In a scarred and battered alleyway, Shang released his alienation state, sipped on a Sin Domain healing potion, and asked, “Do we really need to go through all this trouble?”
They couldn’t do anything about the Hero’s Power, which was both incredibly tough and annoyingly tenacious, but as long as they were well prepared, even a little Saintess could be killed.
Plus, they would still have one crucial bottle of Abyss Poison left.
“Isn’t it entertaining to watch them struggle and desperately search for the antidote to save their lives?”
Nightmare covered her mouth and let out a cold laugh.
Now that Lyte wasn’t around, she could show off however she liked.
After all, the fact that Noi had been poisoned was already set in stone—colorless, tasteless, just a touch was enough to get infected.
She had already sent Fukan to take care of it.
“There are only a few doses of Abyss Poison, and we wasted four of them just for the experiment. Both the Domain Lord and us need it to reach our ultimate alienation forms. This is our trump card, you know.”
“Hmph, what do you know? Killing a future strong enemy is way better than you all just blowing yourselves up with ultimate alienation, isn’t it? I doubt you could have beaten Lyte just now, even if you went through Second Alienation. A Hero that strong needs to be dealt with early, or we’ll be in trouble once he hits S-rank.”
“……”
Shang didn’t argue; he agreed with Nightmare’s reasoning.
Seeing he still looked a little unconvinced, Nightmare continued to reassure him, “And besides, killing her directly would be way too obvious. Once the poison transferred to Lyte takes effect, our plan will be pretty much done. Who will be able to stop the Gate of Hell then?”
“Yeah, you’re right. What about those three espers who escaped?”
“Them? I’ve already arranged for people to assassinate all three. That pale guy’s little schemes are written all over his face. I didn’t even want to dirty my own hands in the first place.”
After resting for a bit, Shang stood up and dusted off his cloak.
“Since the poison’s been administered, let’s just destroy the antidote to avoid any future problems.”
Shang reached out, wanting to take the Abyssal Poison Antidote from Nightmare, but she waved him off irritably.
“No need for that. I’m not as stupid as you; I wouldn’t waste the antidote for nothing. Lutos insisted on keeping a dose to see if there are any side effects or aftereffects. Once the plan is over, I’ll destroy it.”
Lutos really had said that, but Nightmare also had her own motives.
She knew the antidote’s energy composition was a huge boost for the body, enough to help her break through to the next major rank.
She’d been stuck at A- for a long time.
With this antidote, she might be able to push through to A+, or even higher.
Seeing how determined Nightmare was, Shang could only go along and warned her.
“Do as you wish, but everything must take the plan as the highest priority. If we can’t kill Noi and Lyte, then so be it. The Gate of Hell and the magic net node in Wagner Town are the most crucial parts. We sacrificed the Four Captains of the Sin Domain for this. Once this plan is complete, we can begin preparing for a full-scale invasion of Tria Planet.”
The Domain Lord of Sin Domain was certain that Saintess Leanna’s Abyssal Poison wasn’t cured by any antidote—the Saintess didn’t have the ability to neutralize it.
According to the intel, it was likely the local organization Ark Church has cured her.
Ark Church worshipped the Evil Spirit sealed inside Black Star, and was an opposing force to the Cathedral.
Although not very well-known, everyone who did know about them detested them.
Domain Master Shen Yu couldn’t quite figure out the true nature of Ark Church, the gods, or the Evil Spirit, but he had some clues.
The interesting thing was, every true Saintess discovered by the Cathedral ended up in a miserable state—basically turned into lab rats for Ark Church’s experiments, losing all self-awareness, babbling nonsense and going mad.
The luckier ones simply drowned in lust and debauchery.
Because no one could find where the new true Saintess was, the current Saintess managed to rise to her position, and along the way, changed the foolish image of all the previous Saintesses.
“Got it, don’t worry. Just head back to Sin Domain.”
Shang had only come to Wagner Town to assist on the Domain Lord’s orders.
Now, he could finally step down—he’d done enough, and it was time to let Nightmare take the stage.
After watching Shang head off toward the café, Nightmare yawned and strolled toward the Cathedral in the town center.
Shang would check if Fukan had succeeded in poisoning them; all she needed to do was rest and sleep.
The rest wasn’t something she could control alone anyway—let things develop naturally.
Noi and Lyte—one of them had to die.
***
On the message wall inside the café, a sticky note read: [I’m in love, what about you?]
All around it were angry replies left by single dogs venting their frustration.
A clean, delicate little hand picked up a pen and wrote a new note, leaving a message right beside it.
[Hehe, I’m getting married soon~ Not jealous of your little romance at all.]
Even though she knew the owner of the original note probably wouldn’t come back to check, Noi still felt pretty satisfied to spread a bit of “couple’s food” while replying.
There weren’t many people in the café.
The air was filled with the faint scent of flowers and coffee beans, and soft light music drifted through the air, very pleasant to the ears.
On her way back to her window seat, a man tightly wrapped in black clothes bumped into her.
Before Noi could react, he mumbled a low apology and hurried away.
Hmm, how strange.
Noi didn’t think much of it.
She found the two-person table she had reserved, sat down, hummed a little tune she didn’t know the name of, and gazed out the window at the passing crowds.
“Jingle jingle”
The wind chime sounded, and Noi immediately looked at the new arrival, only to find it wasn’t Lyte.
She puffed out her cheeks in disappointment.
It was her first time at a café, and she wasn’t familiar with how to order, but it was also the first time someone had accompanied her for her birthday—and it was someone she really, really liked.
Of course, she wanted to try something she’d never done before.
She had already asked Lyte if he could handle coffee, and after getting his okay, she decided to set the location at this café, which had both desserts and cakes.
‘Hmm… Lyte seems to have a pretty big appetite too, just like me—definitely a foodie. These desserts won’t be enough for lunch.’
She pouted in mild distress, fiddling with the vase on the table, then suddenly thought of a great idea.
That’s right, we’re an engaged couple who haven’t even enjoyed a candlelit dinner for just the two of us yet.
Once we have kids, it’ll be hard to go out and eat quietly together.
We have to make the most of it now, and save some room in our stomachs for later!
Opening her phone’s memo, Noi happily scheduled the dinner and planned to head there as soon as they finished the birthday cake.
“Jingle jingle”
The clear sound of the wind chime signaled another guest.
The not-so-crowded café welcomed someone new—a man with messy, curly black hair, eyes downcast, an air of gloom on his face.
Noi reflexively looked toward the door and saw Lyte standing there, glancing around with a calm expression, as if searching for her.
“Lyte, I’m over here.”
With other people around, Noi held back the joy that was about to bubble over, trotted over, and threw herself into his arms, catching a faint scent of smoke and blood.
“Mm…”
She really wanted to ask why he was so late, or why he smelled so strange.
She also clearly felt Lyte sweep over her with his Brave’s Power as he held her, though she didn’t know why.
However, Noi had read online that men hated nagging wives the most after marriage, and she was afraid Lyte might get annoyed with her.
So, she swept all her doubts aside.
“Noi, did you get the table?”
‘Strange, why did Lyte’s voice sound a little shaky?’
Noi glanced at Lyte’s face in confusion, but he purposely turned his head, as if looking at the café’s decorations.
“Yep! It’s all set, come with me.”
Her smile was bright and pure.
In this moment, Noi was blissfully happy, holding Lyte’s hand and leading the way for him.
Out of her sight, Lyte’s face was as pale as a thin sheet of paper, a trace of unspeakable pain between his brows.