That feeling of a “sudden mutation” only lasted for a short while.
On the way back, Anqi found that Emma had returned to being a slightly ditzy, candy-pink puppy.
The change was so complete that Anqi couldn’t even find a way to ask this “puppy” about the sour doubts lingering in her heart.
‘Why does Emma know so clearly that my relationship with Mom is currently strained?’
‘Why did Emma volunteer to help us get along again?’
It almost seemed as if Emma and Mom were secretly very close, which was why this pink puppy was helping her. It felt like the effortless leisure of the strong showing pity to the weak.
Anqi even felt a hint of jealousy.
But if Emma really had a way to ease the tension between her and her mother—and especially a way to make her mother clearly understand the allure she held over her…
Such a thought, like Adam and Eve stealing the forbidden fruit, was clearly not something a proper Saintess should have, but…
Anqi was still tempted.
……
That night, a crescent moon and a multitude of stars decorated the clear night sky.
Taking advantage of the fact that the Sister Superior and her mother had not yet returned, Anqi dismissed the members of this Church branch.
With a nervous heart, she immediately knocked on the door to Emma’s room.
What met Anqi’s eyes was a darkness no different from the night outside—Emma hadn’t even lit a lamp.
It seemed as if the pink puppy had done nothing at all and was specifically waiting for her.
In the hazy moonlight, those crimson eyes locked onto Anqi the moment she appeared, overflowing with pleasant surprise.
“Uh, Emma?”
“Lady Saintess, you’re finally here~” The pink puppy’s voice bubbled with excitement. “I knew you’d want to get on better terms with Mom.”
An indescribable sense of unease bubbled up in Anqi’s heart. “That’s true, but why are you being so mysterious, Emma?”
The pink puppy in her sight immediately put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest, speaking with the serious attitude of a small animal.
“Of course it’s because the method I’m about to tell you, Lady Saintess, can’t be known by anyone else!”
Anqi couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. Was it really necessary to maintain such a “just between us” atmosphere simply to discuss ways to improve her relationship with her mother?
Regardless, she sat down beside Emma’s bed and agreed, “Fine, fine. So, Emma, what advice do you have?”
The pink puppy in front of her seemed even more excited.
“Heh-heh, Lady Saintess, this is my exclusive secret recipe. After using it, you’ll quickly become the daughter with the absolute closest relationship to Mom.”
“Can I come a little closer and whisper it in your ear?”
Anqi could only nod helplessly. She watched Emma approach with an unusually hyperactive smile, her eyes wide. Emma sat down right next to her, her cute face leaning close to Anqi’s neck.
Emma’s confident guarantee had piqued her curiosity. Anqi wanted to hear what kind of idea this pink puppy could come up with.
Since she mentioned a “secret recipe,” she surely didn’t plan on giving her some strange pink potion to knock Mom out, right?
No, no, such methods touched upon her bottom line. As a Saintess, she would never use such a shameless way to get her mother.
Moreover, as an Apprentice Nun of the Hidden Sea Church, how could Emma act like this?
She really needed to educate and correct Emma…
“Ah—!”
‘It hurts?’
A sharp pain suddenly pierced Anqi’s neck.
Before she could even react to what had happened, in almost a single heartbeat, an extremely complex and ominous miniature precision magic circle formed in front of Emma’s face as she leaned against Anqi’s neck!
A pungent, metallic scent of rust mingled with the crimson glow… It was magic belonging to the Demon Clan—the Blood Tribe!
‘Could it be that this Emma…!’
As the Saintess of the Hidden Sea Church, Anqi was by no means a flower in a greenhouse; she was a warrior who had actually participated on the front lines of the Subjugation Team!
Anqi’s reaction speed was incredibly fast. The moment she realized something was wrong with the pink puppy named Emma, she thrust out a golden Holy Spear!
With a muffled thud, the spear pierced through Emma’s chest, pinning her firmly to the wall ahead!
“Cough, cough… ah… blegh…”
The sound of coughing blood echoed. By the golden light radiating from the Holy Spear, Anqi finally saw the true appearance of this Apprentice Nun named Emma.
Her body hung limply. The wings and tail behind her waist had emerged, drooping softly due to her injuries.
Crimson eyes, the pointed ears of the Demon Clan, and two pairs of sharp fangs were clearly visible behind lips stained with blood.
There was no dispute—she was a member of the Blood Tribe!
But why hadn’t Emma shown a single flaw before? This pink puppy had been an Apprentice Nun right inside the Hidden Sea Church!
‘Is she too strong?’
No, she was too weak… She was so weak that no one could detect any traces of the Blood Tribe on her. It matched Emma’s usual behavior—as simple as a puppy…
In the next moment, Emma’s movements interrupted Anqi’s astonishment.
Despite being pierced through the chest by the Holy Spear and having a voice that trembled with every word, the Blood Tribe girl in Anqi’s sight would rather grin through the pain to laugh excitedly.
“Cough, cough… I… I succeeded. Haha~ I did it!”
“Blegh… This way, the Demon King will definitely praise me, right? Hee-hee…”
‘Demon King? Mom?’
Anqi immediately looked up to interrogate her!
“Emma! What did you do to me!?”
She had just been bitten by Emma—that was a method for the Blood Tribe to feed or for high-ranking Blood Tribe members to create Kin.
Anqi hadn’t been worried initially. As the Saintess, how could she be affected by an ordinary member of the Blood Tribe?
However, the Blood Tribe girl’s joyous attitude—so excited she seemed unable to feel pain—gave Anqi an extremely bad premonition.
“That’s… that’s so mean, Lady Saintess. I didn’t lie to you.”
Emma’s hands tightly gripped the Holy Spear in her chest. The sound of sizzling, burning flesh was incredibly clear in the quiet room.
“I’m just helping you and Mom get a better, closer relationship. I used my ‘exclusive secret recipe’ after all.”
‘Exclusive secret recipe?’
Anqi reacted instantly. It was that Blood Tribe magic Emma had used when she bit her.
Even if it had only appeared for a fleeting moment, Anqi could feel how precise, complex, and powerful that magic was.
There was no way a Blood Tribe member of Emma’s level could use it without an incantation! Wait, why did Emma use it? Couldn’t she have just carried the magic and “injected” it into Anqi’s body?
What kind of Blood Tribe magic could even be “carried” like that?
Just as Anqi realized the danger, her “punishment” arrived abruptly.
“Gasp…”
Her vision blurred and her heart rate accelerated. A hunger and thirst as intense as a primal instinct suddenly swept through Anqi’s entire body, causing her to curl up in pain!
When her eyes struggled to sweep over Emma, this instinctive thirst became even stronger, nearly overwhelming her rationality!
Her remaining thoughts told her: this was a craving for blood. She craved fresh blood to be pacified.
The magic Emma had injected into her after the bite was a curse used by High-ranking Blood Tribe members to create Kin—the Blood Source Curse! Emma had sacrificed her own status as a Blood Tribe Kin to inject the Blood Source Curse into her body!
‘But, but why?’
She was the Saintess of the Hidden Sea Church! The curse of an ordinary High-ranking Blood Tribe member should have been impossible to work on her!
Why was she suffering from the Blood Source Curse now? Who exactly was the “Master” of this Kin named Emma?
“Don’t… don’t resist, Saintess. This is the only secret recipe I have that can deal with you~”
Emma finally broke the Holy Spear in her chest with a crack, and her entire body fell miserably to the floor.
Yet, the Blood Tribe girl’s face was filled with the excitement of victory. Her crimson eyes shone with sincere, simple joy.
It was the first time Anqi felt that the word “simple” could be so dangerous and terrifying.
“This is the Blood Source Curse of a Blood Ancestor’s First Embrace~ Hee-hee. Although my former Master was a foolish ruler, she was a genuine Blood Ancestor, you know? Surprising, right?”
“The Blood Ancestor thought that no idiot would ever voluntarily give up their status as a First-embrace kin. So, she didn’t place any forced curse restrictions on me~ Thanks to that, I could use this Blood Ancestor’s Blood Source Curse on you.”
Lying on the ground, Emma giggled weakly.
“It… it was just as I thought. If the Blood Ancestor’s Blood Source Curse is injected directly, even a Saintess will fall for it~”
“Heh, heh-heh… cough, cough. Saintess, you’ll slowly fall and become the member of the Blood Tribe you hate the most~ Craving blood, a living corpse, wings turning black, skin becoming pale… ah…”
“Unless… you find an existing High-ranking Demon to be your Master.”
Anqi didn’t want to listen to this Blood Tribe puppy’s victory speech.
While desperately suppressing the hunger and emptiness characteristic of the Blood Tribe that had begun to spread in her heart, she struggled to stand up, wanting to find the Sister Superior for help.
However, the moment the surging impulses and desires in her mind receded slightly like a low tide, and her reason regained the upper hand…
A cold shiver ran through her. Anqi, who was about to move, realized a terrifying problem.
She couldn’t tell anyone about being afflicted by the Blood Source Curse!
The Skywing Race was the rarest existence in the world. Everything she had now—the respect she enjoyed as the Saintess of the Hidden Sea Church, the trust of her companions, and even… her mother’s care—all came from this identity!
If her identity as a Skywing was tainted, it wouldn’t matter if everyone knew she was an innocent victim.
At that time, would the Hidden Sea Church, the Havoc Empire, or even the Skywing Race themselves… still allow her to continue as the Church’s Saintess?
“You don’t dare to say it, do you, Saintess?”
Following Emma’s cheerful voice, Anqi saw those crimson eyes glinting with a hint of mockery.
Perhaps this puppy had never been just “simple.”
“Even if you say holy and beautiful words, I can tell~ You’re a filthy, ugly woman, too, Saintess~”
“You lust after all sorts of wicked thoughts, yet you have to put on an act to maintain your purity. Is that why your relationship with Mom… with the Demon King, became so bad? What a troublesome woman.”
“But it’s okay. You’ll be able to become honest soon~ You just have to wait for the Demon King to take pity on you in her capacity as ‘Master’~”
A shudder went through Anqi’s entire body. “M-Mom?”
She was immediately met with Emma’s smiling, cold rebuttal.
“You mean Master. You will become the Demon King’s Kin. Only the Demon King can grant you relief and return you to normal when your curse manifests.”
“Hee-hee… As long as the thought that ‘you are the Church’s Saintess’ still exists in your heart, you will never be able to resist the Demon King! You wouldn’t dare, right? You’re unwilling, right? You can’t bear to lose it? It’s fine, cough, cough… You can continue being your Saintess, as long as you obey the great Demon King, Valo Rante II!”
“Won’t that make your relationship with the Demon King the absolute closest? You’ll be mother and daughter, and also Master and Kin. Ahh~ I’m so envious. If it wasn’t the Demon King’s order, I wouldn’t have given the Blood Source Curse to you.”
Was Emma’s action the Demon King’s order?
Was this Mom’s intention!?
“Gasp…”
The curse struck again. The girl, who was now using every ounce of her strength just to resist the impulses in her heart, could no longer think about anything else.
Her remaining sanity made her crash through the door in a panic. She spread her wings—which were no longer pure white—and flew into the night sky like a headless fly.
‘Hide…’
That was Anqi’s only thought at this moment.