Chapter 500

Stripping away the "Celebration" divinity and seeking the "Pleasure" divinity anew was something Veye had planned long ago.

He had even rehearsed it more than once, practicing what he should do when the time came and how he should respond to all sorts of unforeseen events, all to ensure nothing could go wrong.

But no amount of rehearsal could replace the real thing.

For instance, he had never imagined that actually stripping away a divinity would be so agonizing.

He had in fact rehearsed for this as well. He had borrowed several ruthless butchers from Morani and had them stab himself three times and leave six holes, blood flowing everywhere. At the time, the pain had made him bare his teeth in agony, and he had felt that his preparations were more than thorough—almost to the point of self-torture.

Only now did he understand that his previous rehearsals had fallen far, far short!

Leaving aside everything else, the pain of stripping away his divinity alone vastly exceeded both his expectations and his imagination.

"Ghk... ghk... ghk..." The agony was so extreme that he could not even scream. All he could do was make meaningless choking sounds in his throat, like a rooster with its neck clutched tight, seemingly on the verge of breathing its last.

Of course, that was only an illusion. Pain alone could not kill a powerful god.

Still... for one exceedingly brief instant, Veye even felt that perhaps being alive was worse than being dead. After all, everyone knew that the dead felt no pain.

That absurd thought existed for only the briefest instant before he crushed it outright. Then, regardless of everything else, he endured the horrifying pain and struggled to stabilize the divinity being stripped away. Using the last sliver of connection between himself and