Extra -

----

"So in a way, you could say you're my daughter too~"

Maya said affectionately while ruffling Yumo's hair.

As the words left her mouth, the scenery around Maya and Yumo twisted once again. Just like that, the two of them left the illusory consciousness space and returned to reality.

Everything around them instantly changed back to the original smoke-filled battlefield that looked like hell itself.

Without a doubt, Maya's voice was gentle and pleasant, making people feel warm inside without even realizing it. I guess that's what you'd expect from the Guiding Saint? She had this indescribable natural charisma that even made Yumo - currently dominated by abyssal power - waver a bit.

But soon enough, Yumo took a deep breath to steady herself, pushed aside the distracting thoughts, and continued glaring at Maya with suspicious and wary eyes.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"It's simple~ I just want you to know that you belong to the Source Star Universe, my child. The outer domains aren't where you're meant to be. You don't need to listen to Lena and run off to those barbaric wastelands."

"..."

"Those concerns of yours? I'll help you resolve them all. If you want, you can bring out all your children from the trial space."

"But I already caused a huge scene and killed eight Lv9s in one go. Will the Alliance people really accept me?"

Hearing this, Maya shook her head dismissively.

"You don't need to worry about that. Leave it to me, I'll handle everything properly."

As she spoke, Maya slowly raised her hand, trying to caress Yumo's face:

"That Lena is too cunning. You're still young and inexperienced, so it's understandable you were deceived. I won't be angry, and I won't blame you. After all, you're basically my good daughter~"

...

"Smack"

The next moment, under Maya's somewhat surprised gaze, the hand reaching for Yumo's face was unceremoniously slapped away.

"Who's your daughter? Stop claiming random relatives, old lady!"

Yumo rolled her eyes and said irritably.

"O-old lady?"

Maya's eyebrow twitched.

"Besides, rather than a daughter, I'd say I'm more like a tool, right?"

"Why would you say that?"

"Please, don't think I don't know anything. If you really thought of me as your daughter, you wouldn't have planted that terrifying abyssal seed in my soul when you created me. You certainly wouldn't have heartlessly thrown me into that pitch-black void just to perfectly merge the seed with my soul."

"..."

"You just wanted to use the Judgment Saint's power to balance that violent seed. Create a Saint who can control shadow power, then help you stabilize the outer domain forces. I know you want me to cooperate obediently, but could you not try to win me over with the family card? I'm so tired of watching people act all the time."

"Hmmm..."

Maya held her chin and tilted her head in thought.

"Hehe, you've definitely gotten smarter."

After a moment, Maya smiled with relief:

"Fine then, I'll be direct. I can help you suppress this whole incident you just caused. Everything will return to normal, and your family won't be disturbed. The trial space is yours to do with as you please - no one will interfere with you and your children's freedom. Additionally, you'll gain an extraordinary position within the Alliance. All I need is for you to stay peacefully in the Source Star Universe. How about it? Pretty good deal, right?"

No longer using that condescending commanding tone from before, but speaking as equals.

At the same time, Maya's golden eyes were full of confidence.

After all, she knew exactly what Yumo needed.

However, Yumo's answer made the Guiding Saint show a surprised expression.

"While your offer is very tempting, but..."

"But?"

"But I refuse~"

Yumo said decisively, without any hesitation in her words.

"R-refuse?"

Maya was stunned at first, then smiled helplessly:

"May I ask why? Isn't this a good deal? Getting absolute control over the trial space - isn't that exactly what you wanted?"

"The deal sounds pretty good, and it is tempting."

"Then why?"

"Well~"

Yumo pouted and glanced thoughtfully into the distance, toward where Mengxi was.

"How should I put it, hmmm..."

----

"Yumo, you need to understand - you're the type who's naive, innocent, and super easy to deceive!"

Mengxi poked Yumo's forehead while earnestly advising her.

Of course, hearing this, Yumo complained unhappily:

"What do you mean easy to deceive?!"

"You've been fooled by your kids for hundreds of years and you're saying you're not easy to deceive? Silly, can you please have some self-awareness?"

"Hmph..."

Yumo pouted and glared fiercely at Mengxi to express her dissatisfaction.

But Mengxi wasn't polite at all - she directly chopped Yumo on the head.

"Listen to me seriously, dummy!"

"O...O"

Holding her head, Yumo nodded adorably.

"Sigh, anyway, you need to know that my mother is way better at pretending and deceiving people than I am. With your brain and experience, you'll definitely be fooled by her until you can't tell north from south."

"Then..."

"When the time comes, Mother will definitely try to deceive you through conversation first. But you need to remember - no matter what my mother says or what promises she makes, don't listen. What you need to do is firmly stick to our original plan. Remember, absolutely don't listen to my mother's nonsense, absolutely don't listen! She's the best at deceiving people~"

----

Recalling what Mengxi had seriously told her in the Winter Forest, Yumo completely suppressed the emotions stirring in her heart.

That's right. For the past few hundred years, she'd been led around by the nose by this Guiding Saint. Every step she took was within her planned arrangements.

During these hundreds of years, she'd basically been like a greenhouse flower, raised by her children in the Winter Forest. Even when she left the forest, it was basically her children helping her handle various problems. With someone like herself, trying to see through the Guiding Saint's schemes and resist this Saint's deception would indeed be difficult.

Though she felt annoyed inside, Yumo had to admit this fact.

So, since she knew the other party was very good at deceiving...

What she needed to do became simple and clear.

...

Facing Maya's puzzled gaze, the corner of Yumo's mouth curved up slightly. With that bewitchingly beautiful face, she unusually showed an innocent and brilliant smile:

"I dunno why~ I just don't wanna listen to you, that's all~"

Maya's eye twitched at that answer.

"That's your reason? You're really turning down such a good deal just because you feel like it? Since when did you get so spoiled?"

Yumo's eyes flashed with a bit of disdain, and she answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world:

"Mother-in-law, don't forget~ I'm the Abyssal Lord, you know? Doing whatever I want, being unreasonable… that's my privilege~ The Abyssal Lord is always impossible to reason with~"

"If you're not taking the deal, then what are you planning to do?"

"Me? I'm just gonna stick to the original plan."

"The original plan?"

"Yep. Show off my power, so the Alliance people never dare mess with me again."

"Haven't you shown off enough already?"

"Nope~ Those guys still aren't scared enough."

Yumo answered with a light laugh. As she answered, a strange crimson light gradually overflowed from her eyes, and she swept her meaningful gaze across Maya's face.

"To really make the Alliance understand how terrifying I am, I need to leave them with an even deeper impression~"

Hearing that, Maya suddenly got a really bad feeling.

"Hey bad girl, you're not thinking of…"