Loren grabbed Phoris's hand and bent it in the opposite direction. The excruciating pain forced Phoris to her knees before him.

"Weren't you acting pretty cocky when you were causing trouble earlier? Didn't expect I could actually reach through the connection and deal with you in person, did you? Still feel like barking like a dog in the future?"

"I was wrong... I'll never dare again..."

Phoris sobbed, apologizing repeatedly, but Loren still didn't let go of her hand.

"It's too late for apologies now."

Loren applied even more force, to the point where Phoris could hear the sound of bone cracking.

"We're both transmigrators. This world is fake. Only we are real. I am your only true companion..."

Seeing that begging for mercy was useless, Phoris tried another angle.

"This world is real. The love I feel is real. You are the only lie woven by the God of Dreams, and now I've seen through you.

"Besides, my thoughts are the same as yours. If there really was a second transmigrator in this world, my first move would be figuring out how to kill him."

However, Loren wasn't in a hurry to finish her off. He was thinking about how to use Phoris to lure other Outer Gods.

"Speaking of which, you just accepted the fact that you transmigrated so calmly? Don't you miss your family?"

Since Phoris believed she was a transmigrator, whether it was true or false, she must have memories from before transmigrating. Perhaps those memories were also fake, but the emotions were real, and that was enough.

At this point, Phoris's expression suddenly twisted into something vicious, as if she had lost her fear of Loren:

"My mother cheated. My father was a useless waste. After discovering it, he only thought about winning my mother back. In the end, my mother falsely accused him of marital rape and had him thrown in prison. She herself took all the money and abandoned me.

"My father couldn't bear the shame and stigma, so he committed suicide in prison. I hate them! I have no attachment to that world at all!"

Phoris began to cry, leaving Loren somewhat at a loss. He had hoped to use Phoris's lingering love for her parents to attract the Goddess of Love's attention here. Now it seemed that hope was dashed.

"What about your friends?"

"I have no friends. No one liked me. They all mocked me, treated me as a joke, used me to satisfy their twisted sense of superiority..."

"..."

Looking at it this way, Phoris had it pretty rough too. No wonder her psyche was warped.

But...

"What the hell does that have to do with me?"

Loren yawned, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

If Phoris were just an ordinary person with no grudge against Loren, he wouldn't mind helping her out.

But the fact was, Phoris not only wanted to kill Loren, she also wanted to kill Loren's witches.

That was Loren's bottom line, so he could not forgive her.

"I'm truly sorry, but I can't empathize with you at all. Because I'm too popular. Everyone likes me, you know? On my way to find you, I even saw someone dreaming of gaining my favor. There was even someone dreaming of marrying me."

Since he couldn't attract the Goddess of Love, attracting the God of Hatred wasn't a bad alternative either. Loren continued mocking Phoris:

"Oh, right. My family is also the most perfect family. They always think of me, love me. The word 'love' is probably too extravagant for you, isn't it?"

Loren released Phoris's hand and began describing his family to her with vivid emotion:

"Every time I go home, there's a hot meal waiting for me. On my birthday, they try everything to give me a surprise, even though sometimes I forget my own birthday.

"I need to finish you off quickly and get back. My family is waiting for me. Every time I return from outside, Anna jumps on me and gives me a big hug.

"You remember Anna, right? That little girl with the scythe who killed you over a dozen times? She once told me she's the happiest little girl in the world..."

At this point, Phoris clenched her teeth tightly, her fists balled so hard that she didn't even notice her nails digging into her palms.

She stared at Loren, looking as if she would rush forward and tear him to pieces the next moment.

So Loren struck while the iron was hot. He hugged his own shoulders, putting on an expression of blissful happiness:

"Do you know what a hug feels like? Family members expressing their love for each other. The moment I'm embraced, all my weariness vanishes. I feel all this effort is worth it. Not striving for myself, but for my family.

"What a pity. You'll never experience that feeling in your lifetime."

At that very moment, Phoris's body erupted with unprecedented strength. She threw a punch at Loren with all her might, yet it remained feeble.

"Do you hate me? Your pathetic life has nothing to do with me. I'm simply mocking you, that's all. From what I understand, people like you blame all the suffering you endure on strangers of the opposite sex you've never even met...

"But it's fine. I'll give you this chance. Come on, repeat after me. The God of Hatred, Ligoss..."

"The God of Hatred, Ligoss..."

Phoris quickly understood what was happening. She knew the God of Hatred was an Outer God, but she didn't know Its true name. Now Loren was giving her this chance, the chance to borrow power from the God of Hatred.

The moment she uttered that name, a towering, sky-filling hatred condensed into something tangible, and Loren smiled.

Immediately after, the Forest of Dreams began to tremble violently. The angels finally noticed the situation here and rushed over at high speed. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The Forest of Dreams was the divine realm of the God of Dreams. If Ligoss wanted to bestow blessings upon Phoris, It would first need to contend with the God of Dreams's authority.

Moreover, judging by the nature of Outer Gods other than Cassian, They would definitely want to use this opportunity to completely deal with the God of Dreams, thereby tearing a hole in the defenses of the gods and eroding this world.

This was Loren's goal: to incite conflict between the God of Hatred and the God of Dreams.

Once the God of Hatred truly transmitted Its blessing here, the God of Dreams would be utterly finished, so It would absolutely never allow such a thing to happen.

This was different from when Cassian came to cause trouble last time. Cassian had many bizarre and strange methods; last time was at most like throwing a stone into the enemy camp. What Ligoss was attempting was a full-frontal assault.

"Goodbye."

Loren swept a Blood Moon Condensed Light across Phoris's throat, precisely destroying her vocal cords, while simultaneously storing the damage with the Justice Card.

For Ligoss to continue Its assault, Phoris needed to serve as a coordinate. The God of Dreams would certainly kill Phoris immediately. What Loren did was simply adding an extra layer of insurance.

Under Phoris's gaze filled with hatred, Loren recited the honorific name of the Perpetual Observer, then suddenly regained full consciousness, successfully escaping the Forest of Dreams.

"Master Mentor is awake!"

The Scarecrows guarding this place immediately gathered around upon discovering Loren had awakened. Loren also glanced around; he was the only one who had regained consciousness.

The effects of the Dream Potion hadn't worn off for the others yet.