Sovereign of the Ashes
Chapter 1088: The Perplexing Forest

Chapter 1088: The Perplexing Forest

While Sein had gradually stepped away from his experiments to prepare for his next hunt and eventual departure, Faeloria had grown increasingly lively in recent decades.

More and more deities had left the Prime Materia Plane, returning to their divine nation that hovered high above the skies.

At the same time, divine battles had become increasingly frequent and more intense.

Most of these clashes now took place high above the main continent, just beneath the crystal wall of laws, where deities could unleash their full power without restraint.

With their strength restored, the deities wasted no time in flaunting their full might. Even the wielders of weak power had become significantly stronger.

If Sein attempted to hunt a god now, even targeting a weak deity like the God of Fire Crickets would be extremely risky. With his current strength, success was unlikely, and failure might mean death.

To make matters worse, he had run into another problem: the two divine artifacts in his possession were no longer functioning properly.

The Demon Mask, embedded with the Goddess of Music’s divine relic, and the Radiant Heart Rod, which held the relics of the God of First Light and the God of Fire Crickets, had both become unstable.

As the divine relics within them gradually regained their original power, the rune arrays Sein had engraved on the artifacts could no longer contain that energy.

Crafting divine-grade magical artifacts was never easy.

Whether it was the mask or the magic rod, upgrading them again would take a tremendous effort.

But over the past two hundred years, Sein had poured most of his energy into analyzing divine relics and deciphering this world’s laws.

His gains from the Battlefield of Gods had far exceeded anything he had expected.

Of course, the bigger the harvest, the more time and effort it took to fully absorb it all.

A mage’s strength was tied directly to knowledge, and Sein’s knowledge had grown by leaps and bounds, especially after years of exchanging insights with Eluvira, the Goddess of Magic.

Even though his divine artifacts were not functioning at their peak, his personal strength had not declined. On the contrary, he was far stronger now than he had been just a few centuries ago.

Rumble!

A deafening boom echoed through the sky, and a burning streak of light arced across the heavens like a meteor.

Another unfortunate deity had fallen.

The Graveyard of Gods was truly living up to its name.

Sein would have liked to visit that place himself if he were not still too weak to survive there.

It was said to be the most dangerous place in all of Faeloria, but also the richest in hidden treasures. With a bit of luck, one could even stumble across fragments of divine relics.

At least half of all the deities who had fallen over Faeloria’s long history had perished there.

That place was also where the glory of the ancient gods had come to an end.

***

The time soon came for Sein and Lorthisra to make their move.

Given how important this operation was, Lorthisra—who did not want to stir up any suspicion—refused any direct assistance from the Purgatory demons.

Instead, she used them only to gather detailed intel on the Moonlit Cat Goddess.

The Perplexing Forest, where they chose to strike, was said to be the most secretive lair of the Moonlit Cat Goddess.

How the demons managed to uncover its location was anyone’s guess.

This vast, seemingly endless stretch of primeval forest lay deep within the heart of the Wings of Nature’s territory.

Aside from the Moonlit Cat Goddess herself, there were rumors that other lesser deities from the same faction were also quietly spreading their faith in that forest.

Right now, most of Faeloria’s deities were locked in battle at the Graveyard of Gods.

If Lorthisra were to strike now, it was unlikely many would notice, with everyone’s attention drawn to the ongoing divine conflict.

Of course, she would have to act fast, be precise, and show no hesitation.

If she missed this window, the difficulty of making another attempt would rise exponentially.

The trees in Perplexing Forest were thick and tall. Some stretched tens or even hundreds of meters into the sky, their crowns rising and falling like great green waves.

As a result, almost no sunlight ever reached the forest floor. The thick canopy above greedily absorbed every sliver of light, leaving the entire woodland permanently dim.

A gray mist that never seemed to clear lingered in the forest.

Aside from the forest’s native species, no creatures could even survive in this environment.

Every year, adventurers from across Faeloria came to explore the edge of the forest, but none dared to venture deeper.

Sein, now draped in a black robe, was flying into the depths of that very forest.

As he moved through the shadows, he asked Lorthisra a question that had been bugging him.

“Why not go after the Bone Lord instead?”

The Bone Lord was an intermediate deity, and from what Sein understood, his strength was slightly below that of the Moonlit Cat Goddess—probably somewhere in the middle stage of Rank Five.

He later learned the reason: the necromantic laws the Bone Lord wielded simply did not align with Lorthisra’s nature. Her divine relic and law attributes were rooted in the umbra element.

The Spider Queen’s accomplishments in necromancy, array arts, and chimera synthesis were notable, but they were all side pursuits.

Likewise, Sein had a solid grasp of apothecary, not because it was his main field of study, but simply because it was practical.

The Spider Queen was in no mood for more conversation. With her constant urging, Sein finally located a suitable clearing after nearly two weeks of searching.

It was a forest clearing, and under Lorthisra’s guidance, Sein began setting up a massive magic array.

This was not the main array meant to deal with the Moonlit Cat Goddess—it was merely a decoy.

The actual killing spell would be triggered through the altar Lorthisra had prepared back in the Magus World.

From his spatial storage, Sein pulled out dozens of cat monsters he had hunted within the Perplexing Forest.

These creatures looked nothing like the Catfolk from the Beastmen World of the Magus Alliance.

The Catfolk there had long since evolved to resemble humans in most ways, aside from the distinctive cat ears and tails they still bore.

In particular, the cat girls were among the most sought-after slaves in Beastmen World’s foreign trade, just like the fox maidens.

Their beauty had made them a constant subject of fantasy.

Rumor even had it that certain rare breeds of cat girls possessed sapphire-like eyes that shimmered in shifting shades of blue.

If the opportunity ever arose, Sein would not mind acquiring one or two of them as lab assistants.

They were easy on the eyes and could help Azelia with daily cleaning duties.

The cat monsters in Faeloria, however, were a completely different story.

They retained their primitive wildcat features. Their bodies, movements, even faces were still very much feline.

Because of that, most people found them more repulsive than fascinating.

Still, these cat monsters were the Moonlit Cat Goddess’ most devout and populous followers.

In fact, it was highly likely that Nocthera herself had originally evolved from this very species.

Yet, in Faeloria’s many myths and legends, the Moonlit Cat Goddess was always depicted as a divine figure of elegance and beauty.

No matter how one tried to make the connection, there was simply no resemblance between her graceful appearance and those ugly cat monsters.