Vol 4. Chapter 28: Unspeakable

"Hey, Master, did you know? Xue Tianao is already dead."

"I know."

"Huh? But I clearly haven't told you yet?"

"The System I gave him has already returned to me. How could I not know?"

"That's true. Sorry, sorry, I actually forgot about that. Oh, right! Master, there's something else I need to tell you! It's about Mengxi!"

"What happened to that girl?"

"Well, she's gotten mixed up with that Calamity Consciousness you chose~ And from the looks of it, their relationship isn't exactly ordinary either~"

"Hm?"

Upon hearing these words, inside a certain magnificent palace, a [N O V E L I G H T] silver-haired girl slowly opened her captivating golden eyes. A pair of mysterious golden runes, brimming with an ancient aura, abruptly appeared within the girl's pupils.

"Oh-ho~"

--

Close to noon, in Molokezeer City, in front of the residence where the members of the Asumos Church were staying,

A girl dressed in the long gown of an Asumos Church Saintess Candidate, possessing beauty capable of toppling nations, slowly walked toward the residence against the cold winter wind.

Upon seeing the girl, the Asumos Church guards stationed outside the residence immediately lit up with joy.

'Lady Child of Destiny is back?!'

The Child of Destiny, who had inexplicably disappeared early that morning, had finally reappeared. Naturally, everyone from the Asumos Church felt both immense relief and overwhelming joy. After all, now that Mengxi had returned, they would no longer have to endure the suffocating pressure of Archbishop Nick's fury.

In their excitement, quite a few white-robed believers couldn't help waving toward the silver-haired girl, hoping to soothe their long-frightened hearts with the Child of Destiny's smile.

Unfortunately,

Their hopes were destined to come to nothing.

Because before the Asumos Church members could even greet the Child of Destiny, the expression on the silver-haired girl's face caused everyone to freeze, leaving them standing there at a loss.

'Miss Mengxi?'

At this moment, the sacred, gentle, healing smile that had once adorned the incomparably beautiful silver-haired girl's face had vanished without anyone knowing when. In its place was an indescribably complicated expression.

Although she did not appear angry, nor did she seem sad, her expression instantly gave everyone a terrifying sense of oppression that seemed to originate from the depths of their souls.

Everyone involuntarily swallowed.

And as they swallowed, they also swallowed back their intention to greet the Child of Destiny.

For a moment, the area outside the residence became so silent that a falling needle could be heard. Everyone shut their mouths, leaving only the bleak sound of the cold wind in their ears.

And so,

Under the frightened gazes of dozens of Asumos Church guards, Miss Mengxi, enveloped in intense and complicated emotions, walked step by step into the residence.

Miss Mengxi paid no attention to the bewildered gazes of the Church guards around her and headed straight inside.

At this moment,

Mengxi was completely absent-minded.

Her mind was constantly replaying the conversation she had previously had with Miss Yumo at the Black Rose camp.

'Sister Yumo... just what exactly are you...'

--

"Sister Yumo, just what kind of existence are you? You're clearly an Abyss Demon, yet you're so human. Not only do you not hate me despite me being the Child of Destiny, you even want to drive away the Abyss Demons and destroy the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons?"

Several dozen minutes earlier, after thoroughly coaxing her Sister Yumo into a good mood, Mengxi finally seized the opportunity to ask the question she cared about most.

Namely,

Just what kind of existence was this beautiful, innocent, adorable, and loving black-haired girl whom she adored?

At first,

Mengxi had always believed that Yumo was a newly transformed Demon King-class existence who had originally been human.

However, throughout the recent events, Mengxi gradually realized that her speculation might have been wrong.

If Sister Yumo truly was a newly born Demon King-class existence, then as a newly born Abyss Demon, Sister Yumo was simply far too powerful.

Back in Wind Facing City, Sister Yumo had effortlessly blocked the strongest attack of Welt, Cult Leader of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church.

Abyss Demons possessed the ability to manipulate the Shadow of Silence Power throughout a vast surrounding area. Although Welt's strength had increased dramatically after taking that pill, his body contained an enormous amount of Shadow of Silence Power.

Could Sister Yumo have neutralized Welt's attack by manipulating the Shadow of Silence Power within him?

Perhaps that explanation made sense?

However,

Sister Yumo's performance against Xue Tianao could not be explained that way at all.

At that time, empowered by divine power, Xue Tianao's imposing aura had already reached terrifying heights. He was absolutely incomparable to the Welt from back then.

Moreover, divine power was not Shadow of Silence Power. Not only could it not be controlled by Demon King-class existences, but it could also inflict unimaginably devastating damage upon Abyss Demons.

Yet when faced with such an attack, Sister Yumo, despite being an Abyss Demon, had casually neutralized it as though it were nothing. With a counterattack, she had even blasted Xue Tianao's physical body into pieces.

When that scarlet Shadow of Silence Power erupted, the oppressive force that surged toward Mengxi like a raging tidal wave remained impossible for her to forget even now.

Even merely recalling that scene made her entire body shudder.

If Sister Yumo could kill Xue Tianao in that state, then her strength certainly could not be merely at the Early Eighth Tier. At the very least, she had to be a Peak Eighth-Tier existence.

She might even have surpassed the Peak Eighth Tier...

If that were the case, it would also explain why every tiny bit of power Mengxi secretly absorbed from Sister Yumo could bring her such an inconceivable increase in strength.

After today's bout of intimacy with Sister Yumo, Mengxi's strength had even forcibly risen all the way to the High Sixth Tier...

Apart from that,

Sister Yumo also seemed capable of commanding other Demon King-class existences.

For example, back at Garos Fortress, if Mengxi's guess was correct, the one who had ordered Snow Devourer and the Abyss Demon horde to withdraw en masse had also been Sister Yumo.

Unfathomably powerful and capable of commanding other Demon King-class beings,

It was highly unlikely that such a Sister Yumo could possibly be some newly born Demon King-class existence...

Just what was her true identity?

And why would she, an Abyss Demon, want to help Mengxi, the Child of Destiny?

Why did she want to drive away the Abyss Demons?

Why did she want to destroy the legendary Hall of Ten Thousand Demons?

Mengxi was incredibly curious about every single one of these mysteries.

Finally,

After careful consideration, the girl looked sincerely at Miss Yumo and slowly asked the question that had remained hidden in her heart for so long.

"Sister Yumo, can you tell me the truth?"

As those honey-sweet, soothing words, filled with an unmistakable hint of 'pleading,' entered her ears, Miss Yumo's scarlet eyes suddenly contracted, shock surging through them.

However, this time, contrary to Mengxi's expectations, Yumo quickly regained her composure.

Faced with Mengxi's innocent gaze, which almost never failed to work, Yumo shook her head.

As though burdened by something she found impossible to speak about, she revealed a bitter expression.

"Sorry, but right now... I can't tell you yet..."

"You can't?"

Mengxi tightened her grip around Yumo's small hand and softly asked once more.

Unfortunately,

The answer Mengxi received was still a refusal.

"Sorry..."

Miss Yumo's expression was no longer rosy. Instead, a complicated look of inner conflict emerged on her face. Yet despite that hesitation, her voice contained a trace of determination as she refused Mengxi.

From merely these two brief exchanges, Mengxi realized that Yumo would not tell her the truth.

At least, not for now.

Since Sister Yumo was unwilling to tell her, Mengxi would respect her decision.

Under the current circumstances, forcing her to speak would only backfire.

"All right, I understand, Sister Yumo. Since Sister Yumo doesn't want to talk about it, I won't ask anymore."

Mengxi tactfully gave her a gentle smile. Not the slightest trace of frustration from being rejected appeared on her beautiful face.

The girl's smile remained as bright as sunlight, as beautiful and radiant as ever...

...

--

However,

Miss Mengxi's smile did not seem to have a particularly long shelf life.

After making her agreement with Sister Yumo and returning to the Asumos Church camp, the smile on the girl's face disappeared without a trace.

Although she had said that she respected Sister Yumo's choice, the moment she thought about the black-haired girl still hiding something from her,

Mengxi couldn't help feeling a wave of sadness in her heart, biting her lip in mild frustration.

Even though,

She herself was currently hiding plenty of things from Sister Yumo...

'Hehe, I'm really being a bit hypocritical, aren't I...'

Mengxi shook her head, unable to resist mocking herself inwardly.

Walking briskly through the long, quiet corridor,

Mengxi's pale-purple eyes were filled with complicated and solemn emotions. The conflicted and helpless expression Sister Yumo had shown when answering her question replayed endlessly inside Mengxi's mind.

'Sister Yumo isn't telling me because there's something she can't openly talk about, right?'

Moreover,

That feeling...

After carefully recalling every tiny movement Miss Yumo had made at the time, a strange thought gradually surfaced in Mengxi's mind.

She didn't know whether it was merely her imagination,

But it seemed like Sister Yumo wasn't unwilling to say it...

It was more like she couldn't say it.

As though some kind of power was restricting Sister Yumo...

'How strange.'

Slowly stopping beside the frozen pond, Mengxi let out a helpless sigh and thoughtfully gazed northward.

Mengxi had always believed that in a romantic relationship, one needed to give the other person some privacy. Since Sister Yumo didn't want to talk about it, Mengxi shouldn't relentlessly pry into her secrets.

However,

The uneasiness in Mengxi's heart only grew stronger.

She didn't know why.

Perhaps it was a woman's sixth sense, but she had this persistent feeling,

That when Sister Yumo finally chose to tell her the truth of her own accord, Mengxi would inevitably regret it bitterly...

No.

'I still have to find some way to figure it out.'