Brain bloom

“It was her…” Master Woodpecker also overlooked, and said indignantly, “So, that girl is your follower? No, that’s the cultural circle of coffin bearers.”

"False god? The answer is simpler. Besides, in this era, every household is filled with things that can bring blessings and ward off evil spirits, after all, ghosts roam freely at night. It's not surprising that a small statue of mine happened to sneak in, is it?"

It said angrily—

"At least, even I am still a true god, and the statue still has some meaning, doesn't it? After discovering such a rare thing as the Four Seasons, I have been keeping an eye on you!"

Sen Shi recalled carefully that there were indeed many exorcism ornaments in the pastry shop, which she had not paid attention to because everyone had them at home... This was indeed a huge oversight, and it was difficult to refute the other party's ridicule.

But this is impossible to prevent.

That's blatant cheating!

"Coffin bearer, ha, is there anything else you want to ask? Time is long, we can keep you talking! Until the illusion breaks, and you, weakened, find the world desolate, and the evil god Hodge comes before you to personally annihilate you... even if you are a Four Seasons Being..."

Hodge seemed a little unsure of himself, but he was still a genuine threat.

Just as Mori was worrying about the safety of the world and her followers, an even greater danger loomed before her. The mere thought of that possibility sent chills down Mori's spine…

She had to ask—

"Hodge!"

"What would you like to talk about?"

"You...you...you saw me sleeping while you were spying on me, right? Like...when I was changing into my pajamas..." Although her face was as red as a strawberry, Mori's eyes were extremely cold.

Hodge paused for a moment, then a voice filled with utter sarcasm answered—

"Haha, no, not at all. My little idol isn't in your dorm room... What a pity, the sleeping posture of the coffin carrier must be quite interesting."

Mori breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, by the way, when you were forging swords by yourself, I saw something interesting. You would pick your nose every now and then, and a few times, you even reached your hand into your skirt to scratch an itch!"

"I, Mori, the Coffin Bearer, swear to Eden Bank! You bastard, you won't live past today!"

Volume 1 #317 - Following its direction

And so—Mori was utterly enraged.

A strong killing intent emanated from every pore of her skin.

This anger, along with his mental energy, even took on the appearance of a kind of domain. From a distance, it looked like an open steamer, with Mori's face as red as a steamed crab amidst the billowing steam.

Master Woodpecker, like a frightened bird, immediately fled far away, no longer daring to perch on the shoulders of the coffin bearers.

Many feathers fluttered and fell, and it would occasionally glance back at Sen Shi with a look of panic. For a bird of such high status and strength, it was quite rare for it to be able to muster such an expression.

Hodge was quite pleased with their appearance.

"Hahaha, kill me? You won't even live past today? What can you do now, young god?"

"I..." Morishi gritted his teeth, the words of grief escaping his lips, "Did I pick my nose? Maybe it's because...maybe because...some dust got in! As for scratching, don't you guys scratch your noses too?!"

"By the way, coffin bearer, we were just making things up. I only saw your back, I didn't see you picking your nose at all. But it's true that you scratched your butt."

"…………"

"Hahaha, keep getting angry and embarrassed."

Feeling utterly humiliated, Mori stomped his foot angrily.

She could no longer restrain herself. Using the Book of Trillions of Stars as a hand shield, she wrapped it around her forearm to enhance her strength. Then, angrily, she pulled out a gold coin and stretched the rubber band of her slingshot to its limit.

But the other party was a true god, and indeed had the confidence to mock her.

No matter which direction the slingshot was pointed, it couldn't lock onto any enemy, and the small slingshot didn't show any fluctuation in attack power. Sen fired a few shots into the air, but they all sank to the bottom of the sea without any result.

She fired another shot at the ground, but it was equally ineffective; the gold coin bullet couldn't even scratch the ground.

"Too weak, huh? Hahaha, is this what they call the coffin bearers?"

"Calm down! Coffin bearers!" Master Woodpecker quickly advised from the side, "This space is strange; it has no solid form, and its structure is a huge maze. Attacking is useless! We have to find a way out—"

Mori didn't listen at all.

She put down the slingshot and instead gripped the staff tightly, so tightly that the wood grain even cracked.

"Huh... how do you have this?" Upon seeing the staff in her hand, the Sea God suddenly became curious. "This material was given to believers by Anne Hodge to guard the temple. How did it end up in your hands!"

"Oh?"

The staff in Mori's hand was made from materials obtained from Frozen Bear Town, eventually crafted into the staff "Gift of the Sea God." Although it's a beginner's staff, low-level and without any overpowered effects, its magical attributes can be modified by switching gems.

Hearing Hodge's words, she suddenly realized.

Perhaps, the connection with the sea god had already begun then. But it wasn't a friendly connection; it should be called a spiral of slaughter.

Mori took out a bag from her bag and took out a ruby ​​with thirty perfect facets. This was a finished product that she had carefully polished little by little every day when she had nothing to do. Even among all fire-attribute gems, it belonged to the top tier.

That was barely enough to express her anger.

Beneath her robes, her pale arms were raised high, her staff pointing straight to the heavens. Her spiritual energy responded to the rage, transforming into a violently vibrant crimson. The ruby ​​embedded within it shone with dazzling brilliance.

She poured a large amount of dense spiritual energy into it, conceiving the structure of advanced magic in her mind.

"Come, I will forge your bodies with my will, flap your wings, and summon a storm of destruction! Flame Birds... Hmm?"

The magic failed; even the slightest spark was extinguished...

"—Pfft, hahaha, you must be the true god who governs 'ignorance'?"

"Foolish, hehehe."

"—Fool, silly girl. What you have in your hand is material from the sea. Even a fool should understand that, right? Hey, I'm the sea god, I can definitely control it! If I'd known you were this stupid, sending a subordinate down would have been enough..."

The three previously silent Hodges suddenly burst into laughter. The three-part laughter was quite coordinated and fast-paced, making the mockery even more pronounced.

Master Woodpecker was, after all, also a victim, and he tried to calm Sen down several times.

But it could perfectly understand the feelings of the coffin bearers. If it were in its place, it would probably be even more enraged, turning into a furious shouting match with the sea god until the dust settled outside...

Perhaps it was a sudden realization after reaching the peak of anger, or perhaps reason overcame the difficulty; Sen Shi's anger gradually subsided, and she let out a sigh. Afterward, she poured some water on herself.

After shaking himself several times like a dog taking a bath to get rid of all the excess water, at least Mori's expression looked much calmer.

"Yes, that's the right thing to do. We still have plenty of time, we can try to find an exit first..."

"Woodpecker, you said this is a conjured space, right?"

“Yes, it’s all fake.” It breathed a long sigh of relief, at least it could communicate now. “Don’t trust your eyes. This is not a magical creation, but the power of a true god. Maybe it’s a mirage. Although I don’t understand the principle, it’s all an illusion.”

After pondering for a few minutes, Sen sat down cross-legged and rummaged through his luggage.

Without the materials to make a new staff, it seems the path of magic is not viable.

So, should we use our trump card to achieve true deification? But Sen Shi wasn't sure if his own godhood would be effective against this kind of space of the same level. This time it was really a bit tricky... All means of contacting the outside world were also ineffective.

Helpless, she simply tried everything she could think of.

such as……

With a thought, she took out some withered branches and leaves, all of which had been pruned from the overgrown area. Then, Sen Shi dug a small hole in the ground and buried a withered leaf in it. Perhaps, this space itself could also be poisoned... though the chances were slim.

About thirty seconds later.

Suddenly—the Hodges’ laughter abruptly stopped, and gasps of shock filled the air.

"What...terrible poison..."

"What exactly did you bury?!"

"Oh no, the stability has been affected! It's so painful."

Master Woodpecker looked up and was surprised to find that the spatial structure of this illusion had actually been affected. This must be because the three lumps of divine essence were attacked by Sen Shi in some way, and that attack was successful.

At first, Master Woodpecker was quite pleased.

This means that Sen might have some effective methods that could get it away. It doesn't want to stay in this place without the aroma of food, where it could be tormented by Hodge at any moment.

Just as it was about to go and praise Kaspersky, and then secretly promise to cook her a few big meals in the future as a memento of sharing joys and sorrows, it gave up on the idea.

Because it heard everything Hodge just said... about scratching an itch and picking its nose.

This is terrible... What if the person delivering the coffin intends to bury these secrets completely?

At the same time, Mori Tokita pressed his advantage.

Since there was a pile of withered branches and rotten leaves anyway, and production could continue in the future, she found another spot, dug a hole, and buried a leaf inside. She could clearly feel that the toxins were corroding the entire illusion, and could even directly affect these incorporeal Hodges.

As a true god and a master of magical structures, Mori gradually deduced the complete nature of the illusion through these circumstances. Perhaps, this illusion itself was a manifestation of Hodge's divinity. In other words, they might be currently inside Hodge's divinity.

Hey, anyway, the toxins are very effective.

The wailing of the gods grew louder. Unlike the previous mockery, chaotic curses and painful howls continued to emanate from all around, which Mori found extremely satisfying.

Gradually, the surrounding environment began to sway, become ethereal, and transparent. Occasionally, glimpses of the outside world could be seen through some crumbling gaps in the space.

“It works, very good. Hehehe, I told you.” Sen Shi pinched the leaf between his fingers, as if showing off, “You won’t live past today, how about eating a few more? Don’t be shy.”

But those angry Hodges were stronger than Sen had imagined.

They could even forcefully withstand the powerful toxins of the Four Seasons, reshaping the entire illusion once again. In an instant, the soft mud beneath Sen Shi's feet was no longer a row of steel floors.

"Can you still dig it out like this?"

"Why don't you try...?"

"I underestimated you, coffin carrier."

Mori tried to scratch it with his fingernail, but found he really couldn't get it open...

But just when she was at her wit's end, the woodpecker master suddenly flew over and began stabbing the ground repeatedly with its newly grown beak. At a frequency of ten times per second, even steel was easily pierced through.

"Well done."

After saying that, Sen Shi immediately threw in a dry branch.

But the hole is too small, and only a limited number of people can go in.

These Hodges weren't fools; even though they were severely poisoned, they still decisively altered the illusion. This time, instead of reinforcing the ground, they simply removed the floor, turning it into nothingness.

"……Oh."

"Although...although the space is affected..."