Mommy Villainess

These were the monsters that terrorized the empire now and then.    

But thanks to the rise of powerful people all over the world, the Crades were forced to hide from humans that they used to hunt.    

As the human race gained more power, the Crades grew weaker until they were no longer considered a threat despite the fact that they were man-eating monsters. In fact, these days, nobles would even organize hunting events to hunt Crades for fun.    

[But the Ancient Crades are different…]    

Luna gulped hard while staring at the first Ancient Crade that crawled out of the magic circle that looked like a whirlpool/portal at the moment.    

The monster was at least fifteen meters tall.    

It almost looked like a mummy because it was all skin and bones. Moreover, the Ancient Crade had a shape similar to humans. Hence, it looked like a giant with elongated limbs. Ah, no. It would be more appropriate to call the Ancient Crade a "human tree" because its "skin" was similar to a tree's.    

CRAAACK.    

As soon as the Ancient Crade stepped into the asphalt, cracks immediately appeared all over the road because it obviously weighed a ton.    

[I have to stop that monster.]    

Fortunately, the Mana and life force that Luna absorbed from the now-gone Royal Archmage helped her gain more power.    

She wasn't sure how long she'd last, though.    

Her thoughts were interrupted when the Ancient Crade let out a blood-curdling scream.    

[It's hungry– very hungry.]    

Much to Luna's surprise, the Ancient Crade ran very fast– and it was headed towards the residential area. She didn't expect the monster to move fast because of how huge it was!    

[Nooo!]    

Luna immediately extended her arms, the palms of her hands facing the Ancient Monster. She was about to cast a spell to stop it from moving when, all of a sudden, the monster let out an agonizing scream before it got down on one knee.    

Huh?    

Luna thought she saw a figure of a man who just punched the Ancient Crade in the knee, causing it to kneel down. But she didn't get the chance to see who it was because, suddenly, several sharp wind blades cut it into many pieces.    

After that, the pieces were burned to ashes by blue– almost purple– flame.    

[Right, they're here.]    

The one who punched the Ancient Crade's kneecap with brute force was the captain of the Golden Tiger Knights– Captain Ainsworth.    

[Since Ainsworth– the Golden Tiger– is here, then that makes Captain Ainsworth stronger.]    

The one who cut the monsters into tiny pieces was Captain Noel Sherwood.    

[If Captain Sherwood is here, then it's safe to assume that he has already finished the twin combat-mages.]    

And, finally, the one who burned the pieces…    

"Miss Luna."    

"Captain Denver."    

Yes, it was Sir Mikhail Denver.    

Luna descended down to the ground to talk to the Fire Wielder. "The evacuation…"    

"It's being led by Flint and the Fire Wielders. The Tigers are also protecting the citizens," Captain Denver reported to her. "Captain Sherwood, Captain Ainsworth, and I will deal with the Ancient Crades. I'm sorry for asking you this, but please do what you have to do in order to stop the magic spell to summon more Ancient Crades, Miss Luna." His face suddenly turned grim. "The Ancient Crade that we killed just now was the weakest. However, we can feel that the other Ancients Crades left are terrifying."    

Luna nodded in agreement because she could also tell that the remaining monsters inside the portal were stronger than the first one that appeared. "I'll do my best to close the portal."    

***    

[WINTER has probably returned to his physical body, right?]    

Julian was worried, but he had faith that his brother would find his way back to his physical body.    

"Hey, what happened?"    

It was Solenn.    

The young princess was possessed by a deity named 'Serafina' earlier. But it seemed like Solenn had successfully kicked out the deity to regain her physical body.    

"You're really amazing, Solenn."    

"Now you're speaking casually to me," Solenn complained lightly, huffing. "Anyway, the last thing I remember was seeing the deity I often see each time I get reincarnated."    

"Lady Serafina possessed you earlier."    

The young princess frowned, but she didn't comment on that.    

Julian then took his time to look around. It was a weird room, to say the least. A black whirlpool was placed in the middle of the floor.    

<"That is what we call the 'Abyss.'">    

The voice came from Serafina.    

He could feel the deity, but he couldn't see her anymore.    

"I know what the Abyss is," Solenn said in a serious voice while looking at the black whirlpool. "It's where my soul would go whenever it was time for me to get reincarnated as my father's daughter again."    

He knitted his eyebrows. "Is that how it's supposed to be?"    

Julian had already been reincarnated before, but he couldn't remember the process. Even so, he thought going into the Abyss was a weird way to get reincarnated.    

[Especially when the Abyss feels ominous.]    

"I didn't question it before because I thought it was normal," Solenn said, tilting her head. "But now that you mentioned, the process seems to be a little… sketchy."    

<"You don't remember it, Julian, but that's also how you got reincarnated.">    

"Oh?"    

<"Every single person that Soleil Rosenberg treasures gets reincarnated the same way– all of you are reincarnated the way she wanted you to be. That's why Solenn is always reincarnated as Solaris' daughter, and why you and Winter are always reborn as her children.">    

  "How is that possible?" Julian asked curiously. "Why does Mother have the power to choose how her loved ones would be reincarnated?"    

<"Because Soleil Rosenberg swallowed the sun.">    

"I often hear that, but I don't understand what it means."    

Solenn nodded in agreement with Julian's comment. "We know that the Supreme swallowed the powers of the major gods when she swallowed the sun, but it doesn't explain the reason why Lady Soleil has power over the Plane."    

<"A piece of the Abyss is connected to Soleil Rosenberg. To be precise, the living piece of the Abyss is living inside the Supreme. That's why she can store anything inside the Abyss– even the souls of her loved ones.">    

Julian gasped when he thought he finally understood what the Abyss was trying to explain. "Are you saying that the soul of every person Mother loved would get sucked in by the Abyss in order for them to get reincarnated?">    

<"That's right– and that's when all the problems in the Plane began.">    

Solenn clutched her head as if she was getting overwhelmed by all the information that they were hearing. "Okay, I get that the Plane was thrown into chaos when the Supreme gained the power to have her people reincarnated the way she wanted to. But I don't care about that."    

The young princess glared at the ceiling as if she could see something Julian couldn't.    

[Is Lady Serafina there?]    

"I want to know why one of Lady Soleil's children has to sacrifice himself," Solenn said coldly. "But just so you know, I won't give Julian to you."    

<"We need to remove the Abyss from the Plane, and I need a strong divine power to do that. Since both Julian and Winter are the children of the Supreme and the Black Serpent, both of them have enough divine power that I need. But…">    

"But they MIGHT die if they use all their divine power, right?" Solenn snarled at the invisible deity. Then she looked at Julian with a serious look on her face. "Don't do it, Julian. If we need divine power to move the Abyss, then we could just grab the gods and let them do their jobs for once."    

"But I have it."    

"Julian, I'm not letting you die–"    

"Not my divine power," Julian said, grabbing his chest tightly as he smiled. "I have another divine power inside me."    

Solenn looked confused at first, then she gasped. "The Holy Scepter!"    

Yes, he was talking about the Holy Scepter in his heart.    

<"Are you talking about the Holy Scepter that belongs to the Sky God's favored son?">    

The favored son of the Sky God was none other than Saint Asher Forrester.    

<"If that's the case, then it might work since the Holy Scepter contains an unbelievable amount of divine power from the Sky God himself.">    

That was a relief, but…    

"But we have a problem, Lady Serafina," Julian said grimly. "How do we take the Holy Scepter out of my heart without killing me?"    

***    

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