Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"Thanks for coming here too, true inheritor of the Elder Ichor."

Simi spoke in a different style and voice than before. She stopped right in front of Eren and took a good look at him from head to toe before speaking in a warm voice.

"Although you have been a little too cautious in meeting me, I don't mind it. No matter who it is that you possess, I can see that it is indeed you."

Saith smiled when he heard the goddess' words. He shook his head before responding. "Yeah. It's not for you, my goddess; I don't trust this environment."

"Wise choice," the goddess nodded at Eren's words before asking him.

"Could you wait for a few hours before we get down to business? You see, they won't be able to quiet down otherwise," she said while looking in the distance where the voices and chants of her followers were coming from.

'Hm? Looks like this goddess actually has time to interact with her followers this time. Is it because of the kind of vessel she is possessing through her Divine Sense?'

Saith was surprised by how easy it was for the goddess to possess Simi and maintain her Divine Sense in Labh Salem this time. He had seen how time-bound she was when she had last appeared in Anfang. It seemed that there was a difference between the way she sent her Divine Sense to the mortal plane this time.

'These Immortals are the true wielders of the incarnation arts and avatar techniques. They don't even need Shallot's Mirror to achieve what I painstakingly achieved through various trials and errors in almost 5 years,' Eren said to himself and sighed.

Of course, he also understood that the Immortals had one solid advantage over him— their seemingly infinite lifespan. They had appeared way before him and obtained their respective divinities. If Eren doesn't elevate his status to godhood in the future, they will outlast him.

It was not surprising that these Immortals had their own ways to achieve similar or better results than Eren. Some Immortals already had multiple incarnations and avatars present in various worlds.

Like Eren, the Immortals too preferred to farm for Origin Force Points through their incarnations. The difference was in the scale Eren and the Immortals did things.

With multiple thoughts swirling inside his head, Eren looked at the goddess before responding in an understanding tone.

"Certainly, my goddess. Take your time. I'll wait for you to settle your affairs," Eren said before disappearing from his position. He had already been given a private chamber to rest in by Simi. Within a blink of an eye, he appeared inside the chamber and waited for the goddess' summons.

The Goddess Great Mother's smile faded when she confirmed that Eren was no longer in her company.

'This boy… he is growing too fast,' she thought to herself.

Although as an Immortal being, she didn't have a firm handle on the passage of time, she felt that it was only yesterday that she had met Eren when he was just a bit bigger than an ant in her eyes.

However, it had taken him only a few years to amass enough individual power and experience to use such a near-perfect form of avatar techniques.

'He is using an Elder Seed artifact to use an avatar. Does he have multiple of them? I had indeed sensed an Elder Seed Artifact's presence when I projected my Divine Sense in Anfang.

It seems he got hold of it, probably after turning the world of Anfang upside down. Too bad he got to it before I could galvanize my followers there,' the goddess mumbled to herself before shaking her head.

'Forget it. The stronger he is, the better it is for me,' the goddess finally concluded before disappearing from her position as well. It had been a while since she had appeared in a mortal plane. Her continuous presence in Labh Salem could not be sustained by Simi for more than a week. As such, she decided to prioritize some of the crucial matters. With the Hvergelmir Springs approaching, she needed to ensure that her followers were ready to face the demonic entities when they were at their peak.

Inside a large temple hall that looked like a royal court, the goddess then summoned her grand temple's priests and other high-ranking entities. She assumed the position of the lead when she sat on a throne specially arranged for her.

The goddess chatted with the summoned subjects and processed the current state of affairs in the world of Labh Salem from them. She showed peculiar interest whenever the news was related to the witches or the Goddess Two Lips.

The goddess didn't take long to form a set of plans to prepare her followers for the upcoming Hvergelmir Springs incident. With her undisputed authority, she galvanized the full force of the grand temple and various other temples dedicated to her faith all across Labh Salem.

A lot of the goddess' high-ranking followers received their own set of missions directly from the goddess. In return, they were offered the grand temple's accumulated resources as rewards. The goddess also promised to grant her blessings to a few individuals if and when they completed certain tasks she had handed to them.

The goddess also bestowed some of her capable followers with premium-grade Hex Artifacts. These artifacts, blessed by her divine powers, were bound to be passed down as divine heritage within the templars' ranks.

***

After a few hours.

Inside Eren's chamber. A private balcony that offered a wide view of the city that surrounded the goddess' grand temple.

The Goddess Great Mother and Eren, both possessing someone else's bodies, sat in front of each other by the table. Two sets of freshly brewed tea cups were served to both of them by the temple's caretakers before leaving them alone.

"Done with your work?" Eren asked the goddess as he lifted his porcelain cup and savored the refreshing taste of the tea. Even though he was drinking tea in front of a goddess, he didn't feel pressured at all.

"Unfortunately, no. I'm just getting started," the goddess gave a tired sigh like a mortal before lifting her cup as well. She closed her eyes and felt the tea getting down her throat as if she was experiencing this feeling after a very long time.

"Eren, what do you know about Goddess Two Lips?" the goddess asked when she opened her eyes and looked in Eren's, her tone curious.