No matter what, the old plan no longer existed.
Facing reality, the elder had to change his plans.
Fortunately, it wasn't too late, and he had discovered it in time.
If he had been any later, it might truly have been beyond salvation.
"Teacher, you've gone to great lengths."
Bowing his head in self-reproach, standing to the side, the middle-aged man was already accustomed to it, even though he didn't know why the elder was lecturing him again.
After all, over the past few centuries, facts had told him more than once that if he didn't understand why his teacher was angry, it was probably just that he hadn't yet seen the root of the matter.
And every time, in the end, the outcome proved the elder's foresight.
"Forget it, it's been so many years."
"If you could change, you would have changed long ago."
"By now, there's no need to change anymore... Come, let's proceed to the next step."
Shaking his head slowly, the elder felt his body beginning to tremble.
The power of time was not something mortals could covet; without true divinity achieved through a self-initiated sublimation process from nothingness, one could not be exempt from the reversal of time.
In less than a second in the outside world, he had not only exhausted the Life force recovered by the last 'Star Blood' potion but also depleted his remaining lifespan... Fortunately, things would soon take a turn for the better.
"Erwin, go."
"Although you are still young, you should also be starting to feel the urgency of Life."
"While preparing for the next ritual, you might as well taste the 'Fountain of Youth'."
"After all, mythology records that the Goddess of Life's golden cup holds divine water that can heal the sick and rejuvenate the old."
"Yes, Teacher!"
This time, a hint of joy and longing finally crept into the middle-aged man's tone.
The hunt was successful, and it was time for him to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
His figure flashed, arriving at the pitch-black vision still enveloped in shattered space. He carefully calmed the surrounding spatial fluctuations, fearing any undesirable consequences.
The Eleventh-Ring Great Witchcraft: Singularity Collapse, moreover, had more than one top-tier spellcasting technique appended to it by the elder during its casting, ultimately combining skillfully without any repulsion.
Vaguely, its power had already surpassed a certain limit. Even the previous [Tenth-Ring Witchcraft: Great Space Lock] was not essentially meant to lock the Goddess of Youth, but rather to calm the tremors caused by [Singularity Collapse] in the spatial domain, to avoid attracting too much attention.
As for restricting the Goddess of Youth? That was wishful thinking.
If she were successfully defeated, her divine power shield broken, and all resistance lost, then the elder wouldn't need to restrict her.
Conversely, if she could still resist with divine power... then the Tenth-Ring Witchcraft would also be unable to stop her from leaving.
Soon, as spells to calm space were released one after another, this witchcraft, which had expended most of its power on a God, finally calmed down a bit.
Carefully casting a spell to pull, soon, a torn corner of a skirt finally appeared before Erwin's eyes.
"Oh?"
Slightly stunned, it wasn't until Hebe was completely dragged out that the middle-aged man suddenly realized.
Her divine body, which should have been torn to pieces by the distorted space, was surprisingly intact, showing no signs of damage.
Not only that, but even the light green skirt worn by the Goddess of Youth, made of some unknown plant fibers and already shattered, was recovering at a visible speed.
Aside from the large amount of divine blood spilled around, the middle-aged man couldn't tell that this was a God who had suffered severe injuries.
"Is this [Youth]? Even plants that have been made into clothing are affected, let alone a true human like me..."
His heart pounded violently, suppressing the urge to swallow the spilled divine blood.
The middle-aged man knew that unprocessed divine blood could not be used. He simply summoned a magic rope to bind her, then took the golden cup, with all its legends, from her hand.
This was the true Fountain of Youth, capable of granting people the ability to return from old age to youth.
At this moment, there was still a small amount of green liquid remaining in the golden cup. The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and poured a drop into his mouth.
In an instant, an incomparably wonderful taste arose from his body, flowing through his blood and permeating his limbs.
In a trance, his soul seemed to become a fraction lighter.
He touched the corner of his eye; at some point, the middle-aged man could no longer find those tiny wrinkles.
"...Teacher, this is the Goddess of Youth and the golden cup."
Taking a deep breath, he suppressed the desire in his heart.
The middle-aged man returned to the elder's side and respectfully gestured.
"Very good, very good..."
His trembling arm, weak from lack of strength, took the golden cup. The elder examined it repeatedly for a long time.
Although the Goddess of Life was not actively stimulating it, the spring water inside was almost impossible to regenerate. But what remained was enough to restore his youth more than once.
After a moment of silence, the elder handed the golden cup back to his student.
"Go, retrieve the years of old for me."
"Yes, Teacher."
Nodding solemnly, the middle-aged man couldn't help but turn and look at Nafplion, now a dead city.
Blood and vitality had long vanished in the sacrifice, only shriveled corpses littered the streets.
But above the old ritual, there was still a cluster of light golden objects—the essence refined from the bodies of all Godkin.
The elder had intentionally preserved them earlier, preventing them from being sacrificed along with everything else.
And the middle-aged man already knew their purpose.
Although he had never seen it, Erwin had heard of such an existence from his teacher's mouth.
He was the strongest warrior in the human world, a pioneer who dared to carry the corpse of a God with a body of flesh and blood.
However, he also had another identity—Golden Humans, the most noble, most perfect, and most illusory generation of humans.
Mythology records that when the ancient God of Creation created them, the Gods dropped their divine blood, which gathered into a river, and then, under the fusion of [Life], returned to its original state, thus creating the first Golden Generation.
They were thus naturally long-lived, yet not restricted by Godkin; they were born with physiques comparable to high-level professionals, yet only regarded them as instinct.
Even in some versions, the Goddess of the Magic Web was once a member of the Golden Humans... The middle-aged man didn't know if this was true, as it somewhat violated the iron rule that 'the Golden Age only had males'.
However, when Erwin remembered that she eventually became a God, it seemed that this rule was not so absolute anymore.
"Whether it's true or false, it no longer matters."
"True divine blood, we cannot erase the will of the God within it and make it return to its origin; creating souls, we cannot do, nor have we ever tried, as that is an insurmountable taboo for the church."
"The legendary [life treasure bottle], we also don't have, otherwise why would we target Gods... Fortunately, even though we don't have them, we are not trying to create a race, a civilization."
"All we want is a mere shell..."
[Life Residue], the core material of the 'Star Blood' potion, the primordial essence extracted from the root of living beings.
Godkin essence, although it cannot compare to true divine blood, it also lacks the indelible divine influence and divine will.
[Cup of Youth], its power can make the blood of Godkin return to its original state, reverting to an unformed state, erasing changes brought about by later development.
Even the Goddess of Youth herself, her 'existence' can bring a subtle influence to the entire ritual...
Besides these, the elder had many other preparations.
Like the rituals Achilles had performed: soul division, flesh regeneration, Styx erosion... The reason he supported Chiron was not out of respect for a senior, but to use the channels of the Goddess of the Magic Web's apprentice to access higher domains, obtain forbidden knowledgefrom them, and have the other party shield them from danger.
Erwin knew all of this; in fact, he was the one who carried it out. And now, he was going to personally make these preparations a reality.
"Hoo—"
Flying into the city, the middle-aged man raised his hand, activating the ritual array that had been set up beforehand.
Of the three rituals arranged beneath Nafplion City, the first had already been used. Now, it was the second one he was activating—[Life Alchemy: Pseudo].
The reason it was 'pseudo' was because the elder believed he couldn't create a body comparable to that of a Golden Human, so he distinguished it as such.
However, in Erwin's view, the latter was the domain of the ancient God of Creation, and as mortals, there was truly no need to compare themselves to them.
"The first body will be created for Teacher."
"After all, to break through the limitations of self-generated divinity and lifespan, Teacher did not hesitate to acquire divinity from the God of Stars, attempting to erase its will through various methods."
"However, divinity is divinity after all... Teacher succeeded; his strength broke through because of it, but he also failed, because his soul and body did not sublimate as imagined... Although they also became stronger, and unlike divinity bestowed by Gods, they did not affect the spellcaster's soul or lock the upper limit of progress, Teacher has since borne the burden of external divinity."
"This influence is something that simple rejuvenation cannot get rid of; only with the help of a divine artifact can it be cleansed. As for me... I'll wait a bit longer."
Flying in the air, Erwin sighed softly.
According to his teacher's previous statements, he had only ever seen three truly self-generated divine beings in his Life; the others all had some assistance from divine blood.
One was that Golden Human at the beginning of Silvermoon City's establishment, one was Heracles whom he met later, and the third was Hermes, decades after leaving Silvermoon Cityand going to Athens.
Besides these, even Theseus, whom he had met briefly, was somewhat influenced by divine blood... The elder didn't know if this young monarch had later removed this influence, but at least he hadn't at the time.
Only these three people, whether they possessed divine blood or were simply mortals, their divinity was completely unrelated to Gods... However, the success of the latter two was difficult to discern, so the elder eventually had to focus on the first person.
After all, the origin of witchcraft was the imitation of the rules of all things, so his path after getting rid of the influence of old divinity and gaining longevity was the study of the paths of these three successful individuals.
"Come, Life Alchemy..."
He whispered in his heart, activating the ritual.
The next moment, complex and ancient array patterns once again enveloped the entire city.
Behind him, the elder quietly watched this scene, his mind filled with unknown thoughts.
...
Southeast of the continent, Silvermoon City.
In the abandoned urban area, silver-gray hair cascaded over his shoulders.
The young-looking Archbishop appeared relaxed, but the Centaur could see a hint of solemnity in his eyes.
According to the original plan, the two of them should not have been here at this moment. After all, it was already close to evening, and so many years had passed; even if they wanted to resolve the lingering problem, there was no need to rush at this very moment.
However, no sooner had Chiron left the temple than the young man caught up with him.
He told the Centaur that due to their previous discovery, that unobservable place had already been under intensified surveillance.
And just now, an abnormally powerful fluctuation suddenly erupted from there.
The aura of divine power was concealed, but the law fluctuations caused by a true God using divine power in the material world were not something the power of the [Artificial Magic Net] could block.
So, without surprise, some change must have occurred there.
"It seems rather grim... Lord Chiron, please open the blockade here."
"Alright."
Speaking in a deep voice, the Centaur nodded decisively.
Stepping forward, he immediately began to communicate with the nearby Magic Net strings.
Soon, along an invisible path, Chiron's will flowed unimpeded, eventually connecting with the enigma lock that covered the entire Silvermoon City.
As Hecate's apprentice, although he admitted that his talent in magic was far inferior to his personal combat skills, he still successfully activated the core of the enigma lock, and then, following the flow, attempted to control the part that enveloped this urban area.
However, no sooner had this action begun than the Centaur felt a slight hindrance; it was a precaution set up by someone beforehand to prevent others with authority from uncovering the secrets here... But this obstruction might stop any Clock Tower Lord, yet it could never stop the Goddess of the Magic Web's student.
With a slight exertion of force, Chiron tore open this protective layer, isolating the enigma lock's concealment of this area.
Thus, at the same moment, the entrance to the underground palace instantly lost its disguise, appearing clearly within the senses of the two of them.
His expression remained unchanged, but his smile inexplicably became a bit colder.
The young man patted the Centaur's front leg, which was as tall as a man, and smiled, praising the Wisdom of the wizards.
"Very clever, isn't it, Lord Chiron."
"They built the entrance beneath an abandoned temple; after all, no one would thoroughly search here... Without your help, I might not have considered this place a suspect."
'I also wouldn't have believed they would be so audacious, that's what you want to tell me...'
A thought flashed through his mind, and the Centaur bowed slightly, trying to offer some defense for the other wizards of the White Tower.
"Your Grace, the Archbishop, from my recent perception, this was done by only one of the twelve Clock Tower Lords."
"His name is Erwin, the most mediocre of the twelve Tower Lords. Perhaps it is because of this that he used his own and borrowed others' authority to link the enigma lock with his creations, ultimately conducting forbidden research here..."
"Hmm, I understand."
"Lord Chiron, I believe these are your sincere words, and I am willing to believe that not every wizard is inherently evil."
Smiling, the young-looking Archbishop raised his hand, stopping the Centaur's self-defense.
"But let us go in and see first."
"As for how this should be handled... we will discuss it later."