CHAPTER 453: BACK TO THE PLANET

"Pandora, want to race?" my older sister asks, gazing at the planet.

"No, I... I’m a bit sensitive to my surroundings right now. I don’t think I should enter Earth’s atmosphere so fast," I say as she stares at my body.

"...Sure..." She spreads her wings, and I notice they’re white—almost too angelic for a being with such a dark, destructive aura.

"Pandora, before we head back, I’m curious—how did you pull off that attack?" she asks, probably referring to my strongest magic at the moment.

"Well, it was thanks to our mother. She gave me... n-never mind... It was just a chain-of-events type of attack." I stop talking as she glares at me. Just imagine if she found out I received a gift from our mother—she’d go insanely furious.

"Big sister, I haven’t even told you—I have kids! Congratulations, you’re the aunt of three beautiful little girls." When I say this, she looks surprised.

"Kids?... So our mother has grandchildren..." she says, sounding frustrated, as if there’s even more competition now.

"Well... yes. It’s not exactly what I expected, but it is..."

"..." An uncomfortable silence hangs between us as we begin flying away from the moon.

"So, how are my servants? Is anyone still alive? Lilith must be, right? She was quite strong by that world’s living standards," she asks with interest.

"...Lilith is dead." When I say this, she seems surprised, though not exactly shocked.

"I see. So even she managed to die... unexpected..."

"But Beta is alive! I found her imprisoned by the human church and saved her." When I say this, I notice my sister’s tail wagging positively.

"That’s good. Beta was always a competent servant... and she also has great breasts," my sister says with a smile, and I nod in agreement.

"If you think that, you’ll like her even more now! Not only are her breasts slightly larger, but she even produces milk!" I say, without mentioning it came from torture.

"...Sounds interesting..." As she says this, I realize my older sister is being quite distant. I can tell from her responses that she lacks genuine interest in what I’m saying.

’Damn, our relationship is colder than I expected...’ It’s not like I can force her to like me.

"Big sister..."

"Call me by my name, Pandora. It’s strange to be called that..." She cuts me off as we approach the planet.

"...Azraelith... How are you speaking in space?" I ask, wondering if I can fix my voice and return it to how it was before.

"I see you know my name... Unfortunately, I can’t explain the method I use. My body adapted on its own a long time ago, so I can’t inform you... I see your adaptation was unpleasant, wasn’t it?" She hits the mark.

"Yes... My adaptation changed my standard biology quite a bit..." When I say this, she smiles.

"Adaptation isn’t our choice. We don’t always get what we want, but you can change it over time. Since one adaptation overrides others, all you can do is wait. But you can always use magic to fake normality."

"..." She falls silent again as I decide to use magic to modulate sound. It’s a stupid waste, but I can’t let others hear how high-pitched my voice is.

"Azraelith, how does my voice sound now?" I ask as the magic alters how my voice is perceived and propagates.

"It sounds much better now, more mature... You’re quick to create something like that," she says as we finally reach the outermost layer of the planet.

"..." My body shudders, and I stop in place. My sister also stops beside me and watches.

"Sensory overload, I assume?" she says, and I nod.

"I’ve been through the same... It’s easier to handle if you focus on one sensation at a time. And believe me, it’ll get worse—much worse when you enter the Abyss. The environment there is already bad for the body." She speaks as she begins descending.

’...’ The cold on my skin is uncomfortable, but just as she said, instead of trying to process everything I feel, I focus entirely on the fact that my body is cold.

"Hhmmm.... aaaahh..." I inhale and exhale before shooting downward in a fireball. Through my mana, I sense my sister descending rapidly. It’s still unpleasant for my skin, but focusing on one stimulus at a time makes it easier to handle.

Fortunately, my brain has always been good with patterns, so organizing sensations is easier than expected. This doesn’t solve the problem, but it makes it acceptable by masking the sensations.

"Hmmm, what... a rich environment..." I breathe, feeling hydrogen flooding my lungs. The planet has more hydrogen in its atmosphere than I expected. The extra amount quickly fills my lung storage, pushing my body’s activities to their peak.

I feel my body growing even more sensitive to the environment, worsening the discomfort but also making me slightly stronger than in space, where hydrogen was relatively limited.

"..." Soon, I hit the ocean, crashing into it and creating gigantic waves. My older sister lands beside me, also generating a massive impact before we rise above the water with our wings.

I switch to my normal wings since the other ones were too thin for this planet’s atmosphere.

"You know, things have changed quite a bit since the last time I saw this place," Azraelith says, staring directly at the sea.

"What do you mean?" I ask as she shrugs.

"Never mind. How about we go to your kingdom? I want to see Beta again. At the very least, she should still maintain her blind loyalty to me." My older sister hits the nail on the head—Beta is so loyal to her that she refused to give me the answers I wanted when I first asked.

"Azraelith, could you tone down your aura? It’s a bit too oppressive..." Even for me, her aura is uncomfortably dense and strong. It’ll cause problems if she appears like this at my castle.

"...Sure... While we head to the castle, could you tell me when you’re going to the Abyss? I... really need to go there. The seal I was trapped in was annoyingly limiting."

"My power has decayed too much, and I need to recover it as soon as possible. The Abyss is the best place for that." She speaks, and I agree. My older sister is stronger than many goddesses.

The fact that she hasn’t killed me instantly shows how much her power has decayed. Goddesses have a Status of 100 billion, and I have a Status of 100,000, meaning my sister’s power must have dropped to around 150,000.

"Let’s take it slow, Azraelith. I want to talk to you about many things." I genuinely want to have a conversation and say a lot.

"...One hour. That’s all the time I’ll give for that." She raises a finger as she speaks in her cold tone.

"Of course, one hour is enough."

...

...

...

"Miss Beta, is something wrong?" a maid asks, noticing my reaction. She looks at me confused as I gaze out the window, alarmed.

"Do you sense Pandora’s presence?" I ask the servant.

"No? I’m sorry, Miss Beta. I’m too weak to detect someone so far away." She bows as she speaks.

"..."

"Pandora... never mind. I’m going out now." I open the window as the maid bows.

"Understood. I’ll inform Miss Aokitsu." She speaks as I begin flying as fast as I can.

’I could never mistake this! It’s her... she’s back’. I sense Azraelith’s magic. She’s returned. Finally, she’s back, and now, as her servant, I must go to her.

I can feel her magic in the distance, out in the ocean. She just arrived with Pandora. When Pandora left the planet, I felt it, but I’m too weak to sense things beyond the planet, and I’m too weak to follow her outside it.

But the moment she re-entered the planet, I felt it—and with her, an unmistakable aura.

I sense the path she’s taking. It’s somewhat slow, but I’m heading straight for it. After 30 minutes of desperate flight, I see Pandora, and I see Azraelith.

They seem to be talking until they notice me. Pandora’s gaze narrows dangerously at my interruption, but Azraelith’s eyes light up as I approach.

Once I’m close enough, I bow in mid-air, staying still in front of her.

"Azraelith-sama, I’m glad you’ve returned. I’ve waited all this time for your return." I speak with a smile on my face, looking down without directly meeting her gaze.

"Beta, I see you’re well... How many are still alive?" she asks me.

"Three... Currently, only three servants are still alive. One of them started a family, another began serving a new master, and I was still waiting for you." I answer her questions.

"...That’s great... but we’ll talk later. I’m busy having an enlightening conversation with my little sister here. She’s telling me about her family, her kingdom, and her political progress..."

"Did you know that in two years, she achieved a state of kingdom that took me seven years to accomplish? She’s much more... stable than I was... Of course, that’s to be expected from the representative of Gluttony. Obviously, she’d be more patient than me, the representative of Wrath." She says this in an amused tone.

"Understood, Azraelith-sama..." I say as I raise my head, observing the two beginning to fly slowly while resuming their conversation.

"..." I rise and begin following them, keeping a slight distance. Just seeing her in front of me makes me immensely happy—until I see her glance at me and immediately make a hand signal. I freeze.

’I understand... No wonder it felt strange... Azraelith-sama never stays this close to someone so quickly...’ This is the secret signal between her and me—the same signal she gives when she’s debating whether to kill someone.

It’s obviously directed at Pandora. It means Azraelith hasn’t decided yet. This signal helps Azraelith stay calm, as she’s always been prone to losing control and causing destruction out of anger.

’If she’s undecided, it means there’s a 50/50 chance between her choices...’ I doubt Pandora even imagines that Azraelith is, at this very moment, weighing whether or not to kill her.

Azraelith has always been good at hiding her murderous intent, especially by feigning disinterest.

’Whatever her choice, I’ll support it.’ It’s a signal for me to stay away because if she decides to kill Pandora, I shouldn’t be nearby.

"..." Honestly, I hope she chooses not to kill Pandora—not because I care, but because Pandora is dangerous.

Pandora is a truly dangerous aberration. Not just in power—because I know the current Azraelith could win in a fight—but because of her mindset.

Pandora’s depraved, profane, and malicious mindset surpasses the level of predictability. Someone unpredictable can do crazy things when cornered, potentially leading to Azraelith’s death in a fight.

’All I can do is hope everything turns out well...’ I begin flying in a wide arc, distancing myself and returning to the castle to await her decision.