Chapter 174
Ruska couldn't comprehend the current scene.
Yuda and Emilia had appeared out of nowhere.
Before he could even form a question, the heads of the Assassins surrounding them flew off.
The severed bodies scattered like sandcastles swept away by a wave.
The boy could only stare blankly at the sight.
It was too unreal.
“Were you surprised?”
The Slit-Eyed One approached calmly.
What had happened? Ruska thought for a moment, then dismissed his questions.
At this point, it didn't matter anyway.
He merely blinked his weak eyelids.
“……”
The boy's consciousness felt as if it would snap at any moment.
Winter was always so precarious.
His body twitched occasionally with convulsing muscles.
Aside from those reactions, Ruska couldn't move a single finger.
He lay fallen, breathing faintly.
“Ruska…!”
Then, a voice brushed his ear.
Ruska struggled to open his eyes.
Beyond his blurry vision, vibrant blue hair fluttered.
Tear-filled blue eyes were looking down at him.
His sister was holding her fallen brother's body.
“Oh, what do I do? The blood, there’s so much…”
Battered.
That word perfectly described his state.
The boy stood at the precipice of his end.
Even without the injuries, he could feel the mana in his heart overheating.
It seemed the price for violating the contract was finally coming due.
The sensation of his muscles disintegrating spread vividly.
“Ha, haha…”
Ruska laughed.
It was to shake off unnecessary thoughts.
In that moment, he was piecing together his end.
*‘Strange.’*
This was the end he had prepared for from the beginning, so why was he afraid now?
The boy had to ponder the reason for his pounding heart.
And then he realized.
Thump-thump-thump..
The meaning of this beat was that he was still alive.
His dilated pupils savored the final moment given to him.
Just then, a precious person appeared in his sight.
“Wait! Sister will… will definitely heal you…!”
A voice desperately trying to reassure her brother.
However, Emilia’s pupils were honestly trembling.
Countless emotions were visible beyond their blue.
Loss.
Sorrow.
Anxiety.
Fear.
Even she, who had always been so dignified, was perhaps clumsy at such farewells.
Ruska tried hard to hide his aching heart.
Thin raindrops streamed down the boy’s cheeks.
*‘Finally.’*
It was finally over.
*A terrible life.*
From the start, a happy ending was never allowed for us.
Ruska had ignored that reality for far too long.
But now, it was time to move on.
“Lady…”
I was always sorry.
Sorry that you couldn’t leave because I was a burden.
Sorry that my existence seemed to ruin your life.
*So, someday… I want to free you myself.*
*To escape this damned fate.*
‘Still, is it fortunate?’
To see my family’s faces at the very end.
*Compared to the resolve I had, it was a good death.*
The boy let go of his lingering regrets.
Like a season he couldn't quite grasp.
*‘I won’t hurt anymore.’*
There was so much he hadn't accomplished.
He still hadn't uncovered the truth behind his parents' deaths.
Nor had he reclaimed the Vanity name, which his uncle had stolen.
However, he decided to leave those matters to his trustworthy family.
His Lady would never give up like he.
He was only sorry to pass on such a burden.
“My Lady…”
The boy decided not to cry.
His demeanor was calm, unlike his expression, which poured out tears like a sudden shower.
In his heart, he wished to bid farewell with a bright smile.
He loved to this world.
To his precious family.
To his painful life.
To himself, in all of it.
“……Now, you are free.”
The boy spoke of the end.
*Swoosh-.*
His strength-drained eyelids fell shut.
And so, the world went dark.
As night descended, the Primordial Darkness sought Ruska.
Just as his faint breath was about to cease.
“Oh… pardon me for interrupting.”
*Thump-.*
Someone placed a hand on the boy’s solar plexus.
At the same time, a sensation of levitation bloomed outwardly.
He felt a slight strangeness from that point of contact.
He couldn't confirm it as his eyes wouldn't open, but he knew something was happening.
Because he heard his sister’s surprised voice beside him.
“Yu, Yuda…?”
The boy who had been standing by his side was there all along.
It seemed he was up to something.
*Creeping.*
It was a strange sensation.
Something was gently burrowing into his insides, relaxing his muscles.
The mana that had been raging moments before slowly calmed.
The pain that had permeated his entire body was being suppressed.
Even his tormented breathing began to return.
“Ugh, uh…?”
His vision was finally clearing.
Ruska noticed that the crushing fatigue on his shoulders had vanished.
He inadvertently looked down at his body, and there wasn't a single wound left.
His broken left arm, the arrow in his thigh, his heavily torn forehead…
Everything was clean, as if it had all been a lie.
“What, what is this…?”
Moreover, his heart was still beating, even though the designated time had passed.
The boy realized that his pulse hadn't stopped.
His heart hadn't exploded.
The oath had been nullified.
“How…?”
Ruska muttered blankly.
Emilia, sitting beside him, was also staring at the Slit-Eyed One with wide eyes.
Despite the twins' focused gaze, the boy smiled.
It was with the same mischievousness that hadn't changed since their first meeting.
Yuda placed his index finger on his lips.
“Shh.”
As if even this miracle.
Was nothing to him.
“Didn’t I tell you to rest assured?”
A strangely reassuring resonance.
Ruska, who had been staring blankly at him, soon lost consciousness, drained of all energy.
It was his sister who cradled the boy’s head.
***
The commotion was settled.
Ruska, perhaps having exhausted all his strength, had simply lost consciousness.
Emilia and I moved him to the Academy’s Infirmary.
We left the chaotic scene to the Faculty who arrived just in time.
House Vanity… is the mess born from their betrayal.
I felt the need to sort out the situation.
Although I had saved Ruska and put out the immediate fire, this was merely the signal.
Given the failure of this operation, their movements would become even clearer.
With the final act approaching anyway, there was nothing left to hide.
‘This is going to be troublesome.’
A trapped beast is dangerous.
*You never know what fangs it might be hiding.*
Therefore, swift suppression was crucial in this matter.
But before taking action, understanding the situation, both past and present, was also necessary.
I intended to overturn the board now.
*‘Vanity.’*
I needed to know them.
Not just the knowledge from the original story, but the voices of those directly involved.
So, I spoke with Emilia for a while.
About all the pain and burdens she had hidden until now.
“……Everything’s a mess.”
The Vain One confessed.
This was the thorny path they had to walk.
The Family was stolen by the Traitors.
The Uncle’s grasp that always bound them.
And finally, her brother’s sacrifice to free his sister is made.
The girl’s sunken eyes shimmered with shadows.
As if symbolizing life itself.
‘Is that so.’
Emilia Beniti is an Extra from the original.
Such a story existed behind the Villainess.
A person who had lived a precarious life was surrounded by Betrayers on all sides.
Her originally venomous personality was somewhat understandable.
The girl was simply afraid.
“Because there was nowhere to turn.”
Her blue eyes held a hint of emptiness.
He lay in the Hospital Room, and the Vain One’s hand was holding her brother’s hand.
For a moment, I had the illusion that her shoulder trembled.
I gently stroked her blue hair.
Slowly, one was adding a calm whisper.
“You can rest easy now.”
“……”
“I’ve completely undone the oath that bound the Young Master.”
They no longer had a reason to be bound.
Because my touch had reached them.
Ruska’s leash was off, and Emilia remained at the Academy.
In the original, everyone met ruin, but this world’s story was vastly different.
I smiled faintly.
“You two are free now.”
“You, why would you… for what reason, do all this for me…?”
“Because I promised.”
I replied firmly.
I recalled the promise I had made to the boy just a few days ago.
“When you were in trouble, I would be by your side to help.”
“……”
Emilia couldn’t offer any reply.
She merely clutched my sleeve, desperately holding back her tears.
I quietly embraced the girl.
Until her faint trembling subsided.
“I will be by your side.”
Silence settled in the hospital room for a while.
***
Night had fallen.
Leaving behind Emilia, who had fallen asleep guarding the Hospital Room, I exited the Infirmary.
The Pitch-Black corridor was dark, without even a hint of moonlight.
My hand, rummaging in my pocket, pulled something out.
“Hmm.”
It was a communication crystal ball.
I had picked one up at the scene earlier; it seemed to belong to the Assassins. It was half-broken, perhaps from being caught in the chaos.
Moreover, they had already confirmed the mission failure and cut off the connection between the crystal balls.
I condensed Shadow at my fingertips, coating the smooth surface.
The Rift that covered its exterior mended slowly.
The extinguished light flickered back on with a signal.
-{Wooong.}
The crystal ball was working again.
I reconnected the blocked signal, establishing communication with the other side.
After a few reception tones, the screen glowed blue.
An alarm confirming reception rang simultaneously.
Ting-.
-{……}
Only silence flowed from the other end of the connection.
But I was certain.
They were merely not speaking, but listening intently to my signal.
I named them, wanting each and every one to hear.
These were the key players involved in the attempted kidnapping.
“Businessman, Baob, Vanity.”
Killing intent was embedded in my voice.
With my slit-eyed gaze half-open, I walked into the dawn.
The coat I had casually thrown on flapped in the whipping wind.
“You have touched things you shouldn’t have.”
My people. My dwelling. My beloved story.
I had been biding my time, but now I had the clue. The clue to erase you from this world.
“I’ll leave it to your imagination. What price will you pay?”
Because I would give them more than that, whatever they imagined.
With a calm declaration, I ended the communication.
And then, I shattered the crystal ball with a crushing grip.
*Smash-!*
The fragments scattered.
They were, perhaps, the Hell that awaited certain Sinners.
I took a quiet deep breath and turned around.
Familiar silver hair was waiting at the end of my gaze.
“Captain.”
It was none other than the Vice-Captain, Neria.
She shimmered like a beautiful Reaper in the dead silence.
Cold winter surged beyond her transparent pupils.
“All Members are ready.”
“You work fast, as expected.”
“Just give the order, and we can proceed with the assassination immediately.”
“Vanity… it’s time for that name to be erased from the Continent.”
I wore an ominous smile. It was just like that time, four years ago, when I slaughtered the Underworld.
“It’s the season of ruin.”
A short, echoing scoff.
I took my next step in the darkened world, suppressing the thrill boiling within me.