Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

1893  Immortal Eros

"Who— who are you?"

Shaai asked Jolly in a cautious tone while looking at him warily. Eren, who had possessed Jolly, smiled at her before responding.

"Don't worry. I am not your enemy. Consider me to be your husband's guardian angel," he chuckled as he said.

Eren then looked at Yona of the Night, his expression turning serious as he spoke.

"Nice to finally meet you like this, Yona of the Night. But you see, I'm in a bit of a hurry. Tell me what you have been hiding in this place right now. Or else I'll make Jolly retreat from this place.

I have no problems taking risks. But not when the risks outweigh the rewards," he said calmly. His white-haired form dispersed, and Jolly's original appearance reverted as he spoke.

"No," Yona shook her head as she said. "Eren, all I can assure you at this point is that the rewards would indeed be worth the risks. I can't tell you about the main reward this place has yet. And I have a genuine reason behind it."

"And what would that be?" Eren asked curiously. "If I say that we are going to find them right now at this place, the Demon Prince of Lust will come to know about it. His manipulation of the cause-and-effect fabric has reached such an absurd level.

We will have to get our hands on it so that the thread of the cause-and-effect fabric that Asmodeous holds from his end gets cut off on its own. Only then can I tell you what it is that we are targeting," she said and sighed.

"Mastery in manipulating the cause-and-effect fabric, huh?" Eren murmured to himself, thinking about the Demon Prince of Lust.

He was reminded how he had to wander in the Plane of Gluttony for years on end before he found his way out in the mortal plane. And how he was forced to fight off with the Helenbora Coven as soon as he had entered Labh Salem.

"You don't look surprised. I guess you had some form of experience on your own."

Yona said before providing some more information about the Demon Prince of Lust.

"In some worlds, Asmodeus is referred to as Immortal Eros who can manipulate the fates of two lovers to get them together. The mortals believe that he shoots arrows of love upon his followers to unite them.

This is part of his faith. The so-called arrows that he shoots are nothing but the threads of the cause-and-effect fabric that he wields. They are just represented in the mortals' eyes in different ways.

Anyway, he has become so adept at manipulating the cause-and-effect fabric that he faces almost no backlash of his deeds when the rules of the cause-and-effect fabric themselves state that anyone who interferes with them would be subjected to its effects with some "interest". He certainly has found some loopholes. Thankfully, even if he can bypass a few rules, he cannot outright break them.

Once we get the thing we want from the ruins, the cause-and-effect fabric will change on its own and Asmodeus won't be able to do anything," Yona assured.

"Interesting," Eren thought to himself as he processed the new information on Asmodeus. He had to say that he had underestimated the Demon Prince of Lust a bit. He could have never imagined that the demon's faith was so strong that it had multiple layers to it.

As far as Eren knew, having multifaceted divinity was a double-edged sword. It allowed one to progress at a rapid rate. But it also made the path of divinity harder to tread for the Immortal compared to someone with a streamlined divinity and distinct faith.

Yona gave some time for Eren to process her words before continuing.

"This is really not the time for us to have such leisurely talks, Eren. I can tell you about the side rewards you can get as we explore further. In return, I want your cooperation.

But before we formally come to an agreement regarding the distribution of the rewards, I must ask you something. I believe you must have been contacted by Goddess Great Mother at this point. Did you strike any form of deal with her?" Yona asked curiously.

Eren raised his eyebrows in surprise. But thinking about the fact that Yona was the incarnation of the Goddess Two Lips, who in turn was supposed to be a natal clone of the Goddess Great Mother in the first place, a form of understanding washed over him. The butcher had to say that keeping track of the immortals' deeds was a huge headache for him due to the fact that they used many clones and incarnation techniques.

"Not really," Eren replied honestly.

"To be honest, I'm still on the fence when it comes to the two goddesses. I don't easily choose sides. But when I do, I make sure to commit to it. Now the ball's in your court. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Tell me, why should I choose your side over the other? What's in it for me? So far, you haven't told me anything that can make me join your side."

Yona nodded at Eren when she heard his response. She considered it a fair deal. Without wasting time, she replied.

"Eren, I only want one thing from the ruins that are ahead of us. But rest assured, there are plenty of goodies to be had for all of us. You get to keep all of them.

And when I get my hands on the thing I want from the ruin, I will tell you everything related to the ruin as well as the history behind the cooperation between Goddess Two Lips and Asmodeus.

I will also put forward my proposal to you. I believe that once you know what I'll soon come to possess, you will join me and forget about the Goddess Great Mother's proposal altogether," Yona chuckled as she said.

"Alright," Eren sighed and replied. After looking around to confirm something he said further.

"I'm a bit busy so I'll let Jolly be in charge of this vessel once again. You can call me whenever you are ready to talk," Eren said before closing his eyes.

In the next moment, Jolly's body swayed, and he lost consciousness.