Inside a vast dark space, devoid of light, four figures had gathered together. The figures had the appearance of otherworldly beauties.
However, despite their attractive appearances, they were also among the most powerful existences within this world.
The four elemental goddesses.
"Th-This presence is, miasma? How is that possible!"
The goddess of wind, Hera, exclaimed. Her beautiful and refined facial structures were contorted into puzzlement.
"... Did something happen to the seal? I didn't notice any changes."
The goddess of water, Aqua, added. Equally puzzled.
"I also didn't notice any changes. Gaea, can you go check on things?"
The goddess of flames, Aetna, suddenly requested.
"..."
The goddess of earth, who goes by the name Gaea, opened her drowsy eyes reluctantly, and with a small yawn, her childish figure disappeared from the dark space.
"Are you sure it's okay to send Gaea out there?"
Hera questioned, Aetna in confusion. The reasons for her concern were only natural. After all, while Gaea was also a goddess who had been alive for countless aeons, she still had the mentality of a small child.
It wouldn't be surprising if she wanders away, completely forgetting her main objective due to her own laziness and lack of interest. They were already accustomed to such things happening many times in the past.
"It's fine, while it's true that she can be quite the handful sometimes. Whenever the situation gets too out of hand, even Gaea can be serious."
Aetna responded, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. Of course, there was another reason why she had personally asked Gaea to go instead of the others or even go there herself.
And that was because their presence would be detected almost instantly the moment they appeared in any corners of the world. The three of them generally give off an overwhelmingly oppressive presence.
Meanwhile, on the contrary, Gaea had always suppressed her divine aura to the point that it became second nature to her. If she appeared in the world, literally no one would know.
And upon that realisation, Hera finally nodded her head in understanding. Though it wasn't enough to completely erase her worries.
"Hmm... This situation is strange; if there was a change in the seal, we should've known immediately. The miasma also shouldn't be able to break free from the suppression of the seal."
Hera mumbled with a furrowed brow.
"Indeed. Under normal circumstances, a sudden change in the seal would alert us, but we didn't sense anything strange aside from the miasma in the atmosphere... But don't you find it strange that the woman also hasn't made any movements as well?"
The goddess of water, Aqua, suddenly spoke. The goddess of fire and the goddess of wind both frown when they hear the word 'that woman'; they naturally knew whom she was talking about.
The 'white empress', a woman who had been around since the creation of this world. Indeed, she would've also been alert by any sudden changes in the seal. Her hatred for the demon lord, Lucifer, was far greater than that of the four elemental goddesses.
That was because he had stolen something very precious from her a long time ago. The second world's core was also in her possession until he stole it. His demon army had also slaughtered a lot of her people and ravaged her land, which was once flourishing and prosperous, which naturally enraged her.
"If something had happened to the seal, she would've already made her move. I doubt her hatred for that demon lord would've been erased by the passage of time, let alone a mere three hundred years. So far, she hadn't made a move yet, which means she also hasn't sensed anything off."
The goddess of flame, Aetna, responded as she played with strands of her long red hair. Her beautiful face was contorted in contemplation.
"Regardless, considering the miasma has already contaminated the atmosphere, it won't be long until demonic creatures start appearing all around the world. It's about time those heroes start attending to their duties and exterminate those filthy creatures."
The goddess of wind, Hera, uttered bluntly.
The demon lord, Lucifer, could release miasma capable of turning living creatures into demonic creatures. The miasma could also turn into demons with sentient or sometimes non-sentient demonic creatures. Their only desires will be to feast on other living creatures to satiate their hunger.
They didn't want to imagine what the world would be like in such a situation, no, the very thought was unacceptable to them!
(Honestly, I would've rather go out there myself and contact them, but... As expected, doing so would definitely cause a commotion, not to mention I don't want to see that annoying emperor.)
She thought so while heaving a sigh.
"The heroes, as of now, won't be able to defeat the demon General, let alone the demon lord. They don't seem to have much experience... Although I've been secretly observing them, they don't seem to be skilled in controlling their divine weapons."
"Also, for some reason, the hero of Earth's connection with Gaea seems to be blocked by some unknown force."
The goddess of water, Aqua, spoke up.
"Hmmm... The hero of Earth, now that you mention it, I do remember she said that some time ago. I wonder what's wrong... There shouldn't be anyone in the current world besides the demon lord and that woman with the power to block our connection."
The goddess of wind, Hera, responded dubiously.
The demon lord was currently sealed away, while the white empress definitely wouldn't get involved with any of the heroes with her indifferent attitude.
With that in mind, they couldn't think of anything that could potentially block their connection.
"... Do you think it's one of the divine elemental spirits?"
The goddess of fire, Aetna, asked, as she observed the others.
"... Those spirits which were created by the master. I haven't heard of any of them since that time the spirit of water went on a rampage and destroyed that kingdom in the past... However, now that I think of it, what happened to the spirit of wind, Alya? I haven't heard from her in the last three hundred years. I remember she had always been very attached to the master back then."
The goddess of wind, Hera, asked. She suddenly thought of the wind spirit from the past. Her relationship with the spirit of wind is rather complicated, as they had never gotten along in the past.
Her brow furrowed as she remembered how Alya used to monopolise the God of Creation's attention.
"Who knows, maybe she is in the spirit realm... That woman was always good at hiding her presence. If she sealed away her power and went back into her suppressed form, then we wouldn't be able to sense her until she decides to use her full strength."
The goddess of water, Aqua replied, disinterestedly.
"Hey, Aqua, why are you so relaxed in this situation?"
Aetna asked, seeing the goddess of water, who was always seemingly unbothered by everything, seemed to irritate her.
"... Getting riled up won't resolve the situation, you realise. Besides, I don't want to turn into an old hag like a certain someone."
"What did you say?! We were created at the same time! We're both the same age!"
Aetna retorted sharply, to which Aqua simply sent her a gaze filled with pity.
"... And yet you're as grumpy as a granny."
"You're just jealous master created you to have such a small chest."
Aetna smirked triumphantly, folding her arms beneath her voluptuous breasts. At that, veins pulse on Aqua's head. While Aqua was indeed a beauty that couldn't be seen anywhere, she had the appearance of a teenager, roughly fifteen or sixteen years of age.
On the contrary, the goddess of flame had the appearance of a mature older woman in her mid to late twenties. Her body was also well endowed.
"I don't want my body to be saggy like a certain someone."
"This bitch!"
The goddess of flames, Aetna, growled indignantly. She seems like she was about to jump on Aqua. Meanwhile, the most mature of the three.
The goddess of wind, Hera, appeared between them, stopping the two goddesses before things could get out of hand.
"Enough, you two."
"Hmph."
They both turned away.
"Whatever the case, we have more pressing concerns now, the world's core is getting more unstable... And at a time like this."
The goddess of wind, Hera, turned her sights upon the core, which kept crackling with golden lightning.
The world's core was the only source of light in this endless abyss devoid of light.
"Let us do everything we can to make sure this world, which was built by the master, doesn't disappear."
At that, the goddesses all nodded their heads as they turned their focus onto the infinity core.
...
Meanwhile, in the outside world...
The goddess of earth, Gaea, appeared silently above a vast forest which extended as far as the eyes could see.
As she kept observing the lingering traces of miasma in the atmosphere, a frown appeared on her childish face.
"Muu... How strange, I can sense the seal is still intact, but there is miasma leaking from the seal.... Muuu, something like this shouldn't be possible."
She mumbled between yawns as she wiped the corners of her teary eyes.
(... I suppose I should have a look.)
She thought lazily, and with just a thought, she moved through space-time, traversing a distance of thousands of kilometres in seconds. Arriving in the southernmost parts of the continent, where the seal was placed.
What reflected in her night-black eyes was a large black sphere with a mass of roughly five hundred meters. Gaea observed the seal with slightly squinted eyes for a moment and instantly saw through the situation.
However, while she was observing the seal for some reason, she kept having a bad feeling. Her instincts were telling her to leave this place immediately!
She knew the feeling wasn't caused by the dense miasma in the atmosphere but something else, something unknown!
As a goddess, she was the holder of divinity; naturally, her divinity was shielding her from the influence of the miasma. However, no matter how much she thinks of it, she couldn't find the source of her discomfort. She shook her head and stared closely at the seal.
"... I see. The energy needed for the seal to stay in effect seems to be depleting rapidly. By my estimate, it would only take a few months for the remaining energy to completely run out... Sigh. I won't be able to sleep if this continues."
She mumbled frustratedly, beneath her breath.
(Why is the energy being depleted? Don't tell me the seal those heroes had deployed was insufficient, or is the demon lord too strong to be sealed away like this?)
She contemplated for a moment. Thinking deeply about something wasn't her strong suit. Just thinking about something for a while gives her a headache. However, this wasn't a situation where she could be lazy. Her brain worked in full gear.
(The seal had been in effect for roughly three hundred years now, and there hadn't been any problems with the seal. Which means there are either two possibilities... Those presences belonging to the demon I had sensed back then must have done something to the barrier, or perhaps someone had destroyed the core of the seal.)
Considering the core of the seal was carved with divine energy, even the demon lord shouldn't be able to destroy it... She seriously doubts there should have been anyone with the strength to destroy the core of the seal, which they had hidden away.
Gaea sighed tiredly for a moment and was preparing to head back when she sensed something strange about the seal.
(That ominous feeling again...)
Out of curiosity, she used her 'divine eyes' and saw the nature of the seal, which was when she discovered something surrounding the seal.
"Hm, an invisible barrier... Th-This is... It can't be! P-Primordial energy!"
Yes, surrounding the seal, there was a layer of primordial energy engulfing the barrier.
For a moment, a look of fear appeared on her face as she subconsciously backed away from the seal. Had she moved any closer to the seal, her entire existence would've been completely erased from this world by the chaotic energy.
(.... Th-This is impossible! How could primordial energy be in this place?! Why, why isn't it in the chaotic sea at the end of the universe?!)
Cold sweats slid down her brow.
What was primordial energy?
... It was chaos!
An energy capable of erasing everything!
The gods!
The universe!
The very laws that govern everything in its entirety!
Nothing could escape chaos!
This is why the gods all feared the witch of calamity, as she became the only being who could manipulate chaos!
Her very existence was unacceptable, as she could potentially kill them, the gods who were supposed to be undying!
For the first time, the goddess of earth, Gaea, an existence who could destroy an entire world without much effort, was frightened out of her wits. Without thinking twice, she opened up a spatial rift and went back to inform her sisters about this discovery.
...
Meanwhile, back inside the royal castle of the Alberta Kingdom...
"There, the core of the seal is now broken. Now, once the remaining energy runs out, you must follow your end of the deal."
The pink-haired woman said with a smile adorning her lovely face. Pieces of the remains of the seal's core were scattered beneath her feet.
Before Adelio could respond, the double doors of the throne room suddenly opened up with a loud creaking sound.
"Oi, Adelio, what the hell is happening with the sky? Did you cause that phenomenon?!"
Alister and Monica appeared at the entrance. Both had serious expressions on their faces as they had seen the once azure sky being corroded in a faintly red hue, while the ground shook intensely as though it was hit by an earthquake of a large magnitude.
The situation had quieted down for now, but there is no telling when it will happen again. The entire capital was now in a state of panic.
"Hm, who is the woman?"
Alister asked as his gaze swept all over her body. The pink-haired woman kept an unbothered smile on her face. However, she was also quite amused by this situation.
"..."
Meanwhile, Monica frowned as she observed her snake, which wrapped itself around her slender neck. For some reason, the snake seemed scared of something as it looked at the pink-haired woman with its reptilian eyes.
Of course, it was only natural for it to be frightened; the beast could see something the others could not.
Despite standing there calmly, surrounding her entire body was primordial energy!
From the beast's perspective, this woman was like the living embodiment of chaos in its natural form!