"Once Lilith became the 'Beauty Goddess,' she could temporarily keep that identity separate from the Earth Mother Goddess. No one would suspect a thing.
"Normally, though, the Primordial Moon would notice the ascension of a Beauty Goddess. That's why I've been gathering the auras of people like you... like all of you, and using the power of the Unknown to conceal it.
"The aura surrounding your Gear Book supplied the last little bit I needed."
Lilith's lips curved into a smile as she explained.
That smile made Abner hold his breath again. For the first time, he understood how a single smile could bring a city to its knees!
Your Grace... could you stop smiling? I'm afraid my self-control won't hold out... Abner thought, wrenching his gaze away with some difficulty.
Anyone else here would have adored the Beauty Goddess's beauty, felt joy from the bottom of their heart, or even given themselves up for it. The one thing they would never have felt was a desire to blaspheme.
Anyone below Angel level would have been incapable of such thoughts, while those above it would likely have felt only wariness and fear. One careless moment before the Beauty Goddess, and they could lose themselves and fall under her control without realizing it.
Besides, to an Angel, beauty was already a concept, an Authority, a rule—not something merely skin-deep.
With his Pure White Eye, however, Abner could partly resist the erosion of his soul by her beauty, much as an Angel could, so long as Lilith did not use her full power.
At the same time, he still perceived Lilith's beauty as an ordinary person would: on the surface. As a normal man, he could hardly avoid a few improper thoughts.
Fortunately, the Reader Pathway had the Mechanical Mind ability. With