This Isn’t an E*otic Game?

The Healing Saint was working tirelessly to improve the mental state of the host.
Despite the clear risk of being harmed by the curse, he showed no trace of fear. Without wearing any protective gear, he spent time laughing and talking with the princess.
Through the various magical arrays installed in the Secluded Palace, the Evil God’s Chosen could witness everything that happened there in vivid detail.

Why was he going to such lengths?
It didn’t take long for the purpose to become clear.
The Evil God’s Fragment, subjected to holy magic once a week for the past 16 years, had developed an exceptionally weak connection to its host’s soul.

In its current state, it was more likely to seek out a new host with a stronger soul connection to fully consume and inhabit.
The Saint was deliberately trying to transfer the Evil God’s Fragment into his own soul.
Even for a Saint, having the Evil God’s Fragment embedded in one’s soul would undoubtedly result in a catastrophic end. Yet, he behaved as though he were enticing the fragment.

What kind of lunatic is he?
He acted as if he had a way to deal with the fragment even if it did transfer into his soul.
When this was reported, the Evil God’s cult ordered the immediate awakening of the fragment, even though it was not yet fully formed.

The Chosen agreed with their decision.
It was far better to awaken the fragment prematurely, even in an incomplete state, than to risk its futile destruction at the hands of the Saint.
The Chosen waited until the Saint left the Secluded Palace.

The moment he departed, the Chosen made their move.
It was the early hours of the morning, and there were few people to deal with.
After swiftly killing the lone mage on duty, a priest, and two knights from the imperial guard, the Chosen approached the Secluded Palace.

The palace was filled with countless defensive measures designed to counter any potential rampage of the Evil God’s Fragment within Iomene.
There were sacred relics in place to automatically cast hundreds of Purging Evil Miracles if the curse exceeded a certain threshold, as well as dozens of defensive magic circles and miracles to ensure the curse could not spread beyond the palace to the imperial grounds.
The Chosen dismantled all of them.
Of course, this came at a cost.

The Chosen had to consume a massive amount of grudges—grudges that sustained the Concealment Miracle protecting their own life.
Ordinarily, the Collector would have gathered and supplied the additional grudges needed, but since her death, there were no other options.
After taking these steps, the Chosen entered the Secluded Palace.

On the bed, Princess Iomene lay sleeping peacefully, her face showing an expression of happiness that seemed foreign to her.
Reaching out, the Chosen placed a hand atop her head.
The Evil God’s Fragment, dormant within her soul, began to stir.

Due to its prolonged exposure to holy magic, the connection between the fragment and her soul was disastrously weak—far from what it should have been if properly embedded.
Even if the fragment were awakened in this state, it would never be able to exert its full power.
The cult and the Chosen had underestimated the imperial family’s resolve.

How could anyone subject their own child to 16 years of relentless torture?
The cult had expected Emperor Mars to exile Iomene to a distant rural area, unable to bring himself to harm his daughter.
If she had been sent to the countryside, it would have been much easier for them to gradually nurture the fragment and awaken it at the opportune moment.

By doing so, the fragment could have consumed both Iomene and her twin sister Almene, whose souls were linked. In an instant, they could have unleashed the curse at the heart of the empire, in the capital city of Mars.
It would have been catastrophic, with Almene, seemingly healthy and unsuspecting, becoming the source of the curse overnight, leaving the empire unable to respond.
But the Emperor had steeled his heart and chosen to subject his daughter to unthinkable suffering for 16 years.

And now, with the sudden appearance of the Healing Saint, the cult was forced to awaken the fragment two years ahead of schedule.
It was a disaster.
Even if the fragment awakened, its structure was far too unstable to manifest its full potential.

But there was no other choice.
"Awaken," the Chosen commanded.
The Evil God’s Fragment, parasitic within Iomene’s soul, began to release its power.

A torrent of overwhelming curse energy poured out through her wings.
Though the fragment was so unstable it could shatter from the slightest shock, its raw power was as extraordinary as the stories had foretold.
A chilling scream.

A grotesque, soul-scraping sensation that seemed to tear through existence itself.
And with it, an unstoppable curse began to spread into the world.
The beginning of the end had arrived.

*****
As I approached the imperial palace, the situation grew increasingly dire.
“Gaaaah!! Aaaaargh!!”

“Help me! Please, save me!!”
Countless people had succumbed to the curse, collapsing to the ground and convulsing violently.
“Hurry! Move quickly! Pull the cursed ones out and begin treatment!”

The priests from the Grace Church who had followed me worked frantically to heal the afflicted, while I dashed toward the palace without a second thought.
The moment the palace came into view, I immediately cast a time stop.
Had it been possible, I would have frozen time the very moment I sensed the curse emanating from the Mage Tower temple. But if I had done so, I would have drained my mental energy before even reaching Iomene, leaving me unconscious.

This was the best I could manage—stopping time from this distance.
Please, let her soul still be intact.
Please, let Iomene still be alive.

Praying for a miracle, even as I doubted it was possible, I alternated between localizing and releasing the time stop to conserve energy while moving as quickly as possible toward the Secluded Palace.
And then, I saw it.
Iomene, soaring high into the sky, breaking through the palace roof.

Her wings—grotesquely adorned with dozens of eyes—gazed down upon the earth.
Even that sight, horrifying as it was, didn’t destroy me.
What shattered me was her face.

She wore a twisted, cruel smile I had never seen before.
It was a smile that mocked and blasphemed the world, one that could only belong to someone who bore hatred for all living things. A smile of pure ecstasy and malice.
Iomene was gone.

Her body remained, but her soul had been completely devoured by the Evil God’s Fragment.
Why?
Why did it have to come to this?

Whoever placed this curse on her, why would they go so far?
She was just starting to heal, just beginning to recover. Why strip that away from her?
Rage.

A fury so intense it threatened to consume me surged from deep within.
Using the frozen air as a platform, I cast Sky Steps and ascended toward Iomene, just as I had done at the factory before.
But as I neared her, my mental energy began to run dry.

Damn this efficiency.
What do I do now?
I was still three meters away from her.

If I released the time stop in this state, I would plummet to the ground.
Frantically wracking my brain, I came up with a solution.
I released the time stop across the world but maintained it beneath my feet alone.

This minimized my energy consumption while still allowing me to stand in midair.
The moment time resumed, an overwhelming wave of dread engulfed me.
The sensation of my soul being scraped raw had intensified into something so horrific and nauseating that it felt like I might vomit.

I didn’t know how to describe it.
It felt as if my very soul was screaming, warning me of its impending destruction.
If even a trace of that black mist—the curse swirling around Iomene’s body—touched me, my soul would shatter and be obliterated.

My soul trembled uncontrollably, consumed by fear.
But I wasn’t afraid.
For the first time, my mind and soul were at odds.

Soul destruction?
That meant going back to Korea.
To a safe, happy place free of hell’s torment.

I straightened my back and stared directly at the Evil God’s Fragment, which had taken Iomene’s form.
The Fragment, its wings emitting an overwhelming amount of curse energy, stared back at me.
“[Die!]”

“[Destroy!]”
“[Annihilate!]”
The Fragment let out a grotesque, childlike laugh, spitting out crude words.

I prayed for a miracle, but none came.
Iomene was gone.
Unbidden, tears streamed down my face.

I loosened my belt and gripped it tightly in my hand.
Using the frozen air as a platform, I advanced toward the Fragment.
The Fragment sneered at me.

“[You’ll die too!]”
“[You’ll die, and I’ll consume you!]”
“[Eat! Eat!]”

The curse focused on me, but I didn’t care.
Destroy my soul? Fine.
Go ahead and destroy it.

But in return, just let me land one hit.
Just one.
As I closed the distance, the Fragment’s mocking expression turned to confusion.

“[Why? Aren’t you afraid?]”
The black mist thickened around me, wrapping me even more tightly.
My soul, now beyond terrified, convulsed as if it were having a seizure, trembling so violently it seemed to scream at me: “You idiot! I’ll be destroyed!”

But I didn’t care.
Blood trickled from my nose, a side effect of overusing the time stop, as I gripped the belt even tighter.
This was a checkmate for the Fragment.

I didn’t care if I failed.
If I failed, I’d go back to Korea.
If I succeeded, I’d make this damned fragment feel pain like it had never known.

I felt no fear.
None.
Destroy me if you want.

I don’t care if my soul is obliterated, as long as I get one hit in.
“[Strange! This is strange!]”
“[Stronger! Make it stronger!]”

The Fragment’s confusion turned to panic.
The black mist surrounding the people below withdrew from them, concentrating entirely on me.
But it still didn’t matter.

That bastard.
I’ll make you experience the most excruciating pain imaginable.
As the distance between us shrank to less than a meter, the Fragment’s face finally twisted in fear.

“[Stay back!]”
It flapped its wings, trying to escape, but it was too late.
I cast a time stop on its legs, pinning it mid-air.

Unable to flee, the Fragment froze like a nailed-down statue as I closed the gap.
Reaching out, I touched its form and activated my skill.
“[Skill: Sensory Amplification x3000 activated.]”

Last time, I couldn’t use this skill on the Fragment, but now I could.
It was a skill meant only for living beings.
That’s where you messed up, Evil God’s Fragment.

If you had remained a parasite in Iomene’s soul, I couldn’t have used this on you.
But now that Iomene’s body is yours, so is the pain.
“The pain Iomene endured for 16 years, I’ll make you feel it all at once.”

“[No! No!!!]”
“Oh, yes.”
The belt lashed through the air.

Crack!
The sharp sound echoed as the Fragment’s cheek puffed out, scattering several teeth like kernels of popped corn.
And then—

“[Gaaaah!! Aaaaargh! Noooo!!]”
The Evil God’s Fragment screamed.