Chapter 290: Karma (IX)

“…Surprisingly, everyone is still here, huh?”

I exclaimed as soon as I appeared in the Royal Palace, everyone was still there somehow, even after I fought against all those gods.

But it seems that they have reached some agreement.

“Mhm,” Isabella nodded slighly, turning towards me with a small smile.

“We’ve decided to form an alliance against the Demon Kingdom,” she declared, her gaze sliding to the other kings and emperors.

They also nodded.

I shrugged my shoulders at their response. After all, I had nothing against the Demon King… but I may visit him.

“…And what’s up with that look?”

I frowned as I noticed that Isabella was blankly staring at me.

“That…” she began, her voice dipping softer, “we’ve decided to hold a banquet, with nobles from every race present. I’d like you to attend.”

She knew I hated those kinds of events. Yet the way her tone trailed off told me she expected my refusal.

But maybe… a chance to relax wasn’t so bad.

“Sure,” I nodded.

Isabella’s face lit up instantly, her hands clasping together.

“Then it shall be held on the night of the full moon!” she announced. The others agreed, nodding along, as though it were the most natural choice.

A full moon… huh?

For some reason, it gave me a bad feeling.

“Then, I’ll be taking my leave,” the Elven Emperor declared as he stood up from his seat and opened a spatial crack.

The others quickly followed suit as they probably were scared of my presence… except, of course, Christina.

“A… Aestrea, I-I…” she stammered, her eyes lowering as she fumbled for words.

Isabella noticed and, with a sly wink at me, rose from her seat.

“I’ll give you two some space. Don’t worry, no one will enter.” She slipped out, closing the heavy door behind her.

“…..”

The whole place instantly went silent as I stared at her.

Honestly… I don’t even know why she was being like this; she had clearly chosen to side with the… ’world’, during that time, albeit hesitantly.

“Aestrea…” she called out my name once again, taking a few steps to approach me, “I… I really want to say that I’m… sorry.”

She bowed her head, enough for me to see her cleavage…

Dammit.

I almost forgot that she had these massive lumps…

But well…

“I think I made myself clear on that day, no?” I replied almost straight away.

Christina’s body visibly quivered at my words.

“From the moment you chose not to stand with me,” I lowered my gaze, meeting the top of her bowed head, “…our ties were broken.”

Christina’s shoulders trembled as if she could barely hold herself together.

“Aestrea…!” Her voice cracked, and she raised her head just enough for me to see the tears clinging to her lashes.

“I know… I know what I did that day… I didn’t stand with you, I couldn’t… but do you have any idea what it cost me?!”

Her words tumbled out fast, frantic, completely desperate.

This made me frown as I had never seen Christina so desperate before.

“You knew… you knew how devoted I was to the Church! Since I was a child—since before I could even remember myself—I had nothing! Nothing, Aestrea!” Her hands balled into fists against her chest.

“I lived in poverty for years. Starving… freezing even! Wishing I could just disappear… until the Church found me, took me in, and gave me warmth. A home. A family. It was because of the Goddess that I survived at all. She gave me everything.”

Her voice broke into a sob, but she forced herself on.

“And yet, despite all of that—” she looked at me now, eyes wide and wet, “despite everything I owed to Her… I still fell in love with you.”

Her chest heaved, tears slipping down freely.

“I loved you, Aestrea. I still do. Even when it broke me, even when it felt like blasphemy, I—” she choked, biting her lip hard until it trembled. “And then… when She—my Goddess, the one who gave me life itself—when She sent someone to me, ordering me to kill you… saying you were a necessary evil…”

Her voice collapsed into a whisper, broken and strangled.

“It shattered me.”

I stood silent, watching her crumble before me.

My chest felt heavy in a way I didn’t want to admit. Slowly, my brows drew together, a faint frown pressing against my features.

“Christina, I—”

I was about to speak, but my words never had the chance to leave.

Christina suddenly hurled herself forward, pressing against me with desperate strength, her arms locking tight around my chest.

Her tears spilled freely, soaking into my clothes as she buried her face against me, trembling as though she feared I would vanish if she let go.

“Don’t… don’t push me away… not again… please…” Her voice was muffled, broken, yet so painfully clear.

For a brief second, I almost felt the warmth of her sincerity.

But just as quickly, my eyes narrowed.

My expression turned cold.

What if this was nothing more than another scheme of the Goddess of Light?

What if Christina had been sent here, not to cry, not to repent… but to finish what she could not before?

To sink her blade into me the moment my guard lowered?

I couldn’t take that risk.

『 Scan 』

Instantly, her status appeared right in front of me.

[Target: Christina Solara]

[Race: High Human]

[Rank: Semi-God]

[Talent: Godly]

[Affinities: Holy, ✦Light✦, ✯Divinity✯]

[Favorability: 101 (On the verge of Obsession)]

[Sexual Desire: 00]

[Thoughts: Hold me… hold me… don’t let go of me… I love you… I really, really, really love you… don’t let me go… please…]

[Status: After waking up, the first thought was not of her Goddess, nor of the war’s outcome. The first, overwhelming thought was whether Aestrea was alive… and victorious. In that moment, Christina realized that she cared more for him than for her Goddess, falling into a spiral of desperation and conflict.]

[Warning: She’s in the process of turning into a Fallen Saintess. Once that happens, she’ll turn into an extreme yandere who wouldn’t mind destroying the whole world for you, or even the entire Divine Realm if she has the power to do so. The only thing that will matter for her will be your wishes, desires, and nothing else.]

The results made me pause as my frown deepened.

So… it wasn’t an act.

But this… was far more dangerous than I imagined.

Her devotion wasn’t to the Goddess anymore.

It was to me… entirely and obsessively.

And if the warning was true, then her descent into a Fallen Saintess would make her the most terrifying kind of weapon… a weapon that would burn everything, even heaven itself, if I so much as whispered it.

Grip!

Christina pressed harder against me, sobbing openly now, her words tumbling out like a broken prayer.

“Aestrea, I don’t care if She damns me! I don’t care if the world burns! I only care if you’re here! Just hold me… please… please don’t let me go again…”

Her nails dug lightly into my back, her body clinging tighter as though the thought of release would kill her.

“Hah…”

I exhaled slowly….

She wasn’t lying, but perhaps that was even more terrifying than betrayal.

I opened my mouth, ready to speak.

“Christina, you—”

But before the words could form, she suddenly cried out, her voice rising like a panicked child who feared being scolded.

“I love you, Aestrea!” she shouted, pressing her face harder into my chest.

Her hands clutched at me desperately, as though even the idea of letting go would tear her apart.

Her tone wasn’t elegant, not like the Saintess the world admired.

It was a voice shaking with fear and longing, cutting through me before I could say what I intended.

I could see clearly that she was doing it on purpose.

After all… of all the people in the world, Christina was probably the one who knew me best.

She knew I would push her away.

That I would speak words to sever the bond between us once more.

So, instead, she robbed me of the chance, filling the air with her own cries so that my rejection never reached her ears.

Her plan was simple, childish even…

And yet… effective.

“Don’t say anything!” she sobbed, clinging even tighter. “Don’t push me away again! Even if it’s just for now… even if you’ll hate me later… just let me stay like this a little longer! Please, Aestrea!”

The desperation in her voice echoed against the silent walls of the hall, her tears hot against me as they slid down and dampened my skin.

She sounded manipulative, yes.

But she probably hadn’t thought of this plan, but was simply acting on instinct.

The instinct of someone who knew me too well… and who was willing to act like a child throwing a tantrum just to stay pressed against me.

But that was enough…

“…”

Push…

At last, I pushed her away.

Christina froze, her arms hanging empty in the air where I’d been. Then her fists clenched so hard her nails dug into her own flesh, drops of blood forming between her fingers.

“AESTREA!!” she screamed, her voice shaking the hall, raw and furious.

“I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!”

THRUUUUUUUUUUUM!

A thick, suffocating darkness poured from her body, filling the room with crushing weight.

The golden brilliance of her holy aura was shattered, warped, and replaced by a violent pressure that made the air itself groan.

My eyes widened.

Her radiant golden hair was twisting, darkening, strands bleeding into pure black before my very sight.

And right about then, I remembered the warning…

“Fuck…”

I didn’t think as my body moved.

In an instant, I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her tight against me.

The pressure vanished in an instant, as if it had never been there.

Like smoke smothered by water, the black aura broke apart, dissolving into nothing.

Her transformation halted, but was not undone. Nearly half her hair remained dyed black, unnaturally, forcefully.

Scheiße…

I cursed inwardly, biting back the frustration in my chest.

This was no small matter.

Her trembling arms slowly wound around my back again, gripping tightly.

When I looked down, her wide pink eyes shimmered with tears, locked onto me as though I were the only thing holding her together.

“Y-y-you… forgive me… r-right?” her voice quivered, almost breaking, yet her gaze never faltered.

I swallowed, my throat tight.

If Christina fully fell, there was no question, she would become a danger not just to the world, but to my lovers.

I was confident I could protect them here, in this realm. But once I stepped into the Divine Realm…

They wouldn’t be safe.

Not until I had obliterated that entire place myself.

So…

How can I reply to her…?

…Dammit.

I would rather fight twenty gods than deal with her.

She’s somehow… scary as always.

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