Chapter 847 Trapped in Smiles


    "Wait," Iraelyn interjected, her voice slicing through the conversation like a de. "What do you mean, the others were captured?"


    Malifira shrugged nonchntly. "Exactly as I said, everyone was captured and brought into the castle."


    "Huh? How did that happen?" Ren questioned, a furrow forming between his brows.


    Azazel and the others were ridiculously strong, so how could they have been captured, unless . . .


    "The Goddess of Smile and Happiness," Ren uttered, realization dawning in his eyes.


    Malifira nodded solemnly. "I believe they fell under her domain. Our domains doesn''t have any sway here since this is her territory in the first ce."


    Elena let out a weary sigh. "That would exin it. The others wouldn''t have been captured so easily without the Goddess intervening herself."


    "What should we do now?" Evie turned to Ren, her eyes reflecting uncertainty.


    Ren took a deep breath, his mind racing with problems. It was one thing after another. "What else can we do but rescue them? We can''t simply abandon them after all."


    "Hey! WAIT! YOU!" Everyone turned towards Pam as she screamed aloud, her voice piercing through the tense atmosphere.


    "What''s her problem?" Iraelyn questioned without a care. Pam paced back and forth, her eyes wide with panic as she stared at the group. "You''re not supposed to be here. You''re mortals! You''re not souls! And you''re even nning to confront the Goddess of Smile and Happiness. "Ohhh . . . this is bad. This is really bad. Your penalties are piling up. Piling up! At this rate, I could be banished or worse, reincarnated as a mere mortal, condemned to a life of hardship for aiding mortals!"


    "Calm down," Elena said, trying to diffuse the escting tension.


    Pam''s eyes bulged, and she shouted, "How could I calm down?! My entire existence is on the line here! I don''t even know you creatures! What are you?! What am I even thinking in the first ce?!"


    "Scream like that and the guardians would surely hear you," Malifira warned with a smile on her face. She didn''t seem to be troubled that Azazel and the others were kidnapped. Pam paused, a desperate look crossing her face. "Wait. Maybe I can still turn this around if I surrender you to the Goddess. Yes, that''s probably my only way of salvation."


    Iraelyn watched the frantic disy and suggested, "Should I just end her misery?"


    "No," Ren intervened. "We still need her to show us around here. We don''t know anything about this realm. We need a guide."


    Just as Azazel had guided them in the Netherworld, it became apparent that going about this blindly was too dangerous. With Pam already with them and privy to their secrets, perhaps they could work this out together.


    "You mean a hostage," Evie remarked.


    Ren then addressed Pam directly. "Look, we''re already in this together whether you like it or not. You''re already implicated in this, so you might as well help us out."


    "N-no . . . you''re ying with my mind!" Pam protested. "My sins would surely be forgiven if I surrender you to the Goddess of Smile and Happiness. I''m sure of it."


    "Are you sure about that?" Elena''s grin was mischievous. "She might just take all the credit and cast you aside, or even worse,bel you as one of us and you''d be exiled nheless. Or even worse, as you said, you''ll be reincarnated into a mortal with a life full of hardship."


    "Eeegh!" Pam''s heart sank like a stone in a bottomless pit. The weight of her predicament bore down on her, crushing her spirit. She felt like she couldn''t breathe, suffocating under the weight of her fears.


    Did that mean she was forever stuck with Ren and the others?


    "N-no way . . ." Pam''s voice trembled as she copsed to the ground, ovee with despair.


    She had only wanted to get this half-angel, half-demon creature, so she could get stronger, but what had she gotten herself into? This wasn''t exactly what she had in mind when she decided to get close to Ren and the others for information about his creature.


    She thought Ren and the others were merely souls, easy enough for her to handle. Oh, how regretful she was now.


    If she had known they were strong mortals, she wouldn''t have approached them in the first ce. She should have stayed in her ce, sipping tea and enjoying her day. Perhaps then she wouldn''t have found herself in this predicament.


    "Let''s go," Ren''s voice broke through her thoughts, his gaze fixed on the imposing castle looming ahead.


    Pam was dragged along by Ren and the others as they bravely treaded the tortuous storm towards the castle where the Goddess of Smile and Happiness awaited them.


    Ren and the others approached the castle, their steps cautious. They were baffled when the door swung open as if weing them. There were no guards or any obstacles hindering their path, except perhaps the raging storm that rumbled ominously in the distance.


    "It''s opened?" Ren asked, confusion knitting his brows.


    "Looks like the goddess is expecting us," Malifira chuckled. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "I-I don''t think this is the time tough. There''s nothing funny about this situation," Pam interjected, her voice tinged with anxiety.


    "There might be traps inside," Evie cautioned, her expression nonexistent.


    "We don''t have a choice. We have to get Azazel and the rest," Ren said, and pushed open the door.


    In the grand hall, their eyes immediately fell upon Azazel and the others confined within a golden cage.


    "Ah! It''s Ren and the others!" Azazel eximed with genuine delight,ughing like there was no tomorrow. "I knew that you wereing to save us!"


    "Ahahaha! Lord Desira, I''ve won the bet," Vivi chuckled gleefully.


    Desira couldn''t stop herughter, though her expression was conflicted. "Damn it. That''s a few hundred souls there. What are you going to do about it, huh?" she gnashed her teeth at Ren and the others, but her lips remained curved up. Ren and the others exchanged nces.


    "What happened to them?" Elena inquired, her concern evident in her voice.


    Iraelynughed along with the rest. "They must be happy to see us."


    "No. They''re under the spell of the Goddess of Smiles and Happiness," Malifira rified.


    "Good evening!" A cheerful voice interrupted, drawing Ren and the others'' attention to a woman descending the grand staircase.