FVN Chapter 336: Ascension Interlude
Chapter 336: Ascension Interlude
Chapter 336: Ascension Interlude
I had expected some kind of reaction from the demonic cultists upon activating [Divine Will]. But not like this.
Not to this extent at least....
"Fooh..."
A slow, steady breath escaped my lips. Short yet long. Calm yet unnaturally composed.
Then-
[Recalculating level...]
[Base Level: 141] → [+705]
[Temporary Level: 846]
The numbers flashed violently in my vision, the system's notifications blaring incessantly, yet they felt distant-irrelevant.
Because at that moment, something inside me ignited.
A sensation far beyond mere strength, beyond power, beyond comprehension-divinity itself.
It was so overwhelming, so all-consuming, that for a moment, it felt foreign-as if I were no longer myself, as if something greater had descended into my very being.
[Strength: EX]
[Agility: EX]
[Endurance: EX]
[Luck: EX]
[Power: EX]
My body was blazing with raw, unchecked power.
It surged through every fiber of my being, searing my existence with an overwhelming realization:
Every action I took from this moment on would interrupt the natural flow of the world itself.
It felt like a single step, a single breath, a single movement from me could erase the academy in its entirety.
A force comparable to not just a nuclear bomb-but thousands of them, concentrated, given form, given will.
And yet...
I was calm.
My heartbeat was normal.
Despite the cataclysmic energy roaring within me, my mind remained eerily serene.
And then-I saw it.
The world. Clearer than ever before.
Not just mana.
Not just magic.
But the very fabric of reality itself.
The flows of power, the conflicting streams of mana intertwining in the air, the delicate threads of existence woven together-
Dimensional rifts.
Dozens. Hundreds.
They bled through every direction, no longer hidden from my sight.
Tears in reality itself.@@@@
Each one a gateway-a connection to realms beyond this world.
And in that moment, one undeniable truth settled into my mind.
This divinity.
This power was never meant to exist in a mortal plane.
I understood that now.
And it made sense.
It explained why, in the game, players needed an innate domain or had to rely on Alice's presence just to withstand even a fragment of ascension's power.
Without it, the weight of divine energy would crush them, unraveling their existence under its sheer magnitude.
Yet here I was, standing beneath a sky that was no longer just a sky-but a veil, thin and fragile, stretched over the truth of reality itself.
The dimensional rifts shimmered before me.
Some were clear, close, almost tangible-others lay further in the distance, faint outlines against the vast expanse of unseen worlds.
A part of me wondered why.
Why were only some rifts visible while others remained obscured?
Was it a matter of perspective?
Power?
Or something beyond my comprehension?
It didn't matter.
If my current form-elevated beyond mortal limits, burning with divine clarity-still couldn't discern the absolute truth behind them, then there was no point in lingering on the
question.
I shifted my focus.
Though the air was littered with countless rifts-dozens, hundreds, possibly thousands-
three among them stood apart.
Brighter. Vaster. More defined.
I recognized one immediately.
'The Heavens.'
It pulsed with divine radiance, a beacon of sacred light interwoven with the very source of my
power.
It was a domain that resonated with me, where my essence naturally aligned.
But the other two...
The first was a deep, searing crimson-dark red, smoldering like embers in a dying fire.
Its energy bled through the void like an open wound, radiating malice, hunger, and something deeper-something ancient.
'Hell? The Underworld?'
It seemed obvious, yet there was a sense of wrongness to it.
As if it weren't merely a domain of suffering, but a living, consuming entity in itself.
And then, there was the third.
A rift of twisting purples and blacks, shifting like a shadow that refused to hold a solid form.
It pulsed with an energy that was neither dead nor alive, neither warm nor cold. It was foreign ―utterly, incomprehensibly foreign.
Even with all my newfound clarity, my mind struggled to place it.
Yet if I had to guess-
It was probably the polar opposite of the Goddess's domain.
'Erebil's domain'
While the Heavens thrummed with life, creation, and boundless energy, this place was its
antithesis.
Not simply darkness.
Something beyond it.
Something that shouldn't exist yet did.
And for the first time since this surge of power ignited within me...
A feeling I had long forgotten began to stir in my chest.
A quiet, creeping unease.
Although I can't directly see her gaze.
I instinctively understood-Erebil was looking at me.
That much was clear.
That much was absolute.
A formless weight pressed against my soul, something vast and unfathomable, something
that existed outside the natural order of this world.
The sensation was not merely that of being observed-it was acknowledgment.
It felt weird knowing that fact...
It was like I had accidentally brushed against something I was never supposed to touch.
I shuddered and shook my head, forcing myself to look away, to break the connection before
it dug deeper into my being.
But as my awareness shifted, I felt something else.
Something far closer.
Something lodged deep inside me.
I lowered my gaze.
And there, within my chest-entangled with my very existence-was an unsettling mass of
darkness and crimson.
It writhed, coiling and unraveling like a living, breathing thing.
No... not quite living.
This was different.
It was chaos.
It was devouring.
It felt nothing like the energy of Hell.
That was sinister but structured, its power drawn from the suffering of the damned.
But this?
This was a complete anomaly a thing that simply should not exist.
'Liyana's curse.'
Even without the Goddess's warning,
I could see it clearly now-especially with my newly enhanced [True Sight].
This wasn't something I could just cut away.
It wasn't some foreign object embedded in my soul, something that could be burned,
purified, or sealed.
No, it was woven into me. Intertwined with my very existence in a way that defied logic and fate itself.
The Goddess had warned me before-the threads of fate were beyond even her direct
intervention.
But even knowing that, I couldn't help but feel a flicker of disappointment.
Somewhere deep down, I had hoped...
No, I had wanted to believe that I could simply erase it.
'Especially with my ascension now...'
But reality had never been that kind.
It was just as I expected.
There was no way I could break free of Liyana's impending grasp so easily.
'In the end I'll have to rely on the goddess's blessing in order for my plans to work out
huh...'
I exhaled slowly.
I needed to end this situation now.
And fast.
Any longer... and I had the distinct feeling that I would explode.
The sensation of ascension felt eerily familiar.
It was reminiscent of what I had experienced back in Cheshire's [Wonderland] Skill-an
overwhelming detachment from reality, an existence transcending mortal limits.
But this time, it was real.
And unlike back then, where the world itself bent to accommodate my power, where there
the exact positions they had been in before time had stopped.
Their faces, though frozen, bore signs of distress-the subtle wrinkles of tension, the
lingering traces of confusion in their unmoving eyes.
They were too well-dressed to be regular captives.
Good-looking, well-groomed, well-kept. A stark contrast to the usual victims of demonic cults, who were often left battered, broken,
or worse.
Now that I had time to properly observe, I realized what felt off.
"...So that's it."
I had initially thought it was strange that some of the staff in this facility didn't carry the
usual aura of demonic cultists.
Unlike the others, these men seemed normal-even restrained, in a way.
But now I understood.
They weren't cultists.
Or rather, they hadn't been cultists to begin with.
Above each of their heads, I could see the thin, dark threads of demonic influence.
Marionette strings.
Mind control.
"That explains why they were so eager to die in the game.... Even goblins weren't that much
of a mob characters compared to these guys, it also explains why they had a huge number of
followers inside the academy.... Most of them were puppets huh...'
I narrowed my eyes, tracking the corrupted threads back to their source-
Or at least, to where they had been.
The woman I killed.
She had been the one controlling them.
Her death had severed the threads, leaving these men momentarily adrift, their minds still
trapped in the aftereffects of her influence.
They would likely regain their senses soon, but just in case- I extended my hand, allowing the faintest pulse of divine energy to trickle into the room.
A gentle golden glow radiated outward, invisible to normal eyes but spreading through the
air like a cleansing mist.
The moment my power touched them, the remaining traces of demonic influence began to
unravel—like ink being wiped from a pristine surface.
Their bodies didn't move.
Their expressions didn't change.
But I could feel it-
The corruption was fading.
Even though I had only used a fraction of my divine energy, it was more than enough to purge
the remnants of the woman's spell.
Tomorrow, when time resumed and they woke up, they'd likely feel refreshed.
Any lingering wounds-physical or mental-would be mended from the inside out.
That was the nature of divine energy.
With a simple flick of my fingers, I cast Greater Teleportation on the unconscious men.
A soft, shimmering light enveloped their bodies before they vanished in an instant, relocated
to a medical ward within the academy.
The sudden appearance of multiple injured men in the middle of the ward would definitely
cause a stir.
Doctors and medical staff would rush to their side, confused and bewildered, wondering where they had come from, what had happened, and who had sent them.
But that didn't matter.
Not right now.
I had more pressing concerns.
Turning my gaze eastward, I focused on Blue Café-a small, unassuming establishment
nestled within the city streets.
On the surface, it appeared no different from any other cozy gathering spot-warm lighting,
neatly arranged tables, a façade that gave off an air of normalcy.
But beneath that thin veil of deception, it was infested. Through my enhanced perception, I could see them-the twisted presences lurking within.
Demonic worshippers.
Huddled together, hiding within the walls, disguised as ordinary citizens.
Their disguises wouldn't fool me.
I could clear them out in one go.
One command.
One thought, and God's Hand would wipe them from existence like they had never even been
there in the first place.
But that wasn't what I wanted.
No, if I intended to send a message-**not just to them, but to their leader... no, their
demonic lord-**then a mere extermination wasn't enough.
I needed something bigger.
A clear display of power.
A warning.
My mind raced through the catalog of spells at my disposal, assessing each one for its impact,
effectiveness, and sheer destructive potential.
With the sheer number of buffs and passive enhancements automatically active on me, I could
have chosen something far more devastating-a catastrophic-tier spell that would reduce the
entire block to ash in an instant.
But that wasn't the approach I wanted.
No, I needed something simple.
Something that would burn.
Not just the worshippers, but the restaurant itself.
A cleansing flame that would turn their sanctuary into a pile of smoldering ruins.
Considering all the buffs I have right now I didn't need to use any high-ranked spells.
[Skill: Low-rank Flame Magic]
[Flame Orb]
A small, unassuming fireball began to form in my hand.
At first, it flickered with the usual orange hue of normal flames-ordinary, unimpressive,
nothing to fear.
But then-
It changed.
The fire twisted, shifting as my very presence imbued it with something beyond mortal
comprehension.
The orange glow melted away, replaced by a blinding, golden light.
I could feel the deep energy swirling within the orb-radiant, overwhelming, yet restrained
by the limitations of a low-rank spell.
But in the end, it was just that.
Low-rank flame magic.
Not something that warranted any careful consideration.
Without a second thought, I hurled it toward the building.
And.
That was my mistake....
-BOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!
The instant the golden flame made contact, the entire structure detonated.
A massive explosion of divine fire erupted forth, consuming everything in its path.
A heatwave of searing, golden radiance tore through the night sky, expanding outward with
unstoppable force.
The brilliance was blinding-so intense, so godly, that for a brief moment, it felt as if the
entire night had been forcibly turned into day.
Every shadow vanished.
Every street, every rooftop, every corner of the city was bathed in pure, holy light.
Then, just as suddenly, the shockwave from the explosion slammed into me.
The sheer force of it shattered my concentration-
Note: [Skill: Time Stop] has been interrupted.]
The frozen world shattered like delicate glass.
Time resumed.
I stood there, staring at the destruction before me.
A massive crater where the café once stood, and a beam of light stood never seeming to stop
for a few moments...
Nothing but scorched ruins and smoldering embers laud across where the building once were.
The streets were dead silent, the air thick with the lingering traces of divine fire.
I gulped.
'Did I overdo it?'
Before I could process the thought, a familiar series of system messages flickered before my
eyes:
[Note: You have defeated an entity aligned with Evil and Darkness.]
[Congratulations! Bonus points have been awarded!]
[Bonus Status Points: +20]
[Note: Your soul is slightly shaking... Fixing problem... Solution success!]
[Your soul was not damaged.]
[Congratulations! A portion of your divinity has significantly Increased!] [Note: The Goddess's Blessing inside you has returned to its slumber.]
[Note: Blessing shall reawaken every time user enters Ascension.] [Warning: It is advised to only reawaken and use the effects of the blessing while under
Ascension. Using the blessing under a mortal soul will lead to permanent soul damage.]
[Note: Detected Evil Presence has now diminished. Stats will return to normal levels after 10
seconds.]
Shit.
I needed to get out of here.
Immediately.
I could already sense celestial magic gathering in the sky.
It was faint at first—a ripple in the atmosphere, a distortion in the mana flow-but then it
intensified, forming into multiple magic circles. And these weren't ordinary spells.
They were being cast by the academy's highest-ranking staff.
Mages powerful enough to wield celestial magic-
'I can't let the principal see me...'
My mind rattled with urgency.
Gritting my teeth I instantly teleported out of the area.