The consumer forgives no one who uses it for their own ends.
This was not due to any emotional or personal bias.
It was simply because there existed an internal rule to punish abuse.
A long time ago, when a planet very similar to Earth chose to migrate to another universe, this rule was established to suppress those who resisted.
Nowadays, this rule served as the basis for punishing anyone who sought to use the consumer’s abilities with intentions of betrayal.
Or hostile entities utilizing complex skills.
Thus, the consumer could be said to have done its utmost.
From the moment the Dragon King’s arm was connected, the consumer sought to punish Aslan.
It overloaded the mana circuits, caused the arm to self-destruct, and attempted to halt its functions.
It issued all sorts of commands, sent malignant codes that manifested through the secrets of creation to grow stronger, and even tried physical attacks by dispatching operators to the connection point between Aslan’s arm and body.
All these attempts were thwarted at the last moment.
The chimera manipulated by that arm met the same fate.
Every command issued to the chimera was rejected.
No other means managed to directly affect Aslan.
Just as it had been for the past twelve years.
Even though the consumer was among the most omniscient of evil deities, the events that transpired remained inexplicable.
Ever since the consumer began monitoring a boy who suddenly appeared while overseeing the Geladridion region, it couldn’t clarify the identity behind the scenes.
But the consumer did know the name of that being.
The Dark Ram Herd.
Aslan was the one cursed by the herd.
Much like how all blessings and curses function, they were two sides of the same coin.
Perhaps as an indirect effect of this curse, the Dragon King’s arm, the dragonification process, and the chimera—all failed—and Ados woke up unharmed.
And upon waking, she blinked in considerable confusion.
“What… why am I here?”
She gasped in shock at the soft texture she felt on her back and sat up. Immediately, she was struck by sharp waves of pain, which only added to her bewilderment.
Her memories were hazy.
So much so that without consciously piecing them together step by step, nothing came to mind.
But they weren’t entirely gone.
As she traced each fragment, her memories slowly returned.
Though jumbled with fragments of the past, Ados held her head and carefully mulled over them.
She had been defeated.
The shame of this realization made her clench her teeth, and a wave of defeat washed over her, causing her to shiver.
Her arm had been severed, her magic disrupted, and her sole collaborator had already fallen long ago.
The thirteenth operator, who should have naturally come to her aid, had instead been swayed and refrained from attacking her.
Afterward, following a humiliating declaration of defeat, all her proposals were rejected.
And then, what happened?
“I… became a priest of the Abyss.”
She soon recalled the answer.
Through the Dragon King’s arm attached to her, she felt the divine power seeping into her body.
That divine power was thick, sticky, and black.
It greedily consumed all the divine energy circulating within her body.
One could say it devoured her from deeper within than even her internal organs.
In this way, after being consumed, she felt the abyssal divinity filling the void left behind.
With that, she lost consciousness, leading to the present moment.
“I didn’t die.”
Returning to the present, she sat there dumbfounded, resting her head in her hands.
It was an impossible situation.
At first, she thought the transformation into a priest of the Abyss was merely a reaction to consuming the divine power.
Ordinarily, priests serving another deity was impossible, and the result was usually a terrible death.
Priests were beings who mortgaged their souls to receive power.
Ados, unlike Tiyalmisof, hadn’t proven particularly useful.
Though she had secured her selfhood through persuasion with the consumer, it was only while she retained value.
She clearly remembered the mechanical voice of the consumer stating that once she became useless, her self would be “collected.”
So, she wondered if perhaps she was now being tortured after having her selfhood reclaimed.
“Rather, I’m fine. No, too fine.”
Nothing of the sort had happened.
She was perfectly fine.
Her limbs were intact, and her heart beat healthily.
“…Pulse?”
This fact shocked her.
The shock caused her heart to race.
When she placed her hand on her chest to calm herself after pressing down hard on her sternum, she could feel her heartbeat flowing through her palm.
An instinctive action to calm herself, but she widened her eyes at what she felt.
She had a heart. She had body temperature. Likewise, she had a sense of touch.
The fact that her limbs were intact was also strange. Clearly, her arm had been severed in her final moments.
Considering the technology required to repair such an injury, organic consumption would be necessary to activate self-repair functions.
Yet, she was perfectly fine without needing any of that.
But how?
While absentmindedly stroking her severed arm, she turned her head at a sudden sound.
Resisting some impulse, she rolled her eyes.
The door opened.
On the other side of the creaking door stood a man.
A man dressed entirely in black, from his heavy cloak covering his shoulders to his armor.
Except for his eyes and the glimpse of his face, he was completely clad in black. With teal eyes blinking, he stepped inside.
“You’ve awakened.”
Ados looked at the man with a perplexed expression.
She was aware of some change within herself.
This change was reacting strongly to the man.
Only then did she understand her transformation and the meaning of the man’s last words.
Aslan’s statement that cooperation wasn’t necessary.
She understood its implication.
“You said… it doesn’t matter.”
“You…”
“I haven’t restrained or restricted your actions. If you want to try something, go ahead.”
Ados attempted to generate electricity in response to his words. Precisely, she tried to.
Crackle!
Only tiny sparks leapt from her hand before fading.
Perplexed, she stared at the fizzling current, which quietly dissipated back into her body.
She understood this series of changes.
She was a priest of the Abyss.
The man before her was the master of the Abyss.
Therefore, it was impossible for her to harm the master of her master.
Ashamed, Ados lowered her head, while Aslan stared blankly at her.
Surprisingly, it was Ados who spoke first.
“What… did you do to me?”
Aslan entered the room confidently, as if expecting the question.
Though the room appeared barren, it was undoubtedly Ados’ room.
Aslan glanced around, running his fingertip along the symbol of Law and Order before turning his gaze back to Ados.
“Answer me.”
Ados growled. Aslan looked at her face, identical to Lumel’s, with an expression of discomfort.
Seeing a face resembling Lumel made harsh words difficult.
Thus, abandoning all attempts to mock, belittle, or scold, he gave a simple reply.
“I made you a priest of the Abyss.”
It was something Ados already knew, yet she continued to growl.
“I know that. What I mean is, how did you do it?”
“Would knowing make any difference?”
The reply came from his turned back. Ados frowned at it, preparing to unleash a torrent of words—
But stopped abruptly, clutching her throat.
Her face contorted as if something blocked her throat, and the expression ready to spew curses or cast curses disappeared.
Of course, given that Aslan was the master of the Abyss, this was expected.
The Abyss wouldn’t allow any slander against its master.
As Ados groaned and clutched her throat, lowering her head, Aslan finally approached and answered.
“I used my arm. You know, the Dragon King’s arm.”
Ados lifted her head and glared venomously at Aslan. Aslan observed her expression, different from the one Lumel always directed at him, with a curious look.
“When I destroyed Tiyalmisof… and suppressed her resistance using the Dragon King’s arm, even going as far as making it self-destruct, an idea struck me. Perhaps there were more applications possible.”
And just as he’d anticipated, Aslan applied it.
Ados furrowed her brow, feeling her beating heart and the veins extending from it.
“It was improvisation afterward. If it failed, it would’ve been regrettable, but I thought it was worth trying. And the result… well, you see it.”
As Aslan pointed at her with his dark hand, Ados pushed it away.
Precisely, she tried to—but perhaps sensing hostility, the Abyss drained her strength, leaving her to lightly press against it instead.
“What I did to you was simple. I replaced all the divinity within you with the divinity of the Abyss. It would’ve been impossible if you were wielding another evil deity’s power.”
“The Abyss can mimic anything.”
Aslan nodded, and Ados finally understood the method.
A technique possible only for Aslan, the Lord of the Abyss, who mastered the Abyss while still human.
The Abyss he infused completely replaced her divinity and created the organs necessary for her survival.
Upon becoming a priest, a constant supply of Abyssal energy maintained these organs, allowing her to survive.
An additional benefit was complete freedom from the Consumer’s influence.
Ados chuckled wryly, realizing the unprecedented event that had occurred, with one exception.
Rowena, the High Priestess of the Abyss and the Black Witch.
“Did she give you the tip? To use the same method as hers?”
Ados glared bitterly at Aslan.
She didn’t trust humans, nor did she trust Aslan.
He seemed like someone preaching idealism, condescendingly lecturing her despite being just a human.
“I mentioned it earlier, didn’t I? Though I can’t deny that it didn’t occur to me from Rowena’s case.”
Aslan paused there, and Ados looked down at her hands.
She saw her wrist subtly pulsating, wondering if blood flowed through it.
She saw her body sustained by the supply of the Abyss, originating from those pulsating veins.
She observed a body mimicking a human’s, preserving full human functionality while remaining distinctly non-human.
Ados chuckled again and lowered her head.
Despite the overwhelming sense of defeat, an indescribable relief washed over her.
Relief stemming from surviving, and perhaps the ambition of re-establishing order after Aslan, who desired to remain an ordinary human, aged and passed away.
Regardless, she wanted to live.
If Aslan’s words proved false, she believed it would be her responsibility to correct it.
“Are you crying?”
“Huh?”
But when Aslan’s words reached her ears, she couldn’t help but lift her head irritably.
“Do you think I’m some weak woman who cries over this?”
Irritated, she clicked her tongue and directed her gaze elsewhere.
Aslan appeared surprised at the sight of this woman, still light enough to be carried in one hand, maintaining a clear hierarchy.
Ados, noticing Aslan’s clumsiness, glared at him with disdain before lowering her head again.
“Tell me what you want. I don’t intend to indulge in your meaningless wordplay anymore.”
Though she had become a priest of the Abyss, Ados remained Ados.
A champion of Law and Order who still believed humanity needed order.
Simultaneously, a woman who didn’t trust humans and detested defeat more than death.
Even while feeling inferior, she glared defiantly at Aslan.
It was a look that conveyed no certainty that her demands would be met.
Aslan, observing her bitter gaze and venomous words,
SMACK!
Struck her head.
Ados screamed in pain from the unmistakable ache, looking up at Aslan with bewildered, tear-filled eyes.
Aslan, withdrawing his knuckles after hitting her, wore a similarly confused expression.
“Your talking was so aggravating that I acted without thinking…”
But this confusion gradually faded. Aslan’s expression changed.
He realized.
That the long-absent sensation of pain had returned to Ados’ body, and she was unable to escape its unfamiliarity.
He realized that violence was the quickest solution.
Though inflicting violence on a face resembling Lumel was undoubtedly painful, minor discomforts allowed for exceptions.
Aslan clenched his knuckles again.
“Until just now… wasn’t the atmosphere serious?”
Ignoring Ados’ comment, Aslan kept his knuckles raised.
She soon succumbed to the pain and humiliation.
