Creak~
As the wooden cottage door slowly creaked open, Heinrich's nerves tightened to their breaking point. But what he saw next left him utterly stunned. Slowly emerging from the cottage was a blue-haired girl with a gaunt face and heavy dark circles beneath her eyes.
The divine power radiating from her was even weaker than Heinrich's own, leaving her looking like she was on her last legs. It wouldn't have been surprising if she had simply collapsed and died the next moment.
The blue-haired girl gave Heinrich a faint smile he couldn't quite decipher. Her voice, raspy and parched, asked, "Won't you come in?"
Heinrich hesitated. He should immediately use magic to drag her out of the Divine Realm and engage her in a grand, earth-shattering battle between wizards. Yet he could sense that this 'god' before him was desperately weak, barely stronger than an ordinary person.
Perhaps a farmer armed with a pitchfork could kill this 'Goddess of Magic' right now.
Though it defied all logic, Heinrich was unshakably certain of his judgment. After a brief hesitation, he stepped forward and followed her into the humble wooden cottage.
The wooden cabin was spartanly furnished, containing only a wooden bed, a wooden table, and two round stools.
The Blue-Haired Girl produced two teacups, placing one before herself and the other before Heinrich. She filled both with tea, settled into her seat, and took a gentle sip before sighing contentedly. "This is my last supply," she said. "Once these cups are empty, there's truly none left. Try it—the flavor is quite remarkable."
Heinrich gazed at the tea before him, lost in contemplation once more. The seemingly ordinary, transparent liquid contained ownerless yet incredibly pure and gentle divine power. This reminded him of his own Ultra-Level Magic, Heinrich's Divine Ascension Art, and he wondered if this tea possessed the same effect.
Simply by drinking this, one could ascend from mortal to Demigod!
The underlying technique was far more advanced than his own Divine Ascension Art. Was this a provocation? A show of strength? Or perhaps, a fair invitation to battle?
The Goddess of Magic appeared remarkably weak. If she drank her tea first, her strength might recover somewhat. Then, if she offered Heinrich the same tea, could it be an invitation to battle? A magical duel with both sides starting from equal footing?
The Blue-Haired Girl suddenly spoke softly, "You've done well to come this far. You must have worked very hard to reach this place."
Heinrich froze, a bewildered expression spreading across his face. To be fair, he had been in a state of utter confusion since the beginning. Every action by the Goddess of Magic defied his expectations.
"I knew it," the Blue-Haired Girl continued. "Sooner or later, a wizard from within the world would rise to seek the secrets beyond the 9,000-meter altitude—to unravel the mysteries that lie beyond the world's edge. After all, that's what wizards do, isn't it?"
A genuine, joyful smile spread across her face. "To witness the emergence of such a brilliant and talented wizard in the Material World once again... it truly fills me with happiness."
Heinrich remained silent. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that the pursuit of knowledge is commendable," the Blue-Haired Girl replied, "but for most, the secrets beyond this world are best left unknown. Too much knowledge can become poison. The Divine Barrier at 9,000 meters altitude isn't a prison—it's protection."
Heinrich frowned, clearly skeptical of her words. But the Blue-Haired Girl's next action made his eyes widen in astonishment.
The Blue-Haired Girl reached into her chest, her body becoming translucent like a reflection in water. When she opened her palm again, a rhomboid blue crystal hovered above it.
It was the Divinity of the Goddess of Magic.
She said, "If I give you this, will you believe me?"
Heinrich couldn't help but show an expression of utter shock. What the Goddess of Magic was doing was tantamount to handing over her divine throne. This was a scenario that most people could only dream of—yet it was unfolding right before his eyes.
Faced with such an opportunity, ninety-nine percent of people would surely succumb to the temptation. But Heinrich suppressed his greed and asked, "Why..."
The Blue-Haired Girl replied, "To make you believe me. Gods rarely answer mortals' prayers. It's not because we're aloof; we're simply too preoccupied with our own survival. Our world is like a bubble adrift in an endless, pitch-black sea, and lurking within that sea are countless terrifying predators—the malevolent Outer Gods, who covet our world."
"However..." she suddenly shifted her tone, "about three hundred years ago, a glimmer of hope emerged. Using Divination Magic, I observed a shift in our world's destiny. Everything is now progressing in a positive direction. If we can endure for just a little longer, perhaps... perhaps we won't have to fear the threat of the Outer Gods anymore."
The Blue-Haired Girl drained her tea in one gulp. "Among us," she said, "my task is the easiest. I don't need to expend divine power to maintain the Barrier. I'm the one who designs and maintains it. In my current state, sustaining it for another hundred years shouldn't be a problem."
"But to be honest, I don't know if a hundred years will be enough. If it isn't, could I ask for your help? This Divinity contains all my magical knowledge, and this tea is enough to elevate you beyond mortal limits. If the Prophecy hasn't come to pass in a hundred years, could you come here, take over my duties, and safeguard this world for a time?"
At that moment, the Blue-Haired Girl resembled a patient lying on a hospital bed, having just learned she only had days to live, yet still smiling as she gazed out the window, murmuring sincerely, "The view outside is so beautiful..."
Heinrich remained silent for a moment before slowly rising to his feet. He pushed the untouched cup of tea and the Goddess of Magic's Divinity back toward the Blue-Haired Girl. "The knowledge obtainable in this world is inherently limited," he said. "If I accept your Divinity and absorb all your magical knowledge, wouldn't that leave even less unknown knowledge to explore? That would be far too dull."
"What I don't know, I'll research myself. What I lack, I'll strive to acquire. Keep these things for yourself. Since you love this world so much, endure a little longer instead of placing your hopes on others."
The Blue-Haired Girl was taken aback, but then a smile bloomed on her face. "I recently performed a divination ritual that foretold good fortune today," she said. "It seems my divination skills haven't deteriorated after all... Thank you..."
It's worth noting that this wasn't a Divination Magic spell, but rather the most mundane form of folk divination, completely devoid of any magical basis.
Heinrich turned and left the wooden hut. The moment he stepped outside, he vanished into thin air, departing the Divine Realm. The effects of "Heinrich's Divine Ascension Art" ended precisely at that moment, the immense divine power draining from his body as he reverted from a god back to a mortal.
Yet Heinrich felt no disappointment. Instead, he meticulously replayed his conversation with the Goddess of Magic in his mind. It seemed his previous perceptions of the gods had been entirely wrong. He could now clearly sense the Goddess's profound love for this world and for humanity.
Upon returning to the Demiplane, the three Tower Masters—Conjuration, Protection, and Prophecy—who had been waiting anxiously, immediately showed their concern.
"What's the situation?"
"Why did it take so long?"
"Where's the Goddess of Magic?"
According to their plan, Heinrich should have extracted the Goddess of Magic with utmost speed. His prolonged absence had led the trio to fear the worst.
Heinrich replied, "The plan has changed. Terminate the operation. I'll explain the details later."
There were more pressing matters to address—namely, "the traitorous Necromancy Tower Master and the sudden appearance of two gods." Now, it seemed the Necromancy Tower Master might not be a traitor after all, and the two gods might not be enemies either?
Heinrich immediately summoned a portal and stepped through. Upon landing, he was greeted by a scene that left him utterly speechless.
The Enchantment Tower Master lay snoring on the ground, a bubble of snot dangling from her nose, while the Necromancy Tower Master tightly gripped the Conjuration Tower Master's throat. Pela, meanwhile, clung stubbornly to the Conjuration Tower Master's waist, refusing to let go.
The Conjuration Tower Master desperately pounded at the arm choking his neck. "Save... save me! I can't breathe..."
Honestly, seeing this, Anaxa couldn't help but think of Jay's habit of sticking his fingers up his opponents' noses during fights with other wizards. Could this move actually have been taught by the Necromancy Tower Master?
As for Anaxa himself, he was currently aiming his gun at an empty patch of ground, while the Illusion Tower Master stood nearby with his hands raised slightly. "Don't shoot! I surrender!"
In short, after what could barely be called a battle, Anaxa and his group had subdued three Tower Masters. Just then, Heinrich arrived, almost as if by divine intervention.
Seeing the situation, the Necromancy Tower Master spoke first. "Headmaster! The barrier in the sky isn't a prison. It's a Divine Barrier protecting this world! We mustn't destroy it!"
Heinrich nodded. "I understand now."
The Necromancy Tower Master turned to Anaxa. "Quickly, use your silver tongue to persuade... Hmm? Ah?"
Mid-sentence, the Necromancy Tower Master froze, staring at Heinrich with wide-eyed astonishment. She even loosened her grip on the Conjuration Tower Master, who immediately seized the opportunity to break free and gasp for air.
Anaxa raised an eyebrow. "So, you've already learned the secrets beyond the sky? You've met the Goddess of Magic? Did she tell you?"
It wasn't a difficult guess. Heinrich nodded in confirmation. Anaxa continued, "I'm curious—how exactly did she convince you?"
After a moment of silence, Heinrich replied, "She showed me the truth in a way that couldn't be faked."
Hearing this, Anaxa lowered his weapon, which had been pointed at the Illusion Tower Master, and shrugged. "Alright, looks like everything's settled now, right?"
Heinrich nodded again. The entire scene left the surrounding onlookers completely bewildered. While the Necromancy Tower Master and Pela seemed to grasp some of the situation, the other Tower Masters beside Heinrich wore blank expressions, utterly clueless about what was happening.
"Seriously, can you guys speak like normal humans for once?! Riddlers like you deserve to die!"
Just as Anaxa thought it was all over, a terrifying surge of energy erupted from the heart of the Floating City—specifically, from the core located 100 meters beneath the surface.
BOOM!!!
In the next instant, a massive beam of brown energy shot skyward. It tore through the ground, soaring into the upper atmosphere in the blink of an eye and instantly dispersing the clouds.
The entire Floating City shuddered violently. Heinrich's face twisted with shock as he whirled around to face the energy eruption. "This... how is this possible?!"
At the core of the Floating City, the once-pristine chamber had transformed into something resembling a living creature's stomach. The walls pulsed with pink, fleshy tissue that writhed and undulated.
The wizards who had been guarding this chamber had all been "consumed" by this living mass. Only an arm or half a head remained visible, slowly sinking into the fleshy morass like victims trapped in quicksand.
But that wasn't all. Every magic item in the chamber had undergone varying degrees of mutation. For instance, the gem atop a staff had transformed into a frantic, swiveling eyeball, scrutinizing its surroundings.
A crystal ball had sprouted countless fine, hairlike tendrils across its surface, while a book slowly opened, a pink tongue extending from its spine and swaying from side to side.
The Mother of Flesh's corruption wasn't limited to living things; it had even tainted these inanimate objects!
Naturally, the magical devices at the chamber's heart—those housing the Earth Element Crystal—had fared no better. They had mutated into writhing tentacles covered in suckers. Yet, bizarrely, though now animate, these tentacles continued to perform their original functions flawlessly.
The sole difference was that Heinrich, their creator, had lost all control over them.
The already corrupted Diviners now wore eerie smiles as they silently watched the tentacles coil around the Earth Element Crystal. The crystal's latent energy was then unleashed to its fullest potential, erupting skyward!