Ch. 224 Reaching Out
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 224: Reaching Out
It was drowning.
The death from her previous life, that is.
In the brutally cold sea, she clutched her throat, clawed at her chest, thrashed in agony—until consciousness faded.
This is why I hate water.
While she had forgotten “herself” under the suffocating flood of information, the vivid memory of death began to resurface.
And with it came another thought, rising naturally in succession.
Her life before being reborn as Sugar. A past life she hadn’t recalled in a long time.
An adult man. Graduated from a decent university, worked at a decent company. Spent his post-work hours gaming or browsing related communities.
Ah, thinking of communities brought that to mind too.
[Writing Contest] A Novel About the Evil God’s Saintess and the Hidden Villain in a Pure Love Story
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—Please spare Sugar…
—GAAAAAH
—P-pure love?!
└Torture-flavored pure love is still pure love.
—Ngl, kinda hot.
—WHERE’S THE REDEMPTION PURE LOVE BETWEEN LEON AND THE SAINTESS?!?!
—I’m still early in the game—what’s this? Is Riley the hidden villain?
└Yep.
└Actually, the protagonist’s the hidden villain.
└The old man from the first village is the final boss.
└This is insane.
She skipped over the details of her reincarnation.
Anyway, it was an ordinary life, spent enjoying trivial hobbies day by day.
Then came the summer vacation that ruined everything.
She’d planned to laze at home with the AC blasting, but a sudden whim made her crave the sea. She just… wanted to go out.
So she booked a ferry ticket, boarded the ship, got caught in a sinking accident, and died.
Waking up to a new life was a blessing.
She regained her memories around age 11. After that, the only worry was her future—no regrets or grief over her past life. By then, her identity as Sugar was already solid, and she hadn’t been close to her previous family anyway.
Her parents divorced when she was young. She stayed with her father, but their relationship was distant. When he remarried, the child from his first marriage became an outsider. She left home, and contact faded naturally.
Maybe that was why.
Looking back, this past life might’ve left her starved for connection—for family. That’s probably why she couldn’t ignore the lonely boy she met at the orphanage.
…
Bubble, bubble—
Sugar exhaled, cutting off her thoughts. A shimmering bubble formed, rising like a jewel before vanishing into nothingness. Fleeting and hollow.
The sea was terrifying. Cold and silent, stealing breath. Vast, with no end in sight.
But the moment she opened her eyes here and saw him, the fear vanished.
Golden hair rippling with the waves. Deep blue eyes holding the ocean’s hues—warm, without a trace of cold.
When he showed her the note, she understood.
Again. You came to save me again. Her heart trembled.
She knew how to manipulate dreams. Before the information overload could crush her mind, she envisioned a distant drain. All this water would spill into reality, scatter, and vanish.
Once done, Sugar immediately wrapped her arms around Riley’s neck.
My heart races when I see you. My lips burn. I’ve fallen for you all over again.
‘You’re really something.’
You’re the problem—the one who made me like this.
So this time, you better fall for me too.
Mwah—
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The two opened their eyes simultaneously. They sat up, hands fumbling for each other’s faces.
“Are you hurt? Any pain?”
“Mmm… My head aches. Nauseous. Spinning… But I’m fine.” Sugar slurred slightly, swaying before steadying herself. Riley pulled her into a hug, calling her name repeatedly—as if making up for all the times he couldn’t say it before.
‘Sugar.’ A pleasant shiver.
Listening to him, Sugar thought—
‘That damn Evil God.’
If a mere crack in the wall caused this, what would happen if it shattered completely? What kind of lunatic would—?
Ione’s past interpretation of the prophecy echoed in her ears:
“If I can’t have it, I’d rather break it.”
Why can’t you have it?
If the Evil God couldn’t have Sugar, it’d rather see her ruined.
And Sugar had just experienced firsthand what happened when the wall was damaged.
The flood of information filling her mind.
The sensation of her consciousness merging with everything.
If the wall broke, the victims would be Sugar herself and…
‘The traveler squatting in my mind.’
The so-called Witch, as the Evil God called her.
‘So… you’re trying to eliminate the traveler? That’s why you want the wall destroyed?’
The reason for Sugar’s exceptional mana recovery, the voices of mana she heard, the unique nature of her magic—
It was related to what lay beyond the wall.
And now—having recklessly wielded the Evil God’s power and drained her mana past its limits—the wall had been damaged. Since Sugar’s mana was tied to its source, the backlash had struck her directly.
That said, she’d exhausted her mana before without the wall breaking. This time, the Evil God’s influence must have played a role.
‘You scheming bastard…’
It had kindly opened a path for her, only to trap her in a situation where she had to accept its “blessing”—and an attempt to hijack her emotions. Sugar gritted her teeth.
“Riley. When you were inside me… did you see a white person?”
“I didn’t see anyone. Only you.”
Where had that woman gone? Judging by the note left for Riley, she must have been the one who wrote it.
‘I’ll thank her properly when we meet again—’
Sugar shook her legs and stood. Now wasn’t the time for reflection.
Not when Louveci and Vivi were facing off in front of the spatial rift!
“Vivi! Come here! Louveci, please stop!”
“Sugar, I know you’re tenderhearted. I know it too well… That’s why I’ll handle this for you.”
Louveci spoke calmly, as if soothing a child.
Vivi was the trigger for the Festival of Descent. Her death would set the plan in motion. Louveci had dragged her into this space to render her an immortal prisoner—halting the ritual.
No matter how devout she was to the Evil God, some lines couldn’t be crossed.
And though warm to Sugar, Louveci could be ruthlessly cold when necessary.
“No, Louveci. This isn’t about sentiment.”
Sugar shook her head.
“Listen. Even if we stop the plan by killing Vivi now, what then? The Shadow Cult remains. Who knows what atrocities they’ll commit next? I don’t want to fight them endlessly.”
“…”
“I want to wipe out the cult. Here and now.”
“…”
“Tear them out by the roots. So they can never target me—or this world—again.”
She voiced her wish to the woman who’d once led the cult.
“Vivi can help us do that. So please, Louveci… step aside.”
Louveci’s lips parted, then closed. She studied Sugar with one eye before finally bowing her head.
“As you wish.”
Relieved, Sugar turned to Vivi.
“Vivi. Work with me. I need you to play a key role.”
“…”
Vivi, still dazed from her earlier collapse, stared back with half-lidded eyes—sharp and feral, like a cornered animal. After nearly being reduced to something worse than a corpse, she now faced a demand to betray the cult. Her aggressive stance betrayed her confusion.
Sugar grinned at her.
“Kid, listen. I’ve been around long enough to know: life’s all about picking the right side. You gotta ride the strong one.”
“…What?”
“Betrayal? Nah. Ditching a sinking ship for solid ground isn’t betrayal. Ever seen the Evil God faint dead away? I have. And yet—” She spread her arms. “I’m tight with Holy City folks. Besties with His Holiness and Her Holiness. My side’s unbeatable.”
‘Sugar is close to the Holy City’s elite.’ Vivi knew this wasn’t a lie. She’d seen the Evil God favor Sugar firsthand. Against her will, she listened.
“You’re the lynchpin of the Festival of Descent. Your sins are heavy. But this wasn’t your choice. You’re young—barely active, just following orders.”
“…”
“Help me destroy the cult, and your crimes could be forgiven. Worth a shot, right?”
Vivi’s dark expression flickered. Her eyes widened.
“So join me. Earn merit. Cooperate. Why stay on a sinking ship? You hate the cult. The Cult of Unity, the Shadow Cult—you don’t care what happens to them. You just obey.”
Sugar extended her hand.
“Let me give you a chance to seize your freedom.”
Freedom.
How sweet those words sounded.
The Evil God’s Saintess had declared she’d annihilate its cult.
Rational thoughts—Is that possible? How? Does she have the power?—failed to surface. Instincts bred to obey her creators lay dormant.
Freedom.
Freedom, won by my own hands.
Before she realized it, Vivi was already reaching out.
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