Chapter 393
Azazel fled swiftly.
Whilst transforming into a pool of magma, he seeped through a fissure beneath the ground and descended into the second layer of the underground, before continuing to escape towards even deeper regions.
The reason he's escaping below is that the deeper he goes underground, the more he comes into close proximity with the Abyss, and therefore, the nearer he is to the realm of Hell.
Simply put, the closer he is to Hell, the more powerful Azazel becomes.
However, perhaps due to the urgency of his escape, Azazel still hadn't had time to cleanse off the Scepter of Life's tracing mark upon his body, which is why Evé was able to quickly caught up to him by following this mark.
Two mythical beings—one in pursuit and the other on the run—wreaked havoc throughout the underground, attracting the attention of countless mysterious entities.
Their deadly game of cat and mouse continued until they passed through the second layer and reached the deepest part of the third layer of the underground, where Azazel finally began showing signs of slowing down.
By now, they were in the deepest part of Underdark.
And because of this place's close proximity with the Abyss, the mana essence here was far more chaotic than in other regions.
Given the pervasive lava flow in the surroundings and the scarcity of food and water, it was nearly impossible for any ordinary creatures to survive in this environment.
Only mad aberrations and a few magical beasts could exist here.
But for Azazel, this place sonewhat felt almost comforting as if he was back in his home.
He could feel a stronger than usual pull of the Abyss here, which, in turn, made his power gradually return.
With a slight shake, he finally dispelled the tracing mark from his body with little effort before turning around to face Eve, who had caught up to him.
The tension in Azazel's features eased, with his brow unfurrowing whilst his lips relaxed into a calm expression.
With a sneer, his huge flaming goat head twisted into a mocking grin as he uttered,
"As expected of a newly ascended novice god, you actually dared to chase me all the way here."
At this moment, he didn't look injured at all!
Clearly, this evil god had feigned being wounded, boring down into the ground when the Scepter of Life struck him earlier, all in order to lure his opponent here!
In truth, Azazel hadn't expected his plan to work so smoothly.
Yet he understood why the other party had still followed him.
For any true god rooted in the realm of Seigües, the appearance of one of the Seven Demon Lords of Hell in their domain would be a total nightmare.
Thus, given the chance to seal one, no god would refuse such an opportunity.
Sealing one of the Seven Demon Lords of Hell would not only protect the realm of Seigües from the corruption of the Abyss but would also bring immense prestige to a newly ascended god such as herself, thereby gaining the recognition of other deities!
Azazel fully understood this, which is why he was confident that Evé would pursue him.
As for why the Goddess of Death hadn't joined her...
To be honest, when the other party didn't launch a second attack, Azazel realized that perhaps a single strike from her Death Scythe was Hela's limit.
Now, his only opponent left was the Goddess of Life.
As he looked at Evé, a barely noticeable glint of greed flashed within Azazel's fiery eyes.
A novice god who have the Divinity of Life and Nature!
Moreover, she even wields the divine artifact, Scepter of Life!
Although Azazel had no direct need for the Divinity of Life and Nature, devouring the inherent laws contained within it would greatly expedite his own recovery.
After all... even though his race was that of a flame demon with the body of a goat-headed beast, it was still a form of life.
And also getting the Scepter of Life would be an unexpected bonus.
If he could consume the Goddess of Life's power, Azazel was confident he could instantly restore his strength back to its peak!
In addition, if he could seize control of the Divinity of Life and Nature, he could then use its laws to corrupt other intelligent beings within realm of Seigües, making them more susceptible into falling into the Abyss!
Thinking of this, Azazel's mood brightened.
What does the failure of the God of Darkness and Shadows' plan have to do with him?
From the beginning, his only goal had been to fully restore his power all along.
Azazel raised his hands high, and lava in the entire area suddenly erupted as burning magma surged forth at his command, quickly engulfing the region and transforming it into a sea of fire.
At the same time, the power of corruption and evil force continue to emerge and begin to distort everything in its path...
This was Azazel's Celestial Domain—The Corrupted Sea of Fire.
As a fallen mythical being, Azazel possessed his own Celestial domain.
However, just as a true god's power would significantly weaken in the Abyss, an evil god's domain is similarly suppressed outside the Abyss.
While he is in Seigües, the domain Azazel could wield is a weaker version of itself.
Still, against a newly ascended novice god who has yet to fully master their own Divinity, this level of strength was more than sufficient enough.
Azazel might not be able to bind his opponent through divine laws, but he could entrapped her here within the third layer of the underground.
And then, eventually he could take his time dealing with her.
Azazel's Domain Corrupted Sea of Fire quickly sealed the exit leading to the second layer as malevolent and evil power continuously assaulted Eve's mind and drained her divine power, causing her to frown slightly.
Yet despite this, she felt neither fear nor anger.
To Azazel's surprise, though not entirely unexpected, Evé performed an action that many other gods trapped in another's Celestial Domain would do—
She turned and ran.
In an instant, their prior roles of cat and mouse reversed!
Watching Evé flee, Azazel's lips curled into a fiendish grin.
Like a cat toying with a mouse, he blocked her escape route back to the surface world and chased after her...
Evé continued to flee towards the northeast direction.
Meanwhile, Azazel followed closely behind her with a grin upon his face.
He didn't directly attack but instead used the power of his Celestial Domain to relentlessly corrupt her.
His plan was to directly contaminate the other party's divinity with corruption, and then devour it in one fell swoop!
Once again, the two engaged in a game of cat and mouse across the third layer of the underground.
However, after fleeing for several hundred kilometers, the Goddess of Life, Evé, began to slow down.
She suddenly stopped, turning to calmly face the approaching Azazel.
The Domain, Corrupted Sea of Fire, still blazed around Evé, with half of her body already turning black, indicating a clear sign of the corruption taking hold.
Seeing her in a weakened state, Azazel smiled faintly.
"Oh, why have you stopped? Weren't you enjoying our game of chase? Perhaps, have you finally run out of strength and decided to give up?"
For the first time, Evé spoke.
"No."
With a slight smile, she gently shook her head.
"I've simply arrived home."
With those words, and under Azazel's astonished gaze, her body suddenly radiated a green light, before transforming into a shower of luminous particles.
In that exact moment, a powerful surge of lifeforce erupted all across their surroundings, instantly suppressing Azazel's Celestial Domain.
At the same time, the surrounding area began to warp and distort, revealing a previously hidden region of space.
In that instant, Azazel saw thick, gnarled roots winding through the ground one after another...
Looking at it more closely, he eventually realized that it were the roots of the World Tree!
With her true body being the World Tree, Eve's roots had long since reached the third layer of the underground.
And as such, this particular area felt no different from the core region of the Elven Forest back at the surface.
— 393 —
[ ROOTS OF THE WORLD TREE ]
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