Seeing Hell’s reply, a bolt of lightning seemed to flash through Luna’s mind, instantly illuminating many previously murky corners.
She froze on the spot.
Her pale golden eyes widened slightly, and deep within her pupils, those chaotic thoughts gradually untangled and became clear, like a ball of yarn being straightened out.
So…
This guy’s target, from the very beginning, was her.
Targeting her classmate Hell, using Hestia to threaten her, talking about “needing cooperation for an experiment”—all of it was a means to an end.
All of it was to get her.
Luna’s fingers tightened slightly, gripping the edge of her smartphone.
She began to recall everything that had happened over the past few days.
From being ambushed by T in the ruins yesterday, to V suddenly appearing and saving her.
From the conversation in the abandoned warehouse, to the standoff at the clock tower. From the words “I will always be watching you,” to today’s “Hell is being targeted”…
Every link, every sentence, every seemingly coincidental “coincidence.”
Thinking about it now, it was all designed.
He saved her not out of “kindness,” but to make her owe him a favor.
He instructed her on combat techniques not to “teach” her, but to make her develop the illusion that “he seems different from other villains.”
He used Hestia to threaten her not to actually hurt Hestia, but to force her to yield, to make her retreat step by step, to compromise step by step.
He targeted Hell not because he really needed Hell as some “sacrifice,” but to—make her voluntarily offer “I’ll take his place.”
Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
So that’s how it is.
She had always thought this V was different from T, that although he was strange, he at least had some bottom line, that maybe he saved her and instructed her out of some incomprehensible but still “benevolent” reason.
But now she understood—it was all an act.
All groundwork.
All a routine to make her let her guard down and slowly fall into the trap.
In essence, he and T were birds of a feather, no different—they both wanted to get her.
It’s just that T used a direct and brutal method, while V used a more complex, hidden, and even… “rational” approach.
He disguised himself as a calm and restrained image, completely different from T’s “horny-brained” type, making her think “he doesn’t seem that bad,” thus slowly lowering her guard.
But an adjudicator is an adjudicator.
A villain is a villain.
No matter what mask he wears, what pretty words he says, what methods he uses—
The ultimate goal is the same.
This reply was like a basin of ice water, completely extinguishing the last shred of fantasy Luna had about Adjudicator V.
The girl stared at the screen, the complex emotions in her pale golden eyes gradually subsiding like a receding tide, leaving only an almost hollow calm.
At first, she had thought this guy might be different from the other adjudicators. After all, among humans, there were bad people, and there were also… people who weren’t so bad.
Luna lowered her head, looking at her hands.
Those hands that had released countless energy beams and defeated countless crystal husks were now trembling slightly.
But what could she do?
She was no match for that guy at all.
His bizarre ability—”Mutual Slaughter of All Things”—could make over twenty people kill each other in an instant.
She hadn’t even figured out the principle of his ability. If they fought head-on, she had no chance of winning.
What was more terrifying was that this guy seemed to know everything about her.
He knew she was a goddess angel, knew her true identity, knew she cared about Hestia, knew she wouldn’t stand by and watch her classmate get hurt, knew where her weaknesses were, knew how to precisely grasp her vital points.
He held her weaknesses in his hand, making her, despite her unwillingness, unable to find any practical way to resist.
Luna bit her lower lip so hard she almost drew blood.
Then, she took a deep breath.
Since she couldn’t escape, since she couldn’t resist…
Then she would test the danger with her own body.
Enter the game herself.
She wanted to see exactly what this Adjudicator V was up to.
She wanted to see what he wanted to get from her, going to such great lengths and setting up such a big trap.
Luna raised her head, a flash of determination crossing her pale golden eyes.
Then, the girl gritted her teeth, steeled her heart, and quickly typed a line of text on the screen.
“As long as you don’t hurt the people around me…”
“I can agree to be your experiment subject.”
Luna hesitated for a moment, then added another sentence, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between her teeth.
“But if you go back on your word…”
“Even if I’m no match for you, I’ll do my utmost.”
“In that case… we might as well perish together.”
The pink-haired girl put her phone aside, covered her face with both hands, and took a deep breath.
Sunlight spilled over her, but it couldn’t penetrate the gloom shrouding her heart at that moment.
*
On the other side.
Hell leaned against the trunk of that large tree, holding his phone, looking at the message that had just popped up on the screen.
Luna’s reply, gritted with teeth yet forced to yield, entered his vision word by word.
The corner of his mouth slowly curved upward.
Between the lines, this goddess angel was wary of him.
“No match,” “do my utmost,” “perish together”—these words all conveyed one message: she was afraid of him.
She thought she couldn’t beat him.
Hell chuckled softly.
This wariness probably stemmed from that scene in the ruins before.
His casual utterance of “Mutual Slaughter of All Things” had instantly caused over twenty people to kill each other. That unbelievable ability, like a miracle and a curse, had left too deep an impression on Luna.
She thought that if they fought head-on, she was no match for him.
But actually…
Hell put away his phone and looked up at the sky above.
Actually, the truth was—his “Mutual Slaughter of All Things” had no effect whatsoever on these goddess angels who were the “heroines” of the story.
The original work had made it perfectly clear: V activated his ability, trying to make Luna and her companions kill each other, but they just shouted something about “friendship and bonds” and rushed over to beat him up. His ability had zero effect.
So, if Luna really fought him now, he would be the one to lose, not this goddess angel.
But this girl didn’t know that.
She thought he was strong.
She thought she couldn’t beat him.
This “belief” was now his greatest weapon.
Hell narrowed his eyes slightly, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepening.
Although this secret would be discovered sooner or later—perhaps in a future confrontation, perhaps in some inadvertent moment.
But at least for now—
For now, this deterrent was enough to make Luna obediently comply.
Hell leaned against the tree trunk, his fingers lightly tapping on the screen, carefully considering his wording.
A few seconds later, he sent his reply.
“A wise choice.”
“Being my experiment subject isn’t a bad thing. You don’t need to be too nervous.”
Finally, Hell typed a sentence that seemed comforting but carried a certain deeper meaning.
“I’ll make you stronger.”
Hell looked at the message on the screen, the corner of his mouth slightly upturned. His words about “stronger” weren’t entirely a lie.
If Luna really followed his guidance, improved her combat style, enhanced her defensive awareness, and learned more tactical skills—she would indeed become stronger.
Just…
This process of “becoming stronger” would be carried out under his control.
On the other side.
Luna looked at the message that had just popped up on her screen, and her expression instantly turned grim.
“Make you stronger”?
An adjudicator of the Eternal Night Gospel, making her stronger?
Luna’s brows furrowed tightly, her pale golden eyes filled with confusion and vigilance.
Her power came from the goddess; she was an angel chosen by the goddess, a sacred and pure magical force.
How could a villain, a guy who dealt with crystal husks, make her stronger?
Could it be…
A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Luna’s mind.
Human body modification?
She remembered those scenes from horror movies—kidnapped people being forcibly taken to secret laboratories, fitted with various mechanical parts, turned into half-human, half-machine monsters, losing their self-awareness, becoming tools of the experimenter.
Those “mechanical freaks” from the movies, their hideous faces, cold mechanical limbs, and those hollow eyes…
The pink-haired girl couldn’t help but shiver.
She definitely didn’t want to become that kind of inhuman, ghostly appearance.
Thinking of this, Luna almost instinctively—wrapped her arms tightly around her chest, curling her whole body up as if that could protect her from that terrifying “modification.”
“No—!”
The girl blurted out, her voice clearly filled with panic and resistance.
That shout was particularly abrupt in the quiet rest area.
The surrounding students who were resting or passing by all turned their heads at once, their gazes focused entirely on Luna.
“Luna? What’s wrong?”
“What happened?”
“Are you okay, Luna?”
Several nearby classmates immediately gathered around, their faces filled with concern and confusion.
Only then did Luna realize she had lost her composure.
She quickly lowered her arms, forced a strained smile onto her face, and waved her hand.
“N-no, it’s nothing! I just… just suddenly remembered something scary and got startled…”
Her explanation was vague, but seeing that she seemed genuinely fine, the classmates didn’t press further.
They just reminded her to “get some rest” and gradually dispersed.
At the same time—
Under that large tree not far away.
Hell was also startled by that sudden “No—!” and almost dropped his phone.
He looked up toward the direction of the rest area.
Luna was surrounded by a few classmates, a forced smile on her face as if she were explaining something.
Her arms were still in the position of protecting her chest, and she looked somewhat flustered, and somewhat… cute?
Hell blinked, a trace of confusion flashing across his face.
This girl… what’s she doing all of a sudden?
Was the message he just sent that terrifying?
“I’ll make you stronger”—that sentence shouldn’t scare her like this, right?
What a… strange girl.