Starting with the goblin extermination

The clear sound of the wind chimes had long since faded; Logan had already left.

Adele lay naked on the recliner, not wanting to move a finger.

But the herbal medicine shop was in a mess.

Various herbs of different shapes clung to the ground, mingling with the unidentified liquid scattered everywhere. Adele, whose memory had always been excellent, still remembered the shame she felt when her mother scolded her for wetting the bed when she was five, just like now...

Thinking of this, Adele's alluring face flushed crimson, her tail coiling tightly around her thigh. She thought of what she had done not long ago in this herbal shop, in front of that very counter, and of her suppressed screams—

She shook her head, trying to banish the memory, but the lingering heat in her slightly protruding belly still reminded her of what had happened. She couldn't help but recall the violent impact, struggling to raise her hands... After the intense tingling and afterglow faded, a profound emptiness filled her.

Logan had only been gone a short while.

But she missed him terribly, so much.

What's wrong with me...?

Adele chuckled self-deprecatingly, mustered her strength, and summoned her tiny, transparent hands to begin tidying up the entire herbal shop.

She ultimately didn't tell Logan the truth about the reel.

The continent of Babylon is home to numerous faiths. Besides the most popular deity, Soma, the Goddess of Order, there are also a variety of other smaller religious organizations. The various nations are generally tolerant of these peripheral sects and occasionally hire them to handle some tricky problems.

However, even the greatest tolerance has its limits.

Just as a pure white robe cannot tolerate a single drop of ink, neither the kingdom's officials nor the Soma Temple, which regards chaos as a dead end, will let any trace of the evil god escape once they sense it.

Even if you merely sell a way to communicate with an evil god on the black market, or even just accidentally decipher the evil god's true name on a scroll, you will be torn to pieces by the paladins of the temple.

Moreover, this scroll points to [Order Goddess Soma]'s mortal enemy, [Chaos Witch Diskerdia].

Once even a hint of it is leaked—

The Temple of Soma will tear him apart, the Crimson Knot Society will interrogate him, and the Black Grail will torment him.

The reason Adele chose to conceal the truth was to protect herself.

However, she knew very well in her heart that there was another selfish reason.

To break the seal, she must embark on this bloody path to obtain the witch's blessing.

But... could Logan tolerate having a woman blessed by an evil god sleeping next to him? What would she think if she knew that he might use the souls of the living as sacrifices in the future?

She dared not take the risk, the thought of Logan looking at her with disgust, even pointing a sword at her chest...

She hugged her arms tightly; the summer night breeze was cool and comfortable, but Adele felt cold.

Let this remain her secret alone.

So she only told Logan a part of the truth, and the reel was ultimately kept in her possession for safekeeping.

She will risk everything to continue deciphering the secrets on the scroll.

The strangler vine hanging from the ceiling was slowly rotating. Adele stared at it, her thoughts drifting away.

She's so selfish.

......

Logan arrived at the wooden fence surrounding Elsa's cottage. The gate was only two steps from the street, yet this wooden fence, seemingly an attempt to conceal its existence, stood there, its gray-brown surface speckled with black spots and creaking.

Dilapidated, decaying, and unreliable, the little house before us was just like that.

But that's my home.

The lights were still on inside the cabin.

When he broke free from Adele's embrace, he had no idea how much time had passed. He only knew that the clock had struck four, the lights were out, and the streets were deserted. He wasn't sure if Elsa was asleep.

On his way home, Logan kept pondering the information Adele had provided. Knowing the dangers of the reel, he agreed to entrust it to Adele for safekeeping.

He was also thinking about Elsa. Although he had long been aware of the situation, the thought of returning from one woman's embrace to another woman's home still made Logan feel like he was in a dream.

From the moment he made his decision, he had to take responsibility for it; otherwise, he could have simply left Elsa at home and gone to see Adele himself. Presumably, the obedient Elsa wouldn't have said a word, but he couldn't.

Logan pushed the door open.

A familiar figure suddenly rushed into his arms. Logan was about to say something when his mouth was firmly covered by a kiss. Guilt, joy, and relief—a complex mix of emotions welled up inside him. After all, he had already made his decision; rather than saying anything insincere, he should make it up to her.

Elsa desperately sniffed Logan's scent and frantically stroked his muscles. All the calmness, confidence, and composure she had shown at the herbalist shop had vanished completely.

Even in an empty living room, she would be driven mad with jealousy.

The scent of Adele, the bite marks of Adele, the lip prints of Adele—he smelled of other people.

Elsa could accept that he had other women, but her heart was still tightly blocked, as if a poisonous vine with barbs was madly strangling her heart. Jealousy, this dark emotion that could never be erased by the gods, surged in her veins.

Now, she wants to cover up all the marks.

"love me......"

She pushed Logan toward the dining table they had recently bought.

She wanted to dye Logan back to his own color.

......

Arlando 3563, Riverwood, West Sewers.

Slank took out his badge and walked slowly along the tunnel until he found a secluded corner covered in slippery moss. The matte black texture on the wall tiles told him that he had found the right direction.

He held a smaller hyena badge in his hand, and as he reached out, the brickwork distorted like surging waves, faint ripples enveloping his right hand, and then he passed through it.

Unlike the black market that extends downwards, Slank entered another secluded location, a secret stronghold belonging to the Blood Hyena organization.

To be precise, it was a former stronghold of the Bloodhounds.

It's hard to imagine that such a long, arched corridor could exist underground. On both sides of the corridor, every five steps, there are eerie moss bottles that emit a blinding blue light. Under the swaying blue light, the figures are pulled and distorted, looking like monsters.

Slank didn't have time to pay attention to them. He quickened his pace, crossed the corridor, and came to a dimly lit, funnel-shaped circular hall.

In the center of the hall, a goblin dressed in black robes and holding a staff stared blankly at him like a puppet, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, motionless.

Slank nodded, feeling both proud of God's power and angry and jealous that such a defiled non-human being had received God's protection.

Even as a tool.

God, why?

But soon, anger was replaced by anxiety, along with disgust, as he looked at the shadow behind the goblin.

Tools, disgusting tools, he didn't even want to breathe with them.

"How much more charge do we need?"

From the shadows emerged a half-elf dressed in tight-fitting clothes. He closed his eyes tightly, remained silent for a moment, and when he opened them again, his eyes were covered with a flawless white.

"Thirty percent is still needed, Lord Slank. The flesh and blood are still being refined."

Slank took a deep breath, his face twitching wildly, whether from anger at hearing inhuman speech or from frustration at the slow progress.

Fortunately, the opportunity will come soon.

He was not fighting alone.

The seal will be broken soon.