"Golden aura? Who would have thought that I would meet four divine beings right after my awakening. I am afraid that I have never done anything to earn this honor, but can you spare me?" Dori broke out in cold sweat when she saw the four ladies who surrounded her possessed a golden aura.
"No." Elena answered briefly.
"That's a pity. It seems what that human girl said is true. Unfortunately, the real threat has already fled far away to carry out their plans. Even if I were to die here, you would receive severe retribution! Come forth, hngh!" Dori activated a rune formation, but a divine being needed to give her the slightest time to finish her move.
"What relationship do you have with the mentioned real threat? Are you working with her?" Elena gripped Dori's jaw tightly and disrupted the magic fluctuations in Dori's body. No magic or trick could be pulled out in that condition.
"How shameless you are. You didn't even let me finish casting a spell." Dori tried to rebel, but nothing was going well for her now.
"This isn't a battle or fight in the first place." Elena narrowed her eyes.
"Hehe, so I stand no chance of escaping or surviving, huh. Eliminate me as you wish, but this pink memraid won't survive either. She is someone precious to your disciple, right?" Dori grinned.
"You know about that? Where's the real Dori?" Elysia raised her eyebrows.
"Too bad, she has become a part of me. I have given all the knowledge about you to that person. You will suffer a misery the next time you meet them, kekeke..." Dori chuckled like she was the victor regardless of the situation.
"I see. You extracted information from her, huh. However, you are dealing with the divine beyond your comprehension, witch." Rhea heaved a subtle sigh.
"..." Lifa glanced at Elysia. She knew Elysia was angry and irritated but still calm on the outside.
At that moment, Elysia put her hand on Dori's back. She would check the actual situation inside Dori's body directly. The current case was similar to what had happened to the Holy Central Region's queen.
Elysia could see that Dori's body was not blood-deprived like Ella's. It was just that Dori's spirit was not in a good situation, but Dori could still be saved. She immediately entered Dori's subconscious mini-realm.
"Dori?" Elysia stared at Dori's spirit, who was helpless, entangled in the net like a small fish that had given up on life.
Because Dori didn't respond to her call, she forced the witch's spirit back into that mini realm, out of control of Dori's body.
"What? How did you come here and drag me out?" The witch gasped in surprise. The one who sneaked into this subconscious mini realm was not an ordinary divine being but a high-rank Goddess!
"Hmph, you don't need to know." Elysia snorted softly.
A giant hand of golden energy appeared in that mini realm, lifting up the witch's spirit like a kitten. Elysia brought the witch out of Dori's body without saying much.
"No wonder that person is so wary of you all. Uh, wait!" The witch was shocked when she was picked up and sent away somewhere.
Elysia pulled the witch's spirit out of Dori's body, then handed it over to Rhea to handle. "Here, this is the witch who possessed Dori. You know what to do."
"Alright. Please go with me, witch. We have a lot to talk about." Rhea smiled faintly and immediately sealed the magic and energy flow in that witch's spirit.
"You will torture me to make me talk? Dream on! You will pay in hell. They will avenge me!" The witch called out in a cold and calm tone, but inside, she was highly agitated and scared.
She thought of a thousand ways to escape this predicament, but none would work because her life was at the Goddess' mercy.
"..." Rhea did not respond. She brought the witch's spirit closer to Doll One and that hawk beastkin.
"Impressive. Do you need help to restore Dori's spirit back to her body?" Lifa offered to help.
"It's okay, I can do it. Dori's mental state didn't collapse like that poor queen. However, the enemy got information about us from her." Elysia heaved a subtle sigh and caught Dori's lifeless body.
Luckily, Lifa and Nell insisted on permanently erasing the sensitive information about their group, including the matters related to Sea God, from Dori's mind. So, the enemy could only extract trivial details.
"Hmm-mm~" Lifa felt somewhat happy. She had put a bit of trick and misleading information in Dori's memory. The enemy would probably come at them soon because of her bait.
"..." Elena looked up at the sky. The moon was not in sight, but she felt a little uneasy because she suspected the Ruvoid Gods were watching everything that happened in this world. No one could confirm the truth, but that assumption was one that everyone in their group believed.
Meanwhile, Elysia sent her consciousness back into Dori's subconscious mini-realm. She dispelled the energy net that trapped the pitiful mermaid and gave some first aid to the traumatized spirit.
A few moments later, Dorienne awakened her consciousness. She woke up in a dark realm. Elysia was the first one he saw, but he trembled with fear and regret at what had just happened to her.
Dorienne's lips trembled, and she immediately prostrated herself. "Ely, Ely, is that you? I, I deserve to die..."
"That's me, but why would you say such a thing?" Elysia took a step back.
"I, I was kidnapped and framed. I was used as a sacrifice catalyst. However, someone like you suddenly came. I knew she was the one disguised as you. She made a deal with that hawk man and set a trap because they know you will come to save me. I, I... They manipulating me and having my memories read by them. I am a disappointment and have betrayed you, the Goddesses, and the Sea God." Dorienne admitted everything that happened as if it was all her fault.
"You went to see the Sea God, right? Why did you suddenly get kidnapped? Tell me the details." Elysia felt that something was wrong with Dorienne's situation. As for the trap, Doll One already destroyed it with ease.
She knew Oceanid would prevent dangerous entities from entering Evroria City since he was there, but Dorienne was kidnapped anyway. Perhaps, the culprit wasn't the Ruvoid Avatar, but that hawk man?
Dorienne then told Elysia about the incident that happened to her. Everything from her search for the Sea God to how she could end up being used as a catalyst to awaken an evil witch.
"Hm, it's not entirely your fault, but how do you want to take responsibility? You leaked information about us to the enemy." Elysia was decisive because she wanted to know how Dorienne would deal with this situation.
She didn't expect Sea God to play with the ladies in the brothel all night. He was drunk and let this little mermaid fall into danger. He also made the innocent mermaid hurt and cry.
"I deserve the death penalty. However, please be just me, and don't involve my clan and family. They are innocent." Dorienne lifted her head and pointed her nails at her neck.
"No rush. Do you see Sea God as your God or your love interest?" Elysia created a thin barrier to prevent Dorienne from committing suicide.
"!?" Dorienne realized she couldn't cut her neck. Elysia was the one who did it?
"He is the Sea God, the water dwellers Patron God. All aquatic creatures would worship him. Perhaps, I was presumptuous to expect his attention and affection. Unfortunately, despite everything I've done for him, I never once entered his eyes. I served him like a good servant, but he chose those old hags over me?" Dorienne began to blame herself in her mind. She was in a crisis because she felt her value was minuscule and insignificant.
"I originally also wanted to pull you to my side, but decided against it because you belong to the Sea God. Everyone can see your will, but we remind you by telling those mermaid bedtime stories. The Sea God's nature is familiar to some of us, and you were warned. What do you get now? What are you going to do?" Elysia turned around, showing her back to Dorienne.
"I'm useless..." Dorienne looked down and cried. She wanted to kill herself, but Elysia prevented her from doing so.
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
Elysia walked away, making footstep noises on purpose even though they were floating in the air.
"!?" Dorienne immediately glanced at Elysia's back, then looked around. She was in the middle of an unknown place of complete darkness. Elysia also wanted to leave her? "No, please don't leave me."
"Nee, Dori. Will you give your everything to me? I will grant you power, and in return, you belong to me. You may need to leave everything behind, and come with us to save the world. We need you and your strength." Elysia suddenly turned around and smiled elegantly.
"!!!" Dorienne widened her eyes. She didn't expect Elysia to want her. Elysia was someone who would become a Goddess in the future. Would she become Elysia's servant? But what about Sea God?
Sea God never considered her; her family only hoped she would not cause trouble. This might be the first time someone actually wanted her. It was expected for a mortal to serve the divine, but was it okay if she abandoned her God and embraced a new belief?
It felt wrong and despicable, but Dorienne seemed to move on her own and took Elysia's hand. She only hoped to be helpful and acknowledged.
Elysia never once blamed her for her mistake. Even though their meeting was not long, she knew Elysia was too kind and benevolent. If the future Goddess wished for it, she would gladly offer everything. Sea God didn't want her, after all. So, she would do anything to help them save the world.