Chapter 312

"W-where am I ... the war ... this feeling," Mariel murmured, the chain of questions fading as she felt herself dealing with the situation. Understandable, considering not only did she wake up in a completely unfamiliar location after a long pause, but also she woke up very slowly.

I didn't say anything for a moment, letting her process the moment. After all, she was a bonafide goddess, with all the additional power it brought along. Their transformation didn't exactly come with a full range of stats, more limited based on the conceptual basis of their transformation, but there was still a certain base increase in question.

"To answer your questions in sequence," I said only when her confusion faded. "We're in a planar fragment that you're currently turning into your divine domain to somehow allow you to bond with two different Divine Sparks. The war was months ago, and it's already behind us, with serious interesting consequences. And, that feeling is probably the Divine Tool I had created for you, a forest that not only seed life across the plane, but also works entirely on Twilight Mana."

"Twilight mana? What's that," she asked, focusing on the question with the most immediate answer.

"I have no idea. It's what I have been calling the form of your new Divine Spark once Light and Darkness mana melded. How did that happen, by the way?"

"I ... I don't remember much," she admitted reluctantly. "I remember defending the school against the beast wave, but then an undead horde appeared on the horizon. I decided to go and handle them before they could join the war, but when I went there, I saw nothing but weak zombies."

"And, let me guess, that was when they hit you with a mysterious weapon, and you lost consciousness," I guessed. It explained how the crown prince somehow managed to capture her ... and it also explained how she was still alive. It confirmed something that I had been suspecting for a while.

She was an experiment.

Not for the Eternals in general, as if that had been the case, they would have just captured her rather than relying on what they clearly thought to be their lessers. It was much more likely to be one of the high-ranking members, trying to hide things from the rest.

My guess. Either the angel with two types of mana that was responsible for the ambush, or his boss.

Either way, it explained the way they decided to get rid of me. They wanted to make sure I didn't ruin their experiment.

Too bad it backfired on them spectacularly.

It also explained everything that was going on with the undead. Everything was to make sure Mariel left the defenses of the Silver Spires so that they could bring their experimentation to the next stage.

It felt good for things to finally make sense.

"Well, yes," Mariel admitted, pausing a moment as she looked at me. Suddenly, she was angry. "You have been lying to me!"

It felt weird to be focused on the anger of a goddess. It felt like a pressure, suffocating and overwhelming ... or, it would have been if it wasn't for my recent experience, of taking down a god. After that, it was more of an interesting glimpse that allowed me to understand the difference between her spark and the necrotic one.

For one, the weight of it felt different. Not heavier, but more shapely, almost theatric, with the components of the light overbearing, while shadows danced ... though even as I thought that, I could sense that it was not the Twilight Spark, but the impressions from the previous form.

It would take a while for the true merger to stabilize. Decades without my help, but even with that, months would be an ambitious target.

I chuckled as I created my own pressure against hers. "Well, I didn't exactly lie. I just didn't mention that I wasn't the leader. Or, are you going to say that my organization hadn't been as strong as I promised? And, I did save your school several times."

"Well ..." Mariel stopped, realizing that, technically it wasn't a lie. I might have implied the existence of a bigger organization, but what I presented wasn't any weaker. It was even stronger. "You lied about your abilities," she said, but the moment she said that I could feel the shift. With her righteous fury robbed, what was left behind was the cute, socially incompetent angel that I was familiar with.

"So did you, unless I missed a long explanation about how you were using two opposing Divine Sparks in a very delicate balance that could destroy a nice chunk of the plane if you made a mistake."

"Well, you knew about it," she said, but her argument lost quite a bit of weight. "And, your secrets were bigger." However, as she wilted, I could see that her brand-new Divinity wasn't enough to cure her social ineptitude.

Just like before, where her supposed tough exterior crumbled the moment her true self was revealed. Not to mention, this time, I had the advantage of the memories of last time. She blushed badly, which I took as permission to escalate the satiation into its fun portion.

"Maybe," I said as I took a step forward without a warning, hugging her. All the critical questions were already answered, and the rest, she was smart enough to deduce. "Now, why don't we skip a step and you admit the reason you're acting cranky is you missed me."

"Never! I could never miss a liar and a cheater like you," Mariel answered, but her lack of conviction wasn't hard to see.

She tried to push me away, but considering I didn't even move an inch despite all her new Divine Might, it was difficult for her to claim that it was a determined push. I chuckled as I watched her move and shuffle, doing her best to create a bigger and more efficient outlook, giving me a chance to push things forward without escalating things any further.

It was a beautiful moment.

"Bastard. Let me go. All that time, no even knowing whether you're dead or alive... " she muttered, her already feeble pushes weakening even more.

I could have pushed her, but I waited, her hands slowly settling on my shoulders. "I ... I missed you," she admitted.

"And I missed you as well, my sexy angel," I answered, enjoying the suddenness of the blush that crept up her neck. It was good to see her sudden divinity didn't cure her almost-crippling shyness. Her hands settled on my waist, while mine crossed her body a bit lower, and her wings wrapped around me.

And, whatever else that Twilight Spark triggered, I could say that the impact of it on her wings was beautiful. Her wings had always been soft and warm, but no matter what, there was a sense of sharpness that came from her mana nature.

The light was not exactly forgiving.

Twilight mana, on the other hand, didn't have those edges, making her hug even more comfortable. I could have stayed in this hug forever, but there was only one problem. I had more visceral plans for our meeting.

"Damn, this is comfortable," I murmured, deliberately acting soft, almost lazy. "I would have fallen asleep ... but I'm afraid that you'll molest me in my sleep again."

Just like that, the tenderness of the moment was gone. "J-jerk," she gasped, pushing me back once again, this time much harder, with hands safely on her hips, that didn't work.

"Why, am I lying," I said as I grabbed her hips tighter, squeezing hard enough to earn a moan. One that tempted me for more, so I leaned forward to steal a kiss from her elegant neck. She moaned again. "I distinctly remember your hands getting very adventurous, your hands exploring every part of my body."

"S-stop," she whispered, her blush intense enough to make me worry if it wasn't for her recent rise to Divinity.

"Why, I even remember the spell you cast on me to make sure I stayed asleep, and climbed on top of me with those hips..." I said as I let my hands dance on her ass, enjoying their firmness while she closed her eyes, shame dancing with arousal.

"Then, for some reason, I remember examining your wings, do you remember why," I said, teasing her about the position that followed. Admittedly, even now, I still cherished the memory of her back, her glowing silver wings spread wide as she hesitantly lowered herself and took me inside her for the first time.

"S-stop, please," she gasped shyly. "Please."

"Well, why don't you make me—" I teased her, which was all the goading she needed before she leaned forward, her lips sealing mine.

I liked her method of choice to silence me...

{Strength: 115 Charisma: 115

Precision: 115 Perception: 115

Agility: 115 Manipulation: 115

Speed: 115 Intelligence: 151

Endurance: 168 Wisdom: 115}

{Purified Divine Spark: 1.147,577}

{ADDITIONAL SPARKS

Twilight - Chosen 30

Nature - Chosen 10

Knowledge - Chosen 10}

{MINIONS

GODDESSES

Elven Goddess

Goddess of Knowledge}