Zariel had no idea yet that her most admired warrior was currently waging a war. Had it been not long ago, she certainly would have been keenly interested in seeing how far Melina could go.
If Melina truly managed to unite that wilderness, Zariel would have been delighted to grant her legitimate rule, making her a true hell lord.
Now, however, Zariel did nothing each day but anxiously urge Mammon to find a way to resurrect Anbaixiu.
The lich's soul was growing weaker by the day. Even if nothing was done to it, it was gradually fracturing on its own. If things dragged on any longer, soon not even a soul fragment would remain.
Mammon was anxious as well. Though he was the exalted ruler of the Third Layer of Hell, among the most senior of all devils, and the wealthiest being in all of Hell, securing an audience with Kelemvor, the God of Death, and Oghma, the Lord of Knowledge, remained no easy feat.
Kelemvor put on few airs, but the role of the God of Death was simply too unique. As a greater deity whose every move could affect the entire cosmos, he had to weigh the consequences of his every word and deed. After repeatedly causing trouble and receiving numerous warnings from Ao, Kelemvor had stayed quiet for quite some time. All the messages Mammon had exhausted every avenue to send had vanished like stones sinking into the sea, met with absolute silence.
Had the divine portfolio of Death not continued functioning smoothly, Mammon would have worried that Kelemvor had been dragged down from his throne once again by that scribe.
With no response from the God of Death, finding Oghma was even harder.
The Lord of Knowledge was a deity of the True Neutral alignment. Beneath Ao, he was perhaps the greater deity closest to being omniscient. The birth of any piece of knowledge in the mortal realm would be perceived by Oghma, and whether such knowledge was permitted to circulate was also his to decide.
In theory, if a genius mage created a new spell, Oghma had the right to intervene; if he disapproved, even the Goddess of Magic would grant him some deference and seal the spell away.
Back when Anbaixiu used the "The World Forgets Me" magic scroll, it merely made others forget that he could cast powerful illusions. But if Oghma took action, he could directly erase everyone's relevant memories, or even wipe out the very concept of illusion altogether, reducing all mages who possessed such knowledge to idiots or ordinary mortals.
Take the City of Alchemy, for instance: back when they conducted various experiments that crossed every ethical line, Oghma had sealed away the wisdom of all alchemists, stalling the development of alchemy for years. Later, when the City of Alchemy continued courting disaster, it was again Oghma who decided to punish them, intending to make those alchemists understand that certain forbidden knowledge should never exist in the world.
In the end, the God of Alchemy intervened and mediated, turning total destruction into exile.
Even so, Oghma maintained his strictly neutral stance. He had once deeply detested the Lady of Mists' divine portfolios of deceit and trickery, yet he had never laid a finger on the goddess, simply because Leira, the Lady of Mists, had never actively disrupted the dissemination of knowledge.
On the contrary, it was Cyric, the Prince of Lies, who earned Oghma's hatred, because Cyric had repeatedly fabricated the illusion that Leira was still alive, disseminating false knowledge to quietly usurp the remnants of her faith.
Distorting truth and spreading falsehood—these were acts Oghma despised.
However, as Cyric was also a greater deity, hiding away when outmatched was easy enough. Still, Cyric dared not show himself openly, for retribution from the Lord of Knowledge would swiftly follow, dealing severe blows to Cyric's faith in the mortal realm.
Were it not for Cyric's relatively low dependence on worship, he likely would have struggled even to maintain his rank as a greater deity.
All in all, Oghma had his own guiding principles. Even if Mammon offered up his entire fortune, Oghma would not spare it a second glance; he would rather listen to whatever new works mortal bards had composed.
Unfortunately, Mammon's subordinates were all bookkeeper goblins, and bards rarely descended into Hell. In the entirety of Hell, not a single artist talented enough to catch Oghma's eye could be found.
Just as Mammon was growing irritable, however, a deity came knocking at his door.
The God of Alchemy, a deity who had recently become impossible to ignore, manifested an avatar, arrived in Hell, and paid a personal visit to Mammon.
When Mammon heard that the God of Alchemy had come calling, his massive belly trembled.
Why would this deity, rumored to be on good terms with Oghma, suddenly visit him? Could he also be here for that lich?
All the gods knew that the God of Alchemy had a very close relationship with that lich—so close, in fact, that it seemed to exceed the typical bond between a deity and a chosen. As for the specifics of their connection, others had only caught scattered rumors.
Now that the God of Alchemy had come calling, did he want to purchase the lich's soul?
Mammon let out a greedy laugh. If that was truly the case, he could fleece him for all he was worth.
To Mammon's surprise, however, the God of Alchemy hadn't come to bargain for the lich's soul. Instead, he had delivered an odd device to Mammon.
At this very moment, that device sat right before Mammon and Zariel.
It resembled an alchemical reactor, only much larger, with strange crystals growing over bizarre alloys.
Zariel asked dubiously, "The God of Alchemy claims that if we shove the lich's soul inside, it will be restored?"
Mammon nodded. "I don't understand all the specific details, but that's roughly it. The lich will be resurrected in a brand-new form."
Zariel reached out to touch the colossal alchemical reactor. She could sense countless intricate energy conduits within, incorporating structures of many different divine spells. While she could understand most of them individually, when blended together, they became utterly indecipherable.
Zariel couldn't help but marvel, "Alchemy truly has developed into something increasingly outrageous."
Mammon sighed in agreement. "Who would have thought a lesser deity could grow into an intermediate deity in such a short time? And when I met with his avatar last time, I had a hunch he'd soon ascend to a greater deity."
Zariel was taken aback.
"So fast?!"
"Nothing can stop the development of alchemy anymore," Mammon said enviously. "I have to admit, that student of his is extraordinary. In the past, no one ever imagined that fully combining money with alchemy would create such a behemoth. Alchemy generates wealth, so capital pours into it with everything it has, making alchemy even more profitable, which draws in even more capital... Once this snowball starts rolling, no one can stop it."
The student he spoke of was, naturally, Anbaixiu. In the past, though the City of Alchemy had generated wealth, their earnings were purely academic in nature. They placed no importance on commercial development, even treating merchants like servants.
A tycoon worth hundreds of millions had to bow and scrape before any random alchemist, lest they be cast out of the City of Alchemy.
The scholars clung fiercely to their arrogant superiority, turning what could have been a mutually beneficial partnership into one-sided exploitation. It was Anbaixiu's emergence that shattered this status quo. Not only did he devour all the dividends left after the City of Alchemy vanished, but he also achieved a flawless fusion of capital and technology.
Others couldn't imitate him, because Anbaixiu himself was the embodiment of both capitalist and scholar.
Thus, during Anbaixiu's days in the mortal realm, no amount of aid the God of Alchemy provided would have seemed strange. Where else could one find such an exceptional believer? Other deities turned green with envy just looking on.
Zariel's brow furrowed deeper. She said to Mammon, "Then that makes even less sense. The God of Alchemy can't possibly be ignorant of what we intend to do. How could he possibly help us?"
What good deed would devils ever do? If they resurrected Anbaixiu's soul, it would undoubtedly be to torment and exploit him ruthlessly. How could the God of Alchemy bear to let his finest student become a tool in the hands of devils?
Mammon stroked his chin. "You're right. I probed the God of Alchemy's attitude, and he didn't even try to buy the soul back from my hands. It makes no sense at all."
Zariel asked suspiciously, "Could he have some scheme? Can this thing resurrect his student and let him escape Hell?"
"What are you thinking? Even Oghma cannot break the rules set down by my old father-in-law. Whatever this thing is, the soul of a sinner is bound within Hell. At most, he could slip from our grasp; leaving Hell at will is impossible. And as long as he remains in Hell, with his unfulfilled contract held in our hands, how hard could it be to catch that little guy?"
Mammon was deeply wary of his cruel and ruthless father-in-law, yet he also placed immense trust in him—trust in the immense authority that was the key to Hell's stable operation. Let alone an intermediate deity, even if the God of Alchemy truly ascended to a greater deity, breaking the Lord of Hell's rules would still be impossible.
Zariel didn't see it that way. These days, were devils smuggling themselves out of Hell such a rare sight?
Although this loophole had been intentionally left behind by the Lord of Hell for ambitious devils to exploit, a loophole still meant a possibility existed. Given that lich's cunning, could he have conspired with the God of Alchemy before dying to escape using this method?
Once Anbaixiu fled Hell, dragging him back to fulfill his contract would become vastly more troublesome.
Mammon pointed at the alchemical furnace. "We can't just avoid using it out of suspicion, can we? If we don't bring him back to life soon, we're going to suffer a devastating loss."
Mammon held no grudge against Anbaixiu; his mind was focused solely on making a profit, making him far more decisive than Zariel.
Zariel shook her head. "Don't be in such a rush. A day or two won't make a difference. I'll go gather some intelligence and at least figure out what the God of Alchemy is thinking."
Flapping her wings, Zariel took off. In less than two days, she returned—and she had indeed brought back plenty of information.
Mammon quickly asked, "Well? Did you find anything out?"
With a slightly mocking smirk, Zariel replied, "I did. I've roughly deduced what the God of Alchemy is after. This story is fascinating, to say the least. Do you know how the God of Alchemy attained godhood in the first place?"
Mammon shook his head. "No idea. Didn't he just pop up out of nowhere?"
Zariel shook her head. "No. The true God of Alchemy should have been that lich. The current God of Alchemy ascended by seizing that lich's achievements."
Mammon was startled by the revelation. As a veteran devil, a flurry of sinister deductions immediately flashed through his mind.
Rubbing his hands together, Mammon said excitedly, "You mean the God of Alchemy doesn't like this lich at all—he wishes he were dead so his own divine portfolio would remain secure! If this lich dissipates completely, that means his fate has reached its end, and Ao's final judgment will descend upon him.
"Given all the accomplishments that lich racked up, Ao could easily resurrect him and bestow upon him the divine portfolio of Deceit. More likely, though, Ao would resurrect him by granting him a share of the God of Alchemy's divine authority. The God of Alchemy is itching for us to resurrect the fellow so that Ao won't intervene! Tsk, tsk... another classic drama of master and disciple turning on each other."
Ao loved watching the drama unfold and witnessing the deities' performances, but he rarely intervened lightly. Usually, only when events had drawn to a close and reached an unalterable conclusion would the Overgod impose his will to rewrite the ending.
Such was clearly the case for this lich. Fate had cast him down into Hell, and the dissipation of his soul would likely be his final end.
At that moment, Ao might very well hand down his final judgment. Many deities had ascended in precisely this manner.
Yet if the Archdukes of Hell resurrected him, then the lich's life would not be over!
Chapter 528