Chapter 233 - 232 : Resurrection

Chapter 233: Chapter 232 : Resurrection

Arthur and Layla sat on opposite ends of the long sofa, separated by enough space to make their mutual discomfort obvious.

The living room was quiet.

Too quiet.

Soft evening light filtered through the wide windows, falling across the polished floor and the expensive furniture. Under different circumstances, the room might have felt warm and peaceful.

Instead, it felt like a battlefield.

Layla glared daggers at Arthur from across the sofa.

Arthur, meanwhile, leaned back comfortably as though he had not just been forcefully moved into her home by Athena.

Layla let out a long, exhausted sigh and pressed a hand to her forehead.

"How did it come to this?"

Arthur glanced at her.

"You tell me," he said. "You are the reason I am in this mess."

Layla’s mouth twitched.

Then she turned toward him, her irritation finally overflowing.

"Well, I did not know she would do something like this, okay?" she yelled. "Do you think I wanted to suddenly have you living in my house?"

Arthur waved a hand dismissively.

"It is pointless to think about it now," he said. "Tell me about that ability of yours. The one that lets you revive even after you die."

Layla immediately fell silent.

The anger on her face faded, replaced by caution.

For a few moments, she stared at the floor.

Then she answered quietly.

"It is a system-exclusive skill," Layla said. "It lets me revive within twenty-four hours of dying."

Arthur’s eyes narrowed.

Layla continued.

"As long as I do not die instantly," she said. "If my soul is completely destroyed, or if something erases me before the ability can activate, then resurrection will not work."

Arthur’s crimson eyes gleamed.

’I want it so badly.’

[ You do know Ability Extraction is random, right? ]

Arthur’s System sounded almost tired.

[ And even if we manage to obtain it, Layla will lose her only chance at revival. The next time that killer attacks her, she may die permanently. ]

Arthur looked at Layla for a moment.

Then he asked in the most casual tone possible, "Hey, can you give me that skill?"

Layla stared at him.

Her eyes widened.

Then her expression turned completely blank.

"Are you an idiot?" she asked.

Arthur raised a brow.

Layla pointed at herself.

"First of all, there is no way to transfer it," she said. "And even if there was, I would never give it to you."

Her voice rose.

"And one more thing. Do you want me to die or something? If I give you my precious skill, then I will die permanently the next time someone kills me!"

Arthur sighed.

"Why do all girls talk so much?" he muttered. "Can you not just answer with a simple yes or no?"

Layla’s face turned red.

"The answer is no," she shouted. "An absolute no!"

She stood up and pointed at the floor near the sofa.

"And one more thing. If you are going to live here from now on, you will sleep on the floor."

Arthur blinked.

"But there are enough rooms in this house."

"On the floor or you leave," Layla said firmly.

Arthur’s mouth twitched.

"Alright," he said. "If you are going to be like that, then..."

He stood up from the sofa.

Layla frowned.

"What?" she asked. "Are you leaving?"

Arthur’s expression became cold.

"No," he said quietly. "I am going to take it by force."

Layla’s body stiffened.

Arthur looked directly into her eyes.

"And do not worry," he continued. "I will take responsibility. I will capture your killer for you."

For the first time, the playful edge in Arthur’s voice was gone.

His crimson eyes held a frightening calmness.

Then he spoke loudly.

"System. Add one hundred attribute points to Luck. Start the extraction process. And keep it as painless as possible for her."

[ On it, Host. ]

A terrible feeling rose in Layla’s chest.

Her instincts screamed at her to run.

She jumped up from the sofa and tried to move toward the door.

But before she could take more than one step, pain tore through her body.

Layla collapsed to her knees.

Her hands struck the floor as a wave of agony swept through every nerve in her body.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she screamed. "You bastard!"

Arthur stood over her, watching the process begin.

"Relax," he said. "It will not take long."

Then he clasped his hands together dramatically.

"Come on, baby. If there really is a Goddess of Luck out there, give me that Resurrection skill."

DING!

[ Luck: 84 → 184 ]

[ Remaining Attribute Points: 880 ]

[ Extraction Process Initiated. ]

[ Extraction Target: Lalatina Rion Armsberg ]

[ Random Ability Extraction commencing... ]

[ Searching through target’s abilities... ]

[ Random selection in progress... ]

Arthur’s heartbeat quickened.

The selection process had begun.

He could feel his pulse pounding in his ears as the system searched through Layla’s abilities.

Even with all his confidence, he could not hide the greed burning in his eyes.

’Come on,’ he thought. ’Do not give me some useless talent. Give me Resurrection.’

For several agonizing seconds, nothing happened.

Then the notification changed.

[ Selection Complete. ]

[ Ability Acquired: Resurrection ]

[ Rank: Unknown ]

[ Type: System-Exclusive Skill ]

[ Effect: Upon death, the user may resurrect once, provided their soul has not been completely obliterated. ]

[ Cooldown: 24 Hours ]

[ Usage Limit: Once per 24 Hours ]

[ Restriction: The effect cannot be stacked. ]

[ Additional Extraction Reward Detected. ]

[ 50 Attribute Points Acquired. ]

[ All extraction rewards have been successfully obtained. ]

[ Extraction Process Complete. ]

Arthur went completely still.

Then a tear nearly fell from his eye.

He looked upward with both hands pressed together.

"Thank you, Goddess," he said dramatically. "Even though I do not know whether you truly exist, I love you if you are hearing this."

Bam!

A punch landed squarely on Arthur’s face.

Arthur crashed onto the floor.

Before he could recover, Layla climbed onto his chest and grabbed him by the collar with both hands.

Her face was red with rage.

"What are you doing, you bitch?" Arthur snapped.

"Murdering you," Layla yelled. "You bastard! How dare you take it from me?"

A stream of notifications had appeared before Layla’s eyes.

DING!

[ SYSTEM ERROR ]

[ Unauthorized System Intrusion Detected. ]

[ External System Authority has breached the Host System. ]

[ Attempting to identify the intruder... ]

[ ERROR. ]

[ Intruder identification failed. ]

[ Emergency Defense Protocol activated. ]

[ Attempting to protect System-Exclusive Skill: Resurrection... ]

[ Resistance detected. ]

[ ERROR... ERROR... ]

[ System Authority being forcibly overwritten. ]

[ Defensive Protocols collapsing... ]

[ System Integrity: 87% → 64% → 31% ]

[ WARNING! ]

[ Ability: Resurrection has been forcibly extracted from the Host System. ]

[ Attempting recovery... ]

[ ERROR. Recovery failed. ]

[ Attempting to restore lost System Authority... ]

[ ERROR. Access denied. ]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[ System Breach Detected. ]

[ System-Exclusive Skill: Resurrection ]

[ Status: STOLEN ]

[ Current Ownership: Unknown ]

[ Resistance failed. ]

[ The stolen ability can no longer be accessed by the Host. ]

[ System integrity stabilizing... ]

[ WARNING: Unknown external System Authority remains undetected. ]

Layla read the final line again.

Then another time.

Her grip loosened.

The rage in her eyes faded into something worse.

Fear.

She slowly released Arthur and stepped away from him.

"Fuck," she whispered. "How am I supposed to survive now?"

She rose unsteadily.

Her shoulders trembled.

Her entire body shook as the full reality of what had happened settled on her. She had already died three times. Someone was still hunting her. And now the one ability that had given her a second chance had been ripped away.

Arthur pushed himself up from the floor.

For a moment, he watched her silently.

Then his voice lowered.

"Hey," he said. "Hey. I said I will protect you, did I not? So do not be so scared."

Layla slowly turned toward him.

Arthur tried to smile.

"Just look on the bright side."

Layla’s teeth clenched.

"Bright side?" she yelled. "What is the bright side in all of this, you bastard?"

Her eyes were wet with anger.

"If even Miss Athena could not catch the culprit, what gives you the idea that a weakling like you can?"

Then she pointed toward the door.

"Get out," Layla said. "And do not come back."

Arthur sighed.

"Alright. I know that you are pretty mad," he said. "And I will go. But come outside for a bit first. I have to show you something."

"I do not want to—"

Before Layla could finish, Arthur grabbed her wrist and pulled her outside.

"Let go of me!" Layla shouted.

Arthur ignored her.

The moment they stepped out of the house, Layla pulled against his grip.

"What the hell?" she snapped. "Just get lost from here. How many times do I have to say it? You got what you wanted, did you not?"

Arthur released her wrist.

Then he sighed.

"Barbatos," he said. "Come out."

The shadows beneath Arthur’s feet stirred.

Darkness spilled outward from his shadow, thick and unnatural, crawling across the ground like living smoke.

Then a tall figure stepped out.

Barbatos materialized beside Arthur.

He was a dragon-kin, with sharp horns rising from his head and a long, powerful tail behind him. Dark scales covered portions of his body, while his eyes glowed with a cold, predatory light.

An ominous aura rolled from him.

He did not need to move.

His existence alone made the garden feel dangerous.

Layla’s breath caught.

Then more shadows rose.

One after another, seven massive wyverns emerged from Arthur’s shadow.

Their enormous wings unfolded with deep, heavy sounds. Their bodies were made from dense darkness, but their outlines were clear enough to reveal sharp claws, vicious fangs, long tails, and glowing eyes.

They were so large that their wings nearly covered the sky over the house.

The garden darkened beneath them.

The air shook as they rose into the sky and began circling the residence.

Layla stared upward.

Her breathing stopped for a moment.

"What... are those?"

One by one, the wyverns descended, their massive bodies striking the ground with heavy thuds as clouds of dust billowed around them.

All eight shadows turned toward Arthur.

Then they bowed.

Arthur looked at Layla.

"These are the ones who will guard you from now on," he said.

Layla looked at Barbatos, then at the seven wyverns beside him.

Despite her fear, fascination appeared in her eyes.

Arthur continued.

"One more thing," he said. "They can never be killed."

Layla’s eyes widened.