"I'll stop her."
When those words came from Shien, Iris could not help but tremble inwardly.
There was no helping it.
Shien's tone had been far too natural, so natural that it sounded as though this were simply the most natural thing in the world, stirring her heart despite herself.
But Iris still wanted to say something.
"Don't—don't go!"
Iris seemed to unconsciously clutch Shien tighter. Her face had gone pale as she struggled against the corruption of the evil aura, yet she desperately shook her head.
"That's the Strongest Evil God! An existence capable of rivaling a Demon! You'll die!"
Iris shouted at Shien.
Unfortunately—
"Die?"
Shien blinked, then suddenly smiled.
"Don't worry." Shien spoke again in an exceedingly natural tone. "I've already died once before."
Iris froze at once.
Taking advantage of that moment, Shien loosened Iris's tightly gripping hand.
"Maybe I won't win, but I probably won't die. You can rest easy." Shien said to Iris, "Your condition is worse than mine. Think about what you should do first."
Shien did try using Celestial Breathe to heal Iris, but it had no effect.
Unlike the remnants left behind for thousands of years before, Iris was being corrupted by Lilith's authority itself this time. The power of magic alone truly found it difficult to work.
A god's authority was equivalent to an ordinary person's Unique Skill, a power that defied common sense.
The God Race's Goddesses did not possess Unique Skills. Or rather, their authorities were their Unique Skills.
If that Unique Skill had not been particularly powerful, it would have been one thing. But the title of Strongest Evil God was no empty boast. The evil aura Lilith unleashed through her authority was not something even Unique Skills specialized in dispelling negative conditions could necessarily counter, let