There was a secret underground room hidden deep within Empyrean Citadel.
Other than Charlie as the owner of the residence, the only other occupants who knew of the existence of this secret room were Aishia and Est—the two spirit girls closely bound to him.
As for Astraea, Kei, and Mahiru, the three of them knew nothing at all. Charlie deliberately kept the existence of the underground room a secret from them.
After all, what was stored inside was not something suitable for anyone to know.
In fact, if this information were ever to leak to the ears of the Loki Familia, a massive war would undoubtedly erupt immediately between the Hera Familia and the Loki Familia.
However, the outcome of that war was guaranteed to be vastly different from the past.
In the past, the Loki Familia along with the Freya Familia had taken advantage of the moment when the Hera Familia was at its weakest condition in history—due to the annihilation of their main executive ranks during a joint expedition with the Zeus Familia against the One Eyed Black Dragon—to expel the two pillars of the old hegemony out of Orario.
If the clash scenario from that year were to repeat itself today, the side that would be destroyed and defeated would actually be the Loki Familia.
Even though the only remaining member of the Hera Familia in Orario at present was Charlie alone, he was supremely confident in his ability to crush the entire strength of the Loki Familia without the slightest difficulty.
The atmosphere of the underground room appeared so dark, cold, and enveloped in a chilling silence.
Right in the central part of the room stood a sturdy block of eternal ice that radiated a faint blue glow.
Inside the translucent block of ice lay the corpse of Ais Wallenstein, perfectly preserved without a single thread covering her smooth body.
Charlie stepped closer, standing silently before the block of ice.
His eyes stared intently at Ais's figure, who looked so serene—like a sleeping princess in a fairy tale awaiting a prince's kiss to awaken once more.
"You know, Ais...? The city up there is in utter chaos because of your Familia." Charlie said softly, his voice echoing gently against the cold stone walls. "Goddess Loki has completely lost her mind ever since you vanished without a word. My Empyrean Citadel was not even spared from their search. Loki herself came to see me in person, staring at me with glowing red eyes and asking about your whereabouts."
Charlie gave a bitter smile. "But, thanks to my Spirit Arts that perfectly conceal this entire underground room, as well as my status as a Transcendent that renders all of Loki's divine detection abilities completely useless against me..."
"Loki could ultimately only leave here in frustration. I heard news that the grand expedition plan that the Loki Familia had prepared was forced to be postponed indefinitely, because their primary focus right now is just one thing: finding you."
Reaching out his hand, he stroked the surface of the extremely cold block of ice with a melancholic and longing gaze.
"Please be patient a little longer, Ais..." he said in an earnest tone. "I promise, I will definitely snatch your soul back from the hands of the God of Death in Heaven."
"My power right now is not yet enough to challenge all the gods residing in Heaven at once. But at the latest within the coming year... by completing various missions from Gaia and Alaya in other worlds, I believe my power will grow strong enough to resurrect you."
His thumb rubbed the ice covering Ais's face.
"And when that day arrives, I will not only resurrect you, but I will also realize my greatest ambition: returning the Lower World to its original state."
"I will drive all the gods and goddesses back to Heaven, and then seal Heaven itself away forever so that they can never descend again to mess with the lives of mortals."
As he thought about his plan to drive all the gods back to Heaven, images of Hera and Astraea suddenly crossed Charlie's mind.
He felt a slight sense of guilt in his heart toward the two goddesses close to him.
Even so, Charlie's resolve and stance remained firm without the slightest tremor.
After finishing his words, a mystical glow of light enveloped Charlie's body.
In the next second, his figure vanished instantly from within the dark underground room, leaving Ais behind, remaining fast asleep in the eternity of ice.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
In the spacious and comfortable living room of Empyrean Citadel, Astraea appeared to be painstakingly teaching Mahiru how to read and write the local language.
On the other side of the sofa, Est sat quietly with a slightly dazed gaze, seemingly daydreaming as she waited for something.
Meanwhile, Kei, accompanied by Aishia, had already set off for the Dungeon since eight o'clock this morning.
Through his Senrigan vision, Charlie knew full well that those two girls had already stepped far ahead and were currently on the 59th Floor.
The moment Charlie's figure appeared and walked into the living room, Est instantly straightened her posture, stood up, and went directly up to him.
"Onii-chan... are we departing now?" Est asked in her characteristic flat tone, looking up at him.
The activity at the study desk instantly came to a halt.
Astraea and Mahiru shifted their attention, together observing Charlie who had just joined them.
Charlie smiled gently as he reached out his hand, lightly patting Est's head.
"Yes, I am ready. We will leave right away now, Est."
After saying that, he clenched his fist and began chanting an incantation in an authoritative, low voice.
"Dispassionate Queen of Steel, the sacred sword that destroys evil—now form my sword!"
SHUA!
Right as the final line of the incantation was uttered, Est's small body instantly dissolved into thousands of dazzling silver light particles and vanished from sight.
A moment later, that glow of light coalesced back within the grasp of Charlie's right hand, manifesting into an exquisitely beautiful, single-handed longsword of glowing silver.
Along the length of its blade's edge, an ancient inscription in the language of spirits was carved, emanating a sacred aura—Terminus Est.
The echo of Est's voice sounded soft and calm directly inside Charlie's mind, conveying an implicit sense of joy.
"I am very happy... It has been so long since Onii-chan last used me. I am by no means just a mascot, but Onii-chan's weapon."
Charlie chuckled softly upon hearing his sword spirit's voice. "Who on earth dared to say that you are just a mascot, Est?"
"A goddess named Demeter." Est answered with a pout inside Charlie's head.
Charlie could only shake his head, holding back his laughter.
At the same time, Mahiru walked over while bringing a long black coat.
That coat was no ordinary garment, but a high-tier magic item forged by Charlie himself, which had been embedded with various buff effects and attribute enhancements.
With extremely gentle and attentive movements, Mahiru helped Charlie put on the black coat—adjusting the collar and neatening the shoulder area with meticulous care, just like a wife fitting a neat suit before her husband leaves for work at the office.
"Charlie-kun... please take good care of yourself and always be careful." Mahiru said while looking into Charlie's eyes with a loving gaze.
Astraea, who was watching from the table, also nodded gently, wearing a caring smile.
"What Mahiru says is true, Charlie. No matter how strong you are, never let your guard down. All of us await your safe return."
Hearing such sincere care from the two women before him, Charlie's heart felt warm. He smiled softly to reassure them.
"Thank you for your care, both of you. Don't worry, there is not a single thing out there that can harm or endanger me. I won't be long." Charlie said with absolute confidence.
He then took a step backward, looking at Mahiru and Astraea in turn to say goodbye.
"In that case, I will be taking my leave now. See you later."
Without wasting any more time, Charlie activated the capability of the Hundred Gauntlets.
Instantly manipulating causality, a faint glow of light enveloped his body, and in the next second, his figure along with the Sacred Sword Severian in his hand vanished via teleportation, leaving behind the living room that returned to silence.
👨🏻💻Support me by reading on my Patreon: Patreon.com/cw/transenden or bit.ly/4uObLvf
☕Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/lovefanfiction
🛍️Benefits:
🎁Access 90+ chapters: [Main God Invades Naruto: No One is a Regular Uchiha Anymore]
🎁Access 70+ chapters: [Anime Crossover: As a Devil, I Tamed the Heroines]
🎁Access 30 chapters: [Journey to Planar Word]
🎁Access 150+ chapters: [Infinity Reincarnation]
📜Update Schedule:
📨Translated Fanfiction: 3 chapters per day
📨Original Fanfiction: 1-2 chapters per day
👍🏻Thank you so much for your incredible support, everyone!👍🏻