Swish… swish…
The blue sea and sky stretched endlessly, with not a cloud in sight. The bright yet gentle sunlight seemed to pour down from the heavens, shining with an unusually brilliant glow reflected by the ocean.
The boundless sea surface rippled continuously, and occasionally a few fish leapt out of the water only to quickly fall back, splashing a string of water droplets.
At this moment, in the vast ocean, a delicate figure floated on the surface, drifting slowly with the current.
She was a girl with a beautiful face, her eyes gently closed, and long pale purple hair spread and submerged in the seawater.
Under normal circumstances, this might have been a beautiful sight that attracted the attention of boys, but this girl was covered in wounds, her small body marked with countless dark red scars.
This girl was none other than Asherah, the leader of the evil organization "King of Flies," who had once again been defeated in battle against the Los Angeles Holy Guardians!
Her complexion was weak, only able to endure the waves crashing over her as she gasped for breath. The fierce look of the wicked witch who had done so many evil deeds was now gone, worn away by the cold seawater. Her face now bore only the look of death.
Thin streaks of bright red blood seeped from her wounds, spreading into the ocean. The sharp-nosed sea beasts had long since detected the scent and gathered nearby. Their pairs of crimson eyes were filled with endless desire, but their innate wild instincts warned them of great danger.
Even though she was on the verge of death, she was not prey for them!
The beasts kept a distance, anxiously yet patiently waiting. The moment her breath completely ceased, they would rush in to devour her!
Whoosh…
At a certain moment, a sound of breaking through the air came from the sky. A figure descended slowly from above, landing on the sea surface beside Asherah.
Sensing the presence, Asherah slowly opened her eyes, and immediately saw the figure of another delicate girl.
A beautiful white girl, seemingly only twelve or thirteen years old. Her golden curly hair formed elegant curves, complementing her extremely refined and beautiful face.
It was simply like a rare doll maker, gambling with the classical doll created throughout her career.
"Divine Ancestor Guinevere, did you come all this way just to see my miserable and pitiful end? Hehehe, your timing is perfect. If you had come any later, you would have missed it! Cough cough…"
A flash of fierce anger flickered in her eyes, and Asherah wore a sarcastic, bleak smile.
Her body was extremely weak; she had barely spoken two sentences before coughing, and faint traces of fresh blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
"How truly pitiful, Divine Ancestor Asherah, living forever in the shadow of the past, and yet for such a trivial reason, you have brought yourself to such a miserable state."
A trace of pity flashed across Guinevere's expression as she spoke in her beautiful and melodious voice.
"Trivial reason? You dare say my revenge is a trivial reason?!"
"We, once the supreme goddesses, were murdered by those foolish mortals, stripped of our honor, deprived of our power, and reduced to such lowly existences. Should I not take revenge on them?!"
As if provoked, Asherah's expression turned ferocious. From her already dying body, a sudden violent aura burst forth like a last flash of light.
"Your revenge may not be wrong, but I am different from you. I will not let any hatred blind my eyes. Everything I do is by my own will."
Looking calmly at the ferociously roaring Asherah, Guinevere said with a serene expression.
She was a descendant of the Serpent God, a witch beyond human wisdom. Guinevere, once a goddess, was not murdered by anyone but had given up her divinity herself to create something.
Guinevere had been striving to find her king, and had died and been resurrected several times for this purpose, enduring countless years…
"Hehehe… By your own will? Like me, you are nothing but a pitiful creature."
Also a Divine Ancestor, they knew something about each other's affairs. Asherah smiled with endless sarcasm.
"Ah, maybe I was before, but from now on, I never will be, because—"
"I have already found traces of my king. It won't be long before I reunite with him."
Without any anger, Guinevere slightly raised her head and looked at the distant sky, wearing a face full of hope and longing.
Seeing this Guinevere, Asherah was momentarily stunned and could say nothing.
A hint of jealousy flashed in her expression. As fellow Divine Ancestors, the other had finally found a way to fulfill her wish, while she herself was doomed to such a miserable fate…
"Cough cough… State your purpose, Divine Ancestor Guinevere. Don't tell me you really came just out of sheer boredom to watch my tragedy."
"What a pity, I have nothing left now, no value that you would need."
Coughing twice again, Asherah floated on the sea surface, her eyes narrowed, her expression cold.
At this moment, Asherah looked even weaker, as if she might exhaust her last breath at any time.
"No, you still have the value I need."
Snapping back to reality, Guinevere smiled faintly, a strange light flashing in her eyes as she looked at Asherah.
Frowning slightly, Asherah did not understand what she meant.
"Your value is yourself. How about it, Asherah? If you agree to one condition, I will spare no cost to save your life right now."
Although they knew each other, they had no real friendship. If Guinevere had no need for Asherah, she certainly wouldn't have come here idly.
"Condition… what condition?"
A glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes. If she could survive, Asherah naturally did not want to die. However, the conditions mentioned by the other party instinctively made Asherah wary.
There is no such thing as a free lunch. The other party was willing to save her at any cost, so the price could not possibly be easy!
"I will soon be reunited with my king, but during the long search for him, I discovered another powerful existence. Although that existence is still dormant, I have a premonition that one day it will become an enemy of my king."
"So, before that existence awakens, I must gather as much power as possible for my king. If you swear loyalty to my king with your divine word from now on, I can immediately save your life."
A trace of seriousness flashed across her expression. Guinevere finally revealed her conditions and purpose.
The existence Guinevere mentioned was the so-called Last King, spoken of by Glass-Eyed Princess and others. This being awakens periodically throughout history, and each time it does, it exterminates all the current god-slayers and brings great disaster to the entire Earth.
Guinevere once believed that the Last King was the king she sought, but later realized she was wrong because she had found the true trail of her king!
"Although I don't know if what you say is true, but, Divine Ancestor Guinevere, do you mean to make me a lackey and servant of your king?"
As a former goddess, Asherah was an extremely proud woman. Suppressing her boundless anger, she sneered coldly at Guinevere.
"Ah, that is exactly what I mean."
"Moreover, my king likes beautiful women. You will, like me, become one of the king's concubines."
Without any denial, Guinevere admitted directly.
"Heh heh heh… What a profitable deal! You save my life, and in return, I must give you everything about myself?!"
"Then I'll tell you straight away — no way!"
With anger turning into a bitter laugh, Asherah's expression was icy cold.
Although she wanted to live, becoming someone else's lackey and offering her body was a condition that proud Asherah could never accept!
"So you really won't agree… I wanted to help you out of kinship, you know."
Guinevere sighed lightly, wearing an expression as if she had expected this, but without much disappointment.
Asherah had already closed her eyes, unwilling to say anything more.
If she still had strength, she would immediately fight Guinevere to vent her fury at such an insult, but now she had no strength left, not even to move.
Since she was about to die anyway, Asherah was not afraid of what Guinevere could do to her. Even if it meant death, she would never agree to such terms. Let's see what she could do!
With a "damned if I do, damned if I don't" resolve, Asherah was fearless.
But then, in the next moment—
Suddenly, she felt an inexplicable pressure that made her very soul tremble. Asherah snapped her eyes open and saw that Guinevere had spread her arms wide. From her chest seeped out an object like a cup, inscribed with mysterious runes!
Though she didn't know what it was, the vast energy radiating from that object made Asherah's face full of shock.
"This is…"
Stunned, the feeling was like encountering a natural enemy or nemesis, and Asherah's heart filled with endless fear.
"The Holy Grail, a super artifact I created with my divinity in my previous life."
"Don't be afraid, Asherah. Soon you will become part of the Holy Grail and become my companion."
With a proud and excited smile, under Asherah's horrified and terrified expression, Guinevere activated the Holy Grail. Instantly, a black vortex appeared, directly sucking Asherah's body inside…