Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil - Chapter 1942

Obviously, the sisters kept the artifact’s origins to themselves.

They didn’t want any demonic or divine faction chasing after it.

Since their dragon father had left them in Labh Salem to safeguard it, they were determined to reclaim it at any cost.

This was especially true for Azurea, who had assumed the artifact rightfully belonged to her.

She believed that the Artifact Spirit would recognize her as its owner once it tested her talent and capabilities.

After all, there was no other dragon in Labh Salem more gifted than her. No matter how powerful their father had been, even he couldn’t compare to Azurea when it came to innate talent.

If the Immortal Artifact Spirit wanted to choose from the sample pool of Labh Salem, she had to be the best choice. At least this was her assumption based on her self-awareness.

***

Marina remained silent for a few moments before saying.

"Sister, we can’t rush into getting the artifact back. It carries many risks. Even if we do manage to get our hands on it, the chances of it harming us are not small.

As for Lord Father—if he is so concerned about the artifact, let him deal with it himself. We were only told to keep an eye on it. As long as it remains in Labh Salem, we don’t have to worry too much about incurring his wrath.

Why should we suffer when it was him who left it here?

Secondly, who knows if Eren has a way to make that shark become the artifact’s true owner? What could we do then?"

Marina calmly presented her views, making Azurea frown.

Although Azurea knew that her sister harbored resentment toward their father for various reasons, what she said made a lot of sense. Marina had always been against many of their father’s decisions, while Azurea, in many ways, was a Daddy’s Girl. She had been pampered as the youngest member of their family.

Because of this, Azurea wasn’t as willing to give up on the Immortal Artifact as her sister was. She also concluded that she needed to teach the sea monster a lesson for his audacity in stealing from their family.

The sea monster had originally been a servant to their dragon family. It was her father who had subdued him. He only dared to act after confirming that Azurea’s father had left Labh Salem.

How dare he stab their family in the back when her father wasn’t around? Azurea had to punish the traitor.

Of course, the sea monster was well aware that he had betrayed the dragon family by stealing the Immortal Artifact. He also knew that Azurea’s father was a far greater threat than he was.

As such, even though he had opposed the twin dragon sisters, he had never truly attempted to kill them. At least not when he was sane and not under the influence of his psychosis.

The sea monster’s original plan was to steal the artifact, bide his time until the Witches’ Sabbath, and then leave Labh Salem in secret. After all, the Sabbath provided the perfect opportunity, as the worldly borders blurred that day, and various factions used Space Gates to connect Labh Salem with other worlds.

How could the monster have known that forcefully merging with the Immortal Artifact during a life-and-death situation would drive him to insanity? He lost all reason and began targeting both the dragonkind and the Raashim Templars in his rage.

A part of the sea monster recognized that all his suffering was the result of his own actions. However, he still blamed those who had targeted him, believing that they had pushed him into desperation, which ultimately led to his downfall and eventual entrapment.

While the two dragon sisters were busy discussing matters among themselves, Eren had skillfully smoothed things over with the sea monster using various tactics.

He provided reasonable answers to all of the monster’s questions while taking advantage of his artifact-induced gullibility.

The butcher also fueled the monster’s wrath against the Raashim Temple, allowing him to effectively use the sea monster in his fight against the Templars.

***

Meanwhile at the Baga Island’s base that was not affected by the flames of battle yet.

Fortunately for Eren, no one from Raashim Temple dared to venture into the sea where the sea monster had been imprisoned.

Why would they, when their leader, Shir, was still injured due to the backlash from the failed ritual?

Shir hadn’t abandoned the ritual when it was disrupted by Naya’s S-Rank breakthrough. Unlike Azurea, who had tactfully given up, Shir stubbornly pressed on.

Shir even tried to reverse the ritual process after Naya’s breakthrough had almost ended it then and there.

However, his persistence backfired when Eren forcefully broke the barrier with his own hands, causing Shir to suffer severe backlash. Not even his Faith-based God Spark could protect him from the consequences.

Eren’s actions had been completely beyond Shir’s expectations. He could never have imagined that the madman would not only refuse to flee at the prospect of the sea monster’s eventual liberation but would also personally aid in setting him free.

Thus, when the barrier was destroyed, and with no assistance from Azurea, all the backlash fell squarely on Shir, sending him into a coma. The core members of Raashim Temple were at a loss.

At the same time, Eren’s demonic army continued attacking various locations across Baga Island. Unable to fight back effectively, the Templars withdrew like turtles retreating into their shells, locking themselves at various pockets of Baga Island in the hope that Shir would wake up soon and lead them out of the nightmare.

It would have taken a long time for Shir to regain consciousness. However, Raashim Temple possessed a wealth of powerful and mysterious resources.

They managed to find the right mana potions to help their demigod leader regain some clarity. Though he was still far from a full recovery, Shir became aware of the dire situation he was in.

The first thing Shir did was attempt to contact the twin dragons. He knew he couldn’t take on the sea monster alone. In fact, even with the twin dragons’ help, defeating the sea monster—who was blessed with undying vitality—would be nearly impossible.

For now, the best Shir could do was recklessly use Baga Island’s reserve resources and defensive mechanisms to slow the sea monster’s advance against the Temple.

Meanwhile, he planned to seek assistance from his primary self—God Raashim. The situation had long since spiraled beyond his control, and divine intervention was now necessary.

"Enough. Stop reporting. I don’t want to hear anything more. Start preparing an altar for God Raashim," Shir ordered, somehow managing to stand from his bed as he addressed his core subordinates, who had gathered in his private chambers with their heads bowed.

"My lord, are we…" one of his subordinates hesitated before completing the question.

"That’s right. We– we don’t have any choice. Although it is not what the divine faction is supposed to do, we’ll use some followers as sacrifices to establish contact with God Raashim," Shir said grimly.

His expression darkened as if storm clouds had gathered over his face, and he began walking toward his destination with unwavering resolve.