"Returned to you?" Upon hearing this, a look of "I knew it" appeared on Undine’s small face. The Holy Artifact appearing by her side was indeed connected to Eros.
She blinked and asked curiously, "But why is the Ancestral Holy Artifact with you?"
She clearly remembered the Moon of Eternal Slumber being stationed in the family’s Shadow Realm to suppress those high-sequence sealed artifacts and high-level spiritual materials. How could it suddenly be on Eros?
Eros knew what she was thinking and didn't hide the truth. "What’s with me is just a projection; her true body is still with the family."
Undine nodded, half-understanding. Eros reached out again to ruffle her hair, a smile playing on his lips. "Since you’re here, help me clean up the battlefield!"
Now that the threat was dealt with, it was time to sweep the area and, more importantly, "re-arrange" the scene. Such a massive anomaly in the Sin Realm would surely bring investigators from the Academy and the Church. It would be difficult to explain certain things—for instance, how a Sequence 7 warlock managed to unleash a forbidden spell that usually required a Beyonder-level existence.
While Eros now had the backing of the God of Death and Reincarnation, and the Church wouldn't openly doubt him, anyone with a functioning brain would notice his body was... special. A Sequence 7 warlock who uses a forbidden spell without being drained dry, and then kills a Beyonder-level spirit in solo combat?
It was common knowledge that low-sequence beings suffer contamination just by looking at high-sequence ones, let alone fighting them. Even as a "God-Son" with higher resistance, he was still technically a low-sequence practitioner. To kill a Beyonder spirit and walk away perfectly fine and lively was simply against the laws of mysticism.
The Church wasn't stupid. If they realized how unique his physique was, they might lock him in a dark room for endless research—or worse, send him directly to the Divine Kingdom of their God for "personal study." Even if that God didn't discover he was a descendant of the Night, his life would be over. Being a "Prince of the Elves" might prevent them from slicing him into pieces, but he’d spend eternity as a captive or a brainwashed "Sub-God."
Therefore, resetting the scene was a matter of survival.
Eros picked up the Brilliant Sun and had Irina carry the artifact to purify the spirit corpses outside that were still skewered by the giant roots. Since Irina was currently just a shadow without a spiritual body (Ling) of her own, she wasn't affected by the sun’s purification light. Like Eros, she could handle the artifact indefinitely.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Undine followed behind Irina, gathering the Spirit Essence (灵髓) that precipitated from the spirits. With thousands of corpses, the harvest was significant. While it wasn't enough to wake a Temple Guard back at the family estate, it would go a long way in alleviating the family's dire shortage of resources.
In the current Croatia Continent, obtaining Spirit Essence was difficult. One had to either find a secret Sin Realm passage hidden from the Church or use Church-controlled realms. In the latter, entry was free, but the Church took an 80% cut of the loot. Eighty percent. If you didn't like it, you kept it to yourself—the Church held the final say.
The only exception was when a Sin Realm appeared in a crowded city. To prevent spirits from escaping into the physical world, any registered warlock could join the hunt for free until the Church destroyed the passage. During those times, you kept 100% of your kills. This was why, whenever a rift opened in a city, the Great Families often reached the front lines faster than the Church did.
After a long period of busy work, Undine and Irina finally finished gathering the essence. Looking at the small mountain of glowing material, Undine smiled with satisfaction.
On the other side, Eros stood before a massive trunk. After handling this one, it should be enough. He slapped the trunk. The giant tree shuddered and shrank, eventually turning into a dark-red seed that fell into his palm. He tucked the seed away. Of the hundreds of towering trees that had stood there, only a few dozen remained as "scenery."
"Is that enough?" Eros whispered to Barbara.
Barbara nodded. "Almost. Now, have that 'stupid book' conceal the traces of the Beyonder spirit’s existence."
As she spoke, an invisible power rippled out from Eros. Within moments, the power vanished. To the naked eye, nothing had changed, but Eros knew the "history" of the Beyonder spirit being here had been obscured.
He walked over to Undine and Irina to help store the essence in his shadow. Halfway through, Barbara’s voice rang sharply in his mind:
"The Church is here!"
Instantly, several tentacles erupted from Eros’s shadow, dragging Irina back inside before she could even react. Undine froze, about to ask what happened, but caught Eros’s warning glance and immediately shut her mouth.
Seconds later, a withered old man streaked across the distance, stopping abruptly before Eros. He wore a pitch-black robe adorned with silver embroidery—the uniform of a high-ranking official. The old man looked at the unharmed Eros and let out a sigh of relief, a stiff, wrinkled smile appearing on his face.
"It is good that you are safe!"
Noticing the confusion on Eros’s face, the gaunt elder spoke in a tone he intended to be gentle: "I am a Senior Deacon of the Church's Night Watch, Bartos Vatuta."
"The Church detected an unknown mutation in this Sin Realm. The risk level has spiked, and as such, this assessment is terminated early. I am here to escort you back to the physical world!"