do such a thing. He was caught off guard and quickly rushed to the balcony, looking outside.

But Elise had already disappeared.

Lasha, who followed him out, noticed something and her eyes narrowed.

“Mr. Shien, over there.”

Lasha pointed in a direction.

Shien looked over and his expression changed.

“What is that?”

Shien was shocked.

In the direction he was looking, a black gas was billowing like fog, gradually spreading.

That was…

“An evil aura…”

Lasha’s murmur perfectly described the black fog-like gas.

It was an aura that made one feel anxious, suffocated, agitated, and uneasy just by looking at it from afar.

And the direction of the evil aura seemed to be where the dark temple Shien had visited not long ago was located.

“Could it be that the seal has been broken?”

Shien wondered.

“But I didn’t sense the terrifying magic power that appeared when the seal was broken last time.”

If the seal had been broken, Shien would definitely have sensed that level of magic power.

Now, it seemed like only the evil aura had appeared. The magic power was still only the part flowing out from the temple.

“What’s going on?”

Shien’s expression changed rapidly.

At the same time, there seemed to be some commotion in Cosmos.

“What… What is that!?”

“What’s going to happen this time!?”

“Will it ever end!?”

The citizens seemed to sense the abnormality and cried out in despair.

“Quick!”

“Hurry over there!”

“Hurry!”

On the streets, knights rushed towards the direction of the evil aura, shouting as they ran, looking very anxious.

The fortress city of Cosmos was once again thrown into chaos. The previous oppression and heaviness turned into tangible pressure, sweeping over every corner and weighing down everyone’s hearts.

Shien watched this scene, then felt someone tugging at his clothes.

He turned around and looked behind him.

In Lasha’s arms, Beatrice had woken up and was looking at him with worry.

“It’s okay.”

Shien patted Beatrice’s head, comforting her as he pondered.

Lasha remained calm and silent, just looking at Shien, seemingly waiting for his orders.

Under these circumstances, Shien made a decision.

“I’ll go check it out first.” Shien said, “Beatrice, stay here, don’t go out. Lasha, you keep an eye on the situation. If anything goes wrong, wake up Airi immediately.”

Lasha nodded without hesitation, agreeing.

Beatrice was a little uneasy and anxious, but seeing Shien looking at her, she hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly nodded.

“Good girl.”

Shien patted Beatrice’s head again and nodded to Lasha, then turned around.

“[Bestow: Flight].”

The next second, magic power surged around Shien, transforming into a stream of light as he flew towards the direction of the evil aura.

Lasha and Beatrice watched Shien leave together.

“Don’t worry.” Lasha looked away first and said softly to the worried Beatrice in her arms, “He is the Hero, protected by the Holy Sword. Even the evil god’s power can’t affect his mind. With his abilities, he’ll be fine.”

Hearing Lasha’s words, Beatrice looked away from Shien and at Lasha. After a while, she nodded slightly.

Lasha then took Beatrice into the living room.

And in Airi’s room, the sleeping girl suddenly opened her eyes and woke up.

“This is bad…”

Airi murmured.

The situation had taken a new turn in a way no one could have imagined.

Chapter 362: “She’s Still a Child…!”

After giving Shien several more warnings, Lucy finally left, still feeling uneasy.

Shien held the magic tool, which had turned back into a bead, and muttered to himself with dissatisfaction,

“I really want to spend a whole day teaching this girl a lesson and see what she really thinks of me.”

Being treated like a problem child really made Shien feel like karma was biting back.

Fortunately, it wasn’t all for nothing.

If Lucy could really find a solution to this problem from the Divine Race or the Kingdom’s library, that would be the best outcome.

“Although I don’t have much hope.”

Shien murmured.

If there was such a method, the Divine Race wouldn’t have chosen to seal Lilith for thousands, even nearly ten thousand years, right?

This meant that even the Divine Race had no solution and could only resort to this last resort.

Therefore, Shien didn’t think there was much hope.

In the end, he might really have to use drastic measures, release Lilith, weaken her, and then achieve his goal.

Of course, this was the last resort.

Before reaching that point, Shien didn’t mind waiting and seeing.

“I just don’t know how long I can wait.”

Shien thought to himself.

“When the Goddess of Life arrives, that should be the deadline.”

When that goddess arrived, she would repair Lilith’s seal and then reseal the temple in an independent small space, right?

If that happened, Shien wouldn’t be able to enter the temple and do anything to Lilith’s seal.

Therefore, the deadline was the arrival of the Goddess of Life.

When the Goddess of Life arrived, Shien would have to act to prevent the temple from being exiled.

“The rest depends on what I can do.”

If things really came to that, Shien would have to face Lilith directly.

Facing an evil god who had once turned the land into hell, whose power rivaled the Six Demon Lords, who had given the Divine Race a headache and even made the demons temporarily retreat, even Airi might not be certain of victory, right?

At that time, Shien would definitely have to join forces with her to weaken that evil god’s power.

However…

“An evil god comparable to the Six Demon Lords… ?”

Shien felt a bit apprehensive.

Although he had the strongest Holy Sword in hand, could he, with a level of only fifty-five, really fight against someone of that level?

With the Demon King gone and the Supreme God in hiding, she was one of the strongest beings in the world.

Her power was even enough to sink a continent and drive all life on the land into a frenzy. Could he really handle such a terrifying opponent?

Shien felt it was very uncertain.

However…

“Even if I can’t defeat her, I should be able to survive.”

With the protection of the Holy Sword and numerous resistance skills, he wouldn’t be instantly killed, right?

Moreover, he had Airi by his side, and Yulin was also on standby. Combining their strength, they should at least be able to hold her back.

…Hopefully.

Shien could only hope.

“Click…”

Just as Shien was thinking about these things, the bathroom door suddenly opened.

Shien came back to his senses and looked over, then he was stunned.

In the doorway of the bathroom, a petite figure slowly walked in, shrouded in steam.

“Wha…!?”

Shien’s eyes widened.

It couldn’t be helped.

It wasn’t that Shien was overreacting, but the state of the girl who suddenly barged in made him completely unable to stay calm.

“Splash… splash…”

The girl walked towards Shien, her footsteps splashing in the accumulated water.

Her body – completely naked.

“Bea… Beatrice?”

Shien looked at the girl who appeared before him in her birthday suit, stammering her name.

It was Beatrice.

Beatrice stood amidst the steam, looking at Shien soaking in the bathtub. Without saying a word, she walked towards him.

“Splash…!”

With the sound of water, the girl immersed her body in the water and leaned against Shien.

Yes.

Beatrice came in.

She sat in front of Shien.

She leaned against his chest.

Shien, as if embracing the girl sitting in his arms, felt her small, soft back against his chest, his entire body stiff.

At this moment, only two words remained in Shien’s mind.

(Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit…!)

Forgive Shien for his lack of eloquence, but only “holy shit” could describe his current mood and situation.

He could smell Beatrice’s fragrance, feel her soft back and waist, his heart racing.

(She’s still a child…! Still a child…!)

Shien’s mind was in turmoil, desperately trying to calm down.

Unfortunately, from the moment Beatrice entered, calmness was no longer an option for him.

The girl said nothing, silent as always, but as if entrusting everything to him, or perhaps having complete trust in him, she relaxed her body and nestled against Shien.

Her posture, as if saying “Do whatever you want,” was truly a test for his heart.

Well, a test for a man’s heart and spirit.

If Beatrice didn’t look like a little girl, Shien felt he might have already lost control.

An indescribable silence fell over the bathroom.

Beatrice didn’t speak, so her silence was normal.

Shien, on the other hand, kept telling himself,

(Calm down, calm down, Shien. You’re a man who’s tasted meat, and you always bathe with little cutie Diere. You’re not some inexperienced guy. How can you lose your composure over a little girl?)

Shien muttered to himself.

Fortunately, Beatrice seemed to understand nothing and did nothing, just quietly leaning against Shien and soaking in the water. After a difficult mental struggle, Shien finally regained some composure.

“Wh… why did you suddenly come in?”

Shien asked, his voice finally calming down.

Beatrice turned her head, gazing at Shien with her amethyst eyes, as if trying to convey something.

Incredibly, Shien understood.

“You’re saying you came in because you wanted to be with me?”

Shien said, unsure.

But Beatrice nodded, confirming his words.

Shien wanted to say,

“I wish all the girls in the world were as kind as you.”

Right?

If all girls were like this, wouldn’t all the thirsty guys find their soulmate?

Well, forget about the thirsty guys. But Shien really wished all the beautiful girls around him were like this.

Currently, only Diere seemed to be like this, right?

…Could he find a way to increase the number in the future?

Shien thought to himself, smiling wryly.

“Then why do you want to be with me?” Shien asked softly. “Are you feeling uneasy?”

Beatrice didn’t confirm or deny, just silently looked at Shien, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Shien knew that Beatrice must have a lot on her mind.

She wanted to return to her main body, but was afraid of being obliterated.

She wanted to take a gamble, but was afraid of failing.

She wanted to resolve the problem that had plagued her for countless years, but was worried about affecting others.

All sorts of thoughts intertwined in this girl’s heart, reflecting her current state: contradictory and unwilling to accept her fate.

“Sigh…”

Shien sighed and reached out, stroking Beatrice’s head.

Beatrice didn’t resist, silently letting Shien stroke her head. She even rubbed against his hand a couple of times, as if seeking comfort.

After a while, Shien spoke.

“I know you want to see what I’ll do, right?” Shien said to Beatrice. “You want to know if I’ll still help you after learning about your situation, don’t you?”

Beatrice’s eyes drooped slightly.

Clearly, that was exactly what she was thinking.

In fact, this girl didn’t know what to do either.

After countless years of wandering, knowing that her efforts were in vain, Beatrice was becoming anxious and impatient.

She was the other half of the evil god, the rejected rationality, in other words, Lilith herself, just expelled from her own body, unable to return.

In other words, even if Beatrice wasn’t a vengeful spirit, she was still a ghost.

She definitely wanted to return to her body.

Otherwise, she would forever be a ghost with suppressed rationality and growth, incomplete, and wandering the land alone.

And she had been enduring this situation for nearly ten thousand years.

Even a true god would probably find it unbearable, right?

Therefore, Beatrice wanted to break the current deadlock.

The destruction of the spatial node, the manifestation of the temple in the human world, and the appearance of a Hero capable of breaking the seal beside her were undoubtedly a great opportunity.

If she missed this chance, Beatrice felt that she might never succeed.

Therefore, she wanted to know if Shien would still help her.

But…

“What can you do if you don’t even have confidence in yourself?” Shien said, “If you really take this gamble, you will definitely be obliterated. You know this very well, which is why you hesitated, were afraid, and ultimately agreed to my suggestion to postpone breaking the seal, right?”

Beatrice was speechless.

Shien continued to stroke the little girl’s head and smiled at her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you.” Shien said truthfully. “Don’t forget, I was the one who gave you the choice of whether to follow me or not. I was also the one who told you to tell me anything and promised to help you. Since you made your choice, I will definitely see it through.”

Saying so, Shien looked into Beatrice’s eyes and said,

“Don’t rush. We still have time. Let’s think carefully about what to do.”

“Okay?”

Shien’s words reached Beatrice’s ears.

Beatrice remained silent, then nodded firmly after a while and hugged Shien.

Shien also embraced Beatrice, thinking to himself,

(Hmm, so soft.)

His heart was still racing.

(I really want to…)

Shien muttered to himself.

Chapter 361: The Troublemaking Problem Child

Unbeknownst to Shien, while he was barging into the dark temple, nearly breaking Lilith’s seal, and kidnapping the beastmen saintess, certain things were happening in other corners of Cosmos.

For example, after waking up and realizing she had completely lost to Shien, the Imperial Princess was depressed for an entire day, not saying a word. The female knights of the Severed Blade Knights were worried for a while and eventually had to report the news back to the Empire.

The First Knight Order, after being thwarted and witnessing the ruins left by Shien and Capeline’s fierce battle, seemed to realize that the situation in Cosmos was becoming increasingly complex and dangerous. They also requested instructions from the Stalim family and didn’t dare to act rashly for the time being.

Of course, Yuri still had the knights report on Shien’s group’s movements, showing great concern for their whereabouts.

Especially regarding the two little girls with Shien, Yuri specifically instructed them not to disturb them, or they would face severe punishment.

Meanwhile, the beastmen priest group seemed to be constantly searching for Elise in Cosmos.

Coupled with the commotion caused by Shien’s Celestial Magic and Bestowal Magic earlier, and the increasingly frequent transfer phenomenon in Cosmos, the entire city felt like a storm was brewing, becoming very oppressive, the air heavy with tension.

Undoubtedly, this was the calm before the storm.

The longer this calm lasted, the more terrifying the undercurrents surging beneath the surface.

At the very least, both the Kingdom and the Empire gradually realized that something was wrong, becoming worried that the situation here might worsen. The beastmen were even more active in Cosmos because of Elise, with frequent sightings of beastmen priests going door to door, searching for something, making many people uneasy.

And this unease undoubtedly touched a nerve in many people, causing them to think that they had to act quickly and break the current deadlock.

The Empire even showed signs of sending reinforcements, prompting the Kingdom to take action as well, seemingly planning something.

In contrast, nothing happened on Shien’s side, and a period of peace arrived.

That night, Shien was taking a bath in the bathroom, as usual reporting the events here to a certain princess who was becoming increasingly insecure.

“In conclusion, this time it’s not just a matter of the Old Demon Faction. There’s a bigger problem waiting for me to solve, just as you predicted. It’s become super troublesome.”

Shien, soaking in the water bare-chested, said these words to the screen floating before him.

On the screen, Lucy listened to Shien’s complaints, her face full of bewilderment.

“I…”

Lucy was completely dumbfounded.

What was going on?

What in the world was going on?

How could things become so terrifying in just a short time?

Lilith, the evil god?

The beastmen priest group?

Ancient secrets?

Hell potentially reappearing in the world?

How could things possibly develop to such an alarming extent?

Compared to this, the conflict with the Imperial Princess seemed like child’s play.

What made Lucy even more frustrated was that her little man seemed to be caught in a very troublesome position in this matter.

“You were the one who almost broke the seal?”

“You picked up the evil god’s other half?”

“You… You kidnapped the beastmen saintess?”

One shocking revelation after another left Lucy dizzy, almost making her wonder if she was dreaming.

Looking at Lucy like this, Shien felt a little embarrassed.

“Don’t look at me like that. I can’t handle praise.”

Shien scratched his face and smiled.

“Who’s praising you…!?”

Lucy wanted to strangle Shien.

Was this something to be praised for?

This was something that made burying him alive seem too lenient!

“I’m so stupid… I’m so stupid…” Lucy muttered, as if she was having a mental breakdown. “I should have known. With your talent for causing trouble, you definitely wouldn’t just quietly complete your original objective and be done with it. I shouldn’t have let you go…”

Saying so, Lucy held her head, unable to accept this reality.

“Well, don’t be so pessimistic.” Shien chuckled and quickly comforted her. “Think about it from a positive perspective. Don’t you think this is a blessing in disguise?”

No, I don’t!

Lucy wanted to say that.

But Shien spoke first.

“Think about it, even without my involvement, the situation would still have become this serious.” Shien said, “The spatial node guarded by the beastmen priests was destroyed by a mysterious mastermind, and the Old Demon Faction seemed to be involved in this operation as well, which was why they attacked the beastmen tribe. Since that’s the case, it means that both the mastermind and the Old Demon Faction are targeting Lilith’s seal, right?”

This was true.

The current situation, at its root, wasn’t actually caused by Shien.

“Since someone is targeting Lilith’s seal in the shadows, even if I didn’t act, someone else would eventually find a way to break it, right?”

Shien argued.

But to Lucy, it sounded like Shien was just making excuses.

“A seal that can contain that kind of evil god, could it be broken so easily?” Lucy glared at Shien and said bluntly, “That’s a seal set by the Three Goddesses combined, powerful enough to seal the strongest evil god. Even if there’s a way to break it, it definitely wouldn’t be easy, right?”

That was true.

Without Shien, even if the so-called mastermind could break Lilith’s seal, it would definitely require a lot of effort. Otherwise, they would have already invaded the temple.

The temple’s seal wasn’t fragile. Apart from Shien, the unknown Hero, there were very few who could easily break it.

“If it weren’t for the timely appearance of the beastmen saintess, you would have already released the evil god. I really want to pry open your head and see what’s inside.”

Lucy gritted her teeth.

Shien also knew that his arguments were useless.

It couldn’t be helped. He was at fault in this matter.

However, this was only because of the surface situation.

In the eyes of others, Shien had almost caused a disaster, but in Shien’s eyes, he had only wanted to help Beatrice and followed his inexplicable premonition.

Therefore, Shien didn’t regret his actions.

After all, before acting, Shien had also considered whether it was the right thing to do, but in the end, he did it with the mindset that even if he caused trouble, it wouldn’t matter.

Therefore, Shien was already mentally prepared.

In other words…

“I’m ready to clean up the mess.”

Shien said to Lucy.

Lucy was both exasperated and amused.

“You’re truly the most reckless Hero I’ve ever met.” Lucy sighed. “Since things have already come to this, there’s no use saying more.”

“So?” Shien looked at Lucy and asked, “What are you going to do?”

“What else can I do?” Lucy rolled her eyes. “Of course, I’ll report it to the Kingdom.”

That was true.

Since an ancient evil god was involved, the incident in Cosmos was clearly beyond the Stalim family’s ability to handle.

Even the Kingdom might not be able to handle it.

“Fortunately, you have the Dragon Demon with you, and according to her, the Divine Race should have also noticed that the seal was broken. The Goddess of Life might come in person to repair the seal. So, things haven’t reached the worst-case scenario yet.”

Lucy’s expression became serious as she asked,

“What are you going to do next?”

This was the first thing that needed to be clarified.

As expected of Lucy.

“You don’t seem to be completely siding with the Divine Race and the beastmen, do you?”

Lucy saw through Shien’s thoughts.

“You want to help the evil god’s other half, that girl named Beatrice, right?”

Lucy stated Shien’s intentions directly.

Shien didn’t deny it.

“I’ll try to help her.” Shien said, “I just don’t know how yet.”

How could he help Beatrice achieve her wish, return to her main body, and not be obliterated, but instead overcome her chaotic instincts, control Lilith’s power, and become a true goddess?

This was the problem Shien had to solve first.

If he couldn’t solve this problem, Shien might resort to some forceful measures.

For example…

“I’ve considered whether to just break Lilith’s seal, release her, and then join forces with Airi to injure her, weaken her power, reduce her threat, and then let Beatrice return.”

Shien felt that this method should be feasible. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had such a strong urge to break the seal earlier, believing that doing so could help Beatrice.

Although he didn’t know what this premonition was about, Shien had a clue and chose to trust it.

The problem was that this premonition only told Shien that this could work, but it didn’t tell him what would happen if he actually did it.

“Don’t do anything rash!” Lucy said quickly. “According to you, Lilith is a terrifying being who almost turned the land into hell. Releasing such a dangerous existence is too risky!”

Following Elise and Airi, Lucy also rejected this idea, believing that Lilith shouldn’t be released.

This was also the problem that Shien was worried about.

“But if I don’t do that, what else can I do?”

Shien said exasperatedly.

“Don’t be impulsive. Let’s think this through carefully.” Lucy first calmed Shien down, then said, “I’ll see what the Kingdom plans to do, then help you look up some information and ask my friends in the Divine Race. Maybe we can find a solution.”

“Alright.” Shien thought for a moment and nodded. “There’s no need to rush. You can try that first.”

“Okay.” Lucy nodded. “I’ll do it as soon as possible. You just be good and don’t cause any more trouble, okay?”

Shien rolled his eyes.

She really thought he was a troublemaking problem child?

Damn it!

Chapter 360: “You’re Truly Different.”

“I didn’t expect that little girl to be the rationality half of the evil god Lilith. I really misjudged her.”

Just as Shien was lost in his thoughts, a young but pleasant voice pulled him back to reality. He turned around to see a girl holding a pillow, slowly approaching.

It was Airi.

“You’re awake?”

Shien looked at Airi, surprised.

Airi wasn’t sleepy-eyed or yawning, indicating she had been awake for a while.

Indeed,

“I didn’t want to wake up, but you seemed to be talking about something interesting. Even with my love for sleep, I couldn’t stay asleep after hearing that kind of topic.”

Airi said nonchalantly.

“Isn’t that eavesdropping?”

Shien rolled his eyes.

“You were the ones chatting so happily in the living room. Who was eavesdropping?”

Airi seemed dissatisfied with Shien’s words.

Shien wouldn’t indulge this little girl.

However, he was more curious about Airi’s attitude than arguing about such meaningless things.

“What? Do you also know about the evil god Lilith?”

Shien asked Airi.

Airi’s attitude was straightforward.

“Back in that era, those who didn’t know about this evil god were the minority.” Airi narrowed her eyes, as if reminiscing. “Even though the Divine Race and the Demon Race were at war, fighting so fiercely, that evil god suddenly barged into the battlefield, descending right in the middle, and massacred everyone indiscriminately, sinking the entire continent. Even we had never seen anything like it.”

That… that was incredibly fierce…

Shien could imagine the scene back then. It must have been utter chaos.

Airi continued to reminisce.

“Because of that guy’s rampage, the war was even temporarily halted. No one wanted to be caught in the crossfire when that kind of being suddenly barged in and caused trouble, so we quickly withdrew our troops, both to avoid getting involved and to let the Divine Race deal with this headache themselves. Sister Sara was very happy at the time, hoping every day that the Divine Race would suffer heavy losses because of that evil god, allowing the Demon Race to reap the benefits.”

As expected, those who played strategy were all cunning.

But it had to be said that this was indeed a very wise choice.

“That evil god’s power was very troublesome. Anyone with weak willpower would go berserk just by looking at her, turning into a rampaging beast. Many of our demons fell victim to it, not only killing each other on the battlefield but also attacking us.”

Recalling this, Airi’s expression became somewhat unpleasant.

“Facing someone who could make people go berserk and lose their minds just with a glance, numbers were useless. No matter how many enemies there were, that evil god could instantly make them lose their minds. Under such circumstances, who would dare to send their army to the battlefield?”

Therefore, Sara quickly recalled the demon army, leaving the mess to the Divine Race to deal with.

This was also why Airi couldn’t recognize Beatrice’s identity.

“I wanted to go and take a look at the time, but I couldn’t get close.”

“The entire continent was almost enveloped by the evil aura emanating from her power. I could withstand it and wouldn’t go berserk, but all the creatures on that continent, both humans and monsters, had gone mad and attacked me relentlessly, preventing me from getting close.”

“After that, she seemed to rampage on the land for a while, turning the entire world into a living hell, making even us Demon Lords afraid to approach her.”

Otherwise, they would not only have to face the evil god’s frenzied attacks, but also the attacks of almost all living beings on the land.

“Frankly speaking, at that time, even the big shots in the Demon Race would tremble in fear at the mention of the name ‘Lilith’.”

Airi curled her lip.

“I didn’t expect that little girl who couldn’t even speak to be that evil god’s other half.”

Hearing this, Shien wanted to retort, “What right do you have to look down on others, you little girl?”

But if he said that, Airi, who hated being treated like a child, would definitely not let it go.

Shien wasn’t in the mood to play with her now, so he held back and sighed instead.

“It seems this Lilith is truly formidable.”

Shien exclaimed.

“Her power is indeed troublesome.” Airi admitted, but then added, “However, in a real fight, it’s hard to say who would win.”

Obviously, the Dragon Demon wasn’t willing to admit defeat easily.

However, if her words were heard by others, wouldn’t they be shocked?

A Demon Lord actually admitted that she wasn’t sure if she could win against Lilith. This was enough to prove how terrifying Lilith was.

She was a being who could truly rival a Demon Lord.

Moreover, as the goddess who governed evil and chaos, the harm Lilith brought to the world was even greater than that of a Demon Lord.

Even the demons of that time chose to avoid her. It was clear how powerful Lilith was.

“Hell… ?”

Shien muttered these words.

Both Elise and Airi had mentioned this word.

Presumably, during the era when Lilith rampaged, the land must have been a scene of utter carnage, right?

He had almost released such a being.

“No wonder those beastmen priests were so angry.”

Shien smiled wryly.

Airi seemed to know about what happened last night as well. She turned to look at Shien.

“You’re not really thinking of releasing that lunatic, are you?”

Airi’s tone became somewhat serious.

“What? Are you scared?”

Shien raised an eyebrow, asking with a smirk.

“I advise you not to mess around.” Airi wasn’t sure if Shien was joking, so she could only warn him. “That’s not something to play with. If you’re not careful, the human world might cease to exist.”

This wasn’t an exaggeration.

Even the Divine Race and the Demon Race in ancient times almost couldn’t handle Lilith, and the world, which hadn’t been divided into three parts yet, was almost destroyed by her. Who would want to see such a crazy being released?

Airi, who was usually indifferent to most things, was surprisingly concerned this time.

“It’s different now. The Divine Race, humans, and demons are now coexisting peacefully, and the war is long over. Releasing such a dangerous being is no small matter.”

Airi’s warning made Shien smile wryly again.

“Do I look like someone who acts without thinking?”

Shien asked Airi.

Airi stared at Shien and answered,

“Yes.”

Her answer was immediate.

“…”

Shien’s lips twitched. He wanted to pull this little girl into his arms and give her a good… no, give her a good spanking.

Was he really that untrustworthy?

He admitted that he was usually a bit reckless, ruthless, and brutal, leaving a deep impression on them, but that was all an expression of his love!

At times like this, he was still serious, wasn’t he? Honey!

Shien sighed.

“Alright, even if I’m someone who acts without thinking, I wouldn’t do something that harms others and doesn’t benefit myself, right?” Shien argued. “I’m not the Demon King. I don’t want to destroy the world.”

These words made Airi quite unhappy.

“Regardless of whether your words make sense or not, I don’t like the example you used.” Airi said, “Do you think the Demon King wanted to destroy the world?”

“Huh?” Shien was slightly taken aback. “Wasn’t that the case?”

“Of course not!” Airi said with absolute certainty, even a bit angrily. “Don’t think that the Supreme God is necessarily a benevolent good person and the Demon King is an evil person who wants to destroy the world!”

Airi seemed very upset about this.

“Well, I personally don’t mind accepting your statement.” Shien blinked. “But if the Demon King didn’t want to destroy the world, why did she start the war?”

Although the Divine Race and the Demon Race had been enemies since their creation, there must have been a side that initiated the hostility and started the war, right?

And according to historical records, it seemed that the Demon Race, or rather the Demon King, was the one who started the conflict.

It was because of the Demon King’s orders that the demons attacked the Divine Race, leading to a long war.

Under such circumstances, if the Demon King didn’t do this to destroy the world, then what was her purpose?

“That’s because…!”

Airi subconsciously wanted to say something, but she held back.

Looking at Airi like this, Shien discovered that a sense of anxiety had unconsciously welled up in his heart.

This anxiety came suddenly, giving Shien the feeling that “something” was influencing him, making him feel strange.

Unfortunately, before Shien could figure out the source of this strangeness, Airi sighed.

“…It’s no use telling you.” Airi seemed to deflate, as if some old wounds had been reopened. She said sullenly, “Anyway, the Demon King has been defeated. That kind of thing doesn’t matter anymore.”

Speaking of this, Airi’s tone became somewhat low and sad.

Shien didn’t know what to say.

Judging from Airi’s appearance, she must have cared about the Demon King very much.

It made sense.

Demon Lords were born from the Demon King’s magic power, making them the Demon King’s children and descendants.

In other words, to Airi, the Demon King was equivalent to her mother.

And who wouldn’t care about their mother?

It was impossible, right?

Moreover, Airi was the youngest of the Six Demon Lords, so she was probably the closest to the Demon King (her mother) among the six sisters, right?

Otherwise, when the Demon King was defeated, Airi wouldn’t have lost control on the spot, almost being consumed by hatred and seeking revenge.

Therefore…

“Let’s not talk about the Demon King. Let’s talk about Lilith.” Shien changed the subject. “You told me not to release her, but I already broke her seal.”

As mentioned before, the seal was only temporarily stabilized, not restored.

“The seal will eventually break. When that happens, Lilith will be released, right?”

Shien said.

“No wonder the magic power flow in this city called Cosmos is even stranger than yesterday.” Airi came back to her senses and nodded. “However, you shouldn’t worry.”

“Why?” Shien was taken aback.

“Because those people from the Divine Race must have already noticed the problem with the seal.” Airi said bluntly. “That fox-girl saintess is Anima’s messenger, right? Then Anima must have already learned about her using her power to repair the seal. It won’t be long before she descends to the human world and personally repairs the seal.”

“The Goddess of Life will come in person?” Shien raised an eyebrow.

In other words, he might be about to meet one of the pinnacles of the Divine Race?

This was really…

“What? Are you scared?” Airi sneered. “Are you worried that Anima will come after you because of the seal?”

Shien only had one thing to say to Airi’s words.

“Do I look like someone who’s easily scared?”

Shien said defiantly.

Airi was speechless.

Was this guy not afraid of being struck down again?

Didn’t he know his own limits?

“Anyway, do as you please.” Airi seemed too lazy to banter with Shien anymore. “Our target is only the Old Demon Faction. We really don’t need to get involved in such a big mess.”

Leaving those words behind, Airi turned to leave.

However, before she could leave, Shien’s voice suddenly rang out.

“What if I want to get involved?”

These words made Airi stop abruptly.

She didn’t turn around.

But she could feel Shien’s gaze fixed on her back.

“…Aren’t you always afraid of trouble?”

Airi was silent for a moment before speaking.

“Yeah, I hate trouble the most.” Shien readily admitted, but then said helplessly, “But this time, I might meddle a bit.”

“Why?” Airi asked, confused. “This has nothing to do with you, right?”

“It indeed has nothing to do with me.” Shien was still frank and helpless. “But without my help, that girl will probably never achieve her wish, forever wandering the world, unable to find peace.”

How cruel and painful that would be was self-evident.

Otherwise, why would Beatrice be so eager to break the seal?

Knowing that breaking the seal would turn the world into hell, Beatrice still couldn’t help but do it.

This proved that she was probably at her limit, on the verge of breaking down.

What else could Shien do?

He could only meddle.

“…Even if it means becoming an enemy of the Divine Race, even an enemy of the world?”

Airi asked softly.

Shien smiled.

“Sounds very heroic, right?”

These simple words told Airi what Shien was thinking.

Airi also smiled.

“It does sound very heroic.” Airi admitted. “But I still want to say, you’re truly different from other Heroes.”

With that, Airi left.

Shien watched Airi leave, smiled, and looked outside again.

Outside, the scenery remained the same.

Chapter 359: “Don’t Do That Again.”

“—”

Silence filled the air.

Everyone’s gaze focused on Beatrice, observing the always-silent girl with a mix of emotions.

Elise’s eyes held awe.

Lasha’s were wide with astonishment.

Shien’s were complex and difficult to describe.

He had known all along that Beatrice’s identity was extraordinary.

There was a record of it in the ancient book Treece had given him.

“Since the founding of the kingdom, the Stalim Duchy has often experienced a strange phenomenon.”

“Many people have claimed to encounter a little girl with golden hair and purple eyes, and to have shared some experiences with her.”

“Some adopted her and took great care of her, only to find her suddenly vanished one day.”

“Some had malicious intentions towards her, wanting to use her for something, but their bodies were later discovered, seemingly having died from extreme fright. Some even showed signs of mental instability, their deaths horrific.”

“Even nobles had encountered this little girl. Some of them could no longer find her one day, while others suddenly died in their homes. It was very strange.”

“Gradually, this matter began to cause panic among the people in the duchy. Some even claimed that it was the work of demons trying to harm the duchy, creating unrest among the people.”

“Finally, to prevent chaos, the Stalim family, as the rulers of the duchy, issued a decree forbidding all residents from discussing this matter, under penalty of punishment.”

“Under these circumstances, the duchy gradually returned to peace, but rumors of this matter still surfaced from time to time, seemingly because people were still encountering such incidents.”

“Therefore, people began to claim that the little girl with golden hair and purple eyes was a vengeful spirit lingering in the Stalim Duchy. Because she hadn’t found happiness in life, she wandered the duchy, leaving on her own when she encountered kind people who were willing to take her in and treat her well, and cursing and killing those who had evil intentions and tried to harm her.”

This was a very famous thousand-year-old legend in the Stalim Duchy—[The Vengeful Spirit Seeking Happiness].

It was said that even now, people still occasionally claimed to have seen this vengeful spirit. There were also unexplained deaths of nobles or criminals in the Stalim Duchy every now and then, making the legend deeply ingrained in the minds of the people. Despite the decree, some still whispered about it in secret.

Therefore, Treece had reacted so strongly when he saw Beatrice.

It was enough to show how famous the legend was, making people immediately think of it.

However, those outside the Stalim Duchy had never heard of this legend.

Treece thought Shien had been targeted by the legendary vengeful spirit, so he couldn’t help but advise him to stay away from Beatrice.

Unfortunately, Shien not only ignored this matter, but even took Beatrice with him.

The reason was simple.

“If she were truly a vengeful spirit, how could a group of magical lifeforms kidnap her and then leave her with me by committing suicide?”

Shien sensed something was amiss. Coupled with the strange occurrences in the Stalim Duchy and the Old Demon Faction causing trouble in the area, Shien felt that there might be something more to Beatrice’s story.

It might be trouble, but it could also be a good thing.

“If the Old Demon Faction gets involved and appears before me, that would be great.”

With this thought, Shien not only didn’t reject Beatrice, but even took her with him.

Of course, besides this intention, the main reason was that Shien didn’t know how to deal with Beatrice.

“I can’t just leave her on the side of the road, can I?”

Therefore, Shien gave Beatrice the choice, letting her decide whether to come with him.

Beatrice made her choice.

So, Shien took her along.

But it wasn’t until this moment that Shien realized how significant Beatrice’s origin was.

Elise told Shien,

“Although she has always been in the dark temple, sealed along with Lilith, Miss Beatrice’s freedom wasn’t restricted too much.”

Because although Beatrice was Lilith’s other half, she was only the separated rationality and had no power of her own, nor was she considered a threat. The Divine Race didn’t want to do anything to her.

Not only did they not want to do anything to her, but the Divine Race also hoped that Beatrice could return to her main body, allowing Lilith to break free from her uncontrolled state, regain her rationality, return to the Divine Race, and enhance their strength. Therefore, the Divine Race treated Beatrice quite gently, never imprisoning her, and even granting her the freedom to enter and leave the temple as she pleased.

Therefore, whether it was when the temple was exiled to the world’s gap or sealed in an independent small space, Beatrice could freely return to this world and move around.

Beatrice’s purpose for moving around in the outside world was simple: to travel the world and observe the ways of life of others, thereby strengthening her rationality and spirit.

“Only in this way can Miss Beatrice have enough rationality to suppress her chaotic instincts when she returns to her main body, successfully merging into one and becoming a true goddess.”

This was the reason why Beatrice became the [Vengeful Spirit Seeking Happiness].

It was precisely because Beatrice was traveling the world, observing all walks of life, and strengthening her rationality that she was sometimes adopted, sometimes targeted, and eventually disappeared. It was simply because she continued her journey.

As for those with malicious intentions, their horrific deaths were probably because, although Beatrice had no power, as the other half of the evil god who governed evil and chaos, Lilith’s power would still activate to protect her when she was in danger.

After all, it was the power of the goddess who governed evil and chaos. Making someone go insane and die suddenly was too easy.

“Unfortunately, Miss Beatrice’s rationality has never been able to grow to the point where it can suppress her chaotic instincts.”

This was to be expected.

Even as the embodiment of rationality, Beatrice’s essence was still evil and chaos. How could she allow her rationality to grow unchecked?

Beatrice wanted to suppress her chaotic instincts by developing her rationality, but her chaotic instincts would also suppress the growth of her rationality, resulting in a contradiction.

The result was that, even after countless years, Beatrice still couldn’t suppress her chaotic instincts.

“This girl…”

Learning this, Shien looked at Beatrice, his gaze somewhat displeased.

It couldn’t be helped.

After learning this, Shien understood two things.

One was why Beatrice couldn’t speak.

Although she possessed a certain level of rationality, it wasn’t complete. This made her somewhat like a newborn baby, unable to speak, but with some mature thinking and judgment, making her current situation contradictory and somewhat distorted.

The other thing was why Beatrice asked him to break Lilith’s seal.

“It must be because after countless years of effort without results, she wanted to take advantage of this sudden incident and accident, have me enter the manifested temple, forcefully break the seal, and then make a desperate attempt to return to her main body, right?”

Shien finally saw through Beatrice’s thoughts, which made him unhappy.

It was obvious how dangerous this was.

It was possible that this time, Beatrice, as Lilith’s rationality, wouldn’t just be separated, but completely destroyed and obliterated.

She herself knew this very well, which was why she ultimately agreed when Shien proposed to postpone the action and not break the seal last night, right?

What did this mean?

It meant that Beatrice herself had no chance of success, which was why she hesitated and was afraid.

Understanding this, Shien glared at Beatrice.

Beatrice, seemingly aware of her guilt, didn’t dare to meet Shien’s eyes, lowering her head and remaining silent.

Elise, on the other hand, after explaining everything clearly, let out a breath and took another sip of black tea to moisten her throat before speaking.

“The mastermind behind this incident not only destroyed the spatial node and released the temple that sealed Lilith, but also kidnapped Miss Beatrice. Honestly, we have no idea what he (or she) is planning to do.”

Not only Elise, but even Shien didn’t know what the mastermind was up to.

Setting aside everything else, what was the purpose of leaving Beatrice with him?

Shien couldn’t understand the other party’s motives, his brows furrowed tightly.

However, Elise’s motives were clear.

“…I don’t know why you invaded the dark temple and broke Lilith’s seal without knowing the whole story, but I want to ask you not to do that again.”

Elise looked at Shien and spoke, mustering her courage.

“If Lilith’s seal is broken, the world will surely suffer a great disaster because of her arrival and turn into hell.”

It was easy to imagine the consequences if a being with power comparable to the Three Goddesses and the Six Demon Lords were to wreak havoc in the human world.

“Before the world was divided into three parts, the land suffered endless disasters because of Lilith’s rampage.”

Elise said.

“I’ve heard that at that time, there were many other races in the human world, including some with racial advantages no less than elves and beastmen. But they were all wiped out by Lilith.”

“It is said that Lilith also destroyed several continents and spread evil, causing monsters and even life itself to lose control and go berserk.”

“The land at that time undoubtedly became hell, and even the demons chose to avoid her.”

Such an evil god was undoubtedly more dangerous than the Demon King.

At least, the Demon King wouldn’t go insane and recklessly destroy everything in the world.

But Lilith did.

Therefore, the Divine Race had no choice but to intervene, with the Three Goddesses personally sealing her and exiling her to the world’s gap.

All because Lilith’s threat was too great.

“Now, after at least thousands of years, few people remember Lilith’s existence. Even legends only mention her in passing. Demons and the Divine Race have also forgotten this evil god, and only a few people still remember her.”

“And those who remember her know how terrifying she is and sincerely hope she will never appear again.”

“You are a noble of the Kingdom, and I heard that you once subjugated the Old Demon Faction. You wouldn’t want to see the world turn into hell, right?”

“So, I beg you, please don’t do that again.”

Elise’s tone was full of pleading.

“…”

Shien fell silent.

Lasha looked at Beatrice and found that she had raised her head at some point, staring intently at Shien.

The living room fell silent once again.

The silence lingered.

…

Later, Elise cautiously suggested returning to the temple, but Shien flatly refused.

“Although I now know what I wanted to know, your priest group must hate me to death now. If I let you go back, they will definitely interrogate you thoroughly and come after me for revenge.”

Therefore, Shien directly told Elise that he would hold her hostage to threaten the beastmen priest group.

“You… You really are a bad guy…!”

Elise accused tearfully, but it had no effect.

Shien wasn’t worried about her running away.

“Your magic power has been sealed by me, meaning you can’t use magic at all. Under these circumstances, as a rare and precious fox-person, what do you think will happen to you if you run out onto the streets, considering the current state of Cosmos, where criminals are rampant? Think carefully!”

Shien threatened Elise, making her face pale and tremble once more.

Compared to other beastmen, fox-people were fundamentally different.

Ordinary beastmen were naturally born with outstanding physical abilities, suitable for becoming excellent warriors. Only fox-people had no significant physical advantages, but they possessed magical talent that other beastmen severely lacked.

Their magical talent was even comparable to that of elves.

Thanks to this, the beastmen saintess was usually a fox-person.

Such a fox-person could only use magic and knew nothing about close combat. Once her magic power was sealed, she couldn’t even pray and could only be a weak, ordinary girl.

With her priest group not around and her timid personality, how could Elise dare to escape on her own?

“You will be punished by heaven! You will suffer divine retribution!”

Elise uttered these harsh words, then ran to Lasha, either seeking comfort or protection.

Beatrice also disappeared unnoticed, her whereabouts unknown.

Shien was left alone, standing on the balcony, looking at the chaotic buildings outside, lost in thought.

Chapter 358: The Girl’s Origin

Back then, Cosmos didn’t exist yet.

Because a thousand years ago, when the war had just ended, the Hero who defeated the Demon King hadn’t even established the Kingdom of Mitra yet.

Since the Kingdom of Mitra didn’t exist at that time, Cosmos, a fortress city belonging to the kingdom, naturally hadn’t been built either.

Therefore, back then, the area where Cosmos was located was actually the habitat of a beastmen tribe.

“The dark temple that sealed the evil god landed directly in the territory of our beastmen ancestors’ tribe, alarming the saintess of the tribe at that time.”

“The beastmen saintess at that time prayed to the Goddess of Life for guidance. After a while, the Divine Race seemed to decide that the Goddess of Life would take over the temple and reseal it.”

“Originally, the Divine Race seemed to want to exile the temple back to the world’s gap, but after the Supreme God Omnis’s readjustment, the world had become much stronger and more stable than before. There were no longer gaps in the world, only ‘walls’ between the Divine Realm, the human world, and the Demon Realm.”

“Under such circumstances, exiling the temple would at most only send it to the Divine Realm or the Demon Realm, which wouldn’t solve the problem.”

“Therefore, the Goddess of Life, who was responsible for guarding the temple, exiled it to an independent small space, and our beastmen priests were tasked with guarding the surrounding area of this spatial node.”

Elise revealed this ancient secret unknown to the world, causing Shien to understand somewhat.

“I think I get it.” Shien nodded. “Later, the Hero Mitra established the kingdom and claimed this land as his own territory, building the fortress city of Cosmos here. That’s why the temple ended up in Cosmos, right?”

“That’s right.” Elise nodded repeatedly, confirming Shien’s words. “Originally, because of the evil god sealed here, the Divine Race didn’t want humans to establish a country or even a city in this place.”

“But since the other party was the Hero who successfully defeated the Demon King, the Divine Race probably didn’t want to have a conflict with him, right?” Shien curled his lip, speculating as if he had witnessed it firsthand. “Moreover, if this place became the Hero’s territory, he would be the one to deal with any problems that arose. So, the Divine Race chose to turn a blind eye, right?”

“That’s exactly what happened.” Elise took a sip of the black tea beside her, moistening her throat, before continuing, “Of course, the Divine Race also communicated with the Hero, hoping that he would leave the land around the spatial node to the beastmen. We also negotiated with the Empire, promising not to interfere in the politics or wars between the two countries in exchange for their promise not to invade the territory where the beastmen lived. Therefore, for a thousand years, although this place has become an important fortress, our beastmen have always lived here, undisturbed by the world.”

Perhaps this was the reason why Cosmos became a melting pot of races.

Because this was originally the habitat of beastmen, and humans only came later, laying the foundation for the coexistence of multiple races here.

Furthermore, this place became a fortress, attracting dwarves known for their weapon forging skills, resulting in a diverse society with various races living together.

And Elise and the other beastmen priests had always lived here, never leaving.

In other words…

“This is your homeland?”

Shien hadn’t expected this.

“That’s right.” Elise puffed out her chest. “We’re not some suspicious group. We’re native Cosmos citizens.”

This was probably why Elise became friends with the Imperial Valkyrie.

Cosmos was the closest city to the Empire, and the Empire had always regarded the Kingdom as a rival, eyeing it covetously. With this connection, it wasn’t surprising that people from the Empire would appear in Cosmos and, through various circumstances, befriend the beastmen priests who had lived here for a thousand years.

There were also many beastmen in Cosmos. Shien had seen quite a few since arriving here and had even been robbed by beastmen robbers. This was enough to show that Cosmos had a deep connection with beastmen.

“If it weren’t for the spatial node being destroyed, the temple reappearing in the human world, and the magic power flowing out from it repelling all buildings and living beings, causing the forced transfer phenomenon, you would have seen the beastmen tribe.”

Speaking of this, Elise’s tone was somewhat sad.

Shien, on the other hand, understood once again.

“So, the reason why that area became an empty plain with no buildings wasn’t only because the buildings were transferred away, but also because it was the beastmen tribe’s territory, and there were no buildings there to begin with?”

Shien had heard that beastmen tribes lived in tents or yurts, not in houses like humans.

Some beastmen tribes even lived in caves, their lifestyle quite similar to that of primitive people.

Now, due to the reappearance of the dark temple, the entire beastmen tribe had been repelled, leaving behind only a desolate plain.

“If we weren’t priests, messengers of the Goddess of Life, able to protect ourselves with the power bestowed by the Goddess, we probably wouldn’t be able to get close to the temple either.”

Elise’s tone changed from sadness to relief.

Clearly, being able to guard the temple in its current state was a blessing in disguise for Elise and the others.

So, the question was…

“Why was the spatial node that sealed the temple destroyed, causing the temple that sealed the evil god to reappear here?”

Shien finally asked the most crucial question.

And this question made Elise grit her teeth, even showing some anger.

It couldn’t be helped.

“The spatial node was deliberately destroyed.”

Elise said angrily.

“Deliberately destroyed?” Shien frowned and looked at Elise. “Was it the Old Demon Faction?”

This was undoubtedly the first suspect.

It was no coincidence that the Old Demon Faction just happened to appear in the Stalim Duchy, even in Cosmos, during this period.

Shien remembered that, according to intelligence, Cosmos was the first place where the Old Demon Faction appeared, not anywhere else.

Therefore, suspecting the Old Demon Faction wasn’t wrong.

However…

“It wasn’t the Old Demon Faction that destroyed the spatial node, but humans.”

Elise said these words.

“Humans?”

Shien was stunned.

Not only Shien, but even Lasha couldn’t help but raise her eyes, and Beatrice’s eyes also rippled slightly, seeming surprised.

But it was the truth.

“On the night of the incident, the Old Demon Faction did suddenly appear in Cosmos and launched a large-scale attack on our beastmen tribe, massacring many beastmen.” Elise said resentfully, “Fortunately, beastmen are a brave and skilled warrior race. Although we were caught off guard at first, we quickly reacted and organized a counterattack, successfully repelling the Old Demon Faction.”

They actually repelled them?

That was impressive.

However, Shien could accept this outcome.

After all, there was a beastmen priest group stationed here, and every beastman in that group was at least level sixty. Oz was level ninety-one, and there were other high-level beastmen priests like Maeve, who was level eighty-nine. Being able to repel the Old Demon Faction’s attack didn’t seem too surprising.

But…

“After we successfully repelled the Old Demon Faction, the temple suddenly appeared, releasing terrifying magic power that caused our beastmen tribe to be directly repelled by that power. Everyone except the priests disappeared, and Cosmos was also affected, gradually experiencing the transfer phenomenon caused by the repulsion. In the end, even the Empire’s territory and the Stalim Duchy were affected.”

Elise told Shien the reason behind the so-called strange occurrences here.

“Therefore, our beastmen priests have been guarding the temple to prevent another attack from the Old Demon Faction. I also took some priests to track down the mastermind behind the destruction of the spatial node, but we haven’t been able to catch them.”

Speaking of this, Elise’s tone was filled with frustration and resentment.

Shien finally understood the whole story.

“Are you sure it was humans who destroyed the spatial node?”

Shien confirmed, frowning.

“I’m sure.” Elise nodded firmly. “We beastmen are naturally born with sharp senses. Although we didn’t react in time to capture the culprit’s scent, the aura left behind was definitely human.”

Elise wouldn’t be mistaken about this.

They were beastmen, but they were also messengers of the Goddess of Life. Even if they couldn’t identify the aura of every living being in the world, it was still easy for them to distinguish the race of an aura.

“That mastermind also kept using magical lifeforms to interfere with our actions, even sacrificing them as disposable tools. Every time we got a lead, we ended up finding traces left by magical lifeforms, or even a group of self-destructing magical lifeforms. It’s infuriating!”

Elise said angrily.

But her words made Shien and Lasha’s eyes narrow.

“Self-destructing magical lifeforms…?”

Shien and Lasha exchanged glances, instantly understanding each other’s thoughts, and fell silent.

Shien also looked at Beatrice and found that she was also looking at him.

Shien remained silent for a moment, then turned his gaze to Elise.

“Tell me,” Shien said in a calm tone, “is Beatrice related to the evil god Lilith?”

This question was already quite obvious.

“…Yes.”

Elise hesitated for a moment, then spoke as if giving up.

“Miss Beatrice has always been in the dark temple, sealed along with Lilith.”

Why was this so?

The reason was also simple.

“Because Miss Beatrice is the other half of Lilith, the rationality that was stripped away.”

Chapter 357: “Lilith”

Poor Shien had no idea that the beastmen saintess before him was essentially a whimpering crybaby.

Otherwise, he might have punched her to death.

Now, thanks to the crybaby’s explanation, Shien finally understood what that temple was.

According to Elise, the temple wasn’t dedicated to the Goddess of Life, nor to any of the current goddesses of the Divine Race, but to a…

“Evil god?”

Shien was stunned.

“Yes.” Elise sniffled, taking a sip of soup. As she ate, she said reluctantly, “You should know that the goddesses in the Divine Race each have their own domains, governing one or more attributes, right?”

Shien nodded.

This was common knowledge.

“Basically, except for the omnipotent Supreme God, all members of the Divine Race have their own domains and responsibilities.”

“They may not all be strong, but within their respective domains, they are undoubtedly unmatched.”

“Take the Three Goddesses at the pinnacle of the Divine Race as an example. They govern fate, nature, and life respectively.”

Elise explained.

“The Goddess of Fate, Lildas, governs fate and possesses the power to manipulate it. Both the Divine Race and the various races of the human world have received her guidance, making her the true Goddess of Fate.”

“The Goddess of Nature, Nadue, governs nature and possesses the power to create it. Whether it’s forests or oceans, they were all created by this goddess, making her the Goddess of Nature.”

“And the Goddess of Life, Anima, is the ruler of life, the mother of all living beings, possessing the power to create life. The various races of the human world were born thanks to her power, including humans, beastmen, and so on, making her the Goddess of Life.”

“Like this, the goddesses of the Divine Race each govern one or more domains and have reached the pinnacle within their respective fields.”

“However, among the many domains, not all of them have good responsibilities and attributes.”

Elise brought up a fact easily overlooked by people.

“In the Divine Race, there are actually some gods with taboo domains, feared by the world.”

“Among them, the most famous is a goddess who governs misfortune. Although she’s a Superior God, even the other goddesses of the Divine Race avoid her.”

“There are evil gods, wicked gods, and even demon gods like this in the Divine Race. Not only do they have few followers, but they are also considered problem children within the Divine Race.”

Elise’s words made Shien recall the myths from his past life.

In those myths, there were also many evil gods and wicked gods.

They were also gods, but they were responsible for spreading fear and death.

Those who worshipped these gods were usually cultists, and some of these gods existed solely to establish the “evil” side in myths, to warn people and highlight the importance of “good.”

In other words, gods weren’t necessarily all benevolent. This was mentioned in many myths from his past life, and it was naturally the same in this world.

Because of the special status of the Divine Race, many people regarded them as their faith, as supreme beings. But they often overlooked the fact that there were also evil and ominous individuals within the Divine Race.

Shien had also subconsciously formed this perception, until today, when Elise reminded him.

“I’m such a fool. How could I forget such a thing?”

Shien couldn’t help but laugh wryly.

Gods were divided into good and evil. This was mentioned in countless stories, making it a common trope.

In many stories, the final boss wasn’t a demon, but a god.

Under such circumstances, it was truly unwise to distinguish good and evil based on race.

But it couldn’t be helped. Gods held such a special place in people’s hearts.

They were creators, synonymous with miracles. People had faith in them, seeing them as spiritual anchors, which naturally formed an instinct, or subconsciousness, to “worship upon seeing a god.”

But in reality, some gods had committed sins no less heinous than the most brutal demons.

“A being like the God of Misfortune is actually still considered good. Although she spreads misfortune, she can also absorb it, so there are still some countries in the human world that worship her, hoping to use her power to turn bad luck into good fortune and eliminate calamities.”

Elise explained.

“However, there are some gods who can’t do that. Their existence itself is a disaster, making it impossible to worship them or leave them alone.”

Hearing this, Shien basically understood.

“Is the god sealed in that temple one such god?”

Shien realized.

“Yes.”

Elise’s expression finally became serious, regaining the dignity of a saintess as she spoke solemnly.

“That is the demon god who governs evil and chaos – Lilith.”

—”Lilith.”

When this name reached Shien’s ears, he couldn’t help but think of the girl.

The girl who was covered in wounds, sealed in crystal, looking both hideous and terrifying.

Thinking of the girl, Shien turned his head to look at Beatrice beside him.

Beatrice was sitting next to Lasha, watching Elise as she explained everything, silent as always.

Elise seemed to have noticed Beatrice’s gaze and glanced at her several times, but quickly looked away.

It was as if she was wary and afraid of something.

Shien could understand the fox-girl saintess’s behavior.

Because Beatrice clearly had a deep connection with the sealed evil god.

Elise told Shien,

“It is said that among all the evil gods and wicked gods, Goddess Lilith is the most powerful.”

“Since she is the goddess who governs evil and chaos, naturally, there is no one among the evil gods and wicked gods who can compare to her.”

“Therefore, although Goddess Lilith is only a Superior God, her power is extremely formidable even within the Divine Race.”

After all, unlike demons, whose ranks and power were clearly defined, the status of gods was determined by the importance of their domains, not their strength.

Some gods, although Superior Gods, had power inferior to even Inferior Gods.

Some gods, although Inferior Gods, possessed power that even Superior Demons wouldn’t underestimate.

Like the Three Goddesses, although they were of the same level, only one of them had overwhelmingly powerful strength, surpassing even Demon Lords. The other two, although much stronger than ordinary beings, were far inferior to Demon Lords, and also far inferior to their strongest sister.

Therefore, within the Divine Race, there were also some gods who were valued by demons and humans because of their power.

Once, Lucy had mentioned to Shien a goddess she was close to.

“That goddess is the Goddess of Judgment, who governs justice and order. Her duty is to maintain peace and order in the world, eliminate evil, and dispel chaos.”

“Thanks to this, she is very powerful, second only to the Three Goddesses in the Divine Race. Once she uses her power, her threat to demons even surpasses two of the Three Goddesses.”

“Therefore, although the Goddess of Justice is only a Superior God, she is considered an enemy on par with, or even stronger than, the Three Goddesses in war. She once confronted the Ghost Demon, one of the Six Demon Lords, forcing him to fight with his full strength.”

It was because of this that the Divine Race was able to join forces with the human race and fight against the demons in the war a thousand years ago.

Otherwise, relying solely on the Three Goddesses to hold back the Six Demon Lords would have been very difficult.

And then…

“The Goddess of Evil, Lilith, is the opposite of the Goddess of Justice, Artemis.”

Elise explained.

“These two goddesses were born at the same time and are considered by the demons to be the only two figures in the Divine Race who are not inferior to the Three Goddesses, especially Artemis, the Goddess of Justice. Due to her domain, she is like a natural enemy to demons. In terms of compatibility, her power’s restraint on demons is second only to the Hero’s Holy Sword.”

The fact that Lilith, the evil god, could rival such a figure showed how terrifying she was.

“The Divine Race once hoped to use Goddess Lilith’s power to fight against the demons.” Elise said in a low voice. “If they had Lilith, whose power rivaled Artemis and the Three Goddesses, I believe the Divine Race wouldn’t have been at such a disadvantage against the demons.”

Unfortunately, that was just wishful thinking.

“As a being who governs not only evil, but also chaos, Goddess Lilith has been in a state of losing control from the moment she was born.”

Elise revealed a crucial secret.

“Due to her nature, upon birth, this evil god instinctively stripped away her own rationality and expelled it, completely losing control and bringing many disasters to the world.”

The Divine Race naturally couldn’t ignore such a being.

Therefore…

“A long, long time ago, so long ago that humans hadn’t even been born yet, the Three Goddesses joined forces to seal Lilith and exile her temple to the world’s gap, a place where no one could reach, eternally imprisoning her.”

Elise’s voice suddenly became heavy.

“However, a thousand years ago, this situation changed.”

Why?

The reason was simple.

“Because the war a thousand years ago divided the world into three parts?”

Shien stated the reason.

“That’s right.” Elise nodded, confirming Shien’s words. “Because the world was divided into three parts, the world’s gap was opened, and the dark temple where Lilith was sealed escaped from the gap, eventually landing in the human world.”

Then, the answer to where this dark temple landed was obvious.

“It’s here, Cosmos.”