Chapter 198

A single punch that crushes a demon, to a Dark Angel, is an extremely trivial matter.

The other seven Astate were likewise cold-blooded and efficient, crushing the remaining demons with absolute dominance.

Moreover, there was Shengjilesi, wielding a hunting bow and slaying demons from afar.

"Loyalty..."

At this moment, Artemis, standing at the tunnel exit, whispered "Loyalty" once more.

Along the way, it had personally witnessed the OriginalBody and the Astate's fearless bravery, their cold-blooded ruthlessness toward non-human beings, and their unwavering loyalty to Sui Bian.

Upon thinking of this,

Artemis then looked toward the demons in the palace who had chosen to fall but were now being hunted by dark and holy angels, and it felt that the gods were unworthy of being called gods.

Meanwhile, inside the palace,

Leon, sword in right hand, left hand swinging rhythmically with his steps, ignored the alluring gleam of jewelry and ornaments, as well as any attire that could stir the deepest primal desires, and walked straight toward Aphrodite, pinned to the floor tiles by the Cassius spear.

"Thud, thud."

Hearing the heavy, oppressive footsteps, Aphrodite turned her head to see Leon approaching.

When its gaze fell upon the red-glowing Lion King greatsword, it tried to counterattack, but the Cassius spear pierced its abdomen, preventing it from using Spiritual Energy and weakening its physical strength as well.

Just as Artemis had once been pinned in the underground garden and forced into slumber.

Immediately, Aphrodite abandoned the thought of retaliation, instead enduring the pain and inconvenience, striking as alluring a pose as she could to continue seducing Leon, saying:

"O mighty male god, if you can pull out this bothersome spear, you will gain my eternal love; I will be loyal only to you. Come, my..."

But before it could finish, Leon, drawing near, lifted his left foot and stomped down mercilessly.

Suddenly, the sole of the magnetic boot made "intimate contact" with Aphrodite's face, and incidentally sealed its mouth.

Like his brother John, Leon was a man of few words who preferred action, as he was doing now.

"Mmm—! Mmm!"

With its head underfoot, Aphrodite could only utter muffled noises, unable to speak any further vulgar words.

Had he not been considering the need for more information, Leon would have already swung the Lion King greatsword and beheaded the fallen Aphrodite.

Outside the palace, the battle was drawing to a close.

The low-ranking gods and divine servant soldiers who had become demons differed from the demons born natively in other dimensions; they, too, could feel fear.

Facing Astate whose punch could blast their heads apart and whose kick could shatter their bodies, even if they managed, by luck, to strike back before death, the demons collapsed utterly before the Astate's energy shields.

The two sides were no longer on the same level; only Aphrodite could kill an Astate, yet that fallen goddess had been forced "offline" from the start.

How are we supposed to fight this?

Thus, timidity gained the upper hand, and the remaining demons chose to flee.

The dark and holy angels continued their pursuit in pairs, simultaneously cleansing the entire palace.

Shengjilesi and Artemis also left the tunnel entrance, passed through the palace complex, and entered Aphrodite's inner palace.

Faced with jewelry and clothing, Shengjilesi likewise ignored them, while Artemis showed a look of sudden realization.

It knew well that before her fall, Aphrodite had favored such things, being naturally licentious, and those demons likely exploited this to lure her sister into the trap that led to her demonic fall.

As they pondered, Artemis and Shengjilesi reached the palace's center, and Artemis raised her head to Leon, saying: "I have a few questions for her; if she refuses to cooperate, please, you two, give her a quick end."

Saying this, Artemis half-crouched beside the Aphrodite whose head was underfoot, her tone flat as she asked: "I want to know what exactly happened on Olympus; where are Father and the other gods? And why did you fall like this?"

Seeing this, Leon, who also sought information, moved his left foot.

"Pah! Pah!"

With her mouth freed, Aphrodite fiercely wiped her lips and cheeks with her hand, glared hatefully at Leon, then turned her head to Artemis and sneered:

"Give me a quick death? Sister, you and that old coot Zeus, as well as the Olympian gods—including my former self—are all false gods! You will die! You will cease to exist!"

"But now I have received my lord's blessing; even if my body perishes, I still exist in this world, so..."

"If that's the case," Artemis interrupted, rose to her feet, stepped back a few paces to keep a safe distance, and said to the two OriginalBodies:

"Then please trouble you two."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Leon raised his right-hand Lion King greatsword and swung it at Aphrodite's neck with blinding speed.

At the same moment, Shengjilesi lifted his hunting bow and fired a Spiritual Energy arrow.

"Pfft!"

"Boom—!"

In the blink of an eye, Aphrodite's head and body were "separated," and the arrow struck her torso, triggering a blinding explosion.

The blinding explosion not only vaporized Aphrodite's body entirely but also reached the two nearby OriginalBodies; however, the energy shields generated by their OriginalBody powered armor helped offset the aftershock.

Finally, in the palace's center, only the Cassius spear remained, slanted into the floorboards.

As for Aphrodite, whose physical form had already vanished, she didn't even get to utter a mad laugh before being "plundered" by Sui Bian, who stood in the sky a kilometer above, consuming 1500 points.

Both OriginalBodies, as well as Artemis standing far off, felt Aphrodite's complete disappearance.

In fact, since Artemis awoke, her thoughts and behavior have, without her noticing, gradually begun to shift toward an "Umbrella"-like development.

She knew this was related to the Spiritual Energy constantly released by Sui Bian, and even suspected that her loss of divine power was likewise inseparable from him.

At first, she was strongly resistant.

But, as a god under the eaves, she had no choice but to lower her head; given the vast chasm between them, Artemis said nothing.

But as she witnessed the gods and soldiers who had fallen into demonhood, and her half-sister, she came to understand Sui Bian's actions ever more clearly.

Although her divine power had faded, Artemis could still make use of her "home," the Round Moon Lake above the underground garden, to produce "Round Moon Water" with purifying and dispelling effects.

However, Aphrodite was clearly beyond redemption, her hands stained with countless lives' blood; rather than futilely attempting to save her with Round Moon Water, Artemis leaned toward outright annihilation.

At that moment.

A Holy Blood Angel reported over the comms: "We have located a suspected Artisan God target, as well as six imprisoned humanoid entities."

(End of Chapter)