Sovereign of the Ashes

Before leaving Purgatory, Sein armed himself to the teeth.

In addition to equipping all his original gear, he brought along his greatest research achievement of the past two centuries—the Demon Mask.

After countless days and nights of research and refinement, the Demon Mask had surpassed the capabilities of most Rank Three magic artifacts.

To further enhance it, the Succubus Queen had even provided a drop of divine blood from a Rank Four Bat Demon and a Rank Four Succubus.

As a result, the Demon Mask had reached a level where it could threaten even demigod-level beings.

Beyond the Demon Mask—Sein’s greatest trump card—he also wore a magic robe of unparalleled quality, crafted from the Spider Queen’s divine spider silk.

The last few decades had seen the Avatar Crisis at its peak, with the world’s barrier becoming stronger than ever before.

As a result, the Spider Queen had not contacted Sein in decades.

Fortunately, as the current owner of the Silver Spider Ring, Sein had full access to its contents.

Aside from the stone tablet, which he had yet to touch, he had thoroughly researched everything else inside—from the God of Brute Force’s corpse to the stored mass of divine spider silk.

Sein had completely dissected the God of Brute Force, even extracting its divine relic—a pale gold, diamond-shaped crystal that shimmered beautifully under the light, brimming with immense power.

His constitution had improved by leaps and bounds over the years, not only due to relentless body-tempering experiments but also through the use of rare resources like the God of Brute Force’s divine blood.

As for the divine spider silk within the Silver Spider Ring, Sein had no idea when the Spider Queen had left it there, nor did he have any means to contact her for answers.

The quantity was enough for him to craft three sets of magic robes, with some even left over.

These robes, woven from the Spider Queen’s divine spider silk, were the most resilient garments he had ever possessed.

Moreover, the silk’s exceptional elemental ductility allowed him to engrave numerous magic arrays into the fabric—some of which had been personally taught to him by the Spider Queen.

This further enhanced the robes’ defensive capabilities, ensuring they would not be easily damaged.

Three sets were more than enough to last him a long time, especially since he could rotate and repair them as needed.

***

The target Sein had chosen to hunt was a deity known as the God of First Light—a wielder of weak divine power from the Justice League.

Despite this, the God of First Light was not an easy opponent.

According to intelligence from both the Purgatory demons and the Godslayers, he was on the verge of becoming a stronger lesser deity.

Yet, Sein still chose him as his first target for three reasons.

First, the God of First Light’s divine abilities and the power of laws he wielded were primarily related to light, with traces of fire—both of which would be highly beneficial for Sein’s growth.

Second, as a member of the Justice League, the God of First Light belonged to a faction that had been pursuing Sein for a long time. Sein had every reason to strike back.

Third, most of the Temples of First Light were located near Purgatory, meaning that regardless of success or failure, Sein could retreat quickly after the battle.

The God of First Light was not Sein’s only target. He had backup plans.

One must not place all hopes on a single tree.

Another potential target was Gondrath, the God of Craft, also a member of the Justice League.

This Faelorian god was not known for combat—he was a master in crafting divine artifacts.

Rumors within the Justice League suggested that Gondrath was the creator of many lesser gods’ divine artifacts. Some even claimed he had assisted intermediate gods in forging their own.

Despite his lack of combat prowess and the relatively small number of temples dedicated to him, hunting him was no less difficult than hunting the God of First Light.

Any deity in possession of a vast arsenal of divine artifacts was a formidable opponent.

The Godslayers had attempted to kill the God of Craft three times throughout history—all of which had ended in failure.

Not only had they failed to land a single blow on him, but many had been obliterated by the relentless onslaught of his divine artifacts.

Moreover, having forged weapons for numerous deities, Gondrath had powerful connections that made him an even greater threat.

If the battle dragged on, reinforcements were guaranteed to arrive.

From a strategic standpoint, Gondrath’s strengths fit Sein even better than the God of First Light.

First and foremost, Sein was deeply curious about Faelorian techniques for crafting divine artifacts.

There was no guarantee that studying them would directly enhance his alchemy skills, but they might inspire new ideas.

Secondly, beyond his divine abilities, the God of Craft likely wielded pyro elemental laws alongside his expertise in craftsmanship—both of which were of great interest to Sein at this stage.

Beyond these two deities, Sein had considered several other potential targets.

They were not only from the Justice League but also from the Wings of Nature.

Faeloria had a higher-ranking God of Smithing named Furey, affiliated with the Wings of Nature. He was an intermediate deity with powerful smithing-related divine abilities, but he was not a target Sein could realistically pursue.

Over the years, Sein had also requested the Succubus Queen and others to gather information on Bone Lord of the Dark Alliance.

Like many other intermediate deities, Bone Lord had been cast from his pedestal during this cycle of the Avatar Crisis.

Yet, as a powerful deity infamous for his ruthlessness, no one had dared to challenge him.

Rumors suggested that Bone Lord’s true body remained hidden within his lair in the Bone City, the place where he had first ascended to godhood.

This vast city, built from the colossal remains of ancient bones, had only one true ruler: Bone Lord himself.

At Sein’s current level, Bone Lord was beyond his reach.

Someone like the Spider Queen was far better suited to dealing with such a formidable opponent.

Just as Sein sought opportunities amidst the Avatar Crisis, the one who had sent him to this world was undoubtedly plotting as well.

Though it had been decades since he last had contact with her, Sein had no doubt that she was preparing for something.

Since this directly impacted the Purgatory demons’ ability to leave Faeloria in the future, Sein would not be surprised if the Bloodwar Monarch himself intervened to help Lorthisra secure certain predetermined benefits.

What the Spider Queen truly desired, however, remained a mystery.

If she did intend to act, her timing would almost certainly be later than Sein’s.

At the very least, she would wait until the Avatar Crisis had ended—or was on the verge of ending—before making her move in full force.

***

As Sein and his party set off, the Succubus Queen and the Goddess of Doom stood atop a red hill on the outskirts of Purgatory’s first level, watching as their figures gradually faded into the distance.

“Why not send your men to aid him? What if he dies?” the Goddess of Doom asked with a smile.

As a close acquaintance of the Succubus Queen, she understood well the demons’ desperation to escape Faeloria.

If Sein fell, their connection to the Spider Queen would be severed as well. This would be an unbearable loss for the demons.

To put it bluntly, Morvanya believed it would be far wiser for the demons to provide Sein with two divine relics for research than to let him risk his life on this mission.

After all, it was not as though the demons could not afford it.