In the world where Herta resided, the Flesh God, a malevolent deity, had descended a century ago. Most of the world's cultists were his followers, but this didn't mean he was the only threat.
Many other Evil Gods were constantly attempting to invade this world. Thanks to the efforts of the official organization, the Secret Keepers, no new Evil God had managed to manifest—until today, when an unexpected incident seemed to have occurred.
Hector couldn't wrap his head around it. The cultists he had just encountered appeared to be devoted followers of the Flesh God. How could they summon the familiar of another Evil God, or even the Evil God itself?
Normally, shouldn't summoning an Evil God require far more elaborate preparations? While the ritual arena wasn't exactly crude, it seemed wholly inadequate for such a grand summoning.
Moreover, shouldn't the arrival of an Evil God's true form be accompanied by a more spectacular display? The two girls who had suddenly appeared before Hector—one tall, the other small—had simply materialized with a soft pop, without any dramatic fanfare.
Of course, these were merely suspicions, not conclusive evidence. The primary reason Hector believed Herta to be an Evil God was the scene where the Herta Puppet instantly annihilated the Meatball. That moment had left him utterly shaken. Hector couldn't fathom how anyone other than another Evil God could kill an Evil God's Familiar with a mere flick of their finger.
As these thoughts swirled through his mind, Hector suddenly questioned the reality of his surroundings. Was what he was seeing truly real? Were the two girls before him—one tall, one small, both with lovely appearances—actually young girls? Hector began to suspect that he had already been "tainted" and driven mad.
As a Secret Keeper, Hector had heard of a case: A young man met a beautiful girl, fell in love, and started a family. Soon after, their peaceful life shattered when monsters invaded their world, bent on slaughtering them. The young man fought desperately, slaying hundreds of creatures before finally succumbing to exhaustion and dying bitterly.
At first glance, the story might seem unremarkable. But the truth is, the young man had accidentally witnessed the entire process of an Evil God's Familiar's descent, and the experience drove him mad in that very instant.
In his eyes, the tentacled monster transformed into a beautiful and lovable young girl. There was no courtship, no romance, no wedding—only childbirth. Except it wasn't his wife who gave birth, but himself.
Later, in the young man's twisted perception, the "monster" that had disrupted his peaceful life was none other than the Secret Keepers, who had discovered the anomaly. They suffered heavy casualties before finally managing to kill it.
Humans are undeniably fragile creatures, both physically and mentally. A simple cut on a finger could become infected and prove fatal, and merely glimpsing an Evil God's Familiar could shatter one's sanity.
Now that Hector had personally witnessed the Evil God Herta herself, perhaps his perception had been warped in that very moment. He believed he was still thinking clearly, but what if he had already gone mad?
Maybe the "beautiful girl" before him wasn't real at all, but a tentacled monster in disguise?
Realizing the situation, Hector decisively pulled a small knife from his coat, ready to end his life. He had no intention of becoming like that unfortunate soul in the story, birthing a litter of monstrous offspring for a tentacled horror.
While Hector was lost in his frantic mental storm, Herta, of course, had no idea what was going through his mind. She was about to ask him for information about this world when she saw him attempting suicide.
Herta froze, utterly dumbfounded. "What in tarnation are you doing?!"
It only proved how bewildering the human heart could be. Even a genius like Herta couldn't fathom the twisted logic behind such a bizarre act.
From Herta's perspective, a stunningly beautiful girl had swooped in at the critical moment, a deus ex machina, slaughtering the cultists and rescuing him from certain death. It looked exactly like a classic "hero saves the damsel" scene, didn't it?
It was like a hero enduring countless hardships to finally defeat the Demon Lord and rescue the imprisoned princess, only for her first reaction to be suicide.
Herta: "???"
Who wouldn't be utterly baffled? But regardless, Herta couldn't just stand by and watch him die. How else would she get the information she needed?
At Herta's thought, the puppet beside her sprang to life. It swiftly chanted an incantation and pointed at Hector. "Human Immobilization Spell!"
In an instant, Hector froze as if someone had pressed the pause button, unable to move a muscle.
Meanwhile, Eve, who had witnessed the scene from a short distance, hardened her expression and charged toward the Herta Puppet. "Let him go!"
"Human Immobilization Spell!" the Herta Puppet repeated.
Herta looked at the pair with utter exasperation. "I just wanted to ask a question. What's wrong with you two?"
Hector snarled fiercely, "Just kill me, Evil God! I won't say a word!"
Herta: "???"
What the hell? Evil God?
Who?
Me?
Herta's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. Wait a minute, how could someone as pretty as me be an Evil God?
After a moment's thought, she asked, "Which Evil God were those cultists worshipping earlier?"
Hector blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting the question. His earlier vow of absolute silence hadn't been quite so absolute after all. What he truly meant was that he would never betray the Secret Keepers—he would die before betraying his comrades.
However, information about other Evil Gods was clearly not included in the agreement. What would you think if one Evil God asked you for information about another?
Are these two Evil Gods enemies? If they fought, wouldn't that be a good thing for humanity?
Hector hesitated for a moment, then slowly began to share what he knew about the Flesh God. When he mentioned the name "Hades," Herta suddenly remembered that she actually knew of this Evil God.
It was during her first in-person meeting with Shu Cat and others, when she was still using her Firefly identity. They had been drawn into a terrifying school-themed Dimensional Rift where a Sakura Nation person had summoned one of Hades' familiars.
The familiar had naturally been obliterated by SAM, and Herta never expected to hear this Evil God's name again after so much time had passed.