Condel couldn’t answer immediately. His head was in a mess, and he imagined a scene of Sia smiling beside Zich after she was resurrected. His mind and body felt like they were twisting, and all sorts of curses rose to his throat. Dark thoughts popped up in his head and wandered everywhere.
‘It can’t happen!’
It couldn’t happen no matter what. Should he ask Zich to kill Sia? But was killing his lover because he didn’t want her to find another lover really the right thing to do when she could be resurrected? Should he simply wish for his lover’s happiness here? His critical injuries and Zich’s flicking tongue disrupted his mind and prevented him from coming up with a clear answer, and that left him in the worst situation possible. What Zich was waiting for wasn’t Condel’s response, but this ongoing silence right now.
“You are thinking about it.” Zich began to talk again. “You were yapping about your lover’s happiness, but now you want her to die and follow you.”
Condel looked stunned.
“I know without you telling me. Even if you want me to kill Sia Rubrent, your conscience is preventing you from asking me outright. Even I think that asking me to kill your lover for your greediness is a very embarrassing thing to do. Especially when you went on and on about the power and sacredness of your love.”
“That’s not it!”
“No? Ah, I see. Is your love simply a justification for all your sinful actions? What you wanted wasn’t Sia Rubrent’s happiness. You just wanted your happiness. You saw your lover as your puppet, a tool to satisfy your cravings.”
“That’s a lie!” Ignoring the pain he felt in his stomach, Condel clutched Zich’s collars. Yet, there wasn’t much strength in his body as he was dying. His hand slid down, but Condel kept stretching out his hand. Zich didn’t stop him either. Condel’s helpless movements that had the effect of a fly had no meaning; they simply made Zich happier.
“If you really loved Sia Rubrent, shouldn’t you die peacefully with the thought that she may be able to stay alive and live a different life? Look at you right now. You want to tie up your lover’s new life with your greed, and you secretly want the enemy you loathe the most to kill her.”
“I told you that’s not true! You damn bastard!”
“If it isn’t, why are you denying it so desperately? You should just ignore my words. Aren’t you acting like this because I stirred something inside your heart?”
“You bas—! Cough!” Condel vomited blood. It was a much larger amount of blood than before. His breathing became rougher. He glanced at Condel’s stomach and saw the shadows that covered it were much fainter now.
‘Is it almost over?’
If Condel was a normal human, he would have immediately died from the injury he got. He was able to survive until now because of his ability, but it was difficult for him to endure more than this. Zich stared at Condel who no longer had the peace he had when he let down everything. All he had was rage, loathe, anxiety, and despair. It was a very satisfying situation for Zich. He couldn’t let the guy who bothered Joachim and Evelyn die peacefully.
Zich looked towards Sia Rubrent once and then looked at Condel again. “I will also tell Sia Rubrent what happened just now when she resurrects—that you wanted her death as your last dying wish.”
Condel’s mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out—just a strange-sounding wind. His pupils also dilated and lost focus. Worried that Condel was also losing his hearing, Zich crouched and whispered into his ear, “If you can see from Hell, I hope you do. I hope you watch the love Sia and I will grow in this world. If what you said was right, I’m sure our love would also be very sacred.”
Thud!
Condel’s body sprang up. The loathing he had for Zich allowed him to show his final resistance, but that was all there was to it. Zich stared down at Condel’s face. His face was twisted as if all the negative emotions in the world had formed it. Yet, it no longer moved nor breathed, and the shadows which had blocked Condel’s wounds all disappeared. Condel was dead. His life was cut short as he struggled with the despair of his current situation and worries of the future he dreaded. It was also the moment the kidnapping incidents that had gripped Janmalpi came to an end.
Zich got up. He strung Windur on his back and turned around. His movements were light. His face looked refreshed and completely contrasted the face of dead Condel. Lyla watched his actions quietly from behind, and followed after him. Other companions also followed her and Zich.
“Are you done?” Lyla asked Zich.
“Yeah.”
“Are you satisfied?”
“Perfectly.”
“Thank goodness.”
If Zich wasn’t satisfied after driving someone to such a pit of despair, Lyla would have been stunned even if she was quite used to him now. She was able to sigh in relief since Zich seemed satisfied. Then, she looked at Condel. She saw his face which appeared to have died while embracing all kinds of pain and clicked her tongue. She thought, ‘He shouldn’t have bothered Joachim Dracul and Evelyn Rouge.’ If only Condel hadn’t messed with those two, he would have been able to have a bit less painful death.
After Lyla pondered over Condel’s wrong decision for a bit, she looked towards Sia Rubrent. As soon as Condel breathed his last, her corpse fell onto the ground like a cut piece of thread. Her face was peaceful, unlike the painful face of her lover. Their contrasting faces seemed to highlight Condel’s foolishness.
“It seems like the effect on Sia Rubrent is gone with Condel Siede’s death.”
“That’s what he said— that his ability will be released once he is dead,” Zich responded bluntly. Seeing how he responded to Lyla as if she was saying the most obvious thing ever after Zich’s speech to Condel, it was clear that Zich’s brazenness knew no bounds.
“Are you saying Condel Siede’s final worries about her were meaningless?”
“Yeah. Well, I have no regrets since I sent him off uncomfortably.” Then, Zich added, “Since I don’t know a way to torture someone even after they die.”
“…”
It was as if Zich was indicating that he would torment Condel more if there was a method to do so after everything he had done. Even Hans shuddered although he had been with Zich the longest. Now, Zich completely lost interest in Condel and Sia and went down to the island. He saw corpses spread haphazardly all over the ground; they had lost strength after Condel died. The victims’ families could now retrieve the victim’s bodies and find peace.
However, the sight of the corpses would be devastating for the people hoping that their lovers or family members were still alive. Zich passed by the corpses and stepped off the island. After Condel died, all the black liquid disappeared, and clear water now replaced their place.
Zich approached Glen. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” Glen got up. It seemed as if he just finished healing himself with potions, since there didn’t seem to be any injuries on his body. However, Lara seemed to be worried about him as she helped prop him up.
Glen said, “You defeated them by yourself.”
“Yes, it somehow turned out like that.”
Glen apologized, “I’m sorry I couldn’t be of help.”
While Zich humbly denied Glen’s words, he carefully scanned Glen’s face. Was he being sincere? Or was he simply putting up a mask? It was difficult to tell from just his face.
Glen stared at Condel who was sprawled on the ground. “He tried to resurrect a dead person. No matter how deep a person’s love is, it’s an impossible feat. It also shouldn’t be done. A dead person can never come back alive.”
Glen’s words seemed reasonable enough. In the first place, Zich respected people’s opinions and thoughts, so he didn’t say anything against them. However, it was a whole different matter if Glen’s words contradicted his actions.
‘And what about me?’
Before he regressed, Zich definitely died. However, he was able to miraculously regress and gain youth, a new life, and a new chance. In a way, his regression was more extraordinary than resurrecting a dead person. Moreover, Zich was suspicious that Glen might have performed this miraculous feat many times.
‘This bastard, he might be even bigger trash than I thought.’ A person that he, a trash among trashes, admitted was trash—just the thought of it was enough to make a person dizzy.
While staring at Condel’s corpse with a sad face, Glen said, “But, Mr. Zich.”
Glen’s voice didn’t sound too good, and it didn’t seem like he was going to mention a pleasant topic. “Did you really have to mock Mr. Siede like that even till the very end? The victor had already been decided.”
Zich shrugged his shoulders. “Yes, I didn’t need to do that. I merely did that because I wanted to.”
“…I can’t say that it’s a good hobby.”
“Well, aren’t hobbies just what you enjoy? As long as I don’t harm others, I think it’s fine for me to do whatever I want.”
“And that includes torturing someone who’s about to die?”
“I don’t think his crimes are light enough to be forgiven with just his death. If a victim of his crime or someone related to the victims saw my actions, they would be overjoyed. Isn’t that right?”
The atmosphere was heavy. Even though the battle was over, the two leaders of two groups made the atmosphere awkward and tense. At that moment, a large number of footsteps came from the direction of the tunnel. The sound of footsteps hitting water slowly came closer and closer. Zich moved his eyes away from Glen’s face and stared in the direction of the tunnel.
He said, “It seems like our support has arrived.” Even though they were late, he didn’t mind. Since they were late, he was able to decorate Condel’s last journey to the afterlife with thorns and needles. Zich turned his head back to Glen who was still staring at him with disapproving eyes.
Zich lightly tapped Glen’s shoulder, “We have very different opinions. Well, I knew this already, so it’s nothing surprising. Let’s just not bother each other and walk along our respective paths. I respect your opinions as well.”
Then, Zich turned his back. He needed to explain the situation to the support that had just arrived. However, before Zich could start moving, Glen stopped him first, “What if I can’t respect your opinion?”
A heavy tension surrounded the two groups. Hans put his hands on Estellade’s scabbard, and Snoc focused his attention on the ground. Lyla scanned the situation coldly. Lara and Elena were swept by the heavy atmosphere and nervously gauged Zich and Glen’s next actions.
Splash! Zich took one step forward towards Glen. He slowly moved forward. People’s nervous gazes followed Zich’s movements.
Splash! Zich stopped right in front of Glen. Even though he didn’t hold up his weapon, it felt like a sword fight would erupt at any moment. Then, Zich stared intently at Glen and laughed.
He said, “We have conflicting opinions, and it seems like you won’t respect my opinion. In that case, I can only think of two solutions. The first one is persuasion; by using this method, you can settle the situation peacefully. However, I have no intention of changing my opinion and listening to your persuasion. Then, I guess there’s only one method left.”
Zich put his hand forward and clenched it to make a fist. “Strength.”
The smile disappeared from Zich’s face. “If you can’t respect my opinion and don’t like what I’m doing, that’s the only way to stop me.”
“…I understand. If something like this happens next time, I’ll be sure to remember your advice.”
Their gazes briefly met. Zich smiled again. “I hope my advice will be helpful to you.”
Then, Zich finally turned his back and headed towards the support unit. Zich’s companions followed him while Glen remained still and watched Zich’s back.
Like this, the serial kidnapping cases of lovers in Janmalpi met their end.
