Three days later, at the Marquis mansion.
Morning sunlight bathed the courtyard, dewdrops sparkling on the blades of grass.
Several servants were sweeping up fallen leaves.
Everything looked peaceful and harmonious.
But the atmosphere inside the reception hall was anything but calm.
“What? Abel left?!”
Prim shot to her feet, the teacup in her hand nearly slipping to the floor.
Elfi stood at the doorway, her expression blank. “Yes, Your Highness. The young master departed three days ago.”
“Three days ago?!” Prim’s voice rose sharply. “Then why are you only telling us now?!”
“Because the young master gave instructions.” Elfi’s tone was calm to the point of indifference. “He said to inform you only after he had gone far away.”
“He—!”
Prim trembled with fury, unable to form words.
Aiko sat in her chair, head bowed so her expression couldn’t be seen.
Her fingers clutched the hem of her skirt tightly, knuckles turning white.
Ingrid leaned against the window, gazing outside in silence.
Her wounds had not fully healed, and her face remained pale.
Yet her honey-gold eyes shimmered with complex emotions.
Aruma scratched her head. “Abel went by himself? What about making babies then?”
No one responded to her.
In the corner, Mephir huddled with her knees drawn to her chest, her eyes vacant.
He left… He actually left…
She felt as if a piece of her heart had been carved out, leaving an empty, throbbing pain.
The drug’s effects still lingered, growing stronger. Her mind was now filled entirely with that man.
She couldn’t eat or sleep, and she had lost a noticeable amount of weight.
“Who did he take with him?” Prim asked suddenly.
“Miss Sutis,” Elfi answered. “Only her.”
Prim fell silent for a moment before standing up abruptly.
“Where did he go?!”
“I don’t know.” Elfi shook her head. “The young master didn’t say.”
“So we’re just supposed to sit here and wait?!”
“Or what?” Elfi looked at her, a trace of mockery in her eyes.
“Does Your Highness intend to chase after him? Do you even know the direction?”
Prim was rendered speechless.
Aiko finally raised her head. Her azure eyes were filled with mist.
“Why… why did he leave without saying a single word…”
Elfi gazed at her with a complicated look.
She knew why the young master had left.
The quarrels between the women, their scheming, their tears… The young master had long since grown tired of it all.
Saving the world—he had always shouldered that burden as his responsibility alone.
Perhaps he simply didn’t want them to get hurt?
By leaving without a farewell, he probably didn’t want to face their reactions in person.
Does that include me as well?
Elfi lowered her gaze as a sour ache rose in her chest.
She desperately wanted to help the young master, but… her own strength was still too weak. She didn’t even have the qualifications to stand at his side.
The young master should have reached his destination by now, right?
***
At the same time, Abel was looking down through the transparent elevator walls at the planet below, its blue outline gradually coming into view.
Sutis pressed herself against the transparent glass, her emerald eyes brimming with excitement.
“Abel, Abel! Look, look! There are so many stars, and they’re so bright!”
“Yes, they really are bright. We’ve already passed through the atmosphere. We’ll reach our destination soon.”
Sutis didn’t understand what Abel was talking about.
Those technical terms were beyond her.
She remained lost in amazement.
“And the ground under our feet is round! It’s completely different from what Sephilia said!”
Abel nodded. This planet looked similar to Earth, which was perfectly reasonable since art was inspired by life.
Fortunately, as a player of the original game, he knew the access code and location of the orbital elevator leading to Sky City—or rather, the “Azure Space Station.”
Otherwise, piercing the atmosphere with the technological capabilities of this era would have been nearly impossible.
If they couldn’t destroy the Goddess of Vengeance’s main body, the divine disasters would never end!
Over the past few days, he had completely grown accustomed to Sutis’s merging ability.
He had also discovered that he possessed all the fully refined equipment he had spent heavily on in his previous life playing this game, along with relics whose substats had been perfectly optimized.
This was one of the sources of his confidence! He now felt armed to the teeth!
There is no way I will fail!
Sutis continued chattering excitedly. “Abel, are those blue parts the ocean? After the battle is over, can we go see it together?”
“Of course. Once it’s done, the two of us can go together.”
“Just the two of us?”
“Yes. Just you and me.”
These words made Sutis’s eyes sparkle. Starlight cascaded down, and it seemed as though her eyes had captured the entire galaxy within them.
They shone brilliantly.
Abel continued pointing at the landmasses below, now reduced to patches of color.
“The green areas are the lands where we live. The yellow ones are deserts, and the white ones are ice caps—very, very cold…”
Sutis listened with growing excitement.
“So this world is actually this vast? Let’s travel the whole world together, okay?”
“Okay, okay. I promise you.”
“You said it! No going back on your word!”
“Why would I go back on it?”
Sutis flashed a radiant smile. Looks like I was the winner in the end! All those aunties are losers!
Abel and I are bound together by the red thread of destiny!
With these thoughts, their journey together—just the two of them—finally reached its conclusion.
At the end of the space station, Sutis’s expression turned solemn.
She could see a massive figure coiled there.
An impossibly large single eye was fixed upon the two challengers.
Is this the Goddess of Vengeance Abel mentioned?
It was terrifying, but with Abel beside her, Sutis felt no fear.
Will we win?
We will definitely win!
After this battle, I’ll travel the world with Abel, just the two of us! I want to visit every corner of it!
Mm, everything will go smoothly!
The orbital elevator came to a halt. The smile vanished from Sutis’s face in an instant.
She stepped forward, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed Abel on the lips. In the next moment, their figures blurred as they merged once more.
This time, Abel chose the spear form!
After all, inside the space station where the Goddess of Vengeance resided, there would surely be many divine apostles.
The gauntlets provided sufficient single-target damage, but their area coverage was too limited for groups.
The space station door boomed open, carrying the ancient, long-sealed aura of centuries.
As expected, upon their arrival, countless burning golden eyes lit up throughout the station, all turning to stare at the two intruders.
Abel readied himself for combat. There were quite a few of them.
Judging from the appearances of these divine apostles, they were clearly researchers and security personnel!
They were most likely humans from the previous civilization who had been unable to escape during the gods’ rampage.
Who knew how many years had passed?
Their bodies had mutated and twisted, yet they persisted to this day.
Abel decided to grant them peace once again. However—
To his surprise, these divine apostles did not rush forward to attack.
Instead, they all retreated in an orderly fashion, clearing a wide path as if welcoming returning victorious soldiers.
Sutis exclaimed in surprise, “What’s happening, Abel? Why are they…”
“I don’t know. But stay on guard. This is strange.”
Indeed. Gods were supposed to be berserk and uncontrollable, and divine apostles acted purely on instinct.
Yet this neat, disciplined behavior clearly indicated control by someone.
Could it be that this Goddess of Vengeance was different from Surtr and the others? Did she possess self-awareness?!
Had she not been completely eroded by the collapse?
Was she… welcoming me?
Abel found it puzzling, but there was no turning back now!
Let me see for myself what this Goddess of Vengeance truly looks like!
After traversing the long corridor, a spacious platform came into view.
The moment Abel stepped onto it, the previously dark space suddenly illuminated.
Abel scanned his surroundings and finally spotted the familiar figure upon the throne!
It was a young girl, not particularly old. One side of her hair was black, while the other was pure white.
Even her pupils were heterochromatic, making her seem entirely out of place in this environment. Her features were exquisitely refined, far beyond what any human could possess.
Her presence here made her identity obvious.
“Goddess of Vengeance?”
“Yes.”
The girl smiled as she spoke, then walked forward. The distance between them closed in an instant. “You’ve come?”
Abel braced himself for battle and prepared to attack.
But the Goddess of Vengeance stepped closer, took his hand, and placed a golden dagger into it. The tip of the blade pointed directly at her own throat.
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