Valo spent the entire day with the Sister Superior.
Early that morning, she had set off with the Sister Superior for the Take-off Area of the Spaceport, which controlled the ascent and descent of the airships.
After explaining their intentions to the relevant personnel, they ordered the area to be placed under martial law and closed most of the gates.
This was not, of course, to camp the bridge, but to ensure that the Elves—who were arriving by airship with the Holy Relics—could land smoothly and safely.
The rest of the time?
Naturally, she was left staring blankly at Sister Superior Kenes while they waited.
Valo did not get along with this invisible female ghost. Never mind her tall figure, elegant temperament, and reasonably pretty face; the moment she opened her mouth, she was nothing but passive-aggressive.
“Lady Varo, ever since you became an ‘Ambassador,’ the Lady Saintess has been quite gloomy. Do you have any idea why?”
‘Hmph, she’s asking even though she already knows.’
“Since you are no longer a Saintess Candidate, when do you plan to sever your mother-daughter relationship with the Lady Saintess? I would hate for you to use the name of the Saintess’s mother to buy things on credit in the Capital City.”
‘Don’t even think about it! How can you slander a person’s innocence out of thin air?’
Varo Lant had never bought anything on credit! It was just that the shopkeepers recognized her identity and proactively offered to treat her!
“In addition, regarding your daughter—young Lady Kaika’s previously used Holy Relic—could you allow me to admire it up close another day?”
“What are you trying to do to my daughter!?”
This time, Valo was truly anxious. She had managed to temporarily hide the secret of Kaika’s identity by using the “protective mother” act as a cover.
And so, she continued to stare at the smiling Sister Superior.
They simply remained locked in a stalemate.
Valo certainly wouldn’t come here to sit in “prison” for no reason. She was personally keeping a close eye on the Sister Superior today to create an opportunity for Emma to get close to Anqi on the other side.
Anqi had been avoiding her ever since she ran away yesterday. How could Valo not notice?
What a joke. In her past life, she had managed to handle the highest difficulty start with Kaika; could she not handle a mere Saintess daughter?
As the saying goes, it is better to channel than to block. By giving the time and opportunity for contact to Emma—with that pink puppy’s simplicity and clumsiness—Anqi would surely let down her guard and confide her troubles regarding her “mother” to her.
Valo felt she had calculated everything.
Thus, when night fell and the Elves carrying the Holy Relics finally arrived, Valo immediately made an excuse to part ways with the Sister Superior.
The Sister Superior was responsible for receiving the Elves, arranging their accommodations, and setting the time and place for the handover of the Holy Relics.
Meanwhile, Valo used the excuse of “notifying the Saintess” to hurry back to her residence.
She thought to herself: ‘I left Emma an entire day to scout for information. No matter how much of a klutz that pink idiot is, she should have been able to get something out of Anqi, right?’
That was her expectation before she returned.
However, the small chapel under the starlight was pitch black inside and out, and completely empty! The moment Valo stepped inside, she keenly caught the scent of blood in the air!
The moment she frantically burst into Emma’s room, the unexpected scene before her scared her so much her heart nearly stopped!
Emma’s room was a total mess, and there were even traces of the Magic Holy Spear left on the walls!
And Emma, that stupid pink dog, really did look like a dog that had been shot.
She was curled up on the floor, barely having enough strength left to breathe!
A bloody “skylight” had been opened near the girl’s heart. If the angle of the wound had shifted just a bit more toward the heart, and if Emma weren’t a member of the Blood Tribe…
Even nine lives wouldn’t have been enough for this stupid dog to lose!
Without a second thought, Valo activated the second skill of the Holy Relic, Ascara, on the Blood Tribe girl: Health Lock.
At the very least, she had to hang onto Emma’s life and let her “slowly recover” using the regenerative abilities of the Blood Tribe.
However, not only did the pink idiot not settle down, but the moment she saw Valo appear, she used both her hands and feet to crawl excitedly toward her like an Abnormal.
She even seemed to be wagging a non-existent tail.
Then, with a weak yet euphoric voice, she offered Valo a nonsensical congratulation.
“Hehe… Demon King, I finally waited for you to return.”
Even though she was on the verge of death, the girl’s crimson eyes were incredibly bright at that moment. “Congratulations, Demon King. You can now take control of the Hidden Sea Church~”
‘What? What?’
What on earth was this stupid pink dog babbling about? Rather than congratulating her, it would be better to explain the mess here and how the wound from the Holy Spear came to be.
…Wait!
‘Something’s wrong!’
The magic traces left on the wall were from Anqi’s Holy Spear, but why would Anqi suddenly become “heart-to-heart” friends with Emma for no reason?
At this moment, Emma’s characteristics as a member of the Blood Tribe were already evident. Coupled with that stupid dog’s congratulation about “controlling the Church”…
A bad premonition suddenly flashed through Valo’s mind!
After confirming that the pink idiot in front of her definitely wouldn’t die, she immediately straightened her expression and questioned her sternly, “You bastard! What have you done!?”
In the next moment, Emma’s response was an unexpected and severe blow!
“I injected the Blood Source Curse I received from the True Ancestor into the Saintess’s body. And it has indeed taken effect, Demon King!”
The Blood Tribe girl hadn’t spoken until she was asked, but the moment Valo did, she excitedly reported her “success” like a puppy.
She struggled to sit up, kneeling on the floor.
She didn’t even care to heal the hideous hole in her body. Instead, she placed both hands on the ground and blinked her crimson eyes happily, as if waiting for Valo’s praise and approval.
“Although there was a small accident—the Saintess has a high resistance to curses and managed to run away—it’s just as I thought: that filthy, ugly Skywing Race girl doesn’t dare to call for help at all! Demon King, you can completely control her anytime and anywhere now!”
“Hey, hey, Demon King, how did I do this time? Did I exceed the mission you gave me?”
Valo said nothing.
Seeing that she didn’t react, the pink puppy in front of her suddenly shrugged her shoulders, looked up, and asked cautiously.
“Demon King? I… I didn’t cause any trouble for you, did I?”
Valo still didn’t speak.
How else could she evaluate this?
She, the Villainous Demon King, had finally asked Emma for a “small favor,” and this stupid pink dog had made her lose everything so completely.
‘Damn it!’
‘Emma, are you even human!?’
The Blood Source Curse was a powerful curse magic used by high-ranking Blood Tribe members in Valorant to create kin.
Since Emma was a First-embrace kin of the Blood Ancestor in this timeline, the Blood Source Curse on her was naturally among the strongest.
True to Emma’s words, if directly injected, even Saintess Anqi would be unable to resist it.
A person afflicted by the Blood Source Curse would be slowly eroded by the curse and would develop the impulsive symptoms of a Blood Tribe kin.
The most classic symptoms were a craving for blood and changes in physical condition.
In the cursed state, even biting an ordinary person would only provide temporary relief for the thirst; it would not lift the curse. The only way to temporarily break the curse was…
Depending on the intensity of the Blood Source Curse, one had to receive the “gift” of bodily fluids from a higher-ranking demon.
Afterward, every time the curse showed signs of flaring up, it could only be suppressed by that high-ranking demon.
To put it plainly, it meant acknowledging a master. This was the exact mechanism high-ranking Blood Tribe members used to create kin.
At this moment, Valo felt like she was going to be driven to laughter by the sheer absurdity of this stupid dog’s actions.
‘Emma, oh Emma, are you the only loyal, good, and virtuous official?’
She had no choice but to suppress her anger, forced out a “praising smile,” and asked, “Emma, I recall only asking you to scout out the Saintess’s thoughts, didn’t I?”
After her injuries had recovered significantly under Ascara’s Health Lock, Emma’s answer this time was even louder and happier!
“Didn’t you tell me, Demon King? Your ultimate goal is to control the Hidden Sea Church by controlling the Saintess!”
“I… I felt that I couldn’t let this perfect opportunity pass, so I chose to take action. And it really was successful, Demon King! Please believe me!”
‘Yeah, yeah, sure, sure.’
‘Yes, you succeeded, Emma!’
‘But the Demon King in front of you is finished!’
“Quiet! Look at how conceited you are after succeeding. You’re useless!”
“Shut up and heal yourself until you can mask your presence!”
Valo growled at the excited pink puppy to settle down while holding her forehead in a contemplative pose.
She absolutely could not let anyone discover that Anqi was afflicted by the Blood Source Curse…
Especially the Sister Superior!
Because in the various routes of the game, there really was a plotline where “Anqi is afflicted by the Blood Source Curse”!
It was no longer important how she had been hit. The danger was that, as the Saintess of the Hidden Sea Church, Anqi’s legitimacy largely came from her origin as a rare race—the Skywing Race.
Once others, especially members of the Church, discovered that Anqi was cursed and her identity was no longer pure, she would no longer be able to be the Saintess!
Reason? Excuse? Hardship?
Even if everyone knew Anqi was innocent, so what?
Anqi would lose her qualification to be the Saintess. At the same time, the Anqi Route in the game would gradually lean toward the Fallen Angel Route, which occurred after the Saintess was cursed.
Naturally, the Magneto Ending that Valo was pursuing would have its trigger condition completely blocked because Anqi could not become the Saintess!
Thinking of this, Valo spoke immediately.
“Emma, how long has it been since Anqi ran away?”
“Not… not long at all~ Demon King, are you going to go after her? I don’t think you need to be in a hurry. Can’t we just wait for the Saintess’s curse to take full effect until she can’t help but come back and beg you to be her master?”
“Are you teaching me how to do things?”
“Eek! Ab-absolutely not!”
Sensing the admiring gaze from the frightened pink puppy, Valo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed there was still time!
Anqi hadn’t been afflicted by the Blood Source Curse for long. As long as she could find the girl before she completely transformed into a member of the Blood Tribe, there was still hope!
Even if a cursed person bit an ordinary human, the curse would not be lifted—especially since this curse was a First-embrace curse from the Blood Ancestor.
But… what if she didn’t bite an ordinary human?
Valo had the only means to temporarily suppress Anqi’s curse.
It was only in her hands, only in the hands of the Demon King.
She had to execute it herself.
To ensure her Magneto Ending wasn’t blocked, and also… for her Saintess daughter’s sake, she could no longer hesitate!
“Emma, the Sister Superior will be back soon. Before then, clean up the mess you’ve made! Don’t let our identities be exposed!”
“Yes… Yes! Then, Demon King, you…”
Before the pink puppy could finish, Valo had already unfolded her second-stage Demon King form and flown out of the window!
She left behind only the admiring gaze of the Blood Tribe girl.
“Ah… the Demon King is truly amazing.”
“I really want to be the Demon King’s daughter, too.”