Ch.38Descent – 8

It was a desolate night.

The guard, hastily dispatched to protect the lord who had barely survived with a low-ranking adventurer in the devastated city and was likely sleeping inside the building, was engaged in a fierce struggle against overwhelming drowsiness.

Having been deployed immediately after finishing training for this unscheduled night duty, he was exhausted.

His companion standing guard beside him was in the same condition, nodding off while using his spear as a support.

Whenever his knees buckled as his body went limp, he would startle awake, stand straight again, only to sway once more as sleep overcame him—a cycle that kept repeating.

Just as the guard was about to collapse alongside his comrade, unable to resist sleep any longer, footsteps echoed from the darkness.

The startled guard hurriedly shook his companion awake. His fellow guard seemed disoriented at first, eyes hazy, but finally heard the footsteps and quickly straightened his posture.

Golden hair that shone as brilliantly as the sun and beauty so striking it seemed impossible to forget radiated light that made the deep darkness pale in comparison.

Though the approaching figure wore ordinary shorts and a long-sleeved top, the guards immediately recognized who it was. The person was unmistakable.

“The Royal First Knight Commander!”

Sleep instantly vanished as the guard snapped to attention, stiffly saluting. His companion did the same, face suddenly alert as he froze in salute.

Their first thought was that they were in trouble. The Royal Knight Commander outranked most nobles.

To prevent command confusion in urgent situations, the Royal Knights held authority over all military forces second only to the Queen herself.

In other words, to these frontier city guards, Serena was essentially their highest superior.

Above all, wasn’t the Royal Knight Order personally selected by the Blood Queen herself to serve as her personal guard? Nothing good could come from being caught slacking by someone like that.

The guards knew this all too well, and they put every ounce of effort into maintaining perfect posture to avoid giving her any reason to find fault.

If the Royal Knight Commander were to casually mention to their superior that their subordinates had been dozing on duty, that day would surely become their death anniversary.

“What brings you here, Commander!”

“Is Kartina here?”

“Yes, she is!”

“I see.”

Before the last syllable fully resonated, both guards’ heads were severed simultaneously.

The severed heads seemed not to understand what had happened. Their wide-open eyes stared blankly at their headless bodies.

The last thing they saw was the Royal Knight Commander, expressionless, crushing their collapsing bodies beneath her foot.

With a thud, the heads that had briefly floated in the air fell to the ground. Serena crushed those too under her foot.

Skull fragments and brain matter mixed with blood flowed across the floor. Yet not a single drop of blood stained Serena’s shoes.

Serena approached the door without hesitation. She yanked the handle, tore off the hinges, completely destroying the door, and carelessly tossed the broken door aside.

As Serena entered, the guards stationed inside the building jumped up in alarm.

And just like the others, they were instantly beheaded.

After trampling over four corpses, Serena headed toward the second floor. The smell of blood crept up from the first floor, following her.

The carpet on the stairs muffled her footsteps. Of course, this made little difference to Serena, who was confident she could sprint at full speed in armor without making a sound if she wished.

Serena paused momentarily as she was about to climb the last step, observing the layout of the second floor.

Though the building had originally been a private residence hastily requisitioned for Kartina, it had several rooms—apparently they had chosen a rather nice house to accommodate a noble.

“How annoying, this woman who’s going to die anyway,” Serena inwardly clicked her tongue, closing her eyes to sense the flow of objects around her. First room, empty. Second room, the same. Third room, also empty. Fourth room…

“There you are.”

Serena opened her eyes. Her gaze fixed on the room farthest from the stairs.

Her movements became even more decisive. Reaching the door, Serena entered by tearing it off its hinges just as she had done at the building entrance.

A familiar voice came from the bed.

“I’ve been waiting.”

It was Kartina.

Or more precisely, something that had possessed Kartina’s body.

Calmly combing her bright red hair—which showed no signs of returning to its original orange—with a small brush, Kartina spoke calmly, seemingly unfazed by Serena’s murderous gaze.

“You’ve come to kill me, I presume.”

“That’s right.”

“I sensed it vaguely. I could tell by the way you looked at me. With your personality, I knew you would come to kill me.”

There was no reply.

Instead of answering, Serena grabbed Kartina by the throat. Kartina didn’t resist. Perhaps she couldn’t resist.

Having lost all her power, Kartina was no different from an ordinary person.

It was obvious what would happen if she tried to fight Serena, whom she couldn’t even touch when at full strength.

That was also why she hadn’t tried to escape.

Being nothing more than a frail woman now, she questioned how far she could run before being caught, which would have happened quickly anyway.

Whether she died desperately running somewhere on the outskirts or quietly waiting here, the result would be the same.

She had considered killing people in this city to regain some power rather than sitting and waiting for her end, but that would only give that woman justification, so she abandoned the idea.

Kartina was a victim of Serena Elizabeth’s one-sided, obsessive love, not a monster to be hunted down for causing incidents.

That was also why she hadn’t awakened the original personality sleeping deep within her soul.

Because memories had merged, whatever had possessed Kartina’s body could accept Kartina’s personality as if it were its own.

And through this, it came to understand how fragile and weak the owner of this body truly was.

This could be considered a minimal courtesy.

A minimal courtesy from a being that originally should only fulfill contracts but had developed emotions similar to the owner of the memories it had absorbed.

It wasn’t difficult to predict how that fragile human would react upon receiving the remaining memories.

All her subordinates taken as sacrifices, the city completely destroyed, and now her own life to be surrendered. She certainly wouldn’t be able to maintain her sanity.

So, it was better for it to experience these final moments. Despite the fear of Serena that surged from the merged memories, Kartina suppressed it.

Serena grabbed Kartina by the neck and dragged her out of the room. Her bare feet, without even socks, scraped against the floor.

The tips of her toes brushed against the luxurious carpet. Serena showed no gentleness. She moved as if dragging cargo rather than a human being.

She was going to die anyway. Kartina thought. Whatever she said now would only hasten her death.

So, she might as well say one last thing to irritate that woman before dying.

“Do you truly believe… that love of yours… will ever be reciprocated?”

Whatever was inside Kartina squeezed out these final words through her constricted throat, taking in oxygen intermittently.

Then she closed her eyes.

Partly because she sensed her imminent end, and partly because she couldn’t bear to see Serena’s expression after hearing those words.

But that was enough.

—Crack.

As Serena applied force and twisted her wrist, Kartina’s neck broke with a terrible sound, bending at a horrific angle.

Her limbs, which had been properly attached to her body, went limp and hung downward. That was the end.

Kartina, who had been a benevolent lord to some and an excellent superior to others, had crossed the river of no return.

Serena’s expression, having just killed Kartina, remained cold and hardened. It was because she felt unbearable rage at Kartina’s final words.

The hand gripping Kartina’s now-lifeless neck tightened even further. As her neck compressed, the contents within seemed to surge up and down as if trying to escape.

For a moment, Serena considered how satisfying it would be to mutilate the corpse. Then, forcibly suppressing her rising anger, she gritted her teeth.

Yes, it was merely a momentary impulse that she had to resist. As much as she wanted to cut this damned woman into pieces, that would disrupt her plan.

Serena’s reason for killing Kartina was simple.

Because those worthless eyes had looked upon her lord, those worthless ears had heard her lord’s voice, that worthless nose had smelled her lord’s scent, that worthless mouth had spoken to her lord, and those worthless hands had touched and defiled her lord.

Just that—a simple and obvious reason.

That day, a brief note was added to the report.

It stated that Kartina, one of the only survivors, had gone berserk due to prolonged exposure to the sacrificial ritual, massacred the guards, and was subsequently eliminated by the Royal First Knight Commander who had rushed to the scene after sensing the disturbance.