“Haahm… Time isn’t passing today.”
The Lordship of Praksh.
Mika, who was on duty, let out a long yawn.
The drowsiness she exhaled infected the air, causing Torres, who was next to her, to stretch his yawn as well.
“Ugh, yeah. Usually, it feels like this time would be over, but today, time really isn’t moving at all.”
“Could you not share a fun story or something?”
“Look at this guy. Are you telling me to act like a clown?”
“No, that’s not it~ I just want to hear the great exploits of my senior. You’ve been doing this longer than I have, so you must have had lots of experiences.”
Mika slipped into her role as if she had done it many times before. The gullible Torres fell for Mika’s flattery without any suspicion.
“That’s true. I’ve been working here for ten years already. I’ve seen a lot.”
“So please tell me an interesting story.”
“Hm, what should I talk about? Ah, right. Do you know that there was a witch who came into Praksh?”
“I know, of course. It caused chaos back then, right? Wait, did you catch the witch?”
Torres shook his head.
“Not the witch, but I caught her father. He not only fathered the witch, but he also tried to hide it. He was so ruthless that even under torture, he wouldn’t utter a word.”
“Protecting the witch? That’s insane.”
Torres sighed.
He looked tired, as if recalling those times was a heavy burden.
“It must have been infatuation with the witch. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have protected her. But don’t worry. I personally ended his life. When I had him hanging, I kicked his guts out… Why do you look like that?”
Torres was unable to finish his sentence as he reenacted that moment. Mika’s expression was off.
Her pale face matched that of someone who had witnessed something they shouldn’t have. As if they had seen the Death God in person.
“Se-senior… b-behind…”
“Huh? Behind?”
With a lethargic expression, Torres turned to look behind him. Floating in the air behind him was a Death God wielding a sickle, scattering indigo smoke.
Torres blinked in disbelief.
“Did I doze off…?”
He rubbed his eyes.
But no matter how much he rubbed and blinked, the Death God didn’t disappear. He realized at that moment that this was not a dream but reality.
“W-what the hell!”
In shock, Torres reached for his sword.
But before he could, the Death God’s sickle swept past him.
Swoosh!
“Snap.”
Crimson blood sprayed in an arc following the sickle’s trajectory. With a muffled sound, Torres’ body was slashed into pieces, like sliced cheese.
A pure white soul floated from Torres’ fallen body, circling around the Death God.
“Hiiyik!”
Mika let out a bird-like scream and crouched down. She was covered in Torres’ blood.
The Death God is the one who takes lives.
The aura of death exuding from the Death God instilled primal fear in living beings, so it was no wonder that Mika’s trembling lower body became damp, and a wet sound echoed through the corridor.
“P-please s-save me…”
Mika struggled to form a coherent plea. The Death God looked down at her and approached.
Crouching down and covering her face with her arms, Mika was passed through by the Death God, who then vanished down the corridor.
Mika turned around with a dazed expression.
A moment later, terrible screams echoed from the direction where the Death God had disappeared.
This is hell.
This must be a dream. Yeah, this couldn’t possibly be reality. When I wake up, I’ll see the familiar ceiling of my room.
Mika stopped thinking and fell over with a thud.
“Hang in there, hang in there!”
The church in the city of Agartha.
Out of nowhere, a Death God appeared, attacking the barrier laid out in the church with its sickle.
“I can’t hold on!”
One of the saints, sweating profusely, shouted while sustaining the barrier.
This was no ordinary Death God.
It was composed of murderous resentment and immense magical power.
Moreover, the attacks wielded by the Death God carried intense malice, making one feel they were attacking their parents’ enemies within the barrier.
Boom!
With a single blow, the barrier cracked.
The seven clerics combined their strength to restore the barrier, but it was futile. The moment they allowed that initial attack, there had been irreparable damage to the barrier.
Pieces began to fall away from the barrier.
Destruction was only a matter of time.
The Death God raised the sickle high in the sky, ready to split the moon in two, and came crashing down.
This attack couldn’t be stopped.
Everyone sensed it.
“B-break!”
The sickle descended in a circular arc.
Boom!
Without even a moment’s resistance, the barrier shattered into oblivion. The priests holding out were flung back by the backlash.
The church, devoid of its barrier.
Now it was a stage for the Death God.
The Death God soared above the heads of the people, moving back and forth. Its gaze searched as if it was looking for someone.
In the Death God’s line of sight, two individuals were spotted. In an instant, the Death God darted toward them and took a swing with its sickle. One of the knights clad in holy armor was sliced in two.
“Guh.”
Continuing its movement, the Death God twisted its neck.
The priest who made eye contact with it flinched as if struck by lightning. Slowly retreating, he then fled with all his might. The Death God glided through the air, effortlessly chasing him.
“Why, why me?! There are so many people here!”
The priest, who was quite accustomed to fleeing, dashed away. It was as if the goddess of fortune was smiling upon him, narrowly avoiding the sickle.
But in the presence of a Death God, luck was useless as the Death God swung its sickle wide.
A crescent-shaped strike launched from the sickle.
“Wait, waaaaaaaait—!”
The fleeing priest turned around and reached out, but it was a helpless endeavor.
Swish.
With a smooth slicing sound, the priest’s body was cleaved in half vertically. His screaming face split apart.
From the mangled corpses of the two clerics, their souls extracted themselves.
“T-they’re taking the souls! Stop! Stop them by any means necessary!”
The knights swung their swords, and the priests cast their blessings, but they were effortlessly nullified by the swings of the Death God’s sickle.
“Everything’s ready!”
Just as a priest gathered his holy power to its peak and was about to cast a holy spell,
Shururuk.
The Death God vanished as if being sucked into a point.
Is it hiding?
Or waiting for the right moment outside?
They remained on high alert, not allowing their guard to drop, and it wasn’t until dawn that they realized the Death God had disappeared.
They wondered if they had been enchanted by the Death God last night, but the corpses strewn across the floor reminded them of the harsh reality.
That day, the Death God claimed a total of twelve lives.
Their souls vanished without a trace.
At dawn.
The Death God’s agent’s agent. In other words, the subcontractor’s subcontractor completed the revenge and returned.
A blood-soaked sickle.
There were twelve souls swirling around the Death God.
All of them belonged to those who directly harmed Mirabel’s parents. With their souls now in the grasp of the Death God, there would be no peace for them.
The cycle of pain would repeat until the day their souls wear away.
‘Is this the end…?’
Having finished her revenge, Mirabel gazed up at the sky. Her profile looking at the dawn appeared somewhat relieved, much better than before.
Mirabel had grown once again today.
At the moment she read the Magic Book, it seemed she was recognized as a master, as the Magic Book that would have turned to ash appeared at her call.
‘It was shocking to turn my father into a Death God, but…’
That must mean he wanted to be with me that much.
The Death God’s agent.
The Witch of Judgment.
And even the Soul Magic Book.
These three elements combined perfectly to complete a single magic spell. She had reached the point of creating her own magic, even without anyone having taught her.
There was no more reason to interfere with Mirabel.
Not in her growth.
Not in her mind.
“Lady Mirabel, it’s time to leave. It will get noisy when people start waking up.”
“……”
Mirabel, lost in thought, stared up at the sky without responding. In that moment, people began to emerge to prepare for business. She met the gaze of an old woman, and her eyes fell on the girl’s skull in her hand.
“Uh… huh? What’s that…?”
“Good morning, ma’am.”
“Huh? Yes, good morning. But, what about that thing in your hand…?”
“You don’t need to worry. I’m just trying to return it to where it originally belonged.”
Unfortunately, it seemed that the shock was too great for a quick dismissal. The old woman’s eyes widened as if she had seen a ghost.
“Th-thief! You’re stealing the witch’s skull!”
“Haha, stealing? This isn’t yours. I may be a slave trader, but I’m not that immoral.”
Repeating the correct words didn’t seem to help. If it did, I wouldn’t be called the Death God.
I took off with Mirabel, who was still in a daze. Fortunately, the guards didn’t chase us. With the chaos earlier, who would bother to catch thieves?
Taking advantage of the lax security, I dashed out of the castle and escaped Praksh. A filthy city. I’ll never come back.
Now, the destination I must head to is the location where the true ending of the story is hidden, and since it’s near Praksh, there’s no need to take a carriage.
Mirabel’s ending route is divided into three main paths.
The first is recovery.
This can be made at any time if she heals her mentality.
The second is revenge.
After mastering the Soul Magic Book, she will meet Harold’s soul in Praksh. Discovering the detailed background and eliminating the sources of tragedy.
And the final route.
The keyword is reunion.
A meeting with someone dear whom she thought she would never see again.
It’s time to meet Mirabel’s mother.
