The Crimson Tower was designed with absolute security in mind.

Even if it seemed relatively feeble compared to many, it was well known that virtually none could surpass its magical defense system, one created and tuned by Kierra herself, so when she saw that eye outside her window, she immediately frowned.

The eye, posed as an ordinary human eyeball, came straight out of a spatial rift, and upon first glance, it clearly belonged to something foul.

'Seriously, how dare they taint my fresh air with such putrid aura...'

She locked eyes with the entity.

''...''

''...''

Humans decipher other humans' emotions through gestures and expressions—even some animals do.

However, even without them, one could have a guess on their opponent's thoughts in specific scenarios. If Kierra had to do so, she would boldly say that the person behind that eye was puzzled.

''Hey.''

[...!]

After all, she had traced their location just within that short timeframe and teleported to them—putting her fifteen circles of mana to their use.

Here, in an infinitely dark space, a lone throne sat—a throne made from pristine, clear-cut quartz.

On it, a man calmly posed. He was slim, donning a simple black suit, while his whole head appeared too hazy for anything to be discernable. To the average observer, it would seem as though his head was a low-burn torch that dispensed white fire.

''Seems I was lucky.''

Without hesitating for even a second, Kierra fired up her magic... but couldn't. It wasn't until a dozen seconds later that she realized where she was—a domain.

Domains were long considered to be the signatures of most deities, and extensive records show how effective they could be.

Of course, wizards and knights had their own domains, yet they fell short due to fundamental issues of mana versus divine power. It was likely because of this that she couldn't use magic.

'Another thing to be worried about...'

Despite this, the archwizard remained calm, which puzzled the other entity.

[Answer, why are you not frightened?]

An indistinguishable voice sounded. The tone might not be recognized, yet through the words, one could get an arrogant impression of the speaker.

''Why should I?'' Kierra replied, crossing her arms. ''State the reason, and I might consider.''

[Consider? Was being frightened a choice?]

The thing sounded extremely haughty but very naive at the same time. A fair comparison would be that it resembled a child.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Sarcasm didn't get through it.

So, the only choice left was to be honest.

''Are you Eon?'' Kierra asked.

[Yes. That is indeed my name.]

''Why did you appear in front of my home?''

[Curiosity? Yes, that was the word. I was curious to see the one who had extinguished one of my kind.]

Perhaps sensing Kierra's surprise, Eon then directly pointed at her.

[You reeks of their blood.]

''Are you mad?''

[Why? They are the ones who got killed, not me.]

''...''

Kierra didn't answer. She had nothing to say.

Instead, now that she had confirmed what this entity really was, it was time for an unexpected yet convenient inquiry—Eon's goals. If it were the old Kierra, she would probably ignore everything else and try to eliminate Eon regardless, yet with her lovers' world also being threatened, she wouldn't want to engage in a fight right away.

''Eon. What are your goals?''

Kierra asked as she stepped closer to the throne. Her steps created ripples on the ground, and soon, she stopped at a close distance—close enough for Eon to have to lift his head to look at the archwizard in the eyes.

Somehow, Kierra felt a premonition.

[To restore the world's orders.]

''Meaning?''

[Humans have been living as the pinnacle of this universe for so long... merely because there wasn't a divine entity to guide them. But now, I am here.]

Almost nonchalantly, the god uttered, [So, I shall put everything beneath myself, even if that means vanquishing every creature that gets in my way.]

It was a genuine statement containing no malice or ulterior motives. Kierra wanted to resent him, but she couldn't.

'No, I could.'

Blame him for being naturally stupid and unreasonably evil like that.

This was it. Regardless of whether Eon had something to do with the corrupt or not, this alone destined him to be Kierra's greatest adversary.

Before long, Eon finally lifted his head.

[Are you one of them?]

''What if I was?''

Undeterred, the archwizard coldly replied. In her eyes, Eon appeared to be contemplating something for a brief moment before—

[Then, begone.]

In an instant, a colossal creature rose from the darkness, taking the very essence of the domain as its skin and teeth. As the monster's burning white eyes lit, its jaw closed on Kierra.

Like a baby fish floating before a shark's mouth, the woman would be shredded to pieces.

At some point, Eon had already moved away, watching the scene unfolding with little interest. Yet, for some reason, faced with the archwizard's eyes that were as calm as a lake, he got a slight chill.

No matter, that human will die soon—or so he told himself.

————————!!

[...!]

Suddenly, the whole space shook violently.

The sky, which seemed to stretch infinitely, cracked, split, and cracked open again. Beyond the torn darkness, starlight began to pour in.

One claw.

Two claws.

Slowly yet inevitably—like an unstoppable calamity—a beast whose scales mirrored the galaxies themselves descended, heaving storms of hot air.

The unknown monster froze completely under the immense pressure.

Even Eon completely lost it for a moment. He sat still on his throne, watching as Cosmos tore apart the monster with ease. Then, those terrifying eyes turned to him.

''This world doesn't need a god.''

Kierra declared.

This time, it was the unborn deity's turn to panic. He sprung to his feet, burning his precious divine power in a hurry, yet even that didn't seem to flow well in front of world-ending caliber spells.

''Blast him away.''

With a single gesture from the archwizard, a ferocious fire breath that was hotter than the core of stars and brighter than the rings of supermassive black holes was shot.

Everything burned into nothingness. The darkness crumbled, and Kierra's vision changed.

Soon, the archwizard found herself standing in the middle of her room, accompanied by a sun-like sphere floating near her shoulder.

''He got away, huh...''

Kierra even contributed her hastily cast nine-star spell... but that wasn't enough, apparently.

She could still feel his presence somewhere on this continent. Eon was a slippery opponent.

For a while, she stood before the window, gazing out to the gloomy clouds as she grimaced. It was somehow even more unpleasant than before, finding out that she had many problems to be worried about besides raw strength.

'Can I...'

A typical question—can I do it?

Before she could finish asking it to herself, she had already found the answer. Her inner mana circles spun as if excited, while her outer ones glowed, showing their eagerness.

When her hearts all said 'yes'... no question should be asked further.