Chapter 144

The master lives a long life. Not quite immortal, but for a human, they live quite a long time.

Geher and Leyman have aged through hardship, and normally, one could live up to three hundred years at that level. On the other hand, a saintess who is strong enough to surpass an ordinary master cannot do so.

Their lifespan is similar to or even shorter than that of an ordinary person. That’s why saintesses change with each generation. Even if the same person wanted to continue, they couldn’t.

It’s because the overflowing divine power is too much for the flesh to bear. The saintess of the Three God Faith is an avatar of the goddess, a being akin to a demigod. They are the worldly agents created by the Three Divine Gods, who lack physical forms.

For a human to handle that level of divinity is a heavy burden. But if the vessel changes from a human to a dragon, the story becomes entirely different.

Oberta was, in fact, almost in awe. This vessel named Yanid was truly perfect.

Born differently, sensing differently, everything from one to ten was different.

No matter how far away something was, it could be seen. The reverse scale on her chest vibrated, sensing all the tremors around her. Humans are born with five senses, but a dragon’s senses surpass that. Even areas humans can’t inherently perceive, a dragon can simply know because they are a dragon.

The name “transcendent species” was no empty boast, she thought inwardly, marveling. This perfect body was now hers. The Evil God, examining her body, let out a gasp of admiration. Ardein, who was supposed to be a master, looked as small as an ant. It didn’t even bother her.

“Nemi, Elysia, Hilrae.”

She recalled the names of beings she once feared so much she could only hide.

Oberta smiled with joy. She had succeeded. She had succeeded greatly. Now that she had this body, she feared nothing, not even the Three Divine Gods.

She dreamed of wiping out those women and even Aldehir, becoming the sole god of this world. Of course, there was one obstacle to that.

Modrig, a god born from the Fruit of the World Tree, also has a physical form. If a body is strong enough to bear divinity, a god with their own divine body can do far more than a god who exists only as a spirit.

“You are… nothing now.”

This is more than just one plus one equals two. The synergy could be tenfold, or even more. Her divinity didn’t even match Hilrae, the weakest of the Three Divine Gods.

But with this Dragon Chimera’s body, the three goddesses now had reason to fear the Evil God.

“What are you doing?”

To her, a human princess was no more than dust. The salt ground diligently in the mill was no better than dust—it was literally dust. Just white, salty dust.

“Looks like she’s lost her mind from fear. Pathetic, for a master.”

Did she think sprinkling salt would make the Evil God cower like a slug?

Not even a lowly spirit would be frightened by such a thing. Oberta sneered and reached out her hand. She was itching to test her new body.

It’s only natural to want to try out a new carriage. Especially for a goddess who had been without a body for so long, now finally possessing one worthy of her divinity. It was only natural to want to use it.

She wanted to test whether this body could kill a master in one strike or two. Without a hint of mercy, Oberta fired a fusion sphere of divine power and magical energy. The aura emanating from that purple sphere was something Ardein had never seen in her life.

The princess had never seen anything like it before. The only exception was the night angel she had seen with Kyle, but that being hadn’t come to kill her like this.

The Dragon Form Technique couldn’t block it. Even pouring all her strength into it was meaningless. So, the only thing left to rely on was the Void Sword technique mastered by the calm Leyman.

When crisis strikes, people tense up, and their minds race. Ardein, her mouth dry as a bone, scattered the Dragon Form Technique infused in her sword and tried to recreate what she had faced before.

Whether a person is closer to zero or infinity, one thing was certain: that goddess was far closer to infinity than she was.

If there’s no chance of winning by following the same path, one has no choice but to take a different path. Of course, it’s reckless. But if you don’t, you’ll surely die.

‘Please, please, please, please…’

Despite all her training, she couldn’t recreate the Void Sword. Even having faced it directly before, it wasn’t something you could mimic after seeing it a few times. Emptiness is harder to achieve than fullness.

It’s human nature to want more. Even with enough wealth, if there’s a chance to become richer, people won’t refuse.

The Void Sword is a realization that goes against human nature. The calm Leyman, born without material desires, accepted the Void Sword without much discomfort. But was Ardein such a person?

She had to let go. She had to let go. Though she repeated it in her mind, she couldn’t truly let go of anything important. Unlike Leyman’s perfect emptiness, her Void Sword was half-baked, barely covering the Dragon’s Sword. That was her limit. The Void Sword wasn’t her path.

‘Please…!’

Only now, in the face of crisis, did she cling to the hope of a miracle, praying to the distant being to grant her one.

Swinging her half-baked Void Sword, she prayed. Oberta raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised as the princess suddenly charged toward the sphere.

“Is this… some kind of assisted suicide?”

Suddenly charging in, she deflected the attack with her sword and threw salt with her left hand. The salt, thrown with the strength of a master, flew toward Oberta.

It was so pitiful that she didn’t even think to block it with magic. Even if it were deadly poison, Oberta wouldn’t have feared it.

The most balanced body, that of a dragon.

…And this body of Yanid, so similar, would be interesting to test how much poison it could withstand.

That’s what should have happened.

Splat!!

The moment the scattered salt grains touched her face, Oberta fell to the ground in excruciating pain. Writhing like a worm, she couldn’t even scream. Yanid’s body and her spirit were completely out of sync.

-Wh-what is this! What’s happening…!

This salt, these insignificant salt grains, clung to Yanid’s face and wouldn’t let go. They absorbed the divine marks on her face, erasing them.

As if that weren’t enough, they began to gnaw away at Oberta’s spirit. Neither magical power nor divine power could shake off these salt clumps clinging to her.

She didn’t even think of killing Ardein. The urgency to survive dominated her mind. Desperately crawling through the corridor, the Evil God fled. Ardein wasn’t in a position to chase.

“Ugh…”

After attempting to deflect the Evil God’s attack with her half-baked Void Sword, the princess was battered and slammed into the wall. The Dragon’s Sword, made from dragon bones, survived. It was flung far away, embedded in the floor, with only a crack to show for it.

The problem was that her bones weren’t as tough as a dragon’s, and her flesh was soft. Compared to when she was dying of leprosy, her condition was worse.

She fainted on the spot. Just deflecting Oberta’s sphere resulted in such a devastating outcome. Her skin split like a turtle’s shell, and in some places, the flesh tore apart, revealing bone.

The salt from the salt mill had no healing power. It was specialized for driving away calamities and purging impurities.

So, it was fortunate the princess didn’t fall into a salt field. If she had fallen onto a salt-covered floor instead of being slammed into the wall, the salt would have entered her wounds, causing horrific pain.

Fortunately for her, it was the Evil God suffering, not the princess. Even without salt in her wounds, the pain was unbearable.

-What… what is this!

She couldn’t even scream. The salt kept pulling her away from Yanid’s body.

Water, she needed water. She had to plunge into water to wash off the salt. It hurt so much. It felt like ants were gnawing at her body. But Yanid’s body remained unharmed.

Not even a rash or a hive. In fact, it wasn’t Yanid who was in pain. It was Oberta, clinging to that body. The salt was tormenting only the unwelcome guest.

[I can’t bear to watch this anymore!]

And there was another unwelcome guest. The evil dragon, Azahadaka, screamed and spat out a spell. She hadn’t expected things to turn out like this while quietly observing. This time, it was truly dangerous.

The strange power contained in the salt was unlike anything she knew. In fact, she wasn’t even sure if it was power.

But one thing was certain: this power was trying to drive her out entirely. That couldn’t happen. This body, this heart, was hers.

Splash!!

A large droplet formed above and poured down like a waterfall. Finally, the salt dissolved and fell away. No amount of divine or magical power could remove it, but salt is salt.

-Haah… haah…

[Gasp… gasp…]

Finally, Oberta regained some composure and slumped down. Azahadaka also let out a sigh of relief. Though they had only been in contact for a short time, both had suffered greatly.

-Is this… magic? Who on earth…

As she regained her senses, Oberta looked for whoever had used magic to wash away the nightmare salt. Whoever that mage was, she was willing to reward them handsomely.

It was that terrifying an experience for the Evil God. Of course, she didn’t realize the mage was inside this body.

“What the hell is that?”

Ultimately, what she found wasn’t a non-existent mage but Queen Kisea, who had come searching for the dragon vein. With her two wings, tail, and the divine power radiating from her, Kisea had one thought.

“What the hell is that! Did the temple really resort to that?”

What kind of horrific hybrid is that? Even this queen, who had traveled the world as a mercenary, had never seen anything like it. A god? A human? Or a monster?

It was too strong and too bizarre to simply dismiss as a demon. Its identity was hard to pin down.

“That’s…”

But no matter how complex the truth, it becomes clear when reflected in broken eyes.

There is one existence. But what’s truly inside that body is not one.

“Roka. Lady Kisea. Please watch over me for a moment. It seems I’ve been possessed by something.”

In other words, something has truly taken hold. It’s time for an exorcism.