From the Abyssal Plane, a crimson flood oozed out and gushed on the Sunken Dark Forest. Its tide overwhelmed the forest, flying skywards, tainting the clouds, covering the mountain peaks. The world turned grim and dreary. The ground cracked, the forest withered, the air turned stale, and the hellish landscape emerged.

In the middle of the apocalypse, Gulia bathed inside the crimson tide. The void beneath her feet contracted, flooded by the demonic energy. The ink drops from the Pages of Truth evaporated, ruined by the chaotic energy. Even the sun which pressed against Gulia quivered, its brightness fluctuating.

"So what if you know what I can do?" Gulia laughed. "You forced me to activate this plan prematurely, but can you handle the consequence?"

Inside Gulia's petite body, an invisible chain snapped. The Seven Virtues suppressing her soul shattered, went ablaze, and retreated into the depth of her body.

Gulia munched, and the remnants of the Seven Virtues dispersed into holy energy. She moved her arms, and the ink characters around her dissipated. Despite eating so much, she remained slim, her hunger unsatiated.

“Thankfully, the main course is here.” Gulia reached forwards.

The Goddess of Redemption screamed and rushed towards her Authority of Redemption, grasping at the air, trying to reach it. Her white dress, glimmering like the stars, faded into dullness akin to dust. Her holy power and Divine Flame erupted at its peak, glowing out of her heart.

A pair of wings grew out of her back, one black, one white. They arched over her body and flapped, generating blinding light and obscure darkness. They blended and blasted forwards.

Though casual, Gulia was faster than Redemption. She gently grasped the Authority of Redemption, everything around her frozen in subservience. Her delicate fingers wrapped around the fading symbol, her nails grazing its brittle surface.

The blinding light and obscure darkness engulfed Gulia, then disappeared inside her mouth. Her bloody lips reddened as her teeth ground the blobs of holy energy. She held the Authority of Redemption and licked it.

Redemption shivered. "Save me!"

Seven Face frowned. Behind her, six phantoms, whose appearances resembled her, materialised and rushed towards Gulia. Ancient Sun God and Ancient God of Knowledge also made their move.

In Knowledge's hand, the tattered book spat out Pages of Truth. They flew downwards and burnt into ambers. The ashes multiplied and built an army of angelic sculptures, who descended into the Abyssal Plane and suppressed the Demons.

Sun held his hand forwards. A miniature sun manifested. He crushed it. As the projection of the sun fractured, the true sun above Gulia also crumbled. Lava showered Mount Purple Cloud, melting even the hellish landscape of the Abyssal Plane.

Gulia hunched forwards, the weight of the sun pressing on her back. Her hands shook. The Authority of Redemption radiated endless warmth and cold, giving off familiar scents, nostalgic sounds, dreamy visions, intimate memories. They twirled around Gulia, corroding her evil intention, cleansing her mind.

Unlike the holy power, which clashed against the Corruption Power, the Authority of Redemption redeemed all. Its impartial conversion purged nothing of significance except for the subtlety of the mind.

This was the unique power of the Authority of Redemption, which even the Ancient Goddess could not replicate. Despite her arduous efforts, Seven Face could only imitate it. The Monster Girls who retained their faith were the byproduct of her experiment.

"I won't change," Gulia said. "Even if it means changing the world itself."

Gulia opened her mouth and bit onto the Authority of Redemption. Her teeth broke and ground themselves along with the Authority of Redemption. With each bite, the Goddess of Redemption shuddered. Weariness filled her silhouette, decaying her elegance and beauty.

She screamed. Her lovely voice turned hoarse. Inside her soul, the Divine Flame ruptured. Its golden flickers seeped out of her mouth and eyes, burning her fine hair and white cloak. Losing her Authority was akin to losing half of her soul; her condition plunged to near death.

"Seven Face!" she shouted. "Save me. Why don't you save me!"

Seven Face looked at the remaining Authority of Redemption and smiled. Ancient Sun God and Ancient God of Knowledge amplified their paces. Their peak power rumbled, sinking the Sunken Dark Forest, pushing the firmament further upwards. The Main Material Plane stretched, cracked, and tore open a gigantic rift.

"It’s too late, Seven Face." Gulia frowned. "I'm getting full. It's time to end this."

As Gulia swung her hands forwards, the power of gluttony emerged. Her arms detached from her body, extending, reaching the Goddess of Redemption. The muscles and flesh and blood spilt out of the wounds and rained down the forest.

Inside her veins, the residue of the Seven Virtues flashed. The ground-down fragments of Redemption Authority glimmered and joined with the Seven Virtues, reigniting their potent purification power. They once again went on a rampage inside Gulia’s body and soul.

"This?" Gulia clenched her chest, golden light leaking out of her skin. "So this is your plan, Seven Face. Do you really need to do this, or is it because you want others to suffer your fate?"

Gulia pulled back her arms and grabbed at the sun above her. Her palms pushed upwards, splitting into countless mouths. They devoured the leaking sun, crunching its plasma, drinking its plasma. All kinds of energy, heat, coldness, holy energy, fires, light, the mouths of gluttony consumed all.

Even Ancient Sun God had to pull back the sun and fight Gulia with his body instead. The sun was precious; if Gulia devoured it, the world would plunge into eternal darkness. Still, with the Seven Virtues and Redemption Authority hindering Gulia, the battle became easier.

Seven Face, her six phantoms, and Knowledge joined in.

As time passed, Gulia lost her initiative. She had to split her attention into two, one for the external battle, the other internal. The brands of Redemption and Seven Virtues engraved themselves on her flesh. They weaved a formation of purification inside her body.

If nothing changed, she would eventually fall.

"You forced me!"

Gulia took a deep breath and sucked in everything. Behind her, a monumental mouth manifested. Its size spanned the ground and the sky. Its bloody saliva and rotten stench swamped the world, dying everything red.

The heat of the sun, the six phantoms, the Pages of Truth, the all-assimilating nothingness, the mouth behind Gulia devoured everything, even the fabric of reality itself.

Gulia's stomach bloated. Her tattered clothes decayed further. She held her mouth and gagged, but she forcefully swallowed everything back. Her dry skin rejuvenated. Her unfocused eyes regained their clarity, yet her expression remained solemn, stressed.

The pressure on her body multiplied. After recklessly devouring everything, she became full. Her bloated stomach shook, and she vomited. Not a smelly stench, but a river of black blood. Along with impurity, the residue Seven Virtues, Authority of Redemption, souls of the damned, and holy energy flooded out.

The black river engulfed the six phantoms and assimilated them with the power of the void. Redemption and Night wished to retreat, but the flood was impossibly fast. They grouped together and used everything they had, but it was not enough.

Chained by her vow, Seven Face moved to protect Redemption and Night. Compared to Sun and Knowledge, Seven Face took the most of all pressures. She rapidly retreated. Her old wounds reopened, blood spewing out.

"Knowledge, Sun, this is her weakest moment!" Seven Face shouted. "This move has once taken half of me and left me half-dead. Aside from Gulia, I know the most about it!"

Seven Face gripped her palms until they bled. Golden blood dripped out of her hands and fell. They branched into a system of glowing roots, which imitated the power of gluttony and devoured the river of black blood. Even though the impurity was harmful, Seven Face paid no attention to her condition.

"Are you looking for me?" Gulia emerged in front of Seven Face. "You've taken a part of my legacy. It's time for me to take it back."

Gulia reached out. Sun and Knowledge made their moves.

A tattered book manifested below Gulia and dragged her into the pages. The sun compacted and released a solar flare. Its power blew apart the black blood river and melted the torn fabric of reality into one, sealing the rifts to the void.

Compared to the majestic power, Gulia looked meek, yet she was unfazed. The heat seared her skin, ripped apart her flesh, and melted her bones. Her cloak fused with her skeletons, like how spiderwebs fused into the ancient structures.

Her skeleton hands reached out. Its tips pierced Seven Face's heart.

The all-devouring power burst forth. Blood, Divinity, Divine Flame, and Seven Virtues vanished. A large gulp entered Gulia, but she could not digest it, so it filled her stomach.

At the same time, Seven Face pressed her fingers on Gulia's forehead. Seven seals embedded themselves on Gulia's skull. Seven Face’s Divine Flame flowed into Gulia, engraving a series of repentance scriptures.

Gulia grimaced. She turned around and tried to escape. The inks around her legs pulled her back. She chewed on her teeth, and her legs shattered into pulps. Her soul emerged from her skeleton body and carved a path ahead of her.

Seven Face tensed. Her fingers flexed. The invisible threads which connected her with the symbols of repentance dragged back Gulia, who struggled fiercely.

"Gulia, today is the end of your world!" Seven Face shivered. Blood leaked out of her skin.

"Even you survived after losing half of yourself, Seven Face. How can I not?"

Laughing, Gulia bit herself. A snap resounded; her soul split in two. The world trembled in pain for her. Her delicate body shattered into a mist of blood, but she still forced her way ahead. The smaller, broken part of her soul inflated and exploded.

The shockwave pushed everything; even the distance between space got stretched. Seven Face desperately pulled the sews in her hands, but all she could do was drag back the fragmented soul.

Ancient Sun God and Ancient God of Knowledge wanted to give chase, but the eruption of the soul was too powerful. They could only brace themselves to avoid suffering grave injuries.

Only Seven Face, who stood at the point of impact, disregarded her safety and grabbed onto the fragmented soul. Behind her, Redemption and Night stuck close to her and thus avoided the brunt of the damage. Though they had their physical bodies mutilated, their souls remained relatively intact.

When the explosion settled, Seven Face turned around. The left half of her body was charred black. Smokes rose from her burnt flesh, but she did not mind it. Her eyes locked onto Night.

"Lady Seven Face," Night said, "thank you for . . . protecting us."

"Take this and leave with Redemption." Seven Face pierced her hand into her chest and took out a scroll. "It's something Darkness wrote."

Night perked up and accepted the scroll. She put it inside her robe and helped Redemption. When she turned to Seven Face, she found that Seven Face had already disappeared. Only Sun and Knowledge remained, looking down at the portal into the Abyssal Plane.

"She is quite reckless, isn't she?" Sun said. "This has gone beyond the scope of revenge and hatred. What is there to be gained from all this?"

"I can only deduce with sufficient information, Sun." Knowledge sighed. "Outside of herself, maybe only Fate knows."

"What should we do now?" Sun patted his torn cloak. Flames burst out of his hands and fixed the mess. "Gulia has escaped, but she suffered severe injuries. On the other hand, Seven Face sacrificed too much. We cannot force her to participate in the hunt. We might even need to protect her while she was recovering."

"Let's go back. Everything will depend on Fate."

Knowledge and Sun flicked their hands and vanished. In their places, the holy power descended and pulled the Sunken Dark Forest back into the Main Material Plane.