In the dilapidated warehouse, vines twisted and sprawled, their tendrils adorned with clusters of blue blossoms.
Bird nests clung precariously to the eaves, while the rusted iron gate groaned under the weight of time.
Two figures in black robes stood sentinel, one on each side of the entrance, their silhouettes stark against the corroded metal.
A woman with emerald hair berated her counterpart, a gray-haired man perched atop the opposite gate.
Her voice crackled with fury.
“How could the second-in-command of Sin Domain be so utterly foolish? If this plan goes awry, will you bear the consequences?”
The gray-haired man tightened his robe, adopting a patronizing tone.
“Miss Nightmare, as a newly appointed captain, is this how you speak to your comrades?”
Nightmare’s green eyes flashed with scorn.
“You dare lecture me about rank? I’m not one of your mutated kind.”
“I can’t fathom how you managed to botch a simple delay tactic so badly you leaked the location,” she sneered.
“If the Chosen One shows up, you’ll deal with him. I’m not lifting a finger.”
Shang raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence.
“Me? I’m on vacation, sanctioned by the Domain Lord himself. I only agreed to check on your goblin outpost, and what happens? A meteor falls, and I nearly get sliced open by the Chosen One. Now you want me to fend him off again? Where’s my pay for this?”
Nightmare’s expression teetered between disdain and exasperation.
“While our comrades spill blood in the Imperial Capital, you’re whining about a little effort?”
The Sin Domain’s grand scheme had reached a critical juncture.
Years ago, they’d sent Nightmare to infiltrate Wagner Town, weaving a meticulous web of plans.
Now, as the endgame loomed, no mistakes could be tolerated.
Wagner Town was chosen for its dual advantages: a major node in the magical network and its remote obscurity, perfect for concealing their world-altering ambitions.
To divert the Empire’s attention, Sin Domain had sacrificed four near-mutated captain-class operatives in a feigned assault on the capital, a diversion that cost them dearly.
Those operatives could have entered hibernation, preserving themselves for the final battle against Tria’s humans.
Shang fell silent at the mention of their fallen comrades, his gaze drifting to the horizon.
Then his eyes lit up and said, “Noi’s here.”
The afternoon sun bathed the desolate meadow in golden warmth, illuminating a neglected plot beside Central Park, cordoned off by towering reeds.
Mosquitoes buzzed in swarms, and even stray cats and dogs shunned this forsaken place.
A slender leg clad in black stockings parted the brittle, yellowed reeds.
A girl with snow-white hair emerged, sweat glistening on her delicate neck.
Her loose lantern-sleeve blouse and perilously short pleated skirt were disheveled, betraying the haste of her journey.
Golden light magic swirled around her, repelling the pests.
Her small head swiveled, spotting the decrepit warehouse with its steel barrels in the center of the clearing.
She dashed forward, oblivious to how her skirt rode up, revealing the swimwear beneath.
Noi had rushed here straight from the changing room, leaving her undergarments behind.
The swimsuit was comfortable enough, anyway.
“Shang,” she panted, “we need to recruit her. Sin Domain is desperately short on people. If a saintess rivaling the Chosen One joins us, we could invade Tria even faster.”
Shang pulled his hood up, melting into the shadows.
“I’m staying out of this. Last time, my blunder nearly ruined everything. I’ll leave the talking to you.”
Nightmare had already tucked her vibrant green curls under her hood.
For good measure, she borrowed Shang’s captain-grade half-mask, concealing everything above her coral-glossed lips.
“Welcome, Miss Noi! Good afternoon!” she chirped, bowing with the polished grace of a hostess.
Noi wasn’t buying the act.
“Where are they?”
“No need to rush, Miss Noi. I’ve heard so much about you—the Church’s hidden saintess.” Nightmare’s voice, filtered through a neutral modulator, dropped a bombshell.
Noi’s eyes widened.
“How… you shouldn’t know that.”
“Curious why? Join us, and after you bear the mark of the mutated, the Domain Lord will reveal all.”
Nightmare bared her fangs, her smile venomous as a viper’s.
“I don’t care about your Sin Domain,” Noi snapped.
“Just tell me if you’ll release them.”
As a transmigrator, Noi had no interest in entangling herself with this villainous-sounding organization.
Nightmare pouted, her expression a mockery of wounded innocence.
“Such an impatient little girl. Fine, have a peek.”
She led Noi into the warehouse, pulling back a curtain shielding the unloading area.
Behind it, an elven grandmother and several children sat bound, gags stuffed in their mouths, their eyes wide with terror as they stared at the two figures in the doorway.
Noi scanned the group, her heart sinking.
Andy wasn’t among them.
Nightmare yanked the gag from a small boy’s mouth.
The boy erupted into sobs.
“Oh, dear, don’t cry, little one. I can’t stand to see children weep,” Nightmare cooed, her fist clenched as if it were a microphone held to the boy’s lips.
Through his tears, the boy choked out, “Sister Nun, save us… I’m so scared! That brother and this bad sister want to kill us!”
“Bad sister? How rude!” Nightmare’s lips twisted.
She pinched the boy’s cheek hard, leaving it red and swollen.
He gasped, unable to cry or close his mouth from the pain.
“There, that’s better,” she said, patting his head and shoving a piece of candy into his mouth.
The boy gagged, struggling to breathe.
Satisfied, Nightmare turned to Noi with a saccharine smile.
“See? They’re waiting for their savior. What do you feel? Anxious? Angry? Nervous? Or… helpless?”
Noi’s gaze was ice, her hand already gripping the hilt of a finely crafted dagger—a gift from her elven friend.
Nightmare leaned in, her tone teasing.
“You must be so… troubled right now, am I right?”
Noi opened her mouth to retort, but Nightmare cut her off.
“I get it, I do. I’ve been there myself.”
She launched into a monologue, giving Noi no chance to interrupt.
“Before I joined Sin Domain, I was a good girl. Once, I was tasked with rescuing civilians kidnapped by the Domain, just like these ones.”
She gestured at the bound grandmother and children.
“But those useless fools—barely D-grade, contributing nothing to the world—had the audacity to order us to hurry up and save them.”
Her voice grew fervent as she stepped onto a crate, looming over the captives.
“That mission cost us dearly. We lost a dozen B-grade comrades just to save a handful of worthless weaklings like them.”
Her face twisted with sudden grief.
“Afterward, I held my best friend’s body. She was a genius, destined for A-grade or beyond, and she died for those parasites. Why should we sacrifice so much for them? The weak deserve to be culled. Society doesn’t need maggots.”
Nightmare’s tirade peaked as she roared at the children, who cowered behind the elven grandmother’s protective stance.
Then, hopping off the crate, she leaned close to Noi, her masked face inches away.
Noi yawned, her eyelids drooping.
“So, what did you think? Felt that frustration of being shackled by the useless, didn’t you?”
Noi blinked lazily and replied, “Huh? Sorry, could you repeat that? I zoned out.”
She’d heard every word but chose to needle Nightmare.
As expected, Nightmare’s teeth ground audibly, her chest heaving beneath her robe.
But she quickly regained composure, leaning back with a cold laugh.
“Last chance. Join Sin Domain. This world needs reshaping, and you—” she jabbed a finger at Noi—”are the key to overturning this hopeless society. It’s a righteous cause. If we succeed, we’ll be the pioneers of a new world, free of the weak who drag us down. We’ll all be free, unburdened!”
Noi’s expression hardened.
“You paint a vivid picture, but I’m not interested. I just want a quiet life. Oh, and heads-up: I alerted the Demon Suppression Bureau before coming. They’ll be here soon. You might want to run.”
Nightmare’s teeth bared in a snarl, cold air hissing through them.
“If you’re that resolute, don’t blame me for using force to rewire your mind.”
Noi sank into a fighting stance, dagger at the ready.
She braced for an attack, but instead, Nightmare’s hands glowed with power.
The blue flowers at the entrance bloomed wider, releasing a haunting fragrance that enveloped Noi.
“Ugh!” The scent… something’s wrong…
Noi’s mind reeled as the perfume invaded her senses.
Deep within her subconscious, a dark emotion stirred, unleashed from its cage.
It was the thrill of battle she’d first felt upon arriving in this world.
Strangely, one desire supplanted another in her clouded mind.
Nightmare watched, intrigued, as Noi trembled in the fragrant mist.
She’d used her ability on Noi once before, at the church, with limited effect.
Nightmare’s power unlocked suppressed emotions, desires, and memories buried in the subconscious.
Normally, these desires would retreat without external stimuli, but that afternoon, after the ability’s first use, Noi had attended a commendation ceremony.
Lyte’s arrival had set off a chain reaction.
He held her, teased her, scolded her and cherished her.
In the church’s infirmary, when Lyte pulled her into a fierce embrace, nibbling her earlobe and vowing she’d spend a lifetime proving herself to him, Noi’s heart found a fulfillment she’d never known.
The loneliness, confusion, and insecurity suppressed for over a decade reached out tentatively—and were seized, pulled free by his warmth.
Desires flooded from their prison, rampaging through her consciousness.
Their sheer volume turned Noi into a lovestruck fool, utterly devoted to Lyte for the past week.
Unbeknownst to her, her soul was being reshaped, feminized by the intensity of her emotions.
The barriers built by those hidden desires melted under Lyte’s radiant warmth, nourishing her heart and soul.
His mark was etched indelibly on her spirit, a testament to the moment she, ravenous with need, found a godlike man who let her drink deeply of his love, tasting the unprecedented sensation of being cherished.
In the mist, Noi clutched her chest, her breathing ragged.
The bloodlust snapped her out of her lovesick haze, but her time with Lyte had irrevocably elevated her soul.
A barren field, untouched for years, now bore his flag.
Even if she erased those memories, traces of their blissful moments would linger in her subconscious.
Yet Noi didn’t reject her actions these past days.
Nightmare had unleashed her true nature—this was her authentic self.
The backlash of years of restraint erupted as an emotional tempest.
She was a blank canvas, freshly made, ready to be colored by emotion.
Lyte was the artist, pouring his talent and heart into painting her pristine soul.
These days, she’d lived authentically, unmasked by societal pretense, facing the world—and Lyte—with her soul’s raw essence.
The thrill of bloodlust began to drown her clarity.
Noi gasped heavily, straightening as the fragrant mist dwindled, nearly consumed.
This past week in this alien world had been the happiest of her life.
Nightmare’s smile widened, clapping with delight.
She saw it—Noi’s awakened bloodlust.
The snow-haired girl’s eyes were shut, her last shred of clarity anchored by Lyte’s gentle smile, a tether keeping her from drowning in crimson desire.
‘If I survive this… I want to love you properly, earnestly.’
Across vast distances of time and space, Noi made this silent vow.
Her consciousness was fraying too fast to hold on.
“Come, Noi Vellrich! Stop suppressing it. You’re in pain, aren’t you? Attack me!”
Nightmare spread her arms, eager to hasten Noi’s descent into desire through combat.
A bloodthirsty saintess would be hers to command.
“Heh… you’ve got it wrong,” Noi rasped, wracked with pain as her desires fully awakened.
She lifted her head stiffly, her blood-red eyes chilling.
Her wrist flicked, the dagger pointing at Nightmare as a twisted smile curved her lips.
“I’m about to savor the thrill of killing you.”