Shafney had already anticipated Shien’s suggestion. She knew he would offer to transfer the curse to himself. This was one of the reasons she was hesitant to mention this method.
And Shien didn’t disappoint her.
“Even if I’m cursed, I can dispel it with the Holy Sword,” he said, “So you don’t have to worry about it causing me any trouble.”
Shafney immediately refuted this.
“But have you considered that you might die from the curse before you can dispel it?” she asked, looking directly at Shien, “This curse is inflicted through the deep connection of [Ripple Heart Demon]. Even if you have skills that resist negative status effects, they will be bypassed.”
In other words, Shien’s [Inner Manifestation of Heaven’s Decree] wouldn’t be able to resist this curse, and he would have to bear its full brunt.
“Even the Holy Sword’s protection can be bypassed by [Ripple Heart Demon]. Once you do this, you’ll have to endure this centuries-old curse with your mortal body. Are you sure you can handle it?”
Shafney looked at Shien seriously. After all, he was still a human with a mortal body, unlike demons, who were naturally strong and resilient, let alone Demon Lords. Even she was almost incapacitated by this curse. A mere human like Shien might die instantly upon being cursed.
“I don’t want to be hated by little Airi for the rest of my life, nor do I want to owe you a lifelong debt,” Shafney said, staring intently at Shien, “I’d rather not use this second method.”
This was her true feeling. She’d rather wait for rescue and scare away the enemy than owe Shien such a huge favor and risk his life.
But Shien wasn’t making this suggestion lightly.
“I’m not seeking death. Since I made this suggestion, I naturally have a way to withstand the curse,” he said calmly.
“A way?” Shafney wasn’t convinced, “What makes you so confident?”
Faced with her aggressive questioning, Shien was speechless.
Shafney didn’t relent, continuing to stare at him, trying to see through him with her mind-reading ability, not wanting to be deceived.
But Shien was serious.
“What makes me so confident…?” He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and said,
“Because the blessing I received was bestowed by the Supreme God.”
These words silenced the cave.
Shafney’s expression changed drastically, and she stood up abruptly.
“You… what did you say?” she asked, her face filled with shock and even disbelief.
But it was true.
“The blessing I received was bestowed by the Supreme God. It’s the highest level blessing of the God Race, transcending the world itself, possessing the effects of all the Goddesses’ blessings, a power beyond even Transcendent Level beings.”
Shien revealed this truth to Shafney.
“With this blessing, I’m practically favored and protected by the world itself. Under such circumstances, I don’t believe a mere centuries-old curse can kill me, a blessed one of the Supreme God.”
This was Shien’s confidence.
So what if [Inner Manifestation of Heaven’s Decree] was ineffective? So what if the Holy Sword’s protection was bypassed? With the Supreme God’s blessing, the world’s protection, Shien believed he would be incredibly lucky. Even if he couldn’t directly dispel the curse, the blessing should at least allow him to endure it for a while, giving him a chance to dispel it.
“If you don’t believe me, you can read my mind,” Shien said, spreading his arms, a smirk on his face, “I’ll let you use your lie detector.”
Shafney bit her lip, uncertainty in her eyes.
“The Supreme God’s blessing…”
How was this possible? Why would the Supreme God’s blessing be on this Hero? Hadn’t she retreated into an almost eternal slumber? How could she bestow a blessing on someone? When did this happen? What was going on?
Throughout history, wasn’t the only person to receive the Supreme God’s blessing the legendary first Hero, whom only the Demon King and the Supreme God had met?
Why was it on Shien?
“Could it be that the Supreme God has awakened…?” Shafney couldn’t help but consider this possibility.
“Don’t overthink it,” Shien interrupted her thoughts, “Although the blessing on me was bestowed by the Supreme God, I wasn’t directly blessed by her. There’s another reason.”
The Supreme God added a mechanism to the Hero Summoning Grand Ritual, allowing the God Race to summon the last Hero in the world by sacrificing the ritual itself if they faced annihilation. Once activated, not only would the Hero Summoning be permanently disabled, but the summoned Hero would also receive the Supreme God’s blessing and the world’s favor and protection, turning the tide.
Shafney also knew about this.
For tens of thousands of years, the Demon Race had been researching the Hero summoning. Shafney, as the second Demon Lord, naturally understood it well.
Now, hearing Shien’s words, she couldn’t help but wonder,
“Could this be the reason why he was summoned to this world?”
But that didn’t make sense. When did the God Race face annihilation, needing to sacrifice the Hero Summoning to summon the last Hero?
And since he received the Supreme God’s blessing, did it mean that the red gem’s appearance was also related to this? After all, that gem should have been in the Supreme God’s possession.
Shafney was confused.
“Still pondering?” Shien said, exasperated, “Don’t overthink it. Let’s start. With the blessing’s protection, I can withstand the curse and dispel it with the Holy Sword.”
He urged her.
“…Even so, what about the connection?” Shafney asked after a moment of silence, “Don’t forget, you’re not infatuated with me to the point of dying for me. The connection isn’t deep enough to transfer the curse.”
Shien couldn’t refute this.
After all, although they shared a few absurd and wonderful nights, that was all. Besides that accident, he had only known Shafney for about a week. Moreover, he had been resisting her charm, so her place in his heart wasn’t very high, definitely not comparable to Lucy, Airi, Diere, or Melika.
Therefore, he wasn’t willing to die for her. He didn’t value Shafney that much. This was an undeniable fact.
If they faced a true crisis, Shien believed he would stay behind and sacrifice himself to buy Shafney a chance to escape. But this was based on their unusual relationship, not because he loved her deeply.