Chapter 226: The Witch’s Song (2)
[Calculating World Line Fixation…….]
It seemed Cain’s recent feat was significant enough to alter the World Line Fixation, as a message popped up again.
‘I wonder what the fixation rate will be when everything in Mytilene is over.’
He hoped it would be over 50%.
After all, his entire life’s effort had been dedicated to changing the world by half, and that was the connection threshold for Ain that ‘Winter’ had mentioned.
《Please, look closely.》
『Mental link detected…… harmless.』
『Mental link…… approved.』
As if waiting, a message appeared.
Cain’s world slowly ground to a halt.
The time it took for Nicholas’s severed wrist to hit the floor grew longer and longer until it finally stopped.
And over the frozen world, a scene from someone’s ‘far sight’ overlapped.
Show me.
Nicholas, with both wrists severed, went berserk, and the eyes of the auction house guards following him glazed over.
《Someone gave them a hypnotic suggestion. If anything were to happen to Nicholas, they were to detonate the bombs.》
As the six guards simultaneously reached for the crude bombs strapped to their chests.
Cain made his move.
A beat slower, the black priests of the Holy See reacted, but Cain, scattering pure white lightning, swung his sword.
It wasn’t Kyrie, minimized for the enclosed underground space. It was a surge of moonlight aura, potent enough to decapitate all six guards in an instant.
《However.》
One of the six.
The one who reported to Nicholas that he couldn’t dismember Atillina because he lacked a mithril blade, moved in that brief moment.
Click.
He was seen pressing something on his chest.
At that moment, red flames erupted from Nicholas’s eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.
《Boom!》
A playful voice echoed, laced with mischief.
It was as if this was the exact spectacle they had been hoping for.
The bomb inside Nicholas detonated, engulfing the confined underground space in a fiery inferno.
Though Cain intervened, it was already too late as he cut down the other guards. Most of the reporters were incinerated.
《This is one possible future. What will you do? It fulfills my personal vendetta, but it seems like an unfavorable outcome for the hero.》
An investigation would reveal the truth eventually.
However, if everyone who entered, the auction house members, and the reporters all perished, leaving only the hero and the Holy See, it would undoubtedly raise suspicions.
And the Commons wouldn’t let such an opportunity slip by.
Cain closed his eyes for a moment.
He could feel the link with the witch within the golden basin.
Her ‘far sight’ miracle resonated within him, allowing him to see not only what she showed but also a glimpse beyond.
[‘Winter’ is coordinating Atillina’s Redemption.]
[‘Summer’ is fascinated by how some words don’t translate properly to this world. He’s also curious about Cain’s World Line Fixation.]
He felt no resistance towards the witch’s power.
With ‘Winter’ stepping in, Cain naturally understood her miracle. He saw what Atillina endured after being captured by Nicholas.
“Atillina.”
He thought of his now-broken sword, the Sword of Despair, Agweska, a blade that could never be broken as long as his will remained unbroken.
If Agweska was such a sword, then Atillina was such a woman.
A witch who endured unimaginable torment at the hands of Nicholas, all for this moment of his demise.
Her body, torn apart and sewn back together, her own miracles used against her will, she persevered for this revenge.
In the accelerated flow of time within his mind, Cain locked eyes with Atillina.
“Are you happy?”
《Yes. Seeing that damned Nicholas explode brings me joy.》
“Why does that bring you joy?”
《……?》
Through their mental link, Atillina sensed Cain’s genuine bewilderment.
It was only natural to be happy seeing her sworn enemy, Nicholas, explode before her eyes. She couldn’t comprehend his question.
Moreover, she felt him witness a part of her past.
Yet, he still asked why.
“I’m asking why you find joy in your enemy’s death.”
《Well?》
The hero’s perspective intrigued her.
Was there a sweeter revenge than witnessing the death of one’s enemy?
“Death is an escape.”
《……!》
Cain had lived on the Great Wall.
While many within the wall were innocent souls falsely accused and forced to flee, they were outnumbered by true scum.
At first, he felt nothing watching them die.
But his thoughts gradually changed.
“They should be made to live. Not the life they once knew, but a life of hardship and misery.”
Among the guilty, there were occasionally skilled fighters.
They fought for survival on the Great Wall.
One day, two days, ten days.
In that hellish land where even breathing and drinking were luxuries, they all began to regret their past deeds.
And Cain watched.
He watched them wither away in agony.
He watched them experience true remorse only when they themselves suffered.
He watched their despair as they faced an irreversible fate.
“Death is the end of everything.”
Although Cain wouldn’t hesitate to draw his sword when necessary, he didn’t want to grant Nicholas such an easy end.
“That’s why he must live.”
《Live to…….》
“Live out the rest of his days in despair and suffering.”
A chilling smile crept across Cain’s face.
The world, momentarily paused due to his connection with Atillina, returned to its normal speed.
Just as she had ‘seen’, Nicholas’s guards indeed tried to detonate their bombs.
Clang.
Cain moved a beat faster than what Atillina had ‘seen’.
That single beat provided him with a window of opportunity.
━With my sword, I shall create peace.
The prayers forged from the blood of those who lived on the Great Wall and the hope for a brighter future manifested as a swordsmanship style.
The ‘single ray of light that cleaves through darkness’, imbued with those prayers, unleashed a pure white radiance.
Dark Sky.
Original Style.
Gloria.
The sword that once conjured an ice bridge to support a train after the Iron Bridge’s destruction now manifested its power once more.
Gloria.
From the tip of Cain’s blade, a beautiful, intricate net of light unfurled.
Though its gaps seemed large enough to let anything through, it was a chilling net that allowed nothing to escape.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The wrists of the guards, clutching the bombs, fell like puppets with their strings cut.
As the blood spraying from their wounds resembled exploding fireworks, a scene too gruesome to comprehend.
Click.
Just as Atillina had foreseen, one of the guards detonated the bomb hidden within Nicholas’s body.
Sloooooowlyyyyy.
Nicholas’s eyes widened, realizing his impending doom.
It seemed he was utterly unaware of the life-threatening measure taken against him. A contingency to silence him and erase any evidence or witnesses present.
Thud.
Cain placed his left hand, the one not holding the sword, on Nicholas’s back.
“Winter.”
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!
A massive surge of energy erupted from Cain, throwing everyone nearby off balance.
Simultaneously, a blinding white lightning bolt struck.
[‘Winter’ says she made special preparations for that bastard.]
[‘Summer’ asks to leave the recovery to him. He boasts that even if he’s disintegrated into nanometer-sized particles by the Tristan-Hazel reflection, he’ll catch them all, then expresses surprise that he can even convey such a message now.]
[‘Winter’ sighs, telling him to watch his mouth.]
Cain chuckled at his sacred treasures’ antics.
The miracle he desired.
He was grateful for his sacred treasures, always there to lend a hand in achieving the impossible.
And so.
“AAAAARGH!”
A torrent of pure white lightning engulfed Nicholas. The light was so blinding that the reporters could only point their cameras in his direction, their eyes shut tight.
The members of the Holy See, along with Aurelia, clasped their hands together, eyes squeezed shut.
Though he couldn’t be sure why they prayed, Cain assumed it was for the best and continued unleashing his lightning.
“Kill me! Kill me! AAAAAARGH!”
Cain’s senses extended along with the lightning. In an instant, he infiltrated Nicholas’s body and discovered a small bomb hidden in a tiny cavity beneath his ribs.
He could even sense the old scar, as if it had been implanted when Nicholas was very young, cut open, and sewn shut.
[‘Winter’ clicks her tongue, commenting on how ruthless those people are.]
Even Nicholas, who considered himself somewhat intelligent, was ultimately a disposable tool.
Just like now.
Cain’s lightning instantly enveloped the small bomb.
Fizzle.
A tiny pop, audible only to Cain, echoed. It was a bomb powerful enough to obliterate Nicholas’s entire body, yet within the white lightning, it was rendered insignificant.
Like a bomb detonated in the deepest abyss, its existence erased without a trace.
“Gurk……”
Cain withdrew his hand.
Thump.
Nicholas’s body collapsed onto the floor.
As the white light subsided, Cain brushed back his hair and addressed everyone present.
“Suspect apprehended.”
It was a stretch to call it an apprehension, considering he had severed all the suspect’s wrists and electrocuted him.
Click, click, click!
But in the end, he had saved everyone, including his enemies, so it wasn’t entirely inaccurate.
The reporters, mouths agape, snapped pictures, while the members of the Holy See made the sign of the cross in unison.
And within the basin.
Atillina shed tears.
Tears of joy, a true revenge orchestrated by the hero.
🔹🔹🔹
“Suspect apprehended!”
Morning, holding up a newspaper extra with Cain’s face plastered across the front page, mimicked his gesture, brushing back her hair.
“What do you think? Identical, right? Look, look! Suspect apprehended!”
News of the incident in the underground auction house spread like wildfire.
Newspapers printed extras, and by the next day, Cain’s face was plastered all over the dailies.
Aurelia played a significant role in ensuring that the story of the witch, Atillina, was included.
While publicly discussing a witch deemed a heretic by the Holy See was frowned upon, she skillfully steered the narrative, stating that all matters related to the witch would be addressed at the upcoming 〈Autumn Council〉, allowing for Atillina’s story to be published.
“Look at me too! Suspect apprehended!”
It was Olivia.
She, too, mirrored Morning’s playful demeanor, and the two women exchanged amused glances.
Who would have thought that the kingdom’s princess and the Administrative Duke of the Empire would find such joy in teasing someone?
“Sigh.”
Cain sighed and turned to Elena. Unlike the two women brimming with mischief, Elena always remained composed, and seeing her like this was a bit……
Subtly.
Elena lowered her hand.
It was evident that she, too, had been about to mimic the gesture of brushing back her hair.
“You……”
“I’m not.”
“Don’t tell me…”
“It does look fun, and I’d love to join in, but I won’t.”
[Calculating World Line Fixation…….]
The message reappeared.
Who would have thought that the ever-stoic Iron-Blooded Princess, devoid of tears or blood, would harbor such playful tendencies?
It was a testament to how much the world had changed that such a side of her could be witnessed.
Cain couldn’t help but chuckle.
“We’ve secured Nicholas on our ship.”
Lourens chimed in.
“The Empire’s sending someone to pick him up?”
Cain turned to Lourens, who instinctively began to raise his hand.
Crackle.
However, upon seeing the white lightning crackling in Cain’s left hand, he quickly lowered it and spoke.
“Yes, they said it would be difficult for their ship to reach Lesbos due to the shallow waters, so they’re sending an airship to a small airfield in the south……”
At that moment.
BOOOM!
[Calculating World Line Fixation…….]
An explosion rocked the building, shattering the windows.
In the distance, a plume of red flames and black smoke billowed into the sky.
“Isn’t that the airfield!?”
Morning exclaimed in shock, turning to Lourens.
“You said you put him on a ship?”
Cain asked, bewildered.
Lourens, gripping the railing, his expression grave, replied,
“To continue what I was saying, I didn’t trust their word, so I put him on our ship.”
Lourens hadn’t earned his position as the Head of the Special Intelligence Division for nothing.
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