"The Blood Moon Coven offered you a body through sacrifice and helped you complete the 'Sacrifice' ritual. After that, you created a new avatar, Melissa, and even used the Blood Moon Coven to help you seize the 'Hatred' Authority from the Sanctuary of Vengeance," Aiden summarized, trying to get things straight. "Then Mr. Blood Robe usurped the Authority, so you simply allowed the Blood Moon Coven to be destroyed and finally ended up in this prison?"
"Precisely," Mephilia said, moving a chess piece. "You have an opening here."
"Ah." Only then did Aiden realize his unfavorable position on the board, having been led step by step into Mephilia's trap, forcing him to sacrifice a rook.
"Obsessing over attacking my pawns has narrowed your vision," Mephilia smiled, taking the captured piece. "Don't forget, checkmating the king is also a way to win."
Aiden felt a bit pressured. He needed time to think about each move, even more so while simultaneously listening to Mephilia's conversation.
But Mephilia almost always moved without hesitation on her turn, indicating that every move he made was within her calculations. Because she already had response strategies in mind, she needed no extra time.
Predictably, continuing like this, losing was only a matter of time.
But he still focused most of his attention on the conversation with Mephilia: "You still haven't clearly stated your reason for lingering in this prison."
"Didn't I tell you? For the pleasure of the game," Mephilia chuckled. "A game like this, where everything is foreseeable, is truly too dull. I wanted to add a little randomness to the game. You know, even when rolling dice, I subconsciously want to manipulate the outcome. To control this bad habit, I have no choice but to force myself to hand the dice to someone else."
"What do you mean?"
"The power of the 'Wisdom' Authority can actually calculate the future based on known information, essentially a degree of foresight," Mephilia stated. "But knowing everything makes the game unnecessary. So I temporarily sealed my own ability and created a piece to roll the dice for me."
Aiden somewhat understood Mephilia's meaning. The person rolling the dice for her was, in fact, Aiden himself. Mephilia let the "Aiden Galord" on the chessboard act autonomously, only offering interference and guidance based on her mood, then observing whether he would ultimately die at Mr. Blood Robe's hands or find a way to survive.
"Watching mortals fight each other like gladiators for amusement? Your pleasure seems rather low-brow from my perspective," Aiden frowned. "If Mr. Blood Robe finds a way to kill 'Aiden Galord,' the 'Hatred' Authority will be taken by him. Didn't you say allowing his betrayal was to arrange a revenge plot? Why deliberately add trouble for yourself?"
This time, Mephilia didn't answer immediately. Only after two more moves did she slowly speak: "Actually, it was also to... give him a chance. There's one thing I indeed haven't mentioned to you... After helping me seize the 'Hatred' Authority, that man actually professed his love for me."
Aiden, who had just picked up a chess piece to move, froze on the spot. "What?"
"Are you unable to understand..." Mephilia looked mischievous, "...or pretending not to hear?"
"I'm just a little surprised," Aiden finally placed the piece, nearly putting it in the wrong spot. "To actually confess his love to you... I suddenly have a bit of admiration for that guy."
"Pursuing a powerful being as one's spouse isn't particularly strange, is it?"
"But if the target is you..." Aiden said hesitantly.
Honestly, if the scheming goddess before him weren't pinned by Holy Nails, Aiden admitted he would find it hard to maintain composure while talking to her.
His suspicion about Melinda and Mephilia being related wasn't just due to Mephilia skipping "Desire" to directly pursue the "Hatred" Authority. Another important reason was that Melinda in the Nameless Witch's diary felt somewhat similar to Mephilia's usual demeanor.
They were both the type who could toy with mortals in the palm of their hand until death, purely for amusement.
"What about me?" Mephilia smiled. "I am the goddess in this world closest to the Old Ones."
(TN: 旧日支配者 (Jiùrì Zhīpèizhě) - Old Ones / Elder Gods / Great Old Ones. Consistent with previous usage, likely Lovecraftian.)
"Alright, alright. So what was your reply to him?" Aiden quickly steered the conversation back on track.
"I thought it could be used for some fun, so I gave him this trial," Mephilia answered. "If he could successfully seize the 'Hatred' Authority, then I would give him that chance. But if he failed... he could only become material for my ascension."
Aiden was stunned once again.
After a few seconds, he raised a hand. "Wait a minute! Does this mean... I'm actually just a... tool caught in a bet between the two of you?"
"Oh my, you can't say that. In terms of personal preference, I actually favor you more. After all, I saw through that man at a glance. Both his betrayal and his declaration of love were completely within my expectations," Mephilia suddenly began to appease him. "But you're different. You are an existence I cannot fully predict. Just managing to access the power of an Authority on your own was already a pleasant surprise. You should be happier. If you can eliminate that guy, compared to him, I would definitely prefer you. Although I can freely command 'Desire,' I don't mind trying out a so-called 'partner'."
"Stop! I absolutely do not want to hear a pervert's view on love!" Aiden felt he couldn't listen anymore. "Why drag an unrelated bystander like me into this? You... you're too messed up!?"
Melphilia has no moral compass. To her, a 'partner' is probably just a concept, not much different from a pet used for amusement. If she finds them boring, she would casually discard them.
"You sound quite dissatisfied," Mephilia raised an eyebrow.
"You should have asked if I was willing first," Aiden frowned.
"I knew you definitely wouldn't be willing," Mephilia smiled nonchalantly. "But what does that have to do with me?"
"..." Aiden fell silent.
Mephilia indeed had no need to ask his opinion, because his opinion couldn't influence the matter at all.
"Checkmate," Mephilia made the final move, looking at Aiden with a cunning expression. "Although this game was quite boring, I really enjoyed your reaction."
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