"Brother, I'm back."

When Shajuye pushed open the office door, she was filled with excitement because she could finally see Duanmu Huai again. Although it was just a Golden Week vacation, it felt like a long time for Shajuye.

"I also brought you lots of local specialties... Meijia sent me to bring you gifts too... huh?"

"Ah, you're back."

However, the person who answered the door surprised Shajuye.

"Satori?"

Seeing Mianmu Zuoniao greeting her with a bright smile, Shajuye was momentarily dazed, even suspecting she had gone to the wrong place.

"Why are you here?"

"Because Satori thinks it's more interesting to stay by the teacher's side?"

"???"

Listening to Mianmu Zuoniao's casual reply, Shajuye was bewildered, but she quickly noticed two other people sitting there—a silver-haired, elegantly dressed young girl brewing coffee at the counter, and a blonde girl curled up on another sofa holding a teddy bear, watching this side anxiously.

"Um... this is...?"

Questions filled Shajuye's mind. Mianmu Zuoniao's unexpected presence was surprising, but being one of the Five Swords, her connection with Duanmu Huai wasn't strange. However, the two girls really baffled Shajuye. The silver-haired girl's leisurely coffee brewing was more like being at home than a guest's behavior.

And what about that other girl?

"I'll... I'll head back to my room first."

Feeling puzzled, Ziyuansi Youko clearly had no intention of getting involved in this troublesome situation. As the scene seemed very odd, she decisively found an excuse and slipped back to her room.

Shajuye stood dumbfounded at the door, feeling like a guest in her own home.

Fortunately, Duanmu Huai finally appeared.

"Brother!"

Seeing Duanmu Huai, Shajuye raised her brows, glaring at him with dissatisfaction.

"What's going on here?"

"Oh..."

Faced with Shajuye's dissatisfied questioning, Duanmu Huai silently sighed but braced himself to introduce the situation to her.

"This is Xie Sita, she's also a detective. I met her while handling a case, and now she's temporarily joining us."

"I see..."

Hearing this, Shajuye relaxed her gaze toward Xie Sita, who also lifted her head to give a slight smile and nod.

"What about that girl then?"

"Her, well..."

Duanmu Huai glanced again at the blonde girl curled up on the sofa.

"Her name is Abigail Williams. Due to certain reasons, she has to stay here."

As for how things turned out this way, Duanmu Huai could only say—Yog Sothoth is indeed not easy to fool.

Duanmu Huai initially thought as long as Yog Sothoth was willing to tell him where Nyarlathotep was, he would then seal this girl again.

But Yog Sothoth was no fool. It gave Duanmu Huai only a general location and told him it would appear again with the next clue when the time came.

In truth, Yog Sothoth knew Duanmu Huai would break bridges after crossing, so it didn't speak the whole truth, ensuring Duanmu Huai kept Abigail around instead of sealing or killing her. And after Yog Sothoth withdrew from its possession state, Abigail became a seemingly weak and helpless girl.

What else could Duanmu Huai do? He wanted to destroy Abigail directly, but he still needed her guidance.

Forget it, keep her for now until Nyarlathotep is banished.

Without Nyarlathotep's possession, Abigail appeared as a well-behaved, kind-hearted good child, but to Duanmu Huai, this meant nothing. Many games have similar plots where a kind, beautiful, gentle heroine turns out to be a sacrifice or stand-in needed for resurrecting some demon or Demon King, thus pursued by others.

And when the whole world is against her, the protagonist stands up to protect the heroine, becoming enemies with the world. Usually, this storyline ends with the heroine being captured by the antagonist, used to resurrect the Demon King, and as the world nears destruction, the protagonist's heartfelt call awakens the heroine's consciousness, leading them to jointly defeat the resurrected Demon King and save the world.

Congratulations, congratulations.

Yes, typically game worlds are like this.

But not in Star Ocean.

Actually, as Judges, players encounter similar tasks many times. Initially, many players deeply influenced by traditional games chose to help the protagonists, letting them become a couple, and when one was possessed by a demon in the end, chose to have the other awaken them with "true love," thus banishing the Demon King and achieving the traditional happy ending.

Sadly, although they thought this way, the game doesn't offer them such good outcomes.

Generally, these situations end in one of the following ways.

First, the male protagonist sees the demonized female protagonist, gets scared, and directly runs away, while the abandoned female protagonist completely embraces the darkness, merges with the demon, and destroys the entire planet.

Mission failed.

Second, the male protagonist musters the courage to call out to the female protagonist, and she seemingly hears his call, gradually returning to normal. The two embrace and cry—then the female protagonist bites off the male protagonist's neck, devours his flesh, and the demon says, "I devoured that human's soul long ago. How did you like my performance? Hahaha, don't worry, you'll all follow his path to death!"

Mission failed.

Third, the male protagonist musters the courage to call out to the female protagonist, who wishes for him to stay by her side forever. Ultimately, the male protagonist, willing to become an enemy of the world for the female protagonist, chooses to abandon humanity and stand by her side. So, the player faces two demonized enemies—Hm, the demon wins twice, buy one get one, and wins big time.

Mission failed.

So, how to protect the world from destruction?

It's actually quite simple. As a judge, you just have to get to the female protagonist before the demon does, and kill her directly, then nothing will happen. If the male protagonist gets in the way, kill him too.

Without a host, the Demon King won't revive, and the world will be at peace.

Congratulations, congratulations.

Mission accomplished.

Oh, by the way, to be safe, it's best to kill the male protagonist too. Otherwise, he might fall into hatred and become an accomplice to the demon.

So, it's best to eradicate evil completely, cut the weeds and eliminate the roots.

Such missions are meant to remind players repeatedly that they are not the princes and princesses of fairy tales, they are judges. Expecting "true love" to save the world is not their duty. Their duty is to protect humans at all costs and to eliminate threats to humanity.

So is Abigail. Perhaps this soft, kind, angel-like girl is showing her true nature, but the issue is that it doesn't matter. What matters is that she is a vessel that can be possessed by Yog Sothoth at any time. Just that is enough for Duanmu Huai to end her existence.

However, at this moment, Nyarlathotep takes higher priority than Yog Sothoth... Yogg Sothoth, at least, doesn't bother with someone who doesn't bother it, it isn't interested in humans besides the idiots seeking death of their own accord. But Nyarlathotep, which plays with humans like lab rats every day, must be dealt with first!

If there is an opportunity, Duanmu Huai doesn't mind eliminating it directly.

Strictly speaking, if there wasn't absolutely no other option, Duanmu Huai is very unwilling to cooperate with Yog Sothoth. He never liked those mystical prophecy things, as he used to say, if the future can't be changed, knowing it is a waste of time. And if the future can be changed, knowing it is also a waste of time.

And those who know five hundred years ahead and five hundred years behind are all neurotic like Yog Sothoth. There's a good chance it has known everything from the start, even the result, but it doesn't care because knowing the result means it won't lose... Hm, Duanmu Huai couldn't be bothered to care.

To deal with such beings, Duanmu Huai's way is — Anyway, as long as I don't know, it doesn't exist!

In simpler terms, this approach is somewhat like self-deception, emphasizing "I think, therefore I am," but Duanmu Huai says he's a straightforward person by nature and doesn't like thinking about unnecessary things. He won't do anything that requires brain power!

So Yog Sothoth can calculate all it wants. No matter what it calculates, I conquer the world with my fists!

Let's see if your ideas outnumber my hard fists!

Just do it!

"... In short, that's it."

Duanmu Huai somewhat explained Abigail's situation to Shajuye, and at this moment, the young girl was still curled up on the sofa like a small cat that had just been brought home, staring at Shajuye with anxious eyes. Seeing Abigail like this, Shajuye's heart softened.

"Alright... Brother, I understand."

Saying this, Shajuye walked over to Abigail, hesitated for a moment, and then handed over the small panda that was sleeping in her arms.

"???"

Mimi, who was sleeping, was bewildered. Duanmu Huai couldn't take it along when going out, so Shajuye took the small panda on vacation, and now it was totally exhausted. It planned to take a good nap, but... what is the master planning?

"......"

Needless to say, small pandas are naturally cute. Seeing the small panda in Shajuye's arms, Abigail's eyes brightened. She cautiously approached the small panda and stared at it. Then, with a pleading look, she looked at Shajuye and gently asked.

"Can I touch it?"

"Certainly."

Hearing Abigail's request, Shajuye gave a slight smile, and Abigail reached out her hand, placed it on the fluffy body of the small panda, and gently petted it. As for the small panda, it turned to look at Abigail, then curled up again.

Evidence shows that small animals are indeed the magic key to bridging relationships.

Seeing Shajuye focusing on Abigail, Duanmu Huai also breathed a sigh of relief; otherwise, he'd have a hard time explaining to Shajuye why Mianmu Zuoniao was in his house—Xie Sita was understandable, as Shajuye might see her as a colleague, but Mianmu Zuoniao... she has no connection with Shajuye.

Plus, this guy has no control over his mouth. Duanmu Huai was truly afraid that Mianmu Zuoniao might casually say something like, "Your brother's milk tastes great" when chatting with Shajuye. That would be ruinous.

It's safer to let Shajuye and Abigail play with the small panda.

Nevertheless, Duanmu Huai's return this time wasn't just due to the end of the Golden Week holiday. It was because—the location given by Yog Sothoth to Duanmu Huai was Japan!

In other words, Nyarlathotep is currently on this island!

So next, finding its trace is Duanmu Huai's most crucial task!

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