"Oh, come on. You should've told me Murphy wasn't here. I've been sneaking around so carefully, afraid I'd accidentally walk into another damned trap."
Beside the wreckage of the fallen Daughter of Glory, amid the churning waves of chaotic psychic energy, a voice brimming with anticipation and smug satisfaction rose with the foul storm, then faded into an unnoticed corner.
Since the battle at the Heart of the World, the King of Ten Thousand Curses, Vidia, had vanished without a trace. Now it strode lightly past the Star Realm's titans, which had become a cosmic hellscape, carefully concealing itself lest those troublesome fellows notice anything amiss.
But after confirming that Murphy had never been in the Star Realm to begin with, Vidia could finally let go of the anxiety it had been carrying.
So, on its way to the World Tree, it even had the spare inclination to bless a few of the poor warriors it passed. Not that Vidia had suddenly become kind; it simply had nothing better to do.
Besides, the King of Ten Thousand Curses was very pleased with these warriors' performance.
After all, as long as it seized the World Tree's symbol through a secret rite before the tree fully matured, it could pull off a classic "cuckoo takes over the nest" and make up for the greatest weakness of an Old God like itself.
Once the source-symbol of the entire revived Star Realm was in its hands, the whole Star Realm would become its psychic divine kingdom. So, in a manner of speaking, these brave and fearless warriors were fighting for Lord Vidia's ambition. Such loyal service was certainly worth a few spells that might save their lives at a critical moment.
It was claiming the vast domain that belonged to it. As the future