Chapter 382: Lucretia's Speculation, Choice, and Mana Replenishment
The undefeated God of War, the ever-victorious deity of triumph—had he truly been defeated?
However, Lucretia was more concerned about the two's enigmatic conversation.
[The desired object from the distant beyond?]—did this mean the God King Melqart and the God of War Verethragna were calling out for help to some existence?
No, it wasn't just these two gods; there should be many more.
And the representative who initiated the call for help was the God of the Bible.
Yet Melqart also said the God of the Bible had already died. Could it be that after the God of the Bible sent out the call for help, some terrifying existence erased them and reshaped a new God of the Bible?
The mere thought of this sent a chill down Lucretia's spine.
It seemed that the world of myths was undergoing some major upheaval unknown to the earthly world, which was why they had reached out for external help.
External help?
Another world!
Hadn't Melqart mentioned it earlier? Half of the book in his hand did not belong to this world.
He also said the God of the Bible had succeeded, implying that the master Lucretia now served was the one they had been searching for, who had taken on the identity of the Apocalypse Knight?
No, no!
This master she served had explicitly stated that the one they hoped for no longer existed. He was merely an inheritor of the legacy, driven here by curiosity rather than any intention to offer salvation.
Did this mean that if danger arose, he would abandon this world without hesitation?
"Your choice?"
Such a voice snapped Lucretia back to reality.
Was this asking her to choose which Authority of the God of War she wished to be granted?
After glancing at the information about the Authorities recorded in the Bible, Lucretia fell into brief contemplation.
"Strong Wind and Goat."
The choice of Strong Wind seemed to overlap somewhat with Erica's Authority, so logically, she should choose something else.
But the reason Lucretia chose it was that this Authority was not merely about controlling the wind—it also included the ability to teleport.
As long as she knew the appearance of both parties and both were in a place touched by the wind, if someone called her name, she could instantly teleport to their location.
Moreover, she could bring others along with her.
This teleportation did not seem limited to ordinary physical space; it appeared she could even teleport directly to the Netherworld or the mythical realms of the gods.
Thus, this teleportation ability of the Authority likely evolved from Verethragna's additional identity as a God of Travel.
Such an ability would be highly practical for Lucretia, who was inherently lazy and reluctant to go out.
As for the Goat, it allowed her to manipulate lightning.
However, manipulating lightning came with conditions—it couldn't be used arbitrarily just because she wanted to release it.
Of course, as a Witch, Lucretia could also use lightning magic, but it paled in comparison to the Authority of a god.
The power of the lightning released by the Goat depended primarily on the strength of emotions.
It could convert the emotions of those who were pleading, begging, praying, or hoping into lightning and release it.
If others also desired the user to become stronger, such wishes would further amplify the power of the lightning she released.
Additionally, these emotional energies were not limited to humans; any living being could contribute.
Correction, it's not limited to living beings either; one can also absorb the lingering thoughts of the deceased and convert them into power.
As a witch, Lucretia is particularly adept at sensing and connecting with these residual thoughts.
Thus, the Authority of the Goat is quite suitable for her.
"Alright."
As soon as he finished speaking, wind and the form of a goat emerged from the book and merged into her body.
Immediately afterward, she felt her mind growing somewhat sluggish—a sign that her body was adapting to the Divine Authority and about to fall into slumber.
"Um, please don't... while I'm asleep..."
She wanted to say, "Don't extract power from me while I'm asleep and cause an awkward situation like with Erica."
Unfortunately, before Lucretia could finish speaking, her consciousness faded into deep sleep.
Gray Realm—[The End of the Netherworld], the entrance to the domain of the gods.
A young girl around ten years old, with twin tails, waved a Divine Artifact in her hand at the young god before her.
"Um, Lord Verethragna, has your divine power been drained? You can't even draw on your Authority. Could you explain what's going on?"
Pandora, the foster mother of the Campiones, made an endearing, childlike plea with innocent eyes to the God of War before her.
This God of War was in the same situation as Melqart.
Even though the ritual for the birth of a Campione had been triggered, when she arrived, she found no child destined to become a Campione. Moreover, the Authorities and divine power of these Heretic Gods seemed to have been stripped away. It was utterly baffling.
"The situation is—like this, then like that, and finally, that's how it turned out!"
Verethragna smiled as he replied, causing the goddess's cheerful expression to freeze into a mask.
"What do you mean, 'like this, then like that, and finally, that's how it turned out'? I have no idea what you're saying!"
Pandora's cheeks puffed up in frustration. Teasing her like this wasn't funny at all!
This was a serious matter—what exactly had happened?
"If you don't understand, there's nothing I can do~"
Shrugging his shoulders, Verethragna turned and walked toward the domain of the gods.
Although Pandora sought to make the world a better place, that didn't mean he would side with her.
Moreover, his descent to the mortal realm as a Heretic God and his confrontation with Melqart seemed coincidental, but in reality, someone had been scheming behind the scenes.
And this goddess was likely one of them.
The plan was for someone to take advantage when he and Melqart were both weakened, emerging to claim the spoils and become a new Campione.
If someone had defeated him through genuine skill, he would have admired them. But to have a bunch of schemers paving the way behind the scenes?
"Tsk, it seems I'm disliked."
Pandora sighed.
As a God of War, he was naturally skilled in strategy and had seen through something.
But she had no choice. The beings in the Netherworld had offered her terms she couldn't refuse.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to call it a threat.
Mmm~
A deeply seductive moan escaped as the owner of the voice awoke from her slumber.
The first thing she did upon waking was to clearly see Renji beside her. Startled, she quickly checked herself and, finding no subtle complications, breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm not that rude. Since you requested to replenish magic after waking up, of course, I wouldn't replenish magic without permission while you were asleep."
Renji's overly gentlemanly words earned him intense eye-rolls and resentment - which of course didn't come from the Witch before him, but from another golden-haired beauty.
"Erica, stop looking at me like that. You didn't tell me in advance, and I did ask you, but you didn't answer, so I took it as your agreement."
"Eh? Wait, when did you ask me?"
"When you were asleep."
"..."
Erica's face twitched.
How could she possibly answer while asleep? This was clearly malicious.
"Then I'll begin replenishing magic, Lucretia."
Ignoring Erica's resentful gaze, Renji turned his attention back to the Witch before him.
With only two contractors so far, forced rapid charging was still necessary.
A slight smirk curled his lips as he prepared to witness another person's loss of composure.
"Should you put this on first?"
He kindly offered an item.
"No need~"
Lucretia refused with an eye-roll of her own, feeling it would be even more embarrassing to wear it.
Not only that, she simply removed all her clothing.
If that awkward situation really occurred, at least her clothes wouldn't be affected too.
"Ready, my master~"
Her voice dripped with seduction as she swayed her enchanting figure, truly like a fairy.
Therefore, the moment she finished speaking, she felt something being forcibly drawn out from within her body!