episode_0174

Ruthka couldn’t understand the current scene.

Yuda and Emilia had appeared suddenly.

Before he could even question it, the assassins surrounding them had their heads severed.

The severed bodies lay scattered like sandcastles swept away by a wave.

The boy could only stare blankly at the scene.

Because it was too surreal.

“Are you surprised?”

Narrowed eyes approached him, seemingly unconcerned.

What had happened?

Ruthka thought for a moment, then soon put aside any questions.

It was a matter that didn’t matter now anyway.

He merely blinked his weak eyelids.

“……”

The boy’s consciousness felt as if it would cut out at any moment.

Winter was that perilous.

His body twitched occasionally from convulsing muscles.

Aside from those reactions, Ruthka couldn’t move a single finger.

Lying collapsed, he exhaled a weak breath.

“Ruthka…!”

Following that, a voice brushed his ears.

Ruthka opened his eyes with difficulty.

Beyond his blurry vision, vibrant blue hair fluttered.

Glistening blue eyes were looking down at him.

His sister-nim was holding onto her collapsed brother’s body.

“Oh, what do I do? There’s too much blood…”

Utterly battered.

A state fitting exactly that description.

The boy stood before his end.

Even if it wasn’t specifically an injury, he could feel the mana in his heart overheating.

It seemed the price for violating the contract was finally about to come.

The sensation of his muscles collapsing spread clearly.

“Ha, haha…”

Ruthka laughed.

It was to shake off any unnecessary thoughts.

In that moment, he pieced together his end.

‘That’s strange.’

It was an 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 soon realized.

Thump, thump, thump—.

That the meaning of this beat was the fact that he was still alive.

His dilated pupils savored the last moment given to him.

Just then, a precious person appeared in his vision.

“Wait! Sister, I’ll… I’ll definitely make you better…!”

A voice that struggled to reassure her brother.

However, Emilia’s pupils were trembling honestly.

Beyond that blueness, numerous emotions were discernible.

Loss.

Sorrow.

Anxiety.

Fear.

Even she, who had always been so noble, was perhaps clumsy at such farewells.

Ruthka tried hard to hide his aching heart.

Thin raindrops streamed down the boy’s cheeks.

‘Finally.’

It was finally the end.

A terrible life.

A happy ending was never permitted to them from the start.

Ruthka had ignored that reality for far too long.

But now, it was time to move on.

“Sister-nim…”

He was always sorry.

Because he felt he had become a hindrance, preventing her from leaving.

Because his existence seemed to have ruined her life.

That’s why, someday… he wanted to free her himself.

To escape this damned fate.

‘Still, is this fortunate?’

That the last faces he saw were those of his family.

Compared to his hardened resolve, it was a peaceful death.

The boy let go of his lingering regrets.

Like a season one couldn’t quite grasp.

‘I won’t hurt anymore.’

There was much he hadn’t achieved.

He still hadn’t uncovered the truth behind his parents’ deaths.

Nor had he reclaimed the Benity name that his uncle had seized.

However, he decided to leave that much to his trustworthy family.

Because his sister-nim would never give up like him.

He was just sorry for burdening her with this.

“Sister-nim…”

The boy decided not to cry.

Unlike the expression that would freely weep.

He wanted to bid farewell from his heart with a bright smile.

To this world he had loved.

To his cherished family.

To his painful life.

To his own self, who had experienced all of it.

“……Now, you are free.”

The boy spoke.

About the end.

Softly—

His powerless eyelids fluttered closed.

And so the world went dark.

As night approached, the primordial darkness sought Ruthka.

Just when his faint breaths were about to cease.

“Oh my… I apologize for momentarily spoiling the mood, but.”

Tap—.

Someone placed a hand on the boy’s solar plexus.

At the same time, a floating sensation bloomed within him.

He felt a slight sense of unfamiliarity from the point of contact.

Since his eyes wouldn’t open, he couldn’t confirm, but he knew that something was happening.

Because he heard his startled sister-nim’s voice nearby.

“Yu-Yuda…?”

The boy who had been standing by his side all along.

Juda Snakers.

It seemed he was doing something.

Creeping—.

It was a strange sensation.

Something that gently permeated his insides, relaxing his muscles.

The mana that had been surging wildly until just now slowly subsided.

The pain that had stained his entire body was being suppressed.

Even his tormented breaths began to return.

“Ugh, uh…?”

His vision finally cleared.

Ruthka noticed that the exhaustion weighing down his shoulders had vanished.

He casually looked down at his body, and there wasn’t a single wound remaining.

His broken left arm, the arrow lodged in his thigh, the gash across his forehead…

All were clean, as if they had been a lie.

“What in the world is this…?”

Moreover, even though the designated time had passed, his heart was still beating.

The boy realized his heartbeat hadn’t stopped.

His heart hadn’t exploded.

The oath had been nullified.

“How…?”

Ruthka muttered blankly.

Emilia, who was sitting next to him, also stared at the serpent with surprised eyes.

Despite the twins’ focused gaze, the boy smiled.

With mischief that hadn’t changed at all since their first meeting.

Yuda placed his index finger on his lips.

“Shh.”

Even a miracle like this.

As if it were nothing to him.

“Didn’t I tell you to be at ease?”

A strangely reassuring resonance.

Ruthka, who had been staring up at him blankly, soon lost consciousness as if his power drained.

It was none other than his sister who cradled the boy’s head.

***

The commotion was settled afterwards.

Ruthka, perhaps having exhausted his energy, simply lost consciousness.

Emilia and I moved him to the academy’s infirmary.

We left the messy scene to the academy staff who had arrived just in time.

The Benity family… the chaos stemming from their betrayal.

I felt the need to sort out the situation.

Although I had saved Ruthka and put out the immediate fire, this was merely a signal flare.

Now that this operation had failed, their movements would become even clearer.

Since the final act was approaching anyway, there was nothing to hide.

‘This is going to be bothersome.’

A trapped beast is always dangerous.

Because one never knows what fangs it might be hiding.

As such, swift suppression was key to this matter.

But before taking action, understanding the full context of the situation was also necessary.

Because I intended to overturn the board starting now.

‘Benity.’

I had to know them.

Not just knowledge from the original story, but the voices of those involved were needed.

Therefore, I talked with Emilia for a while.

About all the pain and burdens she had hidden until now.

“……Everything ended up a mess.”

The vain girl confessed.

The thorny path they had to walk.

The family stolen by traitors.

The uncle’s grasp that had always shackled them.

And lastly, the sacrifice of her brother who wished to free his sister.

The sunken girl’s eyes glimmered with shadows.

As if representing life itself.

‘I see.’

Emilia Benity, an extra from the original story.

Behind the villainess, such a story existed.

A person who had trodden a dangerously precarious life, surrounded by traitors on all sides.

Her inherently venomous personality was somewhat understandable now.

The girl had simply been afraid.

“Because there was nowhere to rely on.”

Blue eyes containing a hint of emptiness.

The vain girl’s hand held her brother’s hand, who lay in the sickbed.

For a moment, I had the illusion that her shoulders trembled.

I gently stroked her blue hair.

Slowly, adding calm whispers.

“You can rest easy now.”

“……”

“I’ve also completely undone the oath that bound the young master.”

They no longer had a reason to be bound.

Because my hand had reached them.

Ruthka’s leash was undone, and Emilia too remained at the academy.

In the original story, everyone met ruin, but the story of this world was vastly different.

I smiled gently.

“Both of you are now free.”

“You, why on earth? For what reason, would you do this much for me…?”

“Well, because I promised.”

I replied resolutely.

The promise I had made to the boy just a few days ago.

“That when you are in distress, I would be by your side to lend my strength.”

“……”

Emilia couldn’t give any particular answer.

She merely clutched at my sleeve, desperately holding back her tears.

I quietly held the girl.

Until that faint trembling ceased.

“I will be by your side.”

Silence settled in the sickroom for a while.

***

Night had fallen unnoticed.

Leaving Emilia, who had fallen asleep while guarding the sickroom, behind, I exited the infirmary.

The corridor, covered in pitch black, was dark without even a sliver of moonlight.

Just then, a hand rummaging in a pocket pulled something out.

“Hmm.”

It was a communication crystal ball.

I had picked one up at the scene earlier, and it seemed to belong to the assassins.

It was half-shattered, perhaps from being caught up in the commotion.

Moreover, they on the other side had confirmed the mission failure and even blocked the connection between the crystal balls.

I condensed shadows at my fingertips and coated the smooth surface.

The cracks covering the surface slowly mended.

A signal appeared in the extinguished light.

-Humming—.

The crystal ball hummed back to life.

I wove together the blocked signals and connected the communication to the other side.

After a few rings, the screen flickered with a blue light.

At the same time, an alarm confirming reception rang.

Ding—.

-……

Only silence flowed at the received end.

But I was certain.

That they were merely not speaking, but listening intently to my signal.

I pointed out, hoping each of them would hear.

They were the masterminds behind this attempted kidnapping.

“The Businessman, Baob, Benity.”

Murderous intent was contained in my voice.

With my eyes half-narrowed, I stepped out into the pre-dawn light.

My loosely worn coat flapped in the whipping wind.

“You have touched things you shouldn’t have.”

My people.

Where I reside.

The story I love.

I had been biding my time, but now I had a clue.

A clue to erase you from this world.

“Let’s leave it to your imagination. What price you will pay.”

Because whatever you imagine, I will return even more.

I ended the communication after that straightforward declaration.

And then I crushed the crystal ball with my grip.

Shatter—!

The fragments scattered into pieces.

Perhaps, they were the hell that certain sinners would face.

With a quiet deep breath, I turned around.

At the end of my gaze, familiar silver hair awaited.

“Commander-nim.”

It was none other than the vice-commander, Neria.

She shimmered like a beautiful grim reaper in the deathly silence.

Beyond her transparent pupils, a cold winter surged.

“All members are ready.”

“As expected, you handle things quickly.”

“If you only give the command, we can immediately begin the purge.”

“Benity… it’s about time their name was erased from the continent.”

I wore an ominous smile.

Just like that era four years ago, when I massacred the underworld.

“It’s the season of extinction.”

A short, echoing scoff.

I took my next step in the darkened world.

As I struggled to suppress the elation bubbling within me.