Chapter 212

A fight is supposed to involve mutual attacks to be considered a fight. In that sense, the clash between Media and Sabriel couldn’t really be called a fight. Sabriel, fearing Werner might get hurt, focused solely on defense while trying to keep Media from escaping. Meanwhile, Media, needing to end the battle before other apostles arrived, was entirely focused on offense. Their collision was more of a desperate struggle than a proper fight.

“Stop bothering people and just die already!”

Spears coated with a poison so potent that a single drop could annihilate an entire forest flew toward Sabriel.

“ᛗᚨᚷᛁᚲ ᚦᚨᛏ ᛒᛚᚨᛟᚲᚲᛊ ᚨᛏᛏᚨᚲᚲ (Magic that blocks attacks).”

If she had wanted to, Sabriel could have dodged the attacks and used offensive magic to turn Media to ash. But doing so would have endangered Werner, so she stubbornly stuck to defense.

“It’s not too late. Surrender and just undo that magic… I’ll let everything slide. I don’t want to see you commit evil deeds. As for the brothers you killed… I’ll try to convince Father…”

“Ha… You damn woman and those pathetic fools here are all the same. Pretending to be better than me, acting like you’re on some higher path, pitying people while dragging them into your own mess… Ugh, it makes me sick. I can’t stand hypocrites like you. I’d rather deal with honest villains than people like you who preach about being better!”

She launched another barrage of poison-coated spears. This time, the number was exponentially greater, and Sabriel couldn’t block them all. Her right arm and left thigh were pierced.

“How does it feel? The sensation of the poison seeping in? Just one of those spears could turn a rainforest into hell.”

“Ah… It hurts, but it’s nothing compared to when the young master pinches me playfully.”

“What…?”

Sabriel took advantage of Media’s momentary confusion to snatch the young Werner away. The crying Werner stopped his tears as soon as he was cradled in Sabriel’s arms.

“Young master… Were you scared? It’s my incompetence that caused you to suffer. I’m so sorry…”

“You damn woman, to the very end!!!”

Media finally shed her false mask and erupted in rage.

“I’m genuinely curious—what’s the reason for all this?”

“I can’t stand hypocrites like you, lumps of evil like me, or even the gods who allow it all! I’ve known it all along! That I’m a lump of evil! But why did the gods create something like me and leave it be? Why do they let evil exist and thrive? They should punish it! Destroy it! A lazy god who doesn’t even do that is useless!”

Sabriel, who had been silently listening, patted Werner and replied.

“That’s not all there is to it, is it?”

“I can’t understand a world that brands me a witch for not being able to suppress the urge to kill people! Yet knights who kill far more are praised as heroes! I tried to understand, but I can’t comprehend how those who act all high and mighty can commit atrocities without hesitation if they deem the target evil! I can’t forgive the god who created a world where evil acts against evil are justified!”

Media was completely unhinged. At the age of ten, she killed her abusive parents and was branded a witch, imprisoned, and subjected to unspeakable humiliations by the jailers. This twisted her perception of herself. She couldn’t forgive a god who didn’t save her but gave her such abilities.

“Ha… I get it. I understand everything.”

Seeing Media, who was so angry she was crying, Sabriel realized something. If she hadn’t been taken in by her father, she might have walked the same path.

“You’ve chosen to close your eyes, haven’t you, child of sorrow? You blame others and decided to destroy them because your heart was shattered. You tried to find meaning in life that way.”

“Shut up!”

Media launched another barrage of spears. This time, one pierced Sabriel’s shoulder.

“A life where you can’t endure without denying others by harming them. How pitiful…”

“Don’t pity me, you filthy wench!!!”

She launched spears coated with even deadlier poison.

“What does this wench know, blabbering about someone else’s life?!”

“I won’t tell you that there are people who can guide you to the right path, that there are people who show kindness for no reason, or that there are people who love you unconditionally. That would be the most painful deception for me.”

“Shut up!”

Though Media hadn’t been attacked, blood was flowing from her ears. Sabriel’s words were too painful to bear. Media hated Sabriel for saying the things she least wanted to hear.

“Most people who claim to be evil are the same. They preemptively declare themselves evil to avoid criticism. It’s like they’re pleading not to be judged because they already know they’re evil. The more they do that, the softer their hearts seem… You’re probably no different.”

“I said shut up!”

Enraged, Media unleashed a curse mixed with every disease imaginable. It was an attack Sabriel could have blocked or dodged. But with Werner in her arms, she calmly took the hit.

Her insides twisted, her body sickened, and her skin began to swell with veins and spots.

“Even if I’m hit by the tantrum of a spoiled brat, it doesn’t hurt at all.”

Media no longer cared about her original goal. All that mattered was killing the woman who mocked her.

As Media approached to deliver the final blow, Sabriel finally smirked. As she expected, Media was foolish and emotional, just like she had been as a child. Easily lured by the hand of salvation, just as easily provoked by insults.

“It’ll sting for a moment, young master. Please bear with it. Later, I’ll take you to get your favorite ice cream with Father.”

Sabriel reached out toward Media as she approached.

“ᛗᚨᚷᛁᚲ ᚦᚨᛏ ᛞᛖᛊᛏᚱᛟᛁᛊ ᛗᛁ ᛖᚾᛖᛗᛁ×ᛊ ᚨᛒᛁᛚᛁᛏᛁ (Magic that destroys the enemy’s abilities).”

In an instant, the light flashed, and Media’s ability to manipulate her own perception vanished. Furious at losing even her own power, Media cast a spell on the corpses of Sabriel’s brothers.

The fallen corpses rose. The resurrected brothers, now controlled, tried to stab Werner and Sabriel. But the moment their eyes met Werner and Sabriel, they briefly regained their senses.

“Ah… So we lost and are being controlled.”

“We’ve regained control for now, but it’s only a matter of time before we’re controlled again.”

“Guess there’s no choice~ I wanted to teach the young master how to ride a dragon.”

“Idiot, is that really what you should be saying right now? You know what needs to be done.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Little sister.”

They smiled at Sabriel, their younger sister.

“Kill us.”

“Alright, brothers.”

She smiled as she prepared her magic, though tears welled in her eyes.

“ᛗᚨᚷᛁᚲ ᚦᚨᛏ ᚲᛁᛚᛚᛊ ᚢᚾᛞᛖᚨᛞ (Magic that kills the undead).”

Free from any formal constraints, Sabriel, who could freely express her imagination as magic, instantly developed a spell to kill her brothers.

Of course, Media couldn’t understand the emotions of someone who could smile while killing her brothers and telling them to kill her.

“Madmen…”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t understand. Love, justice, or care.”

“This wench is full of deceit till the end.”

Blood trickled from Sabriel’s mouth. The poison was coursing through her body, her organs rotting, and she had expended too much magical energy.

“Then just die.”

Media prepared the most horrifying death curse—a forbidden spell that would cause her entire body to burst apart. Realizing what it was, Sabriel sensed her end.

Now, Sabriel had just enough magical energy for one last spell.

Using a defensive spell would only buy time. Teleportation magic wouldn’t work for two people, and even if they escaped, they’d be chased. A reflection spell could deflect the curses, but it would kill Werner too.

So, she gave up on saving herself.

“Young master…”

Even at his young age, Werner seemed to sense Sabriel’s impending death and began to sob.

“I’m sorry.”

She set Werner down and cast a spell on his very soul.

“ᛗᚨᚷᛁᚲ ᚦᚨᛏ ᚲᛟᚾᛊᛏᚱᚨᛁᚾᛊ ᛊᚨᛞᛖᛊᛊ (Magic that suppresses sadness).”

At least when Werner grew up and faced sorrow, he would be able to force a smile, make jokes, and suppress his tears. Unlike curses, which vanish with death, Sabriel’s magic, born of love, would endure through countless reincarnations.

“Tell Father I’m sorry.”

With her last breath, she wished for Werner’s happiness, even as the curse of horrific death reached her.

“And always keep smiling.”