Unlike the two hardest daughters to raise in Valorant — the slave Elf Kaika and the Female Hero Finney — the Hidden Sea Church Saintess, Anqi, who was one of the optional daughters, had a much smoother progression.
As long as the player successfully had Anqi enshrined as the Saintess of the Hidden Sea Church, the plot would no longer feature any strange death endings.
The kind-hearted Anqi would never engage in the dark, creepy behavior of matricide.
‘I’m talking about you, Kaika!’
The difficulty of Anqi’s starting game did not lie in death scenarios but in the choice of route for her ending.
After all, the opposition between the identity of a daughter with the status of a Saintess and her adoptive Villainous Demon King mother was far stronger than that of the Hero daughter.
Consequently, as long as the player did not raise Anqi’s stats too poorly, two extreme developments would emerge depending on whether Anqi’s Justice Value was at a certain threshold.
If Anqi’s Justice Value was too low, the kind girl would choose to stay with her mother and renounce her status as a Saintess.
To make her daughter happy, the player would then establish a New Hidden Sea Church within the Demon Clan.
‘What, a Demon Saintess isn’t a Saintess? Don’t be so narrow-minded.’
No one could complain about that; it was a genuine display of filial piety.
Or… if Anqi’s Justice Value was too high, and the player had raised her too well, making her too perfect and Saintly, then the Saintess, who did not wish to harm her mother but could not tolerate her identity as the Villainous Demon King, would eventually conceive a bold and insane plan.
[Take away Mother’s status as the Villainous Demon King and discipline her from the outside in… until everything about her looks like a Saintess Candidate.]
This was also a form of filial piety.
[Relinquishing the Demon King identity to become a Saintess Candidate] — this was commonly known among players as the Virtuous Corruption Ending.
And so…
Valo had endured the pressure to take in Anqi as her daughter.
She had lost the chance to be the dominant one in the relationship just to preserve her other two daughters.
Under the gaze of the Eye of the Goddess, she had pretended to be a soft, weak mother for a long time.
Valo had been subtly laying the groundwork for so long just to enter the Virtuous Corruption Ending of Anqi’s route.
At this moment, Valo felt as though she were Han Feng number two.
In the eyes of the players, the Virtuous Corruption Ending was technically just one of the many “Bad Endings.”
Under Anqi’s coercion or emotional manipulation, the player would abandon their identity as the Demon King and their grand ambitions.
They would discard their demonic form, their dreams, and their future.
Ultimately, they would be molded by Anqi into her ideal Saintess Candidate.
Although the player did indeed obtain power second only to Anqi in that ending and lived a life of luxury where they never had to lift a finger, could that person still truly be called the Villainous Demon King Valo Rante II?
However, those old arguments among players from her previous life were irrelevant to Valo’s current situation.
She didn’t hesitate for a second.
‘Are you telling me that as long as I enter the Virtuous Corruption Ending, I can escape all possible death endings? Not only can I logically sever my maternal ties with the other daughters, but I can also enjoy the comfortable life of a Celestial Being?’
The benefits were clear; what were the downsides?
Snapping back to reality, Saintess Anqi was still pinning her down in the pool, wearing a smug look as if she had her exactly where she wanted her.
She was waiting for a response, not even caring that her wings were getting wet.
As a master of gal games, Valo immediately judged that in this timeline’s version of the Virtuous Corruption Ending, Anqi was using coercion.
Since the path to the ending was already open, what she needed to do now was “cooperate.”
She had to put up a fake resistance, hold out for a bit, and then slowly show signs of being broken.
She had to avoid showing any clues that might let Anqi notice her intent, which would only lead to unnecessary trouble.
Thus, in the next moment…
Valo took a deep breath and began to struggle with all her might!
“Don’t… don’t even think about such a ridiculous idea, Saintess Anqi!”
Just as she expected, how could a weakling brat Demon King like her, who struggled even to open a bottle cap, possibly resist Anqi?
Although the girl on top of her seemed to be putting in some effort, she still held her down firmly.
“Even if I just want to live a peaceful life, there is no way I would ever abandon my identity as a member of the Demon Clan! And a Saintess Candidate… what kind of ulterior motives do you have for picking a demon like me!?”
Sure enough, Anqi wasn’t surprised by her persistence and resistance at all.
The girl pretended to get up, and the moment Valo faked a struggle to stand, Anqi suddenly grabbed her by the waist! Then, she reached out and lightly tapped a spot on her lower back.
“Ulterior motives? Sigh… I’m doing all of this for your sake, Mom.”
The rejection caused by the completely incompatible magical power made the wings on Valo’s back — the symbol of her identity as a demon — sprout, unfold, and spread out uncontrollably.
Anqi immediately grabbed the base of the wings with a firm grip!
“Eek!”
Valo couldn’t help but let out a cry!
The sharp pain was accompanied by a strange sense of pleasure. It was like eating a spicy chili; the top half was suffering while enjoying it, and the bottom half was enjoying while suffering.
Anqi glanced at her sideways.
“Even though you’ve become my mother, that doesn’t mean I’ll let you do as you please, especially since you’re still carrying a Holy Relic.”
“In normal circumstances, to ensure you no longer have the ability to resist, I should cut off all your demonic features — these wings and that hidden tail of yours.”
“But as long as you become a Saintess Candidate, these things will just be trivial formalities. Mom, this is a compromise I’ve spent a long time thinking about.”
‘Ho ho? Playing hardball, are we? The thing I’m least afraid of is something hard.’
After all, the pace of the “corruption” hadn’t reached its peak yet.
Even in those doujinshi where the young wife has a husband in debt and a son being bullied at school, she has to hold out through the first round, right?
Valo’s small wings fluttered a few times. She didn’t even have to fake it; now that her wings were being held, her entire body felt limp, and even wriggling in struggle was a chore.
Her body could be soft, but her mouth had to be tough! The more she resisted, the happier Anqi would surely be right now.
The more she struggled, the more the Saintess would believe she had no choice.
After all, Anqi thought she held all the leverage.
“Don’t think you can use this kind of threat to…”
Sure enough, in the next instant, Anqi’s faint, reminding voice rang in Valo’s ear.
“Then what about your other two daughters, Mom?”
“Uh…”
Valo’s body trembled, and she momentarily gave up her attempts to escape.
In truth, she was just a little tired.
But Anqi’s tone became incredibly excited and relaxed. “What about Kaika? Her grades and performance at the Clock Tower are so good that many famous professors are competing to teach her.”
“Would you have the heart to let Kaika fall from such a wonderful life back to the bottom of the abyss?”
‘I’d have the heart, all right.’
‘Because you have no idea just how creepy and dark Kaika actually is, Anqi.’
That “good girl” act? Hmph. It was just a disguise that her Demon Seed daughter was almost bored of using.
“And then there’s Finney. You were the one who offered to exchange terms with me just to protect her since she’s the Hero. If you give up now… Finney’s situation will become very dangerous.”
“Is that really okay? Putting responsibility aside, I wouldn’t want Finney to be doomed for eternity because of you, Mom.”
‘Wow, talk about a pro. Whether Finney has a future or not depends entirely on what you say, yet you still managed to find an angle to shift the blame?’
However, those honest thoughts were best kept to herself.
The timing was right; it was time to move on to the next step of the “threatened young wife” trope.
“Ugh…”
Valo clenched her tiny fists, putting on a soft, pouting look that suggested she wanted to resist but had too many concerns. She muttered, “Anqi, you’re a Saintess. How can you be so despicable…?”
“Despicable? I don’t like that description. I’m simply stating facts; it’s just that you’re too afraid to face them, Mom.”
Seeing Valo’s hesitation and believing she had left her with no room for refusal, Anqi quickly delivered the final blow.
“Don’t worry, Mom. Becoming a Saintess Candidate isn’t as bad as you think.”
The girl shook Valo’s arm, beginning to act spoiled in her victory. “Just say yes, Mom. Am I not your daughter too?”