"Besides all that, the gods themselves are divided into different pantheons—but we witches don't bother with those divisions."
When Fate finished speaking, Star was the first to chime in excitedly:
"What was that saying again… hmm…
Truth keeps the world in order, Time pushes the world forward, while Judgement and Supremacy fight without end."
"Truth, Time, Judgement, and Supremacy—these are the four major factions among the divine.
Truth and Time remain neutral, while Judgement and Supremacy are in constant opposition.
Right now, the three great human empires worship one of the two Supreme Gods of the Judgement faction—namely, the Holy Lord.
Their allies, the elves, worship the other Supreme God of that faction—the Mother of Life.
Meanwhile, the beastfolk, who are always at war with the human empires, follow the Lord of Corruption—one of the Supreme Gods of the Supremacy faction.
And as for the other Supreme God…"
Star leaned forward, lowering her voice dramatically.
"That would be the long-fallen Lord of Death—the original owner of your Death Divinity.
So? Isn't it exciting? Don't you feel like you've suddenly become the protagonist of some epic story?"
But Hel didn't seem the least bit thrilled. She asked calmly,
"Then the ascension trial for a Supreme God must be far more difficult, right?"
"Exactly. Far harder than you can imagine."
Fate smiled faintly at their exchange before taking over the explanation again.
"You can take my own divinity as a reference point to understand how difficult a Supreme God's ascension truly is."
"Yours?"
"That's right," Star interrupted with a bright grin. "Fate-sis here holds a Supreme God's divinity from the Time faction! She's lived for who-knows-how-many centuries—an ancient, super, super powerful monster! Ouch! I mean that as a compliment, Fate-sis!"
"A true lady doesn't call another lady a monster," Fate said, smiling as she withdrew the hand she'd just used to flick Star's forehead. Then she continued,
"Three hundred years ago, there was a witch of the Underworld. Her ascension task was to guide the souls of the dead into the Netherworld.
But in the end, she destroyed nearly half of the Ymir Empire and slaughtered tens of millions—yet still failed to complete her task. She couldn't even take the first step on the divine path: the Saint rank."
"The Witch of the Underworld only inherited a Lesser God's divinity. So, as the holder of the Supreme God's divinity from the same domain, your path will be even more difficult."
"Maybe, little Reaper, to become a god you'll have to wipe the entire continent clean," Star said with an innocent smile—words that would have chilled anyone else to the bone.
Of course, none of the witches present took her seriously. If that were really necessary, the Holy Church wouldn't be her only enemy—the other witches wouldn't allow it either.
"Not necessarily," Fate said, shaking her head. "We've discussed this before. The Underworld Witch failed because she misunderstood her path.
Her task was to guide souls into the Netherworld—not to turn the living world into one.
But she never found the entrance to the Netherworld, so she resorted to the crudest method she could—mass destruction.
Still, perhaps after destroying an empire, she might truly have created a world of the dead."
"Oh, right!" Star suddenly said. "I heard the Underworld Witch broke her seal recently and is trying to repeat her 'great work.'
But this time, she seems to have lost her sanity—she attacks anyone she sees, even other witches.
The Free Nation's already been wiped out, and the fighting's spread to neighboring countries.
So, little Reaper, if you're anywhere near there, you'd better run."
"Is that so? I'm far from that region—I haven't heard much about it."
Hel gave Star a meaningful look, unsure whether the girl was genuinely concerned or subtly probing for information. Just in case, she kept her answer vague.
"Good, good. The Underworld Witch is too dangerous right now. No one knows what she's been through…"
"Anyway, back to the main topic," Fate interrupted as Star prepared to continue.
"The path to godhood is something you must discover on your own—no one else can walk it for you.
But there's something very important you must understand, and it's the main reason this Witch Court exists in the first place.
From the moment you awakened as a witch, every part of your body has been infused with residual divine power.
Every drop of your blood and flesh—even the things your body excretes—contain traces of that power.
Now, don't worry—witches metabolize extremely slowly, so you won't expose yourself just by sweating.
But you do need to be careful with your waste and your bathwater.
The Church has divination arrays beneath every cathedral that monitor the surrounding water veins.
If they detect divine pollution nearby, the Holy Knights will come for you."
"Ta-da!" Star clapped her hands. "That's where my inventions come in!"
With a wave of her hand, several strange metallic objects appeared on the round table. Picking one up, she said proudly,
"This is a Dimensional Plug! It completely solves that problem for you.
You just stick it in the back, and poof—no more bathroom breaks! Oh, and here's the front version!"
She then picked up a small, delicate rod and presented it to Hel.
"And this one—spatial diapers! They'll take care of that little monthly issue.
Though you might not need them yet, little Reaper—it's good to be prepared, right?"
Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "So? Tempted? If you let me hug you once, I'll give them all to you~"
"Uh… no thanks."
Hel's eye twitched as she looked at the items on the table. Those things were huge—she was pretty sure using them would kill her.
And besides, even if she was female physically, her soul was still a man's. There was no way she was interested in these "girly gadgets."
"No worries, no worries!" Star chirped. "I've also got this—the Dimensional Bodysuit! It completely isolates your body from the outside world!
It even has built-in temperature control and cleansing spells to keep you fresh and dry—"
"That won't be necessary either," Hel interrupted firmly.
"See, Star," Lust cut in with a smirk before Star could introduce anything else, "your inventions are too impractical."
With a teasing smile, the seductive witch pulled a small pink sphere from under her skirt and placed it on the table.
"This," she said, "is a tentacle egg. You can bind it with your soul so it becomes part of your body.
Keep it inside you, and it will do… this."
As she spoke, Lust's clothing suddenly split open—and if one looked closely, the inner lining was covered in tiny, writhing tendrils.
It was as if her entire outfit was alive.