Primordial Villain with a Slave Harem

Chapter 1415  Apology

Gods were concepts on Earth that Quinlan heard about from holy books and word of mouth, but Lilyanna was nothing like how he expected a god to act.

She spoke plainly. She reacted sharply. She showed irritation without wrapping it in ritual distance. Yet the gap between them remained obvious. It showed in how the space around her responded without effort. In how her power obeyed thought alone. In the way she worked through his injuries with certainty earned through spans of time he could not comprehend.

She was nothing like anyone he had met before.

It was not attraction per se. His thoughts did not drift toward getting into her celestial panties. What he felt was closer to interest, the kind sparked by encountering a mechanism he could not yet take apart. A divine brat with a sharp tongue and great pride, layered over authority refined over near eternity.

Lilyanna, on the other hand, seemed far less amused with his person.

She kept her distance, both physically and in tone. Even while healing him, she positioned herself just outside arm's reach. Her attention stayed on her work, precise and controlled, as if proximity itself were a concession she refused to grant.

Quinlan noticed, and he respected it.

He let his body settle fully into the radiant construct and stopped trying to fill the silence. Muscles loosened as the damage was smoothed out. Warmth threaded through him in steady passes, knitting and reinforcing rather than simply restoring. He let her do what she did best.

After a while, however, he spoke again, voice softer.

"I am sorry for defiling your body with corruption," he said. "I may have overreacted."

Her hands did not pause.

"You do not mean that," Lilyanna replied calmly.

He turned his head slightly. "Hmm?"

"You speak regret, yet your core does not align with it. Your heart tells me a different story. You are proud of the brand you left on my skin."

A quiet breath left him, carrying the shape of a restrained chuckle. "Fair enough. I suppose part of me is indeed proud. I managed to fight back against my cosmic kidnapper at my current level." His eyes flicked toward her face. "It was kind of cool, wasn't it?"

Her gaze slid to him, narrowed and sharp.

"Very cool…" she muttered with a flat tone. Then, from one moment to the next, her wry voice transformed to one of utmost seriousness. "No. They will not sleep more easily. That is my answer."

Quinlan blinked once.

"Huh?"

The word left him before thought caught up. Then memory surfaced, clear and uninvited.

"When I am gone… Will my people sleep easier?" Alexios had asked, hoping Quinlan would relay his question to the Goddess of Thalorind.

Quinlan's expression shifted. The faint playfulness drained from his eyes as understanding settled in. He exhaled slowly.

"I see."

Quinlan didn't quite know how to interpret her response.

'They will not sleep easier.'

Did that mean something like Alexios was a good king, but not great enough? Maybe Lilyanna knew of dormant powers that might surface once Alexios dies, and she knew life would be more difficult after his departure from the mortal plane because he didn't do his job properly.

Or did that mean they will not sleep more easily because the life that comes after Alexios will be worse than what the old king had given them? Maybe she believed the inheritor of the Vraven Kingdom would be a worse king. Alexios could've made life more miserable for his subjects quite easily. Famines were common, but what if he raised taxes?

There could be other ways to decipher her words as well…

Quinlan couldn't quite decide what she meant exactly, but he didn't ask for clarification because he could tell just by a look that he'd be brushed off.

"I'll relay the response."

Lilyanna's hands continued their work. Silence settled again.

Quinlan lost track of how long he lay there, suspended and mended piece by piece. The glow beneath him remained steady. Lilyanna's work continued with the same measured rhythm, neither hurried nor delayed. If time moved differently here, she gave no sign of noticing.

Eventually, his breathing evened out fully. Strength returned in quiet increments. When he finally spoke again, his voice was low, careful not to cut across her focus.

"Can my wives meet you? I am speaking to them right now, and they'd love to greet you."

Her hands slowed for the first time since she began.

"If you are fine with them going mad within seconds of laying their eyes on me, then go ahead," Lilyanna replied.

"…No," Quinlan said after a beat. "They're good, I think. How does that work? Can you tell me?"

Her fingers resumed their prior pace. Light folded and rewove within his body with exact pressure.

"As your mothers have already told you, the gods are the divine administrators of worlds. We oversee laws, balance, and continuity. Thalorind exists because I maintain its structure."

He listened without interrupting.

"Primordials are different. They are tasked with birth and guidance. They seed worlds, shape early epochs, and populate reality with frameworks that can sustain life. They are not gods, but they are not mortals either."

Quinlan's eyes stayed on her hands.

"There is an inherent partnership between the two. A god anchors a world. Its primordials ensure it grows and prospers. Because primordials are born from divinity, they carry tolerance from the beginning. As they rise in levels, resistance forms naturally. Now, about to reach level 50, but stats-wise being closer to 70, you've become strong enough to be in my direct presence, Quinlan."

"And mortals can't develop this natural resistance against divinity?"

"They were never meant to stand in direct proximity to us. Their minds lack the structure. Their souls lack the insulation."

He shifted slightly against the construct. "Even if not naturally, can they grow resistance? I don't want my girls to feel useless if it ever comes to fighting those beings."

Lilyanna couldn't help but pause her machinations and look deep into his eyes. "You didn't even question if they were going to become strong enough to fight the gods. You think they will, and don't want this phenomenon, which feels akin to an artificial barrier, to keep them from fighting gods."

Quinlan shrugged with a proud expression. "What can I say? They are all amazing girls. If there's a way, they will find it. And I'll be with them every step of the way, ensuring all of them will get to fulfill whatever it is they dream of, be it slaying gods or creating a cute little flower garden in our backyard. I don't care. I just want them to be happy."

"…" Quinlan couldn't help but feel as if the Goddess had just smiled right now.

"… There are ways to grow resistance against divinity," she decreed at long last.

"How?"

"That is a conversation to be held once they reach a much higher level."

"How high?"

This time, Lilyanna glanced at him with much less amusement.

The corner of her mouth lifted by the smallest margin.

"Evil Boy, stop pestering me for information I am clearly not wishing to relay."

Her gaze returned to her work.

"As the Goddess of Thalorind, I am bound by strict rules. I cannot explain everything to you. I cannot provide unfair advantages against other denizens or primordials of my world. Even if I wanted to."

She adjusted the flow of power once more, sealing the last traces of internal damage with a precise sweep.

"Which," she added, voice cool, "for the record, I do not want to do."

Quinlan exhaled slowly. "Haaah… Fine." Then he shook his head. "Goddess of Purity…? You carry a lot of sass with you."

Lilyanna was about to say something in response, but Quinlan knew it was going to be something he didn't want to hear, so he rudely interjected, looking right into her eyes and turning serious.

"Can you tell me what just happened with the corruption seed? Who are the gods of corruption? What do they want? How can I control the seed and attain its powers for myself? How can I make that cruel bitch Sel'Ashra get lost and stop invading my damned soul realm? These questions of mine are beyond the scope of Thalorind, so you should be able to answer. I need to somehow defend myself against these external forces, for I fear they might be the end of me if I don't. Please guide me, Goddess Lilyanna."