Chapter 193: You came to save me?

Hell.

It was a desolate land shrouded in crimson mist.

“How are we supposed to find her?”

Nia asked the question.

“Hell is an endless land. Do you think we can find her just by wandering around?”

“We can find her. A part of my power remains with that child.”

The goddess’s white eyes turned to Lillian. There was a glint of pride in the gaze she directed at her apostle.

“My apostle left a mark in preparation for a moment like this.”

“Huh?”

“I’m talking about the mark engraved on that child. I didn’t understand its meaning at first… but it was meant for a situation like this. As expected of my apostle.”

Caught off guard by the sudden praise, Lillian couldn’t hide her embarrassment.

“Uhm… th-thank you.”

In truth, the reason she had engraved the mark had nothing to do with what the goddess assumed, but Lillian smiled it off nonchalantly.

Even under the cold gazes of the other women, she kept up the act without a hint of guilt.

After all, how could she admit in front of the goddess she served that the mark had been made for training her in urination discipline?

“There’s no time to waste.”

Threads of light unraveled around the goddess. The delicate strands intertwined and pointed in a single direction.

“Take my hand. We’ll move all at once.”

Blinding light swirled around them, consuming their vision.

When they opened their eyes again, they found themselves in an entirely different space.

The crimson mist had thickened further, and without light, it was difficult to see even a step ahead.

“…Are we underground?”

Viviana used her magic to illuminate the surroundings.

A chilling cold pierced their skin. At the center of this space floated a black orb that immediately gave off a sense of impurity.

“So that’s how they brought her here… they wrapped her soul in corruption and dragged her to Hell by force.”

The goddess murmured quietly as she gazed at the black orb.

“…Are you saying Tina is inside that thing?”

Arthasha asked, and the goddess gave a small nod.

“Yes.”

“Can you get her out?”

“It’s a sophisticated construct, but I can simply break it.”

Radiant light poured out from behind the goddess and shot toward the black orb.

But just before it touched, the ground split open, and a black barrier rose from the crack, absorbing the light completely.

[Now who could this be?]

As the barrier vanished with the light, darkness gathered and slowly formed a silhouette.

The revealed figure was a woman with flowing black hair.

She was as stunning as the goddess herself—so much so that one might mistake her for Nia’s parent, given how closely they resembled one another.

“…A Great Demon.”

Nia murmured softly.

The woman, called a Great Demon, slowly turned her gaze. Her black, unreadable eyes focused on Nia.

[So you’re the brat? The little wretch who stole my child with your petty tricks.]

The earth twisted. Darkness spread in all directions, devouring the space around them.

“Great Demon, Rachel Biton.”

The goddess’s solemn voice echoed out. Countless threads of light surged out and restrained the encroaching darkness.

“You violated the laws of the divine realm and meddled in the mortal world. I will now pass judgment.”

[Was it really me who broke the laws?]

A smile slowly formed on the Great Demon’s lips.

[You know why I discovered this world’s existence, don’t you?]

At her words, the goddess remained silent.

It was the Great Demon who eventually broke that silence.

[Wasn’t it Heaven that first twisted space and set foot in the mortal world?]

“Yes.”

The goddess calmly admitted it.

“But I merely conversed with my beloved apostle. I did not directly interfere with the mortal realm.”

[Do you not think that act alone could have an impact?]

“At the very least, I didn’t openly wield my power to harm living beings, unlike you.”

The goddess’s white eyes turned toward the black sphere.

“Moreover, dragging an innocent soul into the Abyss against their will… Even you must realize that’s madness.”

[I merely reclaimed my stolen prey.]

The Great Demon slowly ran her tongue across her lips. Her black eyes gleamed with greed.

[You have no idea how sweet the screams of a pure soul are, do you?]

“…Any further conversation is meaningless.”

Radiant light spread behind the goddess. Three pairs of wings unfolded, overwhelming the space with divine energy.

“As a guardian of the mortal realm, I will now bring judgment upon you.”

[…How shameless. Do you even know where you are right now?]

The Great Demon opened her mouth.

Then came a chilling scream, so horrific that hearing it alone could shatter one’s sanity.

Drawn by the scream, demons began to swarm from all directions.

[To enter this place unarmed… you’re bold, I’ll give you that.]

Despite the threatening horde, the goddess remained composed.

She looked at the approaching demons and spread her hands to either side.

“I simply saw no need for company. I am enough on my own.”

Waves of pure white light surged from her hands.

The waves converged into one, forming a massive tidal wave that engulfed the demons.

Swept up helplessly, the demons writhed and screamed within the flood of light, ultimately consumed and erased.

[…You’re no ordinary deity, are you?]

“My name is Sernariel, the Watcher of the Heaven.”

A cool smile played at the goddess’s lips.

“I look after not only the mortal world but also the young Great angels of heaven.”

The wave of light now surged toward the Great Demon.

As before, she raised a barrier of foul energy.

But this time was different. Even the dark barrier was consumed by the light, vanishing without a trace.

[Ghhk!]

The Great Demon winced as the light engulfed her.

She spread her massive black wings and soared out of the wave.

[An Great angel who watches over other Great angels?]

“I’d prefer you call me a Watcher.”

[Ha! And such a grand being is throwing a tantrum over one insignificant human?!]

“…Insignificant human?”

The goddess’s brow furrowed slightly.

Within her calm eyes, a deep hostility began to bloom.

“You should not be purified gently.”

The goddess unfurled her three pairs of wings and launched herself at the Great Demon.

The Great Demon clenched her teeth and charged in as well.

What followed were repeated, thunderous roars.

With each clash, light and darkness tangled and warped the very space around them.

[I’ll leave the rest to you, my apostle.]

The goddess’s voice echoed in Lillian’s mind.

Receiving the message, Lillian stepped forward without hesitation.

“We have to save Tina.”

Now was the time.

With the Great Demon distracted by the goddess, this was the perfect moment to rescue Tina.

Artasha was the first to rush toward the black sphere. Lillian, Viviana, and Nia followed close behind.

It wasn’t easy. Demons that the tidal wave had missed surged toward them from every direction.

Viviana drew her sword from her side and swiftly cut them down.

Though they had expected fierce resistance, the demons fell helplessly before her blade.

The power granted by the goddess was even stronger than she had imagined.

Now imbued with divine energy, the Empire’s greatest swordswoman had become nothing less than a natural predator to the demons.

“Feels like we’re off to slay the Demon King or something.”

Lillian felt the same. She radiated immense divine power in all directions, driving away every demon that dared approach.

Amidst it all, the only one struggling alone was Nia.

Devoid of the goddess’s blessing, she was, in the end, just an ordinary demon—no different from the rest.

“D-damn it…! Give me the goddess’s power too!”

Nia shouted in frustration, but in the end, she bared her fangs with fierce determination and began tearing into the surrounding demons with savage abandon.

After that desperate battle, the women finally arrived before the black sphere.

The black sphere pulsed rhythmically, like a beating heart.

“Tina…!”

Altasha gasped and hurried forward.

But just before her hand could reach the sphere—

A small shadow stepped in her path. In the same instant, Altasha’s entire body froze.

“Mother! Watch out—!”

Viviana gripped her sword tightly and rushed to Altasha’s side.

But the moment she laid eyes on the shadowy figure, she too froze, just like Altasha.

“You… you’re…”

The words escaped Altasha’s trembling lips.

The shadow belonged to a girl.

A girl with snow-white hair just like Altasha’s, and eyes as clear and blue as the sky.

She also looked strikingly similar to the woman they had been searching for.

“Mother!!”

The girl ran forward and threw herself into Altasha’s arms.

A flush of red bloomed across her cheeks, and a bright smile spread across her lips.

Had it been any other time, Altasha would have embraced her without hesitation.

But now, she couldn’t even move a single finger.

“I… I waited so long…”

From the very first moment Altasha saw her, she knew.

That this girl was not the daughter she had been searching for.
And yet—she also was her daughter.

“I knew you’d come for me…”

The girl looked up at Altasha.

Her eyes shimmered with the tremble of desperate hope.

“You came… to save me, didn’t you?!”

Altasha couldn’t speak.

No words would come easily.

She could only stare blankly, back and forth between the girl and the black sphere.