Ch.123Those Who Wish to Die. (2)

Kiel recalled when he first met Olivia. That time in the cold north, when they promised to meet again.

He still hadn’t sorted out his feelings for Olivia. That’s why he went all the way to the north to persuade her. He thought that if they walked through Euran together, a place with special memories, it might help her calm her anger, even if just a little.

‘It’s my fault.’

If only he hadn’t brought her, if only he hadn’t persuaded her to go to Euran together, Olivia wouldn’t be suffering like this.

He felt powerless, utterly powerless.

Olivia had subdued two of them, but four still remained. Thanks to the World Tree’s blessing, their wounds healed quickly.

Even those who were subdued would wake up in a few minutes at this rate.

“…Please.”

Kiel no longer had the courage to watch Olivia.

So he begged.

He begged the Returners to please stop this terrible act.

Even knowing they wouldn’t stop, he continued to beg. His head touched the ground, and blood vessels rose in his eyes.

He was afraid. So afraid.

Because it all felt like his fault.

She’s going to die. She’s going to die.

“…Please!”

Such a cry reached Olivia’s ears.

But she had no time to pay attention to it. The duration of the Ancient Staff had ended, greatly reducing the power of her magic. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before her domain shattered.

“There will be no pain.”

The Master of Dark’s long robe, which had instantly closed the distance, fluttered greatly and flew at her like a sharp dark weapon. He was exploiting the fact that while shadows could be eliminated with light, robes could not.

Olivia extended her hand toward the robe that had approached right in front of her.

Crack!

The Master of Dark saw his robe freeze in place. The cold air climbed up the robe and was already beginning to invade his body.

“I’ll return those words to you.”

“…!”

The robe burst apart. If the Master of Dark hadn’t immediately cut off his robe, his left arm would have suffered the same fate.

Standing on empty air, the Master of Dark glared fiercely at Olivia.

She was strong. But in the end, she was still human.

She didn’t possess the brute recovery ability like Agares or Belphegor. A dagger could easily penetrate Olivia’s delicate skin in an instant.

Olivia knew this as well. In fact, the one she was most wary of wasn’t the two Dragon Lords or the Rebel, but the Master of Dark.

The deadly poison on his dagger.

If she were even grazed by it, this fight would be over immediately.

‘I should have finished it just now.’

She hadn’t expected the Master of Dark to throw off his robe so quickly.

What had she said to Melina before coming here? Don’t worry. Nothing would happen, she had said.

Looking at the current situation, there seemed to be no way out. Without some dramatic change, it would end like this. She knew because she had experienced it countless times.

Fighting six opponents was impossible from the start.

– Then just kill them.

Like an instinct, such a thought invaded Olivia’s mind.

The next moment.

Slap!

A sound unsuited for battle rang out. At the sudden situation, the Master of Dark’s face was momentarily colored with confusion.

“…What.”

It was Olivia. Her right cheek was red. She had slapped herself.

Olivia glared fiercely at the Master of Dark.

“…What kind of trick did you play on me?”

Olivia’s face turned grim. She had never heard of this kind of hallucination. This was closer to the whispers of demons rather than a hallucination.

But she was a magician who had reached the pinnacle. No demon, not even the Demon Lord, would dare invade her mind.

Why?

She had thought the heaviness in her body was due to numerous debuffs, but it wasn’t.

Her joints wouldn’t move freely. A sensation of being controlled.

Olivia tensed her entire body to resist the alien sensation.

Crack!

Cold air spread again. But compared to when she had the Ancient Staff, the power was far insufficient.

Even her seemingly endless magical power began to show its limits as the Dragon Lords consumed the mana in the atmosphere.

She couldn’t feel her arms. Her robe was torn in places, and red blood was stained here and there.

It was a desperate situation.

There was a reason Olivia had set three Returners as her upper limit.

She knew from fighting hundreds, even thousands of times.

Two was the limit she could subdue without taking damage. The moment she faced three, she had to sacrifice some part of her body—an eye, an arm, a leg—to win.

A fight that was predetermined to lose. But.

At least she had no intention of dying today.

Despite the terrible killing intent in all the Returners’ attacks, Olivia believed this without doubt.

[The owner of Clue #9 is the ‘White Dragon Lord’.]

She froze, burst, and broke. Wounds increased throughout her body, and her senses dulled.

The Master of Dark precisely exploited the gap in Olivia’s magic as her concentration wavered.

Thud!

The sharp dagger penetrated Olivia’s abdomen. Olivia drew out her magical power to the maximum and barely escaped from the Master of Dark. Along with a burning pain, the wound area turned purple.

Blood poured out.

Her vision instantly became distant.

Olivia summoned flames to cauterize the wound. She stopped the bleeding, but this was only a temporary measure.

[‘Hydra’s Poison’ has infected you.]

Throb!

As the deadly poison reached her heart through her blood vessels, her heart pounded as if it would burst. Blood flowed from every opening in her body—ears, eyes, nose, mouth…

But Olivia wasn’t one to just take it.

‘…Just one more.’

She had allowed the Master of Dark’s attack, but she had bought time to cast a grand spell.

Blood flowing down her forehead trickled beside her wall-eye.

Seeing Olivia staggering, Carthian cheered. If she was infected with Hydra’s Poison, it was only a matter of time before Olivia fell. She would gradually lose control of her magical power, and at some point, she would be unable to use magic at all.

[Well done…!]

Shiver!

Carthian suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

Tssssss!

Around Olivia, a terrifying amount of magical power was gathering.

‘…She should be infected with the poison!’

Olivia extended one hand forward and twisted her fist as if wringing a rag.

A sinister smile spread across Olivia’s face. Carthian urgently shouted.

[Block it imme…!]

“It’s already too late.”

Crack!

The spatial axis twisted according to Olivia’s gesture. The bones that made up Carthian’s body broke, and his bloodshot eyes bulged as if about to pop out. His body was wrung like a rag, and blood vessels throughout his body burst.

[Aaaaargh-!]

The moment Carthian’s consciousness faded, Olivia also stopped her magic.

[The owner of Clue #10 is the ‘Red Dragon Lord’.]

“You look path…ugh!”

Olivia hurriedly covered her mouth. Blood was flowing back. Blood spurted like a fountain between her fingers.

[Currently in ‘Hydra’s Poison’ infected state.]

At most 3 minutes, no. 1 minute. Maybe even less.

Olivia forcibly raised her creaking body. But that was only for a moment. The next moment, her head sank to the floor as if it were a lie.

‘Just one more…’

Her consciousness broke. Darkness swallowed her reddened vision.

Almost simultaneously, Olivia’s body fell. Her blood-stained white hair fluttered helplessly in the wind.

[You have been subdued by hostile Returners.]

[Quest will be completed if you survive.]

.

.

.

[‘Counter-Subjugation’ is activated.]

[You acquire Clue #10.]

.

.

.

[The owner of Clue #11 is the ‘Serial Murderer’.]

*****

“So, what you need to do is…”

Melina, who was teaching Olivia’s disciples, widened her eyes.

The trembling in her hands wouldn’t stop.

The disciples, finding this strange, asked.

“…Master of Golden Tower?”

Melina didn’t answer. No, she couldn’t answer.

She hurriedly pulled out the pendant she had tied to her chest. The pendant had a sapphire resembling Olivia’s wall-eye.

Crack.

Melina looked at the sapphire with surprised eyes. The sapphire was not just cracked but breaking into fragments.

This was no ordinary pendant. It was an artifact linked to Olivia’s life force.

Her hand holding the pendant trembled violently.

“Ah, aah…”

Melina was the person who knew more of Olivia’s secrets than anyone else.

The fact that Olivia had returned, that she had experienced countless cycles.

Even the fact that Olivia had been repeating noble sacrifices for an eternity-like period.

She knew it all.

So, she could only watch Olivia’s actions.

Because Olivia was the kind of person who would choose her own destruction rather than watch the world perish.

[I’ll be back within a day. I promise.]

Her hand holding the pendant lost strength. Tears filled her vision.

[If you take me as your disciple…]

[Master.]

Melina collapsed onto the snow.