This was the original plan, but the priestess unexpectedly became a variable that no one had anticipated, inserting herself into the layout.

Not only did she awaken Seth ahead of schedule in her own way, but after some chaotic events, she forcibly intervened in this mess, causing the winged people who were supposed to swiftly find the owner of the seed by following the prophecy to lose their target and be thrown into confusion.

“Damn… it’s really a case of making a mess of things.”

Violet, understanding the situation, slapped her forehead without any sense of responsibility, and looked at the serene, smiling Archangel.

“I’m not going to apologize. Even if I hadn’t been here, the arrival of this disaster would have been unavoidable, right?”

“Indeed, according to the original plan between me and Lady Seth, the disaster was inevitable only when the Withered One regained the position of god and destroyed the subspace seal I set on the Spryce Island, releasing the fabricated divine beast, would Lady [Life] awaken. The Calamity was unavoidable, and it should have occurred a thousand years ago, but Lady Seth sacrificed herself to delay it until now.”

“Why say that? Although it sounds a bit like hindsight, if I had known about this in advance, it might not have…”

Violet frowned, but Minerva neither confirmed nor denied her hypothesis.

“Perhaps. Your existence is very mysterious, and I cannot make any hasty conclusions. But in terms of results, the disaster has still occurred, hasn’t it? It’s the malice of the world, the cause and effect of completely eliminating Lady Seth—the Goddess of Earth—from this world, and it’s not something that can be understood from just a few words or actions.”

“It sounds like that whole fate and future theory. I’ve encountered a little girl with similar abilities before. Could everything that happens in this world be predetermined?”

Unexpectedly, Minerva shook her head.

“Not exactly. Fate is a game, and the gods already have divine realms and laws, making them equals with the world. The world cannot predetermine the fate of the gods, so there’s a struggle.”

The smile of the Archangel became somewhat bitter and resigned.

“We just lost the game, lost to the world, and embarked on a pre-planned path of destiny, thus falling. That’s all.”

“To be honest… I don’t quite understand.”

“It’s okay, you will understand, and your existence is different from ours. Perhaps… Well, let’s go back to the present. According to the plan I originally left behind, once the situation reaches an irretrievable level, Lady Seth is supposed to retrieve some of her power stored in this Sky Temple and confront the other Lady Seth who has fallen into madness.”

“But seeing a deity like you, Violet, has made me, who noticed this incidentally, think of another possible path.”

The black-haired girl was stunned at these words.

“Wait, you noticed me a long time ago? Was it you who faintly called out from the Sky Temple before?”

“It was me.”

Minerva admitted with a smile, but there was a hint of bitterness in her expression no matter how you looked at it.

“However, it’s a pity. This body is nothing but a remnant soul, the original body has fallen, even with the help of Lady Seth’s power, it has barely been maintained through slumber until now. However, it’s still too weak to attract your attention.”

“Um….”

Actually, Violet was quite concerned about that feeling at the time, intending to investigate when she had the chance, but the awkward incident at the Feather Palace made her extremely embarrassed. She didn’t dare to go out for several days, and hearing that the temple was temporarily closed due to the celebration of Estini’s birthday… Well, it’s probably best not to mention that.

“So, what do you mean by the other way you mentioned? Should I just go directly and confront Seth, who’s causing trouble?”

“?”

Minerva looked quite surprised, probably not expecting… the black-haired girl in front of her to suddenly utter such reckless words.

“I also wish it could be solved so easily, but the Goddess of Earth is one of the former three major gods of the order, a major deity. Even though Lady Withered has only restored less than half of her strength compared to her heyday, she is still far beyond the power of ordinary gods to contend with. For now, the plan is for you, who have also ascended to the rank of godhood, to merge this part of the life divine essence, which may be the only chance to defeat her.”

“Merge the life divine essence?”

Does it really have to come to this extent?

Violet couldn’t confirm how much power the Goddess of Withering Seth possessed, but she had seen the one who worshipped her as a god. Although very strong, they were only around level 80. Even if they used various secret techniques desperately, it couldn’t possibly boost her by 30 levels, right?

Both sides had been deadlocked outside for some time now without a clear winner. Seth’s raw strength couldn’t be much higher than hers. If they were to fight, Violet believed she wouldn’t easily lose.

“You’re unwilling? Pity… If it really comes down to it, then we’ll have to stick to the original plan, where Life shall merge again, and Miss Violet will assist in the battle. But in that case, the odds…”

Sizzle, sizzle…

Midway through her words, for some reason, Minerva’s figure began to fluctuate unstably, and the surrounding layer of white light started flickering, as if it could extinguish at any moment.

“Hey, what’s happening now?”

As if realizing something, the serene and elegant expression of the Archangel Lady turned somewhat anxious.

“The consumption in the pseudo-god realm is too great, this incarnation is almost… sizzle… unable to sustain. Once I lose my assistance… sizzle… mortals won’t be able to handle the power of gods… sizzle… the front line will collapse immediately! Make a decision quickly!”

“Violet, let me handle this! This is my… responsibility, something I should bear.”

“…?”

Vaguely, from Minerva’s reaction and Seth’s resolute attitude, Miss Priestess sensed something.

This merging of divine essences sounded like a good assignment, but… could there be some hidden trap within it?

With determination in her heart, the girl had already made up her mind.

“Sethlin, I won’t let you do this, and I don’t need this ‘divine essence’ either. With my own power, I can deal with that arrogant fellow easily.”

“Foolish! How can you be so arrogant! I’ve already said… sizzle… that’s the power of a major deity’s rank, and if we don’t take advantage of it now… sizzle… to retrieve it using the device, the divine essence will be directly… sizzle… seized by Lady Withered, allowing her to return to a state close to her peak!”

Minerva looked extremely anxious, but she was just a lingering shadow, barely hanging on, even creating the pseudo-god realm to buy time relied on burning herself out.

Without Violet’s assistance, this once incredibly powerful Archangel couldn’t even actively accomplish what she was suggesting, retrieving the divine essence sealed within the body of that major worshipper using the device.

“Minerva, I understand what you’re saying, but aside from whether we can win or not, if my guess is correct, using this device to directly reclaim the divine essence will also result in the immediate death of the divine worshipper outside, right? There’s no way to steal something from a god without any consequences.”

“Indeed… but she… sizzle… has known all this for a long time. Every generation of divine worshipper has voluntarily assumed this responsibility with the understanding of these consequences. It’s not betrayal!”

“Is that so… but I still won’t do it.”