Chapter 1451
Chapter 1451: Weak (Part 1)
Saleen easily found the entrance to the temple at the center of the Purgatory Dessert.
A vibrant, colorful world could be seen beyond those tall pillars in the lone temple. Saleen remembered the place to be very perilous.
He was shocked after walking into the world of the central hall, as the seal inside his body unraveled automatically. The rules there, different from the ones on Myers Mainland, allowed powers beyond level-13 to exist.
With that said, the power of the Goddess of Myers had grown beyond level-12.
Saleen looked at the expansive mountains and pondered if he should head there.
A gentle female voice was heard above the mountains while Saleen was still steeped in thought about the pros and cons. “You’re already here, Saleen. Why not just come up here?”
He knew that the voice could only belong to a god. The gentleness was laced with firmness, yet the combination did not feel out of place. The voice was on the low-pitched side, but it still felt charismatic.
The Violet Angel shuddered at the sound of the voice, however. It still turned to look at Rafel, but said to Saleen instead, “Let’s meet the god, master. It’s better that we look sharp after all.”
Saleen nodded, and the Violet Angel went all fours on the ground, taking its golden dragon form and letting both Saleen and Rafel step on it.
The Violet Angel felt very uncomfortable about someone stepping on it. It then took to the air and flew to the mountains.
The Goddess of Myers chuckled. Then nothing more was heard from her.
Saleen’s mind calmed. It’s just a goddess. We’ll deal with her when we see her. He had been the one to resurrect her, so there was no reason to fear her now. He knew that Myers would have definitely known about his murderous intentions back then.
He didn’t believe for a second that a goddess who had just been resurrected would have level-15 powers.
If she was at level-14, it would still be possible for him to escape.
Saleen relaxed completely after realizing that there was no immediate threat to his life. He was high in the air with the Violet Angel beneath his feet. He was already a level-13 grandmaster and was no longer a mage trainer. He was able to tell a thing or two about the rules of the new world. He hardly felt any resistance when they passed through that river, crossing it easily.
It was only when they came to the mountainside that Saleen realized that the mountains had become taller. Despite the Violet Angel’s best efforts to climb in altitude, they were still unable to reach the other side even after several hours had passed.
Exasperated, Saleen said, “I’m Mage Saleen. I’ve come to seek an audience with you.”
“Come up then.”
As the sky brightened, Saleen spotted a tall stone tablet with some written names on it. The contracts of the past were no longer there.
The Violet Angel laid prostrate before the tablet while Saleen listened to the Goddess of Myers. “That is the divine grave. The angels who followed me ages ago rested there. I have come alive, but they…”
She didn’t continue but instead opened the temple gates.
Saleen had the Violet Angel wait outside while he took Rafel and entered the temple of the goddess.
Everything inside had changed. The first thing he saw was Myers. She was standing next to a table, looking at the projections on top of it.
Myers looked just like she did in the murals. She was wearing a light dress, and her hair fell loosely behind her shoulders. She was barefoot. Apart from a red wooden bangle, her arms were bare.
Rafel stood at the gates but didn’t dare enter. She was still fearful of gods. If the Goddess of Myers became hostile, she would have risked her life and barged in anyway. From the look of things, though, it seemed that Myers only wanted to talk with Saleen. Rafel had no intention of waiting in an area where divine might was at its most powerful.
Saleen took a couple of paces forward before stopping in front of the table.
A magic projection was seen on it. Saleen didn’t expect Myers to be able to use magic after her resurrection. Gods did not have magic chords, and the manipulation of elements through the power of rules was considered a divine art.
Is the Goddess of Myers still not a god at the moment? If she’s not, how is she able to make a decree?
She looked at Saleen’s doubtful expression without bothering to explain anything. She only said, “Thank you, Saleen.”
He had no idea what to do next. He was able to see that there was a divine beast behind the goddess’s back glaring at him with angry eyes.
Yeah. It seems that the beast has divulged everything about me to Myers.
Since they had nothing more to say to each other, Saleen rested his eyes on the contents of the magic projection instead.
He was startled by what he saw: The two-meter-square magic projection on the table was a three-dimensional map of Myers Mainland. The map was extremely compressed. Everything, from the atmosphere way above the land to magma flowing deep underground, was seen from within. The width of the map was such that even the nations of the East Sea were visible from inside.
The only reason Saleen was able to sense those details was that he was watching from above. His power of soul at the moment probably would not have allowed him to see them otherwise.
Being that Saleen knew what the projection was, the goddess smiled slyly and said, “What happened to your bonded creatures? Why aren’t they here?”
Saleen shrugged and said, “This is between you and me.”
The goddess was momentarily dumbfounded before nodding and saying, “It is indeed between us, Saleen. You took many things from me and then you resurrected me. In truth, I suffered no loss. But then again, you destroyed many temples of mine just to gain the luck I left behind. Wouldn’t that be…”
“I’m of the highest priority. Resurrecting you comes in second place,” Saleen answered, laying his thoughts bare.
Because of the effects of his lightning territory, the divine might barely exist in him. As such, whatever Saleen intended to say would have never fallen under the goddess’s influence.
“You’ve seen what a god can do, and yet you still have an attitude. Sigh…” The goddess sighed but did not seem at all irked.
“You were a mage once.” Saleen did not say more. He knew the goddess understood what he meant by that remark.
“Indeed. I was once a mage, which is why I intend to spare you.” While the goddess remained smiling when she said that, Saleen felt a chill nonetheless.
He knew that his slaying of the two oracles was probably not something he could hide anymore. There was a reason Myers brought his bonded creatures up right away. It was easier, to be frank when talking to gods.
“What would you need me to do?” asked Saleen.
“Unify the mainland.”
“And then?”
“And then you get lost,” the goddess cursed at him while still smiling.
“What would I be able to take with me?”
“Your wife and children.”
“What happens if the Lord of Glory advents?”
“Bring him to the Imperial City of the Abyss.”
Saleen felt as if there were no secrets between the two of them. He then asked, “Why wouldn’t you do it yourself?”
“Because you’re an assh*l* for destroying the piece of divine persona I left behind. I’ll need to buy time before I can return to my full strength.
“Didn’t you leave that for me?” Saleen asked in doubt.
The goddess continued with an exasperated expression and said, “Who the hell would have expected a mage at your level to be able to break a divine persona?”
Saleen nodded and asked, “And if I refuse?”
The goddess answered, “Beats me. It’s too much of a hassle to get rid of you. But then again, you have a family and a country to run. Do you really need to go against me?”
Saleen was at a loss for words. It was true that while the goddess would not have bothered to do anything against him, there was no telling what she would have done if she were to really get angry. His country, his wives, his children, his followers and thousands of nobles would have had to suffer the consequences of his actions.
Why is there a need for me to go against Myers?
“I need power,” Saleen said without beating around the bush.
“I’m not giving you a divine persona,” Myers answered.
“Give me time. I’ll train on my own!”
“I wouldn’t bother to spend that much of my power. Altering the flow of time is something that could only be done by expending the divine persona. The power of time isn’t as simple as you thought it to be. That would be like going against the rules of the crystal wall system.” The goddess refused adamantly. Saleen was starting to understand her negotiating limits.
“What’s in it for me then?” Saleen asked.
“I’d help the three of your weapon spirits advance to become demigods. When the rules of Myers Mainland loosen up, you’ll be able to unleash their powers and take on the Lord of Glory.” Myers was unwilling to help Saleen advance, but she was willing to give three broken pieces of divine persona to make the three powerful weapon spirits into demigods.
By doing so, the three demigods would gain the power to resist the Lord of Glory. As long as Saleen was able to clean up the remnants of the Holy See, the Lord of Glory would have only been able to use the lowest of level-15 powers instead of the highest when he was ready to advent on Myers Mainland.
“I won’t be able to sign a contract then.”
“No problem,” the goddess answered swiftly, and she looked rather smug about it.
Saleen was stunned but quickly realized that the goddess had no intention to continue signing contracts with him. As long as the contract had no stipulated time limit, then there would be no need for him to fulfill the contract. In that case, the goddess wouldn’t be able to use the contract against him. If she were to set a time limit, it would be as if she was forcing him to do her bidding. Consequently, the conditions offered would not come cheap.
In Myers’s point of view, the act of not signing a contract with him was precisely what would have limited his actions.
Saleen was unable to assess the goddess’s current level, so to be on the safe side he decided not to make any moves against her.
The goddess looked at Saleen’s expression, and then said with a smile, “If you don’t like what you’re getting now, you could try to test with your most powerful attack to see if you can actually take me on.”
Saleen shook his head and said, “I no longer want to kill you now. If I succeeded, I might regret it.”
“How about I keep my hands to myself then?”
Saleen’s family badge had already hovered above his Thunder Dragon Bangle right after the goddess finished talking. A thick bolt of electrical discharge was fired at her.
Saleen was unwilling to kill Myers. At least, that was what he thought at the moment. He had taken the Cemetery of Heroes into consideration and felt that if he were to shake off the heroes’ pestering efforts, the goddess would have served as the key.
Despite this, Saleen fired his strongest salvo at her without holding back.
His family badge, after having been worked on, could fire electrical bolts over 100 times more powerful than before. He then roared using Thundering Explosion. He deemed it necessary to do so regardless of how he was able to interfere with the goddess’s senses.
He gave it his all right there and then. Success depended entirely on luck.
The goddess smirked at Saleen. A mirror appeared right in front of her. It was a common magic spell—Mirror.
Saleen’s lightning bolt was immediately reflected without problems. Saleen disappeared from where he stood. The looming threat to his life allowed him to evade the reflected attack.
The wall behind Saleen had a hole with a diameter of over four meters. The edge of the hole had already crystallized.