Chapter 70……………………
‘No way… nothing happened to As, right?’
The energy she felt now was different from before.
It wasn’t clear, but a foreboding chill washed over her, and she drew in a sharp breath.
In that moment, a figure emerged faintly through the scattered mist, and Roziana shuddered without realizing it.
Her skin crawled as her eyes fixed on the familiar form lying collapsed in the distance, and her vision wavered.
“A… As?”
His body, blood-soaked and torn in countless places, lay sprawled helplessly on the ground.
‘Th-this can’t be!’
When could such a fierce battle, such a devastating attack, have taken place?
Unless it had been an ambush, it made no sense.
Besides, she never thought they were this close…
“Khuhk.”
“!”
Her thoughts cut off.
Between ragged breaths, he convulsed in a fit of coughing, blood spilling from his mouth as his body jerked like a fish impaled on a spear.
Roziana didn’t hesitate any longer—she bolted toward him.
The short distance felt unbearably far.
“As!”
Up close, his appearance was even more horrific, and Roziana’s breath caught in her throat.
She barely managed to swallow the sobs surging up as she called to him. Her outstretched hand trembled helplessly.
“As… what… what happened to you!”
But he couldn’t answer. He only let out faint breaths, his body twitching and writhing in pain as though on the verge of death.
“Ugh!”
“As!”
Never before had she seen him in such a pitiful state.
Not even when he had thrown himself in front of Mephisto’s strike in the Demon Realm to protect her had he been like this.
‘Who could have done this!’
Hot tears welled in her eyes.
She couldn’t believe that the body of such a strong, towering man was broken, torn, and drenched in blood. No—she didn’t want to believe it.
Roziana pulled his heavy body into her arms and held him tightly against her chest.
His muscular frame shivered faintly, cold as a rock abandoned in barren land.
“N-no….”
Despair crashed over her in an instant. Her face went slack, and tears streamed down unchecked.
“No, As. I… I’ll heal you right now….”
Shaking, she embraced him tightly and released her holy power.
They had been connected all along, yet she had foolishly wallowed in illusions and failed to notice the danger he was in!
‘…It’s all my fault.’
Regret battered her body and shattered her heart.
She despised the self from just a day ago, the one who drained his power despite knowing a contest was imminent.
‘All because I stole your strength…!’
Now, he had lost his power and was reduced to this—like a marionette with its strings cut.
“No… As! As, please, open your eyes!”
His clothes were in tatters, his head drenched in blood. The sight made fresh tears burst forth even though she was already crying.
Her chest throbbed with unbearable pain.
The contest, stealing his power, and now this—everything felt like her fault.
‘As, I’m sorry! This is all my fault….’
Only now, after saying farewell to the foolish girl who once hated him, did she realize.
She wanted to protect him. She had become grateful and happy for the life he had given her.
“A… As! Please, just open your eyes… at least your eyes….”
But there was no response. Even his breathing was so faint it could barely be heard.
“You called me a Saint! Said I had holy power!”
Tear-streaked and desperate, Roziana cried out, pouring her holy energy into him—but his condition only worsened.
Why wasn’t it working?
His body was still torn and cold, his blood spilling everywhere. Slowly, fear shadowed her pale face.
A thought she had never dared consider struck her cruelly.
‘Could it be… As is going to die?’
Just like this?
Leaving me behind?
“No… no, no!”
The thought of a world without him—she had already endured that once during the years of Erica’s suffering.
When he left her behind to face Demon King Beelzebub with her sisters.
When she thought he had abandoned her. When she found the letter Tenebres had left her sisters, she was driven mad with rage.
She believed he had lured her sisters to be sacrifices for the Demon King.
He had promised eternal love and disappeared without a word.
She never had time to grieve his absence.
He had vanished before her eyes, but not from existence.
Her heart was full of anger, but not devoid of hope.
She still believed that one day they would meet again—and then, she could have her revenge.
‘But if As truly dies…?’
Why had she feared his death yet assumed it could never happen?
Was it because he had once been half-divine?
Because he was the only Black Breath in the Dreart Empire?
‘No….’
It was nothing more than her selfishness. She wanted him to remain by her side forever, whole and unbroken—whether as Tenebres or Asterios, it didn’t matter.
How arrogant she had been.
She had never truly accepted his love, never cherished him while he was alive, never understood his intentions, and even tormented him.
‘Ah… why was I so….’
So foolish in love?
“I-I’m sorry, As… Tenebres.”
She had wanted to demand why he hadn’t returned to explain things after her sisters’ deaths.
Why hadn’t he told her when he went with them to destroy Beelzebub? Even afterward, he had so many chances to explain, but he never did.
It felt like a silent gesture.
As if Erica no longer mattered to him, as if she was meaningless.
She had even suspected he had approached her only to use her sisters. That he had exploited her, abandoned her, and that his love had been a lie. So she thought she had every right to hate, despise, and rage at him.
‘But what if… after defeating Beelzebub, Tenebres had reasons he couldn’t return to me?’
Why had she never considered that?
Only now—after he lay broken and tattered, after he had risked his life for her again and again—did she realize how great his love was.
“No, As… you can’t die yet. There’s still so much I haven’t done for you. So much I have to ask you.”
Her voice shook miserably. Her vision swam with tears as she looked down at him.
“I’m sorry… I should have asked you why. I should have listened….”
She had cornered him with her emotions, condemned him, and only burdened him with guilt—never realizing it only sealed his lips further.
‘And yet, you still….’
You stayed by my side, saved me, and gave me all your strength.
How could she not love him?
“Please… open your eyes, As!”
Roziana now shook his body. But his cold, rock-like frame no longer twitched or stirred.
Her strength alone was not enough.
‘I need someone who can save As!’
At that moment, someone came to mind—one who healed the sick, raised the near-dead, and performed miracles.
“His Holiness Gregorian!”
But unlike Asterios, with whom her energy was linked, sensing the Pope’s presence would not be easy.
She knew being discovered in Secret Fog during the contest would cause trouble, but if it meant saving Asterios, she had to find him.
‘But this is the Mountain of Illusions… the mountain might show me the Pope as a mirage.’
She had to stay sharp. There was no time to waste.
Hot tears, already ruining her face, streamed anew. She wiped them away with the back of her hand.
“This isn’t the time to cry.”
As she touched his bloodied body, the metallic stench rose from her hands.
[ …Roziana… Your Highness… Princess… ]
Her mana vibrated faintly within her, resonating with a distant voice.
She had been so focused on channeling her holy power that she hadn’t noticed—but now her mana trembled warmly inside her.
‘This feels like….’
A voice saying, “I’m here.”
It was the very power she had taken from Asterios.
Now, it was delivering his voice back to her.
‘Could it be… As, even in his coma, is searching for me?’
No.
Touching his body again, she felt no stronger resonance, no clearer sound.
‘No… this feels like it’s coming from outside, far away….’
Could his soul have left his body?
“!”
Roziana’s violet pupils and hands quivered violently.
What her eyes and hands touched now was the cold, stone-like corpse of Asterios.
