After Freya finished speaking firmly, the air inside the cavern seemed to freeze.
"Choose neither?" Killing intent instantly flickered in Celia's eyes as she spoke with a half-smile, "Freya, do you really think you still have a choice?"
With that, her gaze slowly shifted toward the outside.
In the row of storage rooms to the right of the corridor, there were many glass jars containing preserved human and monster organs; those were the 'materials' she used for her research into flesh magic.
Seeing the sinister smile on her face, Freya quickly turned her head and followed her gaze outward.
Upon seeing those horrific specimens, Freya's expression filled with shock.
"Let me think, how should I modify you..."
Celia looked Freya up and down, her smile growing increasingly macabre as the other girl stood there in terror.
"Making a puppet would be such a waste, but since you possess a rare talent for holy light..."
"Why don't I try starting a new research topic regarding holy light and the soul? Hmm... I'm sure it will be a very interesting new experiment!"
Freya realized the other woman was serious... a chill immediately welled up from the bottom of her heart.
For the first time, she had a direct understanding of this witch's madness.
Celia watched the look of terror on Freya's face with satisfaction, the corners of her lips slowly curling upward.
"Scared?"
Freya took a deep breath, struggling to suppress the fear in her heart as she glared back fearlessly, "I... I'm not afraid of you! Don't even think about using me for any experiments!"
"And... do you really think I'm so weak that I can be manipulated at your whim? You're wrong!"
Celia raised an eyebrow slightly, followed by a contemptuous sneer.
"You? How strong could you possibly be?"
"I am very strong!" Freya's hand instinctively reached for her pocket, where her holy seal weapon used to enhance her casting lay. "I even defeated a top-tier powerhouse of the Church of Holy Light, Seance, the man known as the Shadow Pope! Celia, do you know what method I used to defeat him?"
Celia's gaze finally turned a bit more serious. "Oh? That Seance? I have indeed heard of him."
"But... defeated?" She smiled faintly. "You merely held him off for a moment. Though, I admit, your God-Descent does pose a slight threat to me."
Yet, in her arrogance, she still did not take Freya's threat seriously.
"It is only a slight threat."
As her voice fell, Celia's eyes gradually turned a dark red, and a powerful magical aura surged in the surroundings.
Freya's breathing suddenly became difficult; the pressure brought by this terrifying mana made her almost unable to stand.
She could only grip her holy seal tightly as a dazzling white light erupted within the cave.
Magic and holy light collided, and battle was imminent.
But at that critical moment—
Freya stared intently into Celia's eyes, remembering the resolve she had expressed before Master Ansu that night, and her tone suddenly became unusually calm:
"Celia, fighting is meaningless."
"The reason I chose neither is because I know—you need me. My value to you is indispensable!"
The churning magical aura suddenly stalled.
"Your value?" Celia sneered. "What value could you possibly have? Have you started talking nonsense just to stay alive?"
"Have you already forgotten the scene three days ago when Ansu was summoned by the divine will?" Freya threw out the most lethal topic without wasting a single word. "It's only been three days, and you've already forgotten your despair and powerlessness back then?"
Celia's expression froze.
Seeing that her words had accurately struck the other's weakness, Freya seemed to instantly seize the initiative. She smiled faintly:
"Don't you understand yet? Before such a supreme existence, when the true divine will descends, the magic you take pride in is useless! You don't even have the power to resist!"
Her voice gradually rose, each syllable sharp as a blade.
"Celia, you can't do anything! You can only watch helplessly as the holy light consumes him, watching as the god forcibly takes him away from your side!"
"Enough!" Celia interrupted coldly.
She certainly remembered the scene from three days ago; she would never forget it.
So when Freya proactively mentioned it, fear and anger intertwined and surged into her heart. She asked coldly in return:
"What do you mean by this? If I was powerless, could you have saved Ansu back then?"
"Saved Ansu?" Freya met her cold gaze and shook her head, a look of near-pity appearing on her face. "No, Celia, you seem to have misunderstood. Master Ansu never needs us to save him, because he will save us all."
"The reason you are so resistant to that scene is because darkness and light cannot coexist. You believe he will leave you... that he will stand on the side opposite you."
Her dark red eyes trembled slightly, and Celia couldn't help but clench her fists.
Freya captured the other's emotion and continued, "Stop lying to yourself. Ansu is a Chosen One, representing the will of the gods. In that regard..."
"You are actually the enemy, while Ansu and I are on the same side."
Freya actually didn't know what had happened in the forest back then; she only remembered that a shudder-inducing holy power had descended from the sky, followed by Master Ansu falling into an unexplained coma.
Even for someone as devout to the holy light as herself, at that moment, she had felt the same fear as Celia... once she could see Master Ansu, she had to ask for clarification.
But regardless of what happened, it didn't stop her from exploiting the situation.
This obsessive and mad witch was so fixated on her Master Ansu... but she seemed to have forgotten that the two of them were supposed to be irreconcilable arch-enemies.
Everything the witch hoped for was nothing more than an extravagant wish, and now, Freya needed to wake her up.
"Haven't you realized that your existence is entirely negative and a burden to Master Ansu?"
"If the gods see a cultist and black mage like you always hovering around him, bewitching him... perhaps the first divine decree sent down will be for him to eliminate you!"
"How is that possible?" Celia watched her gloomily, forcing an explanation. "Besides! Ansu promised me that even if that day comes, he will never become my enemy for the sake of the gods!"
Perhaps because she was emotionally agitated, she didn't notice at all that she had fallen into Freya's rhythm.
"Can a promise change the divine will?" Freya looked at the witch who had lost all rationality and shook her head with a sigh. "Many things are beyond your control. Do you really intend to oppose the gods?"
"So what if they are gods..." Celia's voice was still full of loathing for the word 'god', and she instinctively wanted to argue back.
But the faint, mocking smile on the other's lips brought her back to her senses. Indeed... no matter how strong she was, she was still just a mortal.
Unless she possessed power strong enough to contend with the gods...
"Freya, you've said so much... what exactly do you want?" Celia's voice was low.
"I want nothing; I only want to help Master Ansu." Freya gazed at her, her pale gold eyes exceptionally bright in the dim light.
"I know about Master Ansu's plan to modify the cult, and I know he wants me to use my status as the 'former Holy Maiden' to win support for him in the Northern Church."
"Master Ansu has planned and laid things out so carefully; he must be playing a very long game..."
"So I truly believe that until he achieves his goal, our interests are aligned." Freya persuaded in a low voice, her tone returning to its usual gentleness. "Celia, if you continue like this without making a change, it will only have a negative impact on our cause."
"On our cause!" Celia interrupted with a cold laugh. "You don't really think your Master Ansu is that devout, do you? That he's truly devoted to the Goddess of Holy Light?"
She knew Ansu; he didn't have a shred of reverence for the gods. In this regard, he was just like her, unwilling to hand his fate over to so-called deities.
She also knew clearly that Ansu's so-called 'cause' was merely to secure a place for the two of them in the upcoming chaotic world; it wasn't for the noble and grand purpose Freya spoke of at all.
Thinking of this, she felt a slight sense of relief. This devout and blindly loyal former Holy Maiden didn't understand Ansu at all.
Freya seemed indifferent, merely smiling faintly. "Master Ansu's cause is my cause."
"You've said all this just because you want me to let you stay, haven't you?" Celia sneered. "Freya, I really underestimated you! I didn't expect you to be so sharp-tongued!"
Everyone thought this Holy Maiden was simple, kind, and lacked any schemes...
But her performance just now clearly showed that every word hit home.
Freya's smile was somewhat bitter; she hadn't expected her own progress to be so rapid either...
The atmosphere fell into a temporary silence.
Celia lowered her head, her gaze becoming uncertain.
For a moment, she was indeed moved by the other's words.
Until she and Ansu had the strength to defy the gods, she indeed shouldn't discard Freya—an indispensable and important pawn for their cause.
But...
No matter what, she still didn't want to see this woman lingering before her and Ansu...
Rate on N.U.
