Chapter 408: All or Nothing

Within the vast seat of the Highest, the sea of pure Holy Light and the bizarre, warped Pollution shimmered against each other—two colors that could never blend, dividing the world cleanly in half.

Yet amid this terrifying standoff—one that seemed bound to end with the total annihilation of one side—the atmosphere fell strangely silent. Neither the Evil God nor the infinite Holy Light moved. Both seemed to have sunk into a peculiar calm.

Though beneath that calm, volcanic rage smoldered.

Staring at each other, they almost looked... sympathetic.

“Feeling empathy for an Evil God—now that’s something I never thought I’d experience.”

The Pope rubbed his brow and quickly reined in his emotions.

With his experience, he’d seen too many absurd things over the centuries. This was hardly enough to ruin his composure.

Besides, from his point of view, compared to the “small matter” of some golden-haired pig rooting up the cabbages in his garden, the Evil God before him had far more reason to suffer. Her cherished delicacy—those lambs She had longed for over a thousand years—had been roasted clean to ash before She even got a single bite.

Yes, if She had blood pressure, it would probably have blasted through the roof and taken Her skull with it.

“In that sense, I really ought to thank that kid.”

The Pope’s mouth twisted into a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. He suddenly swung his scepter down.

Above, countless cross-lights surged forth once more. Without his noticing, the sea of Holy Light had already swallowed the entire sky.

“It’s time to bring this to an end.”

The brilliance gathered like blades of divine judgment, all locked on the Evil God. Under the immense seal, She had nowhere left to flee.

“I’ve dealt with you for so many years—at the very least, you owe me this much. Leave that projection behind. Courtesy for courtesy—that’s how guests should be treated, isn’t it?”

At the Pope’s cold command, countless holy crosses fell like a rain of world-ending light.

But facing this assault—strong enough to threaten even Her projection—the Mother of Abundance did not react as the Pope had expected.

She did not strike back, nor did She dodge. Instead, She let the rain of light erode Her form. Then Her vast shadow expanded and seized upon something hovering above Kanteville—

A moon.

A moon that had stopped its orbit long ago.

Her shadow wrapped around it as if grasping a massive lead ball.

And then—aiming directly at Kanteville—She hurled it down!

Boom!

The half-dome barrier above Kanteville cracked instantly. The moon slammed straight into the fissure, embedding itself halfway through—and it was still sinking!

“What is this...?”

The Pope narrowed his eyes, quickly marshaling power to shield Kanteville. But confusion flickered through him.

Evil Gods didn’t have things like blood pressure. Their wrath, when provoked, was a thousand times more dreadful than any mortal’s.

But it wasn’t he who had burned Her flock. That had been the Withering King’s flame. What did that have to do with the Church?

She should’ve known that with just a projection, it was impossible to break through Kanteville under the Church’s watchful eye. At most, She could do something like... throw half a moon in.

And even if She did force a breach, what good would it do?

So if She wanted to throw a tantrum, shouldn’t She be directing it beyond the world—at the Withering King?

Then why...

BZZZZZ—

The Pope’s thoughts were cut short as a piercing hum filled the air.

At the same time, the entire seat of the Highest trembled. In the distance, red warning lights began to flash.

“Your Holiness!”

A panicked voice sounded in his ear:

“The Star-Observatory Temple reports—an Evil God anomaly detected!”

“Anomaly?”

The Pope frowned. “The Evil God’s projection is right here, in front of my eyes! Do they think I need them to tell me that?”

“N-no, not the projection.”

The voice trembled slightly.

“It’s the main body! The true Mother of Abundance, outside the World Barrier!”

...

Beyond the World Barrier, the faceless woman peered through that nearly imperceptible veil—as if appraising this beautiful, vibrant world.

Then, as though bored of the view, She raised Her hand. A pale palm emerged from the sleeve woven with night itself and pressed down gently toward a certain direction.

The transparent barrier bent with a faint arc.

Cracks split across Her palm. From the divine blood that flowed, strange flowers grew and bloomed in grotesque beauty.

Even so—accepting the cost—She endured the backlash of the world’s walls and pressed Her hand down resolutely.

Over the Holy City, a vast barrier spread open in an instant. Many within, the powerful among them, looked up in alarm as if sensing something.

But almost at once, that feeling of dread vanished entirely, like an illusion that many had simply imagined together.

For at that precise moment—unseen by all—a Gate appeared above the Holy City.

The Gate silently opened. Countless metallic echoes rang out—steel striking steel, the grinding of iron.

And from that narrow Gate, something else emerged—

A hand.

A slender, white hand.

Pop.

No earth-shattering blast, no world-ending cataclysm.

Only the faint sound of a bubble bursting in sunlight.

As that hand reached out, all calamity ceased.

【Gulp.】

Beyond the Barrier, the Evil God named Abundance gazed at that hand. She stroked Her flat, growling belly and let out a sound of hunger and drooling desire.

But in the end, with a hint of regret, She withdrew Her hand and turned Her gaze farther away.

...

“What? The true Mother of Abundance?”

The Pope’s pupils shrank. In an instant, linking the projection’s bizarre actions together, he suddenly understood much.

“Your Holiness...”

“Don’t worry about that. The main body’s attack can’t break through the World Barrier. The real issue isn’t there—it’s still... in this projection!”

“Not good. She’s planning to abandon this projection—going all in!”

The sudden assault on Kanteville, the Mother of Abundance’s main body stirring beyond the world—it had all been a feint.

She knew perfectly well that those actions were futile.

Her true purpose was to buy her projection a chance.

A chance—to lunge toward Her ultimate goal.

Yes, every act of the Mother of Abundance had always been for that.

If She couldn’t regain strength by feeding on the lambs, then She would simply find another way.

And now, to destroy this projection, the Pope had deliberately confined Her within an endless flood of Holy Light.

Which meant—She had reached a depth She had never before attained!

“Damn it!”

Sure enough, just as the Pope gathered the Holy Light once more, the Mother of Abundance seized that fleeting instant—and sank again.

Downward—deeper, deeper still—toward the bottommost reaches of the seat of the Highest, into an abyss without end.

Toward that, the thing She desired most.

And once She reached it—once She made contact with that—

Then not just this Church She despised, but all humankind, every living soul of this world, would be swallowed into Her pasture.