A Villainess Should Be Strong

Estelle sighed after wrapping up her thoughts. Pursing her lips, her attention came back onto the matter of those she brought here. Heine was really crafty, she was almost certain that his intention to start a fight here was really just to lure her out. He was someone who can afford doing such a thing.

She looked at him with tired eyes. "Tell me one more thing. This entire.. fiasco, was it you that planned it? Is it really just to draw me out? You could've used.. another method, not something like this," Estelle frowned.

This chaotic situation brought great damages for the country, which caused them to panic and send special individuals like her and the rest to such a secluded place.

"This time.. it's not completely my wrongdoings. It's Lichte. Like I said, I use a proxy in my organization, I am this proxy's boss, but I don't implicate myself in every single one of their activities," Heine defended himself as they started to walk in a slow, relaxed pace.

"So.. Lichte is the one who has stuff to do here?" Estelle tilted her head, imagining Elias commanding this absurd organization.

"Mhm, you could say it like that. Lichte's organization is.. much more closed off than Noir. I don't even know the full structure of their team, who their prized members are, who is in charge.. but it seems like they have something to do here. The black clothed men.. if you see someone who possesses undead qualities like that, there's a high chance that Elias seeks something near them. If you think you don't want to leak your position, then don't fight them unless necessary,"

"Elias.. that man is batshit crazy. I don't know what triggered a reaction effect in his brain that he was transformed into such a complicated mastermind, but it must have something to deal with us as well.. judging by how he hunted you down in the past. Anyway, all I know is he is trying to create something bad... something new to the world. Just like the mutated monster you brought to my country in the past. I have tried to analyze it multiple times, but I still couldn't find out how he managed to corrupt the monster in such a way. It was so potent, so terrifying, and yet the monster didn't collapse of all the disgusting energy," Heine's expression warped as he recalled his studies in the past, which didn't yield any substantial answers as to how Elias was able to create his deeds.

If they wanted to know, they either had to acquire it from Elias himself or the ones who manufactured these bizarre creatures.

"But you said that you.. positioned your men to take care of my acquaintances. What about that?"

"I brought my men here, what's wrong? I can freely use my authority to somewhat tweak Lichte's plans. I met Elias multiple times in the past when we were seeking the same resource or needs, and we came to a peaceful ending. They don't mind if I mingle with them," Heine huffed. "Besides, the merging happened because what we searched for was the same thing. If not for that, we wouldn't have collaborated. The merging makes it easier for us to move around the world so that we won't butt into each other's plans,"

"..And what is your purpose?" Estelle asked with a curious facial expression.

Heine stilled for a moment before judging that it was fine to tell Estelle, especially with the knowledge that the girl was going to be angered if he held the information for a longer time.

"I'm going to build connections all over the world to solidify your stability. One day, you are going to have to.. somewhat be a Ruler of the united world as the Constellation Leader. For that, you need assurance and support from all the countries. Count me as a diplomatic servant of yours. Right now, I have control over Sylvania and Alynthi, and I'm halfway done through Alfheim. Then, I will do Eliredien next because of Gazelle's influence. After that.. Vaitral and Elysium, the two hardest places to slide my influence in," Heine explained.

"I see.. Well, I can't meddle into your matters outside my boundaries. I don't want to be too intrusive," Estelle backed away. SHe instinctively felt that Heine was still hiding something, but she was also pacified by the fact that Heine seemed to have calmed down in terms of his mind's peace.

Before, Heine displayed a lot more erratic and uncontrolled actions before the main showdown went up. That period of time seemed to be the time he was most heavily affected by his condition, but it seemed to have soothed down now.

Estelle let out a sigh of relief as she couldn't imagine herself having to encounter another pinch like the last time Heine sent her into.

"First of all, let me go and meet my acquaintances. Aleksei should already be there long ago, your story was too long. Do you think your subordinates could restrain him, or will he beat them down?" Estelle asked.

"I think.. I will bet on my subordinates. I was the one who trained them, I believe that they are sufficient to take on three people," Heine laughed. "Unless they have a trump card that I'm not aware of,"

"I'll bet on my acquaintances! Liviera and Frey apparently work well together despite their rocky relationship, won't they be able to find some way out?" Estelle rebutted.

"What are we betting on?"

"Our lives... just kidding. We'll bet on.. let's see, one drop of water. That's already me being very generous," Estelle propssed. "..I don't want to lose anything, I don't think I have any personal belongings anyway,"

"Ao, what's with that?"

"...Forget about it! No bets! Let's go then," Estelle said after Heine let out light chuckles.

Their pace sped up, but something unexpected happened before they were even able to reach the site they mentioned earlier.

Estelle fainted. Out of nowhere. Heine didn't do anything, and he knew it, so he widened his eyes and reacted fast enough to catch the girl before she could hit the ground.

Estelle was still conscious moments before she truly lost her awareness, so the last thing she saw was of Heine's panicked and exasperated face, calling her name repeatedly but getting no answer in return.

Due to this, Estelle was further able to fortify her acknowledgement of Heine's subtle change in attitude and actions. His expressions were all genuine, and he seemed like he didn't know a speck of what happened to Estelle. This made her trust in him increase, but she felt herself be taken away by the darkness.

Her vision dimmed, and finally died down  seconds after.

Estelle didn't go to sleep. She was still awake. She felt herself being awake, but at the same time, it was as if she couldn't do anything.

Couldn't wake up, couldn't sleep, couldn't use any of her senses. It was vexing.

In seconds, this was changed.

Her senses started to return.

Estelle retaliated against this strange condition she was put in.

She woke up to a strange sight.

The space she was in, basked in pure bright light, started to change the moment she opened her eyes. Colors started to rush into the world, making up the objects and an individual who had a bright smile on his face.

It took her seconds to assimilate with her current state. She looked down and found that she wasn't herself.

No, that was wrong.

She was herself. She was in the body of the Goddess of Creation, Estraea. Whose soul laid peacefully inside her body.

Estelle gained her movement back, and she repeatedly looked at her appearance being reflected against the body of water she was standing near to.

The boy beside her, who realized that she was zoning out, began to form a slight frown on his face.

"Rae!" A young boy's voice rang. "Rae, are you alright? You seem unwell. Do you want me to bring you to the Absolute? It must be because you visited the mortal realm a lot recently.. Didn't the Absolute tell you that something bad might happen if you're not careful enough?"

The boy rambled on and on with worry.

Estelle, stuck in Estraea's body, was confused. Even so, she instinctively knew what was up.

This was one of her past memories. When she was Estraea. The difference was, this time she was directly put into Estraea's body and lived as her, whereas previously, she just stood by as the memories rolled. Watching the things happen before her.

"Arte... Astarte," Estelle responded after thinking. Her brows knitted as there was something she couldn't fathom going on in the present.

The younger and child-like God tilted his head. His sister was a very carefree person and would rarely knit her brows.

Estelle recalled the boy's face, it was all familiar to her. Even though this was her first time being injected into Estraea's body, everything already felt familiar. Close to her heart.