The Blade to Slay God
I asked several Queens, but still couldn’t obtain any. Hmm… I suppose I have no choice but to visit the bar and buy some.
“Ah, Elisha!”
“Yes? Kate, unnie.”
I was standing in the lobby, lost in thought, when a voice called my name. I turned to see Kate unnie walking in. The petite woman, still in her work clothes, waved enthusiastically and ran over, wrapping her arms around my waist.
“It’s been so long!”
“It has been a while.”
Thanks to our height difference, she rubbed her face against my stomach before pulling back.
“Oh, right—I’m supposed to speak formally. I mean, I should have.”
“You really don’t have to use formal speech with me.”
“No, I do. You’re my superior now, after all.”
She kept slipping but stubbornly corrected herself each time. It felt awkward for me too, yet she refused to stop.
“We decided at the meeting that formal speech is mandatory. We did.”
“Hmm…”
Kate unnie smiled brightly even as she continued her clumsy formal speech. She seemed to have completely accepted her position as a Queen.
“I have to go—Master is waiting for me.”
“Yes, let’s talk again next time.”
Her eyes sparkled. She looked far more energetic and cheerful than before. In fact, most women who had become Queens appeared to be in a generally good mood. Despite exhausting themselves every night by receiving Master’s lust, they overflowed with vitality. It was as if something invisible was at work.
After Kate left, I wandered a while longer and finally managed to obtain some basic ingredients from one of the Queens.
Back in our room, I was preparing a simple meal when Master returned. He embraced me from behind.
“What are you making?”
“Eep—steamed meat and stir-fried vegetables.”
“Hm, smells good.”
“Ah, please stop touching. You’re distracting me from cooking.”
Even as his large hands roamed over my breasts and lower belly, sending waves of stimulation through me, I kept my hands moving. He continued to knead and tease my body playfully until my scolding finally made him stop. He stepped back, scratched his head, and began setting the table.
“Should I wipe the table with this?”
“Use the dishcloth over there.”
I plated the food, and he carried each dish to the table with surprising care. Once I removed my apron and sat down, he—who had already started eating—spoke.
“It’s delicious. I’ve thought so for a while, but you really are an excellent cook.”
“Thank you. I studied hard.”
I wasn’t hungry after consuming so much vital energy, but I couldn’t let Master eat alone, so I took a few bites. Master, who had always possessed a large appetite, devoured the boiled meat in moments—perhaps a rebound from having his essence drained. Even when my practice attempts failed and the food turned out poorly, he ate everything without complaint.
Watching him eat so heartily, I picked at my vegetables until a question occurred to me.
“Master, do you have any dreams you wish to achieve?”
“Where did that come from?”
I answered the man who raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“I was simply curious.”
“Out of nowhere. Hm, dreams…” He crossed his arms and frowned, tilting his head from side to side in thought, but no clear answer seemed to surface. “When I was a boy, I wanted to become the greatest warrior.”
“That’s exactly what every young boy dreams of.”
“I suppose so. These days… I’m not sure.”
He pondered for a long time but couldn’t easily name a dream.
“Someone once told me that what a person wants to achieve is tied to their personal desires. What is your desire, Master?”
“Right now, it’s completely establishing our foothold in Eden. And embracing you. But the person you know isn’t that bastard, is it?”
“Oh my, would there be a problem if it were him?”
“While you’re with me, do not think about that man. From the beginning, you lack the proper awareness that you are my slave. No matter how well you behave as one…”
“Yes, yes. I’ll be careful, so please stop and finish your meal.”
Even though Master had permitted my relationship with Teo, he still wanted clear boundaries. I hadn’t actually been thinking about Teo—it was truly about the dream—but if Master disliked it, I would accommodate him.
“As expected, no matter how many times I look, it still arouses me.”
While I cleaned up after the meal, his lust had apparently returned. He watched my body with a gaze that felt like licking every inch of me.
To recover so quickly after having his vital energy drained—he truly was remarkable.
“We can’t do any more today. It’s bad for your health.”
“I have the desire, but my body won’t keep up. This is a first for me, so it feels strange.”
Seeing the once-mighty Master drained and whining made it clear: a succubus had to be extremely careful when draining a human’s vital energy. Even with the magic core’s size restricted, the slightest mistake could suck too much and put him in danger. The collar was indeed necessary.
After washing the dishes, I returned to find him already asleep, more exhausted than he had appeared. He lay sprawled across the bed. I covered him with a blanket, sat beside him, and quietly studied his face. It struck me anew that among the Blackmen, he was rather handsome.
Or perhaps I simply liked him? Was it just the honeymoon phase? Unlike most Blackmen with their thick, heavy features, his slightly sharper lines revealed an agility that appealed to me. Both Teo and Master possessed those sharp, fierce faces. It seemed that was my preference.
After watching him for a long while, I slipped under the covers beside him. Well… it looked like I wouldn’t be taking him inside me tonight. A shame. I fondled his unresponsive member for a while longer before giving up and deciding to sleep.
Days passed in a routine of assisting Master with his work and relieving his desires. Then I received a summons from Isabel. Since she had contacted me first, it seemed her symbiosis was complete.
When I arrived at Isabel’s laboratory, I found her eating chocolate with a frown. I remembered she didn’t particularly like sweets.
“Hello.”
“Ah, come in.”
She popped the last piece into her mouth, chewed thoroughly, wiped her fingers on a handkerchief, and approached.
“Whew, I’m going to get fat at this rate.”
“Why are you eating it?”
“Contract condition.”
She dropped heavily into a chair, rubbed the back of her neck, closed her eyes, and nodded before speaking.
“First question. It wasn’t you, was it?”
“What do you mean?”
I wore an expression of pure innocence. She narrowed her eyes and stared at me for a long moment before sighing.
“Haah… I can’t tell if you’re pretending or if you genuinely have no idea.”
“What’s going on?”
“The Abaddon. I’ve become a host as well.”
“Oh my, really? Then the time you took off…?”
I feigned surprise. She nodded and touched the back of her neck again.
“Yes. I needed time to worry and adapt.”
She had felt something strange with her body and, through a thorough examination, discovered the Abaddon parasite. Fortunately, it had developed an ego, allowing them to converse. After many discussions, they reached an agreement.
“It’s a mutual contract. We follow the rules we established together.”
“Is it different from symbiosis?”
“Rather than vague symbiosis, clear role division is better, so we chose this.”
The contract stated that Isabel would remain the primary controller of the body while the Abaddon assisted her. In exchange, she would fulfill the Abaddon’s wishes.
“So eating chocolate is the compensation.”
“It loves sweets tremendously.”
“Anyway, what is it like to live in symbiosis with an Abaddon? Better than expected, isn’t it?”
“I hate to admit it, but I can’t deny the results.”
Just looking at her visibly improved condition told me everything. I had taught the child primarily how to regulate Isabel’s condition and manipulate her hormones, and it seemed to be working well.
“I feel less fatigue and sleep deeply, so my overall condition is excellent and research efficiency has risen. It assists with my research too, which is convenient. There are many advantages.”
“You were so negative at first, yet you’ve changed considerably.”
“Seeing you did shift my perspective, but experiencing it myself… well…”
I had poured special effort into educating the child I sent to her. It acted obedient and cooperative to win the host’s favor, building rapport. Seeing how smoothly it had endeared itself to Isabel filled me with pride.
“Was that the only reason you called me today?”
“That’s one reason, but there’s someone I want to introduce you to.”
“Someone to introduce?”
She manipulated the computer, contacted someone, and soon a figure appeared on the screen. Against a dark background, the ominously glowing red lenses of a gas mask created an eerie atmosphere. The person wore a red gas mask and a black coat, standing utterly motionless while emitting the mask’s characteristic rasping breaths.
In a pitch-black background, a figure stood completely still. A red gas mask with glowing lenses emitted a constant, rasping breath. The black coat blended into the shadows, giving off an unsettling, otherworldly presence.
“The leader of the Anti-Eden organization—Red Mask.”
“Red Mask?”
“Hooook… Isabel, is that you?”
The low, grating voice was so rough it was impossible to determine the speaker’s gender. The instinctively repulsive tone left me slightly flustered as Isabel continued her introduction.
“I told you before, didn’t I? That I had an external collaborator. This is Red Mask.”
“Uh… hello?”
“Hooook…”
Red Mask remained utterly motionless, offering only that rasping breath. The lenses completely hid their eyes, so I couldn’t even tell if they were looking at me.
Isabel continued without concern.
“They may look unsettling, but they are trustworthy. Don’t worry. This child is the Elisha I mentioned.”
“Hooook… The blade that will slay God.”
The rough voice spoke again.
“To think Eden’s downfall, which once seemed unreachable, would be brought about by a single angel… Isn’t it amusing? The devil who called himself a god will die at the hands of the angel he himself created… Hooook.”
When the figure paused, I glanced at Isabel. She wore a bitter expression.
Come to think of it, wasn’t it Isabel who had turned me into an angel to gather information and planned to kill God? The realization that she had used a memoryless girl to slay the devil now stirred complicated feelings.
“I never imagined your plan would succeed to this degree… Hooook. Quite a useful tool.”
Lately I had grown accustomed to being treated as a person, so being called a tool felt strangely refreshing. Even the researchers treated me as a test subject yet still regarded me as human.
“Isabel, is the tool’s preparation complete?”
“We can execute at any time. And please use my proper name.”
“Yes, even a tool has a name… Hooook. Very well. I will contact you once our side is ready.”
With those words, the transmission from Red Mask ended abruptly.
To say only what they wanted and cut the connection—I sat there stunned until Isabel sighed.
“Sigh, that person never changes. Don’t think too badly of them. They have a complicated past and tend to avoid forming attachments.”
“I’m used to such treatment, so it’s fine. More importantly, does this mean we’ve gathered enough data to execute the plan?”
“We’ve been collecting information for a long time—aside from the Underground City data. The most crucial material was missing, which had stalled everything. My plan happened to fit perfectly.”
“You mean turning me into an angel and sending me to infiltrate the underground city?”
“It still bothers me somewhat, but I have no regrets. Using Eden’s own technology to bring about its downfall. Isn’t it wonderful?”
Besides the death of her family, there must have been other painful events. Her gloomy smile carried deep resentment and rage.
She had grown excited recalling the past, but her expression suddenly softened and grew calm. The unnatural emotional shift suggested the Abaddon had intervened.
“Understood. Excessive excitement is not good. Hoo…”
She was clearly conversing with the Abaddon inside her. Just as Master had done, an Abaddon that seized control of the brain could manipulate its host at will. It seemed the child symbioting with her was gradually acclimating her to being controlled.
Despite the artificial manipulation, Isabel accepted it without resistance. If she slowly grew accustomed to it, she would eventually fail to notice the control and perceive it as natural.
I watched Isabel converse with the Abaddon inside her body, her eyes slightly glazed, and silently cheered for her. As someone who called herself a genius, she was an outstanding host. It would be best if she became a complete ally.
At that moment the door opened and Lyana unnie entered. Unlike her usual habit of wearing long clothes that completely covered her body to hide her android seams, she wore a short-sleeved shirt and a skirt that reached her thighs. Yet the seams on her arms and legs were covered with artificial skin like a high-end android, presenting a smooth surface. Without the distinctive rings in her pupils, one might have mistaken her for a human.
Unnie froze when she saw me, glanced sideways at Isabel, then greeted me as usual.
“Elisha, so this is where you were.”
“I had business with Isabel.”
“Isabel’s condition seems rather strange, though…”
Unnie remarked upon seeing Isabel still murmuring with unfocused eyes. Indeed, that state had lasted quite a while. It appeared she was engaged in an important internal conversation.
“It seems she’s having an important inner dialogue.”
“Ah, conversing with the Abaddon, then.”
“Oh, you knew?”
“I was the one who looked after her during her seclusion. With your precedent as well, it was easy to notice.”
“I see.”
At Lyana unnie’s gesture to leave, I exited Isabel’s room and followed her to the central room of the laboratory. We sat facing each other on the sofa. After observing our surroundings and me for a moment, she spoke in an awkward tone.
“Um… Are you aware that I have moved in?”
“If it’s uncomfortable, you can speak as usual, unnie.”
“I cannot. No, I must not. Since it is a rule decided at the meeting, I must follow it.”
The sight of the once-stiff unnie using honorifics was so awkward it made even me embarrassed. She used to possess a male ego and strong stubbornness—to think she had changed this much. Had she fallen completely for Master?
“Unless outsiders are present, I will use honorifics.”
“Yes.”
“From what Master told me, as the one who manages the Queens, you are called Madam. I understand it is a position created for the first time since arriving in Eden.”
“Yes. My Master created it when he became the branch leader of Eden. I handle most matters concerning the Queens.”
“In Eden, a madam usually refers to the female proprietor of a courtesan house. To use the same title for the one who manages the Queens who are their slaves—it makes sense.”
“Unnie, are you truly all right with having become a Queen?”
I asked because her casual self-reference as a slave puzzled me. Although I had pushed her into it, I hadn’t expected her to accept the role of Queen so readily. In the past, she had shown clear resistance.