Nupian raised her hands.
Above the Sinking Dark Forest, darkness descended. Countless dots of light, stars, manifested and shone pale light unto the world. Snow began to fall as the haunting breezes echoed their whispers throughout the land. Even Corane, who was under Nupian's protection, shuddered from the perpetual winter.
Below, the greenery froze into white snows and crystal-blue ices. Lush trees and far-reaching vines withered, their colours fading, as the arrival of the untold scourge swept across the forest. Not just nature, but even the blackness of the Sinking and the circulation of the Corruption Power stagnated under Nupian's Domain.
With a smile on her face, Nupian turned to Corane while waving her hands at the Archbishops.
Purpalus frantically threw his Archbishop Robe forwards and crushed the glowing ring in his hand. An array of symbols manifested, encompassing the rest of the Archbishops. Like the roots of the towering tree, its structure formed a net that connected every Archbishop to Purpalus.
Snow fell. It tainted the array with whiteness that dulled all sensations. The snowflakes, twinkling under the pale light of the stars, broke into fragments, which stuck to the formation, forming a gigantic ice prison.
The array shot out rays of golden light like a rainstorm. They fell like raindrops on the ice crystal, dispersed by mere touches. No matter what spells the Archbishops cast, they could not penetrate the prison. On the icy surface, the reflections showed them their mirrored silhouettes, which wore a series of emotions.
Some were panicking, others frowning. But in everyone, there was despair.
"Corane, why are you shivering?" Nupian said. "Is the air too cold to your liking? You need to wear thicker clothes and reveal less of your curves, or else you might attract cold grasps and whispers."
Corane lowered her head. She had multiple magic to defend herself and warm her body, but this coldness was like a phantom hand, gently caressing, touching her where it was most uncomfortable. She could not shake off the feeling that Nupian was watching, always watching, and thus she did not dare to resist.
"I love timid Monster Girl. They are so cute, so delicate." Nupian touched her cheeks and exhaled. Her enchanting voice permeated the atmosphere. "Do you fear that I would abandon you? Or did you think that I deliberately let Amplicia die?"
The blizzard intensified as Nupian's voice abruptly cut off. Whiteness occupied the dim sky as the crystal sphere solidified, trapping the Archbishops inside. Even when they detonated their Archbishop Robes, they still failed to penetrate through the thick ices, seeing only their reflections mocking them, preventing them from fleeing.
"Don't worry," Nupian said. "I won't kill you or your little friend, for it is a transaction between us. You give me the Shadow Heart Fragment, and I save your partner from the clutch of death. That is the detail of our contract. Fair, correct?"
"Then, why did you save me and not Lady Amplicia?" Corane said, panting. Just talking to Nupian made her heart pause, her fingertips tingling. "What about Sandoris? You also saved her, but where is she?"
"Corane, you need to calm down. Asking too fast will spoil this appreciable atmosphere; don't you think so?" Nupian reached out and placed her finger on Corane's lips. "Keep this our little secret, please? I indeed intentionally left Amplicia to die, but that was because I can't save her."
"What—" Corane wanted to speak, but the fingers on her lips pressed firmer, stopping her.
"Amplicia has already given up her life and heart. Her chest is empty, her life extinguished." Nupian shook her head. "I can't save someone like that. I'm not a Goddess who can bring people back to life, nor a devil who can drag people into hell. I'm just a Monster Girl who endlessly chases after my conviction."
The icy crystal sphere imploded onto itself. The blizzard, the snow, the snowflakes, all halted their movement, hanging in the sky. Each quivered before shooting towards the sphere, sticking onto the prison, compressing it further. The pressure crushed the divine array smaller and smaller until all the Archbishops had to stick together.
Purpalus shivered. Coldness permeated his body. His Archbishop Robe had already disintegrated, leaving him with his ordinary uniform. His wrinkled face paled as the touch of death closed in on him. His heart slowed down, his mind turning muddled.
Everything gained a tint of blue while time gradually stretched. The world extended in the temporal and spatial directions, turning azure and white, blending into a whirlpool of chill.
At that moment, the Archbishops crazily used all their life-saving treasures. Their bodies glowed in multi-coloured lights, some even blood-red, exuding demonic air, though no one had any attention to spare for such an occurrence.
It was better to receive some punishments than to die.
"Look at this, Corane." Nupian flew behind Corane and held her two hands, guiding Corane to clench her fists slowly. "These people hurt you, right? I'll let you handle them."
Corane trembled. She felt Nupian's cold skin grazing her flesh. The chilliness of spectral quality gripped her heart and numbed her mind. To resist it, Corane bit her tongue until it bled. The metallic yet sweet taste flooded her mouth, pricking her throat, jolting her.
In front of her was the collapsing ice sphere. She only needed to clench her fists to snuff out the lives of those Archbishops, who almost killed her, who killed Amplicia, who led the Crusade, who ambushed the Labyrinth of Love, who tried to kill Undrila.
They must die. They will die.
"How does it feel, being the dictator of life and death?" Nupian leant towards Corane's left ear. "These people want your loved ones dead. They bullied you when they were stronger. If not for me, Undria would have been in grave danger."
Do it. Kill them. Don't hesitate.
The rage and frustration rose in Corane's heart. Her hands trembled. Her crystal-like eyes turned red. Her blood boiled and rushed to her face. The chill from Nupian rapidly disperse, replaced by an unending fury. Corane looked at the Archbishops inside the ice prison for one last time.
She clenched her fists, and the prison collapsed.
Purpalus screamed, but his voice did nothing to stop his annihilation. His body froze into a shivered sculpture before shattering into pieces. Following him, the rest of the Archbishops fell, their bodies splintering into countless fragments.
Everyone died, except for Branim. He broke his Cold Arrival Staff, which disintegrated into a shield that protected him from the coldness. The instant the ice prison collapsed, he flew outwards, heading towards the nearest face of the wall of purification.
Nupian noticed his action, but she did not give chase. Instead, she raised her head and stared at the sky, waiting.
"Lady Nupian," Corane said, her voice cracking. "Are we going to let him go?"
"Not quite," Nupian said. "The moment he stepped inside my Domain, he has already died, but he just hasn't realised it yet. More importantly, he is a believer of the Seven Goddesses. I'm greedy, but I know my limit. The rests are a lot easier to manage, but not the Seven Goddesses."
Corane didn't know what to say. Following Nupian’s gaze, Corane raised her head. Dark clouds and pale stars trembled as something forced its way into the Main Material Plane. The fabric of reality screamed while the darkness above the Sinking Dark Forest shook.
Screeching noises thundered. The space above Nupian twisted and fractured into an enormous rift. Inside, a golden light pierced through the clouds and illuminated the world. Angelic chants and graceful music echoed, permeating the atmosphere with soothing sensations, lulling every being into devotion.
Despite the kind and righteous aura, Corane turned pale. Despair choked her throat. She gagged, her innards churning, burning, shrieking. Her heart threatened to burst as fear squeezed it tight. The numbness spread from her fingers to her face, binding her in space, awaiting the divine judgement.
"Don't you think that they are majestic?" Nupian said. "Don't be so scared. It's merely a projection. That’s the Goddess of Redemption, one of the newer Goddesses. It's not surprising, considering that we just killed her Archbishop."
Nupian's enchanting voice dispelled the mental pressure that weighted on Corane. The fear and panic dissolved into dullness. Still, Corane dared not speak loudly and could only squeeze herself into Nupian's embrace.
Nupian was her only hope now, and Nupian was unhinged. If Corane did anything bad, she might even die before the Divine got to her.
"You don't need to tense so hard." Nupian giggled. "You can't enter me even if you try your best."
With one hand hugging Corane, Nupian shifted her gaze from the sky to the shattered corpses of the Archbishops. Aside from the dispersing souls, there were tiny streams of flickering light, Faith.
Sensing the death of the Archbishops, the wall of purification glowed, trying to absorb them. Nupian gently blew, and the blizzard instantly descended, creating a field of absolute zero around her and the corpses, stopping the wall.
Corane closed her eyes and tightened her grasp on Nupian. She folded her wings and bent forwards, making herself shorter and cuter. It was a strange sight that Nupian, though slightly smaller than Corane, became the pillar that Corane clung onto.
"Since you love me so much, I'll let you in on a secret." Nupian smiled. "I'm trying to break through to the fifth realm, the Unreality Phase. Do you know why it's named like that?"
Nupian pointed at the corpses. They quivered as their souls screamed, struggling to break free. Their Faiths trembled, but all failed to resist Nupian's cold grasp.
The golden light above the sky shook. Blinding radiance flashed, clearing Nupian's Domain, destroying the pale stars and the blackness of the false night. From the rift, a figure covered in holy light and grace stepped down, descending towards Nupian.
"Redemption, are you getting desperate?" Nupian said. "Don't you know where this is? Are you challenging the authority of the Foreign Existences?"
"Mere mortals, how dare you covert my Faith," Redemption said. Her voice reverberated everywhere yet nowhere. "Release his Faith, and I shall forgive your insolence."
The boundless quality of the voice flattened the forest below Nupian, forming a sinkhole whose perimeter spanned hundreds of metres. Nevertheless, nothing happened to Nupian and Corane, except some superficial wounds because Corane gripped her palms too hard.
"Unfortunately, I can't return them. They’re for my research." Nupian giggled. "I can give you something else, though. Maybe it'll be of help!"
Nupian grabbed Corane and flung her. Corane screamed. Despair filled her heart. She prepared to suicide, but a ray of light ruptured and blinded her before she could do anything.
Nupian pulled up the wedding veil and covered her face. Her surrounding grew hazy as a vision of a wedding superimposed itself onto reality. An aisle manifested as the bloody carpets and the white roses bloomed around her. She held a wedding bouquet and looked coyly on her side.
In the haziness, there was another Monster Girl, her eyes unfocused, her expression dreamy. Smiling shyly, Sandoris grasped Nupian's hands and kissed her. The haziness of the wedding ceremony grew clearer as more phantom Monster Girls manifested.
They looked at Nupian with feverish love and devotion. Even as another Monster Girl kissed Nupian, all didn't mind it, because it was what made Nupian happy, and that was all they wished for.
"Fear not, Loves, for no matter how strong our enemy is," Nupian said, "love conquers all."
Cheer for the power of love!
I don't think I can when Corane was just... betrayed? I think? Nupian isn't exactly doing much to endear herself.