"I didn't expect you, Lust, to show up as well."
Fate's expression was complicated as she looked across the room, while the other witches all watched the newly arrived witch with serious faces. It was as if she were not a delicate beauty, but a demon who would devour anyone in her path.
"My Demon Lord has been captured by your people. How could I, as the head of my order, sit by and do nothing?"
Head of an order? Hel glanced at Lust, gradually piecing together her identity.
"So this little one is the Death Witch, huh?"
Lust's gaze landed on Hel, scrutinizing her with a mix of aggression and overwhelming allure, as if winking provocatively.
"My War Witch has caused you trouble; I apologize on her behalf. Now that you've accepted my apology, will you return her to me?"
Though Lust still smiled sweetly at Hel, Hel clearly felt a bone-chilling coldness, accompanied by an undeniable aura of authority. Hel sensed a threat far exceeding that of a Saint-tier warrior.
"Return her to you?"
Hel looked into Lust's eyes, her face completely unflinching, as if she hadn't sensed the threat at all. She said calmly:
"Why?"
"Heh, why else? Because I am stronger than you. Otherwise, why do you think the Holy Judgment Church is being pressed by me?"
"Oh."
Hel responded lightly, saying no more. Her indifferent attitude only fueled Lust's anger further. Yet even in her anger, Lust remained stunningly beautiful, almost coquettishly so.
"You just say 'oh'?"
"What else?"
Hel glanced at Lust's angry expression, speaking indifferently:
"You came looking for me?"
Lust paused for a moment at Hel's words, then gritted her teeth:
"I will find you sooner or later."
"You came looking and still can't find me. Don't say things like that until you actually have the ability to find me."
"You—!"
Lust's fury at Hel's indifferent attitude caused the two large slime companions she was controlling to tremble. But as a veteran witch from Fate's era, after taking several deep breaths, she calmed herself down.
"Even if the War Witch is severely injured, she still possesses Sixth-Tier combat power. Even accounting for divine suppression, you'd need at least Fifth-Tier strength to defeat her. That means you're only between Fifth and Sixth Tier.
"To a Saint-tier being, you are still an ant. And to me, Saints are also ants. I think you understand what this implies. Unless you never step into the Saint Tier in your life, I strongly advise you to reconsider my earlier proposal."
"What do you mean?"
"Let the little ones explain these basic truths to you. I have urgent matters to attend to and won't disturb you further. If you change your mind, you may contact me—but be warned, I will only give you three days."
With that, Lust's figure quickly dissipated, vanishing from the underground space.
"So… what did she mean?"
Hel shifted her gaze to the other three witches. The three exchanged glances, until Magic finally broke the silence:
"We initially thought Death Witch had not yet reached the point of knowing this, so we did not tell you. But now that you have managed to deal with the War Witch, it proves that your strength has reached Sixth Tier.
"Therefore, we have nothing left to hide from you."
Magic lightly tapped the table, and a magical projection appeared before them: a pyramid-shaped diagram.
"As everyone knows, seven is a very special number. Small things like the seven days of the week and seven musical notes, large things like the Seven Deadly Sins, seven fundamental elements, and even seven celestial bodies.
"Supernatural tiers also consist of seven levels. The Seventh Tier—the Saint Tier—is the pinnacle of supernatural strength. And because it is the pinnacle, surpassing it is far more difficult than any other breakthrough."
"So what's so difficult about it?"
"Let's skip the basic requirements of talent and elemental power. There are two critical conditions to truly reach Seventh Tier.
"First is the refinement of body and soul. Saint-tier beings are fundamentally different from ordinary supernatural cultivators. Ordinary elemental power alone cannot refine one's body and soul to Saint Tier. Therefore, besides top-tier family secrets, one must consume rare herbs or elixirs made from them. The success rate is very low.
"But correspondingly, the combat gap between Sixth and Seventh Tier is enormous. While a Sixth-Tier being can still be overwhelmed by lower-tierers, a Seventh-Tier being will never be defeated that way. Their essence has fundamentally changed—they do not tire from continuous use of martial or magical power. As long as the surrounding elements are not depleted, they can fight indefinitely.
"Additionally, they possess the power to easily annihilate lower-tier beings. This brings us to the second condition: constructing a personal Imaginal World."
"Imaginal World? Like creating a world?"
Hel asked, puzzled. Magic shook her head, tapped her finger, and the projection transformed into a three-tiered tower. Pointing to the bottom level, she explained:
"Creating a world that even gods would find challenging is not something mortals can hope to accomplish. What we do is create a personal Imaginal World in our minds—a dream or a fantasy.
"Reaching Saint Tier means projecting this imagined world into reality using magic or martial arts, letting fantasy influence the real world."
Hearing this, Hel recalled the previous lesson about the divine system, remembering gods associated with dreams and illusions. She asked:
"So if the gods of Dream, Sweet Dream, and Nightmare had witches descend, wouldn't they have an easier time reaching Saint Tier?"
"Indeed. I haven't seen the other two witches, but I have met the Nightmare Witch. She has a much greater advantage in reaching Saint Tier than others."