"He didn't need to be summoned. He came out on his own," Natasha said through their mental link, a clear note of amusement in her voice as she teased Lucian about getting exactly what he wished for.
Ere still wore the olive wreath and white robes, but he had grown even more ethereal and serene. A faint holy light flowed across his skin, and within his pupils seemed to lie a projection of the seven-layered Heavenly Mountain — extraordinarily sacred and solemn.
In his hand he gripped a sword black as ink, and he lunged toward the two of them. From the blade, droplets of foul, putrid black liquid dripped at intervals, only to be drawn back by a mysterious force, completing a cycle.
"He's been constantly seeking to absorb divine authority from the domains of death and moon. Sensing the fragments of that mysterious existence from the Netherworld Realm, he really couldn't resist coming out to investigate. These false gods are terribly susceptible to the influence of their divine portfolios and the pull of divine authority — to the point of losing all reason." Lucian said this, but privately he found it slightly odd. Ere had nearly died at his hands, unable even to fight back — so why would he charge at them with such confidence?
At the same time, Lucian hurried to cast "Bull's Strength," "Bear's Endurance," and other spells on Natasha.
Once Ere entered casting range, Natasha raised her longsword and flew to meet him, while Lucian directly cast "Greater Dispel Magic."
Ere, who had been about to use a command word, suddenly saw the light streaming from his body — like fireworks blooming. The two pre-buff spell effects ruptured and dissipated simultaneously. And in that moment, Natasha had already reached him, "Pale Justice" pressing downward, trailing illusory rifts capable of cleaving through any substance.
In his haste, Ere brought his sword up to block "Pale Justice," but the force of Natasha's blow sent him tumbling backward through the air, his balance lost. Pummeled by her relentless storm of attacks, he couldn't spare the mental focus to invoke his divine-art-like abilities.
Meanwhile, Lucian calmly activated his spell model. A flash of emerald light flickered through his eyes, and Ere felt his magic resistance rapidly crumbling. The seven-layered Heavenly Mountain projection within his eyes blazed with brilliant radiance, as though it were about to manifest physically. Bathed in this holy light, Ere's power surged, altering the surrounding environment — darkness retreated, light emerged, and an aura of sacred solemnity rose naturally, suppressing all unclean and evil forces.
"Semi-illustrious Will Domain? Has Ere ascended to Golden Knight?" Lucian and Natasha both spoke simultaneously through the mental link.
Clang, clang, clang — after three consecutive strikes, Natasha was forced to retreat a step in midair. Ere turned his pure, sanctified gaze toward Lucian: "I command you, die—"
The two-word incantation wasn't even finished when Ere vanished from his spot with a whoosh. Lucian's right hand had already risen, clutching a scepter inlaid with a massive gemstone.
And the holy, luminous will-domain surrounding them vanished as well, plunging everything back into darkness that chilled to the bone.
"He's a bit stronger, but he hasn't reached true Golden Knight standards. I can handle him," Natasha quickly relayed the final assessment to Lucian.
Lucian gave a slight nod. "It seems he can borrow power from the Divine Domain within a certain range. No wonder he dared to come out. Then again, the fact that he can tap into the Divine Domain's power even outside of it already means Ere's strength is approaching Golden Knight level. It seems that by integrating the Church of the Sun God, the Church of the Earth Mother, and others, he's acquired a great deal of 'faith power.'"
As he spoke, Lucian began laying magical traps at the corresponding positions of the maze spell. Just then, another figure shot out from within Death Valley — six wings on its back, lightning crackling around its body, arriving to rescue "the great god Ere."
"The God of Lightning — the current Lightning Angel?" Once the two drew close enough, Lucian made out the bald, powerfully built man and recognized his identity. At this moment, the Lightning Angel wore a grave expression, his wings beating as he tried to stop Lucian's preparations, but with a whoosh he too vanished from the spot.
Natasha watched Lucian deploy the ninth-ringed Bizarre Maze in succession, and remarked with some admiration, "Arcane Magic really is wondrous. No need to worry about being attacked from two sides."
Having finished setting the magical traps, Lucian didn't wait for the Bizarre Maze to run its course. He raised the Scepter of the Sun and released Ere directly.
Ere seemed to have given up on breaking the maze and was instead concentrating on casting divine-art-like spells on himself to guard against the magical traps. But he hadn't expected Lucian to dispel the maze after laying only a single trap, and he was caught off guard.
Suddenly, black tentacles sprang up from the ground around him, stretching long into the sky, entangling Ere. This elemental magic seemed to originate from nature itself, largely unaffected by Ere's sacred will-domain, and appeared to be immune to many forms of damage.
At the same time, Natasha surged forward, pinning down the restrained Ere and giving him no chance to react.
Lucian's black eyes suddenly blurred, and Ere froze in place. Then Lucian took a step forward, and the light of intelligence in Ere's eyes dimmed to virtually nothing — like the eyes of a beast, devoid of the capacity for thought.
With the Congus Ring equipped and his Cognition World elevated to the level of materialization, Lucian's spell casting interval was reduced yet again. When casting sixth-ringed spells or below, the effect was nearly on par with wearing a pseudo-Robe of Davan.
"Using Confusion and Feeblemind against this kind of false god who's easily swayed by divine authority really works wonders," Lucian murmured, flying to where Natasha held Ere. His eyes grew dark and fathomless; if one looked closely, tiny flecks of starlight seemed to trace mystic trajectories within them, drawing observers into a mesmerized daze.
Ere's throat issued a hoarse, rattling sound, and his eyes gradually cleared, but his expression had become one of extraordinary reverence. In a low voice he said, "I accept your command."
"Good." Lucian gave a slight nod, then issued his "instructions."