Chapter 45: The Evil God Chooses Love

“Awoo~”

Master’s warm power flowed in through her arms, intoxicating, like a parched traveler finally drinking from a sweet, cool spring.

The hollow emptiness inside Gabriella was gradually being filled. 

Silver yielded to black, enslaved and refined into an even purer darkness.

But it still wasn’t enough.  

She needed more, so much more darkness to completely fill that gaping void in her heart.

She wanted Master to remake her body entirely in her own image.

So~

She had to perform better, show Master just how useful she could be, and only then would she be rewarded with even sweeter nectar.

Right now, she had to demonstrate the power Master had granted her.

Those were the only pure, simple thoughts left in Gabriella’s mind.

BOOM—!

With an explosion of black mist, the icy seal was shredded by a frenzy of high-frequency slashes.

This time, the scattered snowflakes could not reform into a new barrier.

Darkness devoured them, melting them in an instant.

Gabriella stood there like an angel possessed by a demon god.

Shadow writhed across her maid dress. 

Her once-pristine holy sword was now pitch-black and covered in sinister barbs. 

Strange patterns crawled up the right side of her face, the Evil God’s brand marking her as a dominated possession.

An existence that posed even the slightest danger to Master had appeared. 

A faint ripple of displeasure rose in her heart.

According to the original plan, that obstacle should be eliminated.

But… that power originally belonged to me, Ice Saint Tina.

A delightful idea occurred to Gabriella~

“Lady Gabriella!”

Watching the Silver-White Sword Empress completely enthralled by the Evil God, Tina nearly broke down.

The aura radiating from Gabriella now matched the Evil God’s, even surpassing Gabriella at her former peak.

An icy sword condensed in Tina’s hand, yet she could not bring herself to raise it against Gabriella. 

Because of that hesitation, she lost her final chance to resist.

When Gabriella stood before her, Tina already knew she had lost.

The explosive power she had unleashed for those few minutes was reaching its limit. 

Strength drained from her body; she collapsed weakly to her knees. 

Her fate was sealed. She gave up resisting.

In her heart she prayed that Gabriella might regain her senses in this final moment. 

Yet under the Evil God’s overwhelming might, how could a miracle possibly occur? 

The Evil God had surely foreseen everything and corrupted the Goddess’s mind in advance, leading to this fall.

But the expected agony never came.

Gabriella withdrew her blackened holy sword, walked gently to Tina, and extended a single finger. 

She pressed it against the hidden inverted silver triangle on Tina’s forehead, concealed beneath her hair.

“Lady… Gabriella? Ah…”

“…”

“W-wait, ngh?!”

【Shadow】

The darkness coiled around Gabriella’s arm like silk ribbons crept up her hand, flowed along her finger, and burrowed straight into Tina’s head.

“Aaaaah…”

Tina’s vision blurred. 

A wave of intense, burning warmth flooded her brain.

“Tina, accept this power.”

“Ga… briella…”

She wanted to refuse, but discovered she could no longer think.

There wasn’t even room for refusal.

It didn’t feel like coercion… it felt like gentle comfort.

“Become a thing of the Evil God as well.”

Gabriella continued softly.

【Adjudicator】 had always been her power to begin with. 

Now she was merely dyeing it in the Demon King’s colors~

The Ice Saint’s strength was formidable.

Master would surely be pleased.

“Uu… ah…

Tina’s entire body convulsed violently, but in the end she could not resist the darkness pouring into her soul.

Her consciousness faded, and she collapsed, unconscious.

Gabriella gently laid her on the ground. Within the silver inverted triangle on Tina’s forehead, shadows now churned and roiled, as though something were stirring inside her.

The bizarre sight did not strike Gabriella as strange in the slightest.

She turned and walked back to Isabella, who stood a short distance away… able to clearly smell the intoxicating scent drifting from her Master.

“Master~”

The battle was over.  

Now she would receive her reward, wouldn’t she?

The delicious power of Lord Evil God~

The exhilarating rush she felt while wielding 【Shadow】 still lingered in her mind, deepening the intoxicated gleam in her eyes.

The dark halo above Gabriella’s head now needed only the width of half a finger to close completely.

“Well done, my apostle.”

Just being stroked on the cheek by Master… no, just being looked at with those caring eyes was enough to make her blissfully happy.

The emptiness in her heart was gradually being filled with darkness. 

Gabriella leaned even closer.

Please Master, spoil me more~

Yet just as Master’s shadow-wreathed fingers brushed her horns and moved toward the mark on her lower abdomen…

A maid stepped between them.

“Lord Evil God, may this humble one speak a few words?”

It was the head maid, Liya.

The being that was “Evil God Isabella” regarded her with amused curiosity.

“You are my follower. Why do you now stand in my way?”

“This one is merely a nameless demon,” Liya answered respectfully without raising her head. 

“Yet controlling Lady Gabriella right now would not be the most perfect outcome.”

“Oh?”

The Evil God tilted her head, intrigued.

“It is merely revenge. What could be wrong with that?”

“This one knows you hate her… but all grudges and entanglements become meaningless before Your Lordship’s love.”

“…”

“You have already fallen deeply in love with Gabriella.”

The smile vanished from the Evil God’s face.

She closed her eyes and clutched her chest, as though confirming something within herself.

Only after more than ten seconds did she lower her gaze to the girl in her arms, the girl who was now almost completely under her control.

Her eyes wavered. 

She sank into thought. The scene froze in icy silence.

After more than a minute of silent contemplation, Evil God Isabella gave a small nod.

She let her weight settle, resting her head on Gabriella’s shoulder and wrapping both arms around her waist.

“Nn.”

Gabriella felt Master’s body against her own.

So warm.

Being pampered by Master was the greatest honor.

“Master, what is your command?”  

Gabriella grasped Master’s arms, craving the next order, whether it be to war against humanity or to please her, she would do anything, and she eagerly awaited the sweetest 【Gift】 Master could bestow.

“…”

Only silence answered her.

Suddenly Gabriella sensed something was wrong. Why had Master gone still?

Then, like a receding tide, the 【Shadow】 that had filled her heart withdrew. 

The intoxicating rush subsided, the frantic impulses in her chest quieted, though not entirely vanishing.

The darkness that had been lashing wildly around her body retracted obediently into her flesh, returning her outward appearance to normal.

Yet the lingering ripples of shadow still pulsing warmly inside her whispered of Master’s presence.

“Mas… ter…?

Life returned to Gabriella’s eyes. The black cross-star slowly faded.

“Where… am I?”