"So, little Death, you've found your own path?"
At this, Stars finally couldn't hold back and spoke. But before Hel could answer, Disaster protested loudly:
"Hey, hey, hey! What's going on? Didn't we agree that you guys wouldn't interfere while I recruited her? Are you little brats trying to break our deal?"
"Alright, Miss Disaster—"
"Shut up, old thing. This isn't your place to speak."
With Disaster's roar, Fate immediately shrank back into a corner like a dog that had been kicked, feeling aggrieved and speechless.
Finally, Magic spoke up:
"Senior Disaster, the situation is clear. The Death Witch does not wish to join your Doomsday Legion, and I believe she won't unleash another undead calamity. Can you honor your promise?"
"Little one, don't you want to reconsider?"
Disaster still looked at Hel stubbornly. When Hel shook her head again, she grew frustrated, scratching her head and slamming her hand heavily on the table.
"Hmph! When you have nowhere to turn in the future, don't come crawling back to me!"
She then casually crossed her legs on the table, arms folded, showing she had no intention of paying Hel any more attention.
"Ahaha, we meet again, little Death."
Seeing Disaster fall silent, Stars enthusiastically greeted Hel, while Magic nodded politely.
Only Lust looked at Hel with ill intent, seemingly with something to say.
"So, what was your agreement before?" Hel asked.
"That was an agreement between me, Teacher, and Senior Disaster," Stars explained. "We bet on whether little Death could refuse Disaster's recruitment without our interference. If you didn't join her organization, she could not personally force you."
"And if I had joined?"
"Then they wouldn't personally stop you from going to the beastmen territories. That boring agreement is over now; it's time to discuss other matters."
Lust leaned on the table, half her body crawling over it, revealing her ample chest.
"I heard you captured the War Witch. Facing such a stubborn little brat, do you need big sister to provide some fun and useful little toys? For example…"
Lust pulled out an oval pink crystal from her collar and placed it on the table.
"This is what I call the Training Orb. It's a space device that can contain living creatures. Any rebellious little beast that goes inside will become the most obedient little puppy. Little Death, are you interested?"
"Sorry, no."
Hel refused decisively, giving Lust a look of disgust as if she were a pervert.
"You can use all kinds of methods to train her—gadgets, machines, even soft, cute little creatures. No cute girl could resist such training."
"Thanks, but no."
Hel refused again decisively.
Yet Lust ignored protocol entirely and rolled the orb across the table to Hel.
"Here you go, no need to be polite, little Death."
Then Lust left abruptly.
Hel picked up the orb and smiled knowingly. So that was the idea.
[Name]: Training Orb – Sub-Orb
[Grade]: Pink · Semi-Divine Artifact
[Attributes]: Training Space (Pink), Loyalty Transfer (Pink)
[Description]: Originally created by the God of Training, this artifact was damaged when Lust, the higher goddess, attempted to capture the artifact. Now it is only a fragment. Users can train any creature in the Training Space, increasing its loyalty. However, as a sub-orb, this loyalty can be transferred by the mother orb at any time.
In short, this was Lust's trap, aimed at the War Witch in Hel's possession. However, Lust likely had no experience with the blood-soaked struggles for succession, nor knew about the Slave God Mark; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so reckless.
Hel activated the orb, and the Loyalty Transfer ability appeared in her attribute list. Then she stored it away. She had no intention of actually using it—she merely wanted a space to store living creatures.
"So, little Death, you really defeated the War Witch?"
Hel nodded. There was no need to deny it; it was easy enough to verify. Niki had come for her, and now Niki was gone—but Hel remained alive. What other possibilities were there? It couldn't have been some random knight, surely.
"I didn't expect the Death Lady to emerge victorious in the succession battle. It seems we all underestimated your strength. I have some questions; can you answer them?"
Seeing Hel acknowledge it, Fate finally spoke. Yet Hel could tell she didn't really care whether the War Witch lived or died—she was more interested in Hel's next moves.
"I wonder, are you dead or alive now?"
"What do you mean?"
"If I heard correctly, you once said you wanted to become death. Have you… become an undead?"
"Who knows?"
Hel avoided a direct answer. A puzzle should be met with a puzzle, after all. It was better if Fate filled in the blanks herself, hiding the fact that the Death Witch had already eliminated the War Witch.
"Since little Death won't answer, fine then."
Fate stared at Hel for a long while, seemingly convinced of something, and withdrew.
At that moment, another person appeared on a chair. A scantily-clad, seductive woman, her curves and innocent-looking face exuding a fatal charm that could captivate any man. Anyone seeing her would immediately think of a succubus.
She opened her eyes and quickly scanned the room, her soft, girlish voice ringing out:
"Hah, Lust, you coward, ran off again, huh?"