'Heh?!' Velvet's mind became stunned—the moment the dragon's magic erupted, she slipped, avoiding a blade of ice aimed at her throat. A thin stream of blood the width of a string dripped down her neck, showing how close it came to killing her.
However, the moment before the magic struck, a powerful hand pushed her back. Her eyes narrowed, looking at the extended hand now stabbed from all directions by ice.
"A...Asmodeus? You're joking as usual, right...?"
"Graaa!" The dragon's roar caused her insides to tremble, yet she couldn't remove her gaze from the blood corpse of the one who saved her.
'I let my guard down...' Velvet's hands, covered in his blood, brushed across her face, coating her thick lips in red paint.
Bang!
The dragon's tail slammed down, shattering all the ice in a sphere of over twenty metres around the monster's body. Asmodeus began falling as Velvet shook her head and dashed towards him. Her arms outstretched. 'This is my fault, because I was careless!'
"Timbak Aru Tul!"
A ferocious force sent her body flying across the snow-covered mountain with Asmodeus in her arms.
'What was that...?' Velvet felt like her chest was burning up, and the world spun around her. However, the moment she landed, her eyes narrowed.
A powerful explosion of magic erupted from the centre of the mountain. The pressure caused the very stone to crack, almost rending the entire mountain as she covered the body of Asmodeus with hers. A beautiful barrier of purple and black stars protecting their bodies from the frigid cold.
'That dragon is mocking me... Now it leaves after my mistake!' She stood up and turned her head.
A colossal dragon covered in blood, and deep gashes opened on its body, flew away. Its speed was nothing special, and within a few moments, it became nothing more than a speck of light in the distance. 'It is heading higher, to the peak of the mountain!'
"But can I leave Asmodeus here, in this state?"
Velvet's hands were sticky, covered in the blood from his wounds. Asmodeus, with his eyes closed and not speaking, made her chest feel strange. 'You should wake up, mock me... call me stupid then touch my body... make a lewd and vulgar joke...'
She sighed as she lifted Asmodeus. His weight was nothing to her, but the problem was how to carry him. 'What if that dragon comes back? I cannot defend against it when carrying you, but...'
Her eyes looked at the bloody and half-naked body of Asmodeus.
Instead of heading to the summit, she bit her lower lip and rushed to the small cabin that was barely intact. She kicked open the door and laid Asmodeus down on the bed. Her eyes glanced at his body. The gashes were closing slowly, yet his skin was pale, and his body felt ice cold.
'What should I do...? There is not a single potion inside this cabin!'
In truth, Velvet never carried potions or other items because she was confident in herself. Yet now, she realised, despite her age, how stupid and immature she was deep down. Her thoughts remember Asmodeus using a potion several times in their journey to the mountains.
"I am so stupid... just because I became ranked as strong in the kingdom, how did I let it go to my head and become this arrogant?"
Her head shook as she took off her thick robe and covered Asmodeus. The heat it created made her sigh, as his body was colder than ice. 'Is it because of the dragon's magic... that he can't heal? No, the fact he got injured like this was also because of me...'
"Asmodeus! You bastard, don't do this anymore. I told you that you cannot keep dying!"
A powerful slap struck his face, leaving a bright red handprint. Serena frowned with tears in the corner of her eyes as she looked at the man. Her eyes softened slightly, and she moved forward to hug him.
"You promised me... Do you have any idea how hard it is to see you throwing yourself away like a used tissue?"
Asmodeus embraced the woman and stroked her hair, his hand slowly caressing down her back. "I am sorry, but you know I don't have a choice."
Serena pushed him back, looking at his face. "What do you mean you do not have a choice? You've died more than sixteen times from the moment you came to this world!"
"Hahaha... but I can only meet you when I die."
She frowned, pushing him back. "You know that isn't the issue! Even if it is not death by fighting... why do you always push yourself even when evolving?! I told you not to use your vitality when doing that, yet now you even do it when those girls evolve..."
"Are you jealous?"
"I... No, you idiot! Why would a goddess loved by millions care about a stupid boy who can't even keep it in his pants?! Hmph..." Serena's cheeks puffed out. The woman, whose eyes were always so seductive and mature, now looked like a cute, irritable child despite being thousands of years old.
"Heh..." Asmodeus smirked. "You said you would do anything for me, don't be stingy!"
"..."
"I can't keep reviving you each time you die just to make a stupid woman spread her legs for you!"
"Well, this time, it was an accident, you know? How did I know the damn dragon would evolve, and those useless knights exposed Velvet to danger."
Asmodeus shrugged with an innocent look, making Serena sigh and shake her head.
"So what will you do? Why are you not waking up?"
"It seems like this body is in shock, or rather, that magic hit me hard. Also, it would be rude to wake up while she's going through her evolution right? I mean... why is she rubbing herself against me like a pervert."
There was a small window ahead of the two, where the image of Velvet who was absorbing all the magic in the area into her horn, a single black horn at the centre of her forehead. It seemed able to swallow both Velvet's purple magic and the berserk ice magic from outside, causing the cabin to become heated.
However... her hands and body were rather adventurous.
"It feels strange seeing the woman taking advantage of you, the demon king... it's quite amusing... but Asmodeus, you will evolve if she keep this up, the moment you do. It will change everything for you."
"Hmmm? What do you mean? Isn't it just a power-up?" Asmodeus noticed the change in Serena's words—they became serious and stopped being playful, along with her gaze darkening.
"It isn't just about power... The moment you evolve, your body, spirit and soul will change."
'Why does it feel like she is sad and hiding something painful?' Asmodeus noticed her face looked uneasy, her hands grasped the tree as her head leaned against his shoulder, before her lips parted.
"Once you evolve, the world will know of your existence... oracles will spread, and the other gods will send their heroes and apostles to hunt you down."