Before the Holy Altar, Lette gazed at the Holy Light Goddess Afra.
"Interesting, then let me hear what kind of reward you desire?"
"Divine Contract."
Lette said, pointing to Joanna lying on the bed behind him: "For her."
Afra squinted her eyes, divine power rippling out: "Do you know what you are saying? You really dare to ask for it! The Divine Contract is a divine secret treasure that allows one to instantly ascend to godhood!
Regarding Joanna, the Pope has already prayed to me about her. She is already my most beloved believer, and I have long reserved a place for her in the Heroic Spirit Hall.
However, since you've asked... very well, Demigod!
I can allow her to directly ascend to the Half-god Realm, and with continued efforts, she can forge her own divine nature in the future.
Moreover, you just wanted to ensure the preservation of her soul, didn't you? A Demigod is sufficient for that."
"It was enough before, not now. Divine Contract, no other price."
"Don't be so arrogant! You're the one begging me now!"
"I could also beg other deities, but you probably wouldn't want that outcome.
So, it's you who is asking me to ask you."
Afra gritted her silver teeth, but begrudgingly admitted the truth in her heart.
Lette, although nominally a divine officer of the Holy Light God Church, is completely beyond her control.
Moreover, he has the ability to toss the Holy Light Church into disarray, even potentially destroy it entirely.
If he were allowed to make deals with other unknown divine beings, she could go from a cooperative intention party to a third party victim.
Afra weighed the options again and again, finally sighed helplessly: "Alright... the reward can be the Divine Contract.
But, it requires extra compensation!
In addition to the Fiery Sun King Divine Crown of the Elf Clan, you must also bring me the Gaze Eye of the Sea God Brøstøi!"
Lette slightly frowned: "I remember, three years ago you only needed an extra measure of Light Divinity to advance.
Why have you regressed as you live longer?"
This question seemed to hit a sore spot for the Holy Light Goddess, and Afra waved her fist in indignation.
"Because I was secretly plotted against! Some Evil God, through unknown channels, cast a shard of their divinity into this world.
It devoured part of my divinity, stealing some of my powers, causing my divinity to decrease instead of increase.
But their shard couldn't escape and is trapped in this world by me. Recovering the stolen divinity is only a matter of time.
Unexpectedly, the other party is so shameless, claiming to be the God of Light, and seeks to further devour me by dividing my believers!
Hmph! Once I successfully ascend, I'll be the first to crush him!"
Lette raised an eyebrow: "Through what specific channel?"
"I don't know, this Evil God shard often secretly drains my Holy Light! It's outrageous!"
"Ahem... Let's get back to the transaction! I must receive the Divine Contract first. Also, the matter of collecting divinity must wait until I've handled the affairs here in the Holy City."
"Granted, as our interests in the affairs of the Holy City are aligned."
As she spoke, the Holy Light Goddess took out a Divine Essence Crystal, and with her golden blood, inscribed mysterious symbols on it, crafting the Divine Contract coveted by the world.
Anyone with it is equivalent to being escorted to the Divine Realm. Although only the lowest level, it's still a god!
The Holy Light Goddess tossed it forward, and the Divine Contract landed in Lette's hand.
"Don't forget your promise."
"Wait a moment."
Seeing the Holy Light Goddess about to leave, Lette hurriedly called out to her.
"Your Holy Altar is quite useful, let me borrow it for a bit."
"Borrow it? What do you plan to do?"
"To discuss some matters with demon gods from the Demon Realm."
"No way! Absolutely not! Use my priestly holy altar to bridge the Demon Realm? No chance! This is desecration! It's arrogance..."
"I really have an urgent need, thanks a lot!"
Before the Holy Light Goddess could finish speaking, Lette abruptly cut off the Holy Prayer Ceremony, startling Pope Paul III so much that he clutched his hair.
"You! You brat! Do you know what the consequences of this are? It's over, I'll have to endure Lady Goddess's scolding about you again, this time probably for three or more prayer times."
"Lilith, go bring Emily back to the room."
"Alright..."
Lilith quickly flew out, and when she returned with Emily, Lette concentrated the Holy Light with one hand, drawing it through the air, then suddenly opened a massive Magic Array Barrier that enveloped the entire room.
What he was going to do next, summoning demon gods from the various realms of the Demon Realm, could not allow their aura to spread from here.
Otherwise, the entire Holy City might once again be in turmoil.
After setting up the barrier, Lette returned to the Holy Altar, cutting his palm open.
Blood dripped into the Holy Altar, quickly dyeing the Holy Water blood red. Soon, the water in the Holy Altar began to roil like boiling water.
Lette ignored this, returning to Joanna's side, placing the Divine Contract on her forehead.
Accompanied by a milky white light, the Divine Contract merged into her body, leaving a fingernail-sized golden holy pattern on her brow.
"This is the first safeguard."
At this moment, the boiling blood water continuously splashed out from the Holy Altar, gathering nearby into a mass.
Under the gaze of the Pope and others, one terrifying and bizarre demon god after another emerged from it, kneeling reverently on one knee to Lette in salute.
Lette turned his back to them, neither speaking nor turning around. All those demon god phantoms remained in a kneeling position, not daring to move.
No one could have expected, before the Holy Altar of the Holy Light Church's Holy City, the Pope Palace's Holy Tower, heralded as the closest place to god, knelt thirteen demon gods from the Demon Realm.
The Pope remained calm, but Emily, a mere Fifth Rank Mage, clearly struggled to withstand the demonic might of so many demon god phantoms. Fortunately, Lilith held her hand, calming her down.
"Are these demon gods all retainers of Lord Wright?"
Lilith shook her head: "No, they are fervent followers of Wright."
"Oh! You mean that Mutual Assistance Association you mentioned?"
"No, they belong to another organization called the greeter. They firmly believe that Wright is the future overlord of the Demon Realm.
Their existence is to welcome back the Demon Lord one day, to have him reign over the Demon Realm.
Look at the thirteen of them, don't they all have the same emblem on their shoulders? That's Wright's mark in the Demon Realm."
Emily squinted at the emblem despite the sting in her eyes: "They really do, but it feels like the emblem is odd."
"Odd indeed, because they only inked half of it. They dare not ink the full mark, fearing they couldn't bear it."
"I see..."
Lilith licked her lips: "Though they act so humble now, engaging in such strange conduct, they are demon kings each ruling different parts of the Demon Realm!"
"Then, Lord Wright summoned them for..."
Having remained silent, Lette suddenly spoke, his voice low and hoarse, yet incredibly clear.
"With thirteen sacrifices!
Erect the Thirteen Level Towers!
Inscribe the Thirteen Seals Array!
Conclude the Thirteen Secret Words!
Pad the path with Blood Amber!
Apply the Final Medicine!
Play the Fallen Demon Song!
Sing the Supreme Hymn!"
The thirteen demon gods trembled all over with joy after hearing this, and Lilith clenched Emily's hand tightly in excitement.
"Hiss..."
"Sorry, sorry, got too excited."
"What did that passage just mean?"
Lilith licked her lips: "Thirteen represents misfortune in your world, but in the Demon Realm, it's the highest form of suffering!
Lette summoned demon gods from Hell, Purgatory, Sin Prison, Demon Prison, and other thirteen realm prisons to collectively prepare the highest-level Demon Ascension Ceremony!"
The lead of the thirteen demon gods, with tears of excitement in his eyes: "Oh! My great Master of All Demons, have you finally decided to grace your loyal Demon Realm?"
"See..."
Lette gazed at Joanna's peaceful sleeping face, his voice soft yet firm: "If necessary, I will journey with her to the Demon Realm."
"Your most loyal followers assure you; we will not let you down."
Lette nodded slightly, dismissively waving his hand.
"Yes! We shall take our leave."
The phantoms of the thirteen demon gods successively dissipated, and the holy water within the Holy Altar returned to clarity.
"This is the second safeguard."
The Pope sighed: "Enough, Lette... Hey! What are you about to do! Put that magic scroll down!"
Lette abruptly tore the scroll, the scent of death instantly filling the entire room.
"An emergency fallback plan needs a backup plan as well."