Sovereign of the Ashes-Chapter 1055: Succeed

A violent explosion marked the end of this god hunt.

Sein was surprised that a Rank One creature had dared to consume the core of a Rank Four being.

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly as he looked up at the blood and flesh still drifting through the air, at a loss for words.

With the Avatar Crisis underway, more and more of Faeloria’s lesser beings had come to know that they could ascend to godhood by slaying deities.

But the question was... how exactly could one ascend to godhood after slaying a deity?

Was it really as simple as swallowing a divine relic, like Arnold had just done?

Of course not!

The heart of a Rank Four being held immense power, far beyond what ordinary creatures could comprehend, let alone withstand.

Even now, during the Avatar Crisis, when special laws had suppressed the divine relic, it was still a divine relic!

Directly consuming such a relic was not the path to godhood. Even for Rank Three beings, doing so would come with immense risk.

For a Rank One or Rank Two creature, it was simply suicide.

In Sein’s view, the proper method was to analyze the laws contained within the divine relic, then slowly channel and integrate its power into one’s body over time.

Absorbing a divine relic should never be rushed.

This was why so many Epic Beings in Faeloria disappeared for centuries, sometimes longer, after killing a deity.

It was not only to keep a low profile and avoid attention from opportunists. More often, it was because fully refining a divine relic required a very long time.

The path to godhood was never easy.

Slaying a god was only one of the challenges—and the most dangerous of them all.

What came after—safely absorbing divine power, as well as unraveling divine abilities and the power of laws—was equally vital.

The gruesome scene before Sein stirred no emotion in him.

Aside from Ronaldo and the other two, who could at least draw a sliver of his attention, the rest of the Godslayers’ younger generation meant nothing to him.

The pale golden divine relic finally flew back into Sein’s hand, without any incident this time.

Despite his injuries, Ronaldo slammed his bloodied right fist into the ground in frustration, blaming himself for failing to properly guide his junior.

Flynn, still conscious, let out a quiet sigh as well.

Fortunately, Audria had already lost consciousness. She had always treated the younger members of the Godslayers like her own children.

Had she witnessed what had just happened, no one could say how devastated she would have been.

When it came to the human heart, nothing was more unpredictable.

“Alright, let’s pack up and get out of here quickly,” Sein announced as he walked to a corner of the battlefield and gently picked up Lou, who was now in equally bad shape.

Meanwhile, Yuri was climbing out of the rubble inside her mecha.

She had taken on two Epic Beings by herself and had been Sein’s greatest support throughout the battle.

Even during the final clash with the God of First Light, it was Yuri who had fired her “Black Hole Particle Cannon”.

Old Man Peyton from Sky City had once claimed that it could threaten demigods, and he was right.

The gaping wound in the God of First Light’s chest had been created by Yuri when she found the perfect opening.

“Can it still hold?” Sein asked, glancing at her unit.

“Of course,” came a firm voice from within the scorched and battered shell of the Burning Flame Unit.

This battle had been something of a breakthrough for Yuri.

The sun had already risen past the horizon, and the long shadows of Sein and his allies stretched out across the battlefield.

***

It was possible that the onset of the Avatar Crisis had also delayed the collapse of the divine nations after their deities fell.

It was not until after Sein and the others had already left the battlefield that, high in the sky, a massive golden morning star came crashing down.

No, not just one but two of them.

One of the falling golden stars represented the fallen God of First Light’s divine nation.

As for the second... no one could say which other deity had been unfortunate enough to fall at the same time.

The two falling stars once again sent shockwaves throughout all of Faeloria.

In the past two hundred years, more than twenty deities had fallen, surpassing the total casualties of the previous Avatar Crisis.

And this one was not even halfway through!

One could only imagine how long this era of chaos and upheaval would continue.

Within the Justice Theocracy, the God of Radiance silently watched the golden star that represented the fall of the God of First Light.

The loss of a god he had long favored caused him to clench his right hand tightly.

From the Temple of Radiance, a series of oracles spread swiftly across the Justice League.

He needed to know who had struck down one of his own vassals.

While the God of Justice remained in seclusion, the God of Radiance had become the leader of the Justice League.

He held even higher authority than the other two greater deities within the Justice League.

***

When the God of Radiance sent down his oracles and Sein had long departed the battlefield, another unusual presence arrived at the place where the God of First Light had fallen.

She was a peculiar woman, cloaked in a white hood, with hair that was half golden blonde and half white.

She stood in silence for a long time, gazing toward Purgatory, where Sein and the others had disappeared.

Eventually, she clenched her teeth in resolve and turned westward.

Not long after she left, yet another powerful presence descended upon the scorched battlefield.

The figure wore a long purple dress, pinching a clump of charred soil between her slender fingers.

“A peculiar use of elemental energy... This pyro elemental power isn’t something I’ve seen before,” she murmured to herself.

Unlike the white-hooded woman, she did not pursue the group heading toward Purgatory.

Instead, after collecting the ashes Sein left behind, she dusted off her hands and turned away, heading in an entirely different direction.

Her method of gathering the ashes was strikingly similar to how Magus World mages collected specimens. However, she was not nearly as meticulous.

Unlike Sein, she lacked the obsessive attention to detail and drive for perfection.

***

In Purgatory...

Upon returning to the blood-colored landscape, Sein let out a quiet sigh of relief.

The Succubus Queen and the others were already waiting. It appeared they had been there for quite some time.

Upon seeing him, Anastasia stepped forward and said, “Congratulations, Master Sein.”

The Succubus Queen was not belittling him by calling him “Master”, despite being an intermediate deity herself.

She had, through certain means, watched nearly the entire battle.

Sein’s performance had been nothing short of remarkable, enough to place him among the strongest of Purgatory’s demon lords.

For nearly two hundred years, the Succubus Queen had observed his steady rise.

His unique path—gaining power through knowledge—had earned her admiration.

In truth, even if Sein had lost his battle against the God of First Light, he would not have died.

The Purgatory demons would never have stood idly by and let him fall. And since Anastasia had been observing, she undoubtedly had the means to intervene at a crucial moment.

Yet in the end, there had been no need.

“I’ve heard the demon legions along the outer edges of Purgatory’s first level recently launched an assault on the Justice League and drew the attention of their deities. For that, I must thank Your Highness,” Sein began.

“But for now, I need to begin my recovery. I’ll return to visit you another time.”

With that, Sein gave Anastasia a formal Magus World bow, then turned and left.

As she watched his back retreat into the distance, the Succubus Queen’s ruby-like eyes shimmered faintly—her thoughts known only to herself.