Chapter 146: Return to the Alternate World, Two Grown-Up Little Girls
Underworld-Earth was left completely speechless. Twenty years was entirely too long; her philosophy was to seize the present moment. However, considering that a full-scale divine war could easily drag on for several millennia, there was no urgent need to rush either.
Three days later, Shirazawa and Shiro secured the True Soul Orbs and safely journeyed back to the alternate world.
Mael's inherited authority was "Faith," a power that allowed him to harvest the collective beliefs of living entities to systematically bolster his personal strength. It also granted him absolute control over thousands of loyal believers. It was a relatively decent capability. However, the real prize wasn't the specific authority sealed inside the True Soul Orb, but the pure divinity concentrated within it. That resource functioned as a direct ladder to the higher realms, significantly boosting their passive nurturing speed.
Right before their departure, Menka had presented them with ten unaligned divine cores as fair compensation for handing over Zeus's true soul. Zeus was currently locked away in the absolute depths of Hell. Because he held a massive amount of intelligence regarding the Pantheon, he required an extended period of interrogation; they weren't going to execute him anytime soon. Striking a deal with Menka to swap him for immediate divine cores was simply far more practical.
These cores had been thoroughly purified by the Underworld Springs, rendering them completely unaligned and ready for immediate absorption. They could be used to directly elevate their own strength or to patch up the system's missing MA energy reserves—making their overall utility absolutely massive.
While the couple didn't particularly care about the survival of the random mortals inhabiting this world, Ariel was deeply determined to save the Goddess Sariel, who was currently serving as the system's central core. This was a favor they absolutely had to help with. After all, she was their understanding, close-knit grandmama.
Furthermore, Sophia and Leest could also absorb these divine cores to scale their personal strength. If they could rapidly advance into full godhood, they would actually stand a chance at securing a piece of the pie during the upcoming divine war against the Pantheon. Weighing all these factors, the couple hadn't seen any reason to decline Menka's proposal.
Demon King's Castle, Manor House, Main Bedroom.
"Ah~ We're finally back! Even though it's only been a few days for us, it feels like we've been gone for an absolute eternity~" Shiro dove headfirst into her soft spider-silk bed, her entire body going completely limp as she melted into the mattress. "This place is still the absolute safest. It's so comfortable and quiet~"
"I'm completely wiped out too. Let's just rest up for a few days," Shirazawa agreed.
"Mm~"
Just as the two were preparing to launch into absolute slacker mode, the bedroom door was suddenly shoved open.
"Well, well. Look who finally decided to show up," Ariel stated. Having sensed their active presence, she had immediately rushed over alongside Sophia and the others. Catching sight of the two lazily sprawled across the bed, her expression turned incredibly sour. "Where exactly did you two run off to?"
Shirazawa and Shiro exchanged a brief look, silently establishing an immediate pact to play dead.
"Long story short, it wasn't a great place. It was absolutely packed with high-tier powerhouses. We were sweating bullets the entire time," Shirazawa answered weakly, buried under the covers as he feigned exhaustion, completely unwilling to move a muscle.
"Huh? Sophia, you've gotten taller! And Leest, you've grown quite a bit too!" Shiro suddenly exclaimed, her eyes narrowing as she carefully studied the two. It definitely wasn't an illusion; the two little girls had legitimately grown by half a head. What on earth had they been eating?
"Hmph!" Sophia tossed her head back with a proud, arrogant huff. "You two have been gone for well over a year. Am I not even allowed to have a growth spurt?" She glared at them, her eyes absolutely packed with irritation. *What kind of honeymoon lasts that long? For all I know, they probably already have a kid by now. Dammit!*
*Over a year?*
Shiro blinked in confusion before the reality instantly clicked. *Could the time dilation back in Hell be completely different?* The time ratio between the alternate world and Earth was 5:1. If they had stayed in Hell for three to four days and over a year had passed here, wouldn't that mean the time ratio was practically 100:1?
*Holy crap, we hit the absolute jackpot.*
If they actively trained here for twenty years, only about 80 days would tick by back in Hell. This was a literal cheat code for time management. With this setup, they would have a massive amount of buffer time to thoroughly prepare for their upcoming operations.
*Yep, let's start by slacking off for a solid twenty years to properly reward ourselves.*
After throwing a massive wave of complaints their way, Ariel quickly left to handle the planning for the upcoming Human-Demon War. During the window they were away, the opening act of the grand conflict had officially commenced. Small-scale skirmishes were already breaking out all along the demon border coordinates, keeping Ariel completely buried in military affairs.
Meanwhile, Sophia and Leest had zero intention of returning to the academy, deciding to completely skip their classes for the day.
"Shirazawa! Didn't you explicitly promise to act as my personal blood bank before you left?!"
"Do you have any actual idea how I've survived this past year?!"
Sophia aggressively grabbed Shirazawa by his collar, completely looking to instigate a full trial.
Leest chimed in, "Um, actually..."
"You shut up!" Sophia immediately barked, cutting her off before she could expose the reality.
During this past year, with absolutely zero adult supervision around, Sophia had basically been living in an absolute paradise. The female students back at the academy had been thoroughly terrorized by her, with the fresh bite marks lining their necks serving as the ultimate evidence. Whenever she got bored, she would pick a fight and beat up the male students; whenever she got hungry, she would leisurely enjoy the gourmet dishes people eagerly offered up to her; and whenever she went to sleep, she had Leest right there to act as a personal body pillow. She had become entirely addicted to a life of luxury and absolute indulgence.
Because of this lifestyle, the girl hadn't just grown significantly taller; her body had actually begun to safely fill out, with all the nutrients targeting exactly where they were supposed to go.
"Compensation! I demand immediate compensation!" Sophia yelled directly in Shirazawa's face, her blood-red eyes flashing with a greedy light.
"Looks like a single year without a beating has left you begging for a reality check," Shirazawa remarked calmly. Swatting her hands away, he instantly pinned her down and got straight to the point, delivering a rapid series of firm spanks.
In an instant, her rear was a bright, glowing crimson.
"To think you actually have the nerve to negotiate terms with me. Where are your manners? Let's see how you like this!"
Shiro sat comfortably on the sofa munching on melon seeds, feeling a wave of nostalgia wash over her. It had been a long time since they had enjoyed such a warm, domestic scene.
The resounding cracks of his palms immediately triggered Sophia's latent trauma, reminding her of the absolute terror of being dominated by her master.
"Stop! Stop hitting me, Master! I was wrong, I promise!" Sophia's face flushed a deep crimson as she immediately surrendered and begged for mercy, though Shirazawa showed zero intention of slowing down his pace.
"Wow—this is incredibly embarrassing. To think the grand, terrifying Vampire Queen is literally being spanked like a toddler. If word of this ever leaks out, people are going to laugh themselves to death," Leest remarked, covering her face as she desperately tried to stifle her laughter. She had undergone rigorous professional training; no matter how deeply amused she was by someone else's misfortune, she was absolutely required to maintain a straight face. Otherwise, she would be paying a heavy blood price later tonight.
Over the course of the year, Leest's personality had gradually shifted to become significantly more cheerful and expressive, completely shedding her old timid and cowardly self. This was entirely thanks to Sophia's absolute genius brand of education, which had successfully guided her down a path of no return.
"Leest, you absolute idiot! How dare you openly mock me, the Vampire Queen! Just wait until we get back, I am going to thoroughly ruin you!" Hearing Leest's muffled chuckles, Sophia felt like dying from pure embarrassment.
*Smack!*
"Vampire Queen, was it?!"
*Smack!*
"I'm not a kid anymore, stop bullying me like this!"
*Smack!*
"You still dare to talk back?!"
"I was wrong!"
*Smack!*
"Waaah..."
With the chaotic episode safely wrapped up, the couple seamlessly transitioned back into a quiet, peaceful routine.
Out in the manor's back garden, the familiar crimson and white figures materialized once more. Sipping their afternoon tea while basking under the warm sunlight, the two engaged in casual chatter. *This* was the exact lifestyle that accurately fitted the definition of godhood. Just look at D, Underworld-Earth, or Menka—those entities were completely buried in grueling administrative work every single day; none of them enjoyed this level of absolute freedom and comfort.
"Honey, now that we have the raw energy from the divine cores to patch up the collapsing world, do we still need to push forward with the Human-Demon War?" Shiro asked casually, taking a light sip of her black tea.
"Other people made the mess, so why should we be the ones stepping up to foot the bill? The war absolutely must proceed," Shirazawa answered coldly. "We will wait until the common mortals are completely drained of their utility before we make our definitive move."
"However, that old elf can be taken off the board well ahead of schedule."
"Once you thoroughly map out and master Metatron's contract authority, you can execute a heavily skewed contract with Ms. Oka. We can use that to directly sacrifice Potimas's soul fragments anchored inside her body. That will permanently eliminate any lingering risks."
Shiro felt his logic was entirely sound. First, they would wipe Potimas completely out of existence, then they would gradually stabilize the central system and extract Sariel. Finally, they would consolidate the global fighting forces and launch an absolute crusade straight toward the Pantheon.
*Perfect.*
With the strategy officially locked down, the couple continued to relax under the warm sun, though each of them now held a smooth glass bead in their palms. Leisure and training, operating in perfect harmony.
Far out across the world inside the Elf Village, Potimas remained completely oblivious to the fact that his definitive execution date had already quietly arrived.
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