Ann eventually walked up to the door.

Although the man was so terrified of this room, whatever lay inside must not be something good.

But just like how a forbidden button with a "Do Not Press" sign only tempts people to press it, human curiosity and rebellious instincts compelled her to stand here.

No… that wasn’t the only reason.

There were also some subtle, unspeakable motives.

For instance…

Her intuition.

From the moment she stepped foot into this village, Ann had felt an unsettling wrongness.

In the shadows, it seemed as though something was always lurking—but whenever she turned to look, there was nothing there.

After meeting Aluka, that ominous unease only intensified.

It was as if, behind Aluka’s cheerful and cute smiling face, something was hidden.

Something far more terrifying than what she appeared to be.

Yet, it was precisely that something that drove people to want to peer deeper.

Like the serpent that lured the first humans into eating the forbidden fruit.

"I'll just… take one look."

Ann placed her hand on the doorknob.

The icy touch jolted her back to her senses.

She held her breath and listened intently, ensuring that Aluka was still busy in the kitchen.

Then—

She pushed.

Accompanied by a faint creaking sound,

the door slowly opened.

Ann cast her gaze into the room.

And then—

Her pupils constricted sharply.

…

Since stepping into this house, a faint floral fragrance had lingered in the air.

Ann recognized it as some kind of perfume, a scent she herself occasionally used.

But after opening this door, the scent grew stronger—

No—overpowering.

It was as if multiple bottles of perfume had shattered simultaneously within the room, their intense fragrance making it nearly impossible to breathe.

Yet even so, Ann still could detect the odor that lay just beneath the heavy floral scent.

The stench of blood.

Ann saw it.

In the dimly lit room, under a flickering light bulb around which a few moths fluttered, ever desperate to reach the flame yet blocked by the cold lampshade,

she saw it.

Under the faint light, on a steel bed,

laid a girl.

Her body—completely nude.

From her rounded chest all the way down to just above her most private area,

a ghastly, massive wound stretched across her body.

Her organs spilled haphazardly out of the gash, and the blood had long since drained away.

So much so that the dark, sinewy membranes of her insides were plainly exposed.

The girl had been disemboweled.

"Gah—!"

The shocking sight churned Ann’s stomach violently, and she fought the urge to vomit.

Clamping a hand over her mouth, she instinctively stepped backward—only to step on something wet, which splashed up onto her dress.

It was blood.

The room’s floor was flooded with blood.

The foul scent that not even the overwhelming perfume could mask emanated from here.

There's no way this is the blood of a single person.

But then… where could so much blood have come from?

"Ah… ghhh… hahaha…"

Amidst her chaotic thoughts, she suddenly heard it—a raspy, guttural sound, like something clawing its way out from the depths of a throat.

Something… akin to a demon.

Ann stiffly lifted her head.

She was horrified to see that the disemboweled girl… was still alive.

Yet, her organs were already scattered; how could she still be alive?

As if disturbed by Ann’s faint movement,

the girl slowly turned her head to look toward her—toward the maid standing in the doorway.

"Heh… heh…"

The girl’s complexion was pallid as a ghost; her eyes void of light.

It was unclear if she still possessed the ability to see, but she faced Ann anyway,

her lips barely able to move, trembling feebly like a dying soul desperately mustering its last ounce of strength to beg for help.

But she wasn’t pleading for help.

Instead—

“I… love you…”

With a twisted expression, from the depths of her parched throat,

what she spat out was a declaration seemingly filled with love.

“I love you…”

“I love you…”

“I’m sorry… I love you…”

“Sob… sob… I love you so much…”

The girl’s voice reverberated throughout the room like a chilling gust of wind,

sending shivers down the spine.

But just as Ann was about to flee in utter panic—another voice, one she recognized, suddenly entered the scene.

"Ah, Master has discovered it."

The eerie wailing instantly ceased.

It was as if a crying infant had suddenly been confronted by a monster;

the wails abruptly stopped.

"Aluka…"

Ann slowly turned her head.

The process of turning seemed to take forever,

as if she could hear the grinding of bones in her neck.

"Sigh, why did you have to open this door, Master?"

Aluka stood there, holding a tray of tea. She sighed softly like a little schoolgirl who had been caught with her little secret.

"In my plans, Master shouldn't have seen this until much later."

"Later...? What… what do you mean by that?"

"Later means… everyone will have to accept the boundless love I wish to bestow upon them."

"Just like they did."

Aluka casually discarded the teacup she was holding. Then, with a smile, she lifted her shirt in front of Ann, exposing her abdomen.

—On Aluka’s pale abdomen, tucked beneath her adorable pink bra,

was a grotesque, darkened human face.

Without much thought, Ann instantly recognized the face.

She had seen it just a while ago.

—It was Aluka's mother. Identical to the one in the portrait.

“I love you…”

"I love you…"

The face groaned in anguish, but its mournful cries were those same three words,

as if it had lost the ability to say anything else.

“And there’s this one too.”

Aluka turned around.

On her back was another grotesque, darkened face.

—Her father’s face.

"I love you…"

"I… love you…"

The weathered face was now awash in tears, seemingly enduring unimaginable torment.

Yet despite the pain, its lips curled into a wide smile, and as it uttered those three words again,

it seemed to radiate joy.

A joy so twisted it was utterly horrifying.

“What… is all this…”

Ann instinctively retreated, desperate to distance herself from Aluka.

This time, she finally felt it.

The disemboweled girl behind her—terrifying as she was—paled in comparison to the true source of horror:

The smiling Aluka before her.

"First my beloved father and mother, then dearest Rod, then the kind neighbors who took care of me… and after that, it’s your turn, Master."

Aluka turned back to face her, counting on her fingers like a child tallying her candies she held dear. Her eyes sparkled with pure delight.

"Look, Master. I have so many people to love. Aren’t I so lucky?"

"Aluka… snap out of it! All these things… they’re—"

“I am perfectly clearheaded.”

Aluka cut her off with a smile.

“In fact, I need to thank you, Master.”

“Thank… me?”

“That’s right. Because it was Master, after all, who taught me what true love really is.”

“What—” Ann’s mind blanked for a moment.

“I—I taught that?”

“Right. That day at the lakeside—wasn’t it you, Master, who imparted your wisdom to me?”

Aluka lifted her arms high, her expression jubilant with excitement.

“True love, you said, is above all else! It knows no boundaries! It entitles one to possess their beloved without question! That’s what you told me, isn’t it?”

"I came home and shared your teachings with the Great God, you know. And the Great God admired your wisdom deeply, Master.”

"The Great God?"

"Yes, the one who blessed me with the power to love—the Great, Kind, All-Encompassing God Who Governs Love.

The Love God."

Aluka extended her hand toward Ann, her smile beaming:

“So, are you ready to accept my love, Master?”

“Love… God…”

Ann's head spun into chaos.

Too many elements, each more unimaginable than the last, battered her sanity.

But with the training and intellect she had accumulated over the years,

Ann managed to piece together one clear conclusion amidst the storm of thoughts.

A conclusion… more dreadful than she ever imagined.

"Aluka… you…"

Ann lifted her face to look at Aluka with bewildered eyes, her trembling voice asking softly:

“You’ve… been tainted by a Dark God, haven’t you?”