The Demon God’s Judgment

It was clear that X had already calculated Gloria, compelled by some irresistible force, was confined to sharing a single body with her, unable to easily escape. X surmised that perhaps this very world imposed certain restrictions upon Gloria, preventing her from acting with unbridled abandon. Thus, X’s mere presence served as the ultimate restraint on Gloria, hindering her from wantonly destroying this world. At the very least, when confronted by an Outer God who claimed to belong to the chaotic-neutral alignment, X would rather align herself with humanity.

As for the little demon god’s claims of effortlessly annihilating universes, X would never believe such power existed until she witnessed it firsthand.

“Hah, I was honest with you, and this is how you treat your benefactor?” Gloria was genuinely incensed.

“My esteemed benefactor, I assure you, my intentions are pure. I merely followed your advice and indulged my desires.” To conceal her mirth, X subtly tilted her head. “Could it be that my request was too much? My sincerest apologies. If my demands do not align with your wishes, you are surely capable of finding a more suitable partner than a frail woman like myself. The might of a Demon God is simply beyond what mere mortals like us can bear.”

The implication in her words was stark: X was essentially telling Gloria to either cooperate with her whims or seek a more competent individual. In reality, she was coercing Gloria into compliance, thereby simultaneously restricting her own actions within the Sistia World.

To use a mortal body and psychological tactics to test a Demon God’s limits was truly an act of someone with a death wish. Had she not harbored a sliver of fondness for X, Gloria would have long since invoked the power of the Demonic Edict to force her compliance.

As X maintained her amused detachment, Gloria’s fury abruptly dissipated, as if sucked away by a vacuum cleaner. Her expression settled into one of tranquility, her eyes now reflecting three parts disgust and seven parts pity.

“Even after breaking free from your cage, you still contemplate opposing me for the sake of those people,” she stated coldly. “I urge you to truly reflect on what they did to you, and to those children. Consider how they trampled upon your dignity and your very life! Are you not enraged? Do you not desire the power to exact revenge? Are you truly abandoning an opportunity for vengeance merely to pursue carnal desires? I could have granted you all of this, yet you refused my offer.”

Gloria’s sudden shift to seriousness rendered her unfamiliar to X, and simultaneously, X’s soul shivered involuntarily.

“Before me, you never needed to pretend. All you had to do was confess your true thoughts. And as the Demon God with the greatest affinity for mortals, I would not have minded you pouring out your sorrows to me. I have witnessed more tragedies than there are atoms in your body.”

“I…” X felt a pang of regret.

“But that mask of falsity on your face, you’ve worn it for too long; it’s become embedded in your flesh, impossible to remove!” Gloria’s gaze grew increasingly cold and sharp, piercing X’s heart with dread. “Once, to survive, you were forced to mask yourself with smiles, to deceive others with lies, all to mitigate the suffering of your body and mind. I understand that.

By day, you would fashion a perfect smile, donning it to play the part of a harmless, smiling tiger. By midday, you would assume the cold, ruthless countenance of an assassin, acting as a robot programmed solely to obey, performing dirty work for those beasts. Only in the dead of night would you shed all pretense, weeping alone in the shadows, crying out why you loved this world when it did not love you back.

I saw it all. For that, I offer my sympathy, and I feel anger at your plight.”

Upon hearing Gloria’s words, X felt a chord within her resonate. No one had ever truly cared about her thoughts; they had all treated her as a tireless machine, which filled X with an immense loathing for this world. Yet, deep down, X still considered herself human.

As a human girl, she yearned for the affection of others, be it familial love or friendship, or even the most tenuous neighborly bond—any of it would have brought her contentment. She had once harbored many friendships, but they had all vanished since…

Just as X became lost in her memories, Gloria’s roar jolted her back to consciousness.

“But your painful past is no excuse for your deception towards me! I do not like this version of you!”

“I…”

X realized that, owing to her deception, she might have genuinely missed an opportunity—a chance to redeem herself. Perhaps, as a result, she would lose Gloria, a potential dear friend.

A profound sadness settled upon her.

As storm clouds began to gather, a blush crept across her face.

Gloria gritted her teeth, flexing her hands in anticipation. From a dimensional rift, she produced a dark, ink-colored dagger that appeared neither threatening nor sharp. Then, slowly, she raised her arm.

Simultaneously, X felt her physical body, beyond her control, swing its arm down, aiming for her own chest.

“No—” The moment X saw the dagger, she instantly understood everything. The ‘missing happy functions’ on her body—they had all been severed by Gloria. Overwhelmed with anxiety, she desperately wanted to reason with Gloria.

But in that very instant, facing the swift descent of the blade, she could no longer afford such concerns. She had to fight with all her might to preserve the last spark of hope.

“Unless you endure the pain of absolute truth, that mask will never be torn away,” Gloria declared self-righteously. “Learn from your mistakes. This wretched world is not worth your salvation, nor is it worth fighting for. What it needs is a storm that sweeps all away, a rebirth after a purifying fire!”

“You can’t do this…”

The descending right hand was seized by the left. Both sides began to contend for control of the body.

Yet, it was clear that a small mortal soul possessed no power to resist before Gloria. After struggling for less than half a second, the blade finally descended.

A flash of white light, and countless fragments of memories—playing in snow-laden mountain forests—reverberated through X’s mind. She recalled hauling white snow from afar to fill the mountain slopes. She remembered sledding from the crimson peaks down to the foothills, sparks flying and lightning flashing, a thrilling and joyous experience. She remembered looking at photographs of snow-capped mountains, watching them grow fuller day by day, a genuine smile gracing her lips.

As memory and reality gradually converged, X watched the two ‘snow mountains’ before her collapse, shrinking from C-cup to B-cup, leaving her utterly stunned.

The blade halted, the ‘avalanche’ ceased, and then pain surged, followed by tears raining down.

‘Damn it, Gloria was actually serious. If she had revealed such capabilities earlier, how would I have dared to provoke her? She can casually diminish another’s ‘weapon,’ perhaps even dismantle a vertical grip, achieving an XY conversion. With such immense power, anyone would be terrified, right? If she had only said so sooner, X would surely have tried to appease her.’

‘Still, her rashness wasn’t entirely to blame; after all, she hadn’t fully trusted Gloria from the start, had she?’