Chapter 584: Broken Things

“So, Violet, did you find anything? Or still nothing?” I ask Violet after having scoured a massive area of the abyss, just trying to find a special-grade weapon.

We’re in a giant crater, a natural formation that’s created a gray forest. The forest has some weak monsters crawling around, and they completely ignore me.

That’s relatively common. When a monster is too weak in the abyss, it doesn’t try to flee from a big predator. Running is impossible for them, and running would only draw attention. So they just continue what they were doing, despite the fear, hoping to be ignored.

“I didn’t find anything, Azraelith! But, wow, you’re really fast! Faster than Pandora is without using that weird movement skill of hers!” Violet says with a certain arrogance as I look around. Unfortunately, it was a waste of time.

’Nothing… in this entire huge area, there wasn’t even a sign of a special-grade weapon for me…’ From what I know, those are weapons that choose their wielder. Maybe it’s not my destiny to find one.

“Violet, can’t you alter destiny so I find this weapon? It’d be great if you could do that.” If Violet’s powers involve destiny, maybe she could make me find this weapon by using them.

“Can’t do it! First of all, I can’t manipulate destiny that far ahead! Not to mention the monstrous amount of Mana it would take to do that! I don’t have enough Mana to even attempt it. Not even Pandora would have enough Mana to alter destiny that far ahead!”

“Back when Pandora was around level 100,000, I could alter a few precise seconds in the future, and a few less precise minutes! And currently, I can alter a whole day, or a few days less precisely!”

“Besides, time in the abyss is messed up and completely hinders my power! Obviously, the magnificent me could get results if I had magic!! I have such capabilities because I’m an incredible weapon! But without magic, there’s not much I can do.”

“…Okay, then. I think it’s time to head back. I’m just going to find some interesting monster to kill and give to Pandora.” I use her powers to try and find something useful, then.

“Why?” Violet asks with that confused tone. But it’s a question that doesn’t explain her doubt.

“Why what, Violet?”

“Why are you going to hunt food for Pandora? She doesn’t like leftovers. She prefers to kill and eat things directly. She likes to hunt the things she eats, preferably. So it seems kind of pathetic to want to give dead things to Pandora!!”

“It’s simple. I need to court her… even if she is an annoying brat… I actually kind of like her. And we still have to have a child. I want to be the one who gets Pandora pregnant. So courting her seems like the best way. And all I can give are gifts of my own personal choosing.” It’s a matter of pride.

I’ve already lost too many things to Pandora. So I want to at least be the one on top in this. And we’re monsters. The only way I know how to court someone is by hunting things for them.

“And I know Pandora prefers to hunt her own food, but she’s a monster, just like me! If she refuses, I’ll force her to eat it even if I have to tie her down!” I say, confident in this method! Pandora made it clear she’ll only want me if I become mentally stronger.

And I understood. I’m getting better. Trying to distance myself a bit from my mother and be less submissive to what she wants. I still respect my mother. I’ll still do everything she asks. But I won’t beg for scraps of attention anymore. Pandora seems like a good substitute for my attention.

Ever since I started living with Pandora, I’ve realized it’s fun to live with her. She’s fun in training, bold, arrogant in a way that makes me want to hit her. She really manages to occupy a space in my mind.

And I have to say, she’s managing to steal my heart. And I also think I’m managing to win hers.

“Tsk. You and Pandora are both psychopaths!! Unfh! Only you two would be interested in this kind of gift.” She’s frustrated as I just give her a smile.

“Let’s head back. I want to be quick about the hunt. After all, I doubt I’ll find anything really interesting, since most of the Apex Predators fled.” A bunch of cowardly bitches. When Pandora wasn’t here, they lived arrogantly all over the place.

The moment Pandora got strong and killed a few Apex Predators, they all decided to flee instead of staying and submitting.

Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’m sure I can find something with a reasonably decent taste to give to Pandora.

…

…

…

“Baeh’Wa, you useless whore, what did you say? I can’t believe I actually have to deal with this on the very day I returned.” Echidna-sama speaks to me furiously. I curl up on the bed, crying with fear, while watching a strange woman beside the goddess.

“G-Goddess E-Echidna-sama, I’m s-sorry, I didn’t think it would be a problem… P-Pandora asked about the a-abyss. I-I thought showing her that book would help, a-after all, you said the book e-explained about the abyss.” I say fearfully. I’ve never seen her this angry.

“You incompetent whore. I gave you that book to hide, not for you to let Pandora see it! And worse, besides letting Pandora unlock it completely, you let her enter inside your body!”

“P-Please d-don’t kill me! I-I didn’t think it… was a p-problem.” I beg for my life, terrified of being killed for failing her. I’m still lying on the bed in the position Pandora had asked for.

“Sister, what did she do that’s so wrong?” The strange girl with white hair asks the abyss goddess. Her casual tone makes me question who this weak being is, who looks like they’d lose to anything.

“Evangeline, I sealed something inside her. It was safer at the time I did the sealing. I made a point of dividing it into 36 seals. Of those 36, 35 of them were in a book that released the real seal.”

“And the real seal was inside her. And this stupid whore, besides handing the book over to Pandora, who must have understood its secret, also let Pandora go inside her to go after the last part.”

“And what’s the problem? What’s in there?” Evangeline asks curiously. Echidna-sama glares at me with hatred, and her look almost makes my body dissolve into liquid from the discomfort.

“I sealed the souls of all the saints I’ve ever had inside there. Saints and Demon Kings have their souls connected to their titles, and after their deaths, their souls come to me.”

“And I keep them stored. But I need to seal them so they don’t end up fading away. And since Baeh’Wa is one of the abyss monsters with the highest survival capacity, and she never leaves my castle, I judged that hiding them inside her would be safe.”

“Furthermore, inside each soul, I stored fragments of memories and knowledge. So each soul is like a book that holds some information I deemed relevant for future use.”

“But Pandora, bored, must have seen my seals as a fun game and started unlocking them. And the stupid Baeh’Wa, who had already been warned not to let anyone unlock them, let Pandora do it.”

“It’s for this kind of reason that I hid them. Pandora acts like a bored child. I knew she’d try to open anything she found even remotely interesting.”

“…” I curled up even more in the bed. Echidna-sama told me to obey any order from Pandora. So I did. It’s kind of unfair. I didn’t know Pandora wasn’t supposed to touch the book. I didn’t even know what the book was. I just knew it was sealed.

“And now, sister? You said you’d take me to explore the place you live. But is this a problem? Besides, I’m excited to see Pandora again! I have a few questions for her.” Evangeline hops onto the bed next to me, giving me a little smile. She pokes my belly as if I’m something curious.

“Nothing. We’ll continue with the schedule. I’ll take you through the castle to see everything. Let Pandora break the seal. I’ll seal it up again later. I just hope Pandora doesn’t try to eat them. It would be terrible to lose the things I’ve stored.”

“However, even though this irritates me, I don’t care about the souls at all. So it’s more a matter of duty. They are souls that worked for me, serving the demons and protecting the demon race. So, the least I can do is keep them safe.”

“But if Pandora wants to amuse herself with these souls, then it’s fine. After all, my daughter is worth more than all these thousands of souls and knowledge…” Echidna-sama takes Evangeline’s hand and pulls her towards the door.

“Evangeline, I’m sorry to show you such a thing. It’s simply ridiculous that the first experience you had in the abyss was a personal problem… And Baeh’Wa, we’ll talk more about this later. Even if I don’t care about the souls, you didn’t properly fulfill your part.”

“Now, be quiet and wait for Pandora to return.” The two leave while I feel hurt. I didn’t think it would be so problematic. Pandora seemed thoughtful, and I just thought I should help.

“…” But I stay quiet. Because, even though I feel wronged, Echidna-sama is the one who kept me alive, helped me a lot, and let me live here. So I should stay quiet and wait.

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