Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest

”AAAAAGGGHH! DON’T EAT MEEEEE! PLEASE FORGIVE MEEEEEEE!”

The Original Nightmare Curse Fragment believed he was being devoured, but the moment he plunged into the darkness, he found himself floating in an endless cosmic void. He looked around in awe.

”Huh? Wait... I’m fine...”

Yet he soon realized his soul and very existence were now bound by black chains formed from Elayne’s shadows, permanently marking him as her ”Pet.”

With a wave of her hand, Elayne summoned him back.

”Huh?! I’m out! Master, you’ve forgiven me and made me your second-in-command?! I knew you wouldn’t reduce a great being like me to a mere pet— Huh?”

To his disbelief, he had become a tiny black octopus hatchling with one large red eye and four chubby little tentacles. He looked utterly adorable and no bigger than a house cat.

”Hm! Now this is much better,” Elayne said with a nod, gently petting his head. ”From now on, your name will be Little Erebus.”

”Eek! Why are you giving me such a name?!” he protested angrily.

”Y-You don’t like it?” Elayne asked, her expression turning slightly sad.

”Ah!” Little Erebus gasped. Seeing his master sad filled him with an unexpected sorrow. ”N-No, it’s perfect! Master, please don’t cry... I’m sorry for being so insolent toward someone with such a kind heart— Why am I even talking like this?! W-What did you do to me?!”

”Heheh. It’s because we’re now connected,” Elayne explained. ”You feel what I feel, and I feel what you feel. This way, you can finally learn empathy, little one. Consider it training. If you persevere, I’m sure you’ll evolve into something far greater than you’ve ever been.”

”Ah...” He fell silent, staring blankly into the black void. ”Maybe dying wouldn’t have been such a bad idea after all...”

Elayne nodded and snapped her fingers, dispelling the spell in an instant. She reappeared where she had stood before. Her daughter, her friends, and all her allies rushed toward her, overjoyed to see her return.

The Nightmare Invasion has ended. So had Berserker and the Original Nightmare Curse’s Fragment. The strongest beings present—the Vampire Queen and Kaguya—could sense it clearly: the power of those entities now resided within Elayne.

As if she had devoured them.

”Kaguya, just who is she?” the Vampire Queen asked. ”Such a powerful being... She can’t possibly be just a Heroic Spirit, can she? She carries a vampire aura, and her scent is unmistakably vampiric, yet there’s something more—divinity. Is she a Legendary Primogenitor? A True Ancestor?”

”You aren’t one?” Kaguya raised an eyebrow.

”I... am not. You know that!” the Vampire Queen replied. ”I am only the Queen of this realm. My power has grown immensely over the years, enough to contend with the strongest vampires alive today. But there are those who stand beyond the level of gods—the most ancient and primordial of our kind, the Primogenitors.”

”Hmm...” Kaguya narrowed her eyes. ”She radiates divinity of the purest form, yet also harbors deep, corrupted darkness. She is the strangest being I have ever seen—a dual entity of light and shadow. I cannot tell if she is truly trustworthy or a potential enemy. It feels wrong to view her as one after all the help she has given us, yet that malevolence... I think I must consult with my Empress Amaterasu first.”

”Isn’t she too familiar with those girls, though?” the Vampire Queen wondered. ”Did they call her sensei? Huh? Hey, are you even managing your school properly?”

”...” Kaguya smiled nervously, a bead of sweat forming on her brow. ”W-We should go check on Beowulf instead...”

”Right, I suppose so,” the Vampire Queen agreed.

The two descended and found Beowulf resting, surrounded by priests who were healing him and his werewolves. His daughter, Erika, had stayed instead of fleeing with the others. Once the battlefield grew calm again, the rest of her group returned as well.

”Dad...” Erika cried softly, holding her father’s hand. He had grown frighteningly pale.

His vitality was immense, so he would not die easily. Yet his meridians and dantian had been shattered, and the source of his power—his incredible level of Body Cultivation—had been crippled. Ki leaked constantly from his body, weakening him with every passing moment. The Vampire Queen and Kaguya watched him with pity.

”What are we going to do? The curse he bears is too strong,” Kaguya said.

”Shouldn’t you be the one to do something?!” the Vampire Queen asked. ”You’re that goddess’s granddaughter!”

”I... I know, but even so, such a powerful curse...” Kaguya muttered. ”Ah, I’m so useless...”

As this unfolded, Elayne approached Beowulf. This was the first time she had truly met him outside of her time as Tartarus, when they had fought. Still, he was Erika’s beloved father, and the girl loved him dearly. Elayne had no intention of letting one of her students lose her only parent.

”Hello, Erika. It’s me,” she said gently.

”E-Elayne-sensei?” Erika asked, voice trembling. ”Y-You’re not evil anymore?”

”I was possessed by an evil being, but I’m fine now,” Elayne replied with a warm smile. ”I’m sorry I couldn’t help sooner... but I’m here now. Let me see if I can do something for your dad.”

”C-Can you?” Erika asked. Her friends stood behind her, eyes shining with hope.

”I will try.” Elayne sat beside Beowulf, placed her hands over his chest, and closed her eyes. She focused on the Curse of God coursing through his bloodstream and spreading into his dantian and meridians. ”I shall extract it.”

Drawing on the new powers she had gained after consuming Berserker, she slowly took control of the curse and began pulling it out of the Werewolf King. Black-red miasma gradually rose from his wounds, flowing toward Elayne as it cleansed his body from within.

It took her roughly a minute.

Erika’s eyes widened as she watched her father improve. His breathing grew steadier, and color slowly returned to his skin.

”He’ll be better,” Elayne said. ”I’ve extracted all I could, and then some. But even though the miasma is gone, the lingering effects may remain for a long time... I’m sorry.”

”No, this is more than enough!” Erika cried, tears streaming down her face as she hugged her father. ”Thank you... thank you so much for saving Daddy, Sensei...!”

”Master, you didn’t tell the girl he has begun developing something inside his chest?” Little Erebus whispered. He had sensed a faint source of dream essence emanating from the Werewolf King’s chest.

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