"lusine..."
The backlash of repeatedly rewinding ti was a burden even a Campione couldn't shoulder.
Although the Furies had not yet vanished, lusine had reduced them to a re flicker of existence just to maximize her counterattack against the Heretic God before her.
In this state, they were useless as a fighting force.
Furthermore, because the ti reversal had spanned less than a second, the Faceless Queen was nowhere to be found within the rewound Authority.
Besides... even if she were there, what difference would it make?
In his current state, Alexander couldn't even trigger his Authorities. Forget using his powers; it was a miracle he was even keeping his sanity.
"Guinevere's plan... what exactly was it?" Knowing he was at death's door, Alexander at least wanted to die with his eyes open.
"Guinevere?"
lusine hadn't expected him to suddenly drop that na, but seeing his desperate expression, she quickly pieced together why he was asking—and why he had co here in the first place.
As lusine realized the truth, Alexander naturally read the situation through her reaction.
Realizing he'd been played, he felt his blood pressure skyrocket.
It turned out this 'Lancelot' and Guinevere weren't allies at all! But Lancelot having no connection to Guinevere? Who could have possibly predicted that?
But... why would Guinevere lure him here just to die?
He didn't harbor any delusions that they were on good terms, or that she'd be sad to see him go.
In fact, he knew perfectly well that if one Campione had to die, Guinevere would pick him—her constant thorn in the side—every single ti.
But the circumstances were different now.
The Sword King was already dead.
The Wolf King had beco lusine's next target.
If Alexander was killed right after, the world would lose three Campiones in one fell swoop.
Excluding Mada Aisha, that would leave only two Godslayers remaining in the entire world.
That certainly wasn't a scenario Guinevere would want to see.
Which ant she actually hadn't intended for him and the Wolf King to perish here.
"Watch out for that woman. She truly stops at nothing to get what she wants. She's been lurking in the shadows, orchestrating incidents across the globe for ages."
Even on the verge of death, Alexander intended to stir up so trouble for Guinevere and draw so heat her way.
"I only ended up here because of her. She lured us in, clearly having prepared sothing to deal with you, but she failed."
The reason for that failure was obvious to anyone, as Alexander had been defeated by the exact sa thing.
It was lusine's speed—a terrifying, explosive velocity that far surpassed anything she had shown before when facing the Furies.
lusine knew he was trying to poison her mind against Guinevere, but she didn't have a high opinion of the woman anyway.
She just hadn't bothered to hunt her down since Guinevere hadn't interfered with her yet.
However, since the woman had now shown open hostility, lusine wasn't about to leave a loose end that might try to claw at her later.
After finishing off Alexander without a mont's hesitation, the grand labyrinth that seed to bridge heaven and earth did not vanish with its master.
It wasn't sustained by active magic; it was a physical construct created by it.
That said, it still required magical energy to maintain its structural integrity.
Without soone providing that fuel, it would crumble away within two or three months at most.
But that was of no concern to lusine. The mont she erged, she cast her sensory net to its absolute limit, conducting a high-speed, 360-degree sweep of the surroundings.
Guinevere was nowhere to be found.
That ant the woman's hiding place was either the Boundary of Life and Immortality or the Astral Plane.
lusine knew a bit about the Astral Plane, but not much; her understanding of how to enter or leave it was half-baked at best.
As for the Borderline of Life and Death, she had no clue at all.
After a mont's thought, lusine simply flew back to Sardinia.
Athena was already there waiting for her.
She actually had so bones to pick with lusine for not bringing her along.
She wasn't just a Goddess of Wisdom, after all; she was a Goddess of War and Victory.
Though her brand of warfare differed from Ares's chaos and violence—favoring wisdom and strategy—she was still a Heretic God now.
Heretic Gods possess an instinctive drive for battle and destruction. If her wisdom hadn't always held the high ground, Athena would have been no exception.
"Welco back from your triumph, Lady lusine." Erica was also waiting, though unlike the previous incident with the Sword King, she was fully prepared to receive lusine properly this ti.
Liliana stood half a step behind her, mirroring Erica's knightly salute.
"It was just a bit of exercise." lusine felt their grand welco was unnecessary. After all, the entire trip—the fight and the flight back—had taken less than twenty minutes.
Though she had drained so of the leyline's power, the death of a Campione had replenished a portion of it. The planet's total energy had actually increased rather than decreased.
"lusine, you look as though you are brooding over sothing." Athena noticed the expression between lusine's brows was different from her usual lazy, carefree self.
"Mmm... while I was in the Balkans, I didn't just run into the Wolf King. I t another Campione, the Black Prince Alec."
lusine didn't hide anything, recounting the entire sequence of events.
"So, now I'm looking for a way to get to the Astral Realm and the Boundary of Life and Immortality."
"I see. You intend to smoke out the pest." Athena nodded slowly, her face expressionless.
"Surprising. Traveling to the Borderline or the Astral Realm should be instinctive for one such as you—like a mouse knowing how to dig a hole."
Though surprised, Athena didn't dwell on it. Instead, she brought up another matter. "Since the Wolf King has fallen by your hand, I assu I may now reclaim my complete form?"
"Yeah." lusine nodded. That had been the deal from the start.
At this, the corners of Athena's mouth curled into a slight smile.
With a wave of her hand, the Gorgoneion burst through its carrying case and landed squarely in her palm.
Then, she looked at lusine.
"To return to my full self under your gaze brings joy. And since humans are present, this is a fitting stage for the revival of the Trinity Goddess." Athena was in high spirits.
The human, the dragon-serpent, and the goddess—the scene felt perfectly orchestrated for her return.
"Then, let you all bear witness."
"I chant. I sing the song of the ancient Goddess who once ruled the Heavens, the Earth, and the Darkness. I sing the lant of the Queen slain as the forbidden serpent. My na is Athena! Once the Mother Earth who birthed all things, the Mistress of the Netherworld who governs the dark, and the Queen who holds the wisdom of the Heavens! Athena hereby swears to reclaim her ancient self!"
A thick, pitch-black mist and eerie purple flas enveloped Athena.
With the resurrection of the Trinity Goddess, the sky should have been swallowed by darkness, but Athena rembered their agreent and suppressed the grand scale of the phenonon.
Still, the sheer magnitude of her divine power and presence, which now eclipsed even a Chief God, sent shivers through every priestess with high spiritual vision.
Even Erica and Liliana, watching from nearby, felt a chill run down their spines.
lusine wasn't surprised by this display of power.
Athena's strength was among the elite even for Heretic Gods. As a Trinity God-King, her return to wholeness placed her at the very pinnacle of mythology.
As the mist and purple flas dissipated, revealing Athena's form once more, lusine expected to see the grown-up version she rembered... Wait, she hadn't changed?
Noticing lusine's confused look, Athena smiled.
"If I were to reveal my full stature, it would cause you trouble, wouldn't it? Though my divine power is restored, I shall maintain this form for the ti being while on this earth."
That's actually quite nice, lusine thought.
"Can you take to the Astral Realm now?" lusine asked.
"Certainly. However... lusine, how do you plan to find this Guinevere?" Athena countered.
This made lusine frown. "With my speed, how long would it take to fly across the entire Astral Realm?"
Athena shook her head. "I do not know."
Before lusine could explain her top speed, Athena continued, "The so-called Boundary of Life and Immortality—the Astral Realm—is a dinsion where spirit and soul matter far more than the physical."
"It is a place that records every event since the birth of the universe and every possible future. It is a vast world composed of disconnected dinsions and barriers, woven together like a spider's web of countless independent spaces."
Hearing this, lusine realized that searching the entire Astral Realm through pure speed alone would be an exercise in futility.
"There is more," Athena added gravely. "Each independent space changes according to the whims of its master. Within their own domain, they can even rewrite the laws of that world. While everything has its limits, if you rely on re luck, you might never find anything."
In other words, if Guinevere really wanted to hide, lusine might never find her in a lifeti.
At this thought, lusine's expression soured.
It wasn't that she was out of options. She could technically call Amber over.
In an omniscient and omnipotent state, Amber wouldn't even have to break a sweat; she could do anything with a single thought.
But... she was already being treated differently by the others because of her laziness.
Was she really going to be the first one to go running to the original body for help?
The re thought filled her with resistance. Her brain, which she usually kept in 'idle' mode, finally started whirring to life.
A mont later, a new plan ford.
I can't find you, but I have a way to make you co looking for .
And once her plan was set in motion, there would be plenty of "activity" (fighting) to go around. At the sa ti, she might even earn a higher approval rating than Amber!
With that, lusine was suddenly full of drive.
That's right! After lounging around for days, it was ti to actually put in so work!
-- --
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.
User Comments
0 comments from readers