Chapter 76

"Anyway, I'll leave this matter to you to handle." Sargeras concluded the matter, "Find a way to keep the mouth of the Church's envoy shut, whether you use facts, lies, or even your large penis... it's all up to you. You should start learning to stand on your own. The Academy is only responsible for covering your back, supporting you, and cleaning up your mess after you cause trouble. Making choices, understanding the consequences, and learning from them are your own responsibilities."

He shrugged, "I'll say this upfront: if you can't fool the people from the Church, they will definitely take the angel away. This is a matter of official business, and there's no room for cheating. The Academy can't intervene either, so you need to weigh your options carefully."

Athena said resolutely, "I'm not going anywhere."

"But you can't reveal your identity, right? No matter what choices you make in the future, you must not let the Church know that 'the future leader of the Seraphim in Heaven possesses the power of a Fallen Angel,' even if it was just in the past. I won't allow the heir of Heaven to tarnish its reputation in the Land of Death. This is my promise to Heaven." Sargeras glanced at Athena's wings and eyes, then nodded, "First, we need to deal with this matter."

He extended a finger and lightly tapped Athena's forehead. Athena instinctively tried to dodge, but she sadly discovered that no matter where she moved, the finger would follow her, leaving her completely unable to resist. Is the gap between Legendary and Holy Domain really so insurmountable? Just as this thought crossed her mind, she felt a chill. The vast, tranquil dark energy within her body was compressed by a powerful yet delicate external force into a tight ball. The force transformed into a sturdy chain, tightly binding the surging dark energy. To Sigma's astonishment, Athena's black wings gradually turned white, and her alluring purple eyes returned to their aurora-like blue.

"Don't get too excited yet." Before the two could celebrate, Sargeras poured cold water on them, "This is just a temporary seal, a temporary fix. Your bloodline determines your rare talent, allowing holy light and dark energy to coexist harmoniously in your body. The reason your wings and eyes resemble those of a Fallen Angel is that your own holy light and the angelic crown were shattered by Teris, causing the dark energy to overwhelmingly overpower the holy light, resulting in the Fallen Angel traits. Now that I've temporarily bound the dark energy, the holy light has regained the upper hand, which is why you look like this."

Sigma, well aware of Sargeras's unreliability and mischief, asked, "What are the risks?"

"Many." Sargeras said seriously, "First, your dark energy is already at the Holy Domain level. After suppression, you can only use holy light, so you're still a weakling. Be careful of danger."

"That's fine." Athena was taken aback for a moment, then said without hesitation, "Sigma will protect me."

"Huh? I thought, given your personality, you would say something like, 'The Rune-Clad Angel is the bravest warrior on Heaven's Mountain. Even without my power, the soul of an angel still shines, and I fear no enemy.' It seems you've changed quite a bit." Sargeras stroked his chin, looked at Sigma, and put on a look of sudden realization, smirking, "You two are getting close~"

Athena was initially taken aback, then realized what she had said. She was startled and quickly waved her hands, "No, I mean, Sigma is my friend. It's normal to rely on him a little when my power hasn't recovered. Don't overthink it, I'm not in the habit of relying on Sigma, so I just said it out of habit. It's because Sigma said he would help me, so I thought that way!"

The more she spoke, the more disorganized her words became, gradually losing coherence. Under Sargeras's teasing gaze, she spoke faster and faster, her face turning red. Her white wings even started to flash and change color—realizing this, she let out a small cry, "I'm changing back!"

"See? The seal is an external force, while dark energy is your own power. It's easily influenced by your emotions." Sargeras earnestly advised, "So, don't get too excited, don't talk recklessly, and most importantly, don't think about naughty things, or this will happen easily."

"I'm not thinking about naughty things!" Athena loudly denied, then secretly glanced at Sigma, "That... that kind of thing isn't naughty at all!"

Sigma didn't react much, but after hearing Sargeras's explanation, he felt a faint sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. From Athena's words, he sensed her trust. Building true friendship and trust with extraterrestrial beings, especially angels, is a rare and honorable thing. It means you have earned the recognition of a pure and upright being. In Noren history, few have achieved this honor. The most well-known is the first Pope of the Church, Sun King Roma. He signed a pact with an angel, spreading the principles of fairness, protection, and righteousness through the holy light to all of humanity. This act even moved the Holy Tier angels of Heaven's Mountain, leading them to believe that despite the complexity and variability of human souls, they still possess significant kindness and courage, thus fostering an alliance between Heaven's Mountain and the human race of Noren. In short, this Sun King was very impressive. His historical achievements have been tested by time and recognized by all Noren races. Over the years, due to the strict rules and numerous issues of the clerics, many people have been annoyed by them, and some have even secretly cursed the holy light as "fags." However, even the cruel and cunning dark beings hold the first Pope in high regard.

Thinking of this, Sigma understood. No wonder the Church was so anxious when they heard that an angel had descended from Heaven's Mountain. After all, their first leader rose to power by finding an angel. Now, another one has appeared, and it was found by a necromancer. What kind of situation is this?

"So, the key points are two. First, we need to make the Church believe that I haven't done anything to Athena and haven't restricted her freedom. Athena stayed of her own will." Sigma stroked his chin, pondering, "The second point is to fabricate a reasonable reason for Athena's descent to the mortal world, so they don't assume that 'Athena has a special mission and should be helped by the Church's holy knights, not an unreliable necromancer.'"

He looked up and asked Sargeras, "When will the Church people arrive?"

Sargeras smirked, "They're already twenty miles outside the city and will enter Atlas in half an hour."

"Go to hell, you mountain egg." Sigma smirked, "You're lying again. If the Church delegation were coming, Atlas would have prepared in advance. I haven't heard any news about it."

He looked at Sargeras, smiled calmly, and pointed, "Through my meticulous reasoning, there is only one truth: they have just reached the border of the Land of Death, right?"

Looking at Sigma's smug expression, Athena found him wise and handsome, but Sargeras remained expressionless. He gazed into the distance for a moment, then innocently pointed to the horizon, "Look, aren't those the Church's holy griffins?"

"..."

***

PS1: Wow, today's update is surprisingly early! Shocking!

PS2: As usual, please vote...

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