LTBE - Chapter 561: Evaluation

“I never thought that I would come here under such circumstances.”

Inside the dark library, Roel Ascart looked at the towering bookshelves around him in surprise and confusion. He was aware that he would occasionally be guided toward an ancient god’s domain when he fell asleep in the Witness State, but today’s situation was a little different.

He hadn’t even left that monochrome dimension when he suddenly appeared before Edavia.

“Does fainting count as falling asleep too? Or are you the one who brought me here?”

“Fufu. While I’d be delighted to have a conversation with you, I wouldn’t make such a reckless move in Her presence,” Edavia happily answered as she rested her head on her arm. “I wasn’t the one who brought you here. You died.”

“Hm? What?”

Roel slowly widened his eyes in bewilderment after hearing the little evil god’s reply.

If his memories didn’t fail him, the Mother Goddess had arrived in the monochrome dimension right before he passed out. Logically speaking, he should have been fine after that.

While the Mother Goddess wasn’t known to be a miraculous healer, it should have been easy for a being as strong as Her to treat his injuries. In fact, he had felt his injuries closing up right before he passed out. Thus, he was baffled by Edavia’s claim that he was dead.

Edavia giggled a little before revealing the answer.

“It’s true that you died—or perhaps I should say that you were dead.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t seem to know much about death. Fufu, let me explain. Death can be broadly divided into two categories—soul and body. Strictly speaking, your physical body had died earlier on.”

“…”

Roel’s complexion turned awful upon hearing the proclamation of his death. Edavia noticed his response and cheerily consoled him.

“With that being said, there’s nothing for you to worry about. This isn’t important at all.”

“It isn’t important?”

“While death is often defined to be the functional failure of a body, that is a misunderstanding. Many assumed that to be the case because of how difficult it was to directly inflict harm on the soul. Only Spiriteers like me and a few other existences are capable of that. Most can only harm the soul via an indirect method, and that is destroying its shell. That is also what I define as ‘the death of the physical body’,” Edavia explained.

“It is funny how the soul is both resilient and feeble. It’s difficult to directly inflict damage to the soul, but at the same time, a soul without the protection of a body will swiftly disintegrate. That’s why the functional failure of the physical body is traditionally associated with death.”

“But if I’m still around, shouldn’t that mean that…” Roel asked.

“Indeed, your soul is still intact. Your soul was dragged into my domain through our connection the moment it lost its protection. Fufu. Don’t you think that it’s overboard to treat the home of a little girl like me as a sanctuary?” Edavia asked with a mischievous smile.

Roel heaved a sigh of relief. This also explained why it was impossible to revive a dead person on the Sia Continent; their soul would have already disintegrated moments after their death.

“You have my gratitude, Edavia. I couldn’t have overcome this ordeal if not for your help.”

“You don’t need to thank me. I’d be put in a spot too if you died. But… how should I put this? You might have unwittingly gotten yourself into a huge load of trouble.”

“Hm?”

Edavia propped up her head with her arm as she looked at Roel with an amused smile.

“‘Mother’—that’s what you said. I don’t know whether you’re brave or fearless to dare say that to an existence like Her.”

“…It just sounds similar. I was a little out of it then. Is there a problem with that?”

“You’re asking if there’s a problem? It looks like you’re unaware of what you have done.” Edavia’s gaze seemed to look past Roel to peer into the real world. “You should return as soon as possible. Before She destroys everything.”

“What?”

Roel frowned in bewilderment upon hearing those words. Edavia registered his reaction and heaved a helpless sigh.

“Shouldn’t you have some self-awareness as a child after calling Her ‘Mother’?”

“You’re saying that…”

“Your severe condition agitated that woman. It also doesn’t help that your soul is hiding here. She probably thinks that you’re really dead. A mother losing her child right after reconciliation—don’t you think that blow is heavy enough to make one want to destroy everything?”

“…”

Roel fell silent.

He hadn’t thought that his single word of ‘Mother’ could trigger such a strong response from the Mother Goddess, but the realization of the situation outside flustered him. A mother who had just lost her child was capable of doing anything. He had to return right away.

“Edavia, can you send me back?”

“Of course. I am already doing that,” Edavia replied with a smile.

It was also then that Roel’s body began to glow. The evil god looked at him with expectant eyes as she looked forward to seeing how the situation would develop.

“I am truly surprised that you were able to worm your way into Her heart. This is a feat worthy of being deemed a miracle… After what the two of you have been through, you can be certain that She’ll be excessively protective of you.”

“Wait. What’s the current situation outside?”

“She’s on the verge of destroying everything. Fufu. You should hurry up and stop Her before the world is destroyed, all right?”

Amidst the laughter of the orange-haired girl in the dim library, Roel finally disappeared with a flicker.

“How interesting. Let me see how far you can go,” Edavia murmured.

…

“…Please calm down. I’m fine, Mother.”

In the center of the ruined sky garden, Roel squeezed out a feeble smile at the white-haired woman before him. The moment those words were spoken, the terrifying aura surrounding the latter quickly receded.

The overwhelming mana and the heavy pressure weighing down on the crowd vanished in a heartbeat. The rocks levitating in the air fell to the ground.

The Mother Goddess stared at Roel with widened crimson eyes, and tears began flowing once more.

“Roel, you…”

The Mother Goddess was so choked up that She couldn’t say anything in the end, so She chose to tightly embrace Roel instead. The crowd was relieved to see this scene, knowing that they were finally saved.

“Quickly, clean up the area!” Micher ordered.

The warriors from different races quickly rushed in and cleared a path through the ruins.

Meanwhile, Roel felt the tight squeeze around his body and breathed a sigh of relief.

He could hardly believe his eyes when he woke up earlier. He had learned from Adola that the Moonsoul Tower was a nigh-indestructible structure that even gods were unable to faze, but this divine temple was now on the verge of collapse.

And that was from the Mother Goddess not going all out yet.

Flustered, Roel decisively chose to use the magical term ‘Mother’ once more.

Just as Edavia had mentioned, the Mother Goddess reacted strongly to that term and snapped back to reality. When She noticed that Roel’s soul hadn’t dissipated, Her will to destroy the world eroded, thus saving the world from its apocalypse.

She… really treats me as Her child, Roel thought to himself as he listened to the silver-haired woman’s relieved cries.

A tinge of warmth sprouted in his heart.

From the urge to destroy everything from the unbearable sorrow of losing a child to the immense relief upon the realization that the child was still alive, this was indubitably a mother’s nature. Roel found himself moved by the Mother Goddess’ sentiments toward him.

There was no doubt that the Mother Goddess had inherited Sia’s maternal instincts.

Feelings that Roel had never experienced before suffused his heart, causing his pale face to regain a bit of color. However, his body was so exhausted that it took only a few seconds for his eyelids to feel incomparably heavy.

Sensing that he would pass out once more, Roel looked at the Mother Goddess and gathered the final bit of his energy to squeeze out his last words.

“Mother… I am feeling tired. I’ll have to rest for a while.”

“Go to sleep. You don’t have to worry about anything. I’ll be with you.” The Mother Goddess gently touched his cheek as She made him a promise.

Her words brought Roel a feeling of security like never before. He finally closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

…

Several days later, Roel slowly opened his eyes.

He found himself lying on top of a huge bed surrounded by a drape made out of silvery fabric and white silk. This drape was a magic tool, which was evident from the mild mana pulsations it emanated. A faint floral fragrance lingered in the surroundings, bringing him a wondrous feeling of serenity.

The sudden change in environment took Roel by surprise.

His memories were still a little fuzzy, as he had really passed out this time around instead of being transported to Edavia’s library, but fortunately, he remembered everything after lying around for a while. He immediately pulled aside the blanket to check his waist.

When he saw his formerly half-severed lower body perfectly glued together with not the slightest scar to be seen, he heaved a sigh of relief. That single slash from Death God Pritzer had nearly taken his life, and it gave him the chills to think about it even now.

It was fortunate that the almighty Mother Goddess was able to perfectly heal his body.

Roel quietly put down his shirt before proceeding to assess his surroundings.

There was not a single guard to be seen in this resplendent room, but he sensed a gentle, reassuring aura lingering in the air. It felt familiar and somehow intimate. It took a moment of thought before he figured out where it came from.

It’s the Mother Goddess’ aura. Am I in the Mother Goddess’ Divine Domain?

A Divine Domain was a unique type of spell used by the gods in the ancient era. As impressive as the term sounded, its effects weren’t that amazing. To put it in simple terms, it was an extension of one’s existence to influence one’s immediate surroundings.

For instance, the effect of Death God Pritzer’s Divine Domain was to extract a person’s soul from their body and drag it toward its destruction. The temporal silencing was likely to have been the handiwork of the Savior instead. That was probably why the Mother Goddess had arrived late.

On that topic, Genesis Goddess Sia’s Divine Domain was likely to be the Sia Continent itself.

It was still uncertain what effects the Mother Goddess’ Divine Domain possessed, but the room Roel was currently in was likely to be a domain She had specially constructed to protect him. Naturally, Roel was grateful to Her for that.

He also realized that the seal on his transcendent powers had been released.

“…”

In fact, he noticed that not only was his mana flowing more smoothly than ever, but his quantity of mana had greatly increased. To be exact, he had made a breakthrough.

It was almost baffling how abruptly he had suddenly reached Origin Level 2, the level directly beneath that of the Race Sovereigns. Such a situation was usually impossible, but the reason behind this phenomenon was obvious.

Roel was absolutely certain that this was the Mother Goddess’ doing, though he was unsure how She did it. Nevertheless, She was the only one who could achieve such ludicrous feats.

It was almost funny how quickly Roel’s position had changed from a prisoner to the most important person to the Mother Goddess. That greatly decreased his difficulty in making a different decision from his ancestor and clearing this Witness State.

With palpable excitement, Roel turned toward the System to check on his progress, only to have a pail of cold water poured over his enthusiasm. His face stiffened up in disbelief.

【Evaluation: 66 (Average)】