The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

"Defeat the Demon King…"

After Shien had explained everything that had let to him being summoned, both Vivian and Lucy frowned and fell silent.

"Just what's going on here?" Vivian was completely dumbfounded, "The Demon King was obviously already defeated a thousand years ago, so why did a goddess activate the Hero summoning ritual in order to defeat the Demon King?"

That was the biggest puzzle there, as well as the thing that Shien wanted an answer to the most.

Lucy closed her eyes as if thinking about something. After a while, she reopened her eyes and looked toward Shien, "You said that the goddess who summoned you called herself Nien?"

"That's right." Shien nodded and spoke honestly, "That was the name that she told me. I also specifically checked through some books about the gods, but I didn't find any goddess with that name in the end."

Given that, Shien had a suspicion.

That suspicion happens to be something that Vivian was thinking right now as well.

"It's likely a fake name then." Vivian spoke assuredly, "The gods are limited in number. Even low ranked gods would have their names in records, so if you haven't found any mentions of that name even after looking through many books, then it can only mean that it's not her real name."

"I've never heard of a goddess with that name either." Lucy seemed to have been going through her memories of the goddesses that she knew, but her frown persisted and she muttered, "Besides, I've also never heard of something like a single goddess being able to use the Hero summoning ritual on her own."

When she heard that Vivian turned her attention to Lucy.

"Your highness, you are one of the few mortals to have received the recognition and respect of the gods. Your own personal relationship with the gods isn't minor either, so do you perhaps know some secrets that aren't commonly known about the Hero summoning ritual?"

Vivian asked something like that.

That made Shien understand just why Vivian brought him here to see Lucy.

Just like what Vivian said, Lucy is one of the few mortals who were recognized and respected by the gods. Not only did she receive the blessing of one of the three great goddesses, she had even been invited to reside permanently in the heavenly realm, nearly becoming the first mortal to do so. Given all that, it wouldn't have been strange for her to know certain divine secrets that no one else knew.

Plus, Lucy also had the title as the Hero of the current era. Perhaps she was the most suitable person for investigating this matter.

Lucy didn't hide it either.

"As for the Hero summoning ritual, I do indeed know a few things that normal mortals do not." Lucy so explained, "For example, not just anyone can activate this ritual. Instead, there are conditions."

"Conditions?" Vivian paid rapt attention.

"What conditions?" Shien even directly asked.

Lucy thought it over and went through her memories again before answering.

"First, the Hero summoning ritual has a prior requirement before it can be activated. That being that there must exist a otherworlder with the capabilities to become a Hero. Only with that can the ritual be activated."

Since the number of otherworlder who had the potential to be a Hero is unbelievably few, it's not like there will always be one available t be summoned. Thus, until an otherworlder with said potential appears, the Hero summoning ritual was basically just an empty decoration.

Only when an otherworlder capable of being a Hero appears will the ritual react and allow the gods to enact a summoning.

However…

"As a major ritual that crosses worlds, a normal goddess would be completely incapable of actually using this ritual." Lucy pointed out.

"Thus, only under three circumstances can the ritual be successfully used."

What are the circumstances then?

"One: Gather the combined powers of every high and low class gods there are, and use it to activate the ritual."

With the combined power of every single high and low class god in existence, they could successfully activate the ritual.

"Two: Gather the combined powers of the three great goddess, and use it to activate the ritual."

The three great goddess are publicly the top of the gods, as well as the first gods created. They far surpassed the other gods be it in power or status, and they were the current leaders of the gods. With the combined power of all three goddesses, it's also possible to activate the ritual.

"Three: When the gods are facing a major catastrophe, something that could decide the final fate of the races or even the world itself, the ritual will automatically activate on its own. At that time, only a single goddess is needed to utilize it. Even if the goddess in question is a low class goddess, it would still be possible for her to use the ritual."

Supposedly, it was the final resort of the Hero summoning ritual. It existed so that in the case of a true disaster, it could summon up a Hero to overturn the situation and save everything.

"However, in the third case, due to it being a forced activation, the Hero summoning ritual will end up destroyed afterwards. If that happened, that would be the moment when Omnipotlin's relationship with otherworldly Heroes come to a complete end."

Shien and Vivian gave each other a glance at the secrets that Lucy had revealed to them.

Basically then.

"Do you mean that my situation is the third type?" Shien tried to confirm with Lucy with a somewhat uncertain attitude.

"I can only say that's very likely." Lucy gave Shien a meaningful look, "At the very least, from what I know, only the third situation can allow a goddess activate the Hero summoning ritual single-handedly. The Heroes throughout history basically all fell in the second category, so all of them were able to get one of the three great goddesses' blessings."

"Then what about the other two situations?" Vivian asked, "When it's the other two situations, what kind of blessing will the summoned Hero get?"

Lucy thought it over as if still trying to confirm her memories. Only after did she answer.

"If I'm not remembering wrong, in the first situation, the summoned Hero would gain the blessings of all high and low class goddesses. And in the third situation, as the final hope in the face of true disaster, the creator of the ritual, highest god Omnis, had embedded within it a portion of her own power to be left to that Hero."

In other words…

"When the third situation occurs, the Hero will gain the highest grade of blessing, known as – [Blessing of the Highest God]."

Lucy's voice clearly entered Shien's ears.

Plus, the princess had even said the following.

"If you want to know which situation applies to you, you can find out just by looking at your own blessing."

In response, Shien fell completely silent.

It was because Shien was in considerable turmoil.

The third situation obviously matched up to him.

So then, he was the final Hero who gained the [Blessing of the Highest God]?

And this entire world or the entire race of the gods had met with disaster, and so he was summoned by Nien?

But wasn't the Demon King already defeated? Isn't the current world also quite peaceful?

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