Huh?
This scene left Abel somewhat dazed.
What the Goddess of Vengeance said next stunned him even more.
“Kill me. That way, everything will finally end!” Tears welled up in her eyes as she smiled and spoke. “I’ve waited for this day for so very long. Finally… finally…”
This wasn’t right! According to the original game’s storyline, this behind-the-scenes mastermind was supposed to have an extremely vicious personality, someone who took pleasure in watching humanity’s desperate struggles!
Something was definitely off!
Sutis was also shocked. “My knight… isn’t something wrong here…”
Everything was completely different from what they had imagined! There was no fierce battle at all—only a girl begging to die!
“Why?” Abel asked, confused.
The Goddess of Vengeance’s eyes darkened. She snapped her fingers, and the curtains shrouding the space station opened.
Through the transparent dome ceiling, Abel saw a massive, twisted figure coiled around the entire station!
“Do you see it? That is my true body. It has already twisted and mutated into that form. My sanity is gradually disappearing… I killed every human inside this space station…”
“As an artificial god, this is absolutely unforgivable. I had long prepared for the first human who arrived here to carry out my execution!”
She wore a sorrowful smile.
“Once I disappear, everything will end. Please don’t hesitate. The one before you is nothing more than a monster in the form of a little girl!”
“I understand.”
Abel felt that something was wrong. It was all going far too smoothly!
But according to the original game, everything checked out.
That’s right—as long as he killed the goddess before him, it would all be over!
Without hesitation, Abel gripped the golden dagger and thrust it into the Goddess of Vengeance’s neck. A look of fulfilled relief spread across her face.
“Thank you.”
As she said this, her body began to crumble. “Now, escape quickly. The space station is collapsing. The elevator can still be used. If you hurry, you can make it back to the surface.”
Almost immediately after she finished speaking, the massive form of the Goddess of Vengeance coiled around the station began to disintegrate into particles of light.
The already half-destroyed space station, now deprived of her body’s support, began to shake violently.
Abel took one last look to confirm the Goddess of Vengeance—Ida’s—death, then took Sutis with him back onto the orbital elevator.
Sutis released her fusion with Abel.
With the Goddess of Vengeance’s death and the space station’s collapse, countless steel fragments plummeted toward the ground, turning into burning meteors. From afar, it looked like a meteor shower.
Sutis looked puzzled. “My knight, did we just save the world like that?”
“Doesn’t it feel way too simple?!”
“It’s completely different from what I imagined!”
Abel nodded. “It does feel off, but…”
The Goddess of Vengeance was indeed dead. Her main body had collapsed, and the space station had been completely destroyed.
By all accounts, this was an unexpectedly easy victory!
Yet Abel couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in his heart.
Was it because the victory had come too easily?
Or…
Forget it. If there were still problems, he would just keep fighting.
“Let’s head home first. There are still some loose ends to deal with.”
“Okay.”
***
Nighttime.
On the roof of the Marquis mansion, several figures occupied different corners, all gazing up at the sky.
No one spoke.
Suddenly, a meteor streaked across the night sky.
Then a second, and a third…
“A meteor shower?” Aruma stood up in surprise.
But they quickly realized something was wrong.
Those weren’t meteors.
They were… burning fragments falling from deep in the sky, trailing long tails of flame that illuminated the entire night.
“That’s…” Prim’s eyes widened.
Aiko covered her mouth as tears silently streamed down her face.
“I don’t know, but it must be connected to Abel leaving without saying goodbye,” Ingrid said softly.
“I see now. He didn’t need us at all. He alone was enough to become the savior of the world.”
Everyone fell silent.
As they watched the magnificent yet tragic “meteor shower,” complex emotions welled up in each of their hearts.
“Why…” Prim’s voice trembled. “Why did he have to go alone? What if something had happened to him…”
“Does he really not trust us at all?”
Aiko shook her head, her tears falling even harder.
“It’s not that he doesn’t trust us… He…”
She couldn’t continue.
Elfi stood at the edge of the eaves, gazing at the burning sky. She spoke quietly:
“It’s precisely because he cares about us that he chose to go alone.”
Everyone turned to look at her.
“The young master is that kind of person.” Elfi’s voice was soft as she began filling in the blanks herself.
“He would rather bear the danger himself than let the people he cares about get hurt.”
She turned to face the women and continued sharing her thoughts, even if they were completely off the mark:
“You all think he hates you? If he truly hated you, he wouldn’t have let you follow him in the first place. He just… doesn’t know how to face you.”
Prim was stunned.
Aiko’s tears flowed even more fiercely.
Ingrid stared at the sky, her expression complicated.
Mephir crouched in the corner, hugging her knees without saying a word.
She knew what that place was.
Sky City had collapsed… This guy actually knew the location of the Goddess of Vengeance?
The cult’s plans had been completely thrown into chaos by this man. Thinking of how furious those old geezers must be right now, Mephir felt a hint of amusement.
The meteor shower continued, illuminating everyone’s faces.
Seven days later, at the Marquis mansion.
An unremarkable carriage stopped at the entrance.
The curtain lifted, and Abel jumped down, cradling a sleeping Sutis in his arms.
The little angel was exhausted.
She had been fighting and fleeing for days with almost no sleep. Now that everything was over, she nestled sweetly in Abel’s embrace.
Abel looked at the familiar mansion before him and let out a soft sigh.
He was finally back.
He quietly entered through a side door without alerting anyone.
But as soon as he stepped into the inner courtyard, he saw someone waiting.
Julius leaned against a pillar, holding a glass of wine, and offered him a gentle smile.
“You’re back?”
“Big brother.” Abel walked over. “How did you know…”
“I’ve been waiting.” Julius cut him off. “I knew you would succeed.”
He looked at Abel with both relief and concern in his eyes.
“Are you injured?”
“No.” Abel shook his head. “Things went… smoother than I expected.”
“Smoother?”
Abel paused for a moment, then briefly recounted what had happened at Sky City.
The Goddess of Vengeance, Ida, had willingly sought death and handed him the god-slaying dagger herself.
The enormous twisted form coiled around the station was her corrupted true body.
The moment the dagger pierced her neck, her main body collapsed, and the space station began to disintegrate.
It had been too smooth.
So smooth that he still had a knot in his heart.
After listening, Julius remained silent for a while before speaking:
“Perhaps she was simply waiting for release.”