Trapped in a Love Triangle in an Infinite Game - Chapter 2

The wedding day arrived.

The Ghost Bride sat obediently on the bed. The broad folds of his skirt spread like a flower around him, making him look all the more lovely.

“Husband,” he called.

“The spring night is short. What are you still waiting for?”

My hand began reaching for his red veil against my will.

The space around us suddenly warped. A mysterious force battered everything in sight. A handsome man in a black suit emerged from the dark mist, a boutonniere marked “GROOM” pinned to his chest.

【Bzzzt… bzzzt… Warning! Warning! Unknown entity has invaded the instance!】

【Main Quest altered! All players must strive to survive! Quest duration—fifteen days!】

The System stalled.

Space froze. It was as though the instance had mounted one final resistance against the intruder and, having failed, could do nothing but surrender.

His silver hair fell to His waist. An inorganic gleam shone in His golden eyes. Blood stained the white bouquet He carried, yet He held it like a priceless treasure.

He looked refined and ascetic, but a beast’s savage desire lurked beneath the surface. His lips curved in a strange, terrifying smile as He savored the sight of me and slowly drew out each word.

“It has been a long time, My… wife.”

That familiar tone revealed no emotion.

Damn it!

My blood seemed to freeze all at once.

How had the Evil God followed me here? Did He know I had deceived Him?

Apparently displeased by my distraction, He tapped one finger. My scarlet wedding robe transformed into a white bridal gown, glaringly out of place in this traditional Chinese wedding chamber.

At last He seemed satisfied.

“Only the final step remains.”

“?”

He bit my lip.

The touch provoked me. The force holding me vanished, and I retaliated at once. There was none of a lover’s lingering tenderness between us. We mauled each other like wild beasts.

The taste of blood spread through my mouth.

The Evil God’s eyes gradually shifted from gold to red, as if overstimulated.

Oh, no.

I had almost forgotten what this thing was. He was the Evil God—a creature liable to devour human flesh and blood if His brutality was aroused.

I shoved Him away.

“Are you a goddamn dog?”

For an instant He looked dazed, His eyes losing focus like a small animal deprived of the one thing it depended on.

【Overwhelmed with pleasure. No, He is not.】

Then He looked up and fixed His gaze on me.

“The final step of the wedding.”

He plucked a strand of His hair and wound it around my ring finger. It came alive, quickly knotting itself into a ring that seemed engraved into my very flesh and bone.

I could clearly feel the bond between us strengthen.

Damn it.

I was never getting rid of Him now.

The feeling that someone else controlled my fate infuriated me. I taunted Him with deliberate malice.

“I tore out your heart. Don’t you want to eat me?”

For one eager moment, I even wanted to draw my knife and do it all over again.

Beneath the Evil God, all beings were ants. He would never permit a human to challenge Him.

Yet the tips of His ears actually reddened.

“Human marriage vows require two people to offer each other their true hearts.”

“My wife, you removed My heart with your own hands. You love Me very much.”

I stared at Him, dumbfounded.

How did His mind even work? I tore out His heart, therefore I loved Him?

When I was pretending to love Him, I never should have used those brain-dead romantic novels as teaching material.

Like a giant dog begging for praise, He showed a boyish innocence utterly at odds with His cold appearance. His gaze drifted away almost shyly.

“The word eat has a second meaning among humans.”

“Though I am an omniscient god, you must teach Me how I should eat you.”

He looked meek and eager to learn, plainly awaiting a reward.

“?”

So “true heart” meant literally tearing out His heart for me. And “eat” meant…

Goddamn it!

I never should have explained so much to Him.

He kissed the back of my hand, lowering Himself like the human gentleman I had once described.

“Come. The flowers at our manor are beautifully trimmed. Ah, yes, there are also the butler and servants you asked for. They have not yet adjusted to human form, but that is no matter. I broke their bones into shape.”

My heart clenched.

“I—”

No. Absolutely not.

I could not go back to that Lovecraftian world. Its indescribable monsters were enough to drain anyone’s SAN value.

But tearing out His heart was no longer an option. The Evil God was undying and indestructible, unless…

The door slammed shut from within.

Sinister ghostly energy flooded the room. The immobilized Ghost Bride began to move, inch by inch.

He ripped off his red veil, revealing the stunning, frosty face of a young man. The ghostly aura made his skin look even paler and his lips as red as blood.

He spoke through clenched teeth.

“Husband? Are you planning to run away with your lover?”