Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Eren surmised that Greater Skills were similar to Authorities.

Unlike the Skills that could be gained easily through Menaka's Blessings, the acquisition of Greater Skills wasn't so simple. It had special requirements.

Plus, not everyone could wield them. They were reserved for special entities. And most of these special entities had direct connections to the gods or Demon Princes.

Menaka was a neutral goddess. So she facilitated the gods and mighty demons to maintain close ties with some of their followers. The Menaka's Blessing was a way for the followers to obtain Perks and other blessings from the gods they idolized.

As for the Edicts? Eren wasn't sure if he could use Edicts through the use of Menaka's Mesh. After all, Edicts could only be wielded by divine beings.

Eren wanted Menaka's Blessing to be a solution to his problem. His mortal vessel couldn't handle the weight of his divine powers. And if they kept growing, he would just burst from within.

Being a demi-god was no joke. Especially one like him who had inherited Aleph's divine throne. He felt that he could really use some help in wielding his divinity better. If Menaka's Mesh could help him do just that, a lot of his problems would vanish into thin air just like that.

Of course, the butcher hadn't met anyone other than himself in Anfang who could even use an Authority. He also needed to know more about Menaka's Blessing and use it personally to confirm his hypothesis based on the known information.

He couldn't just channel his divine might through Menaka's Mesh. No matter how neutral the goddess Menaka appeared to be, the fact that she was a goddess made him have a few doubts regarding her confidentiality.

One could say that Menaka's Blessing was an advanced form of the ID Stone from Eren's homeworld. Or rather, ID Stones had been invented in Anfang as a way to mimic Menaka's Blessing to some degree.

Instead of adding goddess Menaka into the picture, the Rankers from Anfang removed the added cluster of functionalities found in Menaka's Blessing, keeping the ID Stone's spectral interface clean and clutter-free. Instead, they focused on the fundamentals and made their invention adapt to the needs of Anfang.

The ID Stones allowed the Rankers to communicate with each other without any divine being acting as a mediator. They also allowed the Rankers to use them as a portable storage solution using the space-element runes.

All of the functionalities found within ID Stones were driven by the primal use of magic. They didn't involve intent-based magic and divine magic added into the equation.

In a way, it was a game changer for Rankers from Anfang to have their own form of Menaka's Blessing for themselves. And they had done this without the help of any divine being. One could say that the Rankers from Anfang were highly innovative.

Of course, ID Stones couldn't do half the stuff Menaka's Blessing was capable of because Anfang didn't have Menaka's Mesh. It couldn't have Menaka's Mesh because it was isolated by the divine formation cast using the Slumbering Goddess' powers.

When Eren first learned about Menaka's Mesh and everything related to it from the three witches and Hettie, it was sufficient to say that he was fascinated. He wanted to see with his own eyes how a society with such an advanced form of platform for magic functioned as a whole.

He got over the fact that he couldn't use his spells quickly. However, he felt it urgent to get Menaka's Blessing for himself.

***

"WHY ARE YOU IGNORING US?"

Clauria Helenbora couldn't take it anymore and yelled at Eren. it seemed that the man had completely ignored her. He had dared to get lost in his chain of thoughts while surrounded by the entire coven of Helenbora. Or whatever that was left of it.

"Hm? Oh. You say… something to me?"

Eren was snapped back to reality after he heard Clauria scream her lungs out. He acted as if he was innocent in whatever crime Clauria wanted to pin on him.

"I asked where did you come from? And who are you associated with?"

Claudia controlled her anger and asked in a patient tone. She was trying to make her voice sound normal. However, that forced control made it sound as if she was about to cry.

"Um… I rather not say where I come from," Eren replied while shaking his head. "As for my asso… Um. That word is… bit difficult to pronounce. But I… not asso… with anyone as of now," he said while scratching the back of his head.

"Sister Clauria, this guy is as shady as a darkspawn's shadow," Leesha said in a grim voice while looking at Eren. "I say we kill him here and restart the ritual. The night is still young. We'll use him as a sacrifice and try to summon an archdemon.

I say we use his blood and organs as a tribute to the Demon Prince of Wrath. Use his severed head as a centerpiece in our ritual to attract the Demon Prince of Pride's attention. And use his chopped phallus as an offering to the Demon Prince of Lust.

Hehe. look at the moon. Feel the surge in the demonic energies all around us. It's as if a great demon wants us to summon them here.

Most of all, our efforts shouldn't go in vain. Whatever I have said is doable, don't you think, sisters?"

Leesha asked playfully as she looked at the remaining witches. One could see that she had a certain killing intent in her eyes. She could tell that Eren was not normal. However, the fact that he didn't have access to Menaka's Blessing made her confident in winning against him.

She knew that Eren could hear her and understand her. She also wanted to intimidate him by saying things like these in front of him. However, she was a bit annoyed by Eren's expressions.

Someone from Labh Salem not having Menaka's Blessing was an anomaly enough. The fact that the same person did not go on his knees after finding out the others who had surrounded him were trying to kill him was even weirder.