Chapter 425: Chapter 425: You Can’t Get Out of Bed Anymore_1
"’Respected’ goddess," Aiden walked into the infirmary, "let’s sit down and have a good talk."
As far as personality was concerned, the goddess of vengeance was still human, but she evidently belonged to those whose emotions overruled their reason. She sensed some connection between Aiden and the goddess of conspiracy, so she insisted on fighting Aiden first.
Fortunately, Aiden had some experience in dealing with such irritable prisoners.
After acquiring the "Punishment" divine word, he had moved one step closer to the "Order" divine authority, and the corresponding powers he held were also enhanced.
Now, the "Punishment" power he wielded was even more potent than that of Heinz Hoffman, who had imparted the divine word to him. Apart from physical punishment and imprisonment, he could also impose the sentence of exile. He had the power to banish any sentient being within his domain to another space for a short period or to transfer them directly to the edge of his domain.
The maximum scope of the exile field was entirely the same as the "Return" divine word’s declared domain after the upgrade—this led Aiden to realize that the three powers of "Order" seemed to complement each other.
The vengeance goddess inhabiting Halo’s body probably no longer possessed enough divinity to control divine words. Aiden judged that her powers, at best, were only at the level of a "proxy" of the deity, similar to the agent of death he had encountered before, who held three powers, but each was quite incomplete.
The power of "Betrayal" was potent, allowing direct usurpation of control over someone else’s body, but there would inevitably be limitations to its use, and the "Punishment" power could totally handle it.
"This doesn’t seem like the power of the ’Spirit’ divine authority." The vengeance goddess struggled to her feet from the corner of the infirmary bed. "Interesting, the lackey of the conspiracy goddess also has a variant."
"Let me correct you, I am not her lackey." Aiden raised a finger, "To be precise, I should be considered her new plaything, the involuntary kind. So strictly speaking, you’re settling accounts with the wrong person. And I’ve looked after your priestess—this body’s true owner—for quite a long time, so, given that fact, we should have no grudge against each other."
"I’ve never cared about my worshippers. They offer me sacrifices; I grant them the blade of vengeance. And I just remembered, this is a prison, and you’re merely ’watching over us’." The vengeance goddess got up with apparent unconcern, ready to continue the fight. "Even if I believe you’re not in cahoots with the conspiracy goddess, I still don’t like you, kid, because you give me the impression of a schemer—the kind I hate the most. To put it bluntly, I can tell you’re plotting something as you talk to me."
"Which means?" Aiden spread his hands.
"I don’t want to talk, and now I want to get out," the vengeance goddess said.
"It seems I’ll have to restrain you before we can talk," Aiden sighed, then gave the command, "Bind!"
Mercury golems burst into the infirmary from behind him, charging straight at the vengeance goddess and wrapping around her, swiftly transforming into shackles that bound her to the bed.
"Using mindless puppets against me, you’re clever. It’s my first time seeing a shape-shifting golem, truly interesting, but the command you imposed on it originates from your will..." the vengeance goddess said calmly, "I can still reverse the polarity!"
The mercury golem’s changing chains suddenly melted back into liquid state, then shaped into a human form—resembling Halo, wielding a double-bladed dagger with blades on both ends of the hilt.
The power of "Betrayal" took effect, and the vengeance goddess seized control of it.
"Stab him a few times first!" the vengeance goddess pointed.
The mercury golem charged toward Aiden, who was only a few steps away. Aiden, expressionless, uttered, "Imprison!"
As soon as he spoke, the mercury golem slammed into a transparent wall with a clang, a semi-transparent cube wrapped in countless chains flashed momentarily before fading away, and the mercury golem attempted to ram a few more times, utterly unable to break through the prison.
Then the mercury golem’s movements suddenly ceased, and the next second it melted again, churning as it transformed, once more taking on Aiden’s silhouette—the effect of "betrayal" had arrived.
"The duration is about three to four seconds," Aiden calculated the control time of "betrayal" in his mind.
"Now can we talk?" Aiden said to the goddess of revenge.
"Why should we?"
"You’re bedridden now, so you’ll have to bear with a mortal like me prattling on," Aiden answered calmly.
The goddess of revenge quickly realized something, attempted to kick over from the bed to its edge, but kicked into an invisible iron plate instead. Simultaneously, the square cage that enveloped her flickered once, fitting over the bed where she lay perfectly—she was indeed confined to the bed now.
"I targeted two objects with that power just now," Aiden spoke, "I left you a bed so you can lie down and listen to me talk, no need for thanks."
"Ha ha, this ability is quite amusing, let me give it a try too," the goddess of revenge said with a twisted smile on her face, raising a hand and pointing at Aiden.
Aiden became alert for a moment but noticed nothing amiss. After a brief moment of confusion, he realized what had happened and reached out his hand to feel in front of him.
An invisible wall—he was confined to the same prison as well.
"The power of ’revenge’ can go to this extent?" Aiden was a bit surprised, "Your priestess could only reflect physical harm."
"She sacrificed her reason to receive the divine gift, but lacked the brains to use it properly," the goddess of revenge said with a laugh, "However, it’s thanks to her continuous sacrifices that I had the chance to awaken."
"A sacrifice of reason?" Aiden pondered.
The agents of death who acquired the powers of divinity from the "Death" authority sacrificed life, while the "Hate" authority required the sacrifice of a person’s spirit. It seemed that Halo’s insanity was not only due to the failure of the offering and the influence of divine words.
The true power of "revenge" was much greater than what Aiden had previously understood. It was not limited to causing physical pain, but other actions that could incite "hate" were also reflected back at the target of revenge. Halo only reflected physical harm because she was mad, only able to instinctively use that power.
Mr. Blood Robe, holding the sole authority, was even more powerful in this regard. This was also one of the reasons Aiden was now intent on sitting down and having a proper discussion with the goddess of revenge—she understood the power of the "Hate" authority.
"Impressive, Goddess," Aiden nodded.
"Are you mocking me, boy?" the goddess of revenge raised an eyebrow.
"Unfortunately, your power is not complete, and you no longer hold the authority in your hands," Aiden said as he took out the Wordless Code and wrote down the rule "no revenge" on it.
The cage enveloping him flickered for an instant and then shattered in a moment.
Under the mildly surprised gaze of the goddess of revenge, Aiden brought over a chair typically used by the duty medics in the prison and slowly sat down before speaking, "Let’s talk now."
