"Ha..."
With a chill spreading from his brow to his entire body, Herbert slowly opened his eyes and raised his hand to grip the air.
"So this is what it feels like to become an Evil God Contractor? Huh?"
Then, Herbert raised an eyebrow, uncertainly making another grip.
Grip.
Grip!
The Immortal Grip!
"..."
He furrowed his brow slightly, mumbling in confusion, "Why does it feel like nothing has changed?"
That can't be right.
That's not how it's portrayed on TV!
When others turn dark, they become stronger.
At least three times stronger, with no upper limit.
They can take revenge on bullies below, punch through chaos above.
But why is there no change for me?
The Evil God silently appreciated Herbert's exploration for a while before leisurely speaking: ["My ally, what are you doing?"]
"I'm exploring how much power humans gain after falling, and whether a certain great Evil God is as generous as He claims."
Herbert looked up at the ceiling, expressionless, and said:
"Giving me no power at all, isn't that a bit unreasonable? If I die halfway, you would lose a collaborator."
Wow, I'm not asking for much.
Could you at least give me a symbolic three to five thousand?
And yet, not even a hundred bucks for me!?
Nenasha, hearing Herbert's complaints, couldn't help but laugh, laughing until she was nearly overheating before finally stopping and explaining:
["First of all, I need to correct you on one point—you haven't actually fallen."]
"Hmm... huh?"
Herbert's eyes widened, momentarily not knowing how to react.
He thought at most Nenasha was stingy and didn't want to grant blessings, but didn't realize he hadn't even taken the first step into corruption.
Is this my problem after all?
"No, isn't it true that you're an Evil God? I've become your collaborator, signed the contract, doesn't that count as falling?"
Herbert, recalling the laws he had seen during investigations, quickly flipped open the scripture and soon found the three deadly sins for ascetics!
"Look, see."
-Desecrators who combine with demons are given a whipping and then burned at the stake! -
-Fallen ones who sign a contract with an Evil God are beheaded and their bodies burned at the stake! -
-Oathbreakers who betray their vows have their teeth pulled, tongues cut, and are burned at the stake! -
Even upon seeing these again, Herbert couldn't help but want to ridicule.
Are you guys the Ascetic Sect, or the Barbecue Sect?
No matter the punishment, how do they always end up on the stake?
This sect's style is truly memorable, hard to forget.
But...
The Evil God indeed disdains this.
["How is that falling?"]
"Isn't it?"
["Haha, of course not."]
Nenasha chuckled, mocking the rigid rules, asking with deep meaning: ["If you can't figure it out, let me ask you a question."]
["In certain special past circumstances, True Gods and Evil Gods collaborated. So... did all True Gods fall at those times?"]
["Does an Evil God just need to cooperate with humans to turn good, to be purified into a True God?"]
["Do you think that's possible? Impossible!"]
["The so-called fall and purification are nothing but a scam to control mortals."]
Herbert, listening to Nenasha's words, found the argument reasonable, yet felt something was vaguely wrong.
["As for the desecrator's rule, what's the desecration? Most of the demons spoken of by humans are merely the exclusive species created by various divine spirits, where's the evil or justice?"]
["There are also fallen murderers among angels, peaceful lovers among demons, can this be generalized?"]
["These rules are merely chains shackled under human feet, shackles placed by humans themselves!"]
The beguiling voice constantly echoed in his mind, wandering through Herbert's thoughts.
It incessantly instilled its beliefs in Herbert, influencing his thinking.
However, Nenasha was somewhat overly concerned.
Herbert didn't need its teachings, he already had little interest in adhering to rules.
"Stop, stop, I said stop, let's talk business."
Nenasha also knew when to stop, immediately changing from a seductive manner to a casual chat, lazily saying:
["Secondly, I did give you an ability, but it's not in combat ability."]
["But rather... unmatched charm!"]
["Rejoice! With this charisma, you'll become extremely alluring in the eyes of demons, they'll endlessly pursue you, longing to claim you for themselves!"]
Nenasha grew more excited as she spoke, her voice seeming to tremble slightly as she declared passionately:
["And you, can use this chance to approach them, gain their power, turn them into your slaves, have servants of your own!"]
["And right now, in this monastery, there just so happen to be some powerful demons trapped in the same place, if you manage to sneak in, by the time you come out, you can already become..."]
"Wait a second."
["Hmm?"]
Nenasha hums suspiciously, saying curiously: ["You don't like this? Don't try to fool me! Your soul shows no resistance, you've never rejected it!"]
"That's not what I'm saying!"
Herbert scratched his head and spread his hands helplessly, "I know who you're referring to and I can go in at any time."
"But have you considered the issue—I'm simply not their match!"
Hello, I'm Herbert, a newbie Paladin.
Those monster girls are either Legendary or Epic, no longer even trucks.
They're overloaded big rigs!
And me, I hate big rigs the most!
Let alone push a big rig, I have no power to resist them at all.
If I recklessly charge in, it's like throwing meat buns to a dog, it'll only end with getting beaten up by the monster girls and becoming common Star Fury Power.
["My ally."]
"Hmm?"
["Good luck, I believe in you! You will succeed!"]
["You will definitely win!"]
"But I don't believe in myself!"
You believe in a ghost.
["Well, the problem you mentioned isn't unsolvable either."]
Fortunately, after the joke, Nenasha provided a solution:
["I need material from demons, any part will do, the higher the quality, the better... with those magic materials, I can offer you some small help."]
"That shouldn't be difficult, I'll go to the prison tomorrow to see if I can find some."
Relieved after receiving a promise from Harmonious God, Herbert was about to express his gratitude when suddenly Nenasha's previous impassioned speech came to mind.
"...Ah, so you spouted all those fallacies just for this?"
["Hehe~"]
"So you're saying... after becoming your collaborator, I'm inevitably on a path of partnering with demons, forsaking pure vows and going astray?"
Desecration, breaking vows, falling... I'll eventually commit all three of the Ascetic Sect's great sins.
A veritable "Trinity"!
By then, it'll be whipping, tooth pulling, tongue cutting, then beheading, finally tied to the stake for burning!
Compared to this, that certain Cheng would count as lightly injured.
["You've finally understood~"]
Nenasha chuckled softly, her voice joyful yet innocent: ["I wanted to remind you, but you wanted to be my contractor... not my fault."]
Ha, I don't believe you.
["At this point, you have no chance to regret."]
["I won't allow you to disappoint Nenasha."]
"I don't want to fail either."
Herbert weakly pouted, complaining: "After all, the one facing punishment is me!"
With life and death at stake, the pressure was immense.
Now, it's truly time to figure out how to deal with those dangerous monster girls...
At the same time, at this very moment, within Herbert's heart, a peculiar feeling began to swell.
It seemed...
Everything started to become interesting!