If she still had a bit of a goddess-like aura before, then now—Yukino could only see her as an evil god.
That same gaze from the "goddess" made the very air around feel like it was filled with lead powder, making it suffocating just to breathe.
Her chest grew heavy as though her heart had inhaled too much of that toxic air.
Yet, as always, she remained expressionless and met her gaze head-on.
"Heh… Interesting."
The voice from the goddess's slightly twisted lips was no longer gentle, but full of coldness.
"Indeed, I can't kill you here in the Unified Divine Realm, but do you really think you'll be safe once you return? Think about what happened to you earlier today."
At those words, Yukino's pupils widened slightly.
"So that was your doing?"
The words from her lips were equally cold, and the gaze she threw was sharp and piercing.
"Who knows? But a mere human like you—what can you even do? So be a good girl and come with me to the other world, Yadetre. Otherwise, as a member of a short-lived race, your already brief life will be even shorter."
At that moment, Yukino fully felt the overwhelming arrogance gods held toward humans.
Indeed—since the other party was a god, and she was merely human—even if she knew it was a conspiracy, what could she realistically do? Not much, right?
"Oh my, biting your lip like that… Are you frustrated? In that case—"
"Send me back!"
"You—"
"Send me back! I'd rather die in my own world than follow the orders of something like you."
As she said that, her entire body trembled with cold.
Who wants to die, if given the choice? Of course she didn't.
But to obey the commands of a god whose origins were unknown, who viewed humans as filth from atop her pedestal, and who clearly harbored sinister motives—how could anyone accept that?
Her deep sense of human pride refused to let her bow her head.
After she said that, the goddess's face contorted, twisted into something almost monstrous.
Clack—!
Suddenly, the sound of a door opening. A new figure stepped into view. Red hair, red eyes, a mature body wrapped in a deep blue evening dress.
This woman, clearly also a goddess, stunned Yukino.
She looked exactly like the first goddess—but her aura was entirely different. This one felt like a real goddess.
The original goddess threatening Yukino paled at the newcomer's appearance.
In the blink of an eye, she was beside Yukino again, muttering incantations—and then an unbelievable circular portal appeared.
Yukino was forcefully dragged through it.
"Ugh—!"
As she stumbled out on the other side, Yukino let out a pained grunt. She had fallen hard, and the portal vanished the instant they crossed through.
What shocked her even more was the scene before her: the sky was blood-red, the land nearly pitch-black, and the bizarre architecture looked nothing like anything humans would build—more like the dens of monsters.
No—this was the domain of monsters.
The things moving about around her were humanoid at best—but there was no way they were human. Four arms? Wolf heads and claws? Bat wings? Faces with only a single massive eyeball?
"Aaaaaaaahhh—!"
A blood-curdling scream snapped Yukino's attention to the side—it came from the "goddess" who brought her here.
The woman's body was melting like ice cream.
The outer shell of her form dissolved away, revealing another appearance entirely—black miasma pouring from her, her once-fair skin turning pitch-black. Her face grew sharp, transforming into something like a banshee.
"Oh my, so you forcefully brought a human over? The price for violating the laws of the Unified Divine Realm is to fall into corruption as an evil god. How amusing."
A mocking voice drew Yukino's gaze.
A woman more than two meters tall was walking toward them. She had long black-gray hair, and eyes of the same color—eyes filled with murky darkness.
Her figure was so seductive that no normal man would know where to look. Her clothing was revealing—barely more than a swimsuit. Most notably, a demon's tail and bat wings extended from her back.
She exuded an aura that made Yukino shiver—undeniably non-human. She fit the description of a succubus perfectly.
As soon as the succubus appeared, the surrounding monsters seemed to fall under a spell, kneeling in worship.
And then—what the succubus said gave Yukino some idea of why the evil goddess was screaming in agony.
"Sh-shut up! Ariadoa has already found me—she and the other heroes will be here soon! If you don't want to die, do what you need to do quickly!"
The now corrupted goddess—no, evil god—groaned out her irritation.
"Tch. What a pain."
The succubus clicked her tongue in annoyance and turned her eyes toward the trembling Yukino.
"You. Human. Come here."
The commanding tone made Yukino instinctively stand up.
She took one step forward—but in that moment, her dulled, unfocused eyes sharpened and regained clarity.
"Oh? You can resist my charm? No wonder you're the perfect offering."
Offering? That word made Yukino's skin crawl.
"Offering?"
"That's right. We're going to sacrifice you to awaken the Ancient Original Demon King's Sin Armament. That is—ugh, why am I even explaining this? Come here!"
The succubus grabbed her with one swift motion—roughly. Yukino nearly screamed, her bones feeling like they were going to snap.
Then, with razor-sharp nails, the succubus gently traced her cheek.
"What a shame. If you weren't the perfect offering, I'd love to peel off that face of yours and add it to my collection."
Those words, and the predatory look in her eyes, filled Yukino with a deep, consuming terror.
She was so afraid she couldn't even speak.
She was dragged like that—by what seemed to be a demon queen—into a strange, grotesque castle.
Along the way, Yukino came to understand: this was truly the demon realm. Human corpses littered the land, and she even saw what the succubus referred to as her "collections."
Eventually, she was tossed, limp and helpless, onto what looked like an altar. It was massive—about the size of a basketball court. At its center, something was encased in a semi-transparent black ice.
It was a black staff—its top adorned with several rings, a black-red orb in the middle, and petal-like sharp blades surrounding it.
That object—just looking at it made Yukino feel like reality itself might twist. Its danger far surpassed even the succubus.
That thing—
Her pupils constricted. She stood frozen.
On that thing… she saw an engraved signature, bizarre like a mad scribble—but incredibly similar to one she recognized.