Chapter 358 - Catherine Crawford

For the first time since events began to unfold, Himiko walked in front of the kneeling Zeel, intending to protect him with her life if necessary.

Actually, she had been terrified for the entire battle but Zeel was her God, and even if she was a disgraced Wanderer, she would not watch Zeel die in front of her eyes.

Ahmanet attempted to stop her but Himiko simply directed a sad smile in her direction before planting herself firmly between Zeel and the opposition.

It seemed that Ahmanet and Himiko had grown somewhat close in their time hiding from battle.

A couple more golden lights flashed over the next five minutes, and then the flashing ceased, signifying that no more Egyptian Gods would be appearing to join the battle.

Around twenty Egyptian Gods now stood opposite Zeel, Alice, Ella, Alle, Himiko, and Ahmanet, but the Gods seemed hesitant to start the battle.

Zeel was weakened with his mind impaired…

Alice could fight well beyond her weight class but she was no miracle-maker…

Himiko was basically non-existent, and her shivering legs showed just how terrified she was…

Ahmanet was simply a mortal attuned to Death-Energy which was why she was able to stay alive…

By all appearances, Zeel and the others would lose the upcoming battle, but the Egyptian Gods still kept an eye wide open to check if Lorien was still around.

The idea of Lorien terrified the Egyptian Gods more than if Lorien was actually there…

After all, the most terrifying thing in battle was a hidden enemy that would strike when you least expected it.

Sadly, Lorien was comfortably snuggled in Zeel's soul, hugging it like it was a teddy bear as she slumbered with drool on her cheek.

'[Nanite Stage 4 Upload to Information Dimension: Alice Crawford – 60%, Zeel Crawford – 40%...]'

Zeel turned to Alice with relief and slight vexation on his face "If we die now, we really die…"

"I think we dodged death too long…" Alice answered, pushing up her boobs a bit for Zeel to see "I'm around 150 right now, and I think any more birthdays and my boobs will begin to sag…"

"I'm sorry about all the pain I caused you…" Zeel whispered to Alice as he simultaneously brushed his fingers through Ella's and Alle's hair "I am also glad to experience what it was like to have such wonderful daughters…"

Ella and Alle instantly grew anxious at Zeel's compliment, since he was not someone to compliment them for no reason at all.

"Maybe mother can help?" Ella suggested though she didn't believe in her suggestion one bit.

Alle remained silent, codes flickering across her pupils trying to determine a variation of upcoming events where everyone could live, but there was none.

The Egyptian Gods slowly formed a semi-circle, carefully advancing to box Zeel and the others into an area where a swift battle would occur.

Zeel desperately tried to create weapons from his nanites, but the replication process was conflicting with his Upload to the Information Dimension so he could not create anything.

Alice attempted to rouse her Divine Energy awake but coughed a couple mouthfuls of golden blood since she was severely injured in the battle against Seth.

Lorien's power had only healed Alice enough for her to stay alive, but not enough to fight another battle.

Himiko moved forward a bit, tears leaking down her cheek as she clenched a dagger in her small hands.

Alice, Zeel, Ella, Alle, and Ahmanet were used to battle, but that was not the case for Himiko.

It was one thing to have your life threatened on a daily basis, you eventually got used to the feeling of being in danger, but for someone who was experiencing this for the first time…

It was bound to be absolutely traumatizing…

Even Zeel felt a bit sad at Himiko attempting to defend him.

"You don't have to-"

"NO!" Himiko interrupted, stopping Zeel mid-sentence "This is something I have to do… you're my God now and I will protect you for my own sake…"

Alice gave Zeel a sad smile while nodding her head to allow Himiko to do as she wished, but the next moment a feeling of absolute disgust overtook Alice.

Zeel's breathing quickened and he sensed it – like a curse that would prevent him from dying with dignity.

It was like the Universe wanted to see every drop of goodwill in Zeel's heart reduced to nothing…

Like he was not meant to be anything aside from the efficient killer he was meant to be as a child…

What Zeel sensed was Aurolana's impending death – the death of his soulmate, and not a half-assed death but a damaged-soul-kind-of-death.

Codes flickered across Zeel's pupils for a picosecond, running scenarios and variables in an infinite loop to arrive at one inevitable conclusion – Aurolana gets to live at the expense of Alice's love for him.

Zeel opened his mouth to speak, but his tone carried a certain sorrow that should have been impossible for him.

"Himiko, you say I am your God?"

"Yes, Lord!" Himiko responded with her back to everyone.

Had she turned around, she would have noticed the expression on their faces.

Alice stood frozen with disgust on her face, while Ella and Alle wore apathetic faces that didn't match the silent tear that slid down their cheeks.

Even Ahmanet, with her abilities gone, could tell that something was wrong.

"That means I can do to you as I wish…" Zeel whispered as if trying to convince himself more than anyone.

He ignored the encroaching Egyptian Gods and walked behind Himiko, embracing her small body in his arms.

"I'm so sorry… I will always remember you, little one…" he whispered before sending a pulse of Death Energy into Himiko's body that crumbled her soul.

Himiko's eyes instantly lost their light; she slumped into Zeel's embrace like a puppet with its strings cut.

Ironic, considering Zeel was her God and hence a sort of Puppet Master.

Earlier after killing Nick, Zeel absorbed the curse that caused him to resurrect without any side effects.

Originally, he planned to study the Mare Curse for a couple of years to utilize it properly, but time was no longer on his side – not that it ever was.

Zeel channeled the Mare Curse from his body into Himiko's soulless body, causing Egyptian Hieroglyphs to materialize on her body like tattoos as the curse took hold…

But the curse required a soul to function, and Zeel just so happened to have a soulmate dying several Dimensions away.

Zeel stretched his hand into the void, channeling a potent energy throughout his body that shattered all his internal organs and bones.

This energy was Multiversal Energy.

Zeel's Mbeamer appeared on his hand, but the Mbeamer was different from its usual appearance – it was cracked, and fracturing in many places.

The Mbeamer looked on the verge of destruction.

Zeel overloaded the Mbeamer beyond its limits to pierce across several Dimensions and Universes to access Aurolana's location.

A split second later, the void showed a beautiful Apollonian becoming dust in a dark void…

Such a sorrowful sight almost made Alice's disgust for Zeel disappear, but alas, it was not meant to be.

Killing a child to save Aurolana was unforgivable in Alice's eyes, but what made her even more disgusted was her choice not to stop it from happening.

Alice finally realized that she didn't like the person she was becoming with Zeel around.

Zeel pulled Aurolana's soul across the several Dimensions and Universes, pushing her into Himiko's body without hesitation.

With that action, Zeel's Mbeamer finally overheated and destroyed the only remaining arm he had left.

One arm had been destroyed by Lorien's purity and the other arm had been destroyed by channeling Multiversal Energy through his body…

And in both cases, it would take years to regrow his arms with resources that he no longer had access to.

Still, Zeel had bigger concerns to tackle, such as if Himiko's body would be able to withstand integration with an Apollonian's soul.

It was akin to putting a human brain into a monkey's body and expecting everything to work out fine…

That was exactly what Zeel had done… not that he had much of a choice since Aurolana's death meant his own death as well.

Himiko's body fell to the ground and spasm a bit before white light covered her body, altering her physical appearance until it became a virtually indistinguishable, lesser version of Aurolana's…

No!... There was no longer any Himiko, only Aurolana…

Zeel and everyone watched as Aurolana's body cracked and reformed over and over again as her soul was forced to adapt to a lesser body.

"Her soul is altering the curse that brought Nick back to life since an Apollonian is immune to all curses…" Zeel explained, hoping that Aurolana's slumber would not last very long.

It was already a miracle that the Egyptian Pantheon had chosen not to attack during his complicated procedure to save Aurolana's life.

Honestly, Zeel hadn't even noticed that his soulmate connection to Aurolana had been blocked for a couple of seconds earlier.

All he knew was one moment she was fine and the next, he could sense she was dying in some backwater Dimensional Void.

Zeel embraced Aurolana's body and placed his hastily constructed palm on her head, accessing all the gaps for events he was missing, and what he found was somewhat expected.

"Catherine Crawford…" he murmured, shaking his head disapprovingly.