Back in her room, Lea pced the fruit tray on her table. She checked the lock and used her newly found power to check for emotional signals. Once everything was safe, she let out a sigh of relief. With a heavy heart, she csped her hands together and prayed.

  "Alchemist of Infinity;Embracer of Origin, Child of Purity and Silver;The Monarch cd in Argent Light..."

  The world around her fshed bck and white, startling Lea. She quickly grabbed the fruit tray before darkness consumed her, closing her eyes instinctively.

  The whisper of a scream entered her ears, signifying that she had entered the Library. She opened her eyes, seeing Lady Keter adjacent to her in the seat of honor.

  "Lady Keter, I offer this tray of fruit to you.", she said with as much reverence as she could.

  The Lady of the Library merely nodded, "Accepted."

  With a snap of her finger, the tray vanished. Then Lea remembered... she needed to return the tray, it would be VERY suspicious if she didn't return it. But could she demand something from a Sealed God? No.

  So she kept her mouth shut.

  Lady Keter started the conversation, "I see you chose Malediction. Congratutions on becoming a Vilin."

  A-A Vilin?! Lea was shocked. The Pathstriders of Malediction are called Vilin?!

  Reading her expression, Lady Keter chuckled, "Well, my dear Avenger, you still have six more Steps to go. This is merely the beginning."

  But Lea was shaking. She had stepped onto the path of evil, but she was a servant of the Lord, who swore to help the innocent and stop the wicked. Yet now she is one of the wicked.

  If it were before she became a Pathstrider, she would've committed suicide, or at least reported herself for heresy. But now with the fire of vengeance burning fiercely, she could not afford to lose her life.

  "So, what do you want from me?", she asked.

  Snapped back from her turmoil, Lea knew what she had to do, "I would like to know which Path I should choose as supplementary to... Malediction."

  Lady Keter leaned back on her chair, staring at Lea with a gentle smile, "There are 95 Attributes compatible with Malediction, but for you specifically, I have two options for you, child."

  Lea nodded, listening carefully.

  "First, you have Regression, second, being Judgement."

  Lea found it odd that Lady Keter is bringing up Regression again... feeling bold, she asked.

  "What is so special about Regression?", she gauged Lady Keter's expression, but there was no change to it.

  "Because it is one out of two Attributes that work differently from the rest, the other being Tribution. For Regression specifically, all I can say for now is it really only has one Step.", from out of nowhere, she opened the Secret of Life book, "As for the Path's ckluster performance, this retes more to this world than anything, and the people's ck of understanding."

  She chuckled with a wry smile, "Even that so-called Heretic misunderstood."

  Lea had a suspicion before, if there was the slightest chance Lady Keter was Charlotte the Heretic. But seeing that mocking attitude, that chance lowered significantly.

  "Anyway, with Regression, from a Vilin you will become a Revenant, an immortal spirit forever cursing, hunting, haunting those it hates the most.", she smiled, sending a meaningful gaze at Lea, "Forever hunting the wicked, don't you want to do that?"

  Lea had nothing to say; it was a good offer for someone consumed by rage. She could torment Akasha Monodrama... but one thing bothered her.

  "What is the ritual to become a Revenant?", she asked.

  "You have to die a bloody death while cursing the enemy in front of you, that is, after making their lives a living hell.", the Lady of the Library said casually.

  Lea twitched her eyes. Although she wants revenge and to be a bane upon the terrorist organization, she doesn't want to die. Nobody wants to die just to advance, not to mention whether it would even work.

  So Lea moved on to the next suggestion, Judgement. It was the Path she wanted before, and now by what Lady Keter said, it was now possible.

  "Can you tell me about Judgement?", she earnestly asked.

  "Malediction with Judgement as the supporting Attribute, you will become an Avenger. Those who use power and wealth not for others, but to bring down their hated foes. Pursuing them to the end of the earth, and then going on a world tour for a fun and rexing time."

  The st part was oddly specific... Lea thought. But this sounds better than dying, if there aren't any major downsides. Even if there were, Lady Keter would've mentioned it, considering how she takes delight in rocking my world.

  She was suspicious about why Lady Keter called her an Avenger in the beginning, of how she would know Lea walked onto the Path of Malediction

  This enigmatic and aloof being is hard to read. Not that one could read a god, of course. Lea sighed, she knew she could not challenge Lady Keter. She silently drew the three clockwise circles in her heart, offering a prayer to the Three Rings.

  "Respectable Lady Keter, what is the ritual for my Second Step if I want to become an Avenger?", she asked.

  "The Second Step for pure Malediction is to make someone's life into a living hell, making them think if they were cursed..."

  Lea once again feels regret about choosing this Path in particur. If it were the old her, she would be unwilling to do it; now, there was just hesitation.

  Not minding Lea, Lady Keter continued, "The specifics for Judgement revolve around good and evil in the most basic terms. So your Second Step will be making someone's life a living hell and making everyone around them think they are evil. There will be a feeling when you know the ritual started and completed, and remember to chant Judgement's Honorific Title."

  That's even worse!!!

  "Who the hell made this system?!", she blurted out.

  To that, Lady Keter burst out ughing, "Ahahaha~! Well, bme that god the Akasha Monodrama is trying to resurrect."

  Lea flinched, hearing something she shouldn't have heard. Her bright yellow eyes stared intensely at Lady Keter, who didn't mind it at all.

  "Since you got me into a good mood, I'll tell you the rituals of Malediction up to the Sixth Step.", she said.

  Lea steeled herself, getting ready to hear the horrendous things she must do to advance...

  "Third Step, you must drive someone insane to the point of them committing suicide."

  "Fourth Step, orchestrate the fallout of a nation; the outcome must be the fragmentation of that nation."

  "Fifth Step, erase an entire bloodline or noble family from history."

  "Sixth Step, destroy someone's life-long achievement when they are on the verge of success; the higher the potential impact of said achievement, the stronger your powers will become."

  "For how Judgement changes those rituals, I'll leave it up to your interpretations.", she chuckled to herself, "Now, please leave~"

  With a snap of her finger, Lea was sent back.

  Returning to the real world, Lea was just sitting there, a bit stunned. She would need to become an incarnation of disaster to advance further.

  Yet at the same time, a desire was screaming inside her, loudly so. She wants to be complete, to find the missing parts of herself, not to obtain more power, not to be the best, not even for revenge. A primal urge to get back something missing since birth...

  =0=0=

  Maria was curious about the house opposite hers, as she saw people coming in and out renovating it and putting the furniture for two days. There was someone moving in.

  She remembers the st owner was a drug dealer, who had everything confiscated. She hoped that this person would be decent...

  A cab parked right outside that house, and a woman wearing pin bck clothes exited. Maria could not see her face, but she could still see the long brown hair; her stature was on the shorter side, but still qualified as an adult. Seems like a pretty nice young dy.

  It all changed when that woman turned around, accidentally made eye contact with Maria. Those cold and intense yellow eyes, as if they were glowing, sent a shiver down her spine. As if the manifestation of malice was right in front of her!!

  Well, Maria isn't exactly wrong...

  Meanwhile, Lea stares at her soon-to-be neighbor shivering while facing her back against her. Must be a cold, may the Lord's protection grace you, she offered a prayer in her heart and drew three clockwise circles on her chest.

  She genuinely meant well for Maria.

  After sending the cab driver off, Lea stared at her new house. Well, not really hers, its owned by the church. But the feeling of finally owning a house was the same.

  Now, her overseer of the Reve District begins.