Hate me, Miss Witch!

His organs and entire nervous system let out a wail. The muscles in his face twitched, contorting his aged features into a grotesque, twisted expression.

The mild, yellowish Divine Power, which had been gently infused into Norton's body, became uncontrollable in an instant, violently tearing at every inch of his flesh.

And that was merely what manifested externally.

At a deeper level—

The very soul forming the bedrock of Norton's Spiritual World was undergoing an unimaginable collapse.

Blood spurted from the corners of Norton's mouth and eye sockets even before his screams could emerge.

This was the true value of "Sage's Blood," priced at 30,000 Rhine gold coins per twenty grams.

A mere physical attack could not make a Great Sage bleed. To inflict pain upon a Sage, one must shatter the very foundation of their soul.

It was a curse targeting the enemy's spiritual origin. Condensed and processed through alchemical engineering, Shiayar had sealed it into that bullet as its core.

The bullet's physical lethality was trivial, yet it could deliver commands of uncontrollability and madness directly to its victim's soul.

And now, that concept of uncontrollability, transmitted through the Soul Pact with the Silver Spirit, had reached Norton's spiritual foundation. This caused all of his spiritual power to run rampant, utterly beyond his command.

On any ordinary day, such a temporary loss of control over spiritual power wouldn't have been so terrifying; it could have been calmed with a period of meditation.

But Shiayar's timing was impeccably precise. He fired at the very last moment before Norton could completely usurp the Twilight Authority, just before his ascension.

"Sage's Blood" was one of the pinnacle achievements of alchemy in Shiayar's current historical timeline.

In the era of the Azure Garden Dukedom's Echo of History, not even a prototype of "Sage's Blood" had yet appeared.

Therefore, Norton could never have fathomed such a transcendent alchemical creation, nor could he have prepared any defense against it.

Thus, the Godhood Ascension Ceremony shuddered to a halt just moments before its ultimate climax.

And the one who failed on the path to godhood naturally had to endure the most ferocious backlash from the Twilight Divine Power.

The closer he had been to the Divine Throne, the heavier the price for falling from it.

...

It all happened in the blink of an eye. Shiayar fired the shot; the bullet struck the mercury barrier generated by Autonomous Defense; Norton was then affected by Sage's Blood, his soul's origin circuit ran amok, and the Godhood Ascension Ceremony failed. In reality, only a fraction of a second had passed.

By the time Silvia came to her senses, she could already hear Norton's furious screams, followed by a deafening roar.

WHOOSH—

Behind Shiayar, from within the deep, dark shadows, a pitch-black blade of shadow suddenly slashed obliquely toward his neck.

It was Norton's main battle Pet Beast: a Shadow Demon, born of night and shadow.

This race, capable of manipulating shadows and even moving within them, were natural-born assassins. They were also the prime perpetrators behind the silent deaths of the Brunestadt family's 4-Ring elders.

It had been following Shiayar in the shadows for a long time, ever since he had returned to the residence.

Norton indeed needed an assistant to help him collect faith after his ascension.

Shiayar had always acted impeccably, never revealing the slightest flaw, which was why Norton had allowed him to live until now.

But Norton, with his cunning and calculative nature, never truly trusted anyone. This included Shiayar, whose life Norton believed he controlled. Consequently, he had the Shadow Demon surveil Shiayar from the beginning, ready to kill him at the first sign of any unusual movement.

Still, Norton had miscalculated.

In the moments before his ascension, Norton's ecstatic anticipation of reaching the Divine Throne was transmitted through the Soul Pact to every one of his Pet Beasts.

Consequently, overcome by that shared ecstasy, all of his Pet Beasts revealed a momentary lapse in vigilance.

And it was this lapse, lasting less than a second, that Shiayar keenly captured.

The blade of shadow fell, landing directly on Shiayar's neck.

Silvia, an observer, felt a flash of shock and concern in her eyes. Although she had not yet grasped what had transpired, Norton's furious roar echoing across the underground plaza undoubtedly declared that there was more to this than met the eye.

Yet, just as the blade of shadow was about to connect, the boy's figure shattered like a dream, an illusion. "Flash" activated. The blade, as furious as its master, struck nothing but air, leaving only the Shadow Demon's dark hiss echoing from the shadows.

...

"Scum! You scum!"

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

"You've ruined my masterpiece!"

"You've destroyed a monumental achievement—a human ascending to the Divine Throne!"

Norton's roars echoed throughout the entire plaza.

His aged face was twisted with rage, blood pouring from his features. The yellowish Divine Power surged around his body but remained contained, never breaking its boundaries.

He had suddenly been dealt a heavy blow.

Yet, Norton, with his immense strength, managed to forcibly suppress his rampaging spiritual power and the Twilight Divine Power in a remarkably short time.

His gaze was firmly fixed on Shiayar, who had vanished from beneath the Shadow Demon's blade, only to slowly reemerge at the other end of the plaza.

"I don't know what your reasons are!"

"But you're finished!"

"Since you rejected the grace of becoming my Deputy Lord of the Heavenly Kingdom, God's right hand, then annihilation is all that awaits you!"