Ode to the Starry Sea, Part 1

Countless ashes rained down from the sky. Lilith looked at the golden arc of flame before her, her smile deepening.

Hestia loosened her wide hood and removed her voluminous crinoline skirt.

Her image was no longer her usual European elegance; no one had expected that beneath those disguised garments, Hestia would appear like a Valkyrie descending from the heavens.

The lady’s plated skirt she wore shed its gentle demeanor, and the golden spear she held further added to her heroic and valiant appearance in this form.

The lantern suspended in mid-air poured golden flames down like a fountain.

Amidst the golden inferno, those figures, so familiar to her, emerged once again from the river of history.

They were the countless former adherents of the Reincarnation Cult, once possessing immensely powerful strength.

They gathered around Hestia, and once crushed Lilith’s proud demon army like paper.

“To think, even in such a weakened state, you are still willing to carry their souls, Lilith. ‘Mercy is your greatest weakness, Hestia…’”

Looking at the heroic spirits she had personally ensnared and killed, a hint of admiration flashed in Lilith’s eyes, quickly followed by disdain.

“I am the Goddess who controls reincarnation. To have failed to personally guide my believers into reincarnation is my greatest dereliction of duty and shame…”

Hestia looked around at the ghostly figures of souls gathered around her.

From the brutal divine war a millennium ago…

“To think, even in such a weakened state, you are still willing to carry their souls, Lilith. ‘Mercy is your greatest weakness, Hestia…’”

Looking at the heroic spirits she had personally ensnared and killed, Lilith’s eyes flashed with a hint of admiration, quickly followed by disdain.

“I am the Goddess who controls reincarnation. To have failed to personally guide my believers into reincarnation is my greatest dereliction of duty and shame…”

Hestia looked around at the ghostly figures of souls gathered around her, silently acknowledging the brutality of the ancient divine war.

“You’re right, but isn’t it here now?”

Selina adorably tilted her head. Then, she forcefully pushed her hand against the hilt of the sword.

In an instant, the entire crystal sword completely embedded itself into Lilith’s body.

The heroic spirits who had been gathered around Hestia previously, at some unknown moment, all appeared instantly near Lilith.

They surrounded her in a circle, then chanted in unison a hymn unique to reincarnation.

The hymn was melodious, the song clear and bright.

Lilith, standing still, suddenly had her face contort and blur.

The seven grotesque faces of primal sin flashed across her countenance like a glitch.

Silver flames ignited on her body, and golden divine light continuously swept away the traces Lilith had left on this body.

The flames flickered until the body completely transformed into a pure ball of light.

The silver fire extinguished, and everything returned to peace.

The singing quietly faded away.

The countless golden heroic spirits then transformed into countless specks of light, flying into Hestia’s lantern.

In the golden light, Selina felt continuous gazes passing over her body.

Divinity returned. Her long hair was hidden by the wide hood. The voluminous crinoline dress once again replaced Hestia’s skirt armor.

The Goddess of Lampfire regained her original intellectual and gentle demeanor.

She stood in the gloomy space, quietly, gently gazing at her only believer.

“Thank you, Selina.”

“It’s nothing. Am I not your believer? Is it not normal for a believer to do things for the deity they believe in?”

“No, I am thanking you on behalf of those heroic spirits just now.”

Hestia gently shook her head, her voice softening slightly.

“Without your surprise attack, many of them might have had their souls scattered due to Lilith’s headstrong actions. You saved them.”

“If my current position is indeed the saintess of the Reincarnation Cult, then these are all things I should do.”

“However, your appearance just now truly surprised me…”

Selina pointed to Hestia’s attire, a hint of curiosity in her tone.

“That is my combat form, but now, even revealing that form wouldn’t effectively drive away Lilith’s harassment.”

“Was that the Demon God you once fought in a decisive battle?”

The silver-haired girl again pointed to the pure white orb of light suspended in mid-air.

This ball of light now completely lacked its previous intense demonic nature.

The chanting of the heroic spirits and Hestia’s divine fire had purified the divinity left behind by Lilith.

“Indeed, but that was just a clone. And you injured her clone. From what I know of her, she will absolutely not let this go so easily.”

“It doesn’t matter. Anyway, there are already plenty of people in this world who resent me. She is neither one more nor one less.”

Selina casually reached her hand into the orb of light.

Then, she pulled out the Crystal Sword that had been left inside, wiped its surface, and clipped it back onto her necklace.

“It seems I arrived just in time, and the method of reverse-transmitting through the connection between us via the Crystal Sword to you here actually worked.”

After dealing with Noct, Selina immediately, albeit reluctantly, re-established contact with Hestia.

She discovered that the most important medium for her connection with the Goddess of Lampfire was this Crystal Sword.

She then tried to inject magic into the sword, and was subsequently teleported here, catching Lilith off guard in her soul form.

“What is this?”

“This is Divine Source. Every deity possesses their own Divine Source. This clone of Lilith was created by devouring the Demon God’s original consciousness, so even a clone has its own independent Divine Source.”

To be honest, Hestia gestured with one hand, and the pure white orb of light flew into her lantern.

With the Divine Source as fuel, the brightness of the flame within increased by another notch, and Hestia’s form became much more stable.

“All done. What a hassle.”

With a yawn from Selina, Hestia gently pushed her hand, and the girl’s soul was sent out of this space.

Consciousness returned to her body. Selina opened her eyes and shook her head.

Now fully awake, she only felt a warm embrace from behind.

The moment she turned her head, she met Avia’s gentle eyes, which seemed to overflow with water.

“Wait, when did you get here?” Selina asked, realizing she was in Avia’s arms.

“I rushed over as soon as I dealt with the enemy before me. On the way, I encountered you, fainted on the ground. I was afraid you’d catch a cold from lying on the ground for too long, so I picked you up.”

As she spoke, Avia pointed to a disheveled figure beside them.

Selina followed Avia’s finger and her eyes immediately widened.

“Noct? Why is there one here too?”

“Hmm, what’s wrong? You know this one? Wait, that name, Noct, sounds so familiar…”

Avia heard Selina’s words and was about to ask, when her brows suddenly furrowed, and some familiar memories surged into her mind.

“This face is identical to the Vampire Prince I just fought when he was young. Logically speaking, he should have been chopped into pieces by me, but why is there one here too?”

Selina explained.

“Prince Noct? I remember a bit. I once saw that name in the imperial library of the Blood Empire. He was a collateral branch family head with royal blood. However, according to the records in the book, he should have passed away after the previous Vampire Empress died…”

Avia rubbed her chin, some of the doubts in her heart now resolved.

‘No wonder when she fought this agent, she felt a subtle familiarity in his bloodline. So it was a Vampire Prince related to her by blood. His bloodline also belonged to the royal bloodline. How precious is the royal bloodline? How could two princes suddenly appear?’

“I might know the answer.”

Looking at the agent, whose limbs she had severed, almost turning him into a human stick, Avia recalled more information recorded in the books about that old prince.

“Historical records state that Prince Noct was particularly obsessed with cloning research when he was young, seemingly because he himself greatly feared the age limitations of the vampire race, and thus sought to solve this problem through experimentation…”

“If I’m not mistaken, this agent should be a clone created by him using his own blood as a template. This also explains why this agent possesses royal bloodline but lacks refined strength.”

“Is that so?”

Selina frowned, looking at the cloned Noct whose limbs were sealed and unable to regenerate, her doubts were also dispelled.

“Then the enemy you just faced was?”

“Ah, that’s a long story…”

Selina was about to give Avia a brief explanation of what had happened on her side, but suddenly, a strange energy fluctuation caused her heart to skip a beat.

The girl sharply turned her head towards the source of the energy.

The Noct clone, whose limbs Avia had severed, now had skin glowing with an abnormal reddish hue. He, who had previously passed out, reopened his eyes, his blood-stained face now filled with grotesque and painful expressions.

“Ugh… So hot! My body, my body feels like it’s going to explode!”

The pale skin rapidly heated up.

Accompanied by a strange energy, he was like a red-hot bomb whose energy fluctuations continuously spread, ready to explode at any moment.

Selina, reacting instantly, turned in Avia’s arms, then scooped up the still stunned Avia and took off running.

Don’t ask why her movements were so practiced; it was a professional habit.

As a thief, eight minutes out of every ten minutes of work were spent running, or on the way to running.

“Why so many damn problems?!”

The instantaneous energy fluctuation just now triggered Selina’s danger warning in her consciousness, which was one of the skills thieves frequently used.

So, Selina completely trusted her subconscious.

Since she instinctively felt something was wrong, there was no need to hesitate.

Running was the correct response.

In Selina’s arms, Avia, who had regained her senses, also realized the abnormality of that energy fluctuation.

She turned and lay on the girl’s shoulder, her eyes fixed on the clone still struggling and rolling on the ground behind them.

“Oh no, that guy has a restriction placed inside him. He’s going to self-destruct uncontrollably! This energy fluctuation is terrifying to the point of…!”

At this point, a few drops of cold sweat slid down Avia’s forehead.

The energy within the clone was continuously expanding with exponential intensity.

It hadn’t self-destructed yet because it hadn’t reached the critical point of its body.

This level of power would most likely reduce the entire city, both underground and above, to ruins.

Selina, who had reacted first, of course knew the consequences.

But at this moment, other than running, she didn’t know what else to do…

“Selina, stop for a moment. I have a solution.”

At this, Hestia’s voice, now back online, echoed in her mind.

The moment she heard the voice, Selina slammed on the brakes.

“What solution do you have? Then why were we running? Is there any way to stop his self-destruction?”

Running away was certainly an option.

Although her own space transfer crystal was used up, Avia, as a princess, surely had one too.

The reason they hadn’t used it yet was that they were waiting for a possibility…

They could escape safely, but this disaster was ultimately caused by her plan.

If they just ran away, what about the innocent people in the cities above ground?

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Hestia reliably stepped forward.

“The self-destructing power left in his body was left by Lilith. This level of self-destruct energy, with my current state, is difficult to completely eliminate, and there’s a possibility of error. The most suitable method right now is for you and that vampire girl beside you to join forces and attempt a Bloodline Resonance: Star Sea Chant.”

Hestia’s voice was clear and deliberate, syllable by syllable.

“Wait, Avia and I perform a bloodline resonance? Are you mistaken? Elves and vampires performing a bloodline resonance—isn’t that absurd?!”

Selina, hearing the plan, immediately found it preposterous.

“If you told her to perform a so-called bloodline resonance with Philisaya, she could still understand, after all, their bloodlines are connected. But how can elves and vampires perform a bloodline resonance?! Isn’t this ridiculous?!”

“The reason is simple. You already had suspicions in your heart, didn’t you? Why can the blood of the Vampire Royal Family be used to create alchemical potions that promote elf growth? Why did you feel that subtle bloodline familiarity when you fought Avia? Why does the Vampire Royal Family blood, as an alchemical ingredient, have the same effect as the liquid in the Elf Sacred Pool?”

“The reason is simple: because elves and vampires are essentially from the same origin…”

Hestia’s explanation plunged Selina into silence, yet her voice, from the perspective of the soul, had a deafening effect on the girl.