Xenon stood frozen after reading the request.

The woman in the hands of the beast-people… How could this happen?

He knew about the conflict between the beast-people and the temple. The temple had waged war against the beast-people, whom the god Pathos had declared evil. However, Xenon had dismissed it as a religious matter and paid little attention. Never had he imagined the woman would be captured by beast-people. How foolish he’d been.

Without hesitation, Xenon headed toward the beast-people’s territory.

The place was like hell itself—a dense, sticky forest shrouded in impenetrable darkness where one couldn’t see a hand in front of their face. Lost in this darkness, Xenon wandered aimlessly.

From the blackness, a beast-person reached out and pierced Xenon’s throat. Yet he didn’t die.

The cruel and cunning beast-person rejoiced upon discovering Xenon couldn’t die. They captured him, severed his limbs, and burned him alive. Still, his life didn’t end. Through unimaginable agony, Xenon continued to survive.

One day, while enduring brutal torture, someone appeared—a small, dark shadow emerging from even deeper darkness.

“Can you move?”

It was human language, which he hadn’t heard in a long time. Xenon nodded faintly. The small cotton-like shadow hurriedly began to untie his bindings. It was a young beast-person.

“Please steal the sun from the Tarkar. It must be today or never.”

Xenon followed the young beast-person’s instructions. Though suspecting another trap, he couldn’t stop his feet from moving forward.

The woman he finally found was both the same and different. Her silver hair, pale face, and serene appearance like moonlight remained unchanged. Yet she had transformed—round, protruding ears and a bushy tail. She had taken on the appearance of a beast-person. But that didn’t matter to Xenon. Even if she bore the appearance of beast-people, symbols of evil, the fact that she was his deity remained unchanged.

Thus, Xenon rescued the woman from that hellish place.

Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief after escaping the damp, dark forest, a snow-white carriage appeared. It was the client.

Though the person hadn’t revealed their identity, it was impossible to hide who they truly were.

It was the king of this country.

“Hand the woman over to me.”

Despite the man’s authoritative voice, Xenon clutched the woman in his arms even tighter.

“Do you think you can protect her?”

The man’s words starkly revealed the cruel reality. Xenon knew all too well what it meant. He lacked the power to protect her.

Having lost her divine powers and transformed into a beast-person, the woman was now exposed to all the world’s dangers. Rescuing her from the beast-people didn’t mean she was safe. Rather, an even greater threat awaited her.

The man was chosen by the god. His throne was the token of Pathos, the one true deity, a symbol of unassailable power and stability that Xenon could never possess.

Finally, Xenon bowed his head.

“Very well.”

He slowly handed the woman in his arms over to the man. It was a decision that felt like a cold blade against his throat.

He didn’t trust the king. But he wanted to believe in the look in the king’s eyes, which held the same emotion as his own. He wanted to believe that even if the woman had lost her powers and taken the form of a beast-person, the king would protect her.

However, the news that reached him years later was truly shocking.

The king had annihilated her using the Token of Pathos.

Xenon regretted his choice that day for the rest of his life, without missing a single moment—from the memory of their first meeting when he begged her for his worthless life out of fear of death, to the moment he handed her over to the king. Every single moment.

He lived his life tracing the woman’s footsteps. He established the Information Guild to gather more information and didn’t miss even the smallest rumor. Yet he found nothing—no trace of her, the king’s whereabouts, or the Token of Pathos.

Just when he was about to give up everything, it all suddenly began.

A mysterious letter. The Token of Pathos. And Rudis.

The silver-haired priest who had settled in Breilin before him. Even a survivor of the beast-people he thought had been exterminated.

Xenon could no longer ignore the fact that his fate was repeating itself.

In this cruel cycle of destiny, Xenon’s task was clear. He opened the tightly locked storage box and gripped his sword for the first time in years.

As the god Pathos wished. As he wished. Following the inescapable fate that guided him.

* * *

“Mmmngh.”

Rudis woke up with a groan.

“You’re awake early today.”

It was an excited voice, revealing his mad love. Iska rubbed his face wildly against hers and grabbed her chest.

“Ahh!”

Then he held her tightly and moved his hips slowly. Soon, accompanied by wet sounds, Rudis moaned. Even lying on her side, Iska’s manhood filled her insides completely.

Soon her back arched with panting breaths. Iska grabbed her b*ttocks and began thrusting vigorously.

Whether it was yesterday, today, or long ago, Rudis’s memory was hazy. Somehow, they had been like this constantly. What was inside her had never left. She ate meals in Iska’s arms and fell asleep in Iska’s arms.

“Wait, just a moment.”

At the edge of another climax, Rudis tried to push Iska away. He bound her even more tightly and whispered coolly.

“Come to think of it, the sun is still up. You’ve never done this before during daylight.”

His voice dripped with regret yet simultaneously carried a strangely joyful tone.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

His voice was languid, like in a dream. Iska grabbed Rudis’s chest and whispered.

“After you give birth, you’ll produce milk, won’t you? Haa. Then you’ll taste even sweeter.”

“W-what are you saying?”

A child? Iska’s words made no sense. But he seemed genuinely overjoyed as he gently bit Rudis’s shoulder.

“You said you’d play with me for a long, long time. That we’re family.”

Still incomprehensible, but chilling nonetheless. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

“Lady Rudis. We’re going to become a family now. A true family.”

A large hand gently cupped Rudis’s cheek, and soon Iska’s face came into view. His gleaming eyes were cold with blue madness.

“I-Iska. Mmph!”

His thick tongue forced its way between Rudis’s lips. She struggled and resisted, but Iska remained as immovable as a solid rock.

“Ahh…”

Until she bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood.

“S-sorry.”

Rudis apologized as she turned to look at the red blood flowing from the corner of Iska’s mouth. But after wiping the blood from his mouth with one hand, Iska smiled with eyes curved like the moon, clearly delighted.

“Look. Your fangs have sharpened. Just like mine.”

The teeth she fumbled to check were exactly as Iska had said.

“Why is this…?”

“You said you wanted to go to Grimnoir, didn’t you? Aren’t you happy?”

Iska played with Rudis’s hair, then nibbled on it. Startled, Rudis clutched her head and only then realized—she had grown ears. Just like Iska’s.

“Haa. Love me, Lady Rudis. You promised you wouldn’t hate me no matter what I did.”

“Nngh!”

Iska continuously thrust his body against hers. Rudis’s inner walls convulsed from the persistent penetration. After pausing briefly to savor that thrilling pleasure, Iska continued speaking.

“Your tail hasn’t grown yet, but don’t worry. It will come soon. I saw this a very long time ago—tails take a really long time. We need to gather shadow mushrooms during the full moon… Since you’ve been holding me and not letting me go, it might take a bit longer. Haa. But I love it so much. I’ll gather more this time. For you, Lady Rudis.”

Iska whispered in her ear like singing a sweet love song. It sent chills down her spine. She never imagined the shadow mushrooms she had been eating had such power.

“No, stop!”

Rudis tried to push Iska away, but the difference in strength was overwhelming. Instead, following Iska’s lead, she found herself on all fours with her b*ttocks raised.

“Your swollen flesh looks just like a female in heat. When your tail grows, I’ll thrust into you until your raised tail trembles. Every single day.”