Chapter 149: A Dead Seed
"What are you doing?"
Kurtz, having finished everything, naturally saw the remaining dark matter. He had intended to eradicate it, but unexpectedly, Ailia collected it into her palm before he could.
The Fertility Goddess left behind this thing. Was this Goddess not afraid of being usurped again?
"It's nothing!" Ailia saw Kurtz's concern, but merely offered a faint smile. "It's really nothing, you don't have to worry that this child will bring disaster again."
"Can you guarantee that?"
Kurtz was still worried.
They had paid too much, and even he himself would find it difficult to replicate the operations from the decisive battle back then.
After all, there wasn't that much faith power left in this world for him to squander; he had just used up the last bit of faith power.
"Yes, I guarantee it."
Ailia looked at Kurtz seriously.
Looking at this human who took away her most beloved child; looking at this human who seized the Divine Kingdom she had created with her own hands; looking at this human who killed her most beloved sister.
Yet, there wasn't a trace of hatred in her heart.
In fact, back then, when she realized that the faith power of the Elves was not enough for the two of them to share, she had the idea of creating the Skywing Clan, with herself receiving the Skywing Clan's faith, and the Fertility Goddess receiving the Elves' faith.
It was unfortunate that the child didn't listen to her explanation and instead got stuck in a rut on her own.
Perhaps she also had a responsibility and shouldn't have been too demanding of that child.
But now, it was all too late.
On the other side, Kraft gazed at the bottomless giant pit, his body trembling slightly.
That completely corrupted child, along with that terrifying dark will, had dissipated entirely.
He opened his mouth, but it ultimately turned into a long sigh.
"If this thing were to corrode your body again, I might not be able to save the world again."
"Look!" Ailia spread her palm, and the wisp of black matter quietly floated above her palm.
It had lost all vitality, no longer churning, showing no sign of corrosion, only a deathly silence, like a completely withered seed.
"She is already dead." Ailia's voice was very soft, carrying a strange calmness, as if stating a simple fact.
Her gaze shifted from the darkness in her palm to the enormous deep pit. "She will never be reborn, and will never bring disaster again."
Kurtz stared at the wisp of dark matter, then looked at Ailia's seemingly calm face.
Although the Goddess had already guaranteed him, the vigilance in his heart had not completely subsided.
After all, this was the remnant of another deity, the root cause of all tragedies.
If the Fertility Goddess could truly die so easily, then the Life Goddess would not have been usurped back then, and there would have been no subsequent battles between the Demon Race and the allied forces.
Ailia met Kurtz's scrutinizing gaze without the slightest hint of backing down.
In the entire world, Kurtz was the only one to stare at her so boldly. But somehow she didn't dislike it.
Kurtz ultimately chose silence.
Although he still had doubts in his heart, he nodded and turned his gaze to the sky, where only thin clouds remained; the magnificent Divine Kingdom was nowhere to be seen.
"Aren't you taking Olivia with you?" he murmured softly.
Now, all remaining Skywing Clan members had left this world, leaving only Olivia guarding the vast Divine Kingdom alone.
Kurtz couldn't even imagine how lonely that would be. Moreover, for him, Olivia had already fulfilled her mission.
According to his request, she released all the faith power accumulated in the Divine Kingdom, destroying the Demon King's City.
"She refused," Ailia replied, her tone devoid of anger, only a very slight trace of confusion.
She slowly closed her hand, absorbing the wisp of dark matter into her body. "She already signed a contract with you and shares life with you, so it's good that she can live on."
Olivia's life formula had been sacrificed by herself in the previous battle, which greatly reduced the Skywing Clan's originally long lifespan.
However, the life formula signed with Kurtz perfectly compensated for this.
As long as Kurtz was alive, Olivia could continue to live.
Although Ailia herself had a way to solve Olivia's lifespan problem, since the child insisted, she no longer forced her.
After all, she had already made one mistake and couldn't make any more.
"It seems you've already guessed."
Kurtz didn't expect that his method of eternal life would be discovered by the Goddess so quickly, even though he had been keeping it a secret all along.
"Yes, after all, you have mastered the authority of life. I believe that with your ability, you can naturally find a way to eternal life."
"Should I take it as a reward for the hero?"
"You can think of it that way, but—" the Goddess paused, seemingly hesitant, "you cannot use this authority on others."
"I understand." Kurtz nodded heavily.
At least for now, he had no intention of using this authority to research how to grant eternal life to others.
After all, the person he was going to accompany was already a member of an immortal race.
After explaining everything, Ailia's gaze turned to Kraft.
"Goodbye, Kraft."
Kraft slowly knelt on one knee before Ailia: "It was my honor to adventure with you."
Kraft initially did not believe in the Goddess, but now he felt it was time to believe in her.
Initially, Kraft honestly hadn't guessed the true identity of this Holy Order in front of him. Still, as the time spent adventuring together grew longer, he naturally noticed something was amiss.
That transcendent demeanor and unparalleled power, in this world, only the Goddess could achieve such a feat.
Just now, the conversation between her and Kurtz further confirmed his speculation.
The Holy Order Priest Ailia, in front of him, was the legendary Life Goddess Ailis.
"Then, Kurtz," she looked at Kurtz again and spoke slowly, her voice particularly clear in the empty ruins, "everything has settled, and my agreement with you has been fulfilled. My era should come to an end."
She took a few steps forward, standing at the edge of the giant pit, and her figure began to fade like morning mist.
"It's time to leave this world."
Kraft was stunned. "Leave this world? Are you going to leave this world forever?"
He had initially thought that the Goddess's goodbye merely referred to the end of this adventure, but he didn't expect it to be a farewell of this nature.
He couldn't understand why this Goddess, who created the Skywing Clan and experienced so many twists and turns, would want to leave this world after everything ended.
This was the last deity!
Once she left, the Age of Myths would completely end.
Ailia didn't turn back, merely looking at the sky, as rays of sunlight poured down through the torn clouds.
"When an era ends, it should end properly." Her voice carried a transcendent calmness. "The children have found their own paths. If I stay here, I will only become a ghost of the past, hindering the sprouting of new life."
She slightly turned her head, looking at Kurtz with something that might have been approval. "You did very well, Kurtz. Although you took many things from me, you also ended a greater disaster."
[End of Chapter]
Oh man, can we have more of the goddess? She seems like someone we could read all day.