The goddess Astraea looked at Elise with a grave expression.
"What is it? Lady Astraea?"
Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Elise grew tense as well. The situation seemed to have exceeded her expectations.
"Do you truly not know what it does?"
Astraea asked again, as though confirming something.
"I really don't know its exact ability. All this time, I've only used it as a form of charm..."
Elise knew that gods could see through lies, so whenever she answered a deity's question, she tried to make her words as close to the truth as possible.
If things went wrong, she would simply leave this world immediately.
After hearing Elise's answer, Astraea let out a breath of relief, as though a heavy burden had been lifted.
"Charm, is it? That makes sense. It does resemble charm in appearance..."
Astraea stepped closer and gently removed Elise's blindfold, studying her eyes with a complicated expression.
"Such beautiful eyes. Like a predator that has already prepared its bait, lurking in the shadows and waiting for its prey to approach..."
What kind of description was that?
Astraea's words left Elise stunned. Was it not charm?
"May I ask where you come from? Why do you possess such eyes?"
"..."
Elise hadn't expected Astraea to inquire about her homeland. Her curiosity about the origin of her eyes deepened.
"I come from a distant nation."
"As for the origin of my eyes... perhaps they are innate?"
"At the very least, ever since I became like this, they have always existed."
After listening to Elise, Astraea seemed to ease somewhat. She helped her put the blindfold back on.
"Your eyes are absolutely not a power humans should possess."
Recalling the sensation from when their gazes had met, Astraea spoke carefully.
"Although it manifests in a way very similar to charm, there is a fundamental difference."
"Elise, does everyone who locks eyes with you gradually begin to obey you?"
"Yes." There was nothing to hide. That was precisely how she had been using it.
"The effect it produces is indeed similar to charm, but its nature is entirely different."
"In every person's heart, there are things that are important and things that are not. Charm amplifies your importance in the other person's mind."
"The stronger the charm, the more obedient they become. The charm of many goddesses of beauty functions on a similar principle."
"But you, Elise, are different."
Astraea frowned. "Your eyes do not produce such an effect. Instead, they are more direct, more forceful..."
"They devour the other person's soul!"
"And replace it with an obedient puppet!"
"Charm does not affect a person's soul. But your eyes consume them completely, leaving nothing behind!"
"Those who are devoured still retain the exact same interests and speaking habits as before. But in essence, they are entirely different individuals. They cannot even be called living beings—only living corpses..."
"This is not a power that should appear in a human," Astraea said, looking at Elise with pity. "Perhaps only the chief gods of certain pantheons possess such an ability."
"When our eyes met just now, your power was attempting to take effect on me as well," Astraea added helplessly. "What greedy eyes you have."
"Do you even intend to devour a god?"
"Or rather, if I were not a deity, I might have been consumed the very instant our gazes met."
Astraea's words made Elise's eyes widen. This was far beyond what she had imagined.
All this time, she had treated the ability purely as charm. And now she learned it had nothing to do with charm at all—it was something so terrifying?
Though she generally used it only against villains and enemies... surely there must have been innocent people who had been devoured by her eyes as well.
This is bad. I'm getting agitated...
Elise took several deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down.
Yet as she steadied herself, a new question surfaced.
The status panel granted to her by Lord God Space showed that aside from Mystery and Spirit, most of her attributes were within the C range.
It was not strange that Mystery had reached rank A. The power of faith was such a thing—though flawed, its strength could not be denied.
But why was her Spirit also within the A range?
She had never deliberately trained her mental abilities. How could her spiritual strength have reached such an absurd level?
After hearing Astraea's explanation, Elise felt she might have found the answer.
If her eyes devoured the souls of others, then where did those souls go?
The answer was simple—they resided within her.
All the devoured souls had become nourishment for her Spirit.
That was why, despite never training it, her Spirit had reached A- rank.
In other words, if I keep devouring like this, will my Spirit continue to grow stronger?
Elise frowned. The ability was undeniably tempting, but it did not quite align with the image of a saintess. Whether she would continue using it would depend on the situation.
Of course, she would not show mercy to her enemies.
Seeing the ugly look on Elise's face, a trace of heartache flashed across Astraea's own.
This child clearly possessed a strong sense of justice, yet she had suddenly learned that her innate gift was such a vicious power...
She must be suffering inside.
"Lady Astraea... huh?"
Under Elise's dazed gaze, Astraea's lips gently pressed against her forehead.
A mark appeared briefly upon Elise's brow before vanishing.
"Lady Astraea, what was that..."
Elise often kissed others on the forehead, but this was her first time being kissed like this.
"A small gift from me to you."
Astraea smiled, then spoke solemnly.
"In the name of Astraea, may you never be troubled by sin in this life."
To emphasize once more, Astraea was the guardian goddess of Virgo, the goddess of purity, and a benevolent deity.
Faced with such a unique young girl—one who also possessed a commendable sense of justice—she chose to bestow her blessing.
This was the blessing of the goddess of justice.