Chapter 99: Yandere Goddess Kyone looked at his shocked face, and she felt a spark of genuine amusement. He probably thought she was joking. But truly, how could she be? Azel was far stronger than any warrior she had seen in her time. His techniques were raw, unrefined, even incomplete — yet even with flaws in his form, his strength had pressed her in ways that made her blood sing. She had lived through an age of war, when men and women were forced into battle every day, when strength was the only currency that mattered. She had fought countless warriors, lovers of battle and lovers of her body alike, and none had managed to claim her. But this man... this half-mortal, half-divine creature... He could. Sure, he used an incomplete sword style, but he had potential. The kind of potential that only someone touched by fate could carry. And since he was her her mate now, she would help him perfect it. She had earned that right. After all, she had once been given the honor of battling the Hero himself. She had been beaten badly — humiliated, in fact but even that humiliation had been precious. For in that clash she had witnessed movements so divine that they transcended mere swordplay. Each swing had carved inevitability into the battlefield. Azel’s style lacked that inevitability. It lacked movement. His every strike carried precision, force, and instinct, but no flow. And yet, it was the very absence of that flow that drew her. He was incomplete. He was flawed. And she wanted to be the one who completed him. "I come from a time," Kyone began softly, her voice carrying the weight of centuries, "where these lands you now know as the Aegis Empire, the Starbloom Empire, and the Winter Region were nothing but bleeding fields. They were constantly at war. Men and women alike were thrown into endless battle, and survival was bought with blood. It was by one’s contributions on the battlefield alone that you earned the right to keep fighting." She shifted her weight, seating herself more comfortably on his lap, pressing her presence against him as though to remind him she was no fleeting illusion. Her blue eyes met his unwaveringly as she continued: "Believe it or not, I was the strongest woman the Winter Region had to offer." A grin touched her lips, proud and sharp. "So many men sought me then. Warriors, generals, kings — they all wanted me in their beds. But I had pride. I had dignity. I refused them all." Azel eyed her skeptically. His dry expression said it all: If you had dignity, you wouldn’t be sitting on my crotch right now. He didn’t need to voice it. She caught the meaning in his look and laughed, the sound cold and dangerous. "I gave every man my terms," she said. "Before you could dream of bedding me, you had to conquer your Battle State. You had to face me in combat, over and over, and catch me off guard many times. That was the price." She leaned closer, her breath frosty against his lips. "But can you imagine? Not one succeeded. Not one man who boasted of his might, his fame, his victories — none of them could manage even that. They all failed." Her smile sharpened. "Yet you..." She ran her finger along his jawline, savoring the tension in his body. "You did everything. Today, you surpassed even my expectations. And you did so at a higher difficulty than any man before you — because I am no longer just a warrior. I am a divine entity. And still, you forced me to yield." She straightened, voice ringing like a verdict. "That is why I have chosen you. You will become my mate." Azel groaned, rolling his eyes. "I don’t think you have the right to pick someone to be your mate," he said through clenched teeth. "Besides, we didn’t even finish our battle." Kyone’s smirk faltered slightly. He was right. But how could she tell him the truth? That had they continued, he would have dissipated into nothingness. The snow in this realm was designed to erode souls, to devour aura with each passing breath. The longer he fought, the faster his essence would decompose. Another few exchanges, and his astral body would have crumbled away. She clenched her jaw. He didn’t need to know that. Not now. "Shut up," Kyone said abruptly. "I’m doing this for your own good." And then she crushed her lips against his. The kiss was fierce, as expected from a battle hardened warrior. Azel stiffened in shock, his eyes widening. He tried to pull away, but her hands pinned him, her strength pressing him down as if he were nothing more than prey beneath her. He struggled, but against her divine might resistance was laughable. Finally, he gave in. He knew the truth — fighting back would end the same way. She was stronger, and his strength was fractured. The world around him pulsed, and words etched themselves into his vision. [You have been given the Mark of Ownership by Kyone, the Goddess of Ice and War.] [You have become the Ice Goddess’s lover.] [The Plane of Light and the Plane of Ice has been completely combined.] [You have formed an Ice Core.] Kyone pulled back, her lips glistening with satisfaction. Azel gasped for breath, chest heaving. His aura surged violently, divine power pouring back into him as the two planes fused. But along with that restoration came pain. He clutched his chest as his astral body flickered. His soul was gradually being restored. ’Is this woman trying to kill me?’ he thought, cold sweat prickling at his temple. Before he could speak, the air around him shifted. A presence colder than Kyone’s pressed into the battlefield. Azel turned his head — and froze. Nyala stood there. But not the Nyala he knew. Her eyes were pitch black, voids that swallowed light. Her long hair whipped violently in a wind that did not exist. Her aura was pure venom, suffocating, heavy with divine wrath. And she was muttering words over and over, her voice sharp enough to cut stone. "Homewrecker... Ice whore... kill you..." Kyone’s body tensed instantly. For once, she retreated, leaping back as though scorched. Azel blinked, heart hammering. "Nyala—" he began. "Hey—" But she didn’t answer. In an instant she was on him, replacing Kyone’s weight with her own. Her lips slammed into his, frantic and angry. She kissed him once. Twice. Ten times. Her hands gripped his face like a vice, holding him still as she devoured his lips, his breath, his resistance. "Don’t worry, love," she whispered between kisses, voice trembling with fury and desperation. "I’ll get the taste of hers out of your mouth." Her strength was overwhelming, divine power coiled around her like chains, pressing him into the ground with the weight of a hundred men. She kissed him again and again, each one an attempt to erase Kyone’s mark from his body and soul. Azel’s mind spun. He could hardly breathe beneath her assault, his body torn between divine auras that wanted to consume him in different ways. Kyone stood a few steps away, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. Her blue eyes burned with anger, but also something else — something closer to longing. ’But he’s mine too...’ she thought bitterly, nails digging into her palms.