Chapter 135: Till Death Do Us Part?

Chapter 135. Till Death Do Us Part?

For a brief moment, the sea looked as though it had been set ablaze. Golden light spread across the waves, climbing the cliffs and illuminating the ruined cave where a wedding had taken place only hours earlier.

Then the sunlight reached Elena. The preservation formation flickered. I felt it immediately. A thin crack appeared along her cheek. Then another. Gray dust slipped from her fingertips, scattering across Theo’s lap.

His arms tightened around her, and his lips trembled as he lowered his face toward her hair. The cracks spread. Her skin began crumbling, exposing the fragile bones beneath. What remained of her flesh slowly disintegrated, turning into fine gray particles that drifted away with the morning breeze.

I could have looked away. Perhaps I should have. But I didn’t.

Theo was crying. His tears fell silently onto Elena’s wedding dress as he held her against his chest. He didn’t scream. He didn’t beg me to extend the spell or demand that I perform another miracle. He already understood.

He held her until the last possible second. Eventually, only her white wedding dress, skull, and several fragile bones remained. Theo gathered them into his arms. He pressed the dress against his chest, clutching the remains so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His shoulders shook, but he made no sound.

Beside me, Cassian turned his face away. Perhaps he couldn’t bear to watch. Or perhaps he understood Theo’s grief better than I’d realized.

After all, Cassian had known both of them since childhood. He’d watched them grow up, watched their paths separate, and watched Theo return to Lumenford only to discover that the girl he’d promised to marry had fallen in love with someone else. Maybe that was why he’d assigned Theo to accompany me. Not merely because his assistant knew the details of the investigation. Perhaps Cassian had hoped that finding Elena would finally give Theo the happiness he’d been chasing. Instead, he’d given him the chance to say goodbye.

I lowered my gaze. There was nothing left for me to do. Then something caught my attention. A tiny red light appeared beyond the cliff. At first, it resembled a spark carried by the wind. But as it approached, I recognized the shape of a small bird. Its wings were made of crimson flames, and its body glowed like a living ember. Yet the fire produced no smoke, and the air around it remained strangely undisturbed.

I extended my palm. The little firebird landed on my hand, folding its wings before dissolving into hundreds of glowing particles. A familiar magical signature flowed through my fingertips.

Then Seris’s voice echoed inside my mind.

"All preparations are complete. The rumors have been spread. The Light Temple has learned that you came to Lumenford to investigate the disappearances."

The remaining fire particles circled my wrist.

"They’ve already dispatched their people. Officially, they’re coming to assist you with the investigation. Unofficially, they intend to take credit for solving the case and make you look incompetent."

The message ended. The last sparks vanished into the air.

For several seconds, I stared at my empty palm. Then a faint, wicked smile spread across my lips. Ah... So the game was finally beginning. How considerate of them.

They hadn’t even bothered to confirm whether the investigation was still ongoing. Unfortunately for them, the investigation was already over.

We remained at the cliff until Theo finally calmed down. I didn’t rush him. Neither did Cassian.

Once he could stand, I performed one final inspection of Elena’s remains, checking for lingering necromantic energy, parasitic fragments, and residual corruption. There was nothing. Only after confirming that did I allow Theo to gather her bones inside the folded wedding dress.

Before leaving, I used Obsidian Earth Manipulation to restore the cave to its original condition. Naturally, I removed all the carved runes and forbidden formations. I wasn’t leaving another ritual site behind.

We returned to Lumenford in silence.

Theo walked with his head lowered, clutching the bundle against his chest. Cassian remained beside him, occasionally offering support whenever his exhausted legs faltered. I stayed close enough to intervene if necessary. None of us spoke.

By the time we reached the town, the streets were already stirring with early-morning activity. News of the rescued brides had spread. Families were gathering near the medical facilities, desperate to see their daughters, sisters, and fiancées. There were tears. Relief. People embracing one another after believing they might never meet again.

I watched them from a distance.

Cassian arranged for Elena’s remains to be placed inside a coffin. A proper one. The finest available at such short notice. The interior was lined with soft white fabric, and the coffin was surrounded by flowers gathered from Lumenford’s gardens.

Theo personally arranged several of them beside her wedding dress. He also placed the seashell ring I’d created among her remains. The other ring stayed on his finger. I noticed that. But I said nothing. Cassian decided Elena would receive a proper burial once the necessary arrangements were completed.

But the person who surprised me was Adrian.

Adrian showed up not long after, probably because he’d heard Elena had been found. But the moment he saw what was left of her inside the coffin, his face twisted. "What the hell happened to her?"

He stared at her remains for a while before his eyes landed on the white wedding dress. "Wait. You’re seriously going to bury her in that dress? That’s supposed to be our wedding dress. We weren’t even married yet."

I slowly turned toward him. That was what bothering him? Not the fact that his fiancée was dead.

Beside the coffin, Theo’s expression darkened. His fists clenched, and he stepped forward. "She’s my—"

"Theo." Cassian immediately grabbed his shoulder, stopping him before he could finish. Then he turned to Adrian. "That’s the dress she was wearing when we found her. We’re not taking it off."

Adrian frowned, clearly unhappy with the answer, but he didn’t argue.

Instead, he gave the coffin one last look. "Whatever. Since the wedding never happened, Elena and I aren’t connected anymore. Just make sure nobody starts calling me her widower." And just like that, he left.

I watched him walk out as though he’d just finished dealing with some annoying business.

Meanwhile, Theo stood beside the coffin, trembling with anger. His eyes were red, and judging by the way he clenched his fists, he was barely holding himself back. Cassian kept a hand on his shoulder until he finally calmed down.

I didn’t say anything. But that didn’t mean I was going to let this slide.

Oh, I’d definitely teach that bastard a lesson. Just not now. The Light Temple’s people would be arriving soon. If I was going to make Adrian regret opening his mouth, I needed to do it properly. And unlike the rumors, I preferred my dirty work clean.

As for the truth... We buried most of that as well.

I explained everything to Cassian and Chief Marr in private. The parasite. Elena’s actual death. The reincarnation formation. And the reason Chief Marr had been placed at its center. The chief looked particularly disturbed upon learning that his body had been selected as a vessel for the Dark Lord. Understandably. Having someone attempt to use your body as a container for an ancient evil wasn’t exactly a pleasant discovery. He insisted that I examine him again for any possibility that another undead parasite had entered his body.

I complied. Nothing suspicious appeared. The chief was clean. Only then did he finally relax.

The official account, however, required considerable adjustment. Cassian understood immediately why revealing the complete truth would be dangerous.

If the townspeople learned that Elena had been dead for years while an undead parasite controlled her corpse, the consequences would extend far beyond the investigation. Every person who’d interacted with her would begin questioning their memories. Every meal she’d served. Every conversation. Every child she’d taught. Even the people who had genuinely loved her might start wondering whether any part of the Elena they remembered had been real. And Theo would be forced to endure their fear and disgust. So Cassian prepared a different explanation.

According to the official report, Elena had been murdered by the culprit on the day of her disappearance. The murderer, an undead follower of the Dark Lord, had preserved her body using forbidden magic because he intended to use her as part of the sacrificial ritual. That explained why eleven brides regained consciousness after I dispelled the manipulation spells, while Elena remained dead. The report stated that I’d used light elemental magic to destroy the undead responsible. Nothing about the Abyssal Corpse Parasite. And absolutely nothing about the Dark Lord’s attempted reincarnation using Chief Marr as a vessel.

The fewer people who knew those details, the better. I had no objections. History was filled with such alterations. The only difference was that, this time, I understood exactly why someone had chosen to make them.

By the time we finished reviewing the report, the sun had risen completely. Warm daylight poured through the windows of the administrative building. I could hear the distant harbor bells, the calls of merchants opening their stalls, and the ordinary sounds of a town beginning another day. Lumenford was alive again. My body, however, had reached its limit.

I returned to the guest room Cassian had prepared for me. The moment I entered, I removed my outer coat and let it fall onto a nearby chair. Then I dropped onto the bed. I didn’t even bother bathing.

There was dried blood on my clothes and dust in my hair. I didn’t care.

I closed my eyes and slept.