Sand and pebbles rattled down from the ceiling, covering the ground in a layer of earth, and fine cracks had appeared on the walls, but the inherently stable structure of the pyramid meant that these small fissures were unlikely to cause any issues.

"Miss Hilveld, let me go alone from here," Fang Hong suddenly said, "I haven't yet fulfilled my promise to you, and I can't allow you to be in even greater danger."

"Is Lord Captain going to leave me behind?"

"That's not what I meant..."

"Staying here isn't necessarily safer for me, but if it will put Lord Captain at ease——" In the darkness, the noble girl's eyes shone brightly like a pair of cat's pupils, as if she wasn't worried about the situation at hand at all.

She also understood that under the current circumstances she wouldn't be of much help.

Fang Hong, however, fell silent.

All that could be heard were the footfalls of the two of them, together in the midst of the falling sand and stones.

"Doesn't Miss Hilveld still have many things to do, like your father's ship..."

"I will do my utmost, but I won't demand too much of myself. The environment I grew up in didn't allow me to believe in all the good tales. A person can't always triumph over fate, and I might not necessarily reach that ultimate destination; similarly, I understand that Captain has given his all to help me, I will not blame fate or others, only feel gratitude——"

"Can Captain continue on his own?"

Fang Hong nodded. There had been no combat for some time, and his strength had somewhat recovered, but the pain from the magic power erosion was like a drilling agony, forcing him to grit his teeth to bear it at times.

Hilveld let go of him.

But Fang Hong seemed to have a realization, and he stood still, turning around to extend his hand to the noble lady: "You're right, Miss Hilveld, it's not necessarily safer here, can I join you to face the challenges below?"

Hilveld smiled faintly.

"Sadly, I'm not like you. I would also like, if I die here, to see the world you come from with you, but I am just a mere mortal."

"When that moment comes, I will say my goodbyes to Lord Captain."

Fang Hong looked at her, gently holding onto his own hand.

It was slightly cold, but filled with warm affection and trust.

Suddenly, he wanted to understand the environment she had mentioned growing up in.

But Hilveld just offered him a shallow smile.

Their conversation wasn't intentionally hidden from others, and for a moment, it grew quiet in the command center. Some female officers stood frozen, with a glint in their eyes.

It wasn't just the fate of Fenris Isle at stake, but also the covenant between the two individuals at this moment.

Above King's Square, within the Royal Palace, a host of little princesses couldn't help but close their eyes to pray for this moment, still believing in the good, whereas the nobles and ministers furrowed their brows.

In the center of Salrutaka Holy Land.

The valley, surrounded by 'mountains' of pyramids, was increasingly agitated, with the ground starting to tremble, and the Night Lizard People lay prostrate on the ground with increased fervor, as if waiting for the descent of their deities.

Stirling, the Captain of the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team's Youth Training Group, felt growing unease. He didn't know if it was intuition or a natural reaction to the presence of great strength—after all, people had witnessed manifestations of divine strength in this world, but no one had ever seen a True God descend.

Toragotos had instructed them to wait on the spot for a while, but after some time, the Quasi-god seemed to grow impatient and issued a contradictory divine oracle, commanding Alice to lead everyone forward.

"But he's still not here?"

Alice asked nervously.

"After we succeed, he won't be able to escape from our grasp." The thunderous voice of Toragotos resounded in her mind.

Although it was speaking about us, it didn't help Alice relax much; she was trembling with fear. After only a moment of hesitation, she aroused the latter's suspicion. Toragotos flapped his wings and asked, "What are you waiting for?"

Unable to delay any longer, Alice could only nod, her face pale.

At that time, Prophet Kopan also received a Divine Oracle, turned back, and said, "The time has come, continue forward."

Upon the plaza, huge cracks had appeared, crisscrossing the ground like ugly scars. The ground beneath the Spire seemed to vanish, and a massive vortex had emerged on the central, solitary island.

The group passed through the final level of the 'valley' of the Pyramid, crossed the long bridge there, and arrived at the edge of the vortex.

Everyone watched the vortex as Stirling felt for the first time that the Guild's actions might have been too reckless. But there was no time to consider this as a terrifying voice came from the sky, screeching:

"Throw it down!"

"What thing?"

The Dwarf hesitated for a moment before noticing that the woman from the Rain Listening Group beside him had taken out a dark crystal—inside the crystal, there seemed to be a vague human shape.

Information Crystal.

He immediately recognized what it was.

"Wait," Stirling realized something was wrong and shouted, "What are you doing?"

But it was already too late. Alice smiled desperately at him and threw the crystal to the ground.

With a clang, a puff of black smoke rose from the crystal. It rose higher and higher until it formed a pitch-black, egg-shaped object about forty centimeters long, suspended in mid-air.

The egg-shaped object seemed to be alive, faintly glowing inside and shrinking intermittently.

Stirling naturally wasn't familiar with this thing, but Alice understood it to be a Life Cocoon—a product of a deity's Divine Body after death, brought back from the Etheric Subspace before undergoing divine regeneration.

The light inside was Divine Fire, all it needed was an Attribute-consistent divine Ether to nurture its growth.

In the vortex before the two of them hovered the mighty Divine Strength of Salrutaka, sealed here from before his death.

"Hurry," Prophet Kopan, following the voice in his mind, still unawakened, screamed, "Now is the moment, God's Choice, place your hands on it, wholeheartedly serve the great God Salrutaka."

As he shouted, the surrounding Night Lizard People, prostrating themselves from above and below, emitted a strange and elongated sound together.

It seemed as if even the air was trembling.

Stirling was the first to sense something wrong, rushing to prevent it, but Alice had already involuntarily stepped forward, her pale hand touching the Light Cocoon. Seeing this, the Dwarf's heart skipped a beat, and he belatedly felt the premonition of impending disaster.

He stopped in his tracks and instinctively retreated.

But at this moment, a shout came from above the 'valley' of the Pyramid.

"Night Lizard People, your god is trapped here!"

Stirling was taken aback and, on impulse, turned and was shocked to see a young boy appearing at the Pyramid's exit, shouting down to everyone below: "You've been tricked, it's Toragotos' conspiracy!"

Then he looked at Alice.

He paused before saying:

"Throw it away, Alice."

"Don't be afraid!"

...

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