Novel Full Chapter 686: Revenge
Chapter 686: Revenge
He couldn’t let her go.
He couldn’t choose between them.
For the first time in as long as he could remember, he—the man who always walked forward no matter what—stopped.
His feet refused to take the next step.
His path split before him, and both roads he held dear to him.
And that, Neo realized, was Vivienne’s revenge.
She had no intentions of hurting him directly.
She wanted to force the Witch of Gluttony to see this hesitation in him.
That this was the result of her devotion for Neo.
“You can leave now,” Vivienne said.
Neo didn’t argue.
He wanted to leave.
His chest was still heavy from the weight of her words, and staying here any longer felt unbearable.
He turned without looking back and walked out of the castle.
Once outside, he stopped.
The sky stretched over him, calm and indifferent, as if it had no idea what had just happened.
He stared at it, trying to quiet the noise in his head.
Where should he go now?
For a moment, the thought of meeting his parents crossed his mind.
Even if he couldn’t enter his Cosmos right now, there should be a way to communicate.
’No… let’s do it later.’
The idea of seeing them right now twisted his stomach.
His head already felt like it was splitting apart, and he knew if he saw Hades and heard even a single word of apology, it wouldn’t make him feel better.
It would only make him explode.
’What right do I have to tell him he treated me badly, after the way I’m treating Moraine?’
The thought made him feel worse.
He kept his eyes on the sky.
“Moraine.”
He spoke slowly, forcing the tremor out of his voice.
“Are you there?”
There was no answer.
He knew why.
Darkness was unlike other elements.
Most elementals shared a hive mind but still retained their individuality.
Darkness wasn’t like that.
All darkness elementals were fully connected, without separation.
That meant Moraine couldn’t just send a fragment of herself here like other Supremes could.
She either manifested completely or not at all.
There was no in-between.
“Damn it.”
He reached for his Grim Reaper badge, wanting to go back to earth, but he stopped midway.
“….I’ll return to Earth on my own. No need to use the badge.”
The repulsion he felt toward his own bloodline was now directed at the ones he had always held dear.
At Hades, and the Grim reaper.
At the mother who lied and told him he was her son.
And at himself, who couldn’t tell Moraine that he loved her.
The sound of footsteps pulled him out of his thoughts.
Kevin emerged from the gates of the castle, walking toward him.
“I’m sorry,” Kevin said after a pause. “I didn’t think you would actually have another lover.”
Neo said nothing.
“I only brought you back so Vivienne could move on from her past. I thought it might help you too, since you’d remember Gluttony.”
“…Vivienne didn’t know about my current life?” Neo asked.
“She doesn’t. Or rather, she can’t. Most of her Authority was stolen during the war.”
“Stolen?” Neo gave a short, humorless laugh. “Are you lying now? Rather, you were clearly hostile to me before, and now you’re making it sound like you’ve been a kind person all along?”
Neo, who had always spoken with at least some basic politeness, didn’t realize how much venom had slipped into his words.
A twisted part of him wanted to inflict pain on someone else, as if it might lessen his own.
“I never helped you, but I never intended to harm you either.”
Neo’s eyes narrowed, but he stayed silent.
Kevin looked down briefly, then raised his head again.
It seemed as if he had made a decision.
“Follow me. There’s something we need to talk about.”
“Why do you suddenly want to talk? Wouldn’t your Witch hate that? Or did she send you to say something worse?”
“She doesn’t know I’m with you.”
Neo didn’t answer, so Kevin sighed.
“Just come. It’s about your Witch.”
Even though Neo didn’t want to see Kevin’s face any longer than necessary, the mention of Moraine was enough to make him follow.
They walked in silence through the forest.
Leaves rustled underfoot, and distant sounds of wind in the branches filled the gaps between steps.
Kevin didn’t speak right away.
It felt like he was organizing his thoughts before saying anything.
When he finally did speak, his tone was even.
“The Universe Creation Era. Most people think it was the war that decided the rulers of the Tenth Eon.
“But for those of us involved… it was the war between Hades and the Devil of the Tenth Eon.”
Neo kept his gaze forward but listened.
“That war shaped the laws of the Cosmos and the universe as we know it. Quite a lot happened during it.
“The [Infinite Neverborn Branches] were born. The [Eternal Council] was created. A lot more happened that defined the new Laws.
“That’s why we kept the name the Universe Creation Era.”
Kevin’s pace didn’t slow.
“During the war, one of the main reasons Hades could be defeated was Gluttony. She’d grown powerful enough to fight him directly. Her power had become so dangerous that even her sisters feared her.”
Kevin glanced back briefly at Neo.
Seeing his expression, he wanted to offer words of comfort, but decided against it.
“Do you know that Witches are immortal?”
Neo didn’t answer, and Kevin didn’t wait for one.
“That’s what everyone believed, until Gluttony proved otherwise. She devoured two Witches and killed them permanently. She also took most of Vivienne’s Authority.”
“…What?”
Neo’s steps faltered for the first time since they’d started walking.
“Witches can be killed. But only Gluttony can do it. After she killed the previous Witch of Pride and the Witch of Lust, new ones were chosen. Or supposed to be chosen.”
The words brought up a memory in Neo’s mind.
Zera de Beaufort.
The Witch.
The Void Dragon
Her clone had become known on Earth as the goddess of love, Aphrodite.
She had told him she was a ’new’ Witch and didn’t know much about the other witches.