When Elise opened her eyes again, she smiled.
She hadn't expected that Holy Mother Goddess to actually listen to her and give her some sacred origin power.
Origin power was an extraordinarily rare thing. Ever since Elise obtained the power of Sacredness, she had constantly studied it, but trying to comprehend everything entirely on her own was ultimately far too slow.
If there were a senior who could guide Elise, her understanding of Sacredness might very well advance another step.
And by sheer coincidence, Chichi, the Holy Mother Goddess of the ExE world, happened to be a goddess who possessed sacred power.
It was precisely because Elise wanted to advance further that she had made such a request of her. It absolutely wasn't because the Holy Mother Goddess looked easy to bully!
"But in a few more days, it'll be time for my agreement with the Hindu pantheon, right?"
"It's about time I gave them a surprise."
With that, Elise opened her mouth and directly stuffed the glowing mass of sacred energy in her hand inside.
Because it was pure energy, it had no flavor whatsoever, but it contained an incomparably vast amount of power as well as the purest form of Sacredness.
Combined with Elise using Power of Faith to heighten her own sensitivity, she would definitely be able to comprehend the true essence of this sacred energy as quickly as possible.
...
Somewhere unknown within the Netherworld, a pitch-black figure gradually appeared.
He was draped in a black cloak that concealed his face, but the exposed palm of his hand possessed a mechanical structure...
That's right. The newcomer was none other than the black-cloaked figure who had previously given Shiva a trace of destruction origin power within the Hindu pantheon.
"To think it was actually in a place like this. You really made me search for quite a while!"
This entire space was filled with dense darkness, making it completely impossible to see the surroundings with the naked eye alone.
However, the black-cloaked figure seemed entirely unaffected as he drifted straight toward a particular direction.
Even without being able to see, he could still sense the oppressive presence coming from the distance, as well as the exceptionally conspicuous runes ahead.
Although the being there was not as powerful as the three great existences he had met, it could still be regarded as one of the strongest beings in this world, stronger than at least ninety-nine percent of its inhabitants.
"To think it's this kind of seal..."
Even he was somewhat surprised as he looked at the runes blocking his path.
"Then again, if the one who created these runes wasn't a powerful being, how could they possibly have sealed a monster of this caliber?"
"Since those three Lords entrusted this matter to me, I must complete it properly!"
As he spoke, the black-cloaked figure took something from within his robes. It was another mass of pitch-black energy.
However, compared to the one he had given Shiva, this mass was clearly far stronger and far more terrifying.
Merely holding this energy caused the black-cloaked figure's body to tremble faintly, while even the seal before him began to sway unnaturally.
"As expected, those three Lords are still superior!"
After seeing this result, obvious joy entered the black-cloaked figure's voice.
"With this, this entire world will completely belong to those three Lords!"
He raised the pitch-black sphere of energy high above his head. The surging power erupting around him completely blew back his cloak, revealing that familiar mask once more.
However, an astonishing sight was revealed at that very moment.
The black-cloaked figure wasn't actually wearing a mechanical mask. No matter how one looked at it, his entire head was completely mechanical, yet the section of his neck beneath it was still made of human flesh.
In other words, he was neither purely human nor purely mechanical. He was closer to some kind of cyborg.
The pitch-black sphere slowly rose upward before finally erupting completely the instant it came into contact with those mysterious runes.
The raging energy swept across the entire space like a tsunami in an instant, and even those sacred runes gradually began to crack.
"Judging by the time, it should be about right."
After giving the sacred runes in the distance one final glance, the black-cloaked figure turned around and left the space along the path he had come from.
However, even after he left, the disturbances here did not stop.
Under the relentless erosion of that immense destructive power, the sacred runes were completely reduced to dust before vanishing from the space.
Yet just before they disappeared, the collision of those energies produced a small explosion. The brief flash of fire illuminated what was hidden there.
If anyone had witnessed that scene, they would undoubtedly have been shaken to the core, followed by overwhelming fear.
Because lurking within that dark space was an incomparably enormous monster!
It was a savage beast with ten horns and seven heads, overflowing with violent ferocity!
Simply looking at it was enough to utterly destroy one's desire to fight and ignite the fear buried within one's heart!
And at the exact instant that flash of light appeared, the massive beast's body seemed to move slightly.
But immediately afterward, everything sank back into infinite darkness, as though nothing had ever happened.
...
Several days later.
Dressed in pure and sacred white robes, Elise arrived on Heaven's sixth layer. A considerable army of angels had already gathered there, most of them new angels created by Elise herself.
Powerful angels such as Michael and Metatron stood at the very front of the entire host, allowing them to witness their God's arrival from the closest possible distance.
Nearby were Est and the other young girls who were not angels but shared special relationships with Elise.
"Is everyone ready?"
The moment Elise's voice spread through the area, every angel raised their head. Their fervent gazes burned as they stared at their Lord.
"Ready at any time!"
The roar of more than ten thousand angels shouting simultaneously created an almost unimaginable momentum.
More frighteningly, there seemed to be flames burning within those angels' eyes, crimson as blood and brilliant as fluttering banners.
Something about this seems a little off. This doesn't feel very angelic at all!
Normally, they could communicate just like ordinary people. Only in Elise's presence would they become abnormally fanatical, because every single one of them held an extraordinarily fervent faith in Elise!
Elise could tell from the Power of Faith alone.
Even if she did something utterly outrageous to these angels, they would willingly accept it and obey every command Elise gave them.
"Since everyone's ready, remain on standby!"
And so, the angels witnessed an incredibly stirring sight.
Under the mighty power of their Lord, a massive rift stretching toward the heavens slowly opened, and on the other side lay their destination.
The Hindu pantheon!
"Whether you'll actually be useful depends on what the Hindu pantheon chooses."
"Dead or Alive!"
...
Ever since they learned that the God of the Bible would personally visit them, the entire Hindu pantheon had become extraordinarily busy.
In order to preserve as many seeds for the future as possible, they made a difficult choice. They would first submit to the God of the Bible, then wait until Shiva achieved a breakthrough before searching for an opportunity to break free.
Every member of the Hindu pantheon's upper ranks agreed with this decision. The people below, however, did not understand it and might cause trouble, perhaps even creating numerous problems. But no matter what kind of trouble arose, it was still better than annihilation, wasn't it?
And so, they planned to hold an exquisite banquet to welcome the God of the Bible. While establishing good relations, they also hoped to lower her guard slightly and make her underestimate the Hindu pantheon.
After all, the strength of Shiva, the God of Destruction, was universally acknowledged. They believed Elise would surely take some kind of action to restrict Shiva!
That was the usual method employed by the old monsters of the world, and the God of the Bible was probably no exception.
To prepare this banquet, they mobilized countless members of their pantheon and even assigned dedicated personnel to supervise everything, checking whether there was anything that might offend their guest.
However...
"You over there! How can you use a spatula when making curry?"
"That has absolutely no soul!"
The supervisors wandered around inspecting everything and quickly discovered quite a few problems.
"The one we're about to welcome is the God of the Bible!"
"The ruler of the Biblical pantheon! We're trying to provide her with the very best treatment. Don't you understand?"
To correct his subordinate's mistake, the supervisor even stepped in personally, plunging his hand directly into the curry and stirring it vigorously.
"See? Only by doing it like this can you make truly authentic Indian curry with real soul!"
"Understood, understood! We'll do everything exactly as you instruct!"
Sometimes, those at the top and those below understood the same matter in completely different ways.
Although the entire banquet was being organized according to their plans, whether it would actually succeed still depended on the God of the Bible's decision.
If the God of the Bible accepted their submission, then they could be considered to have escaped disaster and could peacefully wait for Shiva's breakthrough.
But if the God of the Bible intended to eliminate the problem once and for all, then they couldn't be blamed for fighting to mutual destruction.
The entire Hindu pantheon was now in an extremely busy state. Only the few great gods at the top had relatively little to do.
But that did not mean they were truly relaxed. After all, they were about to meet the God of the Bible, so some nervousness was inevitable.
Just as everything was about to be completed, Shiva opened his tightly closed eyes and looked toward the distance.
Countless different auras were gathering there. Although he did not recognize the presence of every single person among them, there was no doubt about it.
The God of the Bible had already arrived at their doorstep.
"Everyone, return to your positions!"
"The God of the Bible is here!"
...
Accompanied by the appearance of a beam of holy light, everyone's attention was drawn toward that dazzling figure.
Radiant golden hair combined with an immaculate and pure aura. One had to admit...
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"As expected of the God of the Bible!"
Shiva clapped his hands as he slowly rose from the steps, then quickly walked over to Elise.
"It is an honor to meet you for the first time, Your Holiness, God of the Bible!"
"We have been awaiting your arrival for quite some time."
Amid Shiva's welcoming words, Elise and the angels she had brought with her finally followed them into the venue.
However...
After noticing everything around her, the corners of Elise's mouth couldn't help twitching. She genuinely could not understand why both the humans and gods of India cooked like this.
"Are you really planning to surrender? This isn't an assassination attempt by poisoning, is it?"
The scene resembled a witch's laboratory so much that it was truly difficult to feel at ease.
It wasn't only Elise. Even the angels following behind her revealed shocked expressions at that moment.
They simply could not imagine that anyone would actually dare present something like this before the God of the Bible.
Yet at this critical moment, Shiva stepped forward.
With a single wave of his hand, all those unsightly objects vanished from everyone's sight together with the people responsible for creating them, leaving not even ashes behind.
It was the pure aura of destruction!
In that single instant, Shiva had erased every last trace of those impurities. His control over his power was simply flawless.
"My apologies. That was merely a small joke intended to lighten the atmosphere. I hope Your Holiness will not take offense."
With that, Shiva gave Brahma beside him a meaningful glance, and the latter immediately understood.
Under the power of Brahma's mighty creation ability, the surrounding environment began transforming at astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, it became an exquisite European-style castle.
Then Shiva lowered his head toward Elise...
"Additionally, we sincerely wish to surrender. Please do not hold such trivial matters against us..."
Elise gazed in Shiva's direction thoughtfully.
According to her expectations, Shiva should never have submitted so easily.
Just like when she had attacked the devils back then, Elise believed that only by showing off a little strength in front of them would they truly submit.
So the probability of a fight breaking out had been extremely high!
But now... why was this so different from what she had imagined? Shiva's demeanor didn't look like that of someone who was lying.
Could I have been mistaken?
After all, Shiva had barely appeared in the High School DxD anime, so Elise didn't know very much about him. She only knew that his strength was extraordinarily formidable.
After arriving in this world, Elise had also heard that Shiva was an aggressive battle maniac who was difficult to reason with... but looking at things now, those rumors appeared to be complete nonsense.
Shiva is actually quite reasonable!
Major points for the Hindu pantheon!
"Since that's the case, I won't hold it against you!"
Elise's mood visibly improved. Although she still had no intention of eating Indian cuisine, she had begun to feel a degree of approval toward Shiva.
"Then let's spend the rest of our time having a proper discussion!"
The Hindu pantheon was currently dancing over a pit of fire, like a dancer from the Western Regions. One wrong step could cause the flames to engulf them.
Fortunately, the upper ranks of their faction had excellent heads on their shoulders. During Elise's conversation with Shiva, she gained a thorough understanding of his desire to make his pantheon more peaceful and stable.
"Then finally, all we need to do is complete this contract, and the agreement between us will be finalized!"
Looking at the contract Elise produced, Shiva silently nodded. He directly picked up the pen, intending to sign his name on the document.
However...
Just as the tip of the pen was about to touch the paper, an unexpected change occurred!
As the person directly involved, Shiva was the first to notice something abnormal happening to his body. He... couldn't move?
When he traced the strange aura within his body back to its source, his expression became incomparably shocked.
Because all of this had been caused by that black-cloaked figure!
That mass of destruction origin power was devouring his strength!