“Moon... Moon Goddess...”
Bennis (Top) spoke with great difficulty.
Tears mixed with blood and filth slid down his face, which was twisted in agony.
“Just as the scriptures said... You... You have truly descended... Great Moon Goddess...”
He desperately reached out his arm.
“I beg of you, guide our church back to the right path... I beg of you, grant your protection to this country once more... I beg of you... eliminate that... monster that plagues the world...”
Miaoyue lowered her head, her purple eyes devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
She pointed her palm toward Bennis (Top) and Bennis (Bottom), who were sprawled on the ground.
Light flickered in her palm.
The scorched marks on Bennis’s mangled body healed at a rate visible to the naked eye. Severed nerves and blood vessels reconnected, and his lower half slowly moved over to merge back with his upper half.
The excruciating pain Bennis felt was instantly replaced by a surge of warmth.
“A miracle... A miracle has come to me...” Bennis’s eyes filled with tears of joy. “Everything I did... everything the New Moon Cult did... it was all for you... Moon Goddess...”
At that moment, Miaoyue spoke.
Her voice was very soft, like a murmur, yet everyone present could hear her clearly.
“The people of the kingdom are not lonely, so they do not need me.”
“The demon girl you mentioned... she is not lonely, so I will not take her.”
Miaoyue tilted her head slightly, her emotionless gaze sweeping across the hall and landing on Sophie, who was still pinned against the wall by Kaila.
Sophie’s eyes met hers.
A sharp sting.
Her heartless body felt a stinging pain in her heart.
A piercing chill.
Her temperatureless body felt the cold of a falling temperature.
According to Sophie’s original plan, she was supposed to reveal her identity as soon as she encountered the first Destined Crown heroine.
After all, she had said her goodbyes through a scripted death, so she hadn't actually done anything to lower their affection. Seeing her reappear, the first thing the heroines should feel was a pleasant surprise.
Then she would simply join their party, have the heroines carry her to collect items and traits, and she would quickly return to her state of absolute dominance.
Wouldn't she be able to play this Galgame however she wanted?
As long as she planned carefully and mediated between them to prevent multiple heroines from meeting, the yandere endings would never catch up to her.
Or even more simply, she could just choose one heroine to reveal herself to, and she would never have to worry about a yandere ending.
This wasn't out of arrogance or a belief that the heroines would definitely accept her kindness.
It was simply based on her understanding of them.
Take Miaoyue, for example.
The first plot point was saving Miaoyue from the sacrificial conspiracy of Moon Village; the third was teaching Miaoyue introductory magic; the eighth was clearing a dungeon with Miaoyue; the twelfth was leading Miaoyue through the Saintess’s Trial...
The main storyline spanned seven or eight years from the first plot point to the final Moon Rite.
One could say that Sophie had single-handedly played the roles of “childhood friend, savior, psychologist, mentor, elder brother, and object of affection” for the heroine.
What she liked, what she hated, what was on her mind, what her upbringing was like... Sophie knew it all by heart.
This was the source of Sophie’s confidence—how could a heroine she raised herself not accept her?
She had held onto this thought until just a moment ago.
Until Sophie’s eyes met Miaoyue’s.
Her appearance was exactly the same as the Miaoyue in her memories.
But that gaze.
It was entirely foreign.
The tone and cadence of her voice were also foreign.
The difference between the New Moon Cult and her identity as the Moon Goddess was even more foreign.
The words she wanted to say rolled around in her mouth before being swallowed back down.
Sophie felt that the current Miaoyue was a stranger. She didn't understand the person before her and therefore couldn't guess what she was thinking.
Especially for her current self, who had no stats and no way to quit the game.
This wasn't her Little Yue.
Sophie didn't dare place her life in the hands of a complete stranger.
Thus, in the end, Sophie said nothing.
Miaoyue watched her for a while before withdrawing her gaze and continuing to address Bennis on the ground.
“However, everyone in the cult... is very lonely.”
“Everyone is attacking each other, hurting each other, and fighting each other for those ethereal things... Everyone is too lonely.”
“I will take everyone away.”
The moment Miaoyue’s words fell, Bennis’s eyes widened, and the fanaticism on his face froze in instant disbelief.
“Wait, wait a minute! The cultists were attacking each other because they were under a charm effect! It was all that monster’s fault... We aren't lonely! There are many of us who can keep each other company...”
But Miaoyue only gave him a gentle shake of her head.
Bennis wanted to say more.
But a cold, soft wind had already begun to blow.
There were no screams, no struggling.
In an instant, Bennis’s body turned into fine silver powder.
The powder drifted with the wind and then dissolved into the red moonlight.
Miaoyue continued to hum that unknown tune, her skirts swaying in the void.
The gentle wind did not stop.
The wind swept past the shards of the door and blew into the long underground prison.
The prisoners locked in their cells.
The cultists who were still fighting over breeding rights.
The moment they heard the sound of the wind, looks of terror appeared on all their faces.
But as the wind blew past, they turned into flying ash one after another, merging into that thick, bloody moon.
They didn't even have time to feel fear before they met their eternal farewell.
Sophie was stunned.
Was this really the same Little Yue who would cry for half a day just from killing a demonized chick?
Who was this demon before her who killed without blinking?
Meanwhile, her system log was being flooded.
【Log: Due to the influence of New Moon's Sorrow Lv.Max, [New Moon Bishop · Bennis] has been erased, and his carried items have been disintegrated.】
【Log: Due to the influence of New Moon's Sorrow Lv.Max, [Cultist F], [Cultist H], [Cultist I]... and others have been erased, and their carried items have been disintegrated.】
【Log: Due to the influence of New Moon's Sorrow Lv.Max, [Prisoner A], [Prisoner B], [Prisoner C]... and others have been erased, and their carried items have been disintegrated.】
Oh no, my loot.
And New Moon's Sorrow?
That name?
Wasn't that the trauma Little Yue had back then that made people feel a bit lonely when looking at the moon?
Dazed, Sophie used her mind to click on the entry for New Moon's Sorrow Lv.Max.
【Trauma Effect - New Moon's Sorrow Lv.Max: What would have happened if she had never let go of him? On that night at the Star-Gazing Terrace, Miaoyue cried until she lost her voice.】
【From then on, the moonlight was no longer the mercy of a god bestowed upon the world. The night shed its wings of tranquility and transformed into a bottomless abyss. Beneath the moon, only two souls entwined in trembling, seeking a trace of warmth in each other's breath, can withstand the devouring of the moon's shadow that clings like marrow to the bone.】
〈“Please hold my hand tightly. If the warmth of our fingertips fades, we shall bid an eternal farewell under the gaze of the moonlight.”〉
Sophie: ?
Is... is this right?
As long as you’re under the moon and don't have physical contact, you get devoured by the moonlight?
Who turned my Galgame...
Into a rules-based horror?
Rate on N.U.
