"Slaves?"

Ariel dragged the two of them backward the whole way, so they wouldn’t be affected by the Love God’s Pollution. At the same time, she kept talking with her teacher in her mind.

"Sounds pretty pathetic."

"But it’s exactly that kind of lowly love that’s easier to be twisted by the obsession in one’s heart, isn’t it? That’s what gives the Love God’s seed the soil and conditions to take root and sprout."

"I get it."

Ariel’s cheek twitched.

"So this is that, what, weak bottom? Masochist? That what-what syndrome? Damn it, you can’t get the love you want so you come here and freak out? This isn’t some midnight venting tavern!"

"Normal stuff like that doesn’t count. That’s just XP. But if someone wasn’t like that to begin with, and they get forced into it by extreme love mixed with pain—then there’s a problem."

Her teacher’s tone grew heavier.

"But for demonfolk whose coldness has seeped into their bones to be influenced by the Love God too—either this is an extremely rare accident... or..."

"Or there’s some deeper inside story we don’t know," Ariel added in a low voice. "That Love God wants to pull something in the Abyss too?"

"Probably... possible. Looks like this rescue operation is going to be more complicated than we imagined. It might not just be—"

Right as he was speaking, Ariel’s teacher suddenly raised his voice:

"Careful. Something’s moving!"

Ariel’s gaze tightened.

There was no time to say more. She placed Roya and Termir behind her, motioning for them to fall back for now. She herself drew the greatsword Heavenly Fire and raised it, vigilant.

And at this moment, "Burt" changed again.

She was still staring at some place in the void, as if that dangerous, cold Enchantress Grand Duke she loved in her heart really was there, looking down at her the way one looks at ants. Her cheeks were flushed, her smile growing sweeter and sweeter.

But.

Those wounds on her body that were still flowing with blood began to tear open little by little, accompanied by the clear sound of flesh and sinew being pulled—horrifying.

Like a fruit that had once been perfect, slowly peeling off its own skin.

The wounds tore wider, the flesh curled outward, white bone plainly visible!

Even those bones—along with "Burt’s" limbs—began to twist in a bizarre way, then connect head to tail, forming an oval shape that trembled as it stretched upward.

Skin, flesh, bone—everything flipped upward, leaving only a blurred, exposed mass of organs, heavy as they hung below.

"Fuck... what the hell is this thing?"

Even Ariel—who had once wiped out an entire demonfolk tribe and was used to bloody scenes—couldn’t help her eye twitching right now.

The two behind her were worse. Roya covered her mouth tightly, her face full of terror, while Termir had already turned his head and started vomiting.

"As you can see..."

Ariel’s teacher sighed.

"This is probably the seed blooming."

The upturned flesh and skin crisscrossed into blood-red petals. As they spun lightly, there was actually a kind of eerie beauty to it.

And at the very center of the petals, that head that was still staring in happiness suddenly began to open little by little—no, it should be said it tore its lips apart. Then from the darkness deep within, a soft tube covered in sinews extended out.

"So that’s the so-called stamen?"

Ariel took a deep breath, smelling the nauseating stench of blood in the air. Her hands clenched tighter and tighter.

"This feels bad. Do I need to strike first?"

"Your condition is terrible right now. If you want to move, you can only use that," her teacher said, sounding worried.

Fighting a Demon General and then beating up a succubus—no matter how tough Ariel’s body was, she was already at the edge of exhaustion.

That was why Ariel hadn’t attacked immediately. First, the Pollution of an Evil God was irreversible—there was no way to interrupt this kind of pollution-transformation. Second, in her current state, if she attacked rashly, she might expose an opening instead.

"But it looks like we’re already at the point where we have to strike first. This thing gives me a really bad feeling. It doesn’t feel like a simple Evil God pollution body at all!"

Ariel’s gaze flickered. Her instincts told her the thing in front of her was definitely not something good, and she always trusted her instincts.

"Then I’ll support you."

Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one who trusted her.

As her teacher’s words fell, Ariel suddenly felt her body lighten.

A powerful soul force poured into her body, like sweet spring water being poured back into a body that had nearly run dry after back-to-back battles.

Ariel’s spirit lifted. Feeling that abundant power inside her, she didn’t hesitate. She temporarily stabbed Heavenly Fire into the ground, lifted her hand, and revealed the exquisite crest on her arm.

It was an extremely complex pattern, outlined and interwoven in black and white. An ancient, mysterious aura radiated from the crest. Before the power was even fully released, the space around it already began to warp faintly.

And Ariel’s eyes seemed to turn black and white as well—like the farthest two poles in the world, bursting with completely different brilliance.

Two terrifying forces that were utterly opposite gathered rapidly in Ariel’s palm.

"Ancient forbidden spell—Devour and Extinguish..."

But right as that dreadful power was about to erupt—

That gigantic flower bred from flesh suddenly throbbed once, and then... it rapidly retreated a huge distance backward.

So nimble that you couldn’t feel at all that this was a flesh-flower that had completely lost any human shape.

And the way it looked was practically like it was...

...dodging her attack?

"Huh?"

Even Ariel, who’d already wound up her big move and had the pose all set, froze.

What was this?

No matter what, it was a monster polluted by an Evil God. Her move wasn’t even out yet—and it chickened out like this?

【**】

Ariel heard a strange sound.

It didn’t sound like a syllable a human could produce at all, full of weirdness and madness.

The petals of the flesh-flower spread open. That blood-red tube Ariel had called the stamen suddenly turned, revealing at its tip...

...an eyeball.

It looked like a normal human eyeball. Even the blood vessels inside the lens were clearly visible. But inside that eyeball, there was an aloofness and cold indifference that didn’t belong to humans, as if an existence from a higher level was looking down on the lowly ants on the ground.

Just being stared at made Ariel feel ice-cold all over. Her heart sank hard, because that lofty gaze meant—

a trace of that Evil God’s will had actually descended personally!

However, that arrogance didn’t last long. Ariel keenly caught the flash in that eyeball of...

...appraisal?

It’s observing me?

Ariel frowned, still completely on guard, weighing whether to continue the attack or to watch and see.

If she kept attacking...

...she had to admit, this weird flesh-flower could run pretty fast.

【****】

【****】

The bizarre sounds continued, but gradually, Ariel felt they were becoming more and more familiar.

In the end, those mad, strange syllables actually turned into extremely cold human words Ariel could understand.

【So...】

【I originally thought, he ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) was...】

【I didn’t expect... it would be you...】

The eyeball stared coldly, as if it had finally confirmed something.

【So it was you.】

"What do you mean, me? And who is he?"

Ariel demanded at once.

【If it’s you, then what is he, exactly?】

For once, Ariel actually saw a hint of contemplation on that eyeball with an Evil God’s will attached to it.

"What the hell is this thing even saying?"

"Not sure, but it seems like it saw something on you," Ariel’s teacher said, thoughtful as well.

"Whatever. I don’t give a damn about you-me-him-him. If it’s an Evil God making trouble, then we handle it by standard procedure—first give it a big—"

Ariel raised her hands again.

【Not now.】

But Ariel’s big move still didn’t go off.

Because the flesh-flower turned and instantly drifted dozens of meters away again.

【We’ll meet again.】

The eyeball rotated, but it still watched Ariel.

From deep in that pupil that gleamed with cold light, Ariel’s flawless pretty face was reflected.

Like darkness, about to swallow it.

【We’ll meet again, world’s...】

The flesh-flower abruptly closed.

From within that bud made of skin, flesh, and bone, came a scalp-crawling chewing sound.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Very soon, the flower bloomed again.

But now, inside the petals...

...there was nothing left.

The flesh-flower fell to the ground, no longer having any beauty. Foul-smelling blood began to flow along those shattered organs.

At this moment, it was nothing but a wilted lump of rotten meat.

"It left?"

Ariel withdrew her technique, completely confused.

What the hell was that?

An Evil God, coming out for a spin, doing nothing, cutting down its own vessel and running?

She’d thought it would be a hard fight. Before this, when had she ever seen an Evil God run off this cleanly?

And descending its will personally just to eat a polluted succubus—this was like someone lying on the ground, going through hell to pick up a sesame seed off the dirt and then sucking on it a couple times to savor it. What difference was there?

Is that something an Evil God should be doing?

"It might’ve wanted to do something at first, but after seeing you, it changed its mind," her teacher mused.

"Me?"

Ariel crossed her arms and tilted her head.

"What’s so special about me? Besides, I haven’t really had much contact with this Evil God before."

"I don’t know. We have too little information right now."

"...Fair."

Looking at that lump of flesh, Ariel sighed too.

"From how things look now, it seems more and more necessary for me to make this trip."

...

...

"You two—are you alright?"

Finally, after everything settled down, Ariel had the time to check on Roya and little bro Termir.

She also had her teacher use soul force to examine them, in case the Love God had tampered with them without them noticing.

Fortunately, maybe because the Love God left in too much of a hurry this time, the Pollution hadn’t spread to the two of them.

"We’re fine. But Miss Ariel, you... you’re alright too, right?"

Roya still felt nauseated. That scene just now had been too shocking. She might be having nightmares for several days.

"That thing just now was—"

"I’m fine too."

Ariel shook her head.

"Don’t worry about that thing. Forget it, go back and get some good rest."

"We want to rest too, but for now we probably..."

Roya gave a bitter smile, then froze as she reacted.

"Wait—go back? Go back where is...?"

"That’s right. You’re going back. Both of you. Including you—go back."

Ariel looked into Roya’s eyes.

"I originally wanted you to stay and be my helper, but this is more dangerous than I imagined. I can’t let a cute girl like you take risks with me."

"But I—"

"And also."

Ariel cut Roya off.

"There are too many reasons not to let you follow me. I don’t have time to explain them one by one. But you should know: if you follow me, that kid of yours will definitely follow too. And later on... I might have to face that Love God again."

"The Love God..."

Roya glanced at Termir, realizing something. Her expression turned enlightened.

"Do you understand?"

Ariel lowered her voice.

"For that kid, the Love God is the most dangerous Evil God. The kind he absolutely won’t have any power to resist. So take him away—before his love twists."

"..."

Roya bit her lip, thought for a while, and in the end made her decision.

"Then... Miss Ariel, will we have a chance to see each other again?"

"Of course."

Ariel flicked her bangs aside, revealing that unrestrained, wickedly charming smile she’d had when she first met Roya.

"I believe our next meeting will definitely be on a beautiful plain, where the air is fresh, the grass is green, the sky is blue... and the girls are even beautiful and moving."

"Miss Ariel..."

Roya’s eyes reddened. She took a deep breath.

Even though the hero’s flirt lines were a little cringe, in the end they were still enough to shake a girl’s heart.

Thankfully...

Roya secretly felt relieved.

This hero’s orientation seemed to be this way too.

Then she had a chance.

She was already starting to look forward to their next reunion.

"Then, Miss Ariel, take care of yourself too."

"Mm. Don’t worry. If we’re talking about being hard to kill, there’s still no one in this world who can beat me, right?"

Ariel waved her hand. After a hurried farewell, she didn’t linger.

In the end, she set off on the journey alone.

"Am I destined to be alone forever?"

As Ariel walked, she couldn’t help letting out a long sigh toward the sky, looking out over the boundless yellow sand.

No.

My fate is mine, not Heaven’s. I’ll definitely find my true loves and fulfill my grand ideal of building a crystal palace!

Ariel clenched her fist, firming up her goal again.

"Now, let’s go save those helpless beautiful young ladies."

...

...

Roya kept watching until Ariel disappeared at the end of her vision. When she turned back, she found Termir staring at her nervously, face tense.

"R-Roya, did I mess up again?"

"Mess up?"

Roya froze. "You didn’t do anything wrong."

"N-no... I know you’re still mad at me, but I had to do that."

Termir suddenly clenched his teeth, looking serious.

"Even if it was wrong, I absolutely can’t let you get tricked by some stranger like that!"

"I already told you—Miss Ariel isn’t a stranger. She’s my lifesaving benefactor. And her leaving has nothing to do with you."

Roya patted Termir’s shoulder out of habit. She was helpless about this stubbornness her childhood friend sometimes had.

But suddenly, her steps stopped.

She remembered what Ariel had said earlier.

Did she not know why this childhood friend of hers was stubborn sometimes?

Of course she knew.

It was just that both she and Termir had been deliberately avoiding it.

She didn’t want their partner relationship to change, and Termir... lacked the courage.

But this willful blindness and cowardice would eventually cause twisting to happen.

So...

"Termir."

Roya suddenly turned around and stared into Termir’s eyes.

Even if his gaze fled in panic and avoidance, even if she knew how much pain it would cause him, she still had to say it clearly, without any ambiguity.

"Actually, I’ve always thought of you as a little brother, so... I’m sorry. You’re a good person."

The best way to break twisted love...

...was to face that love head-on.