Turning around.
She saw several Abyssal Beasts surrounding Iris, their jaws gaping wide, trying to devour and corrupt her as well.
But she was only a projection and couldn’t be touched at all.
Those beasts’ massive jaws passed straight through her body. Even if they couldn’t bite her, they stubbornly circled around Iris, refusing to leave.
No wonder Iris couldn’t help cursing out loud, though for Yuli, this was actually a good thing.
With Iris acting as an invulnerable lure, she was helping draw some attention away from Yuli.
It seemed that one wasn’t entirely useless after all.
As for the beasts encircling her, Yuli would have to handle them herself.
Dodging the pounces of the Abyssal Beasts, her short dagger flashed, striking out at every opportunity. Each swing inflicted lethal wounds upon them.
It was hard to believe, but this was indeed the uniqueness of one cursed by the Abyss. Ordinary humans could barely harm the Abyss’ Avatars, much less destroy them completely. Even when mortally wounded, these Avatars would simply turn into black mist or sludge and escape, never truly perishing.
They merely reverted to their original form—impossible to erase completely—so the best one could do was delay the Abyss’ encroachment. Eventually, the waves of the Abyss would return, ready to swallow the world whole.
But those slain by Yuli turned to ash, drifting away on the wind, their existence utterly erased.
Yuli didn’t know why, but she understood one thing: she possessed the power to kill the Abyss completely.
Perhaps for that reason, those cursed by the Abyss attracted its attention far more easily than ordinary people.
It wanted to strangle her in the cradle before she could become a threat.
But Yuli would never allow things to go as it wished.
The short dagger in her hand gleamed coldly, like the scythe of Death itself. With every swing, new wisps of ash danced away on the breeze.
Compared to her past self, fighting as a girl was much smoother.
Her agility, speed, and strength were all somewhat enhanced.
The changes to her body surprised Yuli. Logically, transforming into a girl should have weakened her strength, yet the Abyssal Beasts that once required several strikes to kill could now be felled with a single blow.
If not, she’d just strike again.
Of the dozens of Abyssal Beasts that had surrounded her, only five or six remained. Though outmatched, the beasts still followed their devouring instinct, lunging at her with open jaws.
Yuli raised her left arm. With a mechanical click, the grappling hook shot out, latching onto one of the beasts and pulling it before her. A flash of cold steel pierced through the beast’s skull.
It too disintegrated into drifting ash.
Four left. As for Iris, there were still a few circling her.
“Brainless things, go bite that side instead!”
Hmm… No need to worry about her for now.
Perhaps her increased combat ability was due to her changed body, or maybe it was because Iris was “voluntarily” serving as bait, drawing attention away. This time, she managed to annihilate all the Abyssal Beasts surrounding her with hardly a scratch.
Before this, when attacked by the power of the Abyss, Yuli had always avoided direct confrontation if she could; if not, she had no choice but to fight for her life. Every life-or-death struggle left shocking wounds across her body. Now that she’d changed, she wondered if the scars remained.
This was her first time wiping out Abyssal Beasts unscathed.
Granted, they were all the lowest tier, but it was still a promising new beginning.
Her gaze shifted to Iris. At this moment, several Abyssal Beasts still circled the white-haired, red-eyed girl.
Her right hand unconsciously brushed her chest. The reason for her increased strength might be related to the soul now residing within her.
Although she doubted Iris’s claim of being an Evil God, ordinary humans didn’t leave a soul floating around after death.
Well… to be precise, the one floating was just a projection; her real soul was lodged within Yuli.
And even like this, Iris could still easily suppress her, so at least that cast aside her doubts.
But why had an outsider deity fallen so low?
Only another god could slay a god. As for who killed Iris, Yuli didn’t particularly care.
She cared only for the curse upon her body. She just wanted to lift it and live a normal, ordinary life.
Until that day came, she would continue to struggle and fight to survive.
“Hey, Yuli-chan, if you’re done, come help me! What are you doing just standing there and staring?”
Iris’s voice pulled Yuli from her thoughts. She spread her hands in helplessness.
“Compared to me, Miss Evil God should be able to deal with them much faster.”
After all, back in the crypt, Yuli had been thoroughly beaten.
Dealing with a few low-level Abyssal Beasts should be nothing for an Evil God like Iris.
“I—If I have to step in, it’s beneath me! I—I wouldn’t bother with a bunch of brainless idiots like them.
Anyway, if you keep staring, watch out—I might get mad, and then you’re in for it.”
That’s what she said, but her little face betrayed everything.
Yuli had a suspicion: Was Iris waiting for her to deal with them because, in her current state, she could only use her authority once per day and now couldn’t intervene?
It sounded reasonable. And it would be easy enough to test.
Yuli continued to feign helplessness. Immediately, the little Evil God puffed out her cheeks in a huff.
“I’m angry now. You’re done for.”
The next instant, Iris’s body vanished.
With their target gone, the beasts that had been circling Iris all turned and charged at Yuli.
So this was what she meant by “you’re done for.”
After another brief struggle, the remaining Abyssal Beasts also turned to ash and disappeared into the wind.
At that moment, the previously vanished Iris reappeared before her eyes.
“Tch… What a bunch of brainless trash.”
“That old fool must be useless now, can’t even keep these things in check.”
Listening to Iris mutter to herself, Yuli sensed she had stumbled onto something significant. Could it be that the Abyss’s source was tied to someone?
“Iris, who’s that ‘old fool’ you mentioned?”
“Hm?”
Surprise flickered across Iris’s little face, as if she hadn’t expected anyone to catch her muttering.
“You don’t even know me, let alone that guy.”
Iris shook her head, exasperated. “That was an age when gods coexisted. But by now, hardly any are left. Most ended up as bones like me—only I got lucky.”
An age when gods coexisted… Just how long ago was that?
As for why the gods fell, recalling Iris’s earlier muttering, Yuli had a guess.
Maybe it was because of the Abyss?
The Abyss that could even corrupt gods… That was no good omen.
And Iris called herself [Abyssal Devourer]—perhaps there was a connection between her and the Abyss, maybe even the reason for her fall.
“So, Iris, are you on the Abyss’s side?”
The answer was important. She didn’t want a being in her body leaning toward the Abyss, especially while already targeted by it.
“Hah?”
Iris’s face filled with disbelief, as if she never expected Yuli to ask that.
“No, no, I haven’t finished my story yet! Why are you bringing this up? Don’t tell me—you think the gods fell because of the Abyss, and you think I’m related to it?”
Well… she wasn’t wrong.
At the mention of the Abyss, Yuli’s expression turned grim. “Don’t lump me together with that disgusting thing. I have nothing to do with the Abyss.”
Even if their appearances were similar, by her account, the fall of the gods had nothing to do with the Abyss, and Iris herself wasn’t connected to it.
That was good news.
“What, Yuli-chan, do you care that much?”
“No.”
“Not that it matters if you do. With your little brain as it is, knowing too much might just make it explode.”
With a “boom,” Iris even mimicked an explosion.
Not that she cared that much. What mattered most was the curse.
Perhaps seeing through her thoughts, Iris leaned in, the corners of her mouth curling into a smile.
“Oh right, Yuli-chan, about the curse on you—I actually know exactly what’s going on.”