Abnormal

The church had very few nuns. Apart from the elderly nun who opened the door, the spacious church only housed three others. They were young girls—the eldest appearing around sixteen or seventeen, while the other two looked about seven or eight years old. Dressed in the same nun habits as the elder, they huddled around an oil lamp placed on a table, flipping through a religious text together.

Xia Lun felt a surge of emotions. In the past, even in such a remote village, the faith of the Goddess wouldn’t have dwindled to such a pitiful state.

"Do we have guests?" The oldest of the girls stood up timidly and approached.

"Ah, Lessa, these are travelers—adventurers passing through. They’d like to stay the night in the church," the elderly nun, Landa, said softly. "Could you help prepare some rooms for them…?"

"No need to trouble yourselves too much. Two rooms will suffice," Liyana added.

Lessa nodded earnestly before scurrying off. The remaining two girls peered curiously at Xia Lun and the others.

"Milu, it’s an elf!"

"Mina, an elf!"

The two girls, likely twins given their striking resemblance, seemed fascinated by Liyana.

"The elf is coming~!" Liyana playfully pounced on them, arms flailing, and soon the three were laughing and tussling together. The church echoed with their cheerful giggles.

"Um… excuse me…" Mo Lini suddenly spoke up, addressing the elderly nun.

"Oh, I nearly forgot to introduce myself. My name is Landa."

"Miss Landa… aren’t you afraid we might be… bad people?" Mo Lini asked hesitantly.

Coming from her, the question lacked any intimidation—the contrast was almost endearing.

In Mo Lini’s eyes, the church was practically defenseless—populated only by the elderly, women, and children. A single malicious adult could easily overpower them.

"This is a church," Landa replied with a light chuckle, gesturing toward the high dome above. Rain pattered noisily against the roof tiles. "The Goddess watches over this place. If even we don’t believe in Her, who will?"

"But… I heard the Goddess has gone missing, hasn’t She? They say She hasn’t delivered any divine messages in a long time." Mo Lini caught herself too late and quickly covered her mouth. "Ah, sorry…"

"The Goddess has simply stepped back from worldly affairs," Landa replied without reproach, shaking her head gently. "She wishes for humanity to grow freely, to find its own path… But as a devout believer, I can still feel Her gaze upon us."

Aina watched Landa silently, her expression unreadable.

Xia Lun wrapped an arm around Aina’s shoulders, subtly tightening his grip.

The world remained oblivious to the truth—that the Goddess had long been slain by the Demon King.

The Twilight Cultists, with their cryptic ramblings, seemed to know more, but no one took their words seriously.

"It’s been two hundred years since the Goddess last delivered a divine message," Landa mused wistfully. "With no miracles to witness, faith has weakened over time…"

"Two hundred years?" Xia Lun frowned, casting a puzzled glance at Aina beside him.

According to Aina, she had killed the Goddess a thousand years ago.

Aina trembled slightly, then stuck out her tongue sheepishly.

"Miss Landa, could you tell me what the Goddess’s last divine message was?" Xia Lun took a deep breath before asking.

"Ah… this is common knowledge. The Goddess requested help in gathering relics of the legendary Hero—anything he had touched would suffice," Landa answered.

"Collecting Xia Lun’s—ahem, the Hero’s belongings? This Goddess sounds kinda creepy…" Liyana couldn’t resist muttering.

Whack!

Whack!

The two little nuns each delivered a firm slap to Liyana’s backside, the sharp sounds ringing out.

"Eeek—!" Liyana yelped in mortification.

"No badmouthing the Goddess, Liyana!" Milu huffed angrily.

"Yeah! Apologize to Her right now!" Mina chimed in, hands on her hips.

"Ugh… fine, sorry. I was wrong." Liyana shot Xia Lun a resentful glare, as if blaming him entirely.

Lessa soon returned. "The rooms… are ready now."

"Th-thank you," Mo Lini replied.

BOOM—

Another thunderclap roared outside. Mo Lini and Lessa both flinched, covering their ears and shrinking in fear.

Once the thunder faded, they cautiously opened their eyes—only to find each other mirroring the same timid expression.

Two adorable creatures, recognizing a kindred spirit.

"Agh, I’m dead…" Liyana clutched her chest, overwhelmed by the double dose of cuteness.

"Excuse us for a moment." Xia Lun suddenly took Aina’s hand and led her toward the freshly prepared room.

Liyana blinked. Was Xia Lun in that much of a hurry?

"My, so impatient, Xia Lun?"

Once inside, Xia Lun locked the door behind them.

Aina sat on the bed, posture inviting.

"Aina… what’s going on?" Xia Lun couldn’t hold back. "The Goddess…"

"I killed Her a thousand years ago," Aina murmured, beckoning him closer. "Come here, my Hero."

Xia Lun obeyed, but the moment he reached her, Aina looped her arms around his neck and pulled him down onto the bed.

Staring at her face mere inches away, he pressed, "Then what Landa mentioned—two hundred years ago…?"

"Mmm… that was me," Aina admitted freely. "If people knew the Goddess was slain by the Demon King, panic would spread. Chaos would follow. So I took on Her role for a while."

She brushed her lips against his.

"Honestly, the Goddess had it rough. Beyond this world, powerful evil deities lurk, eyeing our realm greedily… The weaker ones are handled by Is’s forces, but sometimes I have to step in personally."

"Has it been hard?" Xia Lun cupped her cheek, guilt flickering in his eyes.

Aina had been silently protecting this world all along.

"Very hard… You’d better reward me properly." She nipped at his ear. "But don’t worry. I am the Demon King. This much is manageable."

"Then… what about the divine message two hundred years ago? Why collect those things…?"

"Isn’t it obvious?" Aina’s bat-like wings unfurled behind her, flames licking at the air.

She leaned in, her whisper hot against his ear:

"Because I’m a hopelessly obsessed pervert… for my Hero."