Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil - Chapter 1959

Even though the sea monster had assumed his relatively miniature humanoid form, the Immortalwood Conch had transformed with him.

As a result, his back fin still remained stuck inside the Immortal Artifact.

"Erni, are you going to cure his soul-related issues?" Reen asked as she looked at Eren.

She didn’t fully understand the Elder Ichor bloodline, but as an Artifact Spirit herself, she knew that it would be easy for Eren to eliminate any negative effects the sea monster suffered due to his forced fusion with the Immortal Artifact.

After all, all Eren had to do was contact the Artifact Spirit of the Immortalwood Conch and make it cancel the negative effects on the sea monster’s soul.

"No," Eren shook his head.

"Then are you going to take back the Immortal Artifact from this man?" Reen asked.

"That won’t be necessary either," Eren replied.

"Then what are you going to do with him?" Reen asked curiously.

She couldn’t understand why he didn’t claim the artifact for himself. With the way the sea monster behaved, convincing him to willingly give up the Immortal Artifact wouldn’t be a problem for someone like Eren.

As if reading Reen’s thoughts, Eren responded to her telepathically.

"Reen dear, the Immortalwood Conch is currently acting as a damper between this man’s soul and consciousness. If I take the artifact for myself, the damper will be removed, and he will regain his adult mindset.

That’s not something I want right now. I want to help him, yes. But I don’t want him to be outside my control either," Eren explained.

"Then what will you do with him?" Reen asked, still puzzled as she looked at the sea monster.

"It’s simple, really," Eren said with a faint smile.

"I’ll claim ownership of the Immortalwood Conch but allow this half-brother of mine to use it. Even though I can wield the artifact effectively with my divine might, keeping it with him is more beneficial in the current situation.

Instead of taking the artifact away, I’ll use it to strengthen his physical form even further. Of course, I’ll also eliminate the underlying problems in his bloodline, allowing him to stabilize himself.

That means after I’m done with him, he won’t have to worry about dying from overflowing vitality or the threat of bloodline disharmony," Eren explained patiently as he stepped behind the sea monster and placed his hands on the Immortal Artifact.

"Hmm? You really are too generous with your half-brother," Reen remarked in her mind, folding her arms beneath her bosom.

Eren chuckled before responding. "I have to be. If I want to get my half-brother in the best condition possible, it’s an investment that will soon pay off."

"How soon are we talking?" Reen asked, unfazed by Eren’s behavior.

"In a few hours," Eren replied, keeping his eyes closed and smiling.

"You… you’re not thinking of giving—" Reen’s words caught in her throat as a sudden realization struck her, a flicker of surprise flashing in her eyes.

"That’s right," Eren confirmed. "I’ll let him have the faith-based God Spark that I’m about to take from Shir. And using that momentum, I’ll help him become a genuine SS-Rank entity."

With that, Eren connected his consciousness to the artifact.

***

At first, provided his raid on Baga Island was successful, Eren had planned to use the faith-based God Spark for himself after stealing it from Shir.

He intended to merge it with his existing one, as they were compatible. Doing so would not only allow him to farm Origin Force Points from God Raashim’s followers but also enhance his Ranking Status as a side effect.

After all, when Anfang’s World Will had granted him the elemental God Spark for the first time, Eren had advanced from B to A Rank in one leap.

Even though he wouldn’t gain a God Spark of a different element, a faith-based God Spark would still provide the necessary boost to break through his bottlenecks and push him into the S-Rank.

This was the perfect shortcut Eren had in mind. A successful raid on Baga Island would not only make him a more powerful demigod and increase the farming rate of his Origin Force Points, but it would also significantly enhance his personal strength.

Although Eren was close to becoming an S-Ranked Sage, his Ranking Path differed greatly from that of other Rankers. He had become vastly more powerful than anyone of his rank and generation. However, this also made breaking through to higher ranks exponentially more difficult.

One had to remember that Eren was not just a close-combat expert anymore. He was an assassin, a berserker, a potionist, and a lot more. His elemental mastery over various elements also needed to be top-notch for him to become a Sage.

Beyond the sheer breadth of his path and the immense Elemental Attainments he needed to comprehend, the fact that he had only recently become a Grandmaster meant that achieving Sagehood anytime soon was unlikely.

Of course, Eren had previously suppressed his breakthrough into the S-Rank.

But there were many reasons behind that decision, and he couldn’t replicate the same circumstances at will—especially after expanding his Ranking Path with his pseudo-avatars in recent times.

One could say that Eren had changed the requirements for the S-Rank breakthrough with his own hands after experiencing the early signs of the breakthrough in the past. By using the suppression to temper his divinity, he had raised the criteria of successfully becoming a Sage for himself.

One could say that it was both a good and bad thing for him at this point.

Thus, Eren had initially planned to become a Sage using Shir’s faith-based God Spark to prepare for the Witches’ Sabbath.

However, after encountering the sea monster, he changed his mind.

Becoming a Sage was crucial for Eren—it would aid him greatly during the Witches’ Sabbath. However, having an SS-Rank entity under his command was even more critical.

If he truly wanted to maintain control over Labh Salem’s seas after the destruction of Raashim Temple, he needed to promote the sea monster’s rank and make him the de facto ruler of the seas.

The sea monster’s current strength was solid, but once the fall of Raashim Temple became public knowledge, things would start to heat up in the seas.

A successful conquest was meaningless if the conqueror lacked the strength to maintain control over the conquered regions.

Therefore, Eren needed a decisive deterrent in the seas, and his half-brother would fulfill that role.

As for finding another opportunity to become a Sage, Eren decided there was no need to rush.

He had a few ideas for achieving a breakthrough into the S-Rank using other methods, but they required careful consideration.

For now, it was better to focus on the task at hand and successfully complete his raid on Baga Island.

===

AN: Eren experiences the early signs of S-Rank breakthrough and uses them to temper his divinity in chapter 1856.