Sovereign of the Ashes

“The flame you used just now is quite special. I’m surprised it could even burn through the body of a god,” the woman in the purple dress commented casually.

“This isn’t one of those new flame laws from Purgatory, is it? I see signs of artificial refinement... and your bloodline is rather interesting too.”

Under normal circumstances, Sein would have grabbed the God of Craft’s loot and vanished from the battlefield without hesitation.

However, the moment this woman appeared, he found himself frozen in place, even though she had not used any kind of spatial magic to immobilize or restrain him.

It was the overwhelming disparity between them that made him stop cold.

Among all the deities present on this battlefield, not even the mighty God of Storms could stand a chance against her.

Sein had only ever felt this kind of pressure from two beings before: Grandmaster Feylis and the Spider Queen.

There was no question about it—this woman was a greater deity.

Drawing a deep breath, Sein answered calmly, “Yes, it’s a flame I developed myself. I call it Ashen Flame. It’s a fusion of elemental flames with various attributes.”

“As for my bloodline, I have a trace of Flame Demon bloodline in me,” he added.

In the face of such an overwhelming force, Sein had no choice but to answer truthfully.

In his current condition, even a weak deity in peak condition could have taken him down easily, let alone the being standing before him.

“Oh? Those flames aren’t native to Faeloria, are they?” the woman asked.

“Honestly, the flames themselves aren’t what interest me... It’s your fusion technique. That’s something truly unique,” she remarked thoughtfully.

Despite the chaos of the battlefield, the woman in the purple dress spoke with a calm, almost casual air, as if no one else was around them.

It was obvious that she was confident in her own strength.

Before Sein could respond, she casually lifted her right hand and said, “Looks like this place is getting livelier by the minute. Are you really going to try stealing something in my presence?”

Her words made Sein tense up, but just as quickly, relief washed over him when he realized she was not talking to him.

A swirl of colorful elemental energy suddenly bloomed before his eyes.

With masterful control, the woman in purple dispersed the lingering energy tide nearby.

Then, she reached into a tear in the fabric of space and pulled out half of a slender, black-clad figure.

It turned out that there were more deities on this battlefield than Sein had realized!

Sein did not recognize the figure, but many of nearby deities clearly did.

Dressed in a tight, black bodysuit and known for his uncanny ability to move through space, the wiry figure was none other than Masque—the God of Stealth, also known as the God of Thieves, from the Dark Alliance.

Though technically a lesser god, Masque was infamous for being a handful. With his powerful stealth and theft abilities, even intermediate gods found him difficult to deal with.

And now, true to his nature, Masque had not changed one bit during the Avatar Crisis.

It took serious nerve to sneak onto a battlefield of this scale and try stealing from the gods.

His target was none other than the corpse of the Goddess of Waters and the blue water-attribute divine relic beside her.

At that moment, he had already pulled half of her remains into a hidden pocket of space he had created.

Unfortunately for him, the woman in the purple dress caught him red-handed before he could get away.

Masque’s appearance and his bold attempt at looting immediately enraged Ysor, the God of Storms, standing from across the battlefield.

The Goddess of Waters had been his target, yet the God of Stealth had the audacity to loot her corpse.

Still, as furious as Ysor was, most of the deities on the battlefield had their attention fixed on the woman standing beside Sein.

“Eluvira... the Goddess of Magic?!” More than one deity cried out her name in disbelief.

Of course, Sein heard it too.

So this was Eluvira—the one he had been so curious about, and quietly resented, ever since arriving in Faeloria.

To Sein and other orthodox spellcasters from the Magus World, her way of nurturing followers through the Weave was a complete mockery of elemental power and the deeper truths of magic.

Sein had even fantasized about dragging the Goddess of Magic into his laboratory, tying her down, and picking her mind apart just to see what was inside.

But, of course, that had always been just a fantasy.

Now that the real Eluvira stood in front of him, Sein knew one thing for sure... He had better keep his head down and his mouth shut.

Given Eluvira’s strength, even Grandmaster Feylis might not be able to overpower her in a one-on-one fight.

The only beings truly capable of dominating Rank Six creatures were overlords or overmages.

If Eluvira were a pushover, she would not have been able to remain independent from Faeloria’s major factions.

Her sudden appearance sent shockwaves across the battlefield.

After being caught red-handed, Masque did not resist or argue. He simply dropped what he was trying to steal and vanished back into the void.

Eluvira was not known as a murderous goddess. In fact, she had a reputation for being fairly reasonable.

Even though she could have easily crushed Masque, she did not bother. She simply let him go.

Instead of pursuing him, she calmly retrieved the Goddess of Waters’ corpse and divine relic.

Then she turned to Sein and said casually, “You’ve caught my interest. Why don’t you help me with some research for a while?”

With that, she tossed the corpse and relic down in front of him.

Sein was stunned.

He glanced down at the Goddess of Waters’ corpse and the shimmering relic beside her, then looked back up at Eluvira.

The water-attribute divine relic was not especially useful to him, but still, she was offering him the corpse of a goddess and a relic.

On top of that, the corpse still gripped a coral staff—clearly a divine artifact.

Sein sucked in a breath and asked in disbelief, “You actually practice equivalent exchange?”

He, who had once looked down on the Goddess of Magic with contempt, now found himself speaking respectfully—driven by pressure and the instinct to survive.

“Equivalent exchange? Hah, I like that phrase,” Eluvira said. “If we were alone, I probably would have just taken you with me. You’re interesting... and so is the world behind you.”

The young and beautiful goddess then lifted a finger toward the sky and added with a shrug, “But since others are watching, I can only play nice.”

Almost immediately, as if responding to her signal, two more surges of divine energy ripped through the heavens—one from either side.

This time, it was not just one or two deities arriving!