Sovereign of the Ashes

Half a month later, the Spider Queen turned to Sein and asked, “You’re sure there aren’t any traces left, right?”

Her level of vigilance was not far from Sein’s own.

By now, the divine cocoon beneath her legs had stopped moving.

With the Spider Queen injecting venom into it every other day, the God of Brute Force had ceased all movement five days ago.

“I think so,” Sein replied. “I have no way of checking what’s buried deep beneath the canyon’s ruins, but I’ve cleared out any remaining arrays with active energy fluctuations.”

In this world, erasing all traces was impossible, especially when it involved a divine conflict of such magnitude.

If not for the Spider Queen’s immense power, her advanced preparations, and her divine domain’s unique attributes, the commotion at Feymous Canyon would have already alerted the other Faelorian deities.

In truth, the God of Brute Force had been extremely unlucky.

It had never even gotten the chance to fully unleash its true power before being ensnared in the Spider Queen’s trap.

Beyond its individual strength, this god also wielded considerable influence within its divine nation.

Had it summoned all its believers, especially the two Epic-level warriors, they could have held off Sein and Yuri, giving it a chance to break free from the Spider Queen’s bindings.

But in this world, there was no room for ‘ifs.’

Trapped in this massive, urn-shaped spiderweb trap in Feymous Canyon, the God of Brute Force could neither seek help from its allies nor send word back to its divine nation.

Ultimately, Sein had chosen his target well.

Had they attacked a deity from the Justice League or the Dark Alliance, someone would have noticed its disappearance by now.

The God of Brute Force had always been somewhat of a lone wolf. Even after vanishing for over two months, no one had come looking for it.

“Since we’ve erased most of the traces, let’s go. No matter how well we cover this up, the deities of this world will eventually discover what happened here.”

The Spider Queen’s voice was calm yet decisive.

She was still in her half-human, half-spider form—a sight that always unsettled Sein.

Though she was undeniably beautiful, he could never get used to the grotesque spider abdomen beneath her.

Sein nodded, agreeing with the Spider Queen’s words, but at the same time, he could not help but say, “Spider Queen, can you return to your old appearance now?”

His request made the Spider Queen chuckle.

”Why? You think I’m ugly?” she teased, before bursting into laughter.

There was no denying it—the Spider Queen’s true face was not inferior to any of the women Sein had been with.

On top of that, her slightly “corrupted” allure, hidden beneath a veil of holiness, was almost too seductive.

Sein gulped. As a disciplined mage, even he struggled to keep his composure.

Fortunately, the grotesque contrast of her lower body shattered any unrealistic thoughts that might have crept into his mind.

The Spider Queen’s amused smirk gradually faded, her voice now laced with disdain as she asked, “Have you taken a good look at yourself in the mirror? Do you really think you look better than me?!”

Sein instinctively wiped his face, only to remember that he was still in his Flame Demon form. Indeed... he did not look any better than her.

Demons were hardly considered attractive by the Magus World’s standards.

Only races like elves, catgirls, fox maidens, and other beastfolk were seen as the epitome of beauty.

The mermaids of the Magus World were also considered one of the most beautiful races.

Sein’s true human form was undoubtedly handsome, but his Flame Demon transformation?

...Hmm.

Mages were inherently curious beings. Sein recalled activating his Flame Demon form during a few passionate nights with Natalya.

It had been over two hundred years since Sein last touched a woman, after parting ways with Natalya and Reina at the Ylli Knight Alliance.

Now, stranded in Faeloria, who knew when he would ever get a taste of pleasure again?

The path of the Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique was not an easy one.

If not for the suppression methods he had learned from Selphy and other members of the Verdant Flame Faction, as well as his formidable willpower, he would have long succumbed to the technique’s more dangerous aftereffects.

All power came at a price.

After exchanging insults with Sein, the Spider Queen suddenly shifted back into her human form—whether it was due to his words getting under her skin, he could not say.

Her human form was nothing short of perfection.

Her terrifying spider legs had vanished, replaced by two long, slender legs, wrapped in a tight silver dress that accentuated every curve.

Her delicate feet were concealed within the same pair of azure-colored crystal heels Sein had seen her wear before.

Yet, despite her graceful transformation, one of the Spider Queen’s feet remained planted atop the divine cocoon.

With her skirt slightly shorter than before, Sein unintentionally caught a glimpse of something... unexpected from his current angle.

His eyes widened as his gaze locked onto the sight before him. For a brief moment, his thoughts went completely blank.

“Keep staring, and I’ll gouge your eyes out!”

The Spider Queen’s furious voice snapped him back to reality.

Sein shuddered, then forced out an awkward chuckle before swiftly reverting to his human form.

He did not dare let his eyes wander recklessly again afterward.

***

The huge divine cocoon, once tens of meters long, had now shrunk to just two meters, resting beneath the Spider Queen’s foot.

The cocoon pulsed from time to time, but Sein had no idea what was going on inside.

“This thing isn’t dead yet, but it’s getting close. Until it completely loses its life force, I can’t store it in the Silver Spider Ring—our laws’ attributes are mutually exclusive,” the Spider Queen explained.

Without giving Sein a chance to marvel at the sheer tenacity of the God of Brute Force, she followed up with more bad news, especially for him.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to stay in this world a little longer. Hauling this god’s body and you back to the Magus World is far more costly than I anticipated. I need to re-engrave the spell array and replenish it.”

Her tone was not a request but a command.

Sein could only sigh and nod in resignation.

“If there weren’t any worthwhile gains from this world, I’d be running at a loss with just a Rank Four corpse as harvest!” the Spider Queen added, her voice sharp with irritation.

Being in Faeloria, Sein had no way of knowing the sheer price she had paid to send her divine clone into this world and battle against a Rank Four deity for over two months.

Of course, the Spider Queen had no reason to lie to Sein.

The resources she had burned through in this battle undoubtedly outweighed the value of the divine artifacts and materials the God of Brute Force could provide.

After paying such a steep cost, there was no way she would spare the god’s life.

Besides, the Spider Queen had yet to meet a prey that could escape her grasp.

“That blood essence is yours. It’ll be useful for your passive evolution and body-tempering experiments,” she said.

“This divine clone of mine will last a while longer—at least until this thing is completely dead,” she added, nonchalantly kicking the divine cocoon beside her.

There was something almost satisfying about watching the Spider Queen kick a god while wearing crystal heels.

Yet this time, Sein knew better than to let his mind wander.

He only stole a quick glance at her delicate feet before cheekily saying, “Spider Queen, you saw how my magic robe got ruined again in battle just now, right?”

“Finding the right materials to craft another one is just too difficult. Your divine spider silk is incredibly durable, so could you maybe...?”

His tone was hopeful, almost pleading.

“Piss off,” the Spider Queen replied flatly.