Chapter 90: Right Tina

The pure white light split the darkness and bathed the surroundings in its glow. In the faintly shadowed gloom, her pinkish eyes stared at me as if to pierce through me.

“How…?”

I had clearly seen her fall, coughing up blood, collapsing to the ground.

She should have at least lost her strength, if not her life.

But how is it that she can still exert such powerful divine energy?

The question barely passed through my mind when Lillian frowned and let out a low groan.

“Ugh, it’s stinging a lot.”

Blood was constantly pouring from her hand. The knife, which should have pierced my heart, was deeply embedded in her right hand.

I couldn’t understand.

“Why… why are you here…?”

“Isn’t it cowardly to just run away like this?”

“Are you… trying to kill me?”

“Of course not. All I can offer is salvation.”

Lillian caught my gaze with a calm smile.

And at that moment, the air shook, and the surroundings began to tremble.

[We’re almost there! Damn, this wretched bitch!]

A chilling, ripping voice covered the space. The deep rift in the darkness gathered in one place, then began to be sucked back into its original position.

Right into my body.

Lillian tried to block it ahead of me, but the darkness brushed past her and dug deeply into my body.

[Tina, kill that woman immediately!]

“What did you say?”

[If you don’t kill her now, you’ll never see your mother again.]

The voice that seeped deep into my chest echoed in my head, whispering. In response to it, a suffocating weight pressed down on my entire body, and my limbs stiffened like heavy metal.

In the slowly fading consciousness, I numbly picked up a shard of glass from the floor.

[You don’t want to leave your mother alone in hell, having killed her, do you? You’re a good child, aren’t you?]

“…Yes, that’s right.”

[That woman is the one who stands in the way of your and your mother’s love. She’s the owner of a filthy desire to enjoy your suffering.]

“I definitely killed her…”

“Are you curious?”

Lillian’s voice rang out softly.

She had been staring at me with calm, sinking eyes, and she gently pulled the knife from her hand.

For a moment, red blood shot up, but soon the pure white light enveloped her hand, and the deeply gouged wound was healed in an instant.

“Tina, do you know who I first sought out when I came to the empire?”

“…What did you say?”

“Would you care to look behind you?”

As I turned my head, there stood a woman.

Artasha Blanc.

Her pale face looked at me, and in her blue eyes, there was nothing but worry, trembling helplessly.

“Artasha…?”

Why are you here?

Why are you looking at me with such an expression?

I’m nothing but a monster who devoured your daughter.

[AAARGH! Can’t you snap out of it?! Kill that saint now! Don’t you ever want to see your mother again?]

At the scream that seemed to crush my head, my body moved of its own accord. I raised the shard of glass high and lunged at Lillian.

“If only you were gone…”

I swung the glass shard, aiming to tear her face apart, bringing it down toward her eyes.

“Die!!”

“Please, my lady.”

However, just before the glass shard could reach Lillian, someone firmly grabbed my arm, and with their other hand, tightly wrapped it around my neck, subduing me.

“Ugh!”

The arm tightening around my neck lifted me into the air with ease.

As my breath grew shallow and my weakening body lost strength, I let go of the shard of glass I was holding.

“Ha… ugh… I can’t… breathe….”

In my inverted vision, I tried to strike the arm constricting my neck with my fists, but the arm was as solid as a mountain, holding firm.

As my body struggled for oxygen, it grew weaker, and I collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

“…I’m sorry, Tina. Just sleep for a while and wake up.”

A soft voice seeped into my ears. The owner of the voice was someone I knew all too well.

“Ha… Ugh… V-Viviana…?”

My vision blurred and my consciousness sank into the dark.

I had definitely sent everything down to the abyss.

How…?

How are you standing on your two feet?

On a warm meadow.

Someone was quietly stroking my head. The touch was so gentle and soothing, I was afraid to open my eyes, fearing that this peace would disappear.

“You’re still such a child.”

The voice, so familiar, softly seeped into my ears.

It wasn’t the voice I had heard as Tina, but a voice buried deep in the memories of an even older past. At the sound of it, I was so shocked I opened my eyes wide.

“Mom…?”

The woman, with black hair gently cascading over her shoulders, was looking down at me, smiling warmly.

Seeing her beautiful face, a flood of longing surged in my chest, and tears naturally welled up in my eyes.

“Hehe, you’ve changed so much. Your hair is white now, your eyes are tinted blue… should I call you daughter now?”

“R-Really… Mom?”

“Yes, I’m the mother you locked away in hell.”

At her calm, low voice, my heart sank. In my mother’s eyes, there was no longer warmth, but only deep resentment and fury.

It was.

“Hey, you’re not thinking of being happy by yourself while leaving me here, are you?”

“Ugh, Mom…”

“I’m here, slowly rotting away every day, while you, my child, don’t even show your face.”

“I worked hard to feed and tuck in a child I didn’t even want, and now you’re turning your back on me, showing such unfilial behavior?”

The words, filled with contempt and hatred, didn’t hurt as much as expected.

They were words I heard daily in my past life, so they actually felt familiar.

But strangely, I was just happy to hear my mother’s voice again.

“Remember this. Your only family is me.”

“…Yes.”

I gently clenched my fists and nodded.

At that, my mother smiled brightly and gently patted my head.

“That’s right, I’ll be waiting here.”

It was the smile I had longed for.

With her smile as the last thing I saw, the whole world began to turn upside down.

[Come quickly to find your mother.]

“Ugh…!!”

A bright flash of light dazzled before my eyes, and my vision opened.

The lush meadow that had been before me just moments ago had disappeared without a trace, replaced by a gloomy, windowless landscape stretching in every direction.

Where on earth was I?

“Ha… Ugh… wa- water…”

My throat felt like it was on fire.

My body was so exhausted that even taking a single step felt like a struggle. But unable to bear the thirst gnawing at my throat, I staggered to my feet.

“Ugh… Hh-“

The space felt oppressive, like a prison, suffocating even my breath. But thankfully, not far ahead, I spotted a door.

I forced my trembling legs to move and managed to take a step toward the door.

Clink—

“Eeek?!”

But with a sudden resistance, my ankle was firmly caught, and I collapsed to the floor.

“Ah… Ugh…”

Pain surged, and a sense of bewilderment wrapped around my entire body.

Breathing heavily, I looked down at my aching ankle.

“Wh-what is this…?”

A strange metal was heavily shackled around both of my ankles.

Thick, prisoner-like iron shackles. Those shackles were securely fastened to a thick iron chain, which was connected to the wall, binding me so I couldn’t move.

“Wh-what is this…?”

The chains were so heavy that I could barely lift them with both hands. The weight seemed to say that I could never escape this place.

In that moment of confusion, I heard the door I had seen creak and slowly open with a chilling sound.

“You mustn’t get hurt. It’s important to stay healthy and live long, you know.”

“You… you…!”

Lillian Eldoria.

The moment I saw the pink-tinted eyes of hers, a cold chill ran through my body.

“I saw you drink poison and collapse…!”

“That’s right. If I hadn’t placed a protective spell beforehand, it could have been dangerous.”

“Protective spell…?”

Lillian smiled and slowly closed the door.

As the door shut with a heavy sound, it seemed like it wasn’t an ordinary door.

“Are you hungry? I’ve prepared a meal.”

Only then did I notice the tray she was holding in her hands.

On the tray was a glass of clear water and a bowl of warm soup, steam rising from it.

The sight of the water in the glass made my thirst burn even more, and the savory scent from the soup made me swallow dryly.

“I’ll bring it to you soon. Of course, there’s something I need to do first.”

Lillian approached me slowly, smiling meaningfully.

Instinctively, I tried to step back, but the cold wall behind me stopped me—there was nowhere else to retreat.

Before I knew it, Lillian was right in front of me. She quietly bent her knees to meet my eye level and spoke in a soft but firm voice.

“Hand.”

With those words, full of unknown meaning, Lillian extended one hand toward my face.

I stared at her outstretched hand in a daze, and Lillian smiled with a small, teasing grin, pushing her hand even closer.

“Tina, hand.”

“…What?”

“If I have to repeat myself, I’ll have to punish you.”

Her voice, laced with a chilling energy, continued, and Lillian smiled gently as she spoke.

“Come on, be good, Tina.”

“You… are you, perhaps…?”

“Hand.”

Are you telling me to… place my hand on yours?

Like a dog?