Chapter 87
A moonless night.
A lone girl ran through the darkness.
Her breaths were ragged, her chest tight, her legs aching. She pushed herself, step after desperate step—until at last, her body gave out. She collapsed beside a tree, gasping for air.
[You can’t stop yet. They’ll catch up to you.]
“I… I can’t,” the girl sobbed.
She looked down at herself.
Shriveled, skeletal limbs. Twisted, discolored skin.
A grotesque hump bulging from her back.
If anything, she was lucky it was too dark to truly see how hideous she had become.
“Why… why hasn’t my body gone back to normal? Why…?”
[My power is limited. I broke the binding spell cast on your body and soul—but that’s all I could manage. I don’t have the authority to heal your body… not yet.]
“My body… hurts so much. Goddess… I can’t even run properly anymore…”
The girl curled up and cried.
[You must keep going, child. You can’t collapse here.]
“Why me…? I didn’t do anything wrong…”
Her voice trembled, the tears soaking into the earth beneath her. The goddess who dwelled within her soul remained silent for a long moment.
And in that silence was sorrow—raw and immeasurable.
[Forgive me, Kanya. I gave you a burden no one should have to bear. But things are different now. There is hope—something we didn’t have before. There’s a way to heal you. A way for me to restore my divinity. There are still people who believe in me.]
The girl—Kanya—lifted her head, eyes red and wet.
“Really…? You’re not just saying that?”
[In the stone mountains of Talhaim, I once built a hidden shrine—300 years ago. I sealed a fragment of my divine essence there, in preparation for a day like this.]
[During the war in the heavens, I fought on the front lines. I knew that if I fell, if my divinity was shattered, I might crash to the mortal realm like I have now. That shrine… was my insurance.]
“If we recover it… you’ll be able to heal me?”
[To be honest… my domain lies more in destroying evil than in healing. After twenty years of suffering under black magic and curses, your body has twisted far beyond what I can fix alone.]
Despair flickered in Kanya’s eyes—until the goddess quickly continued.
[But I swear on my very existence—on the divinity that remains within me—that I will never forget what you and your ancestors endured for my sake. I will repay your suffering. If I must, I’ll beg the other gods for their help. I will heal you, Kanya. I’ll bless you, and your bloodline. I promise.]
Tears welled up again in Kanya’s eyes.
“…Do you think… I could ever be beautiful?”
[You will become more beautiful than anyone, child.]
Her tears fell freely now, running down her withered face. She raised her bony arms and hid her expression.
The goddess gently comforted her once more.
[Just a little farther. We only need to reach the stone mountains of Talhaim. Once we recover my essence, everything can begin. It will be a hard journey, full of pain… but I will make it right. I swear it.]
Kanya wiped her tears away.
After a long, trembling breath, she pushed herself up.
Her body screamed in protest. Her limbs barely held her weight. But she moved anyway—step by agonizing step.
“Couldn’t we… ask the Pantheon for help instead? Wouldn’t it be easier to reach the mountains with other gods guiding us?”
[If a divine being comes too close, your body and soul will be annihilated. Look at the magic seal on your stomach.]
Kanya slowly lifted her shirt and touched the cursed symbol carved into her belly.
Though the goddess had severed the demonic binding that had enslaved her soul, many other black magics remained.
[If divine power draws near, the curse will activate and destroy you completely. You’ll be erased—along with what remains of my essence. We cannot rely on the Pantheon.]
“Then… what about the Magic Tower? Or another faction?”
[Have you forgotten what kind of power the Demon King of Sloth commands?]
Kanya flinched at the name.
[To beings unblessed by divine protection, Belphegor is a danger unlike any other. It won’t matter if they’re mages or knights—without a god watching over them, they’re nothing but toys to her. Paradoxically, you’re safer alone.]
“So… I’m supposed to make it to the Talhaim mountains in this body… while fleeing demon pursuers…?”
[Yes. It’s the only way. I’m sorry, Kanya—but this is the only path forward.]
Darkness closed in around her.
If she had been whole, maybe.
But this?
This broken, cursed body that had suffered for twenty years?
How was she supposed to survive that journey?
It felt hopeless.
Nothing about this path was positive. There was no light ahead.
But still…
Kanya clenched her fists.
She wiped her face and reached for a fallen branch, snapping it into a makeshift staff.
Using it for support, she pushed herself upright—shaky, but determined.
“Crying won’t change anything. Even if it’s slim… we have hope now, don’t we? That alone is more than I ever had before. Compared to those years of suffering in darkness with nothing to hold onto… this is better. A hundred times better. Isn’t it, Goddess?”
Her words trembled as she forced out a smile.
The goddess’s voice echoed warmly in her mind.
[Yes, Kanya. Now… we have hope. Let’s go, my child. I will walk with you. I will hurt with you. And one day, we’ll rejoice together.]
Kanya began to walk.
Her steps were slow. Her eyes filled with fear, despair, and exhaustion.
But stronger than all of it—
Burned the fierce will to survive.
***
An ally I never expected.
Honestly, not even one I wanted.
But surprisingly… this unicorn and I?
We clicked.
[Hey, human. What’s your name?]
“Amael. Jericho Amael. And you?”
[My fellow stallions called me ‘Glorious Mane That Never Ends’ with hatred in their voices. The mares I mated with said it with love.
When I died, though, the humans just called me ‘That Fucking Horny Unicorn Bastard.’
Take your pick.]
“Yeah, uh… one’s too long to call out, the other’s just… gross.
I’ll go with Kon. Short for ‘unicorn.’”
[Wow. Incredible naming sense. Just brilliant.]
“What? It’s simple. Easy to say. Kon.”
[Whatever, jackass. Do what you want.]
Honestly, I thought I’d never be able to hold a real conversation with a creature from another species.
Much less one that technically wasn’t even alive anymore.
But after our little exchange of names…
We talked.
And talked.
And I realized: we actually got along weirdly well.
[Two things. First—where the hell are we going?]
“There’s a place called Talhaim’s Stone Mountains. Harshest region in the Empire. Nobody goes there. Nobody lives there either.”
[Why go to some uninhabited wasteland?]
“To live in hiding. Alone.”
[Without females?!]
“Yep. No females.”
[WHAT KIND OF PSYCHO ARE YOU?! You’re NOT trying to hunt down virgin human girls to bang?!]
“No. I’m not. I already had the three I needed.”
[The ones I saw back there? The non-virgins in the bed?!]
“Yup.”
[Are you INSANE?! You have a god-tier breeding ability and you wasted it on non-virgins?! You have the power to mate with any female, then time-freeze and escape!
That’s the ultimate reproduction cheat, and you used it for three?!]
“…Just those three.”
[You’re a madman. I could never. The possibilities with this power—hundreds, maybe thousands of mates!]
He went on a rant.
A very… unicorn-style rant.
About my Time Freeze ability, and the many ways it could be used—creatively.
[Imagine this: four mares in a stable, frozen. You unfreeze just their crotch regions. BAM BAM BAM BAM.
Four hits. One strike each. Done. Next batch.]
Honestly?
This guy would’ve been a top-tier Korean internet streamer if I took him back home.
Somewhere between vulgar and hilarious, his delivery was strangely captivating.
And somehow, while I listened to his insane mating theories, I actually forgot about Asmodeus, the Heavens, and the Pantheon for a moment.
Damn it.
He really does talk well.
We moved swiftly across the frozen world.
Thanks to my body modifications, I could jump more than ten meters in a single bound—basically gliding across the earth.
And Kon never ran out of things to say.
[So your mental stamina isn’t strong enough to sustain your power alone, right? That’s why you need me—your psychic amplifier.]
“Yeah. Nailed it.”
[Then stop putting all your focus into duration. Try investing it into precision. Fine control. You’ll open up so many more options.]
“Like what?”
[Wrap the frozen time field around yourself like armor.
Or shape it into a sword—indestructible, never dulls.
Or freeze a space midair, then move it at high speed.
That’s a long-range weapon right there.]
“Those are all combat uses.”
[I can help you fight! I know I seem like a breeding-obsessed lunatic, but I’ve fought my fair share of monsters and humans. I’m a seasoned veteran of wilderness survival! Combat’s one thing I do know!]
“Yeah, but… I don’t plan to fight anyone.
I just want a quiet life somewhere far away from people.”
Even though the psychic amplifier reduced the drain on my mind, keeping Time Freeze active for an entire day still wore me out.
I was getting tired.
It was late.
I needed sleep.
We were far, far outside the capital Mars.
On a quiet country road.
Because I had frozen the world, time hadn’t passed much since I left Iomene, Almeine, and Erfa asleep in bed.
Eventually, I saw a lone tree on an open plain.
I lay down beneath it, using a stone as a pillow.
With my face altered by body modification, no one would recognize me.
Just a quick rest.
Once I’ve recovered my mental energy, I’ll head straight for Talhaim.
[What the hell’s wrong with you? Why are you so obsessed with being alone?
Aren’t humans supposed to be social animals?]
“…Because when I’m around people, I only make them suffer.
That’s why. I’m tired, Kon. Let’s talk tomorrow. You should rest too.”
[I’m a disembodied soul. I don’t sleep, dumbass.
But go ahead. I’ll keep watch.
If anything nasty shows up, I’ll let you know.]
I let out a soft laugh.
At least I wouldn’t be completely alone anymore.
Not with him around.
I closed my eyes.
No thoughts.
Thinking leads to worry. Worry leads to despair.
Just… let the silence in.
The scent of grass.
The sound of crickets.
It was peaceful enough for me to fall asleep.
But a short while later—
I awoke.
No. That’s not right.
I didn’t wake up.
I felt it.
That cold, razor-edged sensation crawling across my skin.
That burning sky.
That heavy stillness.
It was all too familiar.
A revelation.
The third revelation had come.
It unfolded before my eyes.
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