Clyde still couldn't believe Goddess Pele's words. They were beings with extraordinary power. Yet, they claimed to have no knowledge of the source of their abilities.
"Don't lie to me," Clyde threatened, using the power of the Oath to compel Goddess Pele to speak the truth.
"I am being honest with you. There's nothing I can know about the true source of our power," Goddess Pele replied. "We were simply born this way and granted power without understanding why."
It didn't sound fair to them, the mortal beings. Clyde and the other humans had to fight fiercely to survive in the Selection Stage, scraping together fractions of the Celestials' power little by little. Yet, here he was, hearing that they were born with this power effortlessly.
"Do you have any idea how challenging it is to endure the Selection Stage?" Clyde asked with a cold tone, sending a shiver down Goddess Pele's spine.
"Answer me," Clyde demanded.
"No," Goddess Pele replied curtly.
Clyde nodded. "I know you'll never understand that. All you know is the pleasure you derive from the suffering of those far beneath you, isn't it?"
Goddess Pele remained silent. Her jaw clenched. She could see the hatred in Clyde's eyes.
"Perhaps this is the reason for my existence," Clyde clenched his fist. "I will make you experience suffering that is far from enjoyable."
Hearing that, the Goddess stiffened. Her entire body felt frozen by something, and she couldn't move or respond to Clyde's words.
It was fear, an emotion she had never felt before meeting Clyde. But ever since his arrival, she had experienced fear more frequently.
Clyde averted his gaze from Goddess Pele and began scanning their surroundings.
"There's got to be something hidden here," Clyde commented.
Clyde continued to walk forward. The floor in this place was dark and black like it was made of obsidian, making every step feel like walking on glass. There was a slight worry in Clyde's mind that perhaps the floor he was treading on would shatter and send him plummeting into an endless abyss.
Meanwhile, Goddess Pele stood still, staring at Clyde with mixed emotions.
She had honestly shared what she knew about this place. There seemed to be no way to obtain power from the Celestials, even though this was where they were born.
It sounded like a lie, but that was the reality, at least the one that Goddess Pele knew.
However, Clyde wouldn't give up on finding out. In his mind, there had to be something he could take from here. He needed to gain the power to control or confront the Celestials before they found him and attacked him together.
He continued walking deeper into the place. Yet, all he found were orbs with one side cracked.
Clyde felt frustrated and raised his hand to his hip while scanning the area again.
"Could it be..." Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Maybe these orbs are the key. After all, they are where they were born."
Clyde approached one of the orbs at the bottom. It turned out that the orb was made of an elastic material, not glass as Clyde had initially thought.
A notification suddenly appeared in Clyde's vision, startling him. "So, these orbs do have some sort of purpose. Otherwise, a notification like this wouldn't appear."
'But what should I do with this?' Clyde wondered. Driven by curiosity, Clyde tried to insert his hand deeper into the orb.
The orbs had a diameter of about one meter and were clear in color, allowing Clyde to easily see his hand inside.
It didn't take long before something happened. The orb lit up, and light from inside the orb crawled over Clyde's hand and entered his chest. Another notification appeared.
[ You have absorbed the source of power from the Demon King, Malphas! ]
[ Due to level limitations, you will only receive 50% of Malphas's power. ]
A smile began to form on Clyde's face, gradually widening.
It wasn't a big issue at all, even if he could only get 50% of the power of a Celestial because that was still their power.
Clyde's eyes darted to the other orbs. There were so many orbs there, each holding the very essence of a Celestial's power.
Clyde reached for another orb that was closest to him at the moment. He immediately gained power from the other Celestials.
Goddess Pele, watching from a distance, began to realize that something strange was happening.
'What is he doing?' she thought. 'Don't tell me... Has he found what he's looking for? A way to obtain power from the Celestials by touching their Cradle?
'But that's impossible. I and the other Celestials have touched the Cradle, and nothing happened.'
The Goddess's feelings became even more chaotic as she realized that Clyde might have indeed found something they had been unable to do. She walked towards Clyde, her heart racing with anxiety, worried about what might happen.
Clyde noticed her approaching steps. He turned and said, "Stop right there."
This time, Clyde not only gave the command but also used his power over her Oath to make her stay.
Clyde didn't say anything more. He continued to touch all the Celestial Cradles he could reach.
Meanwhile, Goddess Pele could only watch from where she stood, her heart pounding with worry.
Clyde continued, but unfortunately, he could only take so much before he had to give in, as suddenly his body felt heavy.
'What the hell happened to me?'
His vision became blurry as well as if he had just exerted an enormous amount of energy for a very long time. It didn't take long for Clyde to realize what had happened.
Absorbing the power of the Celestials must have greatly burdened him. He had been so elated to obtain it that he had forgotten something crucial.
'Maybe this is my limit.'
Clyde turned his body and approached Goddess Pele.
"We're leaving now," Clyde said.
Goddess Pele eyed him for a moment with a questioning look.
"What do you see?" Clyde asked.
Goddess Pele could see signs of fatigue in him. His face looked paler than before, and his eyes appeared droopy. He had clearly done something with the Celestial Cradles that had depleted his stamina.
'Can I take down him now?' The thought crossed Goddess Pele's mind as she observed Clyde's condition.
"Let's go," Clyde said again, impatiently.
"Yes," Goddess Pele replied with a nod.
Clyde walked ahead in the direction they had come from. Despite feeling tired, there was a smile on his face, indicating how happy he was at this moment.
He had obtained the power of the Celestials without having to kill them. However, his levels of power were now too weak to harness all of that potential.
He only needed to level up again, and he could access another Celestial power from this place. With this newfound confidence, Clyde believed he could face a Celestial, or even several Celestials at once, with all the power he had gained. So, even if all the Celestials decided to confront him, he didn't need to worry too much.
Goddess Pele, who watched Clyde's back from behind, still pondered whether she should attack now while Clyde was weakened. However, she abandoned that idea because she didn't know what Clyde had done earlier.
It was possible that he had acquired a new power after touching the Cradles and had become stronger than before. If she attacked him, she might end up dead.
They descended the same declining path they had come from, with Goddess Pele in the lead. When he descended back to the piece of land they had been on before, Clyde saw Maethion standing in the tunnel but dared not come out. His face looked hopeful when he saw Clyde's arrival.
"What I had to do here is done for now. Let's go back," Clyde said.
~~~
The endless war in the Far East continued unabated. The strange black monsters kept emerging from the wall and attacking them tirelessly. However, the warriors felt a weariness that the monsters did not.
The Celestials also became aware of what was happening to their warriors. Some of them began entering the battle to assist. However, they currently face another problem, one they did not anticipate.
One of them had met death, and they did not yet know who or what had caused this death. This issue left them all restless, and they eventually vented their frustrations on the relentless monsters.
Amidst all this, one of the Celestials had found an answer. He was one of the most powerful Demon Kings, Asmodeus, who happened to be present at the scene.
His brow furrowed as he suddenly received a telepathic communication from Demon Duchess Gremory. 'Lord Asmodeus, I come bearing news of utmost importance for you.'
'Speak,' Demon King Asmodeus said.
'I have discovered the identity of the man who killed one of us.'
The crease on the Demon King's brow deepened. 'A man?' he asked.
'Yes, My Lord. The one who killed a Celestial is a man. A man who escaped the Selection Stage.'
~~~
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