Chapter 265: A Rare Win "True, that doesn't seem necessary," Aiden considered and agreed. "You've already directly betrayed your own believers." When the Blood Moon Cult was destroyed by the Heresy Inquisition, Mephilia had unhesitatingly abandoned the followers loyal to her within the cult. Fresh chapters posted on n0velfire.net "Shouldn't betrayal be as natural as breathing for a schemer? In fact, the number of people I've betrayed before this is already countless," Mephilia smiled. "If the ritual is effective even when completed before obtaining the Authority, then didn't he actually complete the ritual when he betrayed that group of vampires from the original Blood Moon Cult?" Aiden mused. "However, given the premise that 'his seizure of the 'Hatred' Authority was done under your instruction,' as long as he chose to usurp the Authority, the act of betrayal became factual. You could then legitimately carry out vengeance against this 'traitor'. As for the third condition..." Aiden studied Mephilia face. "This body... wasn't it perhaps willingly offered up by the sacrifice?" "Precisely," Mephilia answered. "In this world, there's actually no shortage of people willing to sell their lives. Give them sufficient reward, or help them achieve their desires... especially helping them achieve vengeance." "You said you couldn't digest the 'Hatred' Authority yourself. Then why were you so eager to obtain it first?" Aiden continued questioning. "Could it be that you actually..." Already possess the 'Desire' Authority—the thought flashed through Aiden's mind. "Wisdom" and "Hatred" were opposing Authorities under their respective thrones. According to Mephilia previous statements, attempting to forcibly master one after possessing the other would lead to extremely dangerous side effects—unless mediated by the "Desire" Authority, which served as a bridge. If Mephilia was also the Dominator of "Desire," it meant... Melinda, the Goddess of Love who deceived the Nameless Witch two hundred years ago, might very well be another identity of Mephilia? According to Abigail's speculation, Melinda likely lost her own form during the conflict with the God of Death, and Mephilia... was precisely a goddess operating in this world by seizing the body of a human sacrifice. But just then, Mephilia gave a negative answer: "'I' do not possess the 'Desire' Authority. Arranging for that fellow to hold the 'Hatred' Authority for me was to set up a proper 'Vengeance'." "A proper vengeance? If he finds a way to completely erase me, he'll directly ascend to become a Dominator," Aiden narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You even approach something playfully?" Aiden frowned slightly. "Of course. One pawn arranged by me, and another pawn summoned by me, filled with randomness. On the chessboard between you two... who will ultimately capture the other?" Mephilia moved her piece on the board, stopping in the space adjacent to Aiden's piece. "Alas, just missed," she sighed with great regret. Aiden remained silent for a moment, then picked up the dice. He wasn't entirely convinced, but it seemed this was the only explanation Mephilia was willing to offer voluntarily. "The 'Hatred' Authority must have had a Dominator originally, right?" Aiden returned to the topic of the Vengeance Sanctuary. "That organization whose Authority you seized, the Vengeance Sanctuary, they worshipped a real, existing Dominator." "I Remember her, the Goddess of Vengeance," Mephilia said nonchalantly. "Dealing with her really took quite some effort." "From your tone, I can't hear any effort at all. It Feels more like kicking aside a small pebble on the road," Aiden commented. "It really was troublesome. The 'Hatred' Authority suppresses reason because it represents the 'irrational' part of the psyche. That Goddess of Vengeance was precisely such an opponent. She absorbed the Authority but couldn't fully master it, causing her thinking to deviate from the norm—one could even say that Dominator was already half-mad." "Wasn't that easy to deal with then?" "For me, quite the opposite. I excel at laying schemes and traps, but she didn't play by conventional rules. Fortunately, I still won in the end." "I have a question. In my prison, there's a priestess from the Vengeance Sanctuary who still possesses the Dominator's grace," Aiden raised his doubt. "If the Dominator is dead, can the granted partial powers continue to function?" Moreover, the power Hailo possessed had persisted for many years. Keep in mind, the God of Death's Agent had to kill regularly just to maintain his powers. "Is that priestess very tall, with brown hair and green eyes?" Mephilia asked, continuing without waiting for Aiden's answer. "Strictly speaking, the Goddess of Vengeance isn't completely dead. Her last soul remnant resides within that priestess." "What do you mean?" Aiden didn't quite understand. "The sacrificial power of 'Hatred' allows resurrection through another's self-sacrifice when one faces destruction," Mephilia explained. "Back when the Goddess of Vengeance was cornered, the one who stepped forward to sacrifice herself for her was that priestess." "The sacrifice didn't succeed in the end?" "I found a way to disrupt the sacrifice. The result was that a small fragment of the Goddess of Vengeance's soul merged with the sacrifice, while the rest was completely destroyed," Mephilia answered. "That's how the priestess obtained her power. But she also went mad due to the influence of the sacrificial power. After we took the Authority, we just left her to her fate." Then, about three years later, this crazed priestess was captured by the Inquisition and thrown into this prison. Aiden rolled the dice one last time. The number showing declared his final piece had reached the finish. "You won," Mephilia grinned. "So Rare." "It is rare," Aiden didn't deny it. Even playing Ludo, where each rolled their own dice, he still lost more often than won against Mephilia. "About time to head back," he stood up. After such a busy evening, he just wanted to rest as soon as possible. "Take care," Mephilia showed no intention of keeping her guest. "By the way, it's about time to visit the Diviner, isn't it? Your Utterances aren't complete yet." "If you visit tomorrow, she should have returned by then," Mephilia smiled, finishing Aiden's sentence before he could.