“Pop.”
There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor was there any gruesome scene of flying flesh and blood.
Under the man's gaze, the mountain-sized monster collapsed inward like a punctured soap bubble. The rotting meat, the tentacles, and even the stench it emitted vanished in an instant, leaving behind only a small pile of grayish-black powder.
The mountain that had weighed down on New Moon Village for a century had simply evaporated into thin air.
Her mouth hung open, her mind a complete blank.
However, in the next second...
“No—!”
The man who had just displayed world-destroying power clutched his head and wailed.
“What the hell! This thing was the Lord of the Moon? And it was in the evil alignment, the irredeemable kind? My Heinousness passive just dropped by ten thousand points! I’m losing so much! This is a total loss!”
“I knew it. Something this Sanity-draining couldn't possibly be a good thing! I was tricked by you.”
“Don't you dare leave. Sucking a civilian's blood drops my Karma points by one. You'd better prepare to be sucked ten thousand times!”
Meanwhile, Miaoyue was still processing the man's words.
Because she sensed no malice from him, she believed what he said.
This... was the Lord of the Moon?
This was... the god everyone spoke of?
This was the place she was supposed to go?
She stared blankly at this god-like man who was currently having a breakdown and rolling around on the altar. Her original fear and the despair of her worldview collapsing were swept away by this absurd sight.
“Ex... excuse me...” she spoke up softly.
“No rush, take your time,” the man said, pulling a set of blood-drawing equipment out of thin air while introducing himself. “My name is Hiso. We have a lot of time to spend together today.”
“Uh... ah.” Miaoyue could only nod dumbly.
“Why are you so slow on the uptake? I’m going to poke you now. I’m really doing it, okay?” Hiso waved the equipment, and seeing Miaoyue’s lack of reaction, he tried to intimidate her. “This is going to hurt a lot!”
“Hurt... will it hurt a lot? I’m afraid of pain. Can you not poke me?” Miaoyue finally reacted, shrinking her neck as she looked at the syringe in Hiso’s hand.
“Ha! If I don't draw your blood, I’ll tie you to a waterwheel and dunk you in the river. Just as you’re about to die, the wheel will pull you up, then dunk you back in again. I’ll make you into an Infinite Merit Release Machine. Either way, you’re helping me earn back those ten thousand Karma points.”
Hiso spoke fiercely, glaring at Miaoyue.
Miaoyue stared back at him.
After a moment, Hiso couldn't help but ask, “Why did your Favorability just go up?”
Miaoyue tilted her head, not understanding what Favorability meant.
The people in the village always kept her away from the stream to protect her.
But the person in front of her said he wanted to take her to play in the water...
“Forget it.”
Hiso pressed the blood-drawing device against her arm.
Whether it truly didn't hurt or if her body was simply too numb from the cold to feel anything, Miaoyue couldn't remember.
She only remembered that her Teacher had handed her a bottle of sauce-flavored cold resistance potion and listened patiently to her story.
Stammering, she recounted the village's traditions, the twelve years of care, the legend of the celestial maiden, and the sacrifice of that night from start to finish.
“So, they fed you all that good food just to fatten you up like a pig for a monster.”
That was her Teacher's conclusion.
At the time, he had been rubbing his hands together, asking, “Do you want revenge on that village? Give me a quest.”
“Just say the word, and in one second, there won't even be ashes left of that village.”
Hearing that cruel proposal, she hadn't even thought about it before shaking her head vigorously.
“Everyone... everyone was very kind to me,” she whispered.
Teacher raised an eyebrow. “Then do you want to go back?”
She looked at the spot where the magical beast had exploded and shook her head again.
“If the ritual failed... and I go back, everyone will be afraid. They won't be able to sleep.”
“What, do you actually want to be eaten by that monster?” he asked.
She thought about it, first shaking her head, then nodding, then shaking it again.
“I... I don't know.”
“I’ll tell you a secret: you’re actually a dummy,” Teacher said.
“I am not!” she had replied indignantly back then.
“Tch.” Teacher just clicked his tongue.
They continued to chat about many things after that, though she could no longer remember the details.
It wasn't until several buckets of her blood had been drawn—she herself was amazed that more blood could be taken than three times her body weight—that Teacher finally removed the device.
“Are you a McDonald's? Your Favorability keeps rising while I’m drawing blood,” Teacher asked. “Don't go giving me Favorability quests out of nowhere.”
She didn't understand a word of it and just stared at him blankly.
“Fine, just come with me.”
“B-but... the ritual isn't finished.”
“Actually, I am the Lord of the Moon.”
“Oh, then let's go!”
“Eh? You believe that just like that?”
“The Lord of the Moon is very kind to me, so of course I believe him.”
“Whatever, whatever.” Hiso shook his head. “That name makes me feel like I’m being stuffed with maggots. Just call me... uh, I didn't even have time to adjust my bone age this time. Just call me Teacher.”
“Teacher?”
“That's right. I’m determined to turn you from a dummy into a genius.”
“I’m not a dummy.”
“Don't worry, I have plenty of potions. Watch me pump your Intelligence up.”
That was what Teacher said back then. Afterward, he looked at the pile of ash left by the “Lord of the Moon.”
He lightly raised a finger.
“【Holy Incantation: Sweet Rain】”
A torrential rain fell.
She heard that after that, the village was filled with an immense amount of Moon Soil.
The Empire provided a sum of money for the residents of Baoyue Village to move out of that area.
Most of the villagers moved away, while the village head and a few others stayed behind.
Later, she never heard news of the village again.
She didn't ask further.
Because Teacher said he had handled it.
She believed Teacher.
...
As if drawing warmth from these distant memories, Miaoyue, who had been tightly hugging herself, slowly relaxed.
The light of the domain began to fade.
The duration of the 【Invincibility Art】 was also coming to an end.
As her consciousness returned, the sound of the chaotic wind in her ears grew clearer.
Miaoyue slowly opened her eyes.
She was prepared to face that puppet old woman and the Solar Cult remnant nun once more.
However, when she opened her eyes, the energy turbulence had already subsided.
The old woman and the remnant were nowhere to be found.
The white-haired vampire who had lied to her earlier was floating in front of her, observing her curiously.
Seeing her open her eyes, the vampire quickly waved her hands. “Ah, about that... lying to you earlier was just a makeshift measure. I really am your Saintess.”
Miaoyue looked at Sophie quietly.
The battle had been too intense for her to sense it before.
But now, Miaoyue could feel it.
“Yes, I believe you.”
She nodded.
“Eh, you believe me just like that?” Sophie froze, swallowing the explanation she had prepared.
“You must have your reasons and difficulties,” Miaoyue said with a nod. “Because I can feel your kindness.”
Sophie: “...”
Five hundred years have passed, why hasn't this child developed any skepticism?
“More importantly, my Saintess, what was with that aura of a powerful vampire... that Teacher you summoned during the ritual?”
“I don't know,” Sophie replied.
“Oh... I see.” The excitement on Miaoyue’s face visibly slumped.
“Aren't you going to ask anything else?” Sophie couldn't help but ask. “I might be hiding something from you.”
“If my Saintess is unwilling to tell me, it means you have your reasons,” Miaoyue said seriously.
“If Teacher has returned but doesn't come to see me, it means he has his reasons.”
“I will keep waiting, until the day he is willing to return...”
“Teacher wouldn't lie to me. I believe in him.”
Miaoyue clutched her chest, a smile coming from the bottom of her heart appearing on her face.
Sophie: “...”
What was this feeling of guilt rising up?
You should at least blacken a little! Like, if Teacher shows up, you should imprison him forever or eat him so you’ll never be apart!
Rate on N.U.
