Without a moment’s hesitation, she imbued the goddess’s power even more strongly.
“Aaaargh!”
An entirely unexpected counterattack. Rehir was about to go mad.
‘What the hell is going on!’
Leticia, who had gone mad after losing her child, how could she. Leticia, who had lost her mind under his whipping, how could she!
‘No way!’
Despite the chaos, Leticia’s eyes remained unwavering. Realizing something, Rehir’s face twisted like a demon.
‘This woman deceived me!!!’
Leticia had planned to deceive him. To find him hidden! She had neither lost her child nor gone mad! She had pulled such a trick just to find out his location! A fierce roar erupted from him.
“You damn bitch! A mother endangering her child? Enduring the whipping to get revenge on me?”
Even amidst all this, the chains of light tightened around him.
“Blinded by revenge, endangering your child! How are you any different from Josephina! If your child knew this, would they ever forgive you?”
Rehir, blinded by rage, spewed out fierce curses.
“No! Of course not! Just wait a little. You will live under the hatred of both mother and child!”
“You say I endangered my child?”
Leticia sneered and reached out her hand. She then grasped the handle of the dagger tied to Rehir’s waist.
“Really, is that so?”
“Huff!”
Thinking Leticia was going to stab him, Rehir gasped. Ignoring him, Leticia placed the sharp dagger’s tip against her own neck.
“Check it out. See if you’re right.”
At the same time, she pressed the dagger against her neck. The sharp blade pierced her white skin, and red blood flowed down. Rehir widened his eyes in shock as Leticia harmed herself.
Though blood flowed, Leticia’s expression remained serene. The surprise didn’t end there. As soon as Leticia removed the dagger from her neck, her wound began to heal.
“It didn’t hurt at all.”
Leticia said.
“I didn’t feel any pain at all.”
“…What?”
“Even if you stab me with that dagger, it would be the same. The power of healing is protecting me. From the desert until now, continuously.”
Rehir finally understood the entire situation.
‘That woman never endangered her child from the start!’
She had been protecting herself with the power of healing all along.
‘Fainting from the whipping was also an act!’
Everything, including the pain from being slapped by Rehir, was a lie!
“You wicked bitch!”
“Hearing that from a demon is amusing.”
“How dare you deceive me! Do you think you’ll get away with this!”
“From start to finish, you’ve played into my hands. What can you possibly do?”
“Argh!”
“To be defeated so absurdly by a mere human. You think you can take revenge on me? No. You absolutely can’t. It’s over now. I will erase you from this world forever.”
“Aaaargh! Do you think this is the end? No! Absolutely not. You will never die peacefully! I will make sure of that!”
“Don’t delude yourself. It is your world that is finished, Rehir! You can never defeat me. Disappear to the ends of the earth. Never covet humans again!”
Leticia warned sternly. Rehir trembled with rage. The name Leticia seemed like poison, dissolving his entire being.
If only he could kill Leticia, if only he could cause her pain. He felt he could sell everything he had. Rehir glared at Leticia with bloodshot eyes.
“Shut up! I will never disappear! Victory is at hand. I can finally get revenge on those damn Transcendents. And now you tell me to give up!”
Rehir screamed. Give up, now!
“If I go down, do you think I’ll leave you alone? Do you think you can be at peace? You’ve ruined everything! You’ve taken everything from me! I will never forgive you. Never. Never!”
Though he had little left, even that was rapidly disappearing!
“I will never die alone!”
He still had one card left to play.
“My curse still grips your heart!”
Though he had tried to manifest the curse several times, Leticia remained unscathed. It meant Sigmund’s power was protecting her. She was ready to face annihilation.
‘In that case, I have no choice but to bring out the same.’
In all his dealings with causality, he had never once offered himself as the price. But now, there was no other way. The fake wings were all dead, and the remaining minions of darkness were being trampled by Leticia’s subordinates. Though he couldn’t see it, he knew from the severing connections with his minions.
‘Then there’s only one option left.’
Rehir finally decided to offer himself to kill Leticia. As soon as he resolved to deal with causality, his consciousness was sucked into somewhere. A black void where even time had stopped. A familiar voice seeped in.
「Are you really going to offer your power? It’s surprising. Giving up the power you’ve cherished so much.」
“I don’t care. Take it all! Just advance that curse on her. Burst her heart right now!”
Causality had neither good nor evil. It was a greedy predator that devoured whatever it fancied. Surely, it would be delighted with his power. It would be a delicacy it had never tasted before.
「Hmm.」
But why was it? Today, causality’s response was lukewarm. Blinded by hatred, Rehir didn’t have the leisure to ponder the reason.
“Quickly! Manifest the curse gripping Leticia’s heart. Burst her heart. Kill her!”
「You’ve sacrificed many lives to twist the fate of the true saintess, and now you want to undo it?」
“What does it matter to you whether I undo it or not! You just need to take the price!”
Rehir exploded in anger. He couldn’t understand why causality was hesitating at such a crucial moment.
「Fine. I will accept your deal and kill the true saintess. How much of your power will you offer?」
“As much as needed! Take it, hurry!”
「As much as needed. You will regret this.」
“What?”
「Are you prepared to face annihilation to kill a mere human?」
Rehir asked in disbelief.
“Annihilation? Are you saying I need to disappear just to kill that wretched woman?”
It was absurd. No matter how special Leticia was, this was too much. He was sure causality was being greedy.
“Enough with the nonsense! How many times have I made deals with you? What do you gain by ripping me off!”
「You misunderstand. I am merely adhering to the deal.」
“If you want to stick to the deal, take a reasonable price! You expect me to face annihilation to kill a mere human…!”
Rehir, about to burst into rage, paused. The reason causality demanded such an exorbitant price dawned on him.
“You say you’re adhering to the deal. Have you made another deal related to me? Who is it? What deal did you make!”
「Josephina.」
Rehir’s eyes widened in shock.
「Just before Josephina perished, she told me to ruin your plans in exchange for everything she had.」
At that moment, a memory surfaced. On the very day Kun died and Rehir escaped from the palace, using Josephina’s agony for power, he unexpectedly failed to cross the city gates.
At the time, he had no chance to reflect on it, but now he understood. Josephina, who had learned the truth about the real Rehir, had hindered him. The torment he inflicted on Josephina to extract the maximum suffering had, in turn, blocked his path. Beyond the black void, he could feel the satisfaction of one who transcended even the Transcendents.
「I am merely adhering to the price.」
Rehir ground his teeth. His anger soared to the peak, but there was nothing he could argue. The only thing that could help him now was causality. Without its aid, he could not gain the power to defy the world’s laws.
“Fine. Do as you wish.”
Rehir shouted, extending his trembling hand into the void with rage.
“Manifest the curse on that woman right now. How much of my power do you need?”
「If it’s just to manifest the curse, you don’t have to prepare for annihilation.」
He had said to prepare for annihilation to kill Leticia, but now, to manifest the curse, he said it wasn’t necessary. Something felt off, but there was no time to think deeply.
“Fine, good.”
Once the curse manifested, Leticia would die. Without further thought, Rehir made the deal with causality.
「Good. The deal is sealed.」
With that, Rehir’s consciousness was expelled from the space. As time, which had been halted, resumed, the goddess’s power began to invade his body. He let out an involuntary scream.
“Aaaargh…!”
And at that very moment, the goddess’s power that had been piercing his body abruptly ceased. The light filling the room vanished instantly. Rehir staggered as if his entire body was being sliced alive. Barely managing to stand upright, the grip on his wrist slackened. He looked up in astonishment.
Leticia, staring at him in disbelief, met his gaze. As she glared at him, Leticia slowly withdrew her hand. Then, clutching her heart, she staggered back. Joy flooded Rehir’s eyes.
‘It worked!’
It went according to his plan. He had manifested Leticia’s curse! Quickly turning, Rehir fled the room. Though he wanted to see Leticia cough up blood, he couldn’t afford it.
Even now, he could feel Leticia’s wings approaching her location. The rapid disappearance of his remaining minions was evidence of that.
‘I must hide quickly. I need to find a place to recover, no matter what!’
He had lost too much power due to the goddess’s force and causality. He had lost so much power that even running was a struggle. He couldn’t even think of using the power of darkness.
“Huff, huff.”
Rehir stopped, breathless from running so desperately. Though he wanted to run faster, his breathlessness prevented him from moving.
Hiding himself in the shadows with all his might, he leaned against a wall, catching his breath. Then, excited voices were heard. They were Leticia’s spirits.
「Let’s find Rehir! Find him and take him to the wings!」
「Who among the eight wings can kill Rehir?」
「Let us spirits join in! We want revenge too!」
Crazy fools. He cursed inwardly. Even though their master must be coughing up blood and dying, they were still focused on him.
‘Yes. Your joy won’t last long.’
Rehir ground his teeth. Soon, the spirits would realize Leticia’s death. Imagining them despairing after their glee at chasing him improved his mood a bit.
「Rehir! Where are you? Hahaha!」
The spirits’ cheerful laughter echoed through the castle. Though he wanted to rush out and inform them of the truth, he restrained himself. In his current state, he couldn’t handle the spirits. The enraged spirits might tear him apart in revenge.
‘Just how bad is my condition!’
He swallowed his curses and lowered his head. Then, his eyes widened in shock.
“What is this.”
He couldn’t hold back his voice, stunned. Rehir gasped, staring at his hand, which had shriveled like a mummy.
“How, how is this possible.”
Hurriedly, he rolled up his sleeve. Horror spread across his face. It wasn’t just his hand. His wrist, too, had become as emaciated as a corpse.
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