Of course, angels were merely weapons of war. They did not possess divine sparks, only angel hearts.
Because of this, even if an angel inherited the Light Laws at Great Perfection, it still could not obtain the Willpower granted by the universe.
The Netherworld Fruit, however, was different.
In fact, its ability was far more powerful than that of the Angel Rebirth Pool.
Angels born from the rebirth pool could only inherit the Light Laws of the Light Sovereign.
But the fruits produced by the Netherworld Sovereign allowed anyone who consumed them to perfectly fuse five Profound Mysteries of their Laws, raising their strength directly to the level of a Commander or Lord Prefect.
Naturally, the Netherworld Fruit also had a drawback.
Just like refining a divine spark, once someone consumed a Netherworld Fruit and fused five Profound Mysteries, their progress would forever stop there.
Locke suspected that this limitation existed because the Netherworld Sovereign herself had not yet reached Great Perfection in the Life Rules.
If she had…
Then perhaps the fruits she produced might truly allow someone to fuse all six Profound Mysteries and reach Great Perfection.
From this alone, one could see how precious Netherworld Fruits truly were.
Yet despite their value, every time the tree bore fruit, the Death Sovereign used them to select her Sovereign messengers.
Likewise, any god who wished to ask the Death Sovereign for a favor needed to obtain a Netherworld Fruit first.
Even if two Sovereigns had excellent relations, their relationship would never be so close as to casually grant such treasures.
There was another factor as well.
The strength of the Death Sovereign herself.
While the other three Overlords were all Great Perfection Rule Sovereigns, far stronger than ordinary Sovereigns, the Death Sovereign still possessed power that rivaled them.
Because of that, Locke suspected she might also possess an additional 0.8 portion of Willpower from another Sovereign divine clone.
But the truth of the matter remained unknown.
Unless the Death Sovereign herself revealed it, no one could know for certain.
Battle on Netherworld Mountain
BOOM!
BOOM!
As Locke flew past Netherworld Mountain, he suddenly sensed two powerful auras clashing.
Spreading his divine sense, he quickly saw the scene below.
Two enormous serpentine magical beasts were fighting.
One of them was several meters thick and nearly six hundred meters long, with cold golden eyes.
The other was about three hundred meters long, but it possessed nine heads.
The longer serpent radiated Life-element energy.
The nine-headed one radiated Death-element energy.
"Wait… are those Inawi and Jin?"
Locke instantly recognized them.
They were the companion beasts of the Death Sovereign and the Netherworld Sovereign.
They were also mates.
In the distant future, every serpent-type magical beast on Netherworld Mountain would be descended from the two of them.
Judging from their battle, both Jin and Inawi already possessed Seven-Star Fiend-level strength.
This surprised Locke.
Anyone capable of reaching such power this early in history should have advanced far beyond that level after a thousand epochs.
Yet in the future, both of them were still only Seven-Star Fiends.
Just as Locke was wondering about this, the Death Sovereign stopped flying toward the mountain peak.
Instead, she turned and flew toward the massive Netherworld Fruit Tree.
"Sovereign Liliya!"
"Greetings, Sovereign!"
Seeing the Death Sovereign and Locke approaching, Jin and Inawi immediately halted their battle.
They transformed into human forms and knelt respectfully.
"Netherworld."
At the Death Sovereign's call, a face slowly appeared on the trunk of the enormous fruit tree.
"Ah, Liliya."
"It's been a long time."
The Netherworld Sovereign's voice sounded ancient yet soothing.
Anyone who heard it felt warmth spread through their entire body.
"And this one is…?"
When the Netherworld Sovereign turned her gaze toward Locke, he pushed aside his speculation that the Death Sovereign and the Netherworld Sovereign might actually be the same person.
He nodded politely.
"Greetings, Sovereign. Klo pays his respects."
"Hiss!"
Jin and Inawi gasped.
Was this man trying to die?
How could he behave so casually before a Sovereign?
But what shocked them even more was the Netherworld Sovereign's reaction.
"Remarkable, Klo," she said.
"Among all the gods I've seen, none can compare with you."
"You flatter me, Sovereign."
Although Locke privately agreed.
After all, even a thousand epochs later, no one else possessed two Paragon divine clones.
Still, in front of a Sovereign, modesty was appropriate.
Especially since he still didn't fully understand the relationship between the Netherworld Sovereign and the Death Sovereign.
"No," the Netherworld Sovereign replied gently.
"That is not flattery. You truly deserve such praise."
"That's enough, Netherworld."
The Death Sovereign interrupted her.
Her eyes briefly flicked toward Jin and Inawi.
"I didn't come here to hear you praise Klo."
Then she turned her gaze toward the pair kneeling before her.
"Inawi."
"Did the two of you secretly steal and eat Netherworld Fruits?"
Inawi and Jin exchanged glances.
Finally, Inawi slammed her forehead against the ground.
"Sovereign Liliya… I know my strength is insignificant."
"I wanted to become strong enough to assist you quickly, so I came here hoping to request a Netherworld Fruit."
"But when I arrived, Sovereign Netherworld had not yet awakened."
"In a moment of impulse, Jin and I took two fruits…"
Locke finally understood.
While Netherworld Fruits could rapidly allow someone to fuse multiple Profound Mysteries, their power depended entirely on the Netherworld Sovereign's own comprehension.
At this point in history, even the Netherworld Sovereign had probably only reached the equivalent of four fused Profound Mysteries.
Therefore, the fruits she produced could only raise someone to the level of a Seven-Star Fiend.
And because of their side effects, those who consumed them would never improve further.
Thus, Jin and Inawi were Seven-Star Fiends now.
And even a thousand epochs later, they remained exactly the same.
Looking at Inawi, Locke suddenly remembered something.
As the Death Sovereign's companion beast, she had followed Liliya for countless years.
Logically, their relationship should have been extremely close.
Yet in the distant future, when Inawi's daughter was killed by Bebe, and she begged the Death Sovereign to kill Linley, Liliya refused.
Instead, she merely canceled the reward Linley could have claimed from the Netherworld Fruit.
Perhaps this moment—when Jin and Inawi stole the fruits—had already caused both Sovereigns to view them as hopeless.
Netherworld Fruits were produced periodically.
As companion beasts of the Netherworld Sovereign, Jin naturally knew when the tree would bear fruit.
He also knew when the Sovereign would fall asleep.
Under such circumstances, obtaining the fruits was incredibly easy.
But they had been too impatient.
Their actions were similar to Little White secretly keeping Locke's Sovereign's Might earlier.
They had overstepped their place and grown arrogant due to favor.
And that had cut off their future potential.
After all, as companion beasts of two Sovereigns, would they ever have been mistreated if they simply remained loyal?
Netherworld Fruits were precious, but their quality depended on the Netherworld Sovereign's own state.
For countless years she had refused to give them any fruits precisely because she didn't want their path to end prematurely.
Locke suspected that the two Sovereigns had hoped to wait until the Netherworld Sovereign reached Great Perfection.
Only then would the fruits she produced allow someone to reach Paragon level.
At the very least, they would reach the Commander-level.
But Jin and Inawi misunderstood.
They believed the Sovereigns looked down on their strength and refused to grant them the treasure.
So, they stole the fruits while the Death Sovereign was away and the Netherworld Sovereign slept.
"Netherworld," the Death Sovereign said calmly.
"The fruits are yours. What do you think?"
Although her tone hadn't changed, Locke could sense disappointment radiating from her soul.
Disappointment toward Inawi.
And perhaps even disappointment toward herself.
She seemed to wonder whether she had been too indulgent, allowing Inawi to grow so reckless.
"Sovereign," the Netherworld Sovereign replied gently.
"They were only two fruits."
"If they ate them, then so be it."
"Hmph. You're generous."
The Death Sovereign snorted.
Then she turned toward Locke.
"Let's go."
"Understood."
Locke nodded politely to the Netherworld Sovereign.
"I'll take my leave."
Then he quickly followed the Death Sovereign toward the peak of Netherworld Mountain.
Palace of the Death Sovereign
"Welcome to my Sovereign Palace."
After entering the palace, the Death Sovereign sat upon her throne and looked down at Locke.
"You are the first being I have ever personally invited into my palace, Klo."
"Sovereign…"
Locke hesitated.
"Could you speak with me using your Water divine clone instead?"
Standing before her true Sovereign body made him extremely uncomfortable.
"There's too much pressure when facing your Sovereign body."
"Very well."
"If that's your request, I'll grant it."
In the next instant, the majestic Sovereign figure seated on the throne transformed.
The purple-robed Overlord vanished.
In her place appeared the bright-eyed Water-element girl again.
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSims
Next Bonus Chapter at 450 powerstones.