Cat Princess and Human Knight

Just as Ilya was enjoying herself to the fullest, far, far away in the southern part of the continent, the Dark God, who was plotting to kill the King of the Otherworld, had already begun his operation.

The broken black basalt columns are jagged and remain shrouded in mist year-round. Only at noon each day does a few rays of sunlight pierce through the mist and shine on the cliffs, but only on the cliffs.

Deep within the jagged cliffs, countless caves are scattered, lizards lie on the ground, bats hang from the ceiling, and vines spread wildly across the mountainside.

Darker than darkness itself, a black light condensed and exploded in one of the caves, quickly weaving through the darkness and causing a swarm of bats to howl and flutter about.

Deep within the cave lies a ruin, before which sits a beautiful young woman.

Her hair was long and violet with a gradient color, the ends of which shimmered with silver light, and her eyes were azure blue.

Sensing the approaching black light, the girl leaped into the air, her long hair transforming into streams of lightning, her pupils turning deep purple, her upright figure displaying perfect proportions with a nine-head body, standing a full 1.8 meters tall.

Her skin glowed faintly, and faint chakras appeared at her joints; her waist and hips were curved like the curves of a classical sculpture.

Upon closer inspection, she was not purely human. She had two blue-purple triangular cat ears on her head and a cat tail with lightning patterns on it, the end of which crackled with purple lightning.

The catgirl, half-cat and half-human, wore a black and gold robe lined with mithril light armor, with an ominous chain wrapped around her waist and a semi-transparent lightning-woven cloak draped over her shoulders.

As the black light approached, the catgirl stood tall and proud, pulling a katana from her rather ample chest, poised to slash fiercely at the black light.

Blacklight seemed surprised by the catgirl's decisive action and quickly dodged, narrowly avoiding a thunderous strike.

But the cave behind the black light wasn't so lucky. The blade flashed like a crescent moon, streaking across the cave with lightning and thunder, slicing through countless stalactites and almost cutting the cave in two.

The first strike failed, and the catgirl's purple eyes narrowed, locking onto the source of the black light once more.

Blacklight seemed to be startled by the catgirl's resolute actions, and a furious roar echoed in the catgirl's mind.

"Stop! Elsa, the twelfth seat of the Council of Hearts, the one condemned by eternal damnation! Shadow!"

I, the great God of Darkness, have come to demand that you fulfill the covenant between gods and men!

Elsa's eyes returned to azure, and the lightning-streaked violet hair gradually calmed the thunder. She spoke in a cold tone.

"What does the covenant between God and man have to do with me?"

The black light absorbed the surrounding light like a black hole, transforming into a madness darker than darkness itself. The voice of the Dark God kept exploding in Elsa's mind, attempting to ignite all her negative emotions.

"An ominous divine punishment will befall you forever. Your tragedy stems from the King of the Otherworld. Seeking revenge against the King of the Otherworld is the only way to quell your endless sorrow."

Your mother was tormented by eternal loneliness for countless years, and eventually gave birth to you, who are half cat and half human.

The cats fear you, the humans despise you; you were born a cursed being. You are resentful, you are angry, you curse the mockery of fate, but you cannot change your half-cat, half-human identity.

All of this is the fault of the King of the Otherworld!

If it weren't for the human kings from another world, the gods wouldn't have fallen, humanity wouldn't have gone to war, the torment of immortality wouldn't have driven your mother mad, and ultimately, the ominous you would have been born.

Hate, loathe, unleash all your anger upon the King of the Otherworld!

The opportunity for revenge is before you! Go and kill the newly arrived king of another world, and use his blood to soothe your vengeful soul!

A flash of black light indicates that the power of the Dark God will materialize all negative emotions, ultimately leading to their eruption.

Elsa, the catgirl, remained completely unmoved. Her cat ears twitched slightly as she tilted her head to examine the black light.

"You? Are you trying to bewitch me?"

Lightning flashed in Elsa's eyes, and the Dark God's incessant whispers had no effect whatsoever. The catgirl who controlled the heavenly punishment remained coldly silent, creating an awkward atmosphere.

The powerless black light could only let out a final roar.

"Go and kill the king of the otherworld, fulfill the covenant between gods and men, and you will be human, and gods will recognize you as human!"

After he finished speaking, the black light disappeared.

A drop of water dripped from a stalactite on the cave ceiling, was enveloped in lightning, and was delivered into Elsa's palm.

Elsa looked at the water droplet, in which her human face and cat ears were reflected, and muttered to herself.

"Having fulfilled the covenant between man and God, am I now a human being?"

A cat leaped out from her lightning-sparkling cloak, an electronic cat made entirely of lightning, nestled on her shoulder, peering out at the water droplets.

Elsa popped the water droplets, touched the electronic cat's head with her hand, and felt the current flowing between her palm and the cat's head. Her expression was confused and lonely.

"Mimi, do you think I'm human? Am I even human? Should I keep the promise I made with God?"

Elsa's bewildered questions and sighs, though she hadn't been successfully seduced by the Dark God, began to seriously consider his advice and fell into deep thought.

---

Astraea. Yongge sat on her throne, sunlight filtering through the oak branches and falling on her bewildered face.

A man, a young man, Illya. Where did the young man Onyxia encounter come from?

Suddenly, a little more sunlight shone through the branches and leaves, and that little bit of light became more and more dazzling, floating in front of Astraea.

Astraea stood up and gave a graceful bow.

"Great God of Light, you have spared no effort to travel through time and space to come before me. What brings you here?"

As the light shone, the gentle and warm voice of the God of Light echoed in Astraea's mind.

"Astraea, the second seat of the Council of Hearts and Souls, the Twin of Life and Death. Yongge, I have come here to ask you to fulfill the covenant between God and man."

"A pact between God and man?"

"Yes, the King of Otherworld has returned. The last Mankik has summoned the King of Otherworld once again."

"Mankikang... the King of Another World..."

Astraea suddenly realized something and her eyes widened.

"The man beside Princess Mankikang, is he the King of Another World?"

The light seemed to sense Astraea's shock and disappointment, and continued to shine.

"Kill him, kill that man. This is the covenant between the gods and the human race, the promise the human race made to the two gods. You must fulfill the covenant and complete the promise."

Astraea fell silent.

The appearance of the God of Light made her understand the man's origin and confirm that he was indeed a young man, a young man that humanity had long lost!

Kill him? Kill a young man?

Astraea, who had devoted herself to the continuation of humanity. How could Yongge possibly agree to this?

The God of Light sensed Astraea's hesitation, and his gentle voice echoed in her mind once more.

"A man cannot save humanity from extinction, but a god can."

Do you expect an entire race to reproduce by a single man?

Astraea. Eternal Song, abandon your dangerous and foolish thoughts, uphold the covenant between man and god, and I will grant your wish.

Astraea stared at the point of light before her and asked solemnly.

What does "getting what you want" mean?

"The spring of immortality has caused humanity to lose its men forever, but the waters of the Mother-Child River can enable women to become pregnant, reproduce, and pass on their lineage."

Astreya said.

"The two gods have already deceived humanity once; how can you expect me to believe you won't deceive us a second time?"

"I have never deceived the human race. Just as light and darkness are opposites, immortality and reproduction are also opposites."

It was the short-sighted ancestors of humanity who, in pursuit of their own immortality, abandoned the future of humanity. This had nothing to do with the two gods; it was humanity's own choice.

Immortality is a blessing bestowed upon humanity by the gods, and now, I am willing to grant humanity a new blessing.

"So, Astraea, Eternal Song, are you willing to accept this new blessing?"

Astraea fell silent.

One man cannot save humanity; she understands the hidden meaning of the God of Light.

Even if men can help humans conceive and reproduce, how can we solve the problem that all human births are female?

Humanity wasn't without men back then, but because they couldn't produce male offspring, time has eroded them to the point of near extinction.

One man can only delay the demise of humanity, but cannot completely solve the problem. The one who tied the knot must untie it; the real solution still requires the two gods.

The waters of the Mother-Child River, the waters that enable women to conceive, and the suggestion from the God of Light, captivated Astraea.

But Astraea did not notice that the light was constantly flickering, and the words of the God of Light were full of the seductive power of the gods.

Just as the power of the God of Darkness can amplify negative emotions, the power of the God of Light can also amplify obsessions.

Astraea's noble sentiments of concern for the future of humanity were now being led astray by the power of the God of Light into a path of fanaticism.

The two gods have the power to prevent humans from having male offspring, but do they have the power to prevent the king of another world from having male offspring?

If the Gods of Light and Darkness were truly that powerful, would they need to be so terrified of the King of the Otherworld?

They spared no effort to travel through time and space with their divine power, standing before the human race and desperately trying to incite them to kill the newly arrived alien king. The real reason was simply that they couldn't do anything about the alien king.

However, Astraea, influenced by the power of the God of Light, did not consider this point. She stubbornly believed that even the King of the Otherworld could not give birth to boys, and that only the two gods could save humanity from extinction.

Elsa. Shadow was not bewitched by the God of Darkness, but Astraea inadvertently fell for the God of Light's trick.

Finally, Astraea sighed and nodded.

"Alright, I'll go and kill that newly arrived alien king."

"Very well, Astraea. Eternal Song."

"Please remember your promise, God of Light."

"You will get what you want. Humanity will not perish, but will thrive in another way."

The points of light slowly dispersed in the air and disappeared before Astraea's eyes.

Astraea took a deep breath and muttered to herself.

"I'm sorry, Ilya, for the future of humanity, I have no choice but to do this. I have no choice but to kill your man. I'm so sorry."