Luna’s slender fingertips lightly tapped the holy icon of the Starlight Covenant.
The software interface shifted, and an internal group chat appeared before her pale gold eyes. At this moment, messages were scrolling rapidly. The focus of the discussion was the Crystal Husk Riot that had occurred in the Eden East District yesterday.
According to the chat logs, Luna had been the only one to receive the alarm and head out to suppress it at the time.
According to the usual operating procedures for Goddess Angels, a Crystal Husk Riot of that scale should ideally have two Goddess Angels deployed together to ensure safety and efficiency. This would also allow them to handle potential accidents, such as interference from the Eternal Night Gospel.
Fact had also proven that if another companion had been present, the chances of T’s scheme—using a feint to cover a sneak attack—succeeding would have been greatly reduced. Luna would not have been forced into such a desperate situation.
Someone in the group explained the reason. Yesterday, within the range of Eden Academy, the only two known Goddess Angel Adaptors besides Luna were unavailable. One was tied up with another secret investigation mission, while the other was delayed by personal matters. Although the latter had immediately stated they would arrive as quickly as possible after receiving the alert, they had also requested Luna to “wait a little while and act only after assembling.”
However, as Luna watched the Crystal Husk energy signals continuously spreading on the warning map, she thought that every second of delay meant a higher risk of civilian injury and property destruction. Her sense of responsibility and urgency overwhelmed her concerns about potential risks.
She believed that since she was the Annihilation Angel, she had enough firepower to handle it. Thus, she did not wait and rushed to the scene alone.
The group already knew the subsequent results. The Crystal Husks were successfully suppressed, and the energy reactions subsided. However, Luna Florea, the main force of the suppression, had been missing for several hours. She only reappeared on the software toward evening.
Therefore, several Goddess Angel seniors and companions who were close to Luna were still currently asking about her specific situation and well-being, their words filled with worry.
Being missing for several hours was naturally normal—Luna knew this well in her heart. After being successfully ambushed by T and then saved by V, she had been unconscious for several hours. It was already evening when she woke up in the abandoned warehouse. Her fingertips hovered over the screen as she looked at her companions’ concerned inquiries. A hint of hesitation flashed in her pale gold eyes.
The young girl thought of the person wearing the “V” mask yesterday, whose methods were eerie yet seemed to have… saved her.
Arbiter V.
Should she mention the encounter with V? It was undoubtedly important intelligence regarding possible infighting within the Eternal Night Gospel and a mysterious Arbiter of unknown strength. But after hesitating repeatedly, Luna pursed her lips. Her fingers tapped on the virtual keyboard, choosing to hide the part regarding V.
“Sorry for making everyone worry! My Mana consumption was a bit high yesterday. After clearing the Crystal Husks, I felt a bit exhausted, so I found a safe place to rest and recover. I didn’t notice the time, but I’m fine now! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧”
She tried to make her tone sound light and lively, even adding an emoticon at the end to dispel her companions’ doubts.
Soon, someone in the group replied, their tone reminding her sternly:
“Artemis, next time you must wait for your companions! Acting alone is too dangerous. When a Goddess Angel’s Mana is exhausted or suppressed, she is no different from an ordinary girl—she is very fragile.”
Another senior also replied afterward:
“Don’t take it lightly. Ten years ago, a senior was ambushed and captured by the Eternal Night Gospel while acting alone… Although she was eventually rescued, it wasn’t long before she… she committed suicide because she couldn’t bear the humiliation. We must never repeat that mistake.”
Seeing this text, especially the mention of that senior’s tragic fate, Luna’s fingers trembled slightly, and her face turned pale for a moment. She felt as if she could sense the heavy grief and warning through the words. Taking a deep breath, her expression became serious.
“Understood! I will definitely be careful in the future! Thank you for the reminder, senior! (｀・ω・´)”
At the same time, a wave of intense lingering fear surged in her heart, and a chill even ran down her spine.
If V had not interrupted midway yesterday, and if she had truly fallen into the hands of that lecherous T… what would have awaited her was likely a humiliation worse than death where she would lose all dignity. In the end, she might have met a self-destructive end just like that senior.
Truly… a fate where one could neither live nor die.
Thinking of this, Luna’s heart—already a mixture of doubt, vigilance, and an indescribable curiosity toward the “V” who had appeared and solved the crisis in such a strange way—deepened even further.
‘Why… why did he save me?’
He was clearly an Arbiter of the Eternal Night Gospel, and she was a Goddess Angel.
‘He really is… a strange person.’
Moreover, judging from yesterday’s contact, although this “V” wore the mask of a villain and spoke with coldness and oddity, it seemed like… he wasn’t some kind of irredeemable bad person? At the very least, he hadn’t harmed her, had given her food, and had pointed out her flaws in combat…
‘Wait! Luna!’
‘What are you thinking?!’
The girl’s pale gold eyes suddenly widened, startled by the thoughts flashing through her mind.
The other party was an Arbiter of the Eternal Night Gospel, a genuine villain. He was an enemy that they, the Goddess Angels, had to resist and eliminate!
‘How could a villain be a good person? That’s ridiculous! He must have been putting on a good act, or he has some ulterior motive! Don’t be fooled by his actions, no matter the motive! Wake up!’
Luna instinctively raised her hands and used her cool palms to lightly pat her slightly flushed cheeks. It was as if she wanted to use this physical method to scatter the “dangerous” thoughts in her head and calm herself down. She pressed her lips together, repeatedly warning herself in her heart.
As a Goddess Angel, her stance had to be firm. She couldn’t let her perception of a villain be shaken just because of an accidental “help.”
Across the aisle, although Hell still maintained the posture of looking out the window, he caught all of Luna’s subtle movements and facial expressions out of the corner of his eye.
From the girl’s lingering fear and relief upon seeing the messages, to her confusion and curiosity while thinking, and finally to her sudden self-patting and shifting expressions after snapping out of it.
On his pale and expressionless face, the corners of his mouth slowly curled into a tiny, playful arc.
Although Hell did not know the specific content of what Luna was reading, he could guess it eight or nine times out of ten from the changes in the girl’s expression.
It seemed… the groundwork he had carefully laid yesterday, the risk he took to kill T, and the words that seemed casual but were actually filled with guidance… although they hadn’t immediately made this Annihilation Angel trust or rely on him, they had more or less left some traces in her heart.
The seeds of doubt had been planted, and the sprouts of curiosity were germinating.
These traces would remain hidden deep in her heart, slowly settling and accumulating, until they finally exploded due to a direct trigger.
This was exactly the beginning he wanted.