All My Summons Become Divine Girls

Chapter 191: Overload

With the demon gone and Vella’s new abilities confirmed, Hajin turned his attention away from the bottom of the clearing and started walking up the slope.

The checkpoint was set up at the top of the ridge, and the gate guards stationed there had their weapons drawn. They had been watching the bottom of the slope in confusion ever since the portal shattered minutes ago, but none of them actually moved to stop him as he approached.

The rumors about his track record with gates disappearing had already spread through the capital, so they just traded nervous looks and stepped aside.

Hajin ignored them entirely, walking straight past the barricade to where Cassie’s party was resting.

Loccy had dragged the three of them up the slope before the dimension collapsed, leaving them sprawled out on the grass right next to the guard post.

They were awake now, gasping for air as their bodies slowly recovered from the weight of the ten-shard pressure. He activated Divine Eye, sweeping his gaze over them as the system text appeared.

Surviving the extreme pressure had forcibly expanded their mana cores, making them permanently stronger. It was a massive boost in power, but it didn’t change the reality of the situation.

"I’m sorry," he said.

Cassie froze, blinking up at him while Jonas and the scout just stared. They looked completely shocked, entirely unprepared for an apology coming from someone who usually acted like a ruthless tyrant.

"I was too reckless this time," he continued, crossing his arms as he looked down at them. "I knew that gate was incredibly dangerous, but I dragged you three into it anyway and nearly got you all killed. I shouldn’t have done that."

"Did you hit your head or something?" Cassie asked, her brow furrowing as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. "I get where you’re coming from, but it’s not like you knew there were monsters that strong hiding in there. It’s fine."

"She’s right," Vella added, walking up to stand beside him while Loccy nodded enthusiastically. "We all survived, and everyone got a lot stronger out of it. There’s no reason to apologize for gaining experience."

He opened his mouth to reply, intending to argue the point before a sudden pulse slammed directly into his chest.

The single heartbeat struck so hard it physically knocked the breath out of his lungs, forcing him to topple forward onto the ground.

[ Critical Warning: Host body has accumulated lethal levels of Demonic Mana. ]

The mark of the Goddess Resonance on his arm suddenly flared to life, burning brightly against his skin before thick purple veins rapidly spiderwebbed up his neck and across his chest.

He convulsed, coughing up a mouthful of black blood as his back arched off the ground.

"Aaaaargh!" He screamed, his fingers digging into his own chest while the corrupted energy tore his insides apart.

"Master!" Loccy yelled, instantly dropping to her knees beside him while Cassie and the others scrambled over in a blind panic.

Vella dropped right next to him, her hands glowing with light as she frantically tried to push healing magic into his chest. The magic shattered the second it touched his skin, violently repelled by the demonic energy flooding his system.

"No way, it’s rejecting my mana! It’s not working," she choked out, her eyes wide with terror as she tried to force it through anyway.

The system screen violently glitched, flashing a blinding red across his vision.

[ CRITICAL WARNING: Lethal Demonic Mana has breached the inner core. ]

[ Alert: Host death is imminent. Divine Fragment destruction is imminent. ]

The broadcast stream completely exploded, the viewers watching the feed breaking into a frenzy. The chat rolled too fast to even read properly as panic set in.

[ CringeSlayer91:] NO NO NO HE’S DYING

[ ShadowMage44:] WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING

[ ashley (Mod): ] HAJIN!! Please, someone help him! 😭 He’s completely rejecting the healing magic, you have to find another way! Please don’t die on us right now! 🙏

’It makes sense,’ he thought, his vision blurring as the pain finally started to numb his senses.

He had absorbed a massive amount of Cessy’s mana through the chain during the boss fight, and thinking his divine core could effortlessly process that much raw corruption from a demon who was leagues stronger than him was a fatal mistake.

’Dammit,’ he thought, his fingers going slack against his chest, ’I really fucked up this time.’

The panicked shouts of his summons faded out as the world went completely dark, leaving him waiting to die before a sigh echoed inside his head instead.

"You really are a handful," the Goddess murmured.

He couldn’t even force his eyes open to respond, his body completely paralyzed by the failing system.

"I didn’t expect you to push the corruption this far so soon," she continued, sounding more exasperated than angry. "But since it has come to this... I suppose it’s time for a makeover."

’A makeover?’ He thought, completely lost as the rest of his awareness finally slipped away into the dark.

He blinked, expecting to see the ground of the clearing, but instead he found himself standing in a familiar, endless expanse of black.

The massive crystal of the Divine Fragment floated quietly in the center of the dark space. The physical body of the Goddess was still suspended inside it, sound asleep, but a glowing projection of her was already standing right in front of him.

"We really have to stop meeting like this," she said, offering a faint, tired smile.

He didn’t smile back, his eyes immediately darting past her to the edge of the void. A thick tide of dark purple corruption was actively creeping across the space, slowly but relentlessly approaching the crystal.

He had dragged the lethal corruption directly into the only safe haven he had left.

"I’m sorry," he muttered, dropping his gaze as the crushing weight of the situation finally hit him. "I knew it was dangerous, but I pushed the assimilation anyway to kill the boss. I shouldn’t have taken such a massive risk with the demonic mana. I completely failed you."

He stood there, fully expecting her to be angry as he let demonic mana in the place with the last remnant of her existence.

Instead, the Goddess stepped forward, her hand reaching out to gently touch his cheek, the warmth of her touch completely cutting through the lingering chill of the corruption.

"You fought to protect the people who were following you," she said softly, her thumb brushing against his skin. "You took a risk because you refused to let them die, I would not call that failure my child."

He looked up at her, completely caught off guard by the genuine pride in her voice.

"As long as you learned from your mistake, then it’s fine," she continued, offering him another small smile as she pulled her hand back, "Now, about that makeover."

She turned her head away from him, looking out into the void, "Aria, come here," she called out.

A pulse of blue light manifested next to the crystal, rapidly expanding before taking the shape of a little girl made entirely of flickering, translucent data. She hovered in the air, her glowing blue eyes completely devoid of any human emotion as she stared blankly at him.

Hajin stared back at the glowing child, his brain completely short-circuiting as he tried to process what he was looking at.

’Huh,’ he thought, his brow furrowing, ’who the hell is this?’