"So soft..."
Her vision was covered in darkness, but Elise could tell that she wasn't lying on the cold ground. Instead, she was resting on something warm and soft...
It was like freshly heated pudding, gently bouncing beneath her. If she sniffed carefully, she could even catch a faint milky fragrance!
She just didn't know what brand it was... In any case, it definitely wasn't Deluxe Milk!
Elise was extremely familiar with the taste of Deluxe Milk. That was what she usually drank! There was also the rather famous Musashino brand!
"Ahm!"
Perhaps the flavor was simply too tempting, because Elise couldn't resist taking a taste...
The instant it entered her mouth, she sensed an enormous surge of vitality pouring into her body. It was completely different from any of the brands she'd drunk before!
Good grief, compared to milk like this, what had she even been drinking before?!
It wasn't merely an explosion of flavor. Energy also continuously poured into her body, even further improving the physical quality of this body!
After an unknown amount of time, Elise's consciousness finally and gradually returned to her body.
The scenery before her eyes slowly became clear, and only then did Elise realize that she was no longer on the battlefield where she'd fought the mechanical Evil Gods, but somewhere resembling a treehouse.
"Where is this?"
While looking around with her eyes, Elise also released her perception and began investigating everything nearby.
She still remembered that the place where she'd fought the mechanical Evil Gods had been a barren wasteland. She had arrived in the EXE world through a special teleportation formation.
"What exactly happened in yesterday's battle?"
Elise only remembered that she'd seemingly unleashed one ridiculously huge blast, and after that, she knew nothing...
Could she have blown herself up?
No, that couldn't be right. She was still alive now, even if her condition was somewhat poor...
There were practically no people Elise knew in this world. If she absolutely had to name one, there was the Holy Mother Goddess she'd met once before.
She had probably been rescued by her, right?
"So that means this should be the place where the spirit race lives in the EXE world?"
"Mhm. I'll have to properly thank them later!"
Her expression gradually softened, and only then did Elise remember that she still had several little companions!
Afterward, Elise turned her gaze toward the figures beside her, both covered by blankets.
There was one on the left and one on the right, both rising like little mountains.
"Everyone, stop sleeping. It's time to get up..."
Before she'd even finished speaking, Elise's hand, which had been reaching for the blanket, froze in midair. She seemed to have noticed that something wasn't quite right...
Est and the others... were little girls, weren't they?
And Ren and Ophis were both under one and a half meters tall, with completely flat figures!
Then what were these two huge mountains beside her? And hadn't there been three people?
Elise had discovered the crucial point!
"What exactly happened yesterday?! Hurry up and remember, Elise!"
Damn it!
Even though Elise was already trying very hard to knock herself on the head, she still couldn't remember even the slightest thing.
The Barrier of the Stars around her seemed to have been broken because of the previous battle! She had to figure this out quickly, or the Saintess' purity would be gone!
Although her heart was somewhat shaken, everything had already happened. No matter how much Elise refused to admit it, facts were facts.
"Please, absolutely don't let it be that!"
In those cultivation worlds, dual cultivation could heal many physical problems, and that was the first possibility Elise thought of.
But thinking about it carefully, the spirit race probably wouldn't do something like that... right?
Better safe than sorry!
Although Elise had already accepted many things about being female, there was no way she wanted to do that!
The hand gripping the blanket slowly pulled downward. Elise was afraid to see who was under it, yet at the same time, she had no choice but to look.
It was... golden hair?
And it looked somewhat familiar?
"Holy Mother Goddess?"
Elise recognized that figure. It was none other than Chichi, the Holy Mother Goddess who had formed an alliance with her in the DxD world not long ago!
"Then the one on the other side must be the Benevolent Goddess?"
Sure enough, although Elise didn't know the Benevolent Goddess personally, anyone who could be with the Holy Mother Goddess and possess such tremendous strength could only be her.
Thank goodness!
Although all three of them were naked, Elise didn't feel anything unusual from her body. It seemed nothing major had happened.
Elise let out a sigh of relief. The thing she'd imagined hadn't happened, which truly was a blessing amid misfortune!
Once they both woke up, they should be able to explain what had happened to her.
"You're awake, God of the Bible?"
A gentle voice came from beside her. The indulgent affection in that tone seemed capable of drowning a person in tenderness.
If it hadn't been Elise but someone with weaker willpower, that single voice might have been enough to send them straight to the paradise of their dreams.
"Mhm, it's me..."
Elise instinctively looked over, but she seemed to have forgotten that her eyes were open. Her sapphire-blue eyes directly met the Holy Mother Goddess' gaze.
Oh no!
Realizing the danger, Elise immediately shut her eyes, leaving the Holy Mother Goddess staring in confusion.
Elise's strange reaction also made her somewhat worried. Could there still be some illness that hadn't been cured?
But when she thought of what she had done to Elise, even she couldn't help blushing.
"Don't worry. Your body has already been healed. I checked your eyes too, and there isn't anything wrong with them..."
"Really?!"
Before the Holy Mother Goddess could finish, Elise's urgent voice rang out. She could make eye contact with someone without hurting them now?
Elise was doubtful, but she slowly lowered her hand anyway.
She hadn't completely believed the Holy Mother Goddess' words, but the facts had already appeared right in front of her just now!
She had accidentally looked at Chichi, yet nothing had happened to her. That was already enough to prove everything.
Sure enough, when Elise met the Holy Mother Goddess' eyes once again, no devouring occurred.
That meant her eyes... were better? She could finally use them to look at things?
Elise shook her head. It probably wasn't that simple.
Opening the Lord God Space interface, the Gaze of Corruption ability was still displayed among her skills. She just didn't know why it hadn't activated.
"..."
Elise felt somewhat melancholy, unsure of what to do.
Although this skill had caused her plenty of inconvenience, it was also her ultimate trump card!
It had saved Elise's life in several different worlds...
Having it suddenly disappear really did feel a little strange.
But now wasn't the time to worry about that. Where were Est and the others? Where had they gone?
"Your companions?" The Holy Mother Goddess shook her head. "When we reached the battlefield, we only found you. We didn't discover anyone else..."
The Holy Mother Goddess had already seen outcomes like this far too many times. Many members of the spirit race had also fallen into eternal slumber on battlefields against the Evil Gods.
And although Elise had encountered something similar, hadn't she ultimately destroyed the Evil Gods?
At the very least, she had avenged them...
For a moment, the atmosphere inside the room became exceptionally heavy.
However, although Elise remained silent, that wasn't what she thought.
She and Est had a blood contract between them. If anything had happened to Est, she definitely would have sensed it!
But right now, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the contract. Est was definitely fine!
The same was true for Ren and Ophis. Elise simply couldn't contact them for the time being.
...
"Thank you for everything you've done. Once I have time, I'll definitely come visit again!"
"Make sure you protect yourself!"
"And there's a gift from us inside your body. Remember to check it!"
Elise didn't remain with the spirit race for long. As soon as she'd recovered enough basic combat strength, she immediately left.
There wasn't much she could do by staying here. It would be better to return to the DxD world.
But before going back, she had to find her three little companions.
Est, Ren, and Ophis.
She had clearly summoned all three of them over at that time, so why couldn't she even find a trace of them now?
Elise couldn't figure it out, so she decided to return to the battlefield from before and investigate. Perhaps she'd somehow left them behind somewhere?
If she couldn't find them anywhere in the EXE world, then she'd have to return to the DxD world and search there.
But!
Even after Elise searched with all her might, the result was still Not Found.
She couldn't find them!
Elise had rarely been this anxious before. The last time had been when her companions in the Astraea Familia were attacked.
Yet she simply couldn't find any trace of Est and the others, as though they had vanished into thin air!
That was impossible, unless they'd directly left the EXE world!
After making up her mind, Elise opened a gate to another world and returned to Heaven in the DxD world.
Elise had been unconscious in another world for so long that the battlefield involving the Hindu pantheon had already been completely cleaned up.
Following Shiva's defeat, even if those gods were unwilling to concede, they had no choice but to accept the rule of the Biblical faction.
And because of their temporary betrayal, Michael had ruthlessly taken advantage of them.
As expected of you, Michael!
As expected of a Seraph capable of becoming a leader. He really did have a few tricks up his sleeve!
One month later.
The world of High School DxD had completely fallen into Elise's hands, and the banners of Heaven and the Church now flew throughout the entire world.
Although dense Power of Faith filled her surroundings, Elise couldn't bring herself to feel happy no matter what.
Because she hadn't found them in this world either...
Est and Ren were one thing, since neither of them originally belonged to this world. But why had even Ophis disappeared?
This was ridiculous!
A month was enough time for Elise to accomplish many things, yet she still couldn't find any sign of her companions.
No matter what method she used, even tracking through faith or searching with Divine Word, nothing worked.
And Elise was completely certain that Est and the others weren't inside her spirit seal.
If she still couldn't find them, then Elise would have no choice but to return to the Lord God Space and think of another solution.
But before leaving, there was still one matter she had to take care of...
That's right. The protagonist of this world, Issei Hyoudou!
The terrifying existence known as the Breast Dragon Emperor!
The reason Elise had avoided searching for this Red Dragon Emperor was because she was worried about the protagonist's halo...
What if he accidentally treated her as one of the heroines? Would that trigger a whole series of chemical reactions?
For Issei Hyoudou, that would naturally be wonderful. But for Elise, it would be absolute hell!
Especially with someone like Issei Hyoudou!
He was practically the natural enemy of the word saintess!
To prevent Brother Issei from unleashing the full might of a protagonist, Elise ultimately decided to take the "Boosted Gear" away from him.
The world already belonged to Elise, and even the Evil Gods from another world had been destroyed by her.
There was no longer any need for unnecessary variables. It would be better for Issei Hyoudou to obediently remain an ordinary person and never step into the supernatural world.
Of course, that was extremely unfair to the protagonist. Although this world's Issei was lecherous, he was still a true man who had the courage to own his actions!
So Elise gave him compensation, namely, what men desired most.
Elise had once been one herself, so she understood.
Since Issei Hyoudou wanted to become a harem king, then he could become one in the ordinary world!
That didn't count as taking away his dream, did it?
Elise would feel much more at ease keeping the world of gods and devils in her own hands.
...
Heaven.
"My Lord... does this mean you won't come back anymore?"
Metatron knelt on the ground, looking up at Elise with tears glimmering in her eyes.
This little angel, who hadn't even been born for a full year, was already going to lose her mother so soon...
Elise really was an unqualified mother!
"Of course not. I'll come back to visit all of you often!" Elise gently stroked Metatron's head before pulling her into her arms.
In a certain sense, all of Elise's creations could be considered her daughters.
In front of her daughters, Elise wouldn't show that kind of false smile.
Whether it was Metatron, or Gael, Gabriel, and Raphael who were born later, Elise treated them all equally and regarded every one of them as her daughters.
By now, she was already the mother of more than ten thousand children.
"So while I'm away, I'll leave this world in your hands, Metatron."
Shiva had been suppressed for a time during his battle with Elise, only to break through by borrowing the Evil Gods' power in the end.
But after the Evil Gods died, the source of that power also disappeared. Shiva's strength had fallen drastically, and he had long since dropped out of that realm. In fact, he was now even weaker than before.
Metatron could deal with him quite easily.
And even if that somehow wasn't enough, there was still the new angel army Elise had left behind!
Among the more than ten thousand angels, roughly sixty percent were Demon King-class experts, around thirty percent were Super Devils, and the final ten percent were even among the strongest existences within the Super Devil class, fully capable of contending with Metatron herself!
With power like this, Heaven would remain the strongest faction in the world even when Elise wasn't present. No one would dare provoke it!
On top of that, Elise shared a special relationship with the Holy Mother Goddess of another world and had asked them before leaving to help look after this place, so there was no possibility of anything happening to Heaven.
This world would permanently serve as Elise's reserve of Power of Faith. Whenever she had need of it, Elise could directly draw an immense amount of high-quality Power of Faith from this place!
"Then, goodbye!"
Amid the devout prayers of countless angels, Elise, the God of the Bible, slowly floated upward into the sky.
Even the heavens seemed to welcome her, sending down a beam of holy light that illuminated her entire body.
At that moment, whether it was veteran angels like Michael and Gabriel or new angels like Metatron and Gael, all of them watched Elise depart. Not a single one missed the sight.
"Mother..."
At the very last moment, Metatron finally spoke that form of address.
"We'll always fight for you!"
"No matter when or where, we will forever be your angels..."
"Your daughters..."