Whoosh!
Just as Ken was still trying to make sense of things, the Grand Priestess's figure flickered and drifted gracefully into the room.
"Nice room, isn't it?" she said, studying him with a faintly seductive look in her eyes. "Do you like it?"
"So this is the method you meant?" Ken asked, pointing at the fragrant bed.
"On Earth, there's an insect called the mantis. After mating, the female sometimes eats the male," the Grand Priestess said calmly. "Comparing angels to mantises isn't exactly appropriate, but the basic idea is similar enough."
Ken said nothing.
"Still, don't worry. I'll let you complete the sacrifice in the most comfortable way possible," the Grand Priestess said, a flush rising in her face. "And this body is essentially a mortal one. It has never been touched by any man."
"You really mean I get to complete the sacrifice in the way I like best?" Ken asked, sounding genuinely moved.
"As long as you cooperate properly, any way you want is fine," the Grand Priestess said, clearly looking forward to it herself.
After raising him all these years, he had finally grown enough for her to absorb.
Once she obtained his angel power, she would recover seventy percent of the strength she had at her peak.
"Ken, you really are exceptional. I never imagined you'd cultivate this quickly. In just a few short years, you've already reached level 70," the Grand Priestess said, the more she looked at him, the happier she seemed.
"What level are you now?" Ken asked.
"Not as high as yours. I'm only level 60," she answered honestly.
Ken fell silent.
"You're thinking that you're level 70 while I'm only level 60, so what right do I have to ask for your sacrifice, aren't you?" the Grand Priestess said, her eyes turning cold as she slowly removed her angel attire and revealed her pale skin.
Of course, she was not stripped bare beneath it. Like any other woman, she still wore elegant underwear underneath.
Ken stared quietly for a moment, clicking his tongue in admiration.
She really does have an incredible body.
"What did you just say?" Ken asked, swallowing.
Even though he had already become an angel, there was no way he could look at a woman this beautiful and feel absolutely nothing.
"I said you're level 70 and I'm only level 60. You think that means you can crush me outright, so naturally you won't offer yourself to me. Isn't that right?" the Grand Priestess said, folding her arms and looking straight at him.
"Of course," Ken said, as if only just realizing it. He nodded quickly. "I'm level 70. You're only level 60. Who exactly gave you the confidence to think I'd sacrifice myself to you?"
"Because even if you're level 70 and I'm only level 60, never forget this: the root of your angel power came from me," the Grand Priestess said, exactly as though she had expected this reaction all along. "That means all your angel power is still under my control. In a sense, you've only been cultivating it for me."
"Wait, let me work this out..." Ken said, seriously counting on his fingers. "I'm level 70, you're level 60, and if you absorb my angel power, wouldn't that make you level 130? You'd flatten the Space-Time God of Destruction at that point!"
"That's not how it works!" the Grand Priestess snapped, her face darkening. "If I absorb your angel power, I'll rise to around level 90 at most. And once I absorb the other six versions of you across the different timelines, I should reach level 100. Not only would I return to my peak, my angel power would reach a level it has never reached before."
"You're planning to do the same thing with the other six versions of me too?" Ken asked, narrowing his eyes.
"That method is the most direct and the most efficient," the Grand Priestess said with a nod.
Ken: "..."
"How about calling them all over here together?" Ken suggested.
The Grand Priestess: "..."
"You... you really mean that?" she asked, at a complete loss.
"The truth is, I feel a little awkward about this," Ken admitted, rubbing his head. "If it were your daughters—Vados, Kusu, Marcarita, people like that—I'd still understand. But with you? How am I supposed to face them after this? What am I supposed to say?"
"There is no 'after this.' Once you sacrifice yourself to me, you'll disappear completely," the Grand Priestess said coldly.
"You're right. There really won't be any 'after this,'" Ken said, suddenly enlightened.
"Then let's begin. Choose the way you want to offer yourself," the Grand Priestess said, still being unexpectedly polite with him.
After all, he had cultivated for so long and somehow reached level 70.
That was something she had never imagined.
Originally, she had thought reaching level 50 would already have been extraordinary.
But after returning, she had discovered that Ken had actually reached level 70.
She had been overjoyed.
"You really mean I can choose the way I want?" Ken asked.
"You're the strongest of all the incarnations. I'll treat you differently," the Grand Priestess said with a cold nod.
"Then I won't hold back," Ken said, raising a hand.
A rope appeared in it.
The Grand Priestess: "?"
"Just cooperate for a second," Ken said.
Then he stepped forward and tied the Grand Priestess up hand and foot.
The Grand Priestess: "..."
Still, after thinking about how much pure angel power Ken could provide, she decided to cooperate properly.
That said... the way you tied those knots looks awfully practiced.
Have you done this kind of thing before?
"Uh, sorry," Ken said with a grin. "I've watched similar videos before. I learn fast."
"How long are you planning to play around like this?" the Grand Priestess asked.
"For angels, what's a year or two? That passes in the blink of an eye," Ken said seriously.
The Grand Priestess: "..."
"I do not have that much time to waste playing with you. I'll give you one day at most!" she huffed.
Ken had no answer.
How generous of you. A whole day.
He tied the rope into a dead knot and pulled it even tighter.
"All done?" the Grand Priestess asked in the same cold voice. She was on her knees now, hands bound behind her back.
Still, she felt no shame.
After all, in a little while this man would be sacrificing himself to her.
He had cultivated all these years because of her, and now he was about to disappear. Giving up a tiny bit in return could at least count as a little comfort for him.
No matter what, he was still the best of all the incarnations.
She had to give him some kind of sweetener. Otherwise, if he refused to cooperate and she had to seize him by force, that would be far more troublesome.
"Looks about right," Ken said, admiring the Grand Priestess tied up before him with obvious satisfaction.
"So can we start now?" she asked.
"I still can't quite bring myself to do it," Ken said with a sigh. "If Vados and the others ever found out about something like this, how am I supposed to face them?"
"It doesn't matter. They won't know," the Grand Priestess said, shaking her head.
"And then there's the Grand Priest..." Ken said, sounding genuinely embarrassed. "You're basically his wife, aren't you?"
"Amarella already told you, didn't she? Vados and the others were created from condensed angel power. As for me and the Grand Priest, we've never even held hands," the Grand Priestess said.
"So I'd really be your first man in the true sense of the word?" Ken asked, looking at her thoughtfully.
"More or less," she said with a nod.
"If it weren't for the generations issue... I honestly might've gone along with it," Ken said with a sigh. "But after thinking it through, I still can't get over that hurdle. I can't shake the feeling that I'd be making a cuckold out of the Grand Priest."
The Grand Priestess: "..."
"What exactly do you mean by that?" she asked, her voice turning colder and colder.
"How about we just forget it?" Ken suggested.
The Grand Priestess nearly exploded.
You've already tied me up like this.
And now you're saying we should just forget it?
"I knew this wouldn't be as simple as I imagined," she said with a cold snort. "Looks like I'll just have to force you!"
As she spoke, she tried to shatter the ropes around her with angel power.
"Ah..."
But the moment her angel power flared, the ropes tightened instead. She could not break free at all. With a startled cry, she went limp on the spot and nearly collapsed.
"Are you okay?" Ken asked with concerned politeness.
"You... what did you do to me?" the Grand Priestess asked in shock, staring at him in disbelief.
"I tied you up. That's all," Ken said, flashing a bright white grin.
"No! That's not what I mean! Why can't I break your ropes?" the Grand Priestess asked, shaking her head, still unable to process it.
"You're the Grand Priestess. An ancient angel. Don't tell me you can't understand something this basic," Ken said, clicking his tongue. Then he explained very simply, "Did you think this was an ordinary rope? It's a rope I condensed out of angel power. Why would it be easy to break?"
The Grand Priestess felt awful all over.
Of course I know it's made of angel power.
The issue is why I can't break it.
"Loosen it a little... it's too tight," she said. Bound that tightly, she already felt uncomfortable all over.
"It looks better when it's tight," Ken commented.
The Grand Priestess gave him a deeply aggrieved look, though her eyes were still full of coldness.
What kind of explanation is that?
"What I mean is... why can't I break a rope made of your angel power?" she asked again, still completely confused.
"I'm level 71. You're level 60. Why do you think you can't break it?" Ken said with a smile. "Forget level 60. Even if you were level 70, this setting works on the rule that one level higher is enough to suppress the other side. You're ten full levels below me, and you think you can tear apart a rope I made?"
The Grand Priestess slowly shook her head.
The more she thought about it, the more wrong the whole thing felt.
This shouldn't be possible.
How could I fail to break free?
His angel power is mine.
He only got angel power because of me, and through constant cultivation, he kept refining and strengthening the angel power I gave him.
I should be able to control it.
It shouldn't matter whether he's level 70 or 700.
The root of his angel power is still me.
His angel power should still answer to me.
So why can't I establish any connection with the angel power he's releasing now?
"Thought it through yet?" Ken asked, stepping forward and patting the Grand Priestess on the cheek.
"You... you dare hit me?" she snapped in fury.
"I wouldn't dream of it," Ken said, though the force of his hand only got heavier.
Five bright red finger marks slowly appeared on her pale cheek.
The Grand Priestess burned with humiliation and rage.
Aside from the one time she had been reborn, no one had ever treated her like this in her entire life.
"You..." she said through gritted teeth, her face flushing red as she trembled with anger.
But she quickly forced herself to calm down again and carefully sensed the angel power in the rope around her.
The moment she did, endless shock filled her face.
"This... that's impossible!" she said, staring at Ken suspiciously. "Why has your angel power changed?"
"What do you mean?" Ken asked curiously.
"This isn't my angel power anymore... you refined it into angel power that belongs entirely to you," the Grand Priestess said, her expression changing again and again, the disbelief only growing stronger.
"So it's really like that?" Ken sighed. "Then even if I did want to sacrifice myself, you wouldn't be able to absorb my angel power anymore?"
That stabbed her straight through the heart.
"How did you do it?" the Grand Priestess asked.
"I just cultivated in my own way. As for how it happened, I honestly don't know," Ken said with a smile. "You'd better start worrying about yourself instead. What exactly should I do with you now? Hand you over to the Grand Priest?"
"No... don't!" the Grand Priestess said, panic finally flashing through her eyes. She clearly had no intention of letting the Grand Priest see her like this.
"Mm... then again, handing you over to the Grand Priest does feel a little wasteful," Ken said, shaking his head.
"Hurry up and let me go," the Grand Priestess said through gritted teeth.
"You were the one who asked me to tie you up. Why should I release you now?" Ken laughed.
This really was a first for him.
A divine woman like her had actually asked him to tie her up.
"Let me go, and we'll pretend none of this ever happened," the Grand Priestess said coldly.
"All right," Ken said thoughtfully, stepping forward and fiddling with the ropes.
"You're being sensible," she said, finally breathing a small sigh of relief.
But after a moment, she realized nothing had loosened at all. She lowered her head and discovered that the rope across her chest had simply been retied into a bow.
The Grand Priestess: "..."
"That looks a lot better," Ken said with a satisfied smile.
"You... you dare toy with me?" the Grand Priestess snapped, her chest rising and falling violently.
"Stay in here by yourself for a little while first," Ken said.
Then he turned and walked out.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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