Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

"Wait a moment, let the eavesdropper leave first."

Starlight appeared, and the divine maiden's power steadily enveloped Ryuka. In an instant, the purplish-black rift in his consciousness was sealed by a mysterious power, and even Ryuka's thoughts became much clearer, a peace and tranquility he had never experienced before, even during his period of enlightenment.

Not only was the witch's power blocked, but even the connection between Yu and Ruka was severed. After doing all this, Chloe's figure dimmed slightly, indicating that much of the power she had just accumulated had been depleted. But she smiled nonchalantly and turned her hand over, inviting Ruka to speak:

"Hold my hand, you might feel a little dizzy. Make sure to clean up any vomit you might get in our temple!"

Before Liu Xia could even process what she meant by "feeling a little dizzy," he had already grasped that small, white hand. For a moment, he felt the world spinning around him, and after regaining his senses, the scene before him quickly became unfamiliar.

It was as if he were in the universe, surrounded by starlight and darkness, with glittering star clusters in the distance. Beside him, a tall and dignified woman floated in the galaxy, dressed exactly like Chloe, only more mature.

"Kurowell?"

Ryuka asked tentatively, but she didn't speak, instead floating forward until she finally arrived in front of the crowded 'people'.

If that can be called 'human'.

Ryusha couldn't even see their true faces, and only felt a splitting headache. But unexpectedly, he could understand that some 'people' were corpses lying on the ground, some 'people' were arguing, and some were screaming and crying.

An internal strife, a betrayal, a conspiracy—no words are needed to explain, and it's impossible to understand what Chloe and the other beings are communicating, yet Ryuka can clearly sense it all.

Above all existence lay a vast, deep, twisted void, emanating an ominous aura. A single glance was enough to shatter Ryūka's mind with a viscous mix of thoughts and cacophony, like the filthy fingernails of a withered old woman caressing his meninges with malevolent intent, or the soft weeping and screams of a beautiful young girl. This feeling made Ryūka want to rip his stomach out and wash it clean, but he was powerless, for he himself did not even possess a physical form.

But he sensed a familiar feeling within this intense sensation.

Even the feelings I had when facing Bell couldn't compare to even a fraction of what I felt now... But unlike the alluring, decadent aura of a witch, this distorted, empty space before me held only danger and destruction...

What exactly is it? You Mei Yong, you Yong, I'm empty, you Lin Zai Zai, are you...?

Chapter 15 Kurowell's Light Kiss

Beneath the shadows, the gods went mad, each collision and tearing of their bodies threatening to shatter Ryukatsu's soul. Even Chloe, the older version of herself, quickly clashed with the gods, causing Ryukatsu's consciousness to snap. When she awoke, the scene before her had already changed.

If we were in the void just now, then this time we are undoubtedly in the real world.

Hordes of soldiers, clad in ancient, simple armor, marched with earth-shattering footsteps to the sound of battle flags and drums. Humans, elves, orcs, dragons, and magical beasts—whether allied or enemies, even those of the same race turned against each other. The only thing they had in common was that Ryuka could see enormous, illusory figures behind them, bestowing different powers upon them, elevating the intensity of the war to an unimaginable level.

On the smoke-filled battlefield, the black, twisted substance continued to spread beneath their feet, but no one could see it, and no one cared.

"Was that just an internal conflict among the gods? Is this a battle in the mortal realm? It all seems to be related to this black aura. Could this be the witch's former self?"

As Ryūka was talking to herself, the voice of the young Chloe came from beside her:

"No one knows for sure, but the witch's power is somewhat related to this black energy, but the changes it has caused are not limited to the birth of the witch."

Chloe, dressed in a formal gown, appeared beside Ryuka. Floating in mid-air, she pointed to the distant mountains of the endless battlefield. There, blood and black mist, human thoughts and divine will slowly converged, until a piercing, mournful howl pierced the sky, and a colossal phantom slowly solidified in the distance.

"Bell?"

Seeing the somewhat familiar aura emanating from that figure, Ryuka couldn't help but speak up. Chloe glanced at him and said calmly:

"That's not her real name. Even 'cruel witch' is just what the gods call her... But the important thing is, look behind you."

The moment the cruel witch was born, the situation spiraled completely out of control. Everyone went berserk, venting their rages. The army broke apart, and all creatures fought each other according to their own desires, some gnawing on the corpses of their enemies, others turning their weapons on their own comrades. Even the divine phantoms behind them began to slowly destabilize.

Liu Xia's expression turned solemn.

Hell… He finally understood that the epic's description of the cruel witch wasn't an exaggeration, and even began to doubt whether helping Kania was the right thing to do. But the little witch was so important to him that Ryuka couldn't muster any disgust or wariness towards her. Instead, he began to ponder if there was any way to get her to shed her witch identity.

Amidst the chaos of the battlefield, a human general shone brightly. Angry yet calm, he fought and retreated with unwavering will. Just as the cruel witch was about to strike, a holy light, unlike anything Liu Xia had ever seen before, enveloped his sword, allowing him to escape this hellish place as if a god had descended to earth. He then led a portion of his remaining troops in a desperate breakout.

"King Kranar? That holy light is... the power of the Holy See?"

In her previous memories, Ryūka had encountered all sorts of deities, but she had never seen this holy light before. Instead, after the cruel witch descended upon the world, this holy light appeared as if they were twins, each with its own antagonistic influence, leading Ryūka to speculate:

"The power of the Papacy, their so-called goddess, was she born at this time? In other words, whatever she is, she is far later than your existence? It's almost as if she is the opposite of a witch..."

Crowell looked at Ryūka with a hint of surprise and admiration, and couldn't help but smile and nod.

“That’s right, you understood all of this even faster than the gods of that time…”

"Uh... Yin and Yang are mutually generating and mutually restraining, as a wise man once said..."

Liu Xia was speechless. He had only guessed casually, after all, his original world had the concept of yin and yang, mutual generation and restraint. In addition, the Church listed witches as the greatest threat and rejected all other races, making the goddess behind them seem like an anomaly among the gods.

In Ryūka's view, some battered and bruised slaves were also caught up in the war. They came from various races, some even appearing pitiful goblins and gnomes. Most striking were some tall, but scarred, goat-headed giants. The weakest of them were almost completely slaughtered, but Chloe behind them—not the one beside Ryūka—was still struggling to hold on, her figure gradually thinning until she was almost gone.

Crowell, who was beside Ryukyu, also noticed Ryukyu's gaze. She said calmly, "After the black aura appeared, it quickly spread from the world of gods to the mortal world. The gods were the same. All the gods and races had to resist here. This also brought the two worlds, which had little contact before, together for the first time. Artifacts, divine essences and other things were scattered in the reality, which laid the groundwork for a larger war later on."

Her tone sounded like she was blaming herself, which made Ryuka unable to help but comfort her:

"You must have been too busy to notice so many things at the time..."

Unexpectedly, Chloe immediately shook off her self-blame, a sly smile appearing on her doll-like face as she joked with Ryukyu amidst the breathtaking war scene:

"Are you trying to comfort me? I just praised you, and now you're comforting me, a legitimate deity? Take a closer look; there are some things about yourself you've overlooked."

Ryūka was taken aback, wondering about his own situation. Seeing the boy blink, looking confused, Chloe raised her arm and pointed towards Kranar on the battlefield, asking Ryūka:

"A power that even gods would be shaken, so why is he the only one unaffected?"

Because he is the protagonist of an epic, the protagonist from a thousand years ago? Of course, Ryuka knew that this didn't make sense. If there was no protagonist's halo, then there must be some kind of power that made Kranar different from others.

The holy light just now? No, it was more like he was chosen after his outstanding performance. What exactly was it...?

As Ryuga watched Kranar's valiant figure fight, a mysterious connection unexpectedly formed between him and Kranar, causing him to murmur in surprise:

"An aura identical to my own! A sign of leadership! Could my power originate from Kranar? No, that's not right. Then where does his power come from?"

Seeing Ryūka's surprised expression, Chloe couldn't help but smile:

"Where did your idea of ​​mutual generation and restraint go? If the goddess and the witch of the Holy See were born at the same time, then what did the appearance of the even more powerful and chaotic black aura behind the witch bring?"

"Chaos and order." Before Ryūka could speak, Chloé told him the answer. (The rest of the text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the previous sentence.)

"After that great upheaval in the realm of the gods, fragments of power incompatible with the gods' strength flowed out from that enormous void. The gods saw them as a means to combat the darkness, but their own power was incompatible with it, so they could only entrust them to the creatures of the mortal world... and that human was merely one of the lucky ones who survived to this day... while the rest of the power, like the fallen gods, slumbered in this world..."

Crowell's words weighed heavily on Ryuka's mind; they meant that many people with the same power as him had not survived the disaster.

But at this moment, Ryuka had a question: "So, it is true and correct that the goddess of the Holy See helped Kranal, who was able to fight against the black energy, to destroy the witch?"

Kurowell shook her head and said calmly, "Each element has its counter, as you yourself said. The dark energy dissipated and diluted with the two great wars, but it didn't disappear. Similarly, the witch was suppressed but not destroyed. With the passing of Kranal, the last fragment of order also fell into slumber, leaving behind only that newly born, nascent deity..."

"Imbalance means new chaos..."

With a wave of her small hand, Chloe's vision vanished once more. A vast, densely packed army of paladins shattered the earth, driving away other races under the banners of the Holy See and demolishing the temples of the gods. From the narrative, this occurred after Kranar's defeat of the cruel witch.

As the sun rises and the moon sets, the world changes, humanity establishes nations, and the Holy See is no longer at its zenith. The world slowly transforms into something somewhat familiar to Ryukyu.

At this point, Chloe led Ruka out of the memory and then said to Ruka:

"When we discovered that the power within you was a 'Fragment of Order,' we guessed that it might bring about a new balance. The same goes for how your power and the witch's power attract and combine with each other. Although the fragment possesses god-level power, it needs to grow. We just weren't sure how far you could go before. Perhaps when you grow to god-level power, you will be able to bring about a new order."

“A new order…” Ryuka asked, somewhat puzzled, “What do you mean? The world isn’t that chaotic now, is it?”

"Your appearance is a harbinger," Chloe said with a calm smile. "I had a premonition that the past millennium was just a break, and the appearance of the fragments of order means that chaos will return. Didn't we awaken together with the Cruel Witch? Moreover, you are not the only one who possesses the fragments; there are countless gods, not to mention the Papacy you mentioned. With so much power and authority appearing in one era, isn't this a harbinger of some kind of chaos?"

Seeing Chloe speak such terrifying language so easily, Ryuka was somewhat annoyed:

"Then what should I do? Conquer? Dominate? Accumulate power? But the cruel witch has already set her sights on me... I'm just a human being, and even the slightest thought will be influenced by her. She can't possibly turn me into a saint, can she? Or are you gods all so ascetic and peaceful?"

"Your power is still too weak. Fragments are still just fragments and cannot resist her influence. But do you remember? You once rewrote the laws of the witch's power, which means you have the power to fight against her. That is probably why she has her eye on you."

Chloe's words left Ryuka somewhat bewildered. Rewriting the laws? He thought carefully for a moment and finally remembered that he had once changed the way witches controlled their familiars.

"But... that was just a small magic spell..."

Crowell shook her head, as if in her view, the ability to alter a witch's powers was an incredible thing.

“If you find the next fragment, you might be able to resist her influence. We don’t know about other things, but if the royal family of Otus is a descendant of Kranar, they should also have one.”

Ryuka's expression turned troubled: "You mean, I have to be like a machine, abstinent to the point of overthrowing the entire Otus?"

"It's not that there's no other way, but... never mind, come here for a second."

Seeing Ryukatsu's aggrieved expression, Chloe hesitated for a moment with a smile, then beckoned to her. As Ryukatsu approached again, the girl deity sitting motionless on the altar suddenly grabbed her collar and pulled her towards her.

A cool sensation came, and a strange power came from my lips, entering my body and severing my connection with the witch, but also sealing off my witch-type abilities.

Ryuka's eyes widened. Although the deity before her had existed for at least a thousand years, her current appearance was criminally offensive, making Ryuka feel a pang of guilt. Chloe's lips were smooth and cool, unlike human lips, more like jade. Even a light touch caused a fleeting blush to rise on the porcelain-doll-like face of the young goddess before her.

"This should help you for a month."

The blush faded, and Chloe smiled peacefully, as if what had just happened was insignificant. Only Ryūka lightly touched her lips, looking at the girl before her with a somewhat speechless expression, and asked:

"What about a month later? Do we do it again?"

"This is to thank you for waking me up and building the temple. I don't have that much power to contact you all the time."

Crowell tilted her little face, finding Ryūka's expression quite amusing. The implication seemed to be...

Let's see how you do!

Chapter 16 is now available!

Hopefully next time, Chloe will be a little bigger... Ryuka couldn't help but think this, and then asked about Atina and the heretical ruins.

"How much do you know about the ruins on the eastern side of this continent, which are said to contain a portal to another continent?"

Kuroel shook his head: "That city was the last bastion of other races against the Holy See. Since we have no intention of leaving, we don't know much about it. It is said that the door is one-way, and the other continent is desolate. But now a thousand years have passed, and no one can say for sure what has changed."

"What about the Demon Sword? Do you know anything about the Demon Sword?"

"The Demon Sword?"

Crowell tilted her head in thought for a moment, as if remembering something, and then told Ryūka, "Ah~ those were weapons forged by other races who had suffered heavy losses and been betrayed by the Church before the Cruel Witch was defeated, using the power of fallen gods. It is said that each one has its own thoughts and abilities, fused with divine power rules and ancient magical secrets. The original intention was that a group of beings wanted to create their own god after the fall of the god they worshipped... There are rumors that some of the demon swords were forged using the power of 'fragments of order,' but the truth of that is unknown..."

Could the Demon Sword also possess the power of fragments of order? Could that enhance my ability to fight witches? Ryuka wasn't sure if Atina's Demon Sword possessed such power, but this information was undoubtedly very important.

Seemingly knowing what Ryukatsu was thinking, Chloe asked with concern, "How much do you know about the power levels in this world?"

"You mean Earth, Star, Moon, and Heaven?"

"That's right, whether it's gods or spirits native to this world, including the current class divisions of you knights and mages. Earth corresponds to Heavenly Rank and below, while Star Rank is at least Saint Rank, but requires additional divine authority or laws. Before you have Star Rank authority, we don't recommend you open that ruin..."

Kurowell's tone was serious, but seeing Ryuka's somewhat anxious and helpless expression, she thoughtfully offered advice:

"The level of authority is related to strength but not so much; it's more about 'aptitude,' which you'll need to figure out for yourself. Try appointing subordinates first. Only after you've gathered all four types of subordinate positions—General, Commander, Attendant, and Minister—will you be qualified to observe the stars. As for the method, I can teach you a 'Spirit Summoning Ascension' ritual..."

Crowell murmured softly, and a secret incantation flowed into Ryūka's mind. It was a secret technique that gathered the power of faith and spirit to elevate one's own and one's followers' status, which might already be sufficient given the current territory and the faith of the people.

But after the gentle kiss and the instruction of this secret technique, Chloe became even weaker. A trace of weariness appeared on the young goddess's face, but she still smiled at Ruka:

"Alright, let's begin responding to the believers' prayers. As for matters of the mortal world, we can only entrust them to you~ You are our first divine messenger~ Please protect our ally well~ The selection of the other divine messengers is also entrusted to you~"

Ryuga understood that she was worried that the activities of the Chloe Church would attract the attention of the Vatican, but now that the Sochi Cathedral had been suppressed, the real concern was that forces outside the territory would notice, and...

Other restless forces within the region, such as the Fourth Prince and the Merchant Guild... Liu Xia narrowed his eyes. If they knew that a heretical sect had emerged within the Sochi Province, even if they were not affiliated with the Holy See, they would still use this as an excuse to make trouble for themselves.

"Don't worry, I will..."

Ryuka smiled gently at Chloe, who had helped her so much, and began to conceive a way to combine 'Spirit Summoning Ascension' with dealing with enemies within her territory...

When the figure reappeared in the temple in reality, the girls who had come with Ryūka all wore expressions of disbelief. Ryūka walked straight to Sasha and asked her:

"Sasha, would you be willing to take good care of this temple for me?" (You're not here, Mei Yong isn't available, Lin Zaizai isn't available...)

Despite her young age, Sasha was surprisingly mature, completely unlike the dull and lifeless woman she had been a year ago. She smiled and nodded, then knelt on one knee before Ryūka.

"My lord, whatever your command is..."

"Just call me Ryusha. Now, you are also Chloe's messenger."

Ryūka placed her hand on Sasha's head, establishing a divine covenant with Chloe for her. Sasha's eyes widened in surprise. Chloe's voice echoed in both her and Ryūka's minds simultaneously. Chloe's tone was completely different from when she was alone with Ryūka; it was more like that of a majestic and ethereal goddess. She taught Sasha how to use the power of a divine messenger and told her how to manage the temple and receive worshippers.

Then, under Ryusha's watchful gaze, Sasha summoned the believers outside the temple one by one, using Chloe's divine power like a nun to heal their physical ailments, even incurable ones, reducing their suffering and soothing their spirits.

At the end of their lives, a divine messenger will come to guide their souls, preventing them from becoming vengeful spirits. However, the Crowel Cult currently dares not operate outside, so they can only have their followers bring the bodies of the dead here.

As for donations to the temple, Chloe's rule is that sincerity is all that matters; even a rag or half a loaf of bread is acceptable in exchange. After all, many of her followers are destitute, and accepting monetary donations from them is not allowed.

No wonder her forces were defeated so early, yet her faith has endured for centuries after the Thousand-Year War. Ryuga looked at the somewhat terrifying statue of the ram-headed evil god in the temple, and then thought of the somewhat quirky yet very considerate goddess girl, a smile involuntarily creeping onto her lips.

After Ryūsha left the temple, Megan, who was behind him, finally couldn't help but ask:

"Master, do gods really exist in this world?"

"Yes, but gods are not high and mighty rulers, but beings who, like other living beings, need to fulfill their duties and interact with the world."

"Then...you are a follower of Chloe?"

"No, it's mutually beneficial, but I respect her very much now."

Ryusha, with cheerful steps, emerged from another secret passage in the cave and said to Megan and Nemi in a joking tone:

"Who knows, one day I might become some kind of deity, and then you'll be my holy nuns~"

Nemi seemed to understand, but still blushed and joked, "Master, do you mean you want to see us in nun's habit? I knew it! The way you looked at Sister Lindsay told me everything!"