“Uurrgh.”

“Damn. Shine.” Iridescent light shined from my fingers, calming Ellaine’s twitching left arm. I knew this spell could damage dark elemental monsters, but I did not know it was also a demon pacifier.

Night had come, and it was probably quite late in the night right now, based on looking at the position of the green glowing moon. Under Aurena’s directions, I have been flying through the air using my rocket boosters after confirming Ellaine was alive but infected by something demonic. At first, due to the fact the sun was up, I was able to fly at a pretty decent pace, but once the sky darkened, fatigue began to take over.

I cannot stress enough how much scale-dust I was using to maintain my flying. During the afternoon sun, I was able to balance my scale-dust regeneration with my usage using solar energy and eating as much as I could with [Unheilige Engel]’s help. However, now that it was night, I had to slow down considerably, otherwise I would probably crash land from an empty stomach. The number of calories I was burning with this, jeez.

Also, I didn’t want to call her fat, but carrying her while she had her armor on was pretty tiring. My shoulders felt so stiff. She was still unconscious and the random twitching didn’t happen too often, but carrying her around would have been a drag if this wasn’t an emergency.

As for the twitching itself, Aurena had informed me the demon’s mana had infected her rings, staying inside them in a dormant state until it had gathered enough mana to rebuild a consciousness. I wanted to remove the rings, but they wouldn’t budge. The demon did not allow it. Outside of cutting Ellaine’s fingers off, having Aurena fix her up was the only solution.

So far away…

Just a bit more, Hestia. Enough complaining.

Haaaaaaaa… You know, considering you’ve been giving me directions this whole time, it really devalued the time you couldn’t speak with me. Honestly, this feels like an administrator speaking with a player in an MMO, more like a ‘divine whisper’ than telepathy, I spoke with Aurena, commenting on how often I’ve heard her voice through the system messages lately.

Us able to speak like this is not through telepathy, but through our Divine System. Call it like that if you wish, Hestia, just know most Peolyncians simply call it ‘words from the gods’. Usually, only the most faithful should be able to hear me speak this clearly, making you more or less an anomaly

Because these sorts of messages overload people’s souls, right? I remembered you telling me about that in your first message to me.

Correct. Faith is like a link to us gods, making your soul more compatible with us. Those able to hear our words are the most devout, and rarely do people joke around when they speak with us. Technically, this is the most I have personally spoken to a mortal outside an audience to my divine realm. Be honored, Hestia, I am granting you far too many privileges.

Not my fault. You need to get rid of this demon, and I want to get rid of it also. I wish you had just— Sorry, I don’t want to start this up again. How far are we?

While I was regretting that I almost started complaining again, Aurena overlooked it and focused on my question.

Close enough. You should be able to see the large mountain protruding from the woods by now.

The moment she pointed it out, I actually was able to see something standing out on the horizon. As I didn’t want to attract too much attention I was flying low, near to the trees, but now I was ascending closer to the clouds to get a better view.

What I saw was a large, snow-blanketed mountain so steep the peak looked like an eagle’s talon. The fact it looked like it was kind of unnatural, making me question how this type of mountain formation was created in the first place. It was as large as the Avitor Peaks, but it was definitely weirder looking.

However, while the top seemed strange, what lay below it returned to normalcy. Gone was the small amount of snow on the top, as grass and trees covered the rest of the mountain, up until I saw a majestic looking castle embedded into it. In the serene moonlight, the white palace gleamed a pristine white befitting the opulent lives of the Artorian noble society. Most likely, the whole castle palace was made from fairnite, not only for the looks, but to protect it from magic.

Griffonpeak, the capital city of the Kingdom of Artorias. That has to be the home of the royal family.

Long white towers peering into the sky connected through walled bridges to the main palace. The palace itself was decorated extensively, as if it was like the crowning achievement of the wealth and history of Artorias and its predecessor, Leosfalt. Walls protected the palace’s entrance with a gate leading to two additional layers of the whole castle.

On the second layer, a military-looking building, probably a garrison, and an impressive-looking building with a griffon knight statue built before it was located. I could see a large empty field placed in the corner of the layer in addition to a horse stall and… a building-like nest? There was also a mansion built in this layer.

On the bottom layer, multiple smaller houses far less decorated than the other layers stood. They weren’t shabby, but they didn’t look too special compared to the former. Common sense told me those belonged to servants and other personnel. I was happy to see the royal family weren’t treating their servants like trash, at least.

Of course, while the castle was admittedly splendid-looking, the scars of war were still there. At the entrance of the lowest layer, the end of a fairnite bridge could be seen, but the middle of it was completely missing, almost as if it was destroyed. The broken edges were cut off and polished, looking as if it was intentionally left in such a broken condition. I knew the elves during the War for the Faefolk left Griffonpeak in a terrible state, but the reconstruction seemed to have not included the bridge. How were people supposed to visit the palace?

Oh, right, the answer is obvious. Gargoyles, griffons, and hippogryphs.

The Kingdom of Griffons. It would make sense if they used these companions and constructs to land at the castle entrance, especially the royal family who were arvisans. I also heard from Ellaine of how the Lecartiglio Duchy introduced a griffon and hippogryph carriage service to the kingdom. The image of griffons carrying carriages was funny to think about.

The temple is over there. Close to the inner walls.

That said, Griffonpeak was still a city, at the end of the day. While Firwood and Cedaraille had a pretty similar architecture where the home of the lord of the city was placed in the middle surrounded by the noble district, Griffonpeak looked a bit different to me. Aside from a few landmarks, like a giant colosseum, a university-sized area which most likely was the royal academy, a giant gothic-style church, a statue of an arvisian man, and a large, fine building, it was kind of hard to describe the rest of the city.

As I approached the city, I was able to distinguish the noble district and commoner district from appearance alone, but I wasn’t able to see the entire city. Regardless, it wasn’t important to me. If you asked me, the castle was already mesmerizing enough under the moonlight, so marvelous that it outshined the rest of the city. It was like looking at a masterpiece beside some well-made but mundane art.

I have made the necessary preparations. Immediately enter the temple and move to the altar room, Hestia. You know what to do afterward.

Got it. Last sprint, Ellaine, hold on!

I knew I was kinda breaking the law by bypassing the gate and sneaking into the city, but this was an emergency and Aurena herself told me to do so. Still, the commotion it would cause if somebody saw me. Using my sneaking skills, I flew higher to avoid people seeing me around the outer and inner walls. Once I was close to the temple, I slowed down my scale-dust boosters, landing in an area obscure from any guard’s or grey-robe’s sight.

“Urgh, haaaaa, haaaa…” Once I was back on the ground, My legs lost their strength and I dropped to my knees. I was feeling a little bit light-headed and it felt like my muscles didn’t want to move at all. “Tch, I want to sleep and just rest already. Flying long distances is too much.”

I have still not recovered from fighting Astalos. My body was drained, my mind fatigued from worrying for Ellaine, and I could feel my stomach growling. Fortunately, neither [Exhausted] or [Starving] has appeared yet, but I was not in good shape. I was too tired to march right in and act pompous.

Using [Detection Sensor] and [Silence], I might not have been as good as Saori when it came to sneaking around, but it still felt easy to bypass any guard’s wandering eyes. Only problem was, Aurena was not telling me where to go. The Griffonpeak temple of the Church of Aurena was far larger than the Firwood one, and although it still had a simple interior design, I had no idea where the altar room was. There just wasn’t a map.

Hey, Goddess Aurena, whe— Huh?! A signal!

A signal suddenly appeared out of nowhere on my [Detection Sensor] from thin air. From my experience sparring with Saori, I knew very well how [Silence] and [Odorless] allowed you to disappear from a detection skill’s power. A skill would neutralize a rival one if its level was similar or higher. If this signal appeared out of nowhere, a rogue or assassin was trailing me.

But inside a temple!? Urgh, as if, whether they were priests or not, most of the top brass belong to the nobility. Just like Theodore, the High Bishop of Firwood, having spies and similar was normal!

Fuck. Somebody with a high detection skill to detect me and enough high-level stealth ones to trail behind me.

Currently, I was in a corridor and the signal came from a room behind me. Hiding anymore would probably cause me some issues. At the end of the day, the church and I weren’t enemies… yet. Until Aurena’s plan fully began, I should probably play nice with them.

With Ellaine in my arms, I calmly walked towards the signal, which was currently standing still. After a few more steps, a woman’s voice suddenly came from behind the corridor’s door. “Champion Hestia, pardon me.”

My eyes widened. The voice had a very distinctive accent, it was definitely not an Artorian from the Greenveil Duchy. Furthermore, it was neither dwarven nor elven as well. When I was wondering who the person was, the door opened up and a figure in a full set of brown and black armor appeared. Two black khopeshes were hanging sheathed on their hips while a spear and bow were being carried on the figure’s back.

In my opinion, the style of armor and clothing looked a bit similar to a middle eastern medieval warrior, giving me a good idea why the voice’s accent was so foreign to me. I could see the symbol of Aurena on the figure’s chest, similar to the emblem Yorshka had. Was this person a knight?

I looked into their eyes before speaking. Their head was covered with a helmet and their mouth was hidden behind a sash, but the window between them allowed me to see their frowning brown eyes and… black mascara? At this point, I believed this person was a woman and the owner of the voice, mostly due to her body figure and the small part of her face I could see.

Annoyed that I detected you? Yeah, me, too. She wasn’t frowning a lot, but I could see she was a bit baffled that I was able to detect her.

She gave me a deep bow before beginning to speak, “I apologize for trailing you without introducing myself, Champion Hestia. I am Anivh, a Knight of Aurena. Saintess Eshe was made aware of your arrival, so my lady had sent me to greet you.”

“I-I see…” I wanted to comment on how she did a terrible job greeting me, seeing as how I had to sneak into the church, but that could wait for later. After all, I was more shocked to hear about her mistress.

A saintess?! Here?! Also, they know I was a champion!? That was when I remembered Aurena mentioning she made some preparations, but I thought those preparations were about destroying the demon infecting Ellaine.

“Uuurgh!” Suddenly, Ellaine began to groan again. Her arm wasn’t twitching yet, but it was a sign the damn infection was coming back up.

“I am not sure what is happening, but seeing as you are a knight, you must be a guard for this Saintess Eshe, correct? The greetings can wait for later. This is an emergency. Please, could you tell me the way to the temple’s altar room? I need to get there immediately!” I raised my voice a bit in a panic, asking desperately for some directions from the lady knight.

She bowed once again. “The Goddess has already informed Lady Eshe. Please, follow me.” Anivh spread her arms forward, gesturing to me to hand Ellaine over. However, I declined. I’m not allowing anybody to hold Ellaine until we have this problem sorted.

Following the lady knight through the candle-lit corridors felt really awkward as neither of us talked, leaving the church completely silent except for our footsteps. We did pass a few church guards on their night shift, who gave me confused stares, but Anivh shut them up with an icy glare. After entering through another door, we finally reached a room filled with the six altars of the Origin Gods.

Furthermore, there were three other people in the room.

“High Bishop?!” Ignoring the other two, I was firstly focused on an ever sleepy-looking, lilac-haired man in the white robes of a priest of Aurena. This man was none other than the High Bishop of Firwood’s temple and the brother of the lord of that town.

“It is a pleasure, Lady Hestia. I had thought you would arrive here by the beginning of SpringSun, but you are about two weeks late.” There was no warm smile, just a sleep-deprived head nod in acknowledgement.

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“Why are you still awake? It’s in the middle of the night.”

“I was working on documents.” Even after leaving Firwood’s temple, he still had to work during these ungodly hours?! “However, I did have some company, though. According to decorum, whether under noble or church etiquette rules, it would have been more appropriate for you to speak with this young lady first, Lady Hestia.”

Theodore stretched his hand out, directing my eyes to the two other individuals. The first was a large man in the same outfit as Anivh, although he had a single khopesh, a shield on his left arm, a bow, and a two-handed scimitar. The other person was a brown-skinned woman in her late twenties wearing a brilliant white robe with red flower embroidements. Anivh stood behind her.

Is she?

She curtsied. “Champion Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor, newest champion of the Goddess of Light, Dragon Princess of Kargryx, and otherworlder like the Heroes of Aurena, I am the most recently appointed saintess of Goddess Aurena, Eshe. It is an honor to finally meet you, Lady Hestia.”

“I-It is my pleasure.” Never would I have thought to meet one of Aurena’s saints here, as I heard nothing about this from anybody, not even the Goddess herself. This was somebody who embodied Aurena’s tenets enough to become a saintess, not a champion, and was trusted enough to learn of the fact I was not only a dragon and a princess, but also an otherworlder.

She then clapped her hands, pointing me towards the brilliant altar made from fairnite in the middle of the room. “I have heard the word of our Goddess about your predicament. Please, Goddess Aurena awaits you, we mustn't delay your meeting for a second more. High Bishop Theodore, my knights, and I shall await you outside, Champion. We shall let nobody disrupt this divine meeting.”

The room was cleared. Manatech light bulbs were lighting up the whole room as moonlight gushed through the stained windows. While the situation with this saintess was worth thinking about, the first thing I had to deal with was Ellaine’s situation. The twitching hadn’t stopped and I could see her pained expression.

I set her down before Aurena’s altar, activated [Shine] once more to calm her arm down, and then clapped my hands together. As my mind envisioned Aurena, praying to her for an audience, I closed my eyes. As my mind drifted away, somebody suddenly tugged on my arm, causing me to open my eyes to a cloudy world of white. This was Aurena’s divine realm.

“H-Hestia?” I turned around, only to be greeted by a translucent figure of a girl with blue hair and face I very much knew. “P-Pardon, but are you Hestia?”

“Ellaine!” In the realm of the Gods, only our souls could visit them. As it was the manifestation of ourselves in our physical bodies, certain features were retained, for example, Ellaine’s face and blue hair.

In my excitement to see her soul not being tarnished by that malevolent evil, I hugged her. As I experienced when I first visited Aurena’s realm, there was still a “physical” sense of touch in this place. “S-So, you are Hestia? I’m so glad, I thought you were somebody else.”

It was to be expected. As I let Ellaine go from my embrace, I looked down at my soul once again. An aura of fire was wrapped around my ghostly figure, forming into draconic scales all around my body. Last time, my soul was filled with holes and lost fragments, the manifestation of my fractured memories, but this time, more holes were filled with scales and my soul even had a tail this time.

‘Souls adapted to their corporeal vessels,’ Aurena had told me. Ha, in other words, I was becoming less human and more dragon.

While I was wondering about the growth of my soul, Ellaine asked, “Where are we, Hestia. And why do you look so different? Why are we also naked?”

“The answer is simple, Ellaine, you two are in my realm.” The clouds underneath us moved, turning us around to face a blond-haired woman in an opulently decorated room. Her white feathered wings shuffled a bit as she greeted us and asked us to join her at her table.

“Who—Wait… WAIT! Hold on, hold on, hold on, a-are y-you-” Ellaine’s teeth jittered as she spoke, stumbling over her words as she stared at the angelic woman with widened eyes. In complete disbelief, it almost looked like she was about to faint.

“Yes, my dear, I am the Patron Goddess of the humans, Aurena. I welcome you, child, to my realm.”

“Ahhhh! Goddess Aurena, I am eternally thankful!” Dropping down on her knees, Ellaine smacked her hands together and began praying extremely loudly, fully expressing how much of a follower she was of Aurena.

“Ahh, so that’s why she could enter your realm so easily.”

The divine realm of a god was only reserved for their followers, as the followers’ souls needed enough built-up faith to not compete with their godly aura, otherwise their souls would be erased. After Aurena calmed Ellaine down and had our sit down, she began explaining the situation to Ellaine, as my friend apparently had no idea.

“A-A demon?!” Ellaine looked at her arm in terror.

“Exactly, a devious, slimy, tricky, annoying, pitiful, malicious, deceitful, destructive, lecherous —” As Aurena kept on shooting out insults over insults, Ellaine’s arm suddenly twitched a bit, reminding me of what happened today. Ellaine wasn’t groaning or in pain, but it still made me stand up. “Haaaaa, enough you damn pest. Show yourself already! I know you can, Klea’Hatma!”

“Ooooh, you are too forceful sometimes, dear.” As if Aurena’s word was a chant, a black gas suddenly came out from Ellaine’s arm, forming into a ball with tentacles and eyes. Without a mouth, words entered my mind. “Come now, such a harsh greeting for us two acquaintances. Why not allow me to massage your stiff shoulders to make this talk more comfortable, E’—”

“I am Aurena!” The divine realm shook like an Earthquake with Aurena’s demanding shout, rocking Ellaine and my soul, making us groan from the sheer force she was exuding. As the clouds were about to open up, revealing something shining underneath them, Aurena suddenly calmed down and mended the pain we felt. “I apologize, Ellaine, Hestia. This nuisance does not know her place despite only being a demi-god. Klea’Hatma, I am a Goddess of Peolynca now. I am Aurena! I do not care what relationship we had in the past, in this world, you shall address me with that name!”

““A demi-god?!”” Ellaine and I blurted out the moment we recovered, staring at the ball with different feelings. While Ellaine looked at it with fear, all I was feeling for this monster was anger.

As if it noticed my emotions, it began to cackle. “Hiehiehahaha! Come now, what is that sort of expression, little girl? Is that how you thank the savior of your weak friend over here? Tch, tch, tch, I thought the two of you would be thanking me. Come on, sprinkle me with praises, Ellaine, Hestia. I want to hear your admiration for me.”

“W-What?! How do you know our names?!” I demanded while Ellaine stayed quiet.

“What do you mean? Of course, I learned it from you. I mean, I’ve been living with you two for a while now, ever since our little encounter in that hell hole. It would have been dreadfully rude of me to not know your names by name, especially when your party kept on talking. Oooh, when your five were having fun, I wanted to jump out and just enjoy myself for a moment.” The black ball’s eyes looked excited, making me able to imagine the smirk it must have right now. “I mean, I deserve to enjoy a piece of the fun, right? I saved your life, Ellaine. Admittedly, it was to save my own life, but that doesn’t change the fact you wouldn’t be here with us if I hadn’t used my ability to shield you from that attack.”

“Urgh!” Ellaine flinched, grasping her head as she began to groan. “I-I remember it now. I remember it now! Your voice! I heard your voice at that moment!”

The demon’s tentacles wiggled in joy. “Correct, dear.”

“When that blade was coming down at me, I heard you speak in my head. Y-You came when I asked for somebody to save me. You appeared and accepted my plea, you made t-that thing come out of my arm!”

“Correct, dear. At their most desperate, mortals wish for the most tempting offers, disregarding all the consequences laying before them. Don’t cower so much, it was—”

“SHUT UP, YOU BITCH!” Unable to endure Ellaine’s fear for any longer, I smacked the black ball quiet and moved in front of Ellaine. “Don’t think you’re getting off scot-free, you fucking freak!”

Anger. The same wrath I felt for Astalos crept up again, this time, it was directed at this shitty demon. I wanted to continue hitting the demon until it finally disappeared but I knew from the feeling I had when I touched it, that it did nothing. Momentarily, I remembered Aurena’s words, of how I shouldn’t be touching it, but I then remembered it couldn’t do anything to me in its current state.

When my wish to kill it grew, somebody’s voice answered it.

“She is right. Also, don’t compliment yourself too much Klea’Hatma. As if your existence would have saved the girl’s life when I am here.” It was Aurena. “Hestia. Ellaine. Do not let this feeble creature’s words rile you, for have you forgotten the necklace you received from the felgheist nightlord?

Huh? …Oh shit!

The [Necklace of Vampiric Undying]! A necklace with the ability to save your life the moment your Health was about to reach zero if you offer it some of your blood. It was a necklace we earned from the dungeon and it was also something I gave Ellaine.

“Ellaine, your necklace didn’t break!” I informed Ellaine, who had also remembered the necklace by touching the area around her neck. The necklace would have become useless once it activated but aside from saving Ellaine’s life, it would have also given her some precious Health equal to the amount of blood she offered.

As the demon stayed quiet, Aurena continued, “There you have it. Nothing to be so proud about nor feel indebted to. It is about time I finished what Elder Marsven so haphazardly left behind.”

Space suddenly opened up for Aurena’s hand to enter and to bring out a familiar-looking black orb. Although the last time I saw it was when it had a hand coming out from it, this was, without question, the same orb this demon came out from. Aurena simply glanced at the orb, then back to the demon before crushing the orb right in front of it.

Dark energy released through the shattered orb began to spread as the shards dropped on the ground, worrying me for a moment, but thankfully this was Aurena’s realm. The clouds underneath it began to shine like small suns, forcing the dark energy back. Like a fearful mosue, it tried to fight back against the light, but it was futile, for Aurena’s power was far too much. Like a dying flame, the darkness was snuffed out, leaving not a trace behind.

“…” The demon was deadly silent. “…W-Well, I didn’t think you would be this forceful, Goddess Aurena. I mean, I just awakened after a long sleep, we need to go slow first-Urgh!” White energy surrounded the demon, bringing it closer to Aurena where she could look at it eye-to-eye.

“I still question how you survived this long. All the other sins were destroyed, and I thought all of you demis were gone, but you live. Well, lived. With your main body destroyed, even for your race, you are practically dead. The vessels your mana is currently inhabiting are close enough to my altar that I can crush them right now and eradicate you.”

Yes! Do it, Goddess Aurena! I was actively cheering for her to destroy the last remnants of that fiend. Sure, the demon did save Ellaine; that was, unfortunately, fact. However, I didn’t plan on being grateful for someone whose only interest was to infect Ellaine, hurting her in the process.

“Well… six weakened gods versus seven of us demons. We were lucky all six of you were weakened after you came to this world. Too bad the others didn’t survive for as long as I did, but it sure was a climax to mess with you six. I might not be as strong as my main body was, but this bit of mana can still become a threat for others. Ooooh, it would be a tragedy for me to die, but so be it.” The demon’s eyes curved upwards as if it was smiling. Was it taunting us or did it feel nothing for its impending death? Regardless, the results were the same.

“Cleansing a speck of dirt from our new home… especially those from the past. Farewell, Klea’—”

“WAIT!”

Huh?

“What if… What if we used the demon’s power to fulfill your goals, oh, Goddess Aurena?” The unexpected happened; Ellaine spoke up for the demon.

Aurena stopped her destruction of the demon, looking at Ellaine with a quizzical expression. “… What foolishness are you speaking, Ellaine.”

“Yeah! Ellaine, that is a stupid idea. That thing is a demon!” I agreed.

However, Ellaine continued to argue back for some reason. “Yes, I know but… Hestia did you not say that Goddess Aurena informed you of how the demon could not do anything anymore as just an assortment of mana? Isn’t she practically just a faefolk, uhm, like that onnikai you brought back with Tasianna.”

“Ellaine, that was different. Kiiro might have been a bad influence, but this demon is a demon! Kiiro at least could be negotiated with, but we have no idea what this thing will do with our heads! Kiiro was motivated by revenge and anger, this demon is something we have no understanding of. We can’t trust it, let alone rely on it to help us defeat its descendants!” Was Ellaine going mad, cause I was slowly thinking this demon actually did something with her head. She was acting erratically, completely against her personality.

“Hey, kid, don’t stereotype people like that. I can be quite a good influence if you ask me; besides, it's not like I care very much for any of the halflings I bore. I simply gave myself over to those who lusted for me and simply enjoyed myself. Maybe you should tr—”

“Shut the fuck up, you slut!” I interrupted the demon’s slutty talk before turning back to Ellaine. “Do you hear that crap?! How can you actively want to talk with that thing all the time, Ellaine! We can’t even be sure we can control it. Who would even want to babysit her, because I know nobody in Aurora would.”

“I will.”

“Huh?”

What?!

Ellaine pressed her hand on her chest and looked at me with a serious gaze, looking as if she had enough of being scared.“The demon is already stuck inside my spell rings, it is the easiest way forward. I can harness her power and then use them to be more useful for Aurora. Think about it, Hestia! Her bone wing was sturdy enough to divert most of the damage from that wyvern’s attack, leaving me with only a wound, right? Also, I know her attempt wasn’t needed due to my necklace, but I can’t just be unthankful, right?”

“Ellaine, you’re going crazy! Should you be grateful towards a cult leader or criminal for saving your life, just to fuck you up later on when you’re thanking them?”

“All I know is that I’m still living. I’m not just another reckless noble who wandered out in the wilderness just to turn into a pretty corpse. I’m alive, Hestia.” She clutched my hands.

Tch!

“And… I’ll continue to be that problem. Hestia, even with some well-crafted armor, I’m useless. Master Grimnir did far better than me in that battle.”

“But, you want to become a griffon knight. If you can get—”

“A griffon won’t change a thing. I need to groom it from birth, and that means it will begin as a chick, making it unfit for battle for a whole year. Hestia, I would rather stop this farce and return to my worthless life as a noble than to continuously disappoint and worry you. I have already disappointed my family with my defeatist personality, I don’t want you, my friend, to feel the same for me.”

Ellaine…

“You lust for power, Ellaine.” As I was troubled by Ellaine’s confession, Aurena spoke up. “The Demon of Lust, that is Klea’Hatma. Although lust isn’t the worst sin, it still urges your most inner desires out. I can feel the envy you have for your brother, your mother, your fellow nobles, and, most intensely, for Aurora’s powers. Klea’Hatma’s words bring this out and further magnifies it. Without a doubt, she is affecting your mind, Ellaine.”

“But, Goddess Aurena, it should be without question that the power of a demi-god would serve your goals, correct? If I can control this power, then I can become an asset for Hestia. As your worshipper, my life can be used in your service!” Ellaine was adamant, stubborn to a fault right now.

“And? There is no need to risk it when Hestia still has the potential to grow. Peolyncian, you do not know anything about the people from our world, and you never should while us Origin Gods shield your. Klea’Hatma is one of the less detestable, but she still is an embodiment of lust. If she wishes to free herself from your control, she will, and she will do it in the most subtle way possible.”

“But Hestia can control her, no? The magic you gave her! [Shine] stopped the infection, just as you told me! What if she makes a more potent spell to pacify the demon, or make a song with it!” Ellaine then snapped back to me, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “Hestia, you still have three empty slots left to make spell songs, correct? We’ve seen what both [The Will to Fight and Survive] and [Dragon Fire] can do. Shouldn’t you be able to create something to help me control the demon’s influence?”

I reluctantly turned my head over to Aurena. She sighed. “…Both [Shine] and [Sanctuary] that you received from [The Light] are unique spells I made just for you Hestia, and more awaits you as you fulfill the milestones. However, [The Light] is a title, not an empty vessel like [White Flames]. You cannot create spells with it… however, I made [Idol] compatible with the special holy magic of [The Light]. It was meant to aid you in fighting against demonkins, as they are weak against it due to their demonic heritage.”

“You can’t be serious, I can make songs to create something similar to [Sanctuary]?”

“Yes, it was my intent.” Aurena placed a hand on her head, sighing in exasperation once again. “You can theoretically create a song which directly weakens demonkins and demons. Reduce the effect of their bloodline on their personality and also in general, make them more susceptible to you. That is [The Light]’s main function.”

Not only does [The Light] grant me powerful bonuses but also potentially OP spells, but it also made fighting against demonkins easier? I mean, I haven’t fought a demonkin yet, but it sounded like something I could use to make my Divine Quest easier. It sounded like a good idea to do, only…

“Ellaine…” I did not want Ellaine to take on this demon.

“Hestia, I told you already, there are no special skills in my SP shop. The only way for me to catch up with you, Saori, Tasianna, and Master Grimnir is through effort and training. I know that I need to train more. That is obvious enough. But, I-I also feel like I can’t contribute enough as I am currently. I want to prove myself, not only to you, but I want to prove I can do this. Please.”

You want to feel special, Ellaine. You wish for this power so you may stand out more… Still, how can I not know how you felt?

…

“There is a saying from Earth. What you are about to make is a ‘Faustian Bargain.’ In exchange for gaining something you wanted, you must give up something of importance to you… or even your soul. You know giving this demon a chance to live on is wrong, but only by doing so may you gain its powers. Ellaine, you are making a pact with the devil.”

Fuck school and Papa for trying to make me read Goethe’s Faust. Fuck them, that book was so hard to read.

Ellaine grabbed both of my hands and placed hers against them. Although I could not feel her warmth, I believed I could feel her emotions surging through her soul. “Not if you are there to support me, Hestia. As long as I have you, Saori, Tasianna, and Master Grimnir by my side. As long as Aurora is there for me to feel at home will I give up my soul to the demon. I promise. Will you make this promise to me, too?”

What an anime cliché. The power of friendship?

… Well, of course, that is the most fitting, right?

“… I see you two have made a decision. Foolishness, if you were to ask me.” Aurena shook her head as I was persuaded by Ellaine’s determination. “Then, allow me to continue to aid you once more, my Champion.”

Aurena pulled up her administrator window as she flung the demon away from her like a dirty tissue. After pressing on a few buttons, she turned back to us. “Congratulations, Klea’Hatma, you may live for a bit longer until Elder Plesia gives her opinion on this decision. Hestia. Ellaine.”

““Yes, Goddess Aurena.””

“I have sealed the rings from unleashing the demon’s full power. This should not restrict your ability to learn and make Klea’Hatma’s abilities your own; however, it is there to prevent the pest from breaking out and escaping. To further strengthen the seal, I would ask you to visit the other Origin Gods using an altar strongly dedicated to them. Use this chance to make friends with my elders, Hestia.”

““Thank you, Goddess Aurena. We will!””

“Don’t be so carefree just yet. Hestia, create that song immediately to aid Ellaine.” She then swooped her hand to the side and the demon disappeared completely from her realm. Did she just destroy it?! “Klea’Hatma should not be able to hear anything else. Ellaine, she will learn about this sooner or later by deduction alone, but never accept anything the demon offers, alright? By accepting a deal with it, it will be able to absorb some of your mana directly, strengthening it and allowing it to grow. With enough mana, it will be able to reconstruct its body outside the ring in whatever perverse way she can think of.”

We gulped but acknowledged Aurena’s advice.

“Good. Ellaine, I have cleansed the rings to the point you may remove them. Of course, only you should be able to use them as a catalyst, but under no circumstances should you allow others to equip it. If you do, the demon might try to entice them.” Suddenly, light particles began to surround Ellaine, but, before we panicked, Aurena explained. “Ellaine, I must ask you to leave for now. There is something important I must finally explain to Hestia.”

The reason why I am here. My Divine Quest as a champion will finally be fully revealed.