Carmilla sat in her room, eyes glued to the screen as her fingers flew over the controller like her life depended on it. The final boss was one hit away from dying, and her heart was beating like crazy.
Five years.
That was how long Carmilla had been stuck on this damn game.
Five years of grinding, dying, and starting over again and again. But now, finally, she was this close to the ending. No one had ever beaten this boss before. If she won, she would be the first player in history to clear the game.
The thought alone sent a rush of excitement through her. Her hands trembled on the controller, not from fear, but from the thrill of it.
She was so close. So damn close.
[3 HP]
Carmilla leaned in, holding her breath as her character attacked, dodged, and flew through the boss's attacks. She would use whatever skill she had to get that last hit in.
"Come on... come on..." she whispered.
"CARRRMILLAAAAAAAA!!! ARE YOU COMING DOWN FOR DINNER OR WHAT??!!"
A loud shout echoed from downstairs. Carmilla barely noticed it. Without looking away from the screen, she shouted back, "2 MINUTES, MOMMMM!!"
[2 HP]
"CARRRMIILAAAAAA!!!!"
The voice came again, loud enough to shake the room, but Carmilla still didn't register it. Every cell in her body was locked onto the boss on the screen.
[1 HP]
Carmilla's eyes went wide, her nostrils flaring as her whole body tensed up. She was ready to burst with energy and reach the moon.
Her fingers moved like lightning as her character prepared its final move.
[Legendary skill: Celestial Execution]
"The heavens themselves guide your blade."
Her character's voice rang out gently as it leaped into the air. The giant sword in its hands glowed with golden light before it came crashing down like a meteor, ready to land a single, annihilating slash.
Carmilla leaned so far into the screen that her breath almost fogged it up. She watched the skill animation in slow motion, eyes wide with anticipation.
And just as the slash was a millimetre away from the final boss, the PC screen went black.
Carmilla: "..."
The black screen showed her own reflection.
She looked like a shut-in who hadn't seen the sun in years. Dark circles under her eyes, pale skin, messy hair — and still somehow pretty.
But right now, all that beauty was gone. Her face was frozen in shock.
"GAME, GAME, GAME!! ALL YOU DO IS PLAY GAMES!! I AM DONE WITH YOUR STUPID GAME!!"
Her mother's furious voice rang out beside her as she yanked the cords out of the PC.
Carmilla didn't even get a chance to react.
Her breath hitched. Her hands flew to her chest. Her vision blurred. Her knees gave out.
The world tilted.
Her mother's furious expression shifted into horror as she collapsed to the floor, her eyes wide and empty.
"Carmilla?"
---------
Carmilla never expected that she would die because of a game one day. Well, death was death. But why did it have to happen during the most anticipating moment of her life?!
Recalling her mother's horrified face before she passed away, she let out a heavy breath.
Man, she hoped her mother wasn't suffering from a guilty conscience. Although she didn't have a good relationship with her mother, she still didn't want her to think that she had died because of her.
Which was basically true!!
She died because her mother interrupted her during the most glorious moment of her life. Carmilla wanted to cry at the thought.
Just a millimetre! A millimetre!!
She could have become a legendary player ever to defeat the final boss in the game — Godsfall Chronicles.
Damn, just a millimetre!!
Carmilla heartbreakingly cried when she suddenly realised that she had arrived in a strange place. She opened her tear-filled eyes in confusion, along with a hint of expectation.
Did she not die? If she weren't dead, how could she still think normally? Did she perhaps... get isekai'd?!
Carmilla's broken heart jumped at the thought. She excitedly looked around and was immediately stunned.
Everything around her was white.
Not the normal kind of white.
This massive court-like place was too bright, too quiet, too clean. It was kind of creepy.
It felt nothing like a royal palace or a summoning hall but more like being trapped inside a cloud that judged people for breathing wrong.
She cautiously stood up. The ground beneath her was smooth and cold. In front of her was a massive hall that seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction.
White pillars rose high into the air, disappearing into the blinding light above. And at the very end of it all, on a towering seat that looked way too huge for any normal person to use, sat a faceless angel.
Carmilla thought she was seeing things. She rubbed her eyes and looked again.
Yes, there really was an angel sitting there.
Her mind instantly went blank.
Was she perhaps in Heaven?
Carmilla was bewildered. How could she be in heaven? She knew exactly how many sinful things she had done in her life, so it was impossible for her father God, to accept her into heaven unless He had completely lost His mind.
She had been fully prepared to go to hell after her death.
She looked at the angel sitting on the giant seat. He had long silver hair and a pair of massive white wings folded neatly behind his back. Carmilla guessed that if he spread them out, the wings would be five times larger than his body.
"Name."
An ethereal voice echoed through the hall, startling Carmilla out of her daze.
She answered uneasily, "Carmilla Vexley."
Then she watched as the faceless angel summoned a giant book with a golden cover in front of him. The sight immediately made her feel uneasy.
Her mind started racing.
Is this what I think it is?
The Book of Life. The one that records everything you've ever done as a human being. Think, Carmilla, think. What serious sin did you commit?
Carmilla tried to remember all the bad things she had done, and to her surprise, she couldn't think of anything that serious right away. Which meant her sins couldn't be that terrible, right?
She tried to stay hopeful as she watched the angel turn the pages one by one. Even though she looked calm on the outside, she was having a complete breakdown in her head.
Her thoughts flew faster and faster as she dug through her memory.
Does stealing church offerings at five count as a serious sin? But she was just a baby!
What about swearing at her parents? Come on, that's basically normal for a kid.
What about biting her classmate during an argument? That was self-defence, okay?!
What about obsessively watching adult videos every day? A girl had needs.
What about dating a bunch of men and dumping them after having sex? Please, she couldn't be blamed if they were disappointing. She liked things hardcore, okay?
What about poisoning her neighbour's dog's food? It bit her first. An eye for an eye.
What about cheating on her exams? If people got punished for that, then half the world wouldn't make it to heaven.
What about secretly taking photos and videos of men and selling them online? Please. She was just serving the women's community. Pure charity.
What about breaking the arms and legs of men multiple times? They deserved it for cheating on their girlfriends.
Carmilla thought about it and lifted her chin. She had been a good citizen her entire life!
The angel judge closed the book and said coldly, "Lazy. Greedy. Mouthy. Violent temper. Excessive gaming. Frequent profanity. Insufficient prayer. Zero respect for authority."
Carmilla's eye twitched.
"Hey, that's—"
The angel flipped a page.
"Swore at a priest and later beat him up."
Her face flushed with anger. She had only done that because the greasy old man wouldn't stop staring at her.
"Stole donations from the poor."
Carmilla scoffed. "They're not poor. They're just pretending to be poor to get money."
The angel silently stared at her until she zipped her mouth shut and stood perfectly still.
He leaned forward, his voice calm and divine, while his words were anything but. "Carmilla. For greed without remorse, violence without repentance, and a tongue sharper than a demon's claw… you are sentenced to the Fourth Ring of Hell."
Carmilla blinked.
"The Fourth—?"
"The Bureaucracy of the Damned," the angel continued, as if he was discussing the weather. "No lakes of fire. No flaying hooks. Just…" He paused. "Endless customer service calls from souls filing complaints."
Carmilla stared at him.
He went on, completely serious. "Consider it atonement for all your evil deeds. You shall be punished there for two hundred years before being sent to the Netherworld to await further judgment."
Carmilla's eyes widened so much they practically popped out of her skull.
"Two hundred years?!" she shrieked. "For that?!"
The thought of two hundred years of whining souls, endless complaints, and demonic paperwork made her whole body rebel.
Absolutely not.
Nope.
Not happening.
She pointed a shaking finger at the angel's face. "You've rigged the system! This isn't judgment, this is a scam! Where is my lawyer?! Where is my legal representation?! Where is the Manager?!"
The facelesss angel didn't even bother with her.
Instead, he calmly opened the golden book again.
"Add contempt of court to her charges."
Carmilla gasped like she'd been personally betrayed by the universe.
"You crooked winged angel!" she shouted. "Your trial is as crooked as your wings! Actually, no—worse! At least your wings are symmetrical! This trial is not!"
The hall went silent.
Dead silent.
The kind of silence that means someone has definitely gone too far.
Carmilla slowly lowered her hand, suddenly remembering that maybe screaming at a divine judge was not the smartest life choice she had ever made.
She stood very still.
Very, very still.
Then—
"Heh."
A tiny sneer slipped out of the angel's mouth.
Carmilla's soul nearly exited her body.
Before she could even blink, the angel's hand shot forward and grabbed her by the head like she was a badly behaved cat.
"W-WAIT!!" Carmilla flailed in the air. "I was kidding! It was a joke! A divine joke! You know, humor! Wings are beautiful! Very majestic! Ten out of ten! No notes!"
Her legs kicked wildly.mHer arms swung at nothing.
She looked less like a rebellious sinner and more like a sack of panic with hair.
The angel looked down at her with the cold patience of someone who had already decided she was a lost cause.
"I offered mercy," he said. "You answered with noise."
Carmilla froze.
"Ten thousand years in the Lower World," the angel continued. "Perhaps eternity will teach you some manners."
Then with a flick of his wrist, he hurled her downward.
Not into fire.
Not into lava.
Not into screaming demons.
Just straight into a terrifying void.
Carmilla's last dignified moment was gone forever.
"FUUUUUCK YOUUUUU—"
Her voice was cut off as she disappeared into the darkness.