Celestial Era: The Rise of the Full-Time Enhancer

Clink!

Vincent didn't hesitate and activated his Sentient Source Cube.

It immediately covered his entire body and he even pulled out the Tome of Gluttony from his inventory…

He felt threatened by how Lucia just acted so he swiftly made his defensive move.

"Urgh… My bad…"

Suddenly, Lucia groaned and clutched her head as her terrifying smile disappeared.

"W-what the heck was that just now?" Vincent asked while still wearing his armor. He didn't dare to be careless in front of this Numbered Celestial.

She's number 105 after all!

The strength she has is several times stronger than Rem, who was an Unnumbered Celestial.

"Well… It's just a momentary slip of my desire, I guess? Haha… Luckily, I'm already connected to you with Faith so it was immediately suppressed." Lucia explained.

"What? Are you telling me that your inner desire wants to slice me because you no longer need my potion?"

'Isn't that a bit too absurd?!' Vincent thought as he stared at Lucia with a disappointed look on his face.

"Maybe? I'm not really sure, Vincent… But as you know, I'm a Numbered Celestial, a being that is stronger than any Grand Magus or Grand Knights out there. Stronger than what the peak of your race can ever achieve… There was no way I would like to become a slave forever…"

Vincent paused for a moment after hearing that.

That would indeed make sense. After all, if the Celestials weren't weakened, would they even bother working with Mana Practitioners?

That was unlikely…

"So that absorption of sun's energy has some side effect of triggering your inner desire?" Vincent asked with an incredulous look on his face.

He couldn't understand why it would have such an effect.

"That's probably just a one-time thing… Anyway, I think that our connection to you with the Tree of Faith was helpful… It immediately woke me up and reminded me that you're someone I could rely on… or something like that…" Lucia explained.

The power of faith is still new to her so she can't really describe the feeling that she has for Vincent.

"Hmmm… I guess the strong aura of faith around you isn't just for show…" Vincent mused as he can guess that the stronger the faith, the lesser chance they would have of betraying him.

This is more reassuring than words of promises!

Perhaps, even mind-control magic wouldn't even make them betray him…

Soon, Katea woke up and had the same reaction as Lucia… She also felt her desire to cut off her relationship with Vincent but in just a couple of seconds, she groaned in pain and woke up to reality.

'Is this the effect of my title, Vessel of Faith?' Vincent mused.

In the end, he decided to just accept it for now and asked the two about the rate of their recovery… If it's really effective, he would certainly help the other Celestials to connect with the Tree of Faith if they wanted to.

Of course, he's also planning to just observe the two to ensure that there are no other side effects they weren't aware of. Even if he completed the observation process, he wouldn't force the Celestials as well and he'll just make them choose whether to do it or not.

After learning that their recovery rate wasn't that really fast and also requires quite some time, Vincent realized that this method of recovery wouldn't be suitable in various situations.

First of all, it can't be done at night for obvious reasons. It's also not possible to do it during combat… After all, it is not a natural or automatic ability to absorb the sun's energy. It has to be through meditation mode.

They can also become vulnerable during the process. They had to be in a safe place or at the very least, someone should be guarding them during their meditation.

Nevertheless, with all these downsides listed, it doesn't change the fact that the Celestials would have another option of recovering their energy aside from being contracted with a Mana Practitioner to get their Blood Essence. Because of this benefit, it is certainly alluring for the Celestials and is worth the risk.

***

After a while, Vincent decided to move the saplings in his garden to a pot… This way, it would be easier to take them once the Celestials learned how to assimilate with them.

After doing so, Vincent suddenly felt his communication crystal vibrating…

It was coming from Calidia so he immediately answered.

"What's going on, Lydia?" Vincent asked.

"Three Unnumbered Celestials and the ten Arch Knights died while hunting the werewolves… They're already returning…" Calidia solemnly reported.

Vincent was stunned by this sudden news… Three Celestial Beings! Furthermore, the ten Arch Knights were extremely valuable to them… They do not have many Arch Knights after all. They were also heavily trained and had been in several battles and even survived the Sea Race's invasion…

How could they even die from such a solid lineup?!

"What happened?!" Vincent couldn't help but raise his voice as this is a serious matter.

He's already regretting not joining the hunt… After all, with his presence, he believes he would be able to save many people even if the opponent is really strong.

At the very least, he should've sent the Tome of Gluttony to them as a last resort.

"It's my fault… If I just gathered correct information about the enemy, we wouldn't end up like this…" Calidia felt that she has no excuse for this matter as she continued to explain what happened to Vincent.

She had several weeks to investigate the matter and only confirmed 18 Werewolves including Beatrice living in their secret base.

With the lineup that she proposed and the items that Ignacy has given to them, there shouldn't be a problem dealing with the werewolves.

After all, they already fought with them once and they already know how strong these werewolves are…

Lastly, they also have Pistols with Silver Bullets which should be considered their weakness.

However, to their surprise, as soon as the Werewolves Slayer Squad entered the vicinity of the enemy base, they were ambushed by over a hundred berserk werewolves!