Across the violently flickering screen, a golden-haired girl stood nonchalantly in place.
"Hello there~"
Arcueid smiled warmly, giving a casual wave to the girl on the monitor.
"Heh... hehehe." The girl on the screen, with her long, jet-black hair, let out a wild, unrestrained laugh.
She was clad only in a thin, gauzy garment, her limbs visible beneath the sleeves and hemline covered in miserable, gruesome wounds.
Her body looked as if it had been pieced together from shredded flesh, fragmented and broken.
This girl, both beautiful and ugly, stared at Arcueid with hollow eyes. "Ignorant... foolishly, stupidly greedy, attempting to wield the power of the Sinful God. Do not imagine your wildest dreams will come true."
With that same deranged smile, she screamed at Arcueid, "The key to [The Cleansing] is already in my hands. You shall sink into the depths along with this detestable island."
"Greedy?" Arcueid tilted her head. "Haven't you got the wrong person?"
Hearing her words, the black-haired girl's eyes snapped wide open.
Her icy voice faltered for a moment. "You... are the Primogenitor the Sinful God's descendant spoke of?"
"If you mean the Fifth Primogenitor, then yes, that's me."
As if introducing herself in class, Arcueid placed a hand lightly on her chest and gave a soft laugh.
"...Impossible... There cannot be any other Primogenitors in this world..."
Her lips trembled slightly, as if she was witnessing something utterly unthinkable.
She stared silently at Arcueid for a few seconds before coldly stating, "Heh... Then prepare to deeply experience the humiliation of being robbed and taste true suffering, you deceiver."
As her voice faded, the girl's figure vanished from the screen.
After a moment of distortion, the display slowly returned to normal.
So she thinks my identity as a Primogenitor is a lie?
Arcueid's lips curled with amused interest.
"So this is why Asagi Aiba would agree to Akishige Yaze using [The Cleansing]," she murmured softly, feeling the endless stream of magical energy flowing from the leyline beneath her feet. "You're the one who activated [The Cleansing], after all."
Her crimson eyes gently closed as Arcueid slowly began to commune with the world. Simultaneously, she spoke to the person behind her. "Isn't that right, matchmaking agency?"
"Yes."
A girl in a high school uniform responded to Arcueid's words. She pushed up the clunky glasses on the bridge of her nose, the braid trailing down her back stirring slightly in the breeze.
"The [Priestess of Abel]—a survivor from the previous appearance of [The Cleansing]. Her true self died long ago; what remains now is a corpse fused with lingering will, an experimental subject used by MAR for their research on resurrecting the dead."
"Having been killed by the effects of [The Cleansing] in the past, she possesses a strong resistance to the anomalous powers that alter the world, similar to an immunity to a contagious disease. Although she is not the genuine [Priestess of Cain], she can barely manage to control the [The Cleansing] for this very reason."
Finished explaining, the girl bowed her head respectfully. "I am Koyomi Shizuka, one of the Three Saints of the Lion King Agency. I look forward to working with you from now on, Your Highness, [Princess of the Moon]."
"Oh..."
Arcueid opened her eyes leisurely, her red gaze flicking towards Shizuka Koyomi before fixing firmly on the ground ahead. "So I've been found out, have I?"
"After all, you made no attempt to hide yourself whatsoever."
A similar appearance, immense power, even the Train of the Mystic Eyes Collector parked right beside her.
Shizuka Koyomi responded plainly, her own gaze following Arcueid's. "The location of Itogami Island's Zeroth Layer is..."
"Ahh, no need, no need. I've already found it."
This world had already given her the information.
Arcueid waved a hand dismissively, smiling as she glanced at the plain-looking girl. "Isn't it a bit early for you people to show up now? If I get killed by [The Cleansing], things might get rather difficult for you later, you know."
"You jest."
Shizuka Koyomi gave a slight shake of her head, her posture remaining upright and neither subservient nor arrogant.
'Guess it's no loss for you either way, right?'
Itogami Island was Japanese territory. Even if Akishige Yaze remained in power, the Lion King Agency, as an official Japanese organization, wouldn't suffer too many losses.
"Back up a bit, back up." Arcueid stepped forward with a light, brisk pace, gently leaning forward. "I'm off to have a chat with that netizen who just dropped by."
Her breathtakingly beautiful smile was illuminated by the clear moonlight.
The girl leaped up lightly, her skirt dancing in the night sky.
Her smooth short hair fluttered in the wind as Arcueid shot downwards like a missile, crashing straight into the unremarkable concrete ground before her.
The outdoor plaza of the Keystone Gate's third tier. Below it lay an unmanned parking garage, storage warehouses, and—
Itogami Island's Zeroth Layer submarine base.
--+--
"Help me, Asagi Aiba."
"I. Re. Fuse." Leaning against the counter of the ramen shop, Asagi Aiba slurped down her noodles with a 'shlurp shlurp' while closing Akishige Yaze's communication window.
"Mmm~ Nothing beats the rich seafood broth from Itogami Men-ya, especially with garlic and chili oil. So good." She swung her pale, delicate feet, glancing towards the empty seat beside her. "Though, doing whatever you want gets boring after a while, don't you think?"
In an instant, the ramen, tables, chairs, and counter vanished from sight, leaving only boundless, eternal darkness and flickering binary data like stars.
This world, composed solely of light and dark, was a virtual reality—a metaverse—created by the five supercomputers managing Itogami Island and the consciousness of Asagi Aiba.
But this world was different from a typical metaverse; it possessed a magical nature, making it a kind of bounded field.
After inputting the [Information] stored within the [Coffin of the Sinful God] in the Zeroth Layer of the Keystone Gate, the artificial island's computer network gained the function of a magical bounded field.
The computer bounded field now before her had incorporated the physical body of its manager, Asagi Aiba, effectively imprisoning her within it.
Because her own body was being used as a component to maintain the computer bounded field, she couldn't leave this world.
A moment later, a hoarse voice, crackling with static like an old recording, slowly spoke. "Oh, clever [Cyber Empress], you have already learned how to use this place."
Motes of light slowly gathered, and the [Priestess of Abel] with long, raven-black hair gradually materialized.
"Whoa, even you're calling me by that embarrassing nickname now, uh...?"
Asagi's tone was casual, as if talking to a friend.
"You may call me the High Priestess." The High Priestess stared emotionlessly at Asagi Aiba. "You have already understood the truth of this world, have you not?"
"Well, you did lay out everything inside the [Coffin of the Sinful God] for me to see." Asagi Aiba shrugged calmly. "After looking it over, it's just... like that. Didn't feel anything particularly special about it."
"Even if someone intends to use this Dominion you live in to destroy the world?"
"Hmm..." Asagi narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "That would be pretty annoying, I guess."
"Then, shall we make a deal?" A slight smile touched the High Priestess's lips. "I can release you from this place, free you from this eternally lonely world."
"And the price?"
"A curse."
The black hair floated in the darkness as the High Priestess's smile widened further. "An eternal curse, branded upon those who wield the power of the Sinful God."
"I see..." Asagi Aiba shook her head helplessly. "Then why did you agree to Akishige Yaze's request? He's desperate to control that power."
"I did not agree. I am using him." The High Priestess responded swiftly. "He seeks to use me to execute the [The Cleansing]. Likewise, I use him to destroy this island."
"Is that so..."
"Your answer?"
"I refuse!" Asagi Aiba wagged her finger in a playfully dramatic gesture. "I've grown rather fond of this island, you see. It's really on the up and up lately."
Whoosh...
"Then..." The High Priestess let out a soundless sigh. "Pitiable and hateful Priestess of the Sinful God, allow me to dye your world in eternal lamentation and resentment. I shall make you keenly feel the curse of my blood!"
Darkness surged from within the black-haired girl, gradually staining the interior of the computer bounded field black, much like a computer virus multiplying and slowly corrupting a network.
But just as the darkness was about to touch Asagi Aiba's physical body, floating within the computer bounded field—
BOOM—
As if some colossal object had crashed down, the submarine in the water, along with the base surrounding it, began to shake violently.
The High Priestess looked outwards, startled and suspicious.
And then, a cheerful girl's voice pierced into the interior of the submarine.
"[Priestess of Abel], I followed the internet cable and found you!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.