Chapter 70: Grandfather's Godhood!

Chapter 70: Grandfather's Divinity!

Facing its former master, the golden retriever cringed slightly, for it could smell that the person before it possessed a scent entirely different from its past master, one that even filled it with dread.

Yet, as Mr. Hoffen placed his hand upon its neck and began to stroke it, that familiar sensation returned once more;

The golden retriever slowly leaned its head against Hoffen, its expression turning to one of enjoyment and affection.

"Quite nice," Mr. Hoffen said.

Sealing the evil god inside this golden retriever did not mean that the dog would be killed.

For this was a seal, not merely a temporary placement of the evil god within the retriever, otherwise the evil god could emerge at any moment, and what would be the point of that?

This was a manner of spiritual lodging.

To use a metaphor, it was equivalent to putting a small backpack on this golden retriever, inside of which the evil god was kept; whenever it needed to be used, the dog would be called over, the backpack opened, and the contents retrieved, except that this backpack could almost never fall off the golden retriever.

Of course, the golden retriever itself would bear a certain amount of risk, but then, what in this world is entirely without risk?

Furthermore, the golden retriever would benefit from this; first of all, it would live longer than other dogs, perhaps even much longer;

Another point was that it would become much smarter.

Naturally, with two souls living together day and night within a single body, mutual influence would bound to occur; it was completely unavoidable.

Either the golden retriever, as it grew increasingly intelligent, would display a certain degree of anthropomorphism;

Or that evil god would gradually become more like a dog.

"Alright, I understand. So, when do we begin?"

"Now," Dis said.

"Now?" Hoffen froze, "Right now?"

"Yes, now."

"I can set up this seal very quickly, but no, I have a doubt: can I still employ the fundamental spells of the Church of Principle?"

Dis nodded and said, "There is no issue. Though you are now dead, spiritual energy still remains within your body. Furthermore, when I awakened you, I infused some into you as well."

"That is well then."

Mr. Hoffen looked toward Alfred: "Come, help me hold Kevin still."

"Understood."

Alfred immediately stepped forward, scooping up the golden retriever and lifting it before Hoffen.

Hoffen spread his hands, chanting an incantation beneath his breath; in the next instant, two halos of light appeared within his palms, the mysteries of runes flowing inside them.

At this, Alfred showed no surprise whatsoever, for this was the most fundamental spell of the Church of Principle, basic to the absolute extreme.

This spell was so simple that... it was equivalent to merely picking up a pen.

Because Mr. Hoffen himself did not know many spells; he followed an academic path, and he did not even know how to fight.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have slipped and nearly killed himself the first time he met Karen.

Yet, though it is the same pen, what it displays in the hands of an ordinary person compared to a painter, a mathematician, or a writer is entirely different.

Mr. Hoffen needed only this pen, and then he could directly begin to "draw" the formation.

However, before actually starting, Hoffen still looked up at Dis and said:

"Because that evil god is currently extremely weak, I don't need to consider the degradation or duration of the formation's strength at all;

And when a formation does not need to care about such matters, it becomes very simple."

Of course, this simplicity was only simple in Mr. Hoffen's estimation; everyone knew that a formation capable of sealing an evil god could never truly be ordinary.

"I only need a quarter of an hour to complete it. So, Dis, I will set it up first, and then..."

"No need, we do it together."

"Together?"

Dis stood with his hands behind his back,

At his feet, massive black chains spread outward, instantly forming a black barrier that covered the entirety of the Oak Cemetery.

Then,

He began to loosen the restraints of his realm;

Accompanying this, his aura began to soar at an astonishing speed!

Before this aura, Alfred felt an impulse to fall to his knees; he knew Dis was powerful, but he had never imagined Dis could be this powerful.

Yet,

This was still far from the end,

Because at this moment,

Beneath Dis's eyes, a layer of gold gradually bloomed.

At this moment, Dis presented a grandeur that mortals dared not look upon directly.

This was a crushing weight from a higher level of life, surpassing ordinary boundaries, as if he rightfully belonged standing there, looking down upon all living things!

Thud!

Trapped within the barrier, Alfred faced this aura directly and fell straight to his knees.

Mr. Hoffen likewise fell to his knees;

For at this moment, a sensation arose naturally from the depths of their hearts, which was:

To stand is a sin.

Fortunately, both had been standing before, but now both were kneeling, so the golden retriever was still held in Alfred's arms, maintaining a proper distance from Mr. Hoffen.

In truth, even if he didn't hold it now, it would be impossible for it to move, for the dog had already been so terrified that foam was frothing from its muzzle.

Dis did not look at them,

Instead, he slowly raised his head,

A small opening parted in the barrier above, and Dis's gaze pierced through.

When this gaze, carrying divine intent, projected out of the barrier,

In an instant,

At the center of Roga City, three massive pillars of light soared into the sky.

"Can he no longer suppress his realm?"

"It seems to be so; he can no longer control himself from stepping into that domain."

"Wait, wait, wait! This is the price of what you urged me to wait for. We chose to wait, yet he didn't even give us a chance to negotiate!"

Lasma's figure also appeared on the rooftop, his gaze fixed in the direction of the cemetery;

Even though he had made many conjectures in his heart, even though he had already prepared countless backdrops, and even though the conscious projections of the three Temple Elders appearing here had almost given the answer in advance;

At this moment, Lasma's heart was still filled with an overwhelming shock.

As it turned out,

The rival he had spent his entire life measuring himself against had actually, in secret... "ascended to godhood."

"Rathma, order them into Loria City," Xiti said.

But at that exact moment,

To the exact north, south, east, and west of Loria City, distributed in perfectly equal intervals, four pillars of light surged toward the heavens!

"The Cult of the Abyss!"

"The Cult of Samsara!"

"The Cult of the Night!"

"The Cult of Principles!"

Xiti cried out the names one by one.

These four were all orthodox, major churches, and though they could not match the Church of Order in absolute strength, it did not mean they lacked the courage to snatch chestnuts from the fire.

For the temptation was simply too immense, far too grand for anyone to refuse.

An existence of a Temple Elder's caliber apostatizing with a shard of a godhead was something that should have been nigh impossible, yet here it was, unfolding before their eyes.

"There is no time left to wait for the others, Xiti, Niven, we move first. Remember, we are not launching an attack against Dis, we are protecting his ascension!

Until the final moment arrives, we must absolutely not start a war!"

In the next instant,

Three beams of light soared straight into the sky, hurtling toward the location of the cemetery.

Almost simultaneously, the pillars of light originally situated in the four cardinal directions were also racing toward that same point at maximum speed.

In the eyes of ordinary mortals, this was merely a common rainy night in the depths of winter;

But in the eyes of those who existed on another plane,

Tonight,

The light was so dazzling it made their eyes ache with pain!

...

The Inmales household,

The third floor,

The study.

The candle in front of Karen had burned down nearly to its base, meaning it would flicker out in just a brief moment.

Then, he could go to the washroom to bathe, change into his pajamas, slip into a warm bed, and finally drift into a sweet dreamland.

He truly was feeling rather exhausted.

Because by now, he had grown entirely numb to the gaze of those two staring eyes.

If it weren't for Dis's explicit instructions demanding he keep his eyes fixed on the candle flame, Karen really would have liked to invite the owner of those eyes over, so they could sit down and rest together.

On the windowsill just outside the study,

Purr suddenly snapped her head up to look at the sky beyond the window, whispering in sheer disbelief:

"Has Dis already lost control of his realm? Weren't there supposed to be two days left!"

Just then,

Purr abruptly turned her head, looking toward the study door behind her, her whiskers twitching slightly, yet she saw absolutely nothing.

She had once confidently told Karen that although she couldn't fight, her eyes could pierce through the true essence of all things.

Back at the hospital, when faced with the sudden assault of that bewitching aberrant demon, it was Purr who, with a single swipe of her feline paw, had left the demon's face a bloody mess.

This time, however, Purr saw nothing at all, so she turned her head back and resumed staring out the window:

"Dis, you absolutely must hold on."

Outside the study,

Right behind Purr's back,

A man's lips curled into a faint smile.

This cat seemed to have sensed something, but she truly could not see him.

If he hadn't directed his wrath toward Karen back then, that Inquisitor of the Church of Order would never have detected his presence either.

In the end, it was his own carelessness.

But he couldn't entirely blame himself for being careless;

Who could have possibly imagined,

That after a whole epoch, the Church of Order would have developed into something so terrifying, that a mere local Inquisitor could actually condense a shard of a godhead?

What on earth was wrong with this world!!!

Fortunately, however, it was precisely because of this that he could finally seize his true opportunity.

Right now,

You are already too overwhelmed with your own troubles to care for anything else, aren't you?

Then I,

Shall come to reclaim what is mine.

His body passed straight through the study door, stepping inside.

"Ah~"

Karen let out a yawn toward the dying candle flame, rubbing the corners of his eyes at the same time.

And yet,

At that very second,

The originally blue candle flame suddenly turned pitch black!

Black, too, was a color, and when it possessed the power to swallow all other surrounding hues, it became the most brilliant color of all, without exception.

Karen's heart gave a sudden thud,

And he immediately began to look around the room in a panic, yet he saw nothing.

"The bed I warmed with my own body, before I could even lie in it myself, you took it over. Do you have any idea just how cold it is down on the floor!

Now,

I am here to reclaim my bed, my bedroom, my house!

And I shall also reclaim my,

Raniedal's dignity!"

Roaring in a language that no living soul could hear,

On one side,

he stepped into Karen's body.

In an instant,

Karen felt a horrifying, absolute chill wash over him, as though his soul had been frozen in the blink of an eye.

"You,

get,

out of here!"

Ranidal roared in fury, more than half of his body already merged into Karen.

But right at that moment,

two figures,

a man and a woman,

appeared on either side of Karen's body.

Ranidal laughed wildly:

"It's useless, useless, hahaha!

Though I am incomparably weak right now, though I am utterly disheveled, my state of existence is something you can neither see nor perceive.

Of course I knew that Inquisitor who condensed a divinity would leave behind a protective measure for this thief,

but,

is it of any use?

Huh!!!"

Yet very quickly,

Ranidal let out a cry of startled disbelief, for this man and woman had each reached out a hand and placed it on his shoulders—upon the non-existent shoulders of his non-existent self!

Most importantly,

they had stopped him, successfully severing his progress of entering Karen's body to reclaim this vessel he had so painstakingly transformed!

How was this possible, how could this be!

Even that Inquisitor could not achieve this step!

At most, he could only burn me with soul fire; he too was unable to touch me.

So what on earth are you two, and why can you touch me at this moment!

Ranidal wanted to break free from their hands, but he could not.

Suddenly,

Ranidal understood something,

and cried out in shock:

"You are his... no, you are this physical body's... parents!"

His current existence leaned toward non-existence, uncatchable.

Yet when he prepared to enter Karen's body, a connection with this physical vessel naturally formed, so to a certain extent, his existence shifted accordingly, because he was now equivalent to these two people's... son.

A relationship transcending any covenant had been established!

Because no matter the time,

the hands of parents

can always perceive the existence of their children.

Karen had once seen Dis lighting candles in the study, and had even wondered about this behavior, guessing whether Dis was preparing some kind of ritual or spell.

The truth was,

whenever Dis lit the candles in the study, it meant that at that moment, he had begun to miss his son and daughter-in-law.

"Why! Why! Why!!!"

Ranidal let out a roar of unwilling fury:

"He is not your son either, your son died long ago! Like me, he is an outside invader! Why do you permit his existence yet obstruct my entry!

Why, why is this!"

Though the man and woman standing on either side of Karen's body held Ranidal back with their hands, their gaze remained fixed on Karen.

It was a soft gaze,

the look of someone watching family.

They had seen Dis in this study, unable to hold back a smile every time he finished chatting with Karen;

they had heard Karen ring the bell on the second floor, and the eager joy of the younger brother, sister, and nieces and nephews as they hurried with light steps to enjoy lunch;

by the windowsill outside the study, he had once lectured Mina to study hard and learn while she was still young;

in the bedroom across from the study, he had handed the income he earned to Lent as pocket money, telling him to ask for more if it wasn't enough;

he made Mary put away her habit of sarcasm;

he made Mason say he wanted to call him uncle;

just a short while ago,

he sat here,

and the family willingly agreed to take out a loan to help him buy a house in Wien, only hoping that he, in a foreign land, could live more comfortably and with more confidence.

When the candle flame had just ignited,

they were scrutinizing him;

because they knew clearly that this was not their son, even if this body ran with their blood;

when the candle flame had burned halfway down,

their gaze began to soften,

perhaps,

he truly was not their son,

but he had always been striving to be a member of the Inmeles family, he had always been actively integrating into this home, and he had done so very successfully.

Their son was no longer here, and that was a fact.

Fate had stolen their son's life.

However,

they had gained another family member.

The younger brother liked him, the sister-in-law liked him, the sister liked him, the nieces and nephews liked him, and even the father liked him.

Similarly,

He also loved his father, loved everyone, in this family.

This was Inmules,

And in the Inmules family,

There was a single rule:

Family above all else!

So,

How could we possibly stand by and watch you harm my family without doing anything!

A stalemate,

Arrived at this very moment.

Under the interception of Karen's parents, Ranyedal simply could not fully enter Karen's body to complete the usurpation.

Because,

He was truly very weak right now, very weak, exceedingly weak.

Just then,

Ranyedal made his decision,

He still had time,

He could still wait for the next opportunity,

Since that Inquisitor would plunge into the vortex this very night,

Then this family would also fall apart afterward.

The two of you would also cease to exist because of this.

I can wait,

Wait for the next chance,

Though my time is short in this drifted state, I can still afford to wait for now!

The decisive side of the evil god revealed itself,

He no longer continued into Karen's body, but began to actively withdraw; once he left Karen's body and was no longer tethered to him, this man and woman would also be unable to touch him again.

His body was tearing away.

But at this exact moment,

At the center of Karen's chest, a rift suddenly split open;

Immediately following,

A hand reached out from within this rift, grabbing Ranyedal in a tight vice!

"No... No!!!"

…

"Dis, I have completed the array, but there is a problem now." Mr. Hoffen had already drawn dense runes all over the golden retriever, "How do we drag him over here?

Good heavens, look at those countless beams of light flashing outside, it is truly terrifying, can you even get out and return home now?"

Outside,

A total of seven projections of consciousness were converging upon the location of this cemetery.

"No, there is still a very important question!" Mr. Hoffen, kneeling on the ground, suddenly shrieked, "How can we catch him? He has no substance at all."

Floating in mid-air, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Dis's mouth:

"He can be caught now because I am his grandfather."

As he spoke,

At Dis's chest, a fist-sized black hole revealed itself;

He plunged his own left hand directly into this black hole in his chest.

"Furthermore,

I once carved a hole in Karen's chest, too."