Turning back the time to a few days ago, just before Julios was completely consumed by the darkness.
A strange voice was heard in the darkness.
“How amusing you are, human, even until the very end. If you had given up sooner, it would have been easier, but you struggled till the very end. As expected, you are the human Sigmund treasured the most. Anyway, it was a very interesting spectacle. I have watched humans for a long time, but it has been a while since I’ve seen such an intriguing fight.”
Who could it be? Julios thought, panting heavily.
His mind was foggy as if covered in mist. Even in that state.
“Help me.”
Instinctively, he reached out his hand, not even knowing who the other party was.
“I’ll give anything. Please, help me.”
Right now, the only one he could ask for help was that being.
“Asking for help? Quite an audacious story. It seems you don’t know who I am. Do you know what causality is?”
“…”
“I do value human suffering highly. But in the end, a human is just a human. The wailing of a petty beast is nothing more than passing amusement.”
The laughter, which had been loud, quieted down a bit.
“…Yes. I considered it a pastime. Until just now, I never thought a weak human would endure this much. Ha.”
Although the atmosphere of the opponent had slightly changed, Julios, exhausted from fighting the darkness, did not notice.
“In the end, it seems I fell for Sigmund’s trickery. That despicable old man. If I had known, I wouldn’t have taken the price. I should never have bet with that old man. He shamelessly hits you from behind with a smiling face.”
“…”
“Well, anyway, I promised to meet you once, so I can’t blame him anymore. It was your strength, not Sigmund, that made me accept the deal.”
Julios blinked his eyes with difficulty. Hearing up to that point, he seemed to vaguely understand who the other party was. Causality. A capricious yet consistent being, governing the laws of this world. The one who had been watching his suffering all along had finally appeared. Despite feeling resentful, he also felt a sense of relief. If it was causality, surely something could be done.
“You said you’d give me anything, right? But it won’t change much. You are just a mere human. There are plenty of humans in this world.”
“I don’t care.”
“What you can gain is just the flutter of a butterfly’s wings. You will never get the storm you desire. You have to abandon everything you have for a tiny miracle. In return, you will wander the river of the dead for eternity, without even receiving salvation.”
“It’s okay. So, please.”
“…You’re willing to accept the most terrible punishment for the dead just for that flutter?”
“I don’t care. So please… help me.”
* * *
At that time, Julios did not realize what the flutter of the butterfly’s wings, mentioned by causality, meant.
Before he could even be sure if the contract was made, the darkness instantly swallowed Julios.
In the darkness, he wandered for a long time, losing his reason.
Even when he met Leticia again, he still did not know who he was.
He hated Leticia as the darkness whispered, and thought he should follow Rehir’s orders.
“Get up.”
And at the moment when he grabbed Leticia’s wrist and met her eyes while she had her face buried in her knees.
The cracks surrounding him began to shatter, and something he had forgotten started to flow back in.
The moment he first held the fallen Leticia.
As the memory of lifting a twelve-year-old girl overlapped, his reason fully awakened.
* * *
“I heard that the fake’s body weakened due to the miscarriage. If left like this, it might die from not being able to endure the hardships.”
“Hmm. That’s true.”
Rehir nodded. Then he grinned and commanded.
“Alright. If it seems like it might die, treat it adequately. We need to keep it alive for a while.”
Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. It meant that he would continue to torment Leticia like this.
It felt like swallowing a burning lump, but on the other hand, he felt relieved.
At least today’s hardship was over.
“Understood.”
Julios very carefully lifted Leticia.
Even while heading to the prison.
He was cautious with each step, worried that she might suffer from any shaking.
They arrived at the cold prison again.
Quickly, he took off his hood and covered her, fearing she might lose her body heat, and went out.
It was to bring some herbs.
He searched through the storage, but there was nothing suitable.
Fortunately, there was something with a pain-relieving effect.
Returning to the prison, Leticia’s face looked unusually pale.
Julios, startled, quickly approached Leticia.
“Le…”
He instinctively tried to call her but quickly shut his mouth.
This place belonged to Rehir. He must not let his guard down.
He collected his expression and calmly checked Leticia’s pulse. Thankfully, it was beating regularly as before.
“Thank you, God. Truly.”
He sighed in relief and immediately started preparing the herbs.
He wanted to alleviate her pain as soon as possible. After thoroughly crushing the pain-relieving herbs, he mixed them with water.
As he supported Leticia’s neck and was about to pour the mixture into her mouth, Leticia opened her eyes.
Julios flinched as their eyes met.
Unknowingly, his grip on her shoulder tightened a bit. He quickly averted his gaze.
For a moment, words he wanted to say surged up to his throat.
He wanted to tell her how well she had grown, thank her for enduring, and that thanks to her, everyone could be protected.
But more than anything, he wanted to say he was sorry.
After all, it was his fault she lost her child.
After his death, Leticia must have gone through what Mano experienced. His heart felt like it was being torn apart.
Yet, he acted as if nothing was wrong. The power of darkness was everywhere.
To help Leticia, he must not let his betrayal be discovered.
“J-Julios, sir.”
At that moment, Leticia tightly grabbed his arm. Without even looking at her, Julios put the glass of water down.
“Don’t do anything foolish. Lord Rehir…”
Leticia’s fingers began to write something. Over and over, she wrote the same word on his palm.
‘Child.’
“…has shown mercy upon you.”
‘Alive.’
His heart sank.
Julios couldn’t speak for a moment.
Tears welled up in Leticia’s eyes as she carefully watched his reaction.
Leticia buried her face in his arm.
Silent tears soaked his collar. She still held onto his arm.
Julios finally managed to speak.
“If you don’t even want that, I will have to withdraw the mercy.”
Putting Leticia down and discarding the herbs, Julios seemed almost cold.
He left the prison without looking back.
Julios walked quickly.
Though he appeared calm, the shock from moments ago still rattled his heart.
‘Their child is alive.’
They said Leticia went mad after the miscarriage.
The wings and spirits couldn’t stop their master.
Rehir, hearing the news, gleefully kidnapped Leticia.
‘But it wasn’t true.’
That meant everything was part of Leticia’s plan.
Relief was short-lived, quickly replaced by anxiety.
Leticia endured all that hardship while carrying the child.
He worried the child might be harmed.
Julios, on the verge of turning back due to anxiety, stopped in his tracks.
…Leticia wouldn’t easily give up on her child.
She must have secured a way to protect herself.
“Haha. Ha.”
Joy welled up.
The heart that had been on edge finally began to melt.
He now understood.
How the flutter of a butterfly’s wings could lead to a storm.
* * *
Night fell again.
Dark energy filled the mansion where Rehir resided.
Rehir, filled with excitement, was contemplating what he would gain by offering Leticia’s suffering to causality.
“The last time, Josephina’s suffering didn’t fetch a good price. Probably because she was a fake. It was quite disappointing.”
Before escaping the imperial palace, he had revealed all the truth to Josephina and had monsters attack her.
He tried to use Josephina’s suffering to escape the capital but failed.
For some reason, he lacked the power.
Rehir’s brows furrowed as he recalled that failure.
“Fickle bastard. If only he had paid the right price, things wouldn’t have gotten this messed up.”
If he had managed to escape the capital properly, he wouldn’t have lost the two wings. Counterattacking would have been much easier than it was now.
“Well. It doesn’t matter. Destiny ultimately chose me. That woman is mine now.”
Rehir, who had been frowning, smirked.
Thinking about the wings and spirits going mad searching for the missing Leticia made him laugh.
Darkness began to ripple in the air.
On the translucent screen, spirits were seen crying.
[Lady Leticia!]
As expected, they were floundering, not knowing where Leticia was.
A pleasant sense of euphoria surged.
He wanted to savor this feeling even more.
Rehir, who had been giggling, suddenly stopped.
He stared intently into the darkness.
Blinking in disbelief, he sprang to his feet.
“How is this possible!”
The spirits were heading to where Rehir was now, the old castle.
Rehir rushed out of the room.
He didn’t know how, but Leticia’s subordinates had found out where she was.
‘The reason doesn’t matter now!’
All of Leticia’s wings were coming here.
He had to secure Leticia before they attacked.
“Leticia!”
The space tore open, and Rehir stepped through it.
When he emerged, he was in the underground prison where Leticia was confined. He hurriedly ran and grabbed the lock.
The fallen Leticia still didn’t move.
At that point, he became anxious for a different reason.
‘It would be troublesome if she died already!’
Leticia couldn’t die yet. He needed her as a hostage to threaten the wings. He also had to bargain her suffering with causality.
“Leticia! Get up…!”
Then, a white hand suddenly grabbed Rehir’s wrist. Leticia’s eyes popped open, revealing her emerald green eyes that glowed fiercely.
“Rehir.”
Rehir flinched as he tried to shake off her hand.
Something was strange. The grip of Leticia, who had been dying just moments ago, was incredibly strong.
Leticia slowly rose to her feet.
Despite being covered in wounds, she seemed perfectly fine.
“What the… how.”
Rehir, muttering involuntarily, widened his eyes. Her wounds began to heal instantly.
“It’s the power of the goddess.”
“But you!”
“You were deceived, Rehir.”
Leticia whispered coldly, smiling.
“You’re finished.”
At that moment, a burst of light exploded from Rehir’s wrist that Leticia was holding.
“Arrgghhh!”
Rehir’s wrist, gripped by Leticia, seemed to burn fiercely.
No, it felt like his whole body was burning alive.
An indescribable, horrifying pain enveloped his entire body.
Rehir struggled desperately to shake off Leticia’s hand.
“Let go, let go!”
The sole agent chosen by the goddess.
Her greatest ability.
The power to expel corrupt darkness.
Rehir screamed in agony as he felt the horrific sensation of being purified alive.
“Arrgghhh! Let go, I said!”
“No.”
Leticia, now standing upright, tightened her grip on his wrist. Rehir thrashed, summoning the power of darkness in a frantic effort to escape.
“Remove this at once! Now! Remove it immediately!”
[Understood, Lord Rehir.]
As the space distorted, the dark minions attacked Leticia. Glancing at them, Leticia’s green eyes glowed fiercely.
“How dare you.”
She had been waiting for this moment all along.
Until now, she couldn’t attack Rehir out of concern for Julios.
She feared that purifying Rehir might harm Julios, who was under his control.
But now, there was no need to worry.
Julios’s mind was intact.
His soul had miraculously overcome the darkness.
[Lord Rehir… Arrghhh!]
The darkness attacking Leticia screamed and vanished.
In the first place, corrupt darkness couldn’t possibly defeat the goddess’s agent.
“No, no, this can’t be happening!”
Rehir screamed as he watched his minions melt away.
The power he had gained by killing countless humans over a long time.
He couldn’t accept that this power was melting away so easily.
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