Chapter 344

Sensing Evé's arrival, the petite figure standing in front of the statue slowly turned around, revealing a pair of crimson eyes.

Similar to their previous meeting, the Goddess of Death once again descended upon Seigües through divine possession, with the female dark dwarf Shrinelord of the Church of Death serving as the medium.

However, compared to back then, Evé felt that the other party's aura had become much deeper this time around.

This clearly indicated that the dimensional barrier between Seigües and the outside world had begun to loosened up, allowing gods to project more of their power within this realm.

Hela's shrine and its surrounding area had already set up a barrier to isolate its interior from the outside.

Seeing that the area they were in was relatively secure, Evé employed some of her divine powers and dispelled her disguise as Zero before revealing her true form.

Then, following the etiquette of meeting other deities as per the inheritance of the World Tree, Evé offered a slight bow to Hela and greeted her with a smile.

"Good afternoon, Hela, Your Majesty,"

Raising an eyebrow, the Goddess turned her gaze towards the faint light filtering through the shrine's entrance.

"Your Highness Evé, down here in the underground, there's no difference between day and night."

Evé blinked.

"But isn't Blackrock City also using the timekeeping method of the surface world?"

Hela's eyes briefly flicked towards a wooden clock adorning a nearby wall, offering neither confirmation nor denying it.

Then, her gaze paused upon Evé's figure, as her face slightly shifting into a deadpan expression.

"Congratulations on advancing your strength,"

Helas remark had a lethargic intonation but was still pleasing nonetheless, as if it had been scripted in her mind ages ago.

Well, Evé wasn't particularly surprised that the other party had discovered that her own strength had increased.

Following the advancement of her strength to match that of a deity with weaker divine power, her incarnation also underwent some improvements.

Therefore, although her incarnation's maximum output was still limited to demigod level, its aura had become more robust and solid.

"It's all thanks to luck and your continuous support, Your Majesty."

Evé replied with a smile.

Then, Hela's mouth twitched slightly, and she cast a sidelong glance in Evé's direction, followed by a sigh.

"There's no need for polite words. I just hope that in the future, you will inform me in advance before dealing with other gods, especially when borrowing my power..."

"Although I promised to cover for you, don't always think I'm omnipotent... dealing with Uller alone was enough, since he's just someone with weak divine power, but I have no intention of opposing the Eternal Lord... even though I find Him quite unpleasant."

As the Goddess of Death spoke, Evé grasped the implication—that is, she was being cautioned against casually shifting blame, and if she ever did it again, she should first consult with Hela herself beforehand.

Most likely, her recent operation to take away the Scepter of Life in Maple Leaf City was discovered by the Eternal Lord, and He suspected that Hela was involved based on the power of Death that she had spread in Nidhogg's lair before escaping.

Thinking of this, Evé smiled apologetically and said to Hela,

"Sorry, I'll definitely remember to do so next time."

Following that, a flash of light appeared in her hand, revealing dozens of shimmering divine blood crystals.

"Your Majesty, I offer this as a token of gratitude for your assistance in concealing my actions," Evé murmured, extending her hand as the divine blood crystals floated towards Hela.

The Goddess of Death's eyes lit up slightly as she accepted them readily without hesitation, her expression revealing a subtle hint of satisfaction.

Seeing the other party had accepted her gift, Evé felt a wave of relief wash over her.

Honestly, assigning blame to others to avoid facing consequences felt quite satisfying when doing it, but personally encountering the person she'd accused of, left her with an unexpected twinge of guilt.

Hela put away the divine blood crystals, pondered for a moment, and then remarked,

"This time, your actions have stirred quite a considerable attention. Let me remind you of the importance of your true identity. The surge in mana within the realm of Seigües will undoubtedly attract scrutiny from the heavenly gods, and they will certainly investigate this matter."

"Nonetheless, if you wish to become more active in this realm, it's best to maintain a more reliable public persona, as simply shifting the blame onto me would no longer suffice anymore."

Listening to Hela's words, Evé nodded.

"Thank you for your reminder. Actually... I've already considered the same thing and made some plans, including adopting an identity I wish to present to the public, which will require some support from you, Your Majesty..."

As she spoke, Evé revealed her intention to masquerade herself as the newly appointed goddess of life.

"...The new goddess of life?"

Upon hearing her words, Hela's expression took on a slightly peculiar look.

The other party bore a thoughtful look for a moment and nodded slightly.

"Indeed... such a disguise might actually cause others to overlook your true identity. After all, you are different from your predecessor. I understand. I'll cooperate with you appropriately when you need it."

With the Goddess of Death voicing her agreement, Evé breathed a sigh of relief.

She pondered for a moment and then continued, "Your Majesty, is there anything else you personally came to see me about? Is it related to the changes in the Abyss? Do you have any knowledge of what is transpiring there?"

Upon hearing her words, Hela shook her head slightly.

"This time, I descended into this realm mainly because there are some other matters I need to attend to. Your message simply coincided with my visit, thus I decided to meet with you."

"I've read your message. The changes in the Abyss this time have resonated throughout the entire universe..."

"In fact, the gravitational pull of the Abyss has indeed been slowly strengthening over time, although the rate is minimal, almost negligible. Significant shifts like those observed recently are uncommon throughout history."

"No one knows when the Abyss appeared, but ever since the gods first discovered it, they have been continuously observing it as the Abyss attracts numerous realms and devours them... it can be said that the Abyss is the end of all realms and the nightmare of every living being."

"The current gravitational force of the Abyss has increased almost twice as much as when I first inherited my Divinity. There is speculation that the reason the Abyss is gradually becoming stronger is by continuously devouring realms to obtain the Provenance of those fallen realms..."

"And one of the original intentions of my predecessor, the Primordial God of Death who established the Netherworld, was to monitor the changes within the Abyss and seek ways to save the realms that fell into it and purify the corruption of the Abyss..."

"This is also one of the duties of being the God of Death."

So that's how it is...

Evé pondered for a moment and remarked, "So... is the increase in the Abyss's gravitational force this time just a mere coincidence?"

Hela shook her head.

"How can there be such many coincidences in this world?"

"Eve, every change that occurs in the Abyss is inevitably the result of fluctuations in the larger realms. It's possible that the recent developments in Seigües had an indirect impact on the Abyss."

"But you don't need to worry too much about the issue regarding the Abyss. While it is indeed getting stronger, the entire universe is also slowly expanding. Although the expansion rate has slowed down over the course of millennia, it still maintains a delicate balance and keeping up with the changes in the Abyss."

Hela explained.

Evé breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Then, as if she had suddenly remembered something, Evé added as an afterthought,

"Hela, Your Majesty, if there's anything I can do to help with the issue regarding the Abyss, I can lend a hand, such as... dealing with the Abyss's corruption and the like."

"Leaving aside other matters, I'm currently quite interested in those Evil gods who have been corrupted by the Abyss."

"If I recall correctly, there are quite a few of them lurking within the Netherworld and here underground in Seigües, and you have your own domain in these areas... If you require it, I can assist in dealing with them."

Upon hearing her words, Hela raised an eyebrow.

"You possess the ability to 'Absorb' the power of the Abyss, don't you? Perchance are you planning to restore your strength by devouring the power of the Abyss?"

Evé smiled without saying a word.

Given that the Goddess of Death was acquainted with her predecessor, Evé wouldn't be surprised that Hela knew about certain abilities of the World Tree.

Upon hearing Evé's suggestion, Hela became somewhat interested.

"Indeed, if needed, perhaps I will."

After saying that, the other party sighed softly, with a slightly wry grin.

"In any case, this 'Absorb' skill of yours is truly an enviable ability. The corruption of the Abyss, which other gods avoid like the plague, can be converted into your nourishment instead."

"If I didn't know that your absorption ability also has its limits, then I would have already transplanted your true self straight directly into the Abyss so that you could restore your strength much faster."

Evé: "..."

Hela didn't dwell much on this topic for too long, and after lamenting for a while, she changed the subject as her lethargic demeanor bore a more serious look.

"In fact, the reason I came to see you this time is because I do in fact need your help."

Evé showed a curious expression.

"Hmm? What do you need me to do?"

"I want to borrow the use of your Chosen Ones for the time being,"

Hela replied.

— 344 —

[ BORROW YOUR CHOSEN ONES ]

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