“Eluka, have you been tainted by the Evil God?” An trembled as she questioned.
The so-called Evil God is the source of most disorder and distortion in this world, a symbol of corruption and destruction. Like shadows under the sunlight, it quietly lurks, rarely appearing in the sight of ordinary people, yet constantly clinging to the world from beyond, coveting all that is beautiful in this world.
It is like a glutton, yearning for bait interwoven with blood and desire.
Thus, as long as they grasp a thread of corruption, they will spread their grasp indiscriminately, eroding everything seen and heard.
This is why Evil Gods are often exceedingly generous, as they can exchange power for blood and flesh.
The fewer the tokens offered in exchange for power, the greater the cost paid.
When the cost accumulates to the point where you cannot afford it, all you have will become playthings in the hands of the Evil God.
Every gift has its reason.
“Evil God?”
In response to An’s question, Eluka displayed a hint of displeasure:
“Master, how can you speak of the divine being like that? He has been so kind to me. To fulfill my desire to love everyone, he generously granted me the power to realize those desires!”
“No… no tokens paid?”
An’s breath caught again.
If one receives power without paying any tokens at all, what will you return when the Evil God comes to collect?
Your soul?
“Hey, Master, you still haven’t answered my question.”
Eluka smiled as she reached out her hand, opening her arms as if to embrace her beloved master before her.
“Do you want to… accept my love?”
“…”
Silence, a silence as thick as blood.
Eluka did not speak, waiting for An’s response, and the entire room grew so quiet that even breathing could not be heard.
An lowered her eyelids, her hands habitually folding over her abdomen.
But one could faintly see the wavering of her heart through her tightly clenched knuckles.
What was she hesitating about, or rather, what was she pondering?
It felt as though a century had passed.
Until Eluka showed a hint of impatience, An suddenly lifted her foot, stepping through the blood to approach Eluka.
“Have you agreed? Master!”
Eluka displayed a happy smile, like a butterfly flitting toward a flower, impatiently rushing toward An.
“Let’s be together forever, Master. I will always, always… love you—”
The joyful whisper was abruptly cut off.
A glimmer of confusion flashed in Eluka’s eyes, and then she stiffly lowered her head.
A cold blade was tightly gripped in An’s hand.
Then—
It accurately pierced Eluka’s heart.
An’s hand was still trembling, but she forced herself to grip harder, even brutally twisting the blade.
Until the very source of life, that beating heart, was thoroughly crushed.
“Cough… why… Master?”
Eluka coughed up chunks of bloodied innards, her eyes filled with bewilderment.
“Do you… not wish to accept my love?”
“I’m sorry…”
An raised her head, her usually strong demeanor now showing a hint of redness around her eyes.
“I’m sorry… Eluka, I cannot let you harm any more people.”
“Cough… what are you talking about, Master?”
Eluka tilted her head, puzzled, and said:
“I clearly haven’t harmed anyone.”
“I just… gave them my love.”
“I love them, Master. What’s wrong with love?”
“Shut up—”
An suddenly lost control and shouted angrily, “That is not love!”
“Not love? Then what is it? This is clearly love, claiming everything of those you love. This is what you taught me, Master!”
Eluka’s eyes widened as she took a step, then another, forcing An to keep retreating.
Her heart may have been crushed, but it seemed to have no impact on her.
As she coughed up blood and flesh, she looked like an innocent child, opening her eyes wide and curiously asking.
“If that’s not it, then tell me, Master, what is true love?”
“Tell me, Master, aren’t you my master?”
“What is love, what is love, how can I give you true love?”
“I…”
An’s lips moved, but she couldn’t say anything.
What is love?
Is love truly about possession?
This was the idea she once firmly and unwaveringly believed.
Yet now, facing Eluka again, she lacked even the courage to voice it.
Clatter.
An stopped her retreat as her body collided with a cold step.
Unbeknownst to her, she had nowhere left to retreat.
“Ah…”
Suddenly, something grabbed the hem of An’s skirt.
Instinctively, An turned back and saw.
The young girl lying on the iron bed, with her abdomen opened, reached out with a withered hand, clutching at her garment.
Crying, she said:
“I love you…”
So deeply… and yet so chillingly.
“No…”
No.
No.
This is not love.
This is absolutely not love.
The love I know should not be this ugly thing.
There must be some mistake, there must be some mistake!
An gritted her teeth and violently pulled away that hand, awkwardly escaping to the side.
“Master, don’t run away.”
Eluka suddenly lunged forward, moving with an agility that was hardly befitting a magician.
She knocked An to the ground, pinning her down, her cute face flushed with a strange red.
“Please answer my question.”
From her opened clothes, that dark face writhed and twisted as it cast a resentful gaze toward An.
At the same time, she kept calling out:
“I love you…”
“I love you…”
“I love you…”
“Enough already…”
An struggled forcefully.
Trying to escape Eluka.
But those calls containing “love” clung to her like maggots, impossible to shake off, tearing apart her reason like insects.
“I love you…”
“Please… don’t say that anymore.”
“I love you, I love you, I love you…”
“Don’t say it anymore…”
“I love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you… I love you, Master.”
“Shut up!”
An painfully closed her eyes.
Instinctively, a sharp blade crystallized in her hands.
Slash.
Again, slash.
The sounds of flesh being sliced echoed continuously, hot blood splattering, mixing with the already cold and foul liquid on the ground.
The weight on her body suddenly lightened.
“Ha… ha…”
An opened her eyes and stared at the blood-splattered ceiling, panting heavily as if she had just survived a life-and-death battle.
“I’m… sorry.”
An rose and bowed her head in apology to the now severed Eluka.
“I had to do this.”
Though her heart felt as if gripped by a giant hand, excruciatingly painful.
Even as the intense guilt threatened to drown her soul, making it hard to breathe.
The remaining rationality still told An that she had to kill Eluka.
Allowing the taint of the Evil God to spread would only lead to more terrifying consequences.
“I’ll make sure to cremate you properly, to be buried with those you love.”
An staggered toward the door, preparing to go to the kitchen to find something to start a fire with.
“Ah, I got it!”
But just a few steps out, a surprised voice of realization echoed from behind.
Her heart stopped.
“Wh… what?”
An’s jaw trembled as she slowly turned around.
And then she saw—
Eluka, with only her head left, smiling with immeasurable joy as if she had figured something out.
She said:
“I understand now. This is also Master’s love, right?”
