Chapter 426: Crustacia’s Reward.

Chapter 426: Crustacia’s Reward.

Crustacia, Origin Goddess of Earth. Goddess of Craftsmanship, Minerals, and Creation. Earth Mother, Primarch of Earth, the Innovator, the Muse of Passionall titles Ive been given, but honestly, all these introductions arent exactly necessary, as we all know each other well enough. Nhahaha! Sitting on her grand throne, the dwarven goddess bellowed out a laugh that shook the entire room, causing little pebbles and dust to fall from the ceiling.

I placed a hand over my left ear, finding her divine aura a bit oppressive. I wanted to speak up against it, as this could harm Tasianna and Grimnir, but quickly noticed that they werent here. The only person here was Ellaine, or more specifically, her slightly pink-colored soul.

They werent invited, she stated, a statement I echoed.

Of course! Why would I invite them into my divine realm when I need to speak with ya for a bit, huh? Crustacia stated before jumping off her throne, only for the ground beneath her to catch her. Like peasants carrying their royalty on their backs, the ground slid forward to bring their goddess over to us, before morphing the earth to construct a fairnite table and three golden thrones decorated with jewels.

She sat down and bid us to do the same. Bit gaudy, unlike Aurenas more simple elegance, but I personally like it. Come on. What ya standin around for? Sit!

Ellaine and I looked at each other before accepting the gesture. Crustacia smiled, clapping her hands as if she was telling us she had been anticipating this for far too long now, and that she was enjoying us being here. Considering she had her blessed to speak with, why was she so interested in us?

To clear things up, Grimnir and Tasianna are still on standby, if ya could call it like that. This discussion will take a while, and even with yer titles protection, Hestia, neither of them would handle talkin to me for too long. I will invite them in once I am done givin ya yer third reward, Crustacia stated.

Third reward? Right, the information on why the gods havent spoken to me in a long time. Its been a while since I heard Krampss and Aurenas voices.

Speakin of protection Crustacia turned to Ellaine. Ellaine Fiero Helvas. Human. Accidentally bonded with the archdemon of lust, KleaHatma, and also the receiver of little Aurenas help to contain that beast and use her power for the success of Hestias Divine Quest. Quite religious, but ya havent done as much prayin due to yer stressful environment. Now, yer a proper artificer with a dwarven master and some skill in the use of yer whipsword and demonic lust powers. Certainly a resume.

Ellaines face tensed up, well, as much as she could as a soul. She then turned around, looking at empty air before turning back to Crustacia. Goddess Crustacia, you stared at Klea, right?

Hit the nail on its head. No problem with ya, kid; more of a general dislike that Marsven, that idiot, just had to leave this thin alive. Lazy ass. Urgh, she might just be a blob of mana, but just seein her makes my skin harden.

[So happy to see me, eh, Goddess Crustacia?] KleaHatmas teasing voice eked into our minds, sounding as sultry as ever. [Or maybe would you like me to call you by your real name?]

Ya dumb? The Goddess of Earth was as blunt as a rock.

Shes a bit more respectful towards her than Aurena, I noted about how KleaHatma spoke to Crustacia. Aurena did address Crustacia as an elder, so maybe KleaHatma was showing the older goddess the necessary courtesy.

Well, whatever, Im not exactly here to pick a fight or somethin. Little Aurena asked me to check on Ellaine and the demon. Her eyes through Hestia and the skill she gave ya keeps tabs, but she wants to hear if ya have any complaints. Saw ya unlocked [OklLuthiers Powers Lv. 6] and use [Flesh Strings]. Any weird feelings?

Ellaine shook her head. Nothing particular Wait, does the color of my soul have something to do with it? I remember it being almost see through when I last visited the Goddess.

The pink hue really is a change?!

Crustacia shook her hand, however, wrinkling her mouth as if the answer was not right or wrong. Yer right that the pink isnt normal. The soul of a person adapts to its vessel, like our little dragon here slowly turnin more and more into a dragon.

I looked down at my own soul, flinching back when I noticed I had a large snout in the way of my eyes. I tried to touch it, but my soul hands just went through it. Calming myself down, I stared at my hands and body, noticing the scales covering my soul had spread throughout my body, to the point I barely saw any of the holes I used to see.Ñ00v€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

The fact my soul looked like swiss cheese was my reminder that my memories were broken and needed to recover, but from the look of it, I was healing up. Did my encounter with Franz fix me up further? It was highly likely as seeing and talking to him had allowed certain emotions to surge out, even if I couldnt fully remember him. The fact I could hear my past lifes nameHikarimade this theory of mine sensible.

The soul of a person adapts to its vessel. Aurena and Crustacia were right about this as my human soul was turning into a dragons. Looking up and down, I could attest to this as I was in my [Humanize (Minor)] form, instead of my [Humanize (Major)] or [Humanize (Moderate)] as like my previous visits to the divine realm.

Dont look too surprised. Yall be just like yer grandpapa soon enoughyall be visitin us in yer dragon form, Hestia. Hahaha, Aurena and Kargryxmor failed to remove yer memories cause of that third gods interference, but, how would ya look at that, yer just like my Chihiro, Crustacia stated. Didnt try to erase her memories when I brought her to this world. Just gave her a second chance to live. Haa, its just a shame she got unlucky with her body again. Died from an illness back on Earth, died young again in this world.

My eyes widened when she mentioned the Revolution Queenmy [Otherworldly Reincarnator] predecessor. I couldnt just let this chance to ask her about her fly by. Illness? What exactly was it?

Brain cancer. She was blunt as always. Got her before she could retire back on Earth. She probably would still be alive when ya were born. Her dwarven body? Issues, too. Healin potions and spells cant cure yer body if it considers it natural. Good girl, though, made the best out of the situation and somehow I just had to offer her an apotheosis for what she did. Nhahaha! Shes the reason me faith got a golden age.

Hearing the goddess blast out her lungs with that joyous crackle made me speechless. She slapped her thighs, trying to hold back her laughter with her hand, but everything failed as she wheezed one her golden chair. Elegance? Imposing? Neither adjective could properly describe how Crustacia acted; it was as if I was meeting any other dwarf.

She fits her patron race perfectly. I concluded. It was no wonder the dwarves worshiped her this much. She felt like a far cry from the Earth Elemental Emperor who created the dwarven race, as the latter claimed that his children were imperfect and flawed creations, while Crustacia accepted them with open arms.

After she finally stopped, Crustacia groomed her stone-hard hair, making sure she still looked the part of a goddess. Hehe, well, Chihiro is probably enjoyin the reward I gave her. Shes not an active goddess, but she does her part.

Reward? There was more than just becoming a god? I asked.

Sure. She nodded. I gave her a chance to be reborn again, this time back on Earth.

Huh?

Her powers are suppressed while shes there, as her vessel is a mortals body. Still, shes probably havin fun in the modern age of Earth, and probably enjoyin yer adventures. Seeing Ellaine and me tilt our heads, Crustacia leaned forward. The video recorder? She can watch what is happenin on yer side whenever ya film things. Get it?

My eyes widened as the implications of this. Meaning, the moment we obtained the recorder, Chihiro had been watching everything weve been doing, including our fight with Maagneil? The aftermath with Manethala. So

Crustacia smiled as an idea just crossed my mind. She shook her finger and tapped the stone table. But, let me get to the point before we derail. Ellaine, KleaHatma is certainly affectin yer, but that is cause of yer non-binding contract with her. Ya rejected it, but she made one with ya.

Klea? She stared to the right, but the demon didnt answer.

Embarrassed? Oooh, little wibble lusty havin a flush. Haha, didnt want yer friend to hear that, huh? Crustacia teased, causing something pink to suddenly appear on Ellaines shoulder, wiggling around like some spirit.

[Shut it!] KleaHatmas voice reappeared.

Crustacia smacked her leg. Haha! Knew it! I guess thats yer lust right now, huh? Well good to see. Ellaine is even calling ya by yer first name, but yer didnt even think to explain that ya made a contract with her to do that assimilation, huh?

First name? I wondered, asking them what they meant by that, only for it to be revealed that demon and demonkin names were written in a First nameLast name style. I thought Ellaine was calling KleaHatma by Klea to simplify it as the demons name was quite long. Like a nickname.

So, KleaHatma is Klea? VifiYok is Vifi? I stated, earning me a nod by everybody.

That orphan got her name from her adoptive parents, as ya probably heard from her yerself. She then pointed at Ellaine, who was showing the wiggling pink blob of gas a wide smile, causing the latter to just complain even further. There really is no problem. [Hestia Retainer] protects her from the demonic influence, her own personality makes it hard to accept the lust sin easily, and her connection to a supportive KleaHatma allows her very high resistance to demonic influences. Aurena really created a good demon hunter, huh?

I shrugged, but couldnt help but smile as I watched the two interact.

He sacrificed himself for us Still, the truth couldnt be denied. Yeostar helped me a ton.

That was inexcusable as a god trying to interfere with every event, no matter how trivial or severe, will only make it so that mortals will begin relyin on us too much. Mortals should live and thrive without us breathin down their necks. It corrupts ya, makes ya too similar to us gods. It eats away at your autonomy and slows down progress and development. Her hand gripped the table, causing it to crack as her passionate speech made her ignore her tightening hand. Essentially, Plesia and the rest of us do not wish to rule over like kings and queens, but as watchers and protectors. That is why we call ourselves administrators; we administer Peolynca and the Divine System that gives its inhabitants the ability to grow ever stronger.

I had heard that word being used by Aurena before during her first message to me. With the reasoning now revealed, it made sense to me why they used it.

And blessed are like moderators in this case, right? As admins, you have incredible authority and power to influence something, but you would rather stay in the background and fix stuff there. Instead, you leave the day-to-day issues to moderators you hireblessedso they can deal with things on equal grounds, I said.

I knew an Earthling like you would understand it! The internet and games make it easy to understand, right? Crustacia smiled, probably influenced to be like this by Chihiro. Exactly. There are issues here and there, and some rules are a bit too restrictive. Weve been loosening things up like allowing some gods to visit the mortal realms as long as they stay inconspicuous with their actions. There was also a rule where, outside of Divine Quests, we werent even allowed to talk to ya, like now!

And thats the punishment? I asked, considering we were talking about Yeostar here. I can understand him not talking as he did it, but wouldnt it be too restrictive when it concerns every god?

However, she shook her head. Only the Pantheon of Light was punished. Aurena took on some of the responsibility, arguing that shes been too close with you, and that it made her too lax with her pantheon. Good on her, as if she hadnt persuaded Plesia, Yeostar most likely would have suffered the same fate as Danterno.

I tilted my head to this, finding this mention coming out of nowhere. ShiGod Danterno? But hes an Origin God. No way would Goddess Plesia strip him off his divinity now, right?

Goodness, girl, what are ya thinkin? Crustacia admonished me for my creative mind. No, of course, not! Urgh, no, killing or removin a god from their domains can cause some really destabilizing problems. This isnt worth dealing with that crap. Also, Danterno is Plesias bloody brother, no matter what he does, that water goddess aint permanently hurtin her own family.

Okay, maybe I did go a bit wild with my imagination.

As such, I inquired what his punishment was, as it seemed like Crustacia would answer it, unlike Aurena.

To become humbled and understand his followers and faiththat is what Plesia forced him to do. His role as Primarch of Fire was temporarily usurped by Plesia, but she isnt taking over the administration, instead, handing it over to Danternos subordinate gods You can expect an incompetent inferno like him to have nurtured zero worthwhile right-hand gods.

Crustacia leaned forward, whispering Shiterno, right? and causing me to nod vigorously. Guy had it coming for granting me his blessing without my or Aurenas approval.

She continued, Hes currently inhabiting the body of a mortal with the limitations of one. Until he finds the answer to his travels, he wont be returning to the divine realm. He should also hurry as Plesia had no intentions of controlling his Pantheon at all to punish her brother. Just saying, but to most gods, a mortal life or some years lost isnt too impactful. We can always rebuild. Aurena, Zephira, and I disagree with this idea massively, but primordial gods like Plesia and Marsven, well, they have the wisdom and experience to know these small issues dont matter in the grand scheme of the world and universe.

And it was a perspective somebody like me really couldnt understand. That was what Crustacia was saying with that last part as she wanted to make sure I understood she wasnt one of those callous gods. Still, primordial gods, huh?Plesia and Marsven must be something if Crustacia would call them that.

So youre telling me to expect more issues with the Pantheon of Fire now that God Danterno is on vacation? I grimaced, as I couldnt imagine the amount of crazy Shiterno fanatics were wandering the world now.

To my chagrin, Crustacia nodded. Your issue to deal with, sorry. If you want to expedite things, find Danterno and help him out. He probably would be receptive towards his newest Saintess, right? Nhaha!

Even as a soul, I could already feel my brain burning up by this thought. A painful headache was stinking into my head, making me feel not only ill but slightly unmotivated with dealing with any of this crap. Why was Shiterno such an idiot of a god? Couldnt he have just handled things like his sister and colleagues so the world wouldnt have to suffer for his incompetence? This was maddening!

Thankfully, Yeostar doesnt have to deal with it, but its probably almost as severe, as he lost his ability to directly train his blessed.

Oh no, the reason to become a Champion of Yeostar is the training he provides, I stated, remembering Champions of Yeostar were the strongest blessed amongst the Pantheon of Light due to this fact. In exchange, he could only possess one blessed at a time. Renee wont like hearing this.

Crustacia nodded. He lost a ton of privileges as a god, honestly. Its not the worst, but the ripple effects of this will affect his religion and you, too, Hestia.

Me?

Goddess of Nobility and Wealth, Erithia. Ring any bells?

I nodded. The first time I met her, the manner she spoke and commanded me as if I was one of her pawns still grated on my nerves up until now. The authority she wielded to make me know my place, reminding me that I was a Champion and that I had to do what was good for Aurena.

She cant speak with anybody, but depending on how Aurena handles it, Erithia might hold a deep grudge for seeing one of her best friends lose so much influence. Dont forget, they fought together back when they were mortals. They have a bond as strong as ya and Saori, for example.

The more I heard about this, the more I wished I hadnt asked Crustacia about anything. Thankfully, she did make it clear that it was unlikely Erithia would sabotage me too much as she still supported Aurena at the end of the day. I was still a flag bearer for the other blessed to combat the demonkins controlling the church of Aurena, so they couldnt just denounce me. Still, I had to expect some hostility if I met somebody who worshiped Erithia.

That Saintess you saved is one of them.

You gotta be kidding me here.

Apparently, Auroras bad luck with encounters applied towards my fellow blessed, huh?

Regardless, it was good I finally understood what was going on now. Crustacia gave me a bunch of information and she asked me to shower her with flattery before she called in Grimnir and Ellaine for my third reward. This also meant that my time with Crustacia was coming to an end.

Thank you very much for everything, Goddess Crustacia. It was quite long, but I appreciated everything. From information on Chihiro, to KleaHatma, and God Danternos situation, and to why Goddess Aurena and Kramps havent spoken to me.

Dont worry about it. She waved her hand in dismissal. The punishment will be lifted in your lifetime, so just endure it however long. It probably wont happen until ya got the thing with the Prince of Envy sorted out, but if things are to be handled like this, it just wont work. Laws are there for a reason, and that is something I agree with Plesia.

Well, I guess it also helps that you dont have somebody like me around, I stated, but Crustacia just laughed it off.

Nah, as if! I spoke a ton with Chihiro, but I never did anything like a speaking voice in her head, nhaha. I gave no tips outside on how to handle a Divine Quest. She was completely independent as we gods expect, she replied. Besides Aurenas religion is probably the one who interacts with its blessed the most. Zephira and I dont have as many blessed, and most dont need too much talkin to. Danterno isnt too good at it, so he avoids too much personal contact. Plesia only thinks of her followers as pets, while Marsven couldnt care less if his followers were dead or alive, as either one would fuel him with power.

The God of Darkness who has the Goddess of Death on his side Yeah, I would guess he wouldnt care if his followers were still kicking.

With that, my meeting with Crustacia ended. She waved at me as the fairnite table and golden chairs melted back into the ground. She waved at me, telling me to say Hi to the person I was about to meet, causing me to tense up, as I had a feeling who she was talking to.

If everything goes well, then I will be glad to help you out on this Divine Quest, Hestia. Good luck, and make sure to translate everything for them.

I nodded as my vision turned black. I closed my eyes, waiting for everything to end until I began to hear the sound of lava bubbling and the metal clanking of metal. I opened up my eyes, realizing I was currently inside a literal chamber made from lava.

My eyes darted around, where I noticed two souls next to me. Both were see through, but one was the size of my hand, looking very much like a fairy with her butterfly-like wings. The other was a stout man who reached up to my shoulder with two ram-like horns. Both of them looked around, before they noticed me.

Tasianna. Grimnir. Hope I didnt take too long, I answered to them, before pointing forward at the source of the clanking.

There, a single dwarven man kept pounding his hammer onto an anvil, forging something glowing bright white. Once he was done, he dropped the item into the lava before wiping away the soot on his face. He turned around, holding on his hammer and looked at us while stroking his beard.

Bleidla, Grimnir mumbled.