“Li, Ly…”

Owen’s voice emerged as he struggled to move his mouth attempting to say something.

But I didn’t want to listen to his final words.

I stepped on his head with my foot. My long-held hatred writhed and revived within me. He was the source of my misfortunes, the murderer of my mother, the worst criminal who massacred countless people and plunged the world into despair.

You deserve to die.

“It’s such a pity you can’t see how pathetic you look now, Owen.”

“Uh… Uh, ah…”

“Didn’t you always say? I belong to you. That I would never escape your grasp…”

Owen used to repeat that often. Each time, it made the powerless past me feel helpless and desperate.

“You were wrong.”

“Li… Ly…”

“I don’t belong to you. And I belong to no one.”

“Ku… Uh…”

“And now, there’s nothing left in your grasp.”

So now, it’s your turn to feel helpless and desperate—

I whispered to him with scorn.

“The Everett family was hell for me. You and Father were the gatekeepers of that hell.”

“…”

“I always thought of you as cruel devils. But… thinking about it now, you’re not like devils. You’re just human.”

Ugly, vile humans.

Humans who chose to torment others, to take what wasn’t theirs, to commit sins against others.

Humans with the same red blood, who will return to dust upon death.

“You are neither a devil nor anything grand.”

“Uh…”

“Just mere humans, unable to escape a fair death.”

People delude themselves thinking life is eternal.

They believe they will enjoy eternal life, that the wealth and power they hold are endless.

But this is how it ends.

Death is simple and fair for everyone.

“I would leave you to die on your own… but I want you to die in the most painful way possible, Owen Everett.”

“You… , me…”

“I wish for you to suffer and die… As much as the sins you’ve committed, as much as the suffering you inflicted on others.”

That way, perhaps it could appease the souls that were used as materials for the evil spirit.

“And I wish for your soul to find no peace even in death.”

With that final curse, I unleashed Somnia’s power on Owen.

Soon after Somnia infiltrated his mind, Owen breathed his last.

His end was absurdly meaningless.

— Lily~

‘Good job.’

Having completed its task, Somnia fluttered back to me. I let it wrap around my arm and asked.

‘What did you do?’

— Hmm, it’s a bit complicated… but to put it simply, I fragmented time into extremely small pieces, making it feel like an incredibly long period. It might have been just 5 minutes in reality, but for Owen, it would have felt like an eternity, as long as 500 years. During that long period, he experienced only the most horrific things, until he finally met the most miserable end. …Hehe, how about that? Are you satisfied?

Somnia, looking quite wicked as she looked rather pleased with herself. But considering the target was Owen, it didn’t seem like an excessive action. I stroked Somnia, nodding in approval.

‘I like it. Well done.’

— Ehehehehe.

After caressing Somnia’s silk-like form a few more times, I approached Theodore.

He was still asleep. As expected…. it was uncertain when he would awaken.

‘I need to bring Zen as soon as possible.’

Just as I was about to move my steps, a sudden dizziness overwhelmed me, and I found myself collapsing to the ground.

— Lily! Are you okay?!

My head was spinning. A ringing echoed in my ears, and my vision flickered to black.

Damn… My own body is holding me back again.

— Lily, just stay here. I’ll bring Zen Delacroix.

‘…You?’

It’s not a difficult task, you know. With your current condition, you can barely move a step.

After a moment of consideration, I nodded. Somnia was right. I had probably reached my limit due to overexertion, and my body was not in a normal state.

‘I might even die suddenly like this…’

After Somnia left to find Zen, I sat beside Theodore and looked down at him.

His pale face had a faint hint of color returning. I managed to control the emotions welling up within me and gently caressed his cheek.

“Theodore…”

When will you regain consciousness? Even if I were to die now, I wish to see you waking up safely.

My trembling hand moved to rest on Theodore’s left chest. The heartbeat that was much stronger than before, was clearer. The pulsation gave me a strange sense of comfort. At the same time, for some unknown reason, tears welled up in my eyes.

With my other hand, I wiped the tears away. My wet lashes blinked a couple of times, and it was at that very moment.

Theodore’s eyelids twitched. As if trying to wake up from a shallow sleep, his facial muscles subtly twitched. I softly called out to him.

“Theodore…?”

Then, with a slight frown, Theodore finally opened his eyes.

__