551. Divinity Versus Corruption

Thanks to [Divine Essence of the Angelic Devil Princess], I was able to deal with most of the Corrupted Netherstones and Corrupted Gargoyles I encountered without a problem. My Grand Skill gave me a significant boost in power— more than I expected it to.

Sure, I was a Lesser God now. I had already basked in my evolution back in the Mortal Realm during the war. I had even fought against a [Hellabomination], before helping defeat Levithus who transformed into a Level 181 [Cerberus]. And I managed to accomplish all these feats thanks to my Grand Skills.

So I already knew just how much stronger I had become since then. But I was still surprised by how easy it was for me to defeat these Corrupted Netherstones and Corrupted Gargoyles in battle in comparison to without my [Divine Essence of the Angelic Devil Princess].

I swooped past a pair of Corrupted Netherstones as they launched their tendrils at me. I easily dove around the first tendril, before knocking away the next. I flew back as both of the Corrupted Netherstone shrieked, flying up my way. I simply pointed with a smile plastered on my face.

“Boom.”

And [Divine Demon’s Mark] took effect. A powerful explosion resounded, engulfing the pair. The blast completely ripped them apart, destroying the nearby buildings. I watched as debris and rubble broke off from the shockwave and floated in the air without falling back down. I shook my head, listening carefully for the notifications in my head.

I heard it a moment later.

Defeated [-̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Netherstone - Lvl. -̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ ]!

Experience is awarded for defeating a corrupted piece of the world!

Defeated [-̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Netherstone - Lvl. -̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ ]!

Experience is awarded for defeating a corrupted piece of the world!

“They really are so weak…”

And it didn’t make sense to me. There had to be a reason why I felt like they were so easy to defeat. Something was amiss. It was a good thing— but something was definitely amiss.

I raised my head, flying away from the site of the explosion as I slowly processed all the notifications I had gotten over the past day or so.

General Skill [Corruption Navigation] has leveled up!

[Corruption Navigation - Lvl. 1] -> [Corruption Navigation - Lvl. 2]!

Experience is awarded for the leveling of a General Skill!

Defeated [-̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Netherstone - Lvl. -̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ ]!

Experience is awarded for defeating a corrupted piece of the world!

….

Defeated [-̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Gargoyle - Lvl. -̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ ]!

Experience is awarded for defeating a corrupted piece of the world!

Subspecies [Angelic Devil Princess] Level Up!

[Angelic Devil Princess – Lvl. 160] -> [Angelic Devil Princess – Lvl. 161]

Gained 5 Stat Points and 3 Skill Points!

Subspecies [Angelic Devil Princess] Level Up!

[Angelic Devil Princess – Lvl. 161] -> [Angelic Devil Princess – Lvl. 162]

Gained 5 Stat Points and 3 Skill Points!

Class [Draconic Apprentice] Level Up!

[Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 133] -> [Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 134]

Gained 2 Secondary Skill Points!

…

Class [Draconic Apprentice] Level Up!

[Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 137] -> [Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 138]

Gained 2 Secondary Skill Points!

Salvos (Secely’s Sentinel) (The Devil’s Daughter)

Species: [Primeval Demon of Pride]

Secondary Species: [Lesser God]

Subspecies: [Angelic Devil Princess] - Lvl. 162

Class: [Draconic Apprentice] - Lvl. 138

General Skills:

[Advanced Mana Manipulation] - Lvl. 10 (Maxed)

[Corruption Resistance] - Lvl. 5

[Corruption Navigation] - Lvl. 2

[Identification] - Lvl. 6

[Racial Skill: True Divinity] - Lvl. 1 (Maxed)

[Racial Skill: Universal Language Comprehension] - Lvl. 2

[Rest] - Lvl. 5

[Wisdom of the Old Gods] - Lvl. 5

[Title Skill: General Status Effect Resistance] - Lvl. 1

[Ttle Skill: Invoke Wrath] - Lvl. 2

[Title Skill: Protection of the Sentinel] - Lvl. 1

[Title Skill: The Devil’s Grace] - Lvl. 1

[Racial Skill: Divine Essence of the Angelic Devil Princess] - Lvl. 1 (Maxed)

Stats:

[Available Stat Points: 0]

[Vitality]: 255 (+30) (+10) (+100)

[Strength]: 255 (+30) (+10) (+100)

[Endurance]: 255 (+30) (+10) (+3) (+100)

[Wisdom]: 410 (+30) (+10) (+50) (+100)

[Agility]: 450 (+30) (+10) (+5) (+100)

Skills:

[Available Skill Points: 7]

[Angel’s Wings] - Lvl. 11

[Barrage of Cinders] - Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Divine Demon’s Mark] - Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Divine Haste] - Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Intimidation] - Lvl. 10 (Maxed)

[Faux Limbs] - Lvl. 25 (Maxed)

[Divine Nebular Construct] - Lvl. 25 (Maxed)

[Divine Strike] - Lvl. 10

[Divine Radiant Slash] - Lvl. 15 (Maxed)

[Sacred Hellfire] - Lvl. 10

[Salvo of Vanity] - Lvl. 25 (Maxed)

[The Call of Armageddon] - Lvl. 10

[The Holy Flames] - Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Passive - Angelic Premonition] - Lvl. 10

[Passive - Weapon Mastery] - Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Available Grand Skill Points: 0]

[My Flame Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends] - Lvl. 3 (Maxed)

[Unused Skill Slot] x3

Secondary Skills:

[Available Secondary Skill Points: 6]

[Draconic Fury] - Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Fragmented Pocket Dimension] - Lvl. 10

[Full Phase] - Lvl. 15 (Maxed)

[Greater Teleportation] - Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Manifestation of the Old Gods] - Lvl. 5

[Truth Divination] - Lvl. 5

[Warped Time] - Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Passive - Dragon Scales] - Lvl. 10 (Maxed)

[Passive - Master of Material Manipulation] - Lvl. 15 (Maxed)

[Passive - Weaker Regeneration] - Lvl.5

I had leveled up quite a few times over this short period of time. My [Divine Essence of the Angelic Devil Princess] only lasted for about a day— maybe a day and a half at most now that I was a Lesser God. But it evidently had not been a long time since I activated my Grand Skill.

After all, my Grand Skill was still active. Maybe it was going to be coming to an end soon. However, that still meant it had been about a day at most! And during that time, I had encountered… barely a few dozen corrupted creatures!

It was odd. This was the second layer of the Netherworld. Everything down here was corrupted— so I thought it wouldn’t have been too difficult to track down any Corrupted Netherstone or Corrupted Gargoyle wandering about. But in reality, I struggled to even find a single one of them!

I had to use my spatial senses to aid me, and it hadn’t been easy to use any of my space magic Skills down here in this corrupted place. It took me forever to gain hold of my bearings the moment I tried to perceive the world around me.

Perhaps it was the corruption, or maybe it was the fact that space itself was warped and twisted down here… because of the corruption. But it was quite discombobulating at first— just like when I first tried to walk down the hallway to enter the second layer.

But fortunately for me, I had already gained a handful of Skills that could help me traverse this place. And it only aided my spatial senses— my [Corruption Navigation] even leveled up from sensing the space around me earlier.

“I wonder if I should just call it quits for today…”

I wondered aloud. I had already killed quite a few corrupted creatures over the duration of my Grand Skill. Now, I could just find a place to hide out from the corruption before my Divine Essence vanished, and I was forced to fight at a severe disadvantage.

I could always just wait out the entirety of my Grand Skill’s cooldown before challenging the second layer again. But I was also interested in finding out where Belphegor had gone. I hadn’t seen him at all ever since I arrived down here. Did he lie to me? It was entirely possible he had just gone back up to the first layer after sending his [Gargoyles] down.

Well, if that was the case, I was trapped down here alone and with the corruption. Honestly, as long as I didn’t face anything too dangerous like the Corrupted Hydra, I didn’t really mind spending time here by myself. It was good for leveling.

And right as the thought crossed my mind, I heard a loud crackle. A rumbling swept over the second layer. I blinked and raised my head. The floor— which was the ceiling from my orientation— began to crack open.

I heard a soft boom. A static noise which echoed in the background. My eyes narrowed as a plume of dust shot into the air, vanishing into a bubble of non-existence. A distorted figure began to move behind that empty sphere. I squinted, trying to see what that was.

My spatial senses couldn’t detect anything beyond these bubbles of non-existence due to their nature. I flew closer, swerving to the right to get a better view. And my eyes widened when I saw what it was.

One of the tall spires of the scattered city had broken off the ground. Not only that, but it was wreathed entirely in the tendrils of corruption. I stared at this towering corrupted being as it cast its gaze my way.

[-̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Netherstructure - Lvl. -̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ ]

“Huh.”

I blinked. And a dozen tendrils of corruption shot up my way. [Angelic Premonition] instantly took effect, and I dove out of the way. But the Corrupted Netherstructure’s attacks were fast. I reacted by creating a wall with [The Holy Flames].

The corruption immediately burned away as I gritted my teeth. I watched as the tendrils reeled back, and the Corrupted Netherstructure’s body trembled. I raised a clawed hand, conjuring a volley of weapons, before unleashing them out.

The attack struck the Corrupted Netherstructure— the rapid explosions causing the towering being to slow. I clenched my jaw and dove down straight at it, avoiding its regenerating tendrils. My Divine Nebular Scythe burned with an iridescent flame as I bared my teeth.

“Take this— [Divine Radiant Slash]!”

And I swung down at the main body of the Corrupted Netherstructure. I sheared straight through its corruption, smirking as I tore open its stone-like body. I shot down the towering being like a comet, before exploding out of the other side as I heard a thunderous groan.

I spun around. I had expected this to be a tougher fight than that. This was easy! I raised a finger, pointing at the remains of the Corrupted Netherstructure. It was still standing, even if half of its body had been blown off.

“If that’s not enough…”

My fingers began to burn. I focused, and the flames vanished from my claws. The brilliant fire reappeared on the Corrupted Netherstone, immediately eating away the coat of corruption around its body.

“[Sacred Hellfire].”

I watched as the flames quickly spread. The multi-colored light of the corruption vanished, and whatever remained of the Corrupted Netherstructure was ripped apart by the ever-growing fire.

I didn’t even need to fight back as the weak tendrils of corruption shot down at me. I easily leapt out of the way, then spun around as the burning rubble of the Corrupted Netherstone collapsed behind me. I heard the notification resound in my head as I snickered.

Defeated [-̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Netherstructure - Lvl. -̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ ]!

Experience is awarded for defeating a corrupted piece of the world!

“I honestly thought that would’ve been a tougher battle…”

But it had been easy. Too easy. I began to walk away from the destroyed Corrupted Netherstructure when I heard another low groan. The ground shook beneath me, and I raised my head, blinking.

“What is…?”

And I watched as more Corrupted Netherstructures began to rise up from the ground. The various buildings of this buried city hovered into the air, claimed by the corruption. The ground cracked open as I spread my [Angelic Wings] wide, flying into the air. I swept my gaze around, facing dozens of enemies around me.

“I can take you all on!”

I exclaimed, raising my Divine Nebular Scythe as an iridescent flame wisped off me. The Corrupted Netherstructures turned to face me, and I readied [The Holy Flames] for battle. These Corrupted Netherstructures were stronger than even the Corrupted Gargoyles, but I could bring them down with ease. I could take them. I could level up—

And suddenly, the iridescent flames vanished. I blinked as my shoulders sagged. My arms weighed twice as heavy, and everything around me began to move faster than before. I stared down at myself with round eyes, feeling a lot weaker compared to just a moment ago.

“My Divine Essence is…?”

I looked on as the Corrupted Netherstructures drew closer. My Grand Skill had come to an end, and I had to face these towering beings without any boost in Stats.

“Oh no.”

The Corrupted Netherstructures attacked all at once.