Of course, Vellandelle, who had escaped, knew nothing of this.
She was tending to the unconscious Karansa.
At that moment, a faint sigh echoed abruptly.
Vellandelle’s heart pounded in alarm.
In the silent darkness, a blue, ice-crystal pupil suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
She quickly glanced at Karansa beside her—still lying on the ground, unconscious, but with a healthy flush on her face, clearly having escaped the Thralldom state.
“What is this situation?”
The ice-crystal pupil swept its gaze around, finally settling on Vellandelle and Karansa.
Its stare lingered on Karansa for a moment, then shifted to Vellandelle.
That gaze alone brought a chill that seemed to freeze the marrow.
Yet in the next moment, she actually heard a clear, eerie voice emanating from the eye.
“Accept my Kinship, and end the Old Gods here!”
Kinship?
End the Old Gods?
To say something so bold—could this ice-crystal eye before her really be the God of Wind and Snow?
No way.
Karansa had just used Curse Power, and the God of Wind and Snow tracked her through the network?
Even found her location through the connection?
No, could luck really be this bad?
Vellandelle felt her head spin.
If this really was the God of Wind and Snow, how was she supposed to respond?
No matter how she thought about it, nothing seemed appropriate.
“Who are you?”
So she could only feign ignorance and ask warily.
“……”
“Totem of the Sunless.”
“Or, you may call me by the name known to the masses—Wind and Snow.”
The air grew instantly cold.
In the depths of the gaze, Vellandelle seemed to see a solitary, pure white figure amid endless Wind and Snow, those deep black eyes reaching across a thousand miles, landing on her.
Then Vellandelle sensed something was wrong—but it was too late.
Wind and Snow suddenly swept over her, the god of the North personally bestowing a Curse upon her.
“Are you kidding me.”
Vellandelle’s expression changed.
She struggled desperately against the Power, unlike others—she had no need for such Power, nor did she wish to be controlled by anyone else.
She absolutely did not want to accept any god’s Curse.
Just as the Power of Wind and Snow tried to surge into her, perhaps it was her desperate resistance that made the turbulent force pause.
A Remnant Moon manifested above her head, spinning once before forming a Full Moon, radiating holy brilliance.
“Cyan Moon? No, it’s dead… You… actually possess the Cold Moon Authority?”
The ice-crystal pupil narrowed.
The Wind and Snow dispersed swiftly from Vellandelle.
She realized her actions hadn’t triggered any emotion in the God of Wind and Snow—there was no malice in that gaze, only scrutiny.
But as the god spoke of her Authority, the atmosphere grew tense.
This god had not only discovered her royal demon identity but also that she held the Moon Authority.
No matter how she looked at it, it wasn’t good news.
“Heh.”
Suddenly, the tension eased.
The scrutinizing gaze softened, though it remained impossibly deep and mysterious.
“Don’t be nervous. I won’t reveal your identity or Authority. In fact, I’m even willing to share my own Authority with you. How about it?”
“And the price?”
There’s no such thing as a free lunch—especially when there’s such a drastic shift.
Vellandelle’s wariness grew.
“Become my ally.”
“……”
That made Vellandelle fall silent.
What did it mean to become this god’s ally?
Was the God of Wind and Snow rallying against something now?
What could she possibly do?
Even if the gods of this world weren’t truly omnipotent, they were still immensely powerful.
Yet compared to the God of Wind and Snow, she was just a small fry—yet the invitation was extended to her?
It had to be her potential.
“What if I refuse?”
Vellandelle asked curiously.
The gentle look in the ice-crystal eye faded, turning serious.
“Do you think you have a choice?”
“Cough, cough… Fine.”
Though she hated being at someone else’s mercy, she truly had no options at the moment.
“Accept my Authority. This is not a Curse—there’s no need to defend.”
Countless snowflakes floated through the darkness.
One, glowing with multicolored light, drifted down into her palm.
Hearing this, Vellandelle no longer resisted.
She possessed the Moon Authority and could tell this was the Power of Authority.
She understood that someone with Authority could grant a portion of their Power directly to others.
This Power wouldn’t affect the giver—but could be reclaimed at any time from its source.
“Whew…”
The act of forcibly dividing Power didn’t feel good, but the God of Wind and Snow looked at Vellandelle through the eye with a strange sense of comfort.
“Alright. With this Power, you can call yourself my Kin outside and better hide yourself.”
Listening to the god’s words, Vellandelle couldn’t help but think of something.
The God of Wind and Snow didn’t have many ways to restrict her—at most, tracking her location via Authority.
But so what?
For a god to find someone was simple.
If she ran when in trouble, what did it matter if she didn’t act as the ‘ally’ this god spoke of?
However, the God of Wind and Snow snorted coldly next, a hint of tsundere pride in the chill.
“Hmph. Also, don’t think you can avoid being my ally. I’ve already marked you with my Authority—you carry my presence. I won’t take it back easily, and if any of the other old ones see you, you’ll be identified as my faction.”
Alright, clearly Vellandelle’s earlier thoughts had been seen through.
There was no way to outsmart this god.
But having their presence left on her… when she played games, she always felt gods were all Lovecraftian monsters—yet their emotions seemed unexpectedly rich.
“Fine, fine.”
Feeling a new Power within her, Vellandelle grew excited.
With this, she could better disguise herself.
She also looked forward to researching Wind and Snow’s Authority—unlike blood and flesh, even its attacks seemed beautiful.
“I won’t say more. Having you as an ally is reward enough. Also, there are things you should know. I don’t know exactly where this place is, but I can tell you with certainty that there are no less than three Ancient Gods residing here.”
“Be careful. If you have the ability, you can try to kill them, but never communicate with them. Each one rose by trampling over us, so they’ll do anything to return to the mortal realm.”
“Maybe it’s the aura of the Ancient Gods, but in this place, divine or related Power is strengthened, and ordinary magic is much weaker. That’s all—I’m exhausted from splitting my Authority. Let me go rest…”
With that, the ice-crystal pupil began to fade, slowly disappearing.
“The God of Wind and Snow is unexpectedly human.”
Vellandelle smiled.
It seemed something important would happen soon, or else this god wouldn’t have been so eager to pull her in.
The God of Wind and Snow was indeed the last to ascend, so perhaps she really did need some help.
“Forget it, no use overthinking. There shouldn’t be much going on for a while. There isn’t much about these gods in the game anyway—no point worrying.”
She shook her head.
Then, beside her, Karansa let out a low moan, as if showing signs of awakening.
Startled, Vellandelle quickly put on her ring to hide herself.
“Vellandelle… Miss.”
Vellandelle had removed Karansa’s helmet while she was unconscious, so when Karansa opened her eyes, she could see her.
“Awake?”
Vellandelle smiled, causing Karansa’s face to flush.
She touched her head and realized her helmet was gone, instantly panicking.
“Karansa, what’s wrong? Why so flustered?”
“I—I’m not good-looking, so I usually wear a helmet.”
Karansa hurriedly covered her face.
She was a sweet-looking girl with a few freckles on her cheeks.
To Vellandelle, that hardly mattered—in fact, it was rather charming.
“Karansa is beautiful. Why cover your face?”
“R-Really?”
Karansa froze.
She’d always been teased by others for her freckles.
Vellandelle was so gentle…
“Really.”
Vellandelle reached out and touched Karansa’s cheek.
Karansa’s face turned scarlet, and she could barely speak.
“I… I… Ve…ll…”
As the two seemed so intimate, a figure appeared.
She wore white boots and a school uniform skirt.
Seeing the scene, the owner of the boots began to tremble.
In her icy green eyes, unimaginable anger flared.
The owner of the boots was Veronie.
She’d always thought herself calm, but ever since meeting Vellandelle, she kept losing control.
Even after being separated in the prison earlier, she’d worried about her the whole time.
But now!
She was doing this kind of thing behind her back!
“Vellandelle!”