Chapter 1056: Shocking Gains

As the Succubus Queen watched Sein depart, the Goddess of Doom, Morvanya, stood silently behind her.

It was thanks to Morvanya’s unique divine power that they had managed to so quickly learn of Sein’s success and even caught a vague glimpse of him slaying a god.

Morvanya seemed like she was about to say something about Sein, but before she could, a chilling laugh escaped her lips instead.

“Hmm... why is that pretentious sister of mine in Purgatory? Her aura seems really weak... She must have taken quite the hit. Hehehe, it’s finally my turn to strike back,” Morvanya remarked with a smirk.

With a whoosh, she turned into a black shadow and vanished.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The Succubus Queen turned toward the outskirts of Purgatory.

She vanished soon after, likely to assist Morvanya.

***

In the castle laboratory...

Sein grimaced as he poured a crimson, boiling potion that smelled like molten lava directly onto his wound.

The moment the liquid touched his skin, a sharp hiss filled the air, and white fumes rose from his flesh.

Even after centuries of body tempering experiments, the searing pain was still enough to make Sein’s eyelids twitch.

The injuries he had sustained were severe and would take a long time to heal.

In the battle against the God of First Light, Sein appeared to have exhausted every trump card he had, even unleashing his mana-burning secret technique to deliver the final blow.

He was unaware that the Succubus Queen had been secretly observing his fight.

That was why, even in the final stages of his battle with the God of First Light, Sein had kept the milky-white Viridescent Seed clenched tightly in his hand.

As an erudite mage, Sein never hesitated to hold back a trump card.

His multiple near-death experiences in interplanar wars had only deepened his obsession with survival.

For now, this seed from Lorianne remained one of his hidden trump cards.

His other trump card was Yuri.

The strength of her mecha, combined with the power unit added during the latest upgrade, could provide enough energy to fuel both a space fortress and a prism fort.

If Yuri were ever ordered to remotely detonate the Burning Flame Unit, the resulting explosion would rival or even surpass that of a demigod self-destructing.

Of course, it was a desperate measure—one reserved for the last resort.

The cost of maintaining the Burning Flame Unit alone exceeded the limit of what a Rank Three grand mage or even a demigod-level mage could afford.

Like Yuri, the mecha had accompanied Sein for many years. Beyond Sky City’s technology, it also bore the mark of Sein’s own alchemical craftsmanship.

If such a super mecha were to self-destruct, Sein would not be able to repair it, now that they were stranded in Faeloria.

Even if he one day returned to the Magus World, it was uncertain whether another alchemy master like Master Peyton would be there to help him again.

The injuries Sein suffered were certainly painful, but his gains from this battle were significant.

He had slain a Rank Four being—one known as a “god” by lesser, ignorant creatures of the Astral Realm!

Even if the God of First Light was merely a lesser deity, wielding only weak divine power...

Even if his power had been suppressed due to the Avatar Crisis...

Even if he had foolishly underestimated Sein and failed to mobilize its believers in time...

The fact remained: the God of First Light had fallen.

The value of the god’s corpse alone was enough to justify Sein’s efforts in the battle. But that was not all—he had reaped even more.

The golden clarinet wielded by the God of First Light was a divine artifact, far superior in quality to the crude giant ax once used by the God of Brute Force.

It radiated a special light energy that could enhance Sein’s lumen elemental magic.

Sein had already made early progress in his research into pyro elemental laws.

Now, with both the divine relic and clarinet from the God of First Light, he might have promising material to expand his research into lumen elemental laws as well.

Even the white robe worn by the god was in fact a lower-grade divine artifact, though it looked like a potato sack.

Had Sein’s Ashen Flame not possessed such overwhelming destructive and penetrating power—and had the robe not been vulnerable to physical attacks—he would have paid a far greater price to bring down the God of First Light.

The acquisition of the corpse, the divine relic, and the clarinet had all been within Sein’s expectations, but the god’s wealth had been a pleasant surprise.

In Faeloria, alchemy might have been underdeveloped among lesser beings—but for those of Rank Four and above, owning one or two pieces of storage equipment was fairly common.

Sein eventually discovered a platinum compass with a brilliant diamond embedded at its center, tucked within the folds of the god’s robe.

Its unique spatial attributes confirmed what Sein suspected—it was the God of First Light’s personal storage equipment.

Although he was dead, the divine power that sealed the compass had not yet dissipated.

Aside from patiently waiting for the divine power sealing the compass to dissipate on its own, the more direct approach was to take matters into his own hands and study it himself.

With enough effort, perhaps the seal could be broken in advance.

But for now, these trophies and research plans would have to be postponed.

Sein’s top priority was to heal his battered body and restore his overstrained mental focus. Pushing himself any further risked planting the seeds of lasting damage.

From the moment he slayed the God of First Light, he had not paused to catch his breath.

After rushing Yuri, Flynn, and the others back to Purgatory at full speed, Sein had finally hit his limit.

***

When he emerged from the laboratory again, two months had passed.

Though still pale and visibly fatigued, he was clearly in far better condition than before.

The battle with the God of First Light was something Sein would never forget for the rest of his life.

If he encountered such a powerful enemy again without enough trump cards or allies, he would choose to retreat without a second thought.

Of course, a mage constantly pursued growth.

Should he fully assimilate the rewards of defeating the God of First Light, his strength would far surpass what it was now when he struck again.

Not long after stepping out of his laboratory, Sein received two unexpected visitors.

The Succubus Queen and the Goddess of Doom had returned.

Standing quietly behind them was another goddess.

She bore a strong resemblance to Morvanya, but while Morvanya had black, shoulder-length hair, this goddess’ long hair shimmered in white and gold.

Unlike Morvanya’s face, which was marked with strange and cryptic patterns, this goddess bore only faint, simple golden patterns on her cheeks.

Since her skin was pale, the patterns blended almost seamlessly into her complexion.

In both beauty and presence, she surpassed Morvanya in nearly every regard.

Yet, the moment Sein laid eyes on her, his brow furrowed involuntarily.