Three days passed after that.
"How does it feel, Rosemary? Are you getting used to living aboard the Hyperion? Do you like your room?"
That day on the bridge, Elias asked the witch beside him with concern. Since leaving the Sea of Quanta, the Hyperion: Moonlight Throne ARK had finally welcomed a new crew member.
As the captain, Elias naturally had to make sure she was settling in properly.
Especially since Rosemary had just suffered the devastating blow of being betrayed by her own world. Merely thinking about it made Elias' heart ache, and he could not help taking the witch's small hand in his.
"Yes. Thank you, Lord Captain. Rita likes the room and furniture very much, but there are still many things about this Hyperion that I do not quite understand."
"That's normal. Its level of technology is far too advanced for you. I'll give you higher authorization later. Then you'll be able to access the database and look up explanations of its functions."
After saying that, Elias led Rosemary to the edge of the bridge. The scenery of the Sea of Quanta never grew tiresome, no matter how long one gazed upon it. More or less, it also helped soothe a wounded heart.
He even winked at Ai. The clever AI girl immediately understood what he meant and began playing a beautiful song called "If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking."
Rosemary froze for a moment, then the corners of her lips curved into a smile. What an incredibly considerate person.
"Thank you, Lord Captain."
"Mm~"
"However, now that I think about it, will you remain like this forever? Although you look very handsome in black as well, Rita still feels that white suits you better."
Rosemary spoke curiously, while Ai could not help turning her gaze toward him as well. She had wanted to ask the same question for quite some time.
At this moment, Elias was still in his Demon King of Salvation state. His long black hair and pitch-black wings looked far too different from his usual appearance...
Ai had already taken more than 9,999 screenshots.
Elias looked far too rare like this!
Ai dared to guarantee that not even the women in the Valkyrie dormitory had ever seen him this way!
Of course, the difference was not limited to color. His entire aura had changed as well.
In Rosemary and Ai's eyes, the usual Elias seemed surrounded by flowers and shone as brilliantly as the sun. Right now, however, black feathers appeared to drift around him.
He resembled the night itself, lulling all creation into slumber.
Although Elias was extremely handsome in this state and even possessed a dangerously alluring charm, his usual white appearance was still more approachable and reassuring.
"Hmm... I'll probably stay like this until I'm no longer angry. After all, the scales inside me have completely tipped toward malice right now."
Elias looked at himself in the mirror and shrugged.
Over the past few days, he had also investigated why he had transformed into this appearance. In the end, he discovered that this "corrupted" form was actually the result of the Herrscher of Good and Evil's power.
Ever since he absorbed the Core of Domination, the Gem of Good and Evil had existed within Elias' heart like a set of scales.
When good and evil were balanced, Elias was white.
But when the weight of malice in his heart grew heavier, he transformed into this corrupted Demon King of Salvation form.
Under normal circumstances, Elias' abilities were evenly balanced in every respect. He was a flawless all-round warrior. However, when he transformed into the Demon King of Salvation, his other attributes were drastically weakened while his offensive power rose to an extreme degree.
"Eh? Lord Captain, are you still angry?"
Rosemary looked surprised.
Three whole days had already passed.
Although being betrayed by the world she had saved was incredibly painful, and Rosemary had cried herself to sleep for the past two nights, even she, the person directly involved, already felt much better now.
Yet Elias still remained in this form. This appearance meant that the fury in his heart had not faded even now.
"Lord Captain, you do not need to take it so seriously."
"I'd like not to, but I can't help it. Honestly, every time I fall asleep these days, I dream about you being burned alive. Then I get so angry I can't stand it... Maybe we should warp back and let me hit that bubble world with a Taixuan Grasp after all."
Elias cracked his knuckles. Sometimes, even he felt that his psychological tolerance was rather poor, but the tragedy that had befallen Rosemary this time had simply gone too far.
Therefore, it was not only a scar that would remain branded upon the witch for life. Elias would remember it for the rest of his life as well.
"..."
For a moment, Rosemary did not know what to say.
The tragedy had clearly happened to her, yet this person was far angrier than she was.
That feeling... made her feel a little happy despite herself.
Having someone in this world willing to become angry for your sake was truly a fortunate thing, because it meant that person genuinely cared about you. Rosemary's gaze softened as she looked at Elias.
Suddenly, she no longer felt sad.
After all, so what if her world had betrayed her?
She had now found someone more important than the entire world.
"Ahem! Miss Rosemary, things may become troublesome if the captain remains like this. We need to find a way to make him return to normal."
A certain AI girl whispered to Rosemary.
"Hmm? What is wrong, Miss Ai?"
"Ah~ The captain is currently in a state where he's angry at the entire world. He doesn't want to continue saving anything at all. He hasn't absorbed a single bubble world for three whole days."
Ai looked worriedly at Elias, who was leaning against the bridge railing and curiously playing with his own black hair.
She did not particularly care about saving worlds either. To be honest, her captain had no obligation to save anyone. Whether those bubble worlds survived or perished had nothing to do with him.
But Hyperion Ai understood.
Things would become very troublesome if this continued! They had to restore Elias to his original state as soon as possible!
(If Elysia and the others were here, they could probably restore the captain to normal with ease. But can I do it? No. As the saying goes, the one who tied the bell must untie it, so...)
Ai's gaze turned toward the witch once more.
Since Elias had become angry at the world because of Rosemary...
Then naturally, Rosemary would have to be the one to soothe his heart.
After all, the fury of a demon king should be calmed by a witch.
"I see. I understand."
After listening, Rosemary nodded seriously.
The girl looked toward Elias. Although he still shone so brilliantly even after falling into darkness, the Elias who fought for all that was beautiful was undoubtedly his truest and most radiant self!
Since she was the cause of this matter, she naturally had a duty to restore Elias to his original appearance.
"Lord Captain, please close your eyes."
"Hmm? What is it, Rosemary?"
"I have prepared a gift of gratitude for you. Please be sure to accept it."
"There's no need to be so polite between us, but... I always look forward to gifts from girls."
As Elias spoke, he closed his eyes, wondering what kind of gift Rosemary would give him. Suddenly, he felt something soft touch his lips.
It was softer and springier than jelly, as though the slightest pressure might break it. Elias instinctively relaxed. This was not an unfamiliar experience to him, but even if he experienced it a million times, he would never grow tired of it. Instead, he only became more captivated.
There was no longer any need to keep his eyes closed.
When Elias opened them, he saw Rosemary's breathtaking face close at hand, flushed scarlet with embarrassment. Her pleasant rosemary fragrance left him slightly intoxicated, and he instinctively raised his arms around the girl's slender waist, pulling her closer.
At that moment, the flames within Elias' heart gradually died away.
His ink-black hair returned to its original pure white, and the same happened to his six wings. Even the slight murkiness that had appeared within the twelve gemstones due to his corruption disappeared.
"...I see. Thank you, Rosemary. There is no need to worry anymore. I'm better now."
The scales of good and evil returned to balance. Once he recovered, Elias immediately realized that his previous condition had actually been quite dangerous. Had Rosemary's kiss not awakened him...
He might never have recovered from his corruption and would have remained in the Demon King of Salvation state forever.
The effect on his strength would not have mattered much, but the influence on his state of mind would have been enormous. If he remained corrupted for too long, Elias might never believe in the light again~
"Incidentally, was that your first?"
"That is a very rude question, Lord Captain. May I ask whether you have some complaint about Rita's first kiss?"
"No, no, of course not. I definitely wasn't thinking that even though you're Rita, you're surprisingly clumsy at kissing or anything like that..."
(She didn't even use her tongue. She really is inexperienced.)
Even so, the experience had still been wonderful.
"!!!"
Rosemary's entire body instantly stiffened. The witch's cheeks turned bright red, and she felt an inexplicable surge of embarrassment. She immediately resolved to practice kissing properly afterward.
Then, as though taking revenge, the witch wrapped both arms around Elias' head and pressed his face into her enormous bosom, as though intending to suffocate him.
In response, Elias expressed his thoughts.
Elias: (This is wonderful! Keep going! Don't stop!)
However, someone else became jealous.
Ai: "But... But I was here first!"
The cabbage-haired AI girl puffed out her cheeks. Watching Elias and Rosemary interact so intimately filled her with an inexplicable sense of indignation, so she immediately joined them.
She likewise wrapped her arms around Elias' head and pressed him into a bosom that was not the slightest bit inferior, initiating a different kind of brainwave communication.
Rosemary: "Oh my. Are you jealous, Miss Ai?"
Ai: "Yes, I am. So I won't hand the captain over to you so easily, Rosemary, because he is Ai's captain."
Rosemary: "I see. But please do not forget that the captain is also Rita's Lord Demon."
Elias: "...Why is there a shuraba everywhere I go?"