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Fwoooosh!

The flame of ash devoured even the power of the Celestial Dragon, melting two souls into one.

One is a fragment of the soul that Demon Sovereign had transferred into Iris to possess her.

The other is a fragment of my soul.

As the two souls melted, two vacant spaces were created where souls once resided.

Souls inherently desire to return to their original bodies.

This was proven when Acrede retrieved Narea’s soul during her rescue.

With Demon Sovereign melting away, the vacancy in Iris’s soul is predetermined.

Into the space vacated by Demon Sovereign, Iris’s own soul returns.

And so, the control that Demon Sovereign had held naturally returns to Iris.

Then what of the melted fragments of my soul and Demon Sovereign’s?

The two remnants have no choice but to intermingle and rush toward the single remaining vacancy.

The melted souls, in a desperate scramble, returned to Vikamon’s body.

And so, my soul and Demon Sovereign’s became randomly mixed within.

Having once melted, the soul could not retain its original form.

Thus, my consciousness became entangled with Demon Sovereign’s and began to drift away.

As my awareness faded—

I saw Iris’s body, her decapitated form restored to its original state.

Her eyelids slowly opened, revealing red eyes.

But they were not the soulless eyes once possessed by Demon Sovereign.

They were Iris’s own ruby-like eyes.

Confusion and shock gradually filled her gaze.

And at that moment, she saw me, still ablaze in the flame of ash.

With my final burst of will, I pushed her out of the burning fire.

Iris may have suffered burns, but the Saintess and Saint are here.

Those two should be able to heal her body completely.

Most importantly, Iris should be able to escape from Duke Robliage now, even in that state.

Having once been a host, her body would now be fully immune to the Nightmare.

Iris would no longer suffer from the Nightmare.

Nor would she become a puppet of Duke Robliage again.

The liberation she once achieved by giving her life—

This time, it was not a desperate liberation, but a free one.

Voices calling out to me echoed from afar.

But my eyes were fixed on Iris.

She had yet to fully comprehend the situation, so I smiled at her.

“Iris.”

From between my scorched vocal cords came a voice like metal scraping.

“Go.”

Iris’s eyes finally widened.

At last, she understood everything.

“Oppa?”

You can do it.

Iris.

Don’t go and kill yourself again.

Because I’ll keep bringing you back, no matter how many times it takes.

Unable to speak the words I truly wanted to say—

I saw her heartbroken face one last time as my eyes burned and melted away.

My body collapsed within the flames.

Clink—

The bracelet Seron had given me, still glowing faintly, slipped from my wrist and clattered to the floor.

My consciousness faded toward its end.

And in turn, the presence of my soul became ever clearer.

From deep within—

I felt Demon Sovereign's violent writhing.

Colossal.

An endlessly massive tidal wave of soul energy surged toward me.

Even as just a fragment, this detestable being radiated overwhelming presence.

It truly suited the one who had tormented this world so deeply.

And the one I absolutely had to overcome.

Thud—

I fell onto the ground of the soul realm.

As my rolling body finally came to a halt, I saw, inexplicably, a very familiar room.

“…Huh?”

A confused sound escaped my mouth.

Naturally, I had expected to fall into the soul world like during the Vulcan incident.

But somehow, I had landed in this room.

Pizza boxes and chicken containers were strewn about.

The room was unclean, the air heavy with the stench of a lonely bachelor.

In the middle of it all was a lone, powered-on computer.

It was my room.

The room I once lived in.

My mind blanked out for a moment.

To end up here, of all places, right before my soul battle with Demon Sovereign.

It was the room I had holed up in after an injury left my body wrecked—a shut-in’s cave.

* * *

The royal tomb shrouded by the nightmare sky.

Crackle—

There, Vikamon’s body completely melted within the flames.

Iris blankly stared at the disintegrated form before her.

She had clearly cut her own throat.

From that moment on, her memories had been severed, and she thought she could finally rest.

She believed everything was over.

And yet now—

Iris was witnessing a dear friend melt away before her eyes.

While she alone had survived.

In her mind, the memories of the past resurfaced.

At first, he had just been a suspicious cousin.

A younger brother likely sent by Duke Robliage to watch her.

Someone who looked like her, but was very different in many ways.

That boy, over time, strangely drew her gaze more and more.

He surprised her, intrigued her, and brought new excitement to her otherwise dull life.

He was so warm, and gave her back the familial love she had long craved.

Thanks to that warmth, she had finally been able to fall into a deep sleep, escaping her insomnia.

But when she found out he wasn’t really her brother—

Iris felt the deepest betrayal she had ever known.

She hated him.

She resented him.

Yet she missed his warmth.

But even after her rejection, he managed to give her warmth once more.

Not familial love—but a different kind of warmth that could still be shared.

Only then did he tell her his name.

Vikamon Niflheim.

It was an unfamiliar name to Iris.

An indescribable, mysterious connection.

But to Iris, it was the first precious bond she had ever formed in her life.

Even if it had to be cast aside again because of Duke Robliage.

Iris felt grateful, more than anything, to the one who had released her final chains.

He allowed her to end everything with her own hands.

And so, she had no regrets.

At least, she only had the lingering wish to feel his warm embrace once more.

Iris had enjoyed and received so much, and she had been happy.

She had believed it to be a life without regrets.

Until she witnessed, with her own eyes, his body melting away.

“Ah.”

Something inside Iris felt as if it had snapped.

“Ahhh.”

Her knees slowly gave way.

As though chasing an illusion, she reached her hand into the flames.

She understood.

She instinctively understood.

That he had sacrificed himself to save her.

Why had he done such a foolish thing?

Why would he go so far for her?

Iris simply couldn’t comprehend it.

‘I gave you nothing. So why would you go this far to save me?’

She wanted to ask.

She wanted to scream it until her voice tore.

But he was no longer there.

What burned before her eyes was nothing but ashes.

Overwhelming emotion clouded her mind.

No proper sound came from her mouth, and her legs trembled as though they would snap.

Her hands and feet went numb, and her vision grew faint.

Just one thing.

"Go."

His final word barely held her mind together.

“Lady Iris!”

Then, a voice like one coughing up blood rang in her ears.

Iris slowly lifted her head.

In the distance, she saw Hania, who had been struck by Hanadin and rolled across the ground.

Barely clinging to life, Hania cried out to Iris.

“Can’t you see us, Lady Iris? Why are you trying to bear everything alone?”

Hania’s shout was filled with anguish.

Tears had welled in her eyes.

They were tears for Iris, and for the sorrow of Vikamon’s choice.

If she had known this would happen, Hania would have stopped Vikamon, no matter what.

But she instinctively understood.

That she was the only one left who could keep her wits about her here.

After Vikamon melted away,

She already knew what would become of the women behind him.

The front would collapse.

If Iris didn’t move now, everything would be lost.

‘Vikamon!’

Hania screamed his name in her heart.

But she couldn’t waste the chance he had created for them.

“Iris.”

Then, a deep voice echoed.

Iris flinched as soon as she heard it.

Celestial Duke.

Gerdio Robliage.

He had called out to Iris.

Her eyes turned toward him.

He stood there, quietly gazing at Iris while holding a black watch.

“I devoted my life to making you an emperor.”

clang

The sound of weapons clashing rang out.

There was no need to look to know which side was being pushed back—it was obvious by the overwhelming number of clashing weapons.

“And yet I do not understand why you’ve scorned me this way. Everything was for your sake.”

Everything was for your sake.

How detestable those words sounded now.

Iris felt her breath growing short.

To her, who had lived as a puppet under the Celestial Duke’s control her entire life, he had always been a terrifying presence.

Even though she had broken free of his chains, the scars they left still tormented her.

“Iris Hysirion!”

Another anguished cry rang out.

There, standing drenched in rain, was a man.

The First Prince, Lukraizen Hysirion.

Amidst the chaos, he had barely escaped falling into a nightmare with the Saint and the Holy One.

“I will lead this country!”

Was this the time or place for such words?

It made no sense, but Iris alone understood what he meant.

The heavy burden of the imperial throne that had weighed down on her shoulders—

He, the First Prince, had declared that he would take it on.

Because of those words, Iris was able to plant strength in her knees and rise.

“...That’s not why my brother saved me.”

For the first time, Iris faced the Celestial Duke and spoke her mind.

“Grandfather never once lived for me. It was always for your own sake, not mine.”

She had never once said she wanted to become emperor.

She had simply tried to become one because she had to.

What Iris had truly desired was a family that loved her.

All she had done was futilely try to find that in the Celestial Duke.

“I see. Is that so.”

The Celestial Duke replied more calmly than she expected.

“It is done.”

His gaze then turned to the ashes that had been burned away.

“In the end, all fate converges into one.”

And then, everything took an unexpected turn.

The wind began to blow.

The ashes swirled with the wind and started gathering in the center.

As she witnessed the scene before her, Iris’s eyes widened.

Even though she was seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn’t believe it.

The rising ashes gradually formed a heart.

Veins stretched from the heart, bones emerged, and muscles began to take shape.

It was the formation of a person.

The process continued until it formed eyes, grew skin, and finally completed with snowy white hair.

Before her—

A naked man was complete.

It was a face Iris knew well.

Vikamon Niflheim.

He was standing there.

“Op…pa?”

As Iris cautiously called out his name—

Vikamon’s eyelids slowly opened.

Shudder!

Goosebumps covered Iris’s entire body.

A sense of danger, unlike anything she’d felt before, spread across her face.

In Vikamon’s eyes—

Jet-black irises were revealed.

They were as dark and dreadful as the night itself.

“Rejoice.”

The Celestial Duke smiled for the first time in ages.

A man who had long buried his emotions laughed lightly.

“For today, the one who was long ago stripped of his soul has reclaimed it.”

【 Ψ?? ??ξ章 ‘Fate’. 】