Destroy this factory?
The moment Luna heard Hell’s request, her entire body froze.
She crouched behind that low wall, her body maintaining a vigilant posture, but her mind seemed to have crashed, completely blank.
Her pale golden eyes widened slightly, deep within her pupils, countless questions erupted like fireworks, chaotically surging forth.
She was finding it harder and harder to understand the actions of the guy in front of her.
First, he used threats, coercion, and temptation to force her to agree to be his “experimental subject.”
Then, tonight’s invitation made her wait a full twenty minutes in the abandoned warehouse while he drank soup.
Now, he wanted her to destroy this factory?
A factory that was supposedly a “Crystal Husk Manufacturing Factory”?
If this was really a place that produced Crystal Husks, didn’t that mean it was the property of the Eternal Night Gospel? One of the core facilities of that villainous organization?
Then why would he, an Adjudicator, do such a thing? Why would he bring her here to destroy his own organization’s factory?
Luna’s brain was working at high speed, trying to sort out the logic behind this.
Could it be… another internal conflict like with T? Did he want to use her hand to eliminate a rival’s forces?
Or was this simply a trap? Were there actually large numbers of combatants lying in ambush inside the factory, waiting for her to make a move so they could swarm her?
Or perhaps this was just a test, to see how much she trusted him?
Luna’s brow furrowed tightly, her pale golden eyes fixed intently on the man in the white mask before her, trying to detect any hint of a flaw on that expressionless mask.
Hell sensed her hesitation. He remained crouched there, his black figure blending with the surrounding shadows. He tilted his head slightly, the red “V” on his mask slowly flowing in the night, as if staring at her.
“What, unwilling?”
His voice was very soft, so soft it was almost drowned out by the roar of the factory machinery in the distance, yet it clearly reached Luna’s ears.
“This is the source of all evil.”
He paused here, his tone carrying a hint of faint mockery, or perhaps a deliberately used provocation.
“As a Goddess Angel, shouldn’t you destroy it?”
This sentence pierced Luna’s sense of responsibility as a Goddess Angel like a needle.
The girl bit her lower lip.
Yes, if this was truly a Crystal Husk manufacturing factory, then she should indeed destroy it. That was her duty, the very meaning of her existence as a Goddess Angel.
But…
Luna took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She raised her head, looking directly into Hell’s eyes—though those eyes were hidden behind the mask, she knew he was watching her.
“If it’s true, of course I would do that.”
The girl’s voice was very low, then, she changed the subject, her gaze becoming sharper.
“But… how can I believe what you say?”
Luna stared at that expressionless white mask, asking word by word.
“You say this is a Crystal Husk manufacturing factory. What proof do you have?”
“You, an Adjudicator of the Eternal Night Gospel, why would you bring me to destroy your own organization’s facility?”
“Is this a trap? Are your accomplices lying in ambush inside, waiting to swarm me the moment I act?”
She didn’t give Hell a chance to catch his breath, firing off a series of questions like a machine gun. Each question was a genuine doubt in her heart.
Hell listened quietly, not interrupting. Only after she finished did he let out a soft laugh.
“You’re more cautious than I imagined.”
He didn’t offer further explanation, just slightly tilted his head, the red “V” on his mask flickering once in the night.
“Since you don’t believe it, then get closer and see for yourself.”
With that, without waiting for Luna’s response, his figure flashed as he nimbly leaped onto a low building on the factory’s outer perimeter.
Luna bit her lip, spread her light wings, and followed him.
The two moved swiftly through the shadows above the factory.
Hell clearly had a thorough understanding of the terrain and guard distribution here—he always accurately avoided the patrols’ line of sight, choosing the gaps during guard changes, leading Luna upward until they finally reached the vicinity of the skylight directly above the factory’s main workshop.
It was a huge glass skylight. From this high vantage point, the entire interior of the workshop was laid out before them.
Hell crouched in the shadows at the edge of the skylight, reached out, and gently pressed on the metal frame of the skylight.
Click—an extremely faint sound.
A small piece of glass was silently removed by him, revealing a gap large enough for one person to peer through.
He shifted to the side, making room, and gave a slight tilt of his chin toward Luna.
“See for yourself.”
Luna took a deep breath, lowered her body, cautiously approached the gap, and cast her gaze downward.
The next second, her face instantly turned deathly pale, her pale golden eyes suddenly widened, deep within her pupils, disbelief and profound fear surged like a tide.
The scene inside the workshop was something she had never imagined or seen before.
On the assembly lines, cold mechanical arms were operating. What those mechanical arms were gripping wasn’t parts, but—
Crystal Husks.
To be precise, Crystal Husks being “assembled.”
Semi-finished Crystal Husk skeletons were fixed on conveyor belts, mechanical arms inlaid pieces of ominous dark-glowing crystals onto their bodies.
Some of those crystals looked like they had been stripped from something, while others seemed to be “cast” on-site from some kind of viscous liquid.
What made Luna’s heart race even more was the “raw materials” piled in the corners of the workshop.
Remains of animals and plants.
There were skeletons of large animals, twisted and deformed plant roots, and even… some things Luna didn’t want to look at closely or think about.
Those remains were soaked in huge transparent containers, dark liquid churning inside, bubbles occasionally rising to the surface.
She didn’t know how all this operated, nor did she know how Crystal Husks could possibly be “produced.”
But this fact—that Crystal Husks were artificially manufactured, that the Eternal Night Gospel was manipulating things behind the scenes—struck her heart like a heavy hammer, almost making it hard to breathe.
Luna had always thought Crystal Husks were a natural disaster pouring out from Space Rifts.
She had always thought she was fighting a natural calamity, protecting humanity from otherworldly threats.
But now…
All of this was man-made?
Those Crystal Husks she had personally destroyed, those monsters that had killed countless innocents, those enemies she had fought to exhaustion countless times—
They were all… manufactured by people?
Luna’s fingers tightly gripped the edge of the skylight, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Her body trembled slightly, whether from anger or fear.
Hell’s voice came from beside her, still in that flat tone.
“Now, do you believe it?”
Luna took a deep breath, forcing herself to look away from the horrifying scene. She turned, looking at Hell crouching beside her.
That white mask, that flowing red “V,” looked particularly glaring in the night.
Despite the anger filling her heart—anger at the manufactured Crystal Husks, anger at the Eternal Night Gospel, anger at the mastermind behind all this—Luna still maintained the most basic calm.
Because the guy in front of her was an Adjudicator of the Eternal Night Gospel.
For him to act like this, something unusual was definitely afoot. He was likely using her.
Luna stared at that featureless mask, anger and suspicion intertwined in her pale golden eyes.
She tried to detect something from that expressionless surface—even a hint of a flaw, even a flicker of emotion.
But she could see nothing.
That mask was like a cold wall, blocking all her probing.
“Why?”
Why did this guy bring her here? Why show her this? Why have her destroy his own organization’s factory?
These questions swirled in the girl’s mind, each one like an unsolvable puzzle.
“You don’t need to know.”
Hell remained quietly crouched there, his black coat swaying slightly in the night wind. He showed no emotional fluctuation at her questioning, only answering in that flat tone.
“You only need to know what you should know.”
He slightly turned his body, making way toward the skylight gap, his gaze falling on the operating production line.
“The choice before you now is simple.”
At this moment, Hell’s voice carried an almost indifferent objectivity.
“Destroy, or preserve. The choice is yours.”
Luna’s breath hitched. She lowered her head, looking through the gap once more at the scene in the workshop.
The conveyor belts were moving, the mechanical arms were shifting, semi-finished Crystal Husk skeletons were being “assembled” piece by piece.
Those dark crystals, those animal and plant remains soaking in containers, those “raw materials” about to be turned into killing machines…
If she didn’t destroy this place, these production lines would keep running.
New Crystal Husks would keep being manufactured, the Crystal Remains Crisis would continue, innocents would keep dying.
Luna’s fingers tightly gripped the edge of the skylight. She didn’t know why Hell had brought her here, didn’t know his purpose, didn’t know if he was using her.
But…
Even without knowing these things, even knowing full well this guy in front of her might have ulterior motives, even though her heart was filled with suspicion and distrust toward him—
As a Goddess Angel, she absolutely could not remain indifferent to the scene before her.
“I can destroy this place.”
Luna took a deep breath, raised her head, and looked directly at Hell. Her voice was very low, then she changed the subject.
“But afterwards, you have to answer my questions.”
“You don’t seem to realize your situation yet.”
Hearing this, Hell let out a soft laugh. The laugh was light, carrying an undisguised… mockery?
“You don’t have the right to make demands of me.”
Luna’s brow furrowed tightly.
Hell continued, his tone carrying a matter-of-fact composure.
“I could simply order you to destroy this place. And you have no right to refuse.”
He paused, slightly tilting his head, the red “V” on his mask seeming to stare at her.
“Besides, this isn’t forcing you to do something bad—destroying a Crystal Husk factory, for you Goddess Angels, isn’t that just the natural order of things? You should be grateful for my mercy.”
The corner of Luna’s mouth twitched slightly.
Grateful?
Grateful he brought her to destroy his own organization’s factory?
Grateful he gave her a “choice”?
Or grateful he spoke to her in such a condescending manner?
The pink-haired girl let out a sharp mental click.
He made it sound good.
But… she had to admit, what Hell said was indeed the truth.
She had no right to refuse, no right to make demands, she could only… do as he said.
Luna bit her lower lip, anger and resentment burning like flames in her pale golden eyes, yet suppressed by feelings of helplessness and powerlessness.
Hell seemed to find her gritted-teeth yet helpless expression quite interesting. He remained silent for a few seconds, then spoke again, his tone carrying a hint of faint amusement.
“However…”
Luna raised her head, looking at him.
“If you perform well, as a reward… I might answer one of your questions.”
Hell said slowly.
“It depends on your performance, Annihilation Angel.”
With that, without waiting for Luna’s response, he raised his hand and gently patted her shoulder.
The gesture was light, almost just a touch, yet it made Luna stiffen all over.
Then, he leaped, his black figure merging into the night, instantly disappearing into the shadows below the factory.
Luna crouched at the edge of the skylight, watching the disappearing figure, and took a deep breath.
She turned, looking through the gap once more at the factory below.
In the workshop, the production lines were still operating.
The mechanical arms were still moving. New Crystal Husks were still being manufactured.
The pink-haired girl closed her eyes, taking a deep, deep breath. Then, she opened her eyes, stood up, standing at the edge of the skylight.
The night wind lifted her pink hair, letting it flutter wildly in the night sky. Above her head, that ring of pink halo slowly manifested, emitting a soft, sacred light.
At her sides, six Floating Turrets silently materialized, their barrels beginning to charge, pink light flickering in the night.
Luna raised her hand. Slender fingers gently waved through the night air.
The next moment—the six Floating Turrets fired simultaneously.
Blazing pink beams of light, like judgment rays, tore through the night sky, pouring down toward the Crystal Husk factory below.
BOOM—!!!
A violent explosion erupted, flames shot into the sky, illuminating the entire night.
Luna hovered in mid-air, looking down at the burning factory, the soaring flames reflected in her pale golden eyes.