A solid, writhing humanoid shadow stood silently atop the tree canopy.
A layer of pale purple magic covered Sean's eyes, but even so, waves of stabbing pain kept surging through his head.
A god could not be looked upon directly!
Even with Pride present, even though this was merely one of Herpo's avatars, that innate suppression could not be fundamentally overcome.
Complete authority, and this was still the Realm of Illusion. Herpo truly was powerful beyond compare.
But this avatar... Sean simply continued staring at it without fear.
An avatar wasn't enough. An avatar... wasn't strong enough.
Pride sensed Herpo's presence as well and immediately spoke in Sean's mind. "This is how gods use Obsession Entities to construct magical bodies. The closer one is to the god, the stronger its power becomes. It also carries some authority that He stole from Mother!"
Sean was slightly surprised. "Authority can be divided up like that too?"
"Of course! Sean, make your own judgment, but from what I can see, Herpo's avatar isn't invincible. He is definitely in a period of degeneration right now!"
If I kill this avatar, will that portion of authority help Robin's resurrection? Sean asked silently.
"Yes. An avatar is a magical body, and the separated authority is projected through magic. Once the avatar is destroyed, its authority will automatically return to the world like magic itself—I am here, so I can seize that authority returning to the world faster than Herpo can," Pride said at once.
Sean nodded thoughtfully, then looked toward Herpo's avatar again.
The other party had not spoken since arriving. He seemed to know that Sean was communicating with Pride inside him, but he was in no hurry. Instead, he appeared to be waiting for the two of them to finish.
Noticing Sean's gaze, Herpo's