Free Web NovelIf not seen with one’s own eyes, no one would believe that beneath Deerhorn City—the hub of the southern border—there could be a subterranean altar of such scale.
Perhaps, compared to the thousand-year Royal Capital Rodel, it lacked a trace of mystery and beauty.
Perhaps, compared to the Twilight Ruins at Titan’s Cliff, it fell short of solemn grandeur.
But even Vieya, with her broad experience, could not deny the magnificence and wonder of the altar beneath Deerhorn City.
Ash-gray mist wrapped around the entire underground altar. Everything was hazy, unclear. Vieya even wondered if this altar had hollowed out the entire ground beneath the city.
“This is the end of the sewers...”
Anna spoke softly, her sky-blue eyes turning calm.
From the moment they entered the sewers, her behavior had become much more restrained—not only because she had been defeated by Vieya, but also because of this place.
This was the place of divine descent.
As a believer, maintaining silence and solemnity here was necessary.
“Waa～waa～waa!”
On the other side, Xiao Lü let out an awed cry. She had lived in this city for decades and had never realized there was something like this underground!
Hm?
Suddenly, Xiao Lü closed her hand in a loose fist, her eyes puzzled. The air here actually blocked the flow of information.
That meant all means of communication were ineffective here.
“Yeye-sis, communication is forbidden here!” Xiao Lü announced, excitement in her tone.
“Mhm. Not simple...”
Vieya answered faintly. She stood atop a pile of broken walls and rubble at the edge, gazing at the altar in the distance. Gray and murky, nothing could be seen clearly—but a faint scent of blood wafted out.
It seemed the ritual had already begun.
She had visited this city many times before, yet had never discovered such a massive altar below.
“Anna, what is at the altar’s center?”
“Sorry, I do not know. And I cannot tell you.”
Anna shook her head slightly while smoothing the folds of her black dress. She still kept to the basic professional ethics of a believer.
“And as I said, bringing you here was not my own will. It was the guidance of the heretical god.”
“Oh?”
Suddenly.
Vieya felt her heart pounding, the Hero’s Seal on her chest heating up.
“Come...”
“Please come...”
“Please come closer...”
A drizzle-like calling voice came from the altar’s center, as if welcoming her arrival.
“Did you hear that?” Vieya covered her ears, only to realize the voice was echoing inside her heart.
Anna looked blankly at the white-haired girl, pondering for a long while before realizing why she had said “you all” when only the two of them were here.
So the spirit of the All-Seeing Eye had been following them all along?
But still—
Aside from the sound of rainwater flowing, what other sound was there? Anna muttered inwardly, but answered aloud: “Maybe you angered the heretical god, and now He wants to chat with you.”
Was there such a thing as a free blessing in this world? Heh, you angered a heretical god and still hope to run?
Anna’s thoughts were ill-intentioned.
“Little White-Hair, why not pray and chant the great heretical god’s name with me? Maybe it will get better.”
Saying so, Anna clasped her hands together and began to pray in a low voice.
“Lord who rules resurrection and renewal,
my body is like a candle in the wind,
yet my soul looks up to the eternal morning star.
I beg Thee to turn the waters of Jordan into holy oil,
and blend with the prophet Elisha’s salt...”
From Anna’s lips spilled words of piety. At the same time, faint tremors came from the altar’s center, steadily growing stronger!
Rumble rumble!
“Stop!”
Vieya’s expression changed drastically. She looked toward Anna, shouting in command, “Stop at once!”
But Anna kept chanting, as if deaf to Vieya’s voice, her tone rising, filled with the heavy resonance of divinity:
“Make this perishable body a vessel of testimony—
whether healed to show Your might,
or enduring to witness Your grace...”
At this moment, it was as if ten thousand voices chanted in unison!
Dong～!
A heavy, ancient bell tolled at the altar’s center. Waves rippled through the gray fog.
“Yeye-sis, that one is not right in the head anymore!” Xiao Lü panicked at the sight of these anomalies. “Let’s run! Leave this place!”
“I am right here. What is there to fear?” Vieya said. “Do not be afraid.”
She stood there, her body {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} small and delicate, yet radiating the immovable steadiness of a mountain.
Xiao Lü fell silent. She realized—even though Vieya’s body had become that of a slime girl, in her bones remained the unyielding pride of a Hero.
Such a person would never fall into corruption!
“Authority, the third—Balance of the White Tiger.”
Vieya stepped forward. For the first time, she formally recited the full name of her authority. A milky aura spread over her body like domineering force, perfectly balancing the Hero’s power with the monster-girl form she bore!
Now, she could use her authority without restraint, no longer fearing the backlash of overuse.
In the past, faced with such a situation, why would she have bothered with such trouble? She would simply wield her body, Holy Sword in hand, and cleave everything apart.
Anna lifted her eyes. The blue within had turned pitch black like an abyss. She looked at Vieya, lips curving in an eerie smile.
Possessed by the heretical god.
“Authority,”
Vieya took another step forward, aiming her small fist at Anna. Now, she was truly angry. From the moment she set foot in Deerhorn City, someone had been watching her in secret.
And then, they had tailored a whole scheme just to lure her here?
This was no game.
Vieya spoke, her voice low:
“The second—Strength of the Bull!”
A punch that seemed feather-light forced Anna, possessed by the heretical god, to stagger back repeatedly.
Boom!
An unmatched force burst from Vieya’s fist. Xiao Lü felt the entire underground palace quake! Dust and rubble showered from the ceiling above!
“This power... it really is you!” Anna’s black eyes shone with joy. She spread her arms as if to embrace something. “Aren’t you afraid that one punch will collapse everything here, bringing the whole city down?”
“You underestimate my control over strength.”
Vieya’s face was indifferent. She raised her fist at Anna, then slowly opened her hand, declaring with divine solemnity:
“Authority, the eighth—Soul-Severing of the Lamb!”
Anna froze, her pupils flickering between black and blue. Her beautiful face twisted in pain.
Inside her, the black spirit was being wrenched out by an invisible hand!
“Come out and face me!”
“No—wait! I mean you no harm!” The voice of the possessed Anna raced, “An old acquaintance entrusted me to return something she left behind to you!” freёweɓnovel.com
Vieya hesitated for only a heartbeat, but did not halt her action.
Anna hurriedly added in desperation:
“Do you know? Before her fall, Flaviel left you a child!”
