Edward wasn't given any time to think—the three enemies in front of him struck first.
Zatwen was the quickest, activating [Theft] to snatch the wand from Edward's hand. At the same time, he manipulated every inanimate object nearby, turning them into weapons that hurled themselves at Edward.
On the other side, a crack split open down the middle of Shaman King Klarman's forehead. Within the fissure glowed a blood-red full moon. With a cruel smile, he thrust both hands forward and stretched open a hazy, illusory door carved with countless arcane symbols.
He was using the power of a sealed artifact to prematurely wield an ability belonging to Sequence 3—the "Door of Summoning."
With a spectral creak, the Door of Summoning cracked open. From the fissure emerged a pair of pallid human hands, their skin dull and textureless, like the cheapest of dolls—this was none other than another Angel of the Rose School of Thought, the "King of Curses," Barranca!
Meanwhile, the last of the trio—the young man—suddenly dissolved into a cloud of black mist. Two sharp horns sprouted from his forehead like a ram's. From within the fog stretched two twisted hands, dark and withered like dead branches.
A Sequence 4 Demon!
"I can smell it…"
The Demon's eyes locked onto Edward.
"You reek of her scent…the woman who killed my pet!"
His words made Edward jolt. In an instant, he recognised him—the true serial killer behind the Patrick Jason's disguise back in Backlund: Jason Beria!
He really had advanced to Sequence 4…and even joined the Rose School?!
The thought flashed through Edward's mind, but he didn't linger. He immediately turned and bolted the opposite way. Against a lineup of one Angel and three Demigods, he knew he had no chance of winning. His only option was—run!
But could he?
Impossible.
The first strike came from the Demon Jason Beria. He merely cast a distant glance, and instantly grasped Edward's deepest desires, igniting them from within.
Edward's vision suddenly went blood-red. His spirituality surged out of control, dragging his body with it. He plummeted straight from the sky.
Fortunately, before impact, he managed to claw back a shred of clarity. He hastily exploited the air's resistance to land safely.
But Zatwen's assault followed immediately. He stole Edward's very thoughts, then performed a Mirror Blink, diving straight into Edward's pupils to possess him.
At the same time, Klarman drew back his bow and loosed a scarlet arrow directly at Edward's head.
"Edward!"
Lilith leapt without hesitation, throwing herself in front of the shot.
The moment the arrow hit, her body shrank rapidly, transforming into a wand—and reappeared several meters away.
Her Wand Substitution had activated.
"Edward!"
Edward invoked [Unfettered], breaking free from the double control.
"Magnify—No Possession Allowed in This Area!"
Zatwen was instantly ejected from his body. Edward blinked forward to Lilith's side, scooping her up. His eyes flashed with silver-white arcs of lightning—
Lightning Storm!
Countless bolts of blinding silver serpents roared outward, suffused with a destructive power so tangible it seemed to burn reality itself. They blanketed hundreds of meters, turning the entire forest into a realm of thunder.
Klarman, Zatwen, and Beria instantly retreated from the inferno. Only the King of Curses, Barranca, continued to squeeze his way out of the Summoning Gate.
Boom!
Before the storm of lightning, all were equal.
Everything within the range of the storm was annihilated to ash, erased from existence—its destructive power was terrifying.
Had the three demigods remained still, they would have been reduced to cinders, or at least skinned alive. But, of course, they'd already withdrawn the moment the storm was unleashed.
Still, it bought Edward a priceless sliver of time.
Dashing into the massive primeval forest, Edward poured his entire reserve of spirituality and magic into successive transformation spells. Dozens of "Edwards" scattered in every direction, the scene resembled Naruto's Multi-Shadow Clone Technique.
Thankfully, in the world of the Mysteries, unlike xianxia or other cultivation stories, powerhouses didn't possess overbearing "divine senses" that could instantly discern true from false.
Not even the Angel struggling out of the Summoning Gate could tell the real Edward apart at a glance. So they resorted to the simplest, crudest method: a carpet-bombing of attacks, sparing none of the Edwards.
Hidden among them, Edward could only curse furiously in his heart.
Damn it! In the original novel, Klein and his team always hunted down enemies by ganging up, many against one. But now it's my turn, and I'm the one being ganged up on—by opponents all higher Sequence than me!
No wonder…No wonder Christine—that fallen Mother Goddess—wanted to play that "game" with me. She must have known I'd eventually beg her for help. She's already set her sights on me siring her a child!
Damn it!
If she wanted to bear my child, I'd grit my teeth and accept—even if she is an Outer God.
But making me—a man—bear a child?!
Over my dead body! I'd rather die here than beg her for salvation!
That left him with only one option.
A path of certain death—with only the faintest chance of rebirth.
A path he'd long steeled himself for, but never felt ready to tread. And to make matters worse, his potion wasn't even fully digested yet.
But now—he had no other choice.
The instant he formed the thought, rifts tore open across the sky above the forest. One after another, black arms plunged down, stabbing deep into the trees.
The forest churned, drowning beneath layers of viscous black fluid. It spread endlessly, corroding upward into the void itself, twisting the boundary between reality and the spirit world.
In an instant, every 'fake' Edward was stripped away, leaving only the real Edward—exposed, glaringly obvious.
"ROAR!!"
A wave of bizarre and twisted howls echoed in Edward's ears, leaving his mind blank—he lost all thoughts for a brief instant.
The viscous black liquid surged toward him from every direction. From within the tar-like liquid, countless arms stretched out, each one exuding the aura of a curse, reaching for Edward, who had lost his focus.
Unfettered!
At the very last second before being swallowed, Edward regained his consciousness. But by then, the black liquid had already sealed off every possible escape route.
At that moment, a thousand thoughts converged into one desperate plea in his mind:
"Mother Goddess, save me!"
The next second, Edward's position was engulfed by the black liquid.
But before it consumed him, he had already reappeared a kilometre away. Christine stood there with her usual faint smile.
"You held out longer than I expected," she said softly.
She paused, then continued, "Now that you've called for my help, it means you've agreed to give me a child."
Edward forced a strained smile. "Heh, whether or not I'll give birth isn't exactly up to me. But if you want me to, I'd at least need to stay alive, don't you think?"
He gently set Lilith down, then with a sudden push of his feet, charged straight toward the Rose School members. As he got close, he unleashed a torrent of spells and supernatural abilities.
The Rose School trio didn't understand why he was suddenly rushing to his death, but they weren't about to hold back. Just as they were about to strike back—
Edward shouted again, even louder, "Mother Goddess, save me!!"
Almost instantly, a force so terrifying it made even demigods tremble descended. The King of Curses, Barranca, was the least affected, but he was also the fastest to react—without hesitation, he retreated back into the Summoning Gate.
As for the other three—Shaman King Klarman, Zatwen, and Beria—their bellies swelled grotesquely before their eyes. Not just their bellies, but their arms, legs, even their ears and noses began to bulge unnaturally.
It was the authority of the Mother Goddess of Depravity!
The three were struck with utter horror, struggling to suppress the swelling with their powers while simultaneously fleeing.
Edward didn't care whether Suah was hiding in the Spirit World or not. He teleported in front of the fleeing demigods, cutting off their path:
"Magnify!"
He magnified the effects of their corruption.
"Distortion!"
He distorted their thoughts of escape.
"Magnify—Cull—Avada Kedavra!"
"Lightning Storm!"
BOOOOM!!!
The deathly green Killing Curse and chains of lightning fell together with a cage of silver-white thunder. The three demigods wanted to flee, but weakened by corruption and further hindered by twisted thoughts, they froze just long enough to be struck head-on by both the killing curse and thunderstorm.
BOOM!
The blinding silver-white light tore through the night sky, while the streaks of deathly green radiated suffocating waves of decay.
"ROAR!!!"
Before Edward could even confirm their condition, the monstrous roar of Suah echoed again. From the rift, countless black arms tore through the air, descending once more.
But to Edward's shock, this time they weren't targeting him—
They were reaching for Lilith!
"Mother Goddess! Save Lilith!" Edward cried out desperately as he blinked across space to her side.
Christine chuckled. "Heh. I only promised to save you. I never said I'd save anyone else."
Edward appeared at Lilith's side, and as the black arms came surging down on them, he abandoned all counterattacks and instead fixed his cold gaze on Christine in the distance.
"Interesting," Christine murmured.
As if in response, the black arms twisted midair, shattering like brittle glass into countless fragments before vanishing.
But Suah's true target had never been Edward—it was Lilith. From other directions, the black arms still lunged for her without restraint.
Edward tried to repeat his earlier trick, but suddenly found his body unresponsive—no, it wasn't his body, but his soul. His soul was now out of sync with his physical form, turning his body into a prison of spirit. Every movement became sluggish, heavy.
Even throwing himself in front of Lilith to shield her was impossible.
"Lilith! Dodge!!" he shouted.
Lilith tried to use Moonlight Flash to escape, but she too was slowed, her thoughts stiffened by Suah's power.
Just as the arms were about to seize her, they suddenly turned ashen grey—solidifying into stone before collapsing into a rain of fragments.
"ARGHHHH!!!"
A deep, agonised scream echoed from the Spirit World. Suah bellowed, "Cheek! It's your turn!!"
A girl stepped out from the void, dressed in clothes foreign to this era. She had silky black hair and eyes as deep and clear as a blue lake.
Her gaze swept quickly over Edward and Lilith before lifting to the sky. She smiled, her voice crisp and melodious, "Cheek, you've worked with the Rose School, played such a long game, just to force me out, haven't you? Well, here I am. Now it's your move."
But no one answered her—only the blood-red moon continued to hang in the heavens.
Edward froze.
Force her out? What does she mean?
Weren't they all trying to kill me? Why kill me just to bring her out?!
The girl continued speaking, "Ever since you got the Conqueror's Beyonder characteristic, you've been probing, step by step, scheming, all to lure me out, right? Are you afraid of me?"
She smiled radiantly.
"Why is it, after so many years…even after becoming a god…you still fear me?"
"Is it because I was once far ahead of you? Or because your divine throne was stolen from my hands? Or is it that you could only climb this high thanks to your deceit and betrayal of me?"
"You've searched for me for so long, and I've hidden for just as long. But now I'm standing right here in front of you. What are you still afraid of?"
Her words left Edward reeling as his body and soul slowly recovered.
Cheek…stole someone else's divine seat? She ascended through betrayal and deception? Then who is this girl—this person she betrayed?
"!!!"
A sudden jolt ran through Edward's mind.
The diary!
The suspected transmigrator's diary!
The one who transmigrated to the Fourth Epoch…the one who took Cheek under their wing…
So this senior transmigrator, like the Evernight Goddess, was also a woman?
Or…maybe they only became female later, after taking a potion?
And now, this senior—this other transmigrator—was standing right in front of him.
The girl, still receiving no answer, lowered her head and turned her beautiful eyes on Edward.
"Edward."
She…she knows me?
The girl smiled sweetly.
"I'll be waiting for you in the future."
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.