Chapter 791

【 CHOICE 】

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“I… I…”

With both of his hands clasped by Diana, Imheter’s face flushed red while he stammered repeatedly, unable to find an answer for a moment.

Seeing how flustered he was, Diana quickly regained her composure.

After releasing his hands, she then let out a soft sigh.

“My apologies… I got carried away.”

As she spoke, Diana gently caressed the golden crystal, her voice gradually becoming tinged with sorrow.

“This golden crystal… is a crystallization of divine power that can only be condensed by a True God who has mastered the Laws of Life.”

She raised her head toward Imheter and asked in a trembling voice:

“L-Lord Imheter…”

“Has the Divine Matriarch finally awakened? Or perhaps… did a new God of Life appear on the mainland?”

Hearing her question, Imheter fell silent.

Looking at the mixture of sorrow and faint hope in her expression, his gaze grew increasingly complicated before his own expression gradually darkened as well.

“No…”

Imheter shook his head.

“No… I… I don’t know. T-This crystal was just g-given to me by Lord Surtr.”

Diana froze slightly before slowly lowering her head.

“I see…”

Whether her tone carried disappointment or relief was impossible to tell.

She tightened her grip on the golden crystal and murmured to herself:

“Lord Surtr is the Ancient God of Fire… and has only recently awakened.”

“Perhaps… he obtained this from the Matriarch in the distant past…”

After saying that, she pushed the golden crystal back toward the huge Titan.

“Lord Imheter… thank you for everything you have done for the Elvenkind. However, you need this crystal more than I do.”

“I-I still have half… of it. Y-You should keep this!”

Imheter replied haltingly.

As soon as he finished speaking, he stuffed the golden crystal into Diana’s arms. Then he hurriedly rose to his feet and left as though fleeing.

Diana stood there blankly, holding the half-piece of the Golden Life Crystal.

After a long silence, she let out a deep sigh.

Putting the crystal away, she turned around and carefully placed the new carving of the Matriarch that Imheter had gifted her onto a shelf at the side of the temple.

There, countless statues of the Matriarch, both large and small, had already been arranged.

Then she knelt once more before the Elven Matriarch’s statue in the temple and began to pray in a low voice.

Only this time, her voice was far less calm than it had been at the beginning.

Standing some distance outside the temple, Imheter listened as Diana’s prayer drifted out intermittently, carrying a faint trace of sadness.

His fists slowly clenched.

After a moment, he turned and departed.

Leaving the land of Utopia behind, Imheter returned once again to its entrance cave.

Beside Utopia’s dimensional portal, the Fire Giant Surtr was leaning against a massive boulder with his arms crossed, waiting.

“Y-Your Majesty Surtr!”

Imheter stammered as he bowed respectfully.

Surtr turned around, his expression somewhat complicated as he looked at him.

“Why didn’t you tell her the truth?”

he asked in a deep voice.

Imheter was silent for a moment before replying:

“T-The Goddess of Life… isn’t… isn’t necessarily the World Tree.”

“But Lord Guy has already said that the Goddess of Life is highly likely to be the Elven Matriarch, Yggdrasill. Besides, whether she is indeed her or not, the fact remains that she’s now the current Matriarch of the Elven race.”

Surtr reasoned.

Hearing this, Imheter’s expression immediately became somewhat dejected.

The Titan remained silent for a long time before speaking softly:

“If she knew… D-Diana would… would l-leave this place.”

“But there is… no place… in this world… safer than here.”

Surtr was momentarily stunned.

He let out a long sigh and shook his head.

“What you’re doing is wrong. No one has the right to make choices on another person’s behalf. Diana’s not an ordinary elf, nor has she sworn the Oath of a Guardian. She is the Moonlight Queen, a demigod of the Elvenkind…”

Upon hearing those words, Imheter suddenly raised his head and stubbornly retorted:

“T-Then are you and Lord Guy… really in the right?”

The Titan’s face flushed red, and he seemed visibly agitated.

“I-Is running away from everything the right thing to do? Is distancing yourselves from everything the right path to choose? Is ignoring everything the best choice?!”

By the end, Imheter was practically roaring in anger.

Surtr frowned.

As though a sore spot had been struck, his gaze darkened instantly.

Vast divine might erupted from his body, and in an instant, the entire cave seemed to be engulfed in a sea of flames.

Yet the Titan Imheter remained standing tall, his eyes red as he met Surtr’s gaze without flinching.

“A-Are you truly doing this for her sake?”

His voice trembled slightly.

Surtr’s aura faltered.

Looking into the Titan’s reddened eyes, the Ancient Fire Giant suddenly lost his momentum.

Drawing back his power, he let out a long sigh.

“Imheter…”

“From the moment you became a Guardian, you should have understood that you were no longer the demigod who could do whatever he pleased.”

As he spoke, he looked beyond the cave, toward the lush plains stretching across the distant mountains and the villages scattered across the land like stars.

His gaze became profound.

“In Lord Neo’s prophecy, the world of Seigües is destined to pass through six era’s in total, and each era is shorter than the one before it…”

“Now, more than a thousand years have passed since the beginning of the Sixth Era, the Eternal Era.”

“No one knows when Seigües’ current cycle will restart. Therefore, before it begins all over again, we must preserve the final spark of civilization.”

“Remember, what we’re guarding here is the future. It is hope, and the key to breaking this nightmarish cycle.”

“For that reason, we must completely sever ourselves from any conflicts here in Seigües!”

Hearing the Fire Giant’s words, Imheter lowered his head.

His clenched fists gradually relaxed.

Without another word, he turned and began walking toward the cave’s exit.

“Where are you going?”

Surtr asked as he looked at his retreating figure.

Imheter paused briefly before replying in a muffled voice:

“To… the mainland of Seigües.”

Surtr was stunned.

He looked at the Titan with a complicated expression.

“I already told you. You no longer need to search for elves anymore.”

Yet Imheter didn’t respond

With a sigh, Surtr pressed the remaining half of the crystal into his hand.

“Take this with you…”

Imheter shook his head and walked out of the cave.

“No need.”

Surtr froze for a moment, his hand remaining suspended in midair.

The Titan’s figure gradually disappeared from sight.

Looking down at the divine crystal in his hand, he let out a quiet sigh.

Turning around, Surtr looked toward the continuously rotating Dimensional portal.

After a brief hesitation, he reached out his hand.

However, the moment his fingers touched the portal, the glowing passageway erupted with streaks of purple lightning.

Carrying a force that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth, the lightning struck his hand and threw it back.

The next moment, the entire portal slowly closed.

“So it still doesn’t work…”

Surtr said, disappointment evident in his voice.

Clenching his fists, he muttered unwillingly:

“Your Majesty Guy…”

“Can the Goddess of Life truly bring no change at all?”

༺⟐༻

Angry roars echoed throughout the labyrinth, drawing waves of startled cries.

In the vicinity, numerous players shimmered with every imaginable magical buff as they continuously darted around the towering Demon Lord, who stood over ten meters tall, launching relentless sneak attacks.

A rainstorm of attacks fell upon the snake-headed, humanoid Demon Lord, with each strike more underhanded than the last.

In particular, the players’ attacks was focused on the area behind the Demon Lord, specifically his buttocks.

Standing in the distance, the raid leader watched the battlefield while shouting excitedly:

“Quick! He can’t hold on much longer! Attack his rear! The official strategy guide says he has an injury there! Stab it!”

At the raid leader’s command, the surrounding players roared in unison and launched another concentrated assault on the Demon Lord’s backside.

One warrior-class player let out a furious shout and thrust forward a three-meter-long spear, thick and pitch-black, driving it viciously into the Demon Lord’s rear.

“Graaahhh…!”

Samael let out a pained, mournful howl, his eyes filled with shock and fury.

The veins on his body bulged as he attempted to crush the insignificant insect that had dared offend him.

Yet in the very next moment, his body grew increasingly heavy.

Amidst his aggrieved and furious roars, his form gradually became translucent before finally dissolving into smoke and returning to the Demon Lord’s statue within the palace.

“Hahaha! We won!”

Seeing the rewards appear on the ground, the players erupted in cheers.

“Hahaha! He lost again!”

Watching the scene displayed within the crystal ball, Azazel burst into laughter.

The demons serving nearby glanced at the image in the crystal ball and collectively shuddered.

They felt an inexplicable chill below the waist and hurriedly tucked their tails tightly between their legs.

Taking another bite of melon, Azazel waved a hand across the crystal ball.

The players were immediately teleported out of Samael’s palace, while the Second Demon Lord’s statue came to life once more, reverting to its original form.

Seeing the grief-stricken and indignant look on Samael’s face, Azazel smiled with immense satisfaction.

“Heh heh… Samael, how was the official strategy guide I prepared for you?”

His voice echoed throughout Samael’s palace.

“ROAR!”

Upon hearing it, Samael bellowed in fury.

“Stop howling! I’m not giving you a chance to say your lines, hahaha!”

Azazel laughed loudly.

After finishing his laughter, he dismissed the image and swallowed the remaining melon in one bite.

“Ah so Refreshing~ That was so satisfying!”

As he spoke, he extended a hand toward the demons attending to him.

“Another piece!”

The moment he finished speaking, a slender, fair-skinned hand reached out from beside him and placed another slice of melon into his palm.

Azazel nodded in satisfaction and was about to take a bite when he suddenly realized something was wrong.

He quickly turned to look beside him.

There, Evé was smiling at him with an amused expression.

Azazel blinked a couple of times before realization dawned on him, and the smile on his face instantly froze.

He sprang from his throne as if someone had stepped on his tail and looked at Evé while trembling.

“Yo… ah, no… Your Majes… ah, no… Supreme Goddess… Your Grace, Your Supreme Highness! W-Why are you here?!”

As he spoke, he hastily vacated the throne and viciously kicked a nearby demon.

“What are you all standing around for? Hurry and serve the Supreme Highness some melon!”

Watching Azazel’s dramatic change in demeanor ever since he had revealed the location of his Origin Core in Hell, Eve’s expression became somewhat peculiar.

She gently shook her head, sat down on the throne, and crossed one leg over the other.

“There’s no need. Have them leave.”

“You heard Her Highness! Why are you all still here? Get out! OUT!”

Azazel kicked the nearest demon again.

The surrounding demons felt as though they had been granted a pardon. They immediately dropped to the floor and rolled out of the hall as quickly as possible.

“Pfft…”

The absurd sight drew a laugh from Evé.

Seeing her smile, Azazel quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Evé then composed herself and said:

“Seems like quite a lot of Chosen Ones have been visiting the Labyrinth recently. I see that you’ve been working hard.”

Hearing her words, Azazel froze slightly.

“Your Grace…”

For a moment, his emotions became unexpectedly complicated, and he even felt somewhat moved deep inside.

But then the main caretaker whose managing the Demon Lord Labyrinth suddenly came to his senses.

Wait a moment…

Why had he suddenly thought something like that?!

After all, it was Yggdrasill who had captured him and made him work here!

She had even tricked him into revealing all of his secrets!

She was more like a demon than he was!

Vigorously shaking his head and forcing away thoughts that even made a Demon Lord uneasy, Azazel’s expression changed several times.

Soon, however, he seemed to remember something.

After a brief hesitation, he looked at Evé and asked cautiously, yet with a trace of anticipation:

“Um… Your Grace, Your Supreme Highness…”

“Regarding my Origin Core in Hell… May I ask how far have you progressed so far?”

Evé glanced at him and replied:

“The reason I came today is precisely to discuss that matter.”

As she spoke, she shifted her posture.

“Azazel, are you truly unaware of any other way to directly reach the place where you hid your core in the First Layer of Hell?”

“You should think carefully. If I dispatch an army from the edge of the First Layer, then it will take at least two or three months before any results can be achieved. And in two or three months, many things could happen.”

After speaking, Evé calmly looked at him.

She had considered this matter for a long time.

Originally speaking, she had already intended to proceed with the most straightforward plan of entering Hell directly.

However, after a conversation with Surtr, she had learned some intriguing information from that Ancient Fire God.

He told her, in a far more distant age, when the Abyss had first emerged, the Demon Lords had launched invasions against the world of Seigües on multiple occasions.

Every time, they had descended directly from the Abyss itself. Even when retreating, they had departed openly and without restraint.

Hearing Eve’s words, Azazel froze briefly.

Then, as though he had realized something, his expression became conflicted.

In the end, however, the Seventh Demon Lord merely let out a long sigh and smiled bitterly.

“Your Grace…”

“You must believe me. Right now, no one wants you to find the core of the First Layer of Hell more than I do.”

“But I do indeed still know of another method. However, that method… absolutely cannot be revealed to you. No… it is not that I refuse to tell you. Rather, I am unable to tell you in the first place. If I were to reveal it, then… my very existence would simply cease to be.”

Azazel let out another long sigh, his shoulders sinking slightly as though the weight of that truth pressed heavily upon him.

Evé raised an eyebrow thoughtfully.

She studied him for a moment, as if weighing whether he was hiding anything or merely bound by something beyond his control.

Then, a flash of inspiration crossed her mind as she recalled something the Dwarven God of Forging had once remarked during a conversation a few days earlier:

“I never expected the Demon Lords to truly be capable of opening passageways into the Abyss even while the world of Seigües remains sealed. It seems the rumors were true. Behind them, there is likely an even greater will controlling everything within the Abyss…”

Evé fell into thought.

Is it the will of the Abyss…?