Demon God Statue?

The back mountain of A City.

The night breeze carried the crisp scent unique to the mountains and forests, blowing away the stench and Miasma from the food factory.

Soft golden light curled around the girl's fingertips and slowly drifted out.

It fell upon the corpses of the middle-aged man and his mother like a warm veil.

As the light surged, a shallow pit slowly opened in the ground, and the two bodies were gently lifted and lowered into it.

Then the soil churned and filled the hole, leaving behind not even a trace.

Molly stood some distance away, her grip on the Broken Sword loosening slightly. The faint cyan glow of the Cyan Radiance Ring flickered in and out of sight in the night.

Her gaze fell upon the fresh grave when she suddenly caught sight of an extremely faint white phantom standing atop it, gently bowing in their direction.

The phantom was hunched over and vaguely resembled an old woman. After bowing three times, it turned into specks of white light and dispersed into the night breeze.

"Namo Amitabha, Infinite Heavenly Venerable, amen, Allahu akbar. May you rest in peace."

Molly pressed her palms together and solemnly recited the entire string of blessings, her tone absurdly sincere.

Golden Yellow's mouth twitched, and even the hand she held in her casting pose paused for a moment.

She turned her head and looked at Molly's cool, expressionless face, feeling both amused and exasperated.

What even was that?

Buddhist, Taoist, Christian, and Islamic blessings all mixed together—wasn't that going to confuse the dead?

Golden Yellow could not help but comment:

"You really... made sure to cover all the bases."

Molly blinked and replied with complete seriousness:

"If I say enough of them, at least one is bound to bless them."

After saying that, she seemed to remember something and muttered to herself,

"Sigh, if only Louis XVI had been able to take the highway back then. What a pity. But life has no what-ifs, just like that mother and son."

Golden Yellow stopped walking.

Her beautiful golden almond-shaped eyes widened slightly as she looked at Molly in confusion:

"Louis XVI? The highway? What does that have to do with them?"

Molly turned to look at Golden Yellow's baffled expression and explained with a straight face:

"Because you can't make a U-turn on the highway."

Louis XVI, the guillotine.

No U-turns on the highway?

What kind of hellish joke was that?

"Pfft..."

Golden Yellow froze for three seconds, then covered her face, clearly unable to hold back her laughter.

The night wind swept through the forest, carrying the soft rustle of leaves.

The two walked side by side along the narrow path on the back mountain.

Moonlight filtered through gaps in the branches, scattering mottled patches of light and shadow.

The tension from the battle gradually faded in the crisp night breeze.

Molly looked at Golden Yellow beside her, remembered the black statue she had split apart with a single sword strike, and could not help asking:

"What exactly was that ghoul statue just now?"

At the mention of business, Golden Yellow's expression grew solemn:

"That wasn't an ordinary statue. It was a Demon God Statue."

"A Demon God?"

Molly halted, her pupils contracting slightly:

"Does this world... really have gods?"

She had been transported to this world for some time now. She had seen Monster Demons and magical girls.

But this was the first time she had heard someone mention the word "god."

Golden Yellow first nodded, then shook her head, a trace of uncertainty in her voice.

"Sort of, but not entirely."

"These so-called Demon Gods are really just creatures countless times stronger than ordinary Monster Demons. They possess the power to destroy the world, and some cultists worship them as gods."

"As for true gods... I don't know whether they exist in this world or not."

"..."

Molly fell silent.

So that was it. So-called gods were merely more powerful monsters.

With that realization, the little reverence she had felt toward the word "god" instantly vanished.

She recalled the purplish-black gas that had filled the air, as well as the purplish-black shards dropped after killing Monster Demons, and continued asking,

"Then what were the purplish-black mist in the factory and the shards dropped by monsters?"

Golden Yellow said,

"That was Miasma and Monster Demon Shards."

"Miasma is a byproduct that seeps over from the Demon Realm. It contains extremely dense negative energy. Not only does it pollute the air, it can also contaminate magical power."

"If ordinary people inhale too much of it, their bodies will mutate, turning them into monsters that have lost their minds."

"Even magical girls like us will suffer from disrupted magical power and weakened strength if we inhale too much."

"As for Monster Demon Shards, they do contain pure magical power, but they are also wrapped in large amounts of Miasma."

"You must use special methods to completely purge the Miasma before absorbing the magical power inside."

"Otherwise, forcibly absorbing it is no different from drinking poison to quench your thirst."

Molly finally understood.

No wonder the Broken Sword had automatically emitted white light to purify the shards when she absorbed them before.

It seemed that the Broken Sword itself had the ability to purify Miasma.

That discovery made her secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

After they walked a little farther, Golden Yellow suddenly stopped, turned toward Molly, and looked at her with expectation in her eyes.

"Pale, you're very strong, and you have a good heart too."

"I'm the president of the Constellation organization. It's an organization of magical girls dedicated to hunting Monster Demons and protecting ordinary people."

"I'd like to invite you to join Constellation. What do you think?"

Join an organization?

Molly frowned slightly.

It was not that she disliked teamwork, but her circumstances were too unusual.

She had no magic. She relied on the Proficiency Panel and sword practice to grow stronger. There was no way she could tell anyone such a secret.

Besides, joining an organization meant following rules and being restrained. She still preferred being free and unbound.

After thinking for a moment, Molly shook her head.

"Sorry, I don't want to join any organization for now."

Golden Yellow seemed to have expected that answer. She showed no disappointment and nodded.

"That's fine. It was only a suggestion."

"If you ever change your mind, you can come find me anytime."

"Mm-hm."

Her understanding manner made Molly like her a little more.

"Grrr..."

As they continued walking, Molly's stomach let out an ill-timed growl of hunger.

Ever since Basic Swordsmanship had broken through to the fourth tier, her appetite had become astonishingly large.

That intense battle had drained every last bit of energy from her body.

Now that the night breeze blew over her, hunger surged up like a tide.

Molly rubbed her stomach awkwardly, looked at Golden Yellow, and asked tentatively,

"Um... do you know of any food that can quickly increase satiety?"

"I've been consuming a lot lately. Ordinary food simply can't fill me up."

Golden Yellow looked at her thoughtfully, a flash of understanding passing through her eyes.

"You mean something that can quickly replenish stamina and energy?"

"Ordinary food definitely won't do, but... I can try making medicine."

"Making medicine?"

Molly's eyes lit up.

"You know how to make medicine? Can you teach me?"

She had already been thinking about learning alchemy. Hearing Golden Yellow mention medicine-making was like receiving a pillow just as she got sleepy.