— — — — — —
The curse of death turned into a surge of black mist and rushed straight at Ryo.
He glanced at it, parted his lips slightly, and simply exhaled.
The moment that breath left him, a hurricane was born.
Not a physical storm, but one that existed in the realm of spirit and mind. A hurricane of pure consciousness. It howled as it swept across the mental plane, tearing through everything in its path.
La Folia, Sayaka, and Yukina felt as if they'd been thrown into the eye of a raging storm. Their senses reeled, their balance faltered—yet their bodies stood exactly where they were, unmoving.
Their spirits were being flung around violently, while their physical forms remained perfectly still. The disconnect was nauseating.
And they were only brushed by the outer edge of the storm.
At the very center of it all was the dark god inhabiting Celesta's spiritual body.
Like an infant caught in a typhoon, it had no power to resist. The hurricane tore it free from Celesta's soul and flung it out.
It tumbled across the coffin and carpet, writhing, sprouting tentacles in desperation, clawing at the ground—at anything it could latch onto.
But it didn't matter. The storm smashed it against the wall with a wet smack. The reinforced surface, strengthened by Ryo's will, held firm as the creature splattered against it like rotten sludge.
Ryo closed his lips, ending the long exhale. He looked at the flattened mass on the wall with open disdain.
"Ah!" x3
Three thuds and three startled cries rang out. La Folia and the others had lost their balance thanks to the spiritual turbulence. Their bodies, delayed in catching up with their rattled minds, collapsed spectacularly to the floor.
"Ow!"
Yukina rubbed her backside, only to realize she was facing Ryo directly. Her face flushed red, and she hurriedly pressed down her skirt.
Ryo shot her a glance, eyes full of contempt.
That little exposure, and you're embarrassed? Heh!
Yukina turned even redder but didn't dare argue. La Folia and Sayaka were already getting back up—she had no intention of drawing attention.
"The dark god—wait, it's separated from her spirit?"
La Folia peered into the coffin. Celesta's previously parasitized spirit had already stabilized. She would probably wake up soon.
At the same time, Sayaka drew her bow and nocked an arrow, keeping her eyes on the wall.
"Yukina, fall back!"
Yukina didn't hesitate. She rolled across the floor and ducked behind the sofa near Ryo.
Then—
A terrifying psychic shockwave exploded from the wall, like a crimson tidal wave crashing toward them.
"Defend your minds!" La Folia shouted.
Sayaka and Yukina reacted instantly.
Ryo let out a short laugh. The layered waves of blood-colored mental force collapsed mid-surge, disintegrating into nothing. It was as if an invisible hand had slapped the tide flat against the shore.
The three of them fell silent and cautiously turned their gazes back toward the dark god.
They didn't dare stare directly at it, but even from the corner of their vision they could tell—the corruption clinging to it was gone.
Completely gone.
"You can open your eyes. Look all you want," Ryo said casually.
Then, with a mocking tone, he added, "Honestly, this level of mental pollution is weaker than Shirayuki."
Shirayuki? Who's that? Why does it sound like he's using her as a unit of measurement?
La Folia and Sayaka exchanged a look. They had clearly had the exact same thought.
Meanwhile, Yukina finally saw the dark god's true form.
It looked like a black-and-red egg, its surface writhing with dark tentacles. Grotesque. Revolting.
So disgusting…
She barely resisted the urge to stab it to death with Snowdrift Wolf.
"The aesthetics are definitely lacking," Ryo commented, stroking his chin. "No wonder it's a god with barely any followers. Gods don't even have fixed forms, and it chose that? Pathetic."
A soft moan sounded.
"Mm…" Celesta's eyes fluttered open. She stared blankly at the ceiling.
Then came Ryo's cool voice, "Congratulations. You gave birth to something neither male nor female."
Celesta blinked and instinctively lifted her head. She saw Ryo. She saw Yukina beside him.
"You are…?"
Before she could finish—
A shrill scream pierced the air.
She turned her head just in time to see the tentacled monstrosity lunging straight at her.
In that instant, it felt like a rancid stench hit her face.
And yet—
For some reason, the creature filled her with a bone-chilling sense of kinship.
Her mind flashed back to Ryo's words.
Congratulations. You gave birth to something neither male nor female.
'Don't tell me… that monster… is mine?'
Her eyes widened in horror.
The next second, her head lolled to the side.
She fainted.
The dark god shrieked and accelerated toward her.
"Trying to hide in her spirit again? What, you don't even have a brain?"
Transparent crystals materialized out of thin air, one after another, sealing off every path. They surrounded the creature completely.
Then an invisible giant hand descended—
Bang.
Like kneading dough, it smashed the aberrant body into a lump of flesh.
The pulpy mass bubbled weakly.
Then it stopped moving.
"Is it dead?" Sayaka tugged lightly at Ryo's sleeve and asked in a whisper.
"Half-dead."
Ryo answered shortly, still studying the ruined thing with an unimpressed expression.
"So this is the so-called God of Darkness, Zazalamagiu? What a joke."
Barely five-digit trash. In Little Garden, it would probably be weaker than any creature who'd just obtained a divinity.
Though its accumulated faith wasn't insignificant. And judging by its origin—born from a planet's Ley Line—it carried a hint of the primal gods from the Campione world.
"If I brought it to Little Garden, it might qualify for a divinity… As an experimental subject, it barely makes the cut."
As he pondered, a blade appeared in his hand.
A Zanpakutō.
"We could make a deal."
A seductive voice flowed from the sword.
It was Lilith—the incarnation of Algol.
(A/N: Algol goes by two other names—Medusa and Lilith. Her Zanpakutō spirit chose the name Lilith. This Lilith is different from the one in the Strike the Blood universe; in this world, the one known as Lilith is just a powerful Succubus.)
"..."
The world seemed to fall into sudden stillness.
Ryo paused. "You're actually interested in something like this?"
"Even the ugliest piece of trash has its own value," Lilith replied, her tone thick with disdain—but she didn't deny it.
Ryo was silent for a moment.
"If you're thinking of mixing Zazalamagiu's faith with Athena's to taint her divinity, I'll have to decline."
"Huh? You can do that?!" Lilith exclaimed, delighted. "Amazing—you're even more wicked than I am."
"…."
For once, Ryo didn't know what to say.
.
.
.