The Lord Quest was still far from over, but the outcome already felt decided.
Emily’s overwhelming firepower had shifted the entire battle. The monster waves continued to arrive, but none of them posed a real threat anymore. Her summons intercepted everything before it reached the walls. Even when new elites appeared, they were drowned under sheer numbers and constant pressure.
Isaac watched quietly from the back.
The display made him realize something important. Emily was strong, and she would get only stronger as he ranked up. The same could be said for Alice, Celia, and Catherine. All of his wives had been rated above ninety-five by the System, meaning they had potential. True, frightening potential to become future powerhouses.
He only needed to support their growth, guide their progression, and ensure they reached their full potential. Once they did, he could share their skills through the System. Their strength would become his strength.
The thought alone made Isaac feel slightly dizzy.
Emily alone was already close to being able to destroy an entire city by herself. If the others reached similar heights...
He let out a quiet sigh.
Celia, meanwhile, was completely immersed in the livestream. She moved around energetically, capturing angles of the battlefield, occasionally zooming in on Emily’s summons, and enthusiastically praising every display of power.
"Look at that! That’s the Crimson Sky Wyrm diving again! And those Abyssal summons are holding the Catastrophe like it’s nothing! This is insane! Emily is absolutely dominating the battlefield!"
She even took a few shots with Emily when the latter stepped back briefly to recover. Celia waved at the camera, smiling brightly, clearly enjoying herself.
After a short break, she walked toward Isaac.
Her expression changed as she approached. The cheerful smile faded, and her expression turned strange as she spoke her honest thoughts, "Uh... is an Adept-rank awakener supposed to be this strong? I think she can pretty much defeat entire cities by herself at this point."
Isaac nodded slightly, but unlike Celia who was looking at Emily, his gaze remained fixed on her.
Celia blinked.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, taking a small step back. Isaac’s gaze felt... strange.
"I just realized something. Why are you still at Adept rank?" he asked.
Celia froze.
"You weren’t able to rank up earlier because you lacked materials. That made sense. But that problem was solved the moment I got money. So why haven’t you ranked up until now?" Isaac asked calmly.
Celia’s eyes darted around.
"Oh, look, my fans are asking me to resume the stream!" she said with a forced laugh. "I should go—"
She tried to run away.
But before she could get far, her tail suddenly froze mid-air.
Then it began sliding backward.
Celia’s eyes widened as she felt an invisible force pulling her back. She struggled, but it was useless. Telekinesis dragged her gently but firmly back in front of Isaac.
"You got lazy, didn’t you?" Isaac asked.
...
Seraphina Valeis (High Seraph of War God) POV
She stood at the center of a destroyed estate.
Blue arcs of lightning slithered around her body, occasionally touching her skin and burning it. The smell of scorched flesh lingered in the air. Yet her expression remained composed, as if she didn’t feel any pain at all.
All around her lay figures from different species. Some were Broklems. Others were beastkin. A few were high humans. All of them were gravely injured, barely conscious, yet alive.
She had made sure of that.
In front of her, a figure cloaked in golden robes was pinned to the ground. Invisible pressure crushed him, forcing his body flat against the broken stone.
"W... what is the meaning of this? Why is an Angel attacking us?" the figure gasped.
Seraphina walked forward calmly.
With each step, the blue lightning around her intensified. The air crackled. The ground beneath her feet blackened.
"I want to know all about the orphanages your [Three Color] Organization has ever opened and managed," Seraphina said.
The golden-cloaked figure stiffened.
"That—"
The world suddenly turned purple.
The ruined estate vanished.
The sky disappeared.
When Seraphina blinked, she found herself standing in a world made entirely of purple. The ground, the air, even the distant horizon. All of it shimmered in different shades of violet.
A figure cloaked in purple stood before her.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting the War God’s High Seraph?" the purple-cloaked figure asked calmly.
Seraphina narrowed her eyes.
"You... you are the one Isaac calls Mother. I finally found a proper clue," she said.
An intense pressure exploded outward from her.
It crashed directly onto the purple-cloaked figure. The woman’s shoulders dipped. Bones creaked audibly. She gritted her teeth, barely holding her stance, but her smile visible below the cloak remained.
"Isaac... which one you might be talking about—" she began.
"If you’re trying to waste time until the System drags me back to the Divine Realm, give up. I’ve been saving Faith for three thousand years. I have enough Faith to raze your entire organization—and you—to the ground," Seraphina said coldly.
"That sounds dangerous," she replied with a calm tone despite the crushing pressure.
The pressure increased, forcing she changed her words.
"You don’t need to be so angry. I’m willing to talk, but could you first retract your presence? It’s... heavy."
Seraphina didn’t move.
"I suppose not," Mother chuckled.
She removed a spatial ring from her finger and flicked it toward Seraphina. The ring floated in the air before stopping in front of her.
"That contains all the information I have on that child," Mother said.
"You have information about him ready?" Seraphina asked, frowning.
"I do. That child is... interesting," Mother replied, smiling beneath the purple cloak. "Did you know? I once killed him when he was a child. But he was miraculously revived."
Seraphina’s eyes narrowed.
Mother continued calmly.
"I did not revive him. In fact, I had no idea how he revived. He... simply did. That’s why I let him live and began observing him. At the same time, I used my contacts to gather information about Isaac from Hell."
She continued, "Do you know what I found? That child has a contract with a Grim Reaper. He has been granted two extra chances at life. He already used one when he was killed by me—"
"Who made the contract?" Seraphina interrupted, her voice turning ice-cold. "His parents? Where are they?"
Making such a contract was not easy. It required enormous cost. Divine negotiation. Equivalent exchange.
Only a God would have such resources.
There was a chance the War God himself had negotiated with the Grim Reaper.
But why would he do that? Why for Isaac?