Rumble—crash!
Among the students aboard the bus, there were quite a few powerful transcendents who had undergone bloodline modification.
With only a slight mobilization of elemental power within their bodies, they blasted open the seemingly solid alloy doors at the front and rear of the vehicle.
Immediately after, like dumplings spilling into boiling water, passengers poured out one after another, scrambling frantically to flee the eerie bus.
Hel was the last to leave.
She held Zephyra's small hand, while the catgirl Niv lay crouched atop her head.
Of course, Niv hadn't been placed there by Hel—
she had climbed up of her own accord.
From the way she constantly looked around, it was as if she were ready at any moment to help Hel fend off the golden lightning falling from the sky.
"You don't need to be so tense, Niv."
Hel smiled helplessly and sent the words through mental transmission.
But Niv's reply was unusually serious.
"Master… have you sensed it?"
"Mm."
Hel nodded.
But the motion made Niv stumble, nearly slipping off her head.
Niv shot Hel a slightly aggrieved look, then hurriedly jumped down onto Hel's shoulder—
only to be casually scooped into Hel's arms instead.
"All right, all right. No need to be so nervous."
Hel gently rubbed the catgirl's little head, soothing her as she spoke.
"To cause such a terrifying phenomenon without even unfolding a heart-image world…
the one who has come must be a powerhouse even among Saint-tier experts. But…"
Hel paused, smiling calmly into Niv's sapphire-blue slit pupils.
"Our aura-severing trait has already reached pink quality.
Forget Saint-tier—
even if a demigod personally arrived, they still wouldn't be able to detect anything."
As Hel said, just as the trait description claimed, pink quality already interfered with even demigod-level perception.
Unless an actual god descended, Hel had nothing to worry about.
And on this continent, demigods were already considered the ceiling of combat power.
How could a true deity possibly appear?
But Niv clearly did not share Hel's optimism.
She stared at Hel with deep concern, an ominous feeling tightening in her chest.
That golden lightning gave her a strange sense of familiarity…
yet for the moment, she couldn't recall what it was.
So she immediately activated the Brain of Reincarnation far away in Heim Territory, trying to search the goblin archives for an answer.
However, with the soul network being disrupted, her access to the database was sluggish.
The interference here even caused slight delays in her other bodies stationed throughout Heim Territory.
If her true body hadn't been stored safely within Hel's undead space…
the catgirl Niv might have crashed entirely.
And then—
a bolt of golden lightning shot straight toward them.
Hel raised an eyebrow.
Holy battle qi surged from within her as she pulled Zephyra tightly into her arms, holding Niv firmly as well.
She stomped hard against the ground.
Instantly, spiderweb-like cracks spread across the earth.
In the next moment, Hel's figure burst backward several meters—
barely avoiding the strike.
At the same time, the goblin database's information finally reached Niv's mind.
The instant she saw it, her sapphire eyes widened dramatically.
She hurriedly transmitted to Hel:
"No, Master—this isn't ordinary lightning.
This is the Judgment Power of the Fate lineage.
Normal concealment methods are useless against it.
It follows the guidance of destiny itself, striking those who, within fate's trajectory, are meant to be judged.
And divine offspring…
are its absolute first target."
"Judgment…"
Hel's brows furrowed as she listened, watching the golden lightning in the sky surge toward them again.
Zephyra carried the blessing of the Holy Knight Roland, ensuring that no Saint-tier or lower could perceive the secret of her bloodline.
And because she possessed no fallen divinity within her body, aside from that terrifying lineage, she was no different from an ordinary girl.
But now—
the problem was that the golden lightning had locked directly onto her bloodline.
Unless her bloodline was stripped away, she would be hunted by that lightning until death.
And someone constantly being struck by golden judgment bolts—
even if they didn't die—
would surely draw the attention of the one controlling it.
That expert hadn't even shown himself, yet he could already create such a massive phenomenon.
Hel did not believe she could contend with him.
But to strip Zephyra's bloodline…
there was only one way.
She would have to die once first.
Hel lowered her gaze, meeting Zephyra's anxious eyes.
After a moment's thought, she dismissed the idea.
If it comes to it… I'll have to send her into the undead space first.
As Hel was thinking—
Niv's voice suddenly rushed into her mind again.
"Master! Your necromantic crest… it carries the protection of the Witch of Fate!"
"…Right. That!"
Hel slapped her forehead and quickly tore the necklace from her own neck, placing it around Zephyra's.
The gift from the Witch of Fate proved remarkably effective.
The golden lightning circled in midair once—
unable to find its target—
before shooting off into the distance.
Hel finally released a long breath.
She hadn't expected the trait she obtained from the Witch of Fate to have such an effect.
She had nearly forgotten about it entirely.
But that wasn't surprising.
She'd acquired it last year, and it had never been useful since.
If Niv hadn't reminded her…
she truly wouldn't have recalled it.
Only after everyone was safe did Hel finally lift her head toward the heavens.
At some unknown point, golden chains had appeared within the storm clouds.
And hanging beneath them were countless radiant spears of pure gold.
At their chilling spearheads, terrifying energy gathered.
No one doubted that once those spears fell—
this capital of the Savant Kingdom…
this ancient city of a million souls…
would not have a single intact place left.
And then—
a figure appeared beneath the clouds.
He wore dazzling golden knight armor, and behind him billowed a Holy Tribunal cloak emblazoned with ten wings.
He gazed down upon Savant City from above, snorted coldly, and spoke in an icy voice:
"John Remedy.
Get out here and face me."
His words, wrapped in surging spiritual force, spread across the city below.
Everyone in Savant heard his deafening roar echoing endlessly in their ears.
And the very next instant after his voice fell—
an ancient, heavy aura began to rise from the heart of Savant Cathedral.
A colossal phantom of a towering world-tree, piercing through heaven and earth…
slowly manifested.