— — — — — —
With someone like Veyron watching over them—so strong he didn't even flinch at the Lord of Ecstasy, and had chased him into this world just to stir up trouble—there was no way the Pope's fake "descent ritual" in the name of Mother Earth was gonna be smooth..
The Lord of Ecstasy's descent had to happen; it was a must for Veyron. But it would happen on his terms.
---
After a few days...
It was time for the so-called "Mother Earth Ritual," as the Pope called it.
Teresa was there with her three daughters, explaining what was about to happen. She also asked Lilith for her opinion, saying that if she wasn't willing, they would come up with another plan. But pure-hearted Lilith only smiled and agreed—her smile so gentle it brought Teresa to tears for the first time in years.
An hour later, the ritual began…
"Yo~"
"So the fake ritual's over now, right?"
Before the Pope and her flock, who were frozen in terror—before Lady Teresa, stunned speechless—and before her two elder daughters, whose eyes shone with joy…
The Lord of Ecstasy descended into Lilith's body, ready to unleash his power. But he didn't even get the chance. A massive hand of condensed Ki reached out and grabbed him like a toy.
"I was worried you'd play it safe, leave your real body outside and just send a wisp of divine will to peek in," Veyron said in a calm voice. "Didn't expect your so-called descent to be this… authentic."
Through the sight of the Soul Light, one could clearly see the Lord of Ecstasy's head marked with a glowing "100%."
With that, Veyron stomped his foot and sealed off not just the world beneath him, but also the thousands of other worlds that had been connected to it thanks to the Lord of Ecstasy and his fellow Gods.
"Who... are... you?!"
The voice rang out from Lilith's mouth, crisp like silver bells but strangely distorted, echoing with dread.
The Lord of Ecstasy realized in horror that he was weaker against this stranger than he had been the time he wandered into the void and heard that world-shattering drumbeat that altered his very existence.
No matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free.
"Think of me as someone from one of the many worlds you've messed up—here to collect a debt," Veyron said with a grin. With a flick of his finger, he snapped the Lord of Ecstasy right out of the girl's body.
Maria caught her younger sister in her arms, glancing toward Veyron for reassurance.
Veyron nodded to her before rolling the struggling Lord of Ecstasy into a neat little ball, setting it aside to bring back to the Treeborn World.
He figured Larentia and the others would enjoy beating that thing later.
Business handled, it was time for a little good deed of the day.
He snapped his fingers.
Across thousands of worlds, every trace of the Gods—temples, sigils, cursed relics, intoxicating elixirs—went up in smoke, erased without a trace.
As for the cultists…
Veyron pulled up a "list" directly from the wills of these worlds themselves. Using their records, and his own sense of morality, every registered lifeform underwent a "Virtue Check."
Over 100 points: their corruption was cleansed, and they even got a bonus "healthy body" package.
Between 60 and 100: corruption cleansed, nothing more.
Between 0 and 60: corruption cleansed, plus a thirty-year streak of terrible luck.
Below 0: wiped out, no exceptions.
...
By the time he was done, Veyron figured that if he were in a xianxia-style world, he would've just earned himself a mountain of golden karmic merit.
"Now, let's—"
"…Huh? What's going on?"
Right in front of him, the world he had just scrubbed clean was already showing fresh signs of corruption, warping again under some sinister influence.
There weren't any gods here, so the corruption couldn't have come from them…
"Oh? So that's why hundreds of gods were here together? Even their Lord of Ecstasy wanted to descend here."
Golden light flared in his eyes as Veyron used the Soul Light to probe the source.
At the world's core, he found seven crystals, each glowing with a different color—black, pink, purple, red, and more.
"Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, Lust…"
He felt the aura of each one, and frowned. "The Seven Deadly Sins?"
"Interesting."
He turned his Divine Will toward the world's will. "Care to explain?"
「Uwuu~」
The world's will played dumb with a cutesy whimper, basically saying it had no clue.
"…Forget it. I'll look myself."
Tracing the faint lines of cause and effect wrapped around the crystals, Veyron tried to follow them back to their source.
…
One minute later.
Veyron: "???"
"What the hell, I haven't even scratched the surface yet?"
"Fine. Let's see who's stubborn."
He poured more power into the Soul Light.
...
Ten minutes later.
Veyron: "???"
He went all out.
...
An hour later.
Veyron: "WTF?!!!"
He decided to put on his Saint Armor and use every bit of power he had.
...
Three days later.
Veyron: "…"
"You've gotta be kidding me."
"Whoever caused this, you'd better pray I never catch you!"
He had thought his power was basically infinite, but after digging through the origins of the Seven Deadly Sins, he found himself nearly drained dry—and still no answer in sight. His lips twitched in frustration, ready to chalk this up as another grudge to settle later, when suddenly…
The void reacted. Through the sacred imprint he'd carved, a violent backlash surged straight into him.
Pop!
With the void's help, the invisible dimensional wall that had been draining him the closer he got finally cracked, just enough for him to punch through a tiny hole with his divine sense.
And in that fleeting fraction of a fraction of a second—before the breach closed—he slipped inside and scanned the other side.
And just like that, the truth became clear.
.
.
.
A/N: So you're probably thinking, "Were the last 3 or 4 chapters just filler with no real plot?" And the answer is: yup! Congrats, you actually have a brain and can use it. But chill—it was all on purpose, and you'll see why in the next chapter.
Stay tuned, because the next chapter is something even I didn't see coming.