"What?"
Without offering any explanation, the girl raised her head again toward the heavens. Her long black hair stirred despite the absence of wind, glimmering with an urging radiance.
"If you won't come to find me, then I'll come to the Astral Realm to find you!"
As her words fell, she leapt upward, her figure turning translucent before vanishing completely.
Edward was already slack-jawed. This senior…is she insane? She's actually charging into the Astral Plane itself to confront Cheek?!
At this moment, Lilith exclaimed, "Ah! I remember now—it's her!"
"Who? You know her?"
"Of course! Miss Lilith's Assassin potion—it was her who gave it to me."
"???"
Edward froze.
"What did you just say? Wasn't it me who fed you the Assassin potion back then?"
"Uh…" Lilith quickly covered her mouth.
———
In the Astral Plane—
An endless darkness stretched on, serene yet alive, covered with patches of moonflowers and nightvanilla.
The Evernight Goddess wandered amidst the blossoms, gazing toward the distant thunderous rumblings. A faint helplessness surfaced upon "Her" hazy countenance.
I had thought that after countless centuries, the first battle in the Astral Plane would be mine against the God of Combat.
Yet it seems others have beaten me to it.
And the most crucial part…one of the combatants has not even ascended to godhood.
"Heh. Lilith…Lilith…Lilith…"
She repeated the name thrice, each time referring to a different figure present.
Meanwhile, within a world that mirrored and overlapped like glass, the Primordial Demoness Cheek, embodiment of supreme Yin, regarded the approaching girl with calm eyes.
"I finally understand."
Cheek smiled faintly at her.
"I finally see the cause and effect in its entirety."
"So, when we first met, and you kept repeating how you had a father, a father who would one day return to take you home…it all came from this part of your life, didn't it?
"So, you travelled through time from the future into the past."
"No wonder—no wonder you carried so many secrets. No wonder I was left with so many doubts I could never resolve."
The girl looked at her quietly.
"You talk too much. Don't you want to know why, even though you killed me with your own hands, I was able to revive in that way? Then go ahead—try again. See if this time, you can truly kill me."
Cheek chuckled.
"…If I kill your future self, will your past self still exist?"
"You're free to try."
"You aren't worried?"
"You can't kill her."
"Because of that woman, the one tainted by the Mother Goddess?"
The girl's lips curved into a smile.
"No. Because of Edward."
———
Back on Blue Mountain Island, within the primordial forest.
The brief exchange between the transmigrator senior and Cheek did not mark the end of the hunt. The three demigods had survived, even after enduring the Lightning Storm and the Avada Lightning Chains.
As the saying went: once one advanced to demigodhood, death rarely came easily—unless crushed outright by a vastly superior Sequence.
Still, the three had been deeply shaken by Christine's bizarre methods. For the moment, none dared to make a move. They simply watched from afar.
Edward had just opened his mouth to continue pressing Lilith, when Christine strolled forward gracefully.
"I have saved you more than once already," she said serenely. "According to the rules of the game, it is now time for you to bear me a child."
"???"
Lilith's eyes widened. What?! Edward's not a woman—he's a man! How could he give birth?!
"Now?" Edward shot a glance at the three demigods still watching like hungry predators. "You must be joking. Why don't you finish them off instead, or send me somewhere safe?"
"Perhaps you overestimate the strength I possess."
Her tone was light, almost indifferent.
"I've told you before: I am not truly "Her". Otherwise, do you think the Seven Gods would allow me to be here, speaking to you? Didn't you notice? When I acted earlier, that little Sequence 2 escaped completely unscathed."
"The Abomination controlled by the Mother Tree of Desire misjudged my power at first—that was why it hesitated. But now, it has already slunk back into the Spirit World. You won't get rid of it."
Edward frowned slightly at her words.
"How…exactly do you plan to make me give birth?"
Christine smiled faintly.
"For me, such things are simple…aren't they?"
Their gazes locked for several seconds.
"Give me some time."
"Very well."
Edward pulled Lilith into the Leather Pouch and crawled inside with her. His first attempt was to activate the Vanishing Cabinet—unsurprisingly, it failed.
So he brought out a cauldron and various ingredients.
Lilith stared wide-eyed.
"Edward, what are you doing?"
"Brewing a potion."
"Have you finished digesting your current potion?"
"No."
"Then why are you—"
Edward flipped a gold coin into the air and caught it calmly.
"We cannot entrust our lives to anyone else."
"Lilith, you must stay here obediently. Don't wander off. With 'Madman to the Right', you'll be safe."
"Edward!" she cried, panicked.
"Be good~"
A few minutes later, Edward climbed out of the Leather Pouch alone. His expression was calm as he looked at Christine.
"I'm curious—if you want me to bear you a child, but cannot even guarantee my safety, how exactly do you expect me to do it?"
"Childbirth…is quick enough."
She took a few steps closer, her voice soft.
"Do you know…I've waited for this day for a very, very long time."
In that instant, Edward felt a distorted, unsettling force seep from Christine's body, flowing into his own.
Yet rather than fear, the taut string of his mind relaxed.
The power of childbirth was indeed the authority of the Mother Goddess of Depravity. But whenever "She" employed that power, it manifested as corruption.
This had been shown clearly in the original work, when Bernadette confronted Emperor Roselle.
And as long as it was corruption—Edward had nothing to fear.
No—he didn't merely feel no fear. He could even amplify it and return it doubled.
Still, he did not strike immediately.
Instead, he abruptly stepped back and opened a Traveler's Door.
"You said that abomination hid back in the Spirit World again?"
"…What are you planning?" Christine asked, narrowing her eyes.
Edward smiled faintly.
"I want to play a game with you."
Christine: "…"
"The rules are simple: I'll court death, and you'll save me. Of course, you can always choose not to."
The next second, Edward stepped into the Spirit World.
Unlike its usual brilliance of heavy colours and vivid hues, the Spirit World now teemed with black liquid. Countless dark arms intertwined like a web, writhing ceaselessly.
The moment Edward appeared, the arms reacted as though scenting blood. Endless black tar-like liquid surged toward him, flooding the surroundings with a stifling aura of corruption.
Edward dared not linger. He immediately tore open the Spirit World once more and surged out, reappearing beside the three demigods. Almost instantly, dozens of black arms pierced through the barrier of the Spirit World and reached for him.
The aura that burst forth in that moment was so dreadful that even the three Rose School demigods could hardly withstand it.
"ROAR!"
Siaa's bellow split the air again, sending Edward's soul and body into fresh disarray. Without hesitation, he shouted:
"Mother Goddess, save me!"
BOOM!
A torrent of countless black arms swept across his location with overwhelming force. Although they deliberately avoided striking the three demigods, the trio was still badly shaken by the shockwave.
"This is the third time."
Christine's smile was gone, her face cold.
"Then all the more reason to keep it up!" Edward laughed, his figure flashing in and out of existence as he darted straight into Suah's layered, writhing arms. Once again, he unleashed an amplified Lightning Storm, twisting the damage so that its effects struck deeper.
He knew full well that such attacks could hardly harm a Sequence 1 Abomination under an Outer God's control. His purpose was only to provoke Suah further.
As expected, his assault drew an even greater retaliation. Suah intensified its offensive, while the three demigods finally seized the chance to act, throwing their weight behind aiding their monstrous patron.
"Mother Goddess, save me!"
Edward roared as he led Suah's storm of arms directly toward the demigods. The three were just about to strike when they realised, in horror, that their bodies were swelling grotesquely again.
While they struggled to suppress the new deformities, Edward's Lightning Storm, the chained Avada Kedavra, and a torrent of mystical powers and spells crashed down upon them.
Rumble!
And then came Suah's flood of arms, each grotesque limb bulging with unnatural growths—skulls, barbed tongues, bulging three-dimensional eyes.
The three demigods were instantly drowned in the tide. What swelling they had just barely managed to suppress twisted into a new form of corruption: their skin grew coarse and bark-like, sprouting fine branches.
They could no longer care about anything else. Desperately, they tore the branches and bark off their own flesh, ripping themselves raw until they were left covered in blood.
"Go on, Suah," Edward taunted with a smile. "Your followers won't last much longer."
"Cough…cough!"
Suddenly, his chest tightened, his throat itched, burned, and turned unbearably dry, while a wave of dizziness overcame him.
The Witch's Disease.
He understood immediately. Quickly, he conjured a shield of flame around himself—the same method he had once used against Trissy to ward off invasive bacteria.
The next instant, the sea beyond Blue Mountain Island heaved violently. Towering waves rose as the seabed shook. From the sky, crimson meteors rained down like judgment.
These were natural disasters wrought by a demoness!
Another witch? And this one was at the angel level!
And where is the Church of Storm? This is happening on their territory—are they really not going to intervene?!
Rumble!
Just then, the torrent of black arms abruptly withdrew back into the Spirit World. The air trembled violently. From within the rift, a massive tree forced its way out. Its bark was slick with ichor, and countless branches sprouted from its body—each branch an arm of blackness. Above its crown sat an enormous head.
The true body of Suah had descended!
At once, every tree, beast, and plant in the vicinity warped grotesquely. Some withered and died on the spot, others twisted into abominations, and the rest transformed into beings disturbingly similar to Suah itself.
The entire forest became a carnival of monsters.
"ROARRRR!!!!"
Siaa's colossal maw opened, unleashing a roar that pierced into the soul.
"Mother Goddess, save me!!"
Christine appeared directly in front of Edward, blocking him. Her gaze was ice-cold. "Are you trying to kill yourself?"
"But that's the game, isn't it?" Edward grinned. "I court death—you save me."
Then he spoke a single word, calm and sharp:
"Rebuke!"
In the next instant, the corruption Christine had forced into him earlier was reflected back—doubled.
Christine's expression twisted in shock.
"You…"
Edward burst into loud, manic laughter, then shouted another word in Jotun:
"Leodero!"
Throwing back his head, he roared toward the sky:
"LEODERO—COME TO DADDY!!"
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.