The next second, a girl who looked just like her appeared before them.
"He does not need us, but you, Ayla."
"Hand me over, if he does not die in this battle, then he will be my first apostle."
Then the gray-haired girl smiled and vanished from in front of the two girls.
The two girls sat down together and closed their eyes once again.
This time, a breeze blew, scattering the fog and revealing a massive ancient tree behind them.
And on the trunk of the tree, a woman with a twisted and bloodied face lay sleeping.
Casaman was silent for a moment, then let out a self-deprecating laugh.
The Goddess of Harvest had not shown herself for a long time, and except for the God of Justice, the local deities had mostly faded into obscurity. Casaman knew that the local deities were fearing the Evil God; they were not powerful enough to confront the Chaos directly, except for the God of Justice.
But the Goddess of Harvest was still his faith, not only because she still provided spell formations to her followers, but because she taught village after village, allowing every farmer under the heavens to be fed.
He stood up — he had to figure out where those Nagoth Chaos would break open the ground.
If possible, at the critical moment, he would destroy that location by any means necessary, whether on the surface or underground.
For instance, a barrage of high-order spells from the Mage Corps.
With that in mind, he checked his signal flare at his waist once more.
After confirming it, he prepared to leave the place.
As his hand reached for the doorknob, a faint light from behind made him halt in his steps.
Casaman turned around cautiously; the force coming from behind made him nearly stumble, but a firm belief kept him from kneeling, and he clenched his teeth and stared at the insubstantial figure before him.
It was a diminutive figure, with a warmth that was heartwarming, yet also boundless authority.
"Casaman, you are calling for power." It was a female voice, gentle, melodious, yet also supremely proud.
"No, I am calling for my goddess, not for you." Casaman’s only thought at that moment was regret — his calling had not received a response from the goddess, but some great presence that had heard his words, and torn through the Crystal Barrier System to enter this world in the form of a projection.
To be able to tear through the Crystal Barrier System and project directly, this entity was at least on the level of the four Evil Gods, and the so-called Evil Gods of this place probably couldn’t even match one hand of this being.
"The Goddess of Harvest is injured, my friend is helping her, and they said you need my help, so I came."
The apparition began to transform, and Casaman watched in horror as the figure stepped closer to him, a veil seeming to exist in the air, making the apparition take on a three-dimensional form, until a small hand passed through that veil, and black Spiritual Energy wrapped around her body like clothing. This was a gray-haired girl, without any distortion or aberration, she was perfect, and her appearance so distinctive that for a moment... she resembled that bastard Malin.
"I am Ayla, wife of the God of Vengeance, Casaman. I heard your heart’s cry, you are calling to me, you seek vengeance for a friend, to repay a blood debt for an elder, so, I came." The girl stood there with a smile on her face.
At that moment, Casaman even heard footsteps outside the window; despite the room being as bright as day, those Chaotics seemed to entirely overlook it.
Casaman braced himself and continued the conversation, "...What do I need to pay?"
He was prepared to be annihilated, such great power, even if she did not bear the signs of Chaos, her words did not seem to be what a God of Goodness should say.
Was she an Evil God from an outer plane?
Besides Chaos, was there another world paying attention to this small one?
With such thoughts and conjectures, Casaman looked at the girl before him, waiting for an answer. If possible, he did not fear a death of ashes and smoke, as long as it meant achieving revenge for his elders, for his friends.
Even if it meant dying a hundred times, a thousand times, it would be no problem.
"Become my apostle, Casaman, and let the name of the God of Vengeance be known throughout this world." The girl finished saying with a smile and gestured lightly towards Casaman.
Then Casaman felt as if he became a different person — ancient, bedridden injuries were gone, a previously ailing knee felt as if it had been replaced with a new one, and when he looked up again, the girl had disappeared, leaving only a dagger on the floor in front of him.
Seeing the special emblem on the dagger, Casaman finally bent down to pick it up.
He swapped the dagger for the one at his waist and drew the emblem of the Goddess of Harvest on his chest.
Then, as if instinctively, he drew another on his chest.
"Madam, we must stop Chaos from proceeding with their plans, whether it be Nagoth or the Mimicking Bird, they all intend to destroy this city and perhaps the entire realm." Constance looked at the elder woman before him, waiting for an answer.
Manli took a deep breath and finally nodded, "I will lead my guards and join you, Constance, you are right, I cannot sit idly and watch this city be destroyed; it holds too many memories of Goethe and me. Even though leaving will allow those Chaotics to ruin the royal palace... In life, choices must be made, and they come at a cost."