Aisha's new Divine Magic was undeniably familiar. Wasn't this exactly how Castorice summoned Styx Water?
When Castorice narrowed her eyes and focused, she discovered she could control the liquid Aisha had summoned.
Confirmed: this was her Styx Water! How had it suddenly become Aisha's Seventh-Level Divine Art?
Divine Magic was power granted by gods to their followers, but the Death God hadn't responded to his believers for a decade. Yet now, Aisha had acquired a Divine Art strikingly similar to Castorice's own abilities. This raised serious doubts about its origin: was it truly from the Death God, or had Castorice somehow unconsciously bestowed it upon her?
The problem was, if this Divine Art truly originated from Castorice, why was she unaware of it? She had never even entertained the thought of granting Aisha such power.
Meanwhile, Aisha was manipulating the wisp of Styx Water around her, letting it dart about like a Water Snake. Gradually, she began to understand the Divine Art's capabilities.
The Styx Water could be scattered like liquid droplets or coalesced into a solid-like form to bind targets. In either state, mere contact would allow it to rapidly devour a target's life force until death claimed them.
The only drawback of this Divine Magic was the limited amount of Styx Water it summoned, barely enough to fill a washbasin.
As the spell's effects faded, Aisha spotted Castorice in the distance and excitedly rushed over. "Holy Maiden, look! I told you yesterday that my faith had grown stronger and more fervent! And today I received a new Divine Art—I wasn't lying, was I?!"
"So... so, Holy Maiden, may I lick your feet again? Maybe I'll unlock another new Divine Art!"
Castorice stared blankly, wondering if Aisha truly believed licking her feet had made her stronger. Is that even possible?
Beyond the First-Level, each odd-numbered tier marked a significant milestone. First and Second-Level adventurers were considered Bronze-rank, Third and Fourth Silver, Fifth and Sixth Gold, and reaching Seventh-Level meant one had achieved the status of a Legendary Adventurer.
Previously, Aisha had only mastered Sixth-Level Divine Arts, placing her among the elite Gold-Rank Adventurers. But now, with the addition of the Seventh-Level Styx Touch, she had undoubtedly reached Legendary status.
Just one new Divine Art, and her strength has skyrocketed? Does that seem a bit far-fetched?
But that was the reality. This Seventh-Level Divine Art was truly formidable. With just one additional Seventh-Level spell, many previously arduous battles could now be won effortlessly.
Consider the Wizard's Seventh-Level Necromancy spell, Death Finger, which instantly kills its target. Aisha's Styx Touch achieves a similar effect, though the Styx Water requires prolonged contact rather than instant annihilation.
However, Styx Water is a summoned entity that can persist for extended periods and strike multiple targets, making it arguably superior to Death Finger.
Had Aisha possessed Styx Touch during her earlier confrontation with Black Hand, she wouldn't have nearly been forced into a life-or-death exchange. At the battle's outset, a preemptive splash of Styx Water could have sealed Black Hand's fate. Unaware of the divine art's power, a mere few drops might have been enough to claim his life.
Even if Aisha's initial gambit had failed and Black Hand had ambushed her from above, she could have simply concentrated the Styx Water around herself as a protective barrier. Any continued assault from Black Hand would inevitably have brought him into contact with the lethal substance, spelling his doom.
In short, lacking intelligence about Aisha's capabilities, Black Hand might not even have had the chance to wield his Sorcerer Divine Artifact before being killed by Aisha's first strike.
In other words, with just one more powerful Seventh-Level Divine Art, Aisha could easily overpower any other Gold-ranked individual. Wouldn't that essentially make her Legendary-level?
Of course, Aisha still had some ground to cover before reaching the true Legendary status of seasoned veterans, those masters of Eighth-Level Divine Magic and spells. As for Ninth-Level magic, that was reserved for those Beyond Legendary—the Heroes themselves.
Pondering these facts, Castorice found herself hesitating. If Aisha could gain additional Seventh-Level, or even Eighth-Level Divine Arts, simply by licking her feet a few more times, wouldn't that be an incredible bargain? She would hardly have to exert any effort, yet Aisha's power would multiply exponentially. What better deal could she ask for?
However, Castorice quickly snapped back to reality. "Wait a moment," she said.
She twirled a strand of hair around her right index finger and began to focus inward, sensing her own divine power and the Priesthood it contained.
Dimly, Castorice perceived faint specks of orange and red light. Touching one of the orange specks with her consciousness, a vision materialized before her: a Death Priest bowing in prayer.
So, these specks represent believers who are currently worshiping me?
While Ancient Gods don't require worship, they can still have followers. For example, nearly all Druids are devoted to the Ancient God known as the Father of Oaks.
However, these followers offer no practical benefit to the Ancient Gods. Whether an Ancient God chooses to bestow power upon their followers is entirely their own prerogative.
The Father of Oaks is an exceptionally generous deity, unilaterally granting all Druids the power of Natural Magic.
Then Castorice realized she had unknowingly done something similar. Aisha's new Divine Magic was truly a gift from her!
The orange dots represented other priests, while the red dot, of course, was Aisha. For ten years, Aisha had served her god selflessly, without expecting anything in return. Now, when that god finally acknowledged her devotion with even a simple "You've worked hard," it brought Aisha immeasurable joy.
However, this "reward" had come the previous day when Aisha had licked Castorice's little foot. In that moment, Aisha hadn't lied—her faith had indeed grown stronger. But the object of her devotion now seemed to be Castorice herself, rather than the Death God.
Or perhaps there was no real difference between the two? After all, wasn't Castorice also a Death God?
When Castorice's Priesthood received this overwhelming surge of faith, it automatically responded, granting corresponding Divine Magic as a reward.
Yes, "automatic approval" was a default setting inherent in the Priesthood. After all, a god might have millions of followers—they couldn't possibly manually process every prayer. Hence, this automatic function: it assessed whether a follower's faith met the required threshold and determined whether to grant them power.
Of course, Castorice could disable this function and personally review every prayer, but she wouldn't dream of it—it would be far too much trouble.
Alternatively, she could designate certain individuals as "special focus," likely what ordinary people would call "Chosen Ones."
The truth was now clear! Aisha's Seventh-Level Divine Art originated from Castorice, and when Aisha used Styx Touch, she was drawing upon Castorice's power.
(Note: Priests expend no power when casting Divine Magic; the god covers the cost. Warlocks expend no power when casting Magic; their Lord covers the cost.)
For Castorice, summoning such a small amount of Styx Water cost her nothing, which is why she didn't even notice the expenditure.
She was, after all, a newly appointed god and still had much to learn. Having never had any followers before, Castorice was unaware of this particular mechanism.
Suddenly, Castorice had a whimsical thought: since this Seventh-Level Divine Art originated from her, could she directly grant Aisha even greater power? Perhaps an Eighth-Level or even a Ninth-Level Divine Magic?
The answer was no. A priest's piety could be understood as the "channel" connecting them to their god. The more devout the priest, the wider this channel.
Clearly, if Aisha's faith in Castorice was weak, resulting in a channel only a meter wide, a ten-meter-wide power could never pass through. Forcing it would only cause Aisha to burst from the pressure.
However, the reverse was also true: even the most devout person could receive no power from Castorice if she chose to withhold it. A wide channel without any flow would be useless.
Returning to the main point: if Castorice agreed to let Aisha lick her feet, it would undoubtedly reward her. Aisha's piety would deepen, widening her channel and genuinely strengthening her.
Wait a minute! Castorice shook her head, her long purple hair swaying gently. How did I let this girl drag me down this rabbit hole? A reward doesn't have to involve Aisha licking my feet. Couldn't I just show her some extra care or give her a normal gift?
In the end, Castorice refused. "No!"
"Alright~" Aisha's disappointment flickered momentarily before she quickly recovered. "Then, Holy Maiden, would you like me to brush your hair?"
Having just woken up, Castorice's hair was still loose. She nodded.
This time, Aisha first dismissed all the priests from the hall, instructing them to return to their duties. Then, she led Castorice to her room, brushing her hair as she updated her on recent events.
Since the eruption of the blue mist column beneath the Mage Tower yesterday, Chaos City had been shrouded in a perpetual gray haze, completely obscuring the sun. Snowflakes fell ceaselessly, and the city's temperature continued to plummet.
Simultaneously, instances of Extreme Cold were becoming increasingly frequent. Vast patches of blue mist drifted endlessly through the city, and the number of Crystal Men on the streets had surged, likely victims of these frigid phenomena.
Initially, Aisha had been worried that the vast blue mist might drift toward the Priest Headquarters. Given its immense scale, the probability of it reaching them if it truly wandered randomly seemed quite high.
To mitigate this risk, Aisha stationed several priests nearby as observers. Their instructions were clear: if any signs of the blue mist approaching were detected, they were to immediately alert everyone to evacuate. The mist only froze living beings, leaving inanimate objects untouched, so they could safely return once it had passed.
However, this scenario never materialized. Aisha began to suspect that the mist's movements weren't entirely random after all.
At that moment, Castorice explained that the "Extreme Cold" was a manifestation of the Demon Lord's power. "I believe," she said, "that the areas most severely affected by the Extreme Cold are likely where the Demon Lord and the Heroes clashed. These blue mists are remnants of that battle three centuries ago."
Aisha paused briefly, then replied, "Is that so? Then I'll immediately dispatch teams to monitor the mist's patterns and try to locate its source."
Cipher had previously asked Feidric about the ending of the "Legend of the Demon King and the Hero." He had learned that the Demon Lord had been slain at the cost of five Heroes' lives, leaving only the Warrior-Hero captain and the Bard-Hero alive.
The Bard, wielding the Hell Book, traveled far and wide, using its infernal powers to aid those in need. Castorice had heard this story countless times from Aria.
As for the Warrior Hero, after returning to his homeland, he used his prestige to establish a kingdom—the precursor to the present-day Dragon Ember Empire.
Castorice had already seen the corpses of the Wizard Hero and the Sorcerer-Hero, meaning there should still be three more bodies somewhere in the city.
The two chatted as they brushed their hair. By the time Aisha finished braiding Castorice's hair, half an hour had passed. Castorice couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking, "Long hair is such a hassle. Thank goodness for Aisha; I'd be completely lost without her."
But correspondingly, Castorice's long hair was undeniably beautiful. Perhaps that was the price one paid for beauty.
Afterward, Castorice decided to take a break from writing her novel and venture outside to search for the remaining Heroes' corpses.
The moment she opened the door, she discovered that the snowdrifts had risen well above her high heels, reaching a depth of at least twenty centimeters.
Looking up, she saw the world had transformed into a breathtaking expanse of white.
Castorice took a few tentative steps, only to find the deep snow made walking incredibly difficult. She could clearly feel snowflakes slipping between her stockings and shoes, seeping into her boots and chilling her feet.
"This... maybe I should just give up."
After circling briefly at the doorway, Castorice turned back to the Priest Headquarters. For some reason, she suddenly remembered a video from her past life: a cat and dog eager to play outside in winter, only to bolt back inside after a few steps, shivering and scratching at the door to be let back in.
I feel like one of those pets right now, she thought wryly. Balancing on her left foot, she removed her right high heel, turned it upside down, and shook it vigorously, dislodging a cascade of snowflakes. Looking down at her right foot, she noticed damp patches on her white stocking sole, now semi-transparent where the snow had melted.
"I'd rather go back and work on my novel..."