Tsukuko soared above the castle, moonlight carving her silhouette out of the sky.
"Welcome, brother…" Her grin stretched wider.
She raised her hands as the moonlight surged over her body.
"It's been ages since I used my full potential. Let's start with… thirty percent."
From below, everyone watched in horror as the sky dimmed, swallowed by something unnatural.
Astharoth stood outside the castle, staring up with amusement. Pope Albert rushed behind him, breathless.
"My lord! What is happening?"
Astharoth smirked. "She's making things easier for me. Not fully, but enough. And she'll come for me eventually."
The pope blinked, completely lost.
"How's the king?" Astharoth asked.
Rosella knelt nearby. "He's stable… for now."
"It's time," Astharoth murmured to himself, shadows curling around him. "This is going to be fun."
The scene shifted.
People across the kingdom stared upward.
"What's happening?!"
A black mass spread until it covered the entire kingdom. Panic erupted everywhere.
Outside the walls, monsters emerged from the jungle, drawn in by the thick dark mist.
Tsukuko turned her head, sensing them. One by one, the beasts flooded toward the kingdom as her spell sealed the perimeter.
"Perfect," she whispered. "Time to have some fun… and Ashel, I should probably thank you. This meal is only possible because of you."
A pulse of power made her pause.
"Ooh… someone interesting showed up."
She grinned. "Welcome, Ema. Winston."
A harsh wind blew through her hair.
Inside her magic circle, she watched the chaos unfold. Monsters devoured fleeing humans. Screams tore through the burning streets. Corpses turned to ash.
Tsukuko smiled.
She descended, landing in the middle of the carnage. People ran, cried, begged. Monsters feasted around her. Blood splashed across her skin with every step she took.
She laughed.
"Hahaha! Pathetic. This is only the beginning."
She strolled barefoot through the blood, enjoying every second.
A woman, pregnant and terrified, sprinted away from a monster. She tripped, clutching her belly.
"Someone… please! Help me!" she sobbed.
Tsukuko glanced her way.
The monster lunged at Tsukuko, but the moment it touched her, it burst like an overripe fruit.
"What—?!" the woman screamed.
Tsukuko approached her slowly. "You're pregnant. Lucky you… I'm hungry."
"No! Please, spare me! In the name of the saints!"
Tsukuko's smile faded into a cold stare.
"Saints. Those frauds who think they can save the world… you remind me of someone I loathe. So no. I won't spare you."
The woman's eyes widened in horror.
Tsukuko knelt, plunging her hand into the woman's stomach.
The woman screamed in agony as Tsukuko tore the unborn child from her womb and devoured it. She crushed the woman's skull and consumed her as well.
A girl nearby vomited from the sight.
Ashel stood in the aftermath, drenched in blood from head to toe, her white dress soaked and dripping. Her breathing was unsteady, her mouth stained red.
"Oh… isn't that the Saint… oh my god, our last hope.
You're too late, Ema Winston."
The girl looked at her in disbelief, but then she took her chance and attacked.
A beautiful, serene Saint. The last hope of the people.
Inside the void of the trial chamber, the screen flickered again.
SYSTEM: REWARD AVAILABLE.
QUALIFICATION: USER HAS DEFEATED TARGET GROUP: CLAWS GANG.
INVENTORY SELECTION UNLOCKED.
CHOOSE ONE ITEM.
Five boxes appeared in a neat row, labeled 1 through 5.
Ashel wiped her eyes, still trembling, and slowly lifted her head to look at them.
"…A reward now…?" she murmured, exhausted, but the faintest ember of resolve glowed behind her expression.
"You took long?"
"Hm… I'll choose Box 2. No, wait—Box 3. No, wait… it should be Box 1. Yeah."
Ashel proudly smirked as if she'd found a treasure. The box glowed. It opened.
Ashel stood excited, but as the light dimmed, she frowned.
"What…?"
It was a small wooden stick with a tiny leaf on it.
"Are you ducking kidding me?! A freaking useless stick?!"
Ashel sighed. "Maybe it's good for… um… beating—wait."
Midway, an idea popped up.
"Is this like Moses' stick? Can I use it to split water?" Her eyes sparkled.
SYSTEM: NO.
"WHAT?!
Then why the hell would I use this stick for? Oh my god…
Tell me it's useful."
SYSTEM: YES ASHEL. IT IS USEFUL, BUT IT NEEDS TO BE PUT INTO THE SOIL AND WATERED.
"I don't have time for that!" Ashel spread her little arms in disbelief.
"I'll get old before this tree grows."
Forget it. Another thought came into Ashel's mind.
As far as she remembered—
Ashel kept her hands on her chin, thinking.
"Tsukuko…? How did she even end up inside my body?
I've only played half the story. There wasn't any extra character like me.
Also, wasn't Tsukuko only supposed to be the villain?
Then why…?"
Ashel thought carefully about the game. Closing her eyes, she sat down calmly.
"System, are you there?"
SYSTEM: YES ASHEL.
"Do you have any data about Tsukuko since you might have her data?"
SYSTEM: SEARCHING…
DATA NOT FOUND.
"Then what about the end of the story?
How did it end?"
SYSTEM: SEARCHING.
LONG TIME AGO BEFORE THE ASH AND DUST OF THE WORLD—
Then Ashel spoke nonchalantly mid-sentence.
"Yeah yeah, skip that part. I know.
The world was in despair, then the pleas of the humans made God pity them, and He sent the only Saint, Ema Winston, who held the holy fire.
Then she blessed the people of four different species: Human, Elf, Dwarf, and… what was the last one? I don't remember.
It was a sea creature…?"
SYSTEM: —
Before the system could say anything, Ashel continued,
"Yeah, later they won the battle even though it was a tough one, and in the end, the pure evil villain Tsukuko was badly defeated. But she was doing some kind of ritual, and the game was unfinished so it didn't show much.
I felt the game was unfinished. I just played the preview. The full version wasn't out.
The release got delayed. I kept waiting—days turned to years—but still nothing. Then I totally forgot about it."
SYSTEM: OK ASHEL.
"Tell me the end of the story. If you know." Ashel asked.
SYSTEM: THE STORY.
LATER, DURING THE RITUAL CALLED THE SEALING OFF—
The system started glitching, as if it wanted to reveal something but couldn't.
"System! System?! What's happening to you?
And then what happened next?"
SYSTEM: AN ERROR OCCURRED. OVERHEAT DETECTED.
SYSTEM REBOOTING…
"Hey, why are you so laggy?!"
Then Ashel started to feel extremely hot and began sweating.
"Why… is it suddenly so hot?"
Her hands burned.
"Ahh! Ouch… ouch…"
Ashel swung her hands, trying to cool them off.
"Tsukuko… don't tell me you started another trouble."
Ashel's eyes widened in shock.