Goddess's Yuri harem: Chosing the Empress is hard-Chapter 122: The Goddess’s Taunt- Part 2

Auriel gritted her teeth. She knew she couldn’t win in a head-on battle, not when Minerva was brimming with dark magic and had the advantage in this realm.

Her only hope was to hold out long enough for the heavens to intervene. But she also knew that if Minerva lost interest completely, she might simply leave—and that was something Auriel could not allow.

"Then leave. Go back to the heavens and stop this madness, Minerva. You weren’t like this before."

Auriel said sharply, still trying to control the situation.

Minerva laughed—a deep, mocking laugh that sent chills down Auriel’s spine.

"Leave? Oh, dear Auriel, you’re still so naïve. I’ll leave when I decide to, not because you asked me to. But I suppose there’s no reason for me to stay here anymore. You clearly have no intention of making this fun."

Auriel’s heart pounded. She could not let Minerva escape. If Minerva left now, there was no telling what kind of destruction she would bring upon the world.

But Auriel had planned for this moment.

While she had been dodging Minerva’s attacks, she had secretly set up a divine barrier around the entire village.

Minerva might be able to leave with her power, but her summoner—Lila—would not be so lucky.

And so, the moment Minerva turned her back, Auriel acted.

She spotted Lila hiding in the shadows, trembling as she clutched the remnants of the dark altar she had used for Minerva’s revival.

Without hesitation, Auriel lunged forward, seizing Lila’s wrist in an iron grip.

Lila gasped, trying to struggle free, but it was no use. Auriel held her firmly, eyes burning with determination as she called out to Minerva.

"Stop this foolishness, Minerva! If you want your connection to this world to remain intact, you will surrender now! Your summoner is in my grasp—one wrong move and she will be harmed. You won’t be able to return if I destroy her."

Auriel shouted, holding Lila tightly.

She expected resistance. She expected Minerva to hesitate, to show a sliver of concern for the one who had performed the forbidden ritual to bring her back.

But instead, Minerva turned back with an amused expression, her lips curling into a wicked smile. And then she laughed.

A cold, merciless laugh that sent shivers down both Auriel’s and Lila’s spines.

"Do whatever you want. It no longer matters. I’ve evolved past such trivial limitations"

Minerva said airily, waving a hand as if Auriel’s threat was nothing more than a child’s tantrum. "

Auriel’s grip on Lila instinctively tightened.

This wasn’t the reaction she had expected. Not even close.

Minerva was supposed to care. She was supposed to fight back. She was supposed to show some kind of frustration at Auriel’s interference.

Instead, she was completely indifferent.

Auriel had no idea what Minerva meant by "evolved past such limitations," but the ominous tone in her voice made Auriel tense up.

However, if anyone was more affected by Minerva’s words, it was Lila.

The summoner had gone completely still, her eyes wide with shock.

She turned to look at Minerva, her lips trembling as she stammered.

"W-What do you mean? I... I am your follower. I brought you back. I offered everything to you! I am your bridge to this world! You... you can’t mean that I don’t matter?"

Minerva turned her gaze to Lila, and for the first time, her smile faded into something colder.

"Matter? You were useful, Lila. That’s all. And now? You’re nothing."

She echoed, tilting her head as if the very idea confused her.

Lila’s face drained of color.

"B-But I worshipped you!" she cried out, her voice filled with desperation.

"I devoted my life to you! Everything I’ve done was for you, Goddess Minerva! I even used dark magic to bring you back, even though I knew the risks! I—I—"

Minerva sighed and raised a hand, silencing Lila with a flick of her fingers.

"That’s adorable. But you still don’t understand, do you? I am not the same goddess you used to worship. I have no need for blind devotion anymore"

She murmured.

Auriel watched in horror as Minerva’s gaze darkened. The air around them grew heavier, thick with an overwhelming aura of corruption.

This was beyond anything Auriel had anticipated.

Minerva truly had changed.

She no longer saw herself as a goddess who needed faith or worship. She had become something else entirely.

Auriel’s mind raced.

What could she do? What could possibly work against someone who had abandoned all ties to her old self?

And then she realized—Minerva’s overconfidence might be her downfall.

If Minerva truly believed she no longer needed her followers, then she wouldn’t bother protecting Lila. That meant Lila was vulnerable, and if Lila was vulnerable, so was Minerva’s link to this realm.

Auriel didn’t need to threaten Minerva.

She needed to cut off her connection to this world completely.

Tightening her grip on Lila, Auriel made her decision. She gathered divine energy, preparing to sever the summoner’s ties to Minerva’s magic.

Lila gasped, realizing what Auriel was about to do.

"No—wait! I—"

But it was too late.

Auriel released a burst of divine light, wrapping around Lila like a purifying flame. The moment the energy touched her, the dark magic inside her body began to crack and burn away.

A bloodcurdling scream tore from Lila’s throat as the forbidden magic was forcefully expelled. She writhed in Auriel’s grasp, her body rejecting the purification, but Auriel didn’t stop.

If she hesitated now, they would all be doomed.

Minerva, for the first time, actually reacted.

Her eyes widened slightly as she felt the shift in power—the link she had to this world beginning to break apart.

"No. You would really go this far, Auriel?"

Minerva said, and for the first time, there was a hint of irritation in her voice.

Auriel’s expression remained firm.

"I will do whatever it takes to protect this world. Even if that means sealing you away"

She said.

The light surrounding Lila reached its peak, and with one final cry, the connection between her and Minerva shattered.

A shockwave of divine energy erupted from the summoner’s body, sending ripples through the village.

Minerva let out a low, frustrated sigh as her form began to waver, her presence in the human realm growing unstable.

Auriel braced herself, knowing this was only the beginning.

Minerva was not going to accept this without a fight.

And the real battle was just about to begin.

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