Chapter 13: This is Wrong

Buzz——!!!

Centered around Aphrodite and the floating Alice, the seven Micro Magic Arrays buried underground suddenly flared to life!

No longer the gentle Platinum Radiance from before, but a deep, eerie glow tainted with pure Corrosion darkness mixed with the blinding white light of holy radiance!

Seven beams of strangely colored light, each radiating terrifying destructive power, pierced precisely through the monster’s massive body.

Sounds of piercing filled the air one after another! The huge body of the monster suddenly stiffened, emitting a deafening, agonized shriek!

Seven gigantic, scorched, smoking holes instantly appeared on its torso!

Thick black blood gushed out like a fountain, accompanied by a pungent stench of rot and corrosion, splattering on the ground with sizzling sounds.

The severed tentacles at its neck hung limp, and the grotesque mouth on its torso let out incomprehensible wails.

It could no longer maintain its standing posture and collapsed with the force of an avalanche, raising clouds of dust.

The enormous body writhed and struggled in pain on the ground; each twist caused more black blood to spurt from those seven holes.

“…Huff…huff…” After finishing all this, Aphrodite panted heavily.

What seemed effortless before had actually been her braving through it all.

Now that the crisis was over, she lost the will to hold on and her body relaxed accordingly.

Forcibly mixing two completely opposing forces is an extreme test of control over one’s power, and it also takes a tremendous toll on mental strength.

Besides, this was Aphrodite’s first attempt, so naturally, she fell into a brief state of weakness.

However, this state wouldn’t last long; just a short rest to let her body adjust to the rhythm would restore her to normal.

Meanwhile, beside her, Alice’s body was numb but her consciousness remained clear as she witnessed everything, feeling especially shocked inside.

She never would have imagined that frail-looking Aphrodite could truly unleash such terrifying power.

Yet, just as the two thought everything had settled—

The dying monster’s last relatively intact tentacle near its severed neck suddenly twitched with a last burst of life!

Fueled by desperation, it shot forward like a poisoned spear, stabbing toward the kneeling Aphrodite!

The speed was so fast that Alice, still in shock, only managed a short cry, “Watch out!”

Aphrodite felt the deadly chill approaching, but her mental strength was so depleted she didn’t even have the energy to move a finger!

At this critical moment—

A silver-white figure appeared behind Aphrodite like a phantom, moving at a speed beyond visual limits in an instant!

“Get away!”

A cold, sharp voice rang out!

The figure seemed to wield an invisible blade, and with a slight swing—

A flash of light streaked by!

The deadly slime-covered tentacle was instantly severed into several pieces!

The severed tentacle dropped weakly to the ground, twitching a few times before going still.

The monster exhausted its last shred of life, completely collapsing on the ground, lifeless.

Aphrodite, saved from death, suddenly turned her head to see an incredibly familiar face—it was Bella.

“Aphrodite-sama!” Bella ran to her side and wrapped her arms around her.

The dizziness caused by overexertion of mental strength blurred Aphrodite’s vision; her body was so limp she had no strength, passively sinking into Bella’s warm embrace.

Her cheek inevitably buried itself in a soft, comforting softness, and her nose was instantly filled with that familiar faint scent of soapberry.

That scent was the most effective calming agent, instantly relaxing her nerves tense to the limit, making Aphrodite almost hum with comfort.

But the next second, a subtle embarrassment crawled into her heart like a little bug.

Wait! This position… her face was completely buried! Though soft and fragrant… and so comfortable she didn’t want to leave… but… this wasn’t right!

Instinctively, Aphrodite tried to tilt her head slightly to avoid such “deep” contact, but the exhaustion made even this small movement a luxury.

She could only collapse helplessly in Bella’s arms, her cheek forced to “perform”.

A flush of heat uncontrollably rose to her ears.

“Sorry, I’m late!” Bella held Aphrodite tightly, her voice thick with a heavy nasal tone, her arms squeezing a little tighter.

“Be… Bella?!” Aphrodite’s muffled voice came from Bella’s shoulder. “Why… why are you here?”

She struggled in vain, attempting to adjust to a less embarrassing position but failed.

“I was very worried about you, my lady,” Bella gently rested her chin atop Aphrodite’s head. “Ever since you were… taken away, I’ve been very concerned. So… I secretly followed you.”

Bella deliberately avoided the words “forcibly taken” and “red-haired woman,” but her gaze involuntarily flicked toward the equally shocked Alice floating nearby.

“Secretly followed me?” Aphrodite tried to ignore the warmth on her face and the embarrassment of having to “perform,” “It’s so dangerous outside, and there’s Arya and the others…”

“I avoided them,” Bella explained softly, “The Corrosion and the beast tide on the forest’s edge were troublesome. It took me a long time to find a gap to slip in… Once inside, the Corrosion concentration here was so high it interfered with my senses… until just now, when your burst of power fluctuations finally confirmed your location, so I rushed here immediately…”

As she spoke, the arms holding Aphrodite tightened once more.

At the same time, Bella’s gaze casually swept over Aphrodite’s body, especially the noticeably shortened skirt revealing pale thighs, and her expression immediately froze.

Then her eyes quickly flicked to the torn piece of matching fabric wrapped around Alice, displaying an extremely brief, subtle, and indescribable shift in her expression.

Aphrodite keenly caught Bella’s fleeting change and wandering gaze.

She knew Bella too well—having raised her since childhood, Bella’s thoughts were impossible to hide!

“Bella,” Aphrodite immediately began to explain, “It’s not what you think…”

“It’s fine, my lady.” Bella quickly lowered her head, her voice calm again. “This is your clothing, and you have every right to deal with it as you please.”

Though she said this, Bella’s arms hugging Aphrodite stiffened slightly.

Watching her clearly having a little mood but pretending to be sensible made Aphrodite both amused and helpless.

She reached out and, like countless times before, gently and tenderly ruffled Bella’s hair.

“Throwing a little tantrum again.”

“Ah, it’s really not what you think. This skirt is—”

Bella said no more and instead fully cooperated, enjoying the moment.

She of course knew Aphrodite understood her personality, but likewise, she also understood Aphrodite’s.

As long as she showed a bit more deliberate behavior, Aphrodite would follow along to soothe her, just like when they were kids.

It was the result of years of accumulated experience and Bella’s secret weapon!

“Hey! You two!” Alice, left ignored and unable to move, finally couldn’t hold back.

She glared at the overly affectionate master and servant scene before her.

Especially Bella’s natural, possessive embrace of Aphrodite made her extremely displeased.

“Don’t ignore me! I’m still lying here!”

Bella, savoring the moment, immediately frowned when interrupted.