Chapter 184……………………………………….
Anyway, with this, Liena had prevented the resurrection of the evil god, and peace returned to the world.
Michael, while chasing after Terrence who was fleeing after failing his rebellion, witnessed his half-brother fall off a cliff.
Liena wasn’t there at the scene, so she later heard about it from Michael.
“He’s probably dead. The height was too great for a human to survive. The fact that the body hasn’t been found bothers me a bit, though.”
“Then why do you look so… weird, Michael?”
“I feel… strange. The enemy who tormented us so much is dead, but it doesn’t feel as good as I expected.”
“It’s alright. You’re not bad. I’ll vouch for you.”
Hearing that Terrence was dead—though I knew this hadn’t actually happened in reality—it was still not exactly pleasant news.
“Could Terrence really be dead…?”
I had once speculated that he might have survived and taken revenge on Michael and Liena.
At that time, Liena’s second life in the novel had been a period that disappeared when I possessed her, so I had no way to verify it. But now, I had that method.
By continuing to observe Liena’s memories, I could see what misfortune returned as the price for her excessive use of blessings.
After that, the memories flowed with happiness.
The emperor successfully stabilized the country, abdicated, and Michael ascended the throne while marrying Liena.
Cheers echoed through the streets:
“Long live Emperor Michael!”
“Long live Empress Liena!”
“Long live Hero Liena Cassius!”
Liena, as in the novel, became an empress loved even more than the emperor and a hero who saved the world.
Although she didn’t achieve the status of a saint, it was well-known that she had the goddess’s blessing, granting her power equivalent to that of a saint.
The Cassius family, though Leandro was the next heir, ultimately acted according to Liena’s wishes.
She was the empress of the empire, the influential head of the top noble house, a respected hero, and effectively the leader of the temple.
And having run the Iberian Guild to amass wealth, should we add “richest” to her titles?
In short, Liena had acquired virtually every form of authority and glory a human could attain.
Even Emperor Michael would hardly oppose her—and likely had no desire to do so.
That marked the end of the memories corresponding to the main plot of .
Next came the memories of Liena’s life after the main story, which drifted past me.
Some incidents were from side stories in the novel, but honestly, they were so mundane that I felt sleepy.
From Liena’s perspective, all she saw was Michael whispering words of love, happy family members, devoted subordinates, and the ground.
“The ground?”
Why was the ground so close?
The reason was simple: Liena had collapsed on the ground.
She groaned in pain, barely lifting her head.
In her sight, the palace was engulfed in bright red flames. The palace was burning fiercely.
The place where Liena had fallen was the palace garden, famous for its beauty.
It seemed a banquet had been planned; flower-decorated tables stretched out, and dozens of people lay scattered like Liena.
All were Liena’s closest aides—familiar faces from past memories.
Though no obvious wounds were visible, they were all sprawled out, coughing up blood.
“Poison?”
Unlike me, calmly assessing the situation, Liena wailed, mourning the loss of her precious people.
“Why… why…!”
At that moment, footsteps approached.
“Why, you ask? I just gave it back the same way.”
The voice was familiar, and I stiffened.
Liena tried to lift her head to see who it was, but her vision blurred from the poison, so she couldn’t make out the face—only the long legs in black shoes.
Yet Liena seemed to recognize the voice.
“You… you! You’re alive!”
“Let’s say I returned from the very bottom of hell.”
Unlike the enraged Liena, the speaker’s tone was calm and ordinary.
“Why did you do this…? Did you crave the emperor’s throne so much that you burned the palace?”
“Hmm, the throne itself doesn’t matter much to me.”
“What? Then why kill people? Why did Michael have to die?”
“I just gave it back the same way.”
“Gave it back?”
“Do you remember the Baron Count’s charity banquet six years ago?”
At the question, Liena stiffened.
“You tried to poison me there.”
“No, that’s not me! I didn’t do that!”
“You may not have given the order, but a few of your loyal subordinates acted for you and Michael.”
“But it failed! You didn’t die either!”
“I did.”
The way he said “I died” was chillingly cold.
“My precious one… is dead.”
“…Precious one?”
“You don’t remember. Of course. That’s how much you mattered. After killing that woman.”
“No matter the reason, you’re just a traitor and a murderer! You think you’ll get away with this? People will come soon…”
As if on cue, multiple footsteps approached from Liena’s direction.
She tried to smile through the gushing blood, but then screamed.
“Monsters! Monsters are here!”
“Where are the knights?!”
“Where should we go?”
“No! There are monsters outside the palace too!”
Liena blinked, in disbelief.
She coughed hoarsely.
“You… you didn’t side with the monsters, did you?”
“I’m just lending them a bit of my strength.”
“That’s impossible… you’re not an apostle of the evil god, so how could a human control so many monsters…?”
“That’s right, I am an apostle of the evil god.”
Liena’s face turned pale with shock.
“Don’t be ridiculous! I defeated him already!”
“Then let him believe that.”
“…Ugh.”
“Hmm, is it time for your tongue to stiffen from the poison? I spared you a smaller dose than usual, but how does it feel? Longer suffering, right?”
“Why… why me…”
“Think carefully until your last breath. Who have you forsaken all your life?”
Liena strained every last bit of strength to move her stiffened tongue.
“What do you want? You… plan to take revenge… to destroy the world…?”
“It’s not just destruction. I want it back. My precious things.”
“…Back?”
“Yes, in the same way you did.”
The person before Liena lowered his stance, kneeling slightly.
Finally, Liena could see his face up close.
“I will return it, even using your death as nourishment.”
Against the backdrop of the fire, his expression was ambiguous—smiling or crying—it was Terrence.
After Terrence’s face, darkness fell.
It seemed Liena had no more memories to show me.
In the darkness, I could only think of Terrence.
Why were you there with that expression? So sad… it hurt my heart.
“…Del!”
At that moment.
“Idel!”
The moment I recognized someone calling me, my consciousness was pulled out of the darkness.
The first thing I saw was light, and as my vision returned, I saw an outline.
“…Terrence.”
His face was full of concern.
“Idel! You’ve finally regained consciousness!”
Only then did the surrounding noise reach my ears, and the moments before the soul resonance came back to mind.
“What happened?”
I rose in Terrence’s arms and asked.
“You were engulfed in light while colliding powers with Liena and him, and even after the light disappeared, you couldn’t open your eyes for about ten minutes.”
Only ten minutes? It had felt like I had been inside Liena’s memories for days.
“And Liena?”
“Fortunately, since she was engulfed in the light with you, she also remained still for ten minutes.”
In the direction Terrence indicated, Liena was still surrounded by the vortex of magical energy, which surged violently as soon as he finished speaking.
“What is this?! What is happening?!”
Liena seemed to regain consciousness at the same time and struggled.
“I saw something strange! Memories I don’t recognize! What is this? I’ve never experienced this!”
She had seen the same memories I had.
“This is wrong! What is this? When is it? Idel! Did you see this too?”
Unlike me, Liena had no knowledge or experience of soul resonance and was overwhelmed by the sudden flood of information.
“Is this some dirty trick by Myella to stop me? But even for that, it’s weirdly… real.”
Her gaze turned to Terrence.
Gaïus and Lucy also faced her, but she looked only at Terrence.
“…Yeah, this guy is the problem.”
The raging magical energy suddenly quieted, but that didn’t mean the amount had decreased.
“Idel! Stay away from him! You saw it too, right? That man is a mad murderer! He’s dangerous!”
Instead, Liena’s hostility caused the magic to expand rapidly.
“No, that’s not true.”
I said slowly:
“Terrence is the person I love, and he is not a danger to me.”
Honestly, I was confused by all the unexpected information, but this one fact I could assert.
No matter if he had been the mastermind in the novel or an apostle of the evil god, the Terrence now was on my side and a good person.
“Why are you saying that, Idel…?”
Liena looked like she couldn’t understand.
“Why give your love to a man like that? The one who truly cares for you and loves you is me.”
“Really? You love me?”
“Of course!”
“The real me?”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“You’re no different from those brainwashed by your blessing, aren’t you? You didn’t love them, you loved that they loved you.”
At that moment, Liena’s face twisted.
