Chapter 296: Super-sized Freya!

After Ansu and Freya pressed the buttons simultaneously,

Zak-Eos let out a cold, sinister laugh, his eyes filled with the mockery of a predator watching its prey's final struggle.

He waited for Ansu to end his own life.

However.

Ansu simply smiled as he picked up the short blade, examined it for a moment, and did not plunge it into his own heart.

The smile on Zak-Eos's face instantly froze.

“How...?”

Before he could finish his sentence, the magnificent room began to shake violently and collapse.

The entire demon domain was disintegrating. Cracks in the rules spread from beneath Ansu's feet into the depths of the void, and Zak-Eos let out a heart-wrenching roar of agony.

“Now!” Ansu shouted sharply.

“Got it!” Freya braved the tremors, stepped forward quickly, and bent down to pick up the divine spark fragment.

Zak-Eos's eyes nearly split from rage as he roared, “No! That is mine!”

But he could barely save himself now and could only watch helplessly as Freya gripped the fragment in her hand.

It was only at this moment that the demon suddenly realized.

He had been tricked.

That game of life and death just now... no, from the very beginning, from the moment Gustav called him in distress, every step had been under Ansu's control!

“You bunch of liars! I'll kill you!” The demon's roar was so powerful that it sent ripples through the void.

“A liar calling others liars?” Ansu let out a cold laugh, his tone full of mockery. “You should worry about yourself first!”

The more powerful the rules were, the more lethal the backlash would be once they were broken.

Zak-Eos's massive body seemed to be burning—a pain rooted deep within his soul. Magma-like blood tears flowed from his eyes, and his aura rapidly withered.

Ansu took the opportunity to move toward Freya but did not dare to get too close.

The divine spark fragment in her hand was emitting a rich emerald light, soft yet carrying a divine power that brooked no desecration.

A moment later, the light gradually receded, and the divine spark fragment completely merged into Freya's palm, vanishing from sight.

On her fair wrist, a faint, pale green leaf mark slowly emerged, its lines delicate and shimmering with a faint divine glimmer.

Zak-Eos endured the soul-burning pain, staring fixedly at Freya.

Endless regret flooded his heart—no matter how he plotted, Ansu was always one step ahead, or even several steps!

This guy was too sinister! Had he known, he would never have provoked Ansu again...

Greed had been his downfall... the divine spark fragment offered by Gustav was too great a temptation for him as he sought a breakthrough—so great that he had lost his reason...

Finally.

Realizing the situation was beyond repair, Zak-Eos forced a smile that looked worse than crying.

“Um... Ansu, can we settle this peacefully?”

Ansu also revealed a smile.

“Demon, did you never think that there would be a day when your fate would be controlled by someone else?”

Seeing Ansu's tone soften, Zak-Eos nodded hurriedly. “How about this... you can name any conditions you want. Is there anything you—”

Ansu's smile vanished instantly. “Freya, beat him! Hit him until he's dead!”

Zak-Eos's face changed drastically, and he immediately broke into curses.

Freya remained expressionless as pure holy light condensed around her body.

【God-Descent】

Streaks of holy light, so intense they were blinding, struck like spears of judgment falling from the heavens. They instantly pierced through the darkness within the domain and blasted directly toward Zak-Eos.

A single strike like that would cost the demon half his life; he could only flee in a pathetic state.

Freya pursued him without emotion—one fleeing, one chasing.

Ansu hid in the distance, observing carefully.

In the past, every time Freya used God-Descent, it would cause significant damage to her body, but now—

A soft, emerald-green power spread from the leaf mark on her wrist, carrying a fresh aura of nature that provided the power of resurgence and healing.

Freya simply pursed her lips. Her wounds, whether superficial or internal, were healing at an incredible speed, restoring her to her original state.

【Authority: Nature Affinity, Resurgence】

This was infinite sustain in the truest sense.

Zak-Eos screamed continuously as he was bombarded by the holy light. He tried his best to flee and hide, but before Freya, who was now like a deity, there was nowhere to run.

Ansu felt a wave of profound emotion.

The poor little Holy Maiden, who used to be at risk of 'losing her head' or being 'heartless' at every turn...

Now she even had a kind of beauty that came from her sheer strength.

Super-sized!

...

The biting cold wind swirled with fine snow, brushing against Ansu's cheeks.

The two of them were standing on the snow mountain once again. Not far from them, Gulzan's body had long since turned stiff.

After checking Gulzan's body and confirming he was thoroughly dead, Ansu looked around for any sign of the demon.

Having dealt with demons for so long, Ansu knew very well that these creatures usually resided in the pure spiritual realm. Consequently, now that the demon domain had been torn apart, he could not sense where the other party was hiding at all.

But Freya could find him.

Empowered by dual divine powers, her status was now on par with Zak-Eos's. Even if the demon tried his best to hide his aura, he could not escape her perception.

Freya's expressionless face slowly turned toward the south, and she narrowed her eyes.

“He is fleeing toward the battlefield.”

Ansu thought to himself that this demon was quite the escape artist; after all, even the Goddess of Holy Light had failed to completely destroy him last time.

He truly is a master of survival.

“Don't worry, I see him,” Freya added, noticing Ansu's concern. “He is currently inhabiting the body of a Wolfgar deserter, hiding in a cave to the south. I have already locked onto his location.”

Ansu also looked toward the south. From here, he could see the entire battlefield area.

“We can't let him get away this time!” As he spoke, he pulled out his tactical communicator and quickly sent Zak-Eos's approximate location to Celia.

Thanks to this new invention from Professor Duncan, it had been the only way to relay important information during the time they were out of contact in the divine realm.

Suddenly, Ansu's heart stirred.

Since Gulzan's divine realm had collapsed, the power interfering with communications should have vanished as well. A normal communicator should be usable now, right?

He instinctively pulled out the Communication Amulet Celia had given him to see if she had sent any messages during this time.

In the next second, the amulet lit up with bursts of light, and a flood of messages surged in.

Ansu was slightly stunned because the most prominent ones were all the Miss Witch's near-frenzied inquiries.

“Ansu, where are you...”

“Ansu, why aren't you answering me?”

“Ansu, are you okay? I miss you, I really miss you...”

“Ansu, Ansu, Ansu, Ansu, Ansu, Ansu, Ansu, Ansu...”

One after another, she had contacted him day after day. The longing and worry between the lines almost overflowed.

Ansu gazed at the messages flashing on the amulet, reading every single one.

In the past, the obsessive and crazed Miss Witch would have made his scalp tingle, but now...

He simply rubbed the amulet with his fingertip, as if feeling her presence, before finally letting out a helpless sigh.

As if noticing that Ansu had been staring at the Communication Amulet for a long time, Freya tucked her hands behind her back and quietly leaned in.

With just a brief glance, she pursed her lips, a hint of complexity flickering in her eyes.

“Go and meet up with her,” Freya said softly. “It's been so long since you've seen each other; she must miss you very much.”

Ansu nodded gently.

The two of them turned to head down the mountain, stepping through the thick snow on their way back.

The atmosphere suddenly became silent.

Then, Freya let out a soft laugh, breaking the quiet of the journey.

Ansu didn't understand why and turned his head to look at her, only to see her eyes curving into crescents as she gave him a playful wink.

“Time really does fly...”

She looked up toward the rolling snow mountains with forced casualness, gazing at the world she had traversed with Ansu—the place where so many stories had happened and where they had fought side by side.

Scenes of her time with him flashed repeatedly in her mind.

“Yeah, it does fly,” Ansu replied softly.

Freya lowered her eyes slightly and whispered, her voice so soft it was almost swept away by the wind.

“After this, you won't belong to me again...”

Ansu could sense a hint of loneliness in her tone, so he softened his voice and joked, “Why does it sound like we're saying our final farewells? It's not like we won't see each other again. The road we have to walk is still very long.”

Freya gazed deeply at Ansu, the vast white snow and his figure reflected in her eyes. “Our road is indeed still long... but...”

“But what?”

Freya turned her gaze toward the battlefield. The smoke there had already dispersed, and the foul aura of the undead was gradually fading. The distant cheers of the warriors could be faintly heard.

The war was over.

“Our adventure is also coming to an end.” She spoke with a hint of irrepressible melancholy. “After this, will it be a long time before I see you again?”

She paused before continuing, “I know the path of development you've set for me. You want me to win over demihuman allies and work with Archbishop Paul to find a foothold in the North... so I will definitely have to stay here for a long time.”

“There is too much to handle regarding the Staya tribe, the unification of the demihuman tribes, and everything else.”

Ansu nodded slowly. “Yes. The situation has just stabilized; staying here is indeed the most appropriate choice for you.”

But he had a new mission.

He would head to the South, or perhaps even leave the Empire.

“So I wasn't wrong.” A bitter smile tugged at the corner of Freya's mouth. “We'll both have our own things to be busy with. From now on, there will surely be more partings than reunions... Ansu, I really don't want to part with you.”

Ansu let out a soft sigh, a sense of reluctance also rising in his heart.

“Forget it.” Seeing this, Freya suddenly changed the subject, fearing the atmosphere would grow too heavy. “At least you'll be staying here for a while longer. As the Great Hero of all demihumans, you have to accept everyone's cheers and thanks before you go, right? I still have to take you to eat all the delicacies of all the tribes!”

“Let's leave those sad things for later. Besides...”

She deliberately dragged out her words.

“There is still a very important matter~”

“What is it?” Ansu asked.

Freya suddenly became nervous, instinctively clenching her fingers as a faint blush colored her cheeks. “Of course, there's also... also our matter...”

“Ansu, I really want to know your thoughts...”

Ansu looked at her.