Chapter 139
‘So I really can breathe underwater.’
The moment she awakened, she realized it. She could now breathe naturally even in the real ocean.
It wasn’t because the real sea was as clean as the ocean inside her inner world. Nor was it because Odette could purify large amounts of water like she did during her awakening.
It was because any water that entered Odette’s body became as clean as the ocean inside her inner world, allowing her to breathe comfortably.
Only the faintest light reached the depths, but her eyes gradually adapted to the darkness. Then Odette realized where she was lying, and she jolted.
‘Why am I on top of a whale…?’
According to her original plan, she should have opened her eyes much deeper—at least several dozen quezetas farther down—among massive coral formations.
She had wondered why any light reached her at all, and now she understood: a whale had held her up at a much shallower depth.
It was far too much luck for coincidence. Odette opened her mouth hesitantly.
“Did you… help me?”
Just like breathing, speaking underwater also felt completely natural to Odette.
The whale nodded. Kiiiiii—. It even made a cry.
“You were holding me up so I wouldn’t sink deeper?”
The whale nodded again, as if it understood her perfectly.
‘Amazing… truly amazing.’
Odette reached out and stroked the whale. It wagged its tail like an affectionate pet.
‘It’s acting like a pet, isn’t it?’
Odette chuckled at its behavior, then summoned her status window.
She had something to do if she wanted to escape.
‘Activate shop function.’
[ Activating Shop Function. ]
The light from the status window brightened the surrounding water.
“……!”
Thanks to that light, she immediately noticed—
There wasn’t just one whale.
There were dozens. A whole pod surrounding her.
They kept their distance, as though protecting her from rocks or other hazards of the sea floor. Enormous whales, united to guard her.
Odette was briefly overwhelmed by the sight, then shook her head. Admiring them could wait.
‘Purchase the item that hides the Purifier’s scent.’
[ Potion to Conceal the Purifier’s Scent ]
[ Price: 10,000 Atasha / 1 day ]
[ Would you like to purchase?
YES / NO ]
Since Tangled Fate was a ruin-type game, there were bad endings where the male leads’ obsession ended with tragedy.
That potion was what allowed Charlotte to escape during such routes.
Of course, the heroine’s “escape” only served to intensify the male leads’ obsession.
‘Ten thousand Atasha per day… outrageous.’
Her target had changed from the original plan, but Odette had intended to fake her suicide and run away the moment she reached the villa.
So on her way there, she had visited the Claiestre Bank and withdrawn all her cash.
‘Thank goodness. Without that money, I couldn’t afford this for even a few days.’
Odette pressed YES.
[ Would you like to use the potion?
YES / NO ]
Items purchased from the shop didn’t need to be consumed physically.
‘YES.’
And with that, the floral scent that always emanated from her body vanished.
‘Okay. The Purifier scent is gone, so the immediate danger is handled…’
Odette summoned the status window again.
‘Activate inventory.’
[ Activating Inventory. ]
‘Bring out the customizable corpse. I need to make some adjustments.’
A section of the inventory expanded in front of her.
[ Customizable Corpse ]
‘Give the corpse a gunshot wound to the head—identical to the one I just had.’
[ Cranial gunshot wound: 20,000 Atasha ]
[ Purchase?
YES / NO ]
‘Yes.’
[ Apply to customizable corpse?
YES / NO ]
Twenty thousand Atasha for a single wound.
The price was terrifying, but Odette didn’t hesitate. She had spent the entire week customizing this corpse and had already been gouged for money repeatedly.
[ Adjust corpse’s height to match “Odette”: 30,000 Atasha ]
[ Adjust eye color to match “Odette”: 80,000 Atasha ]
Height, eye color, nose shape, lips—she had already spent a fortune making it identical.
[ Remaining balance: 576,461,100 Atasha ]
‘Yes. Visiting the bank was the right choice.’
Complimenting herself once again, Odette issued another command.
‘Take the corpse out of the inventory.’
A white flash, and an identical body—her perfect double—appeared on the whale’s back beside her.
‘It looks so much like me it’s eerie.’
Odette calmly unfastened the locket from her neck and placed it around the corpse’s neck.
She had planned from the beginning to abandon this locket the moment she fled. She was even prepared to lose the status window if necessary.
‘The locket calls Zion automatically when I’m in danger.’
Which meant that the moment she was in danger, Zion could locate her—regardless of her will.
‘But since the status window conveniently separated from me at the perfect moment, I don’t need to cling to this.’
Odette let out a soft laugh. In a way, she was fortunate.
If she had died in front of Charlotte and the Count as originally planned, Zion would have wondered why he wasn’t summoned at that moment.
He might have doubted whether she truly died.
But since Zion had been the cause of her “death,” her fake death would appear perfectly complete.
Odette turned to one of the whales.
“Can you take this body somewhere it’ll be found? Somewhere not too deep.”
Kiiii—.
One whale nodded, took the corpse onto its back, and swam off.
After watching it go, Odette spoke to the whale she was riding.
“Can you take me to Moerso Beach? The farther from the cliffs, the better.”
The whale nodded and began gliding through the sea. The rest followed, escorting her like loyal guardians.
‘I’ve never heard of a Purifier being able to do anything like this.’
Not in the game’s settings, the scriptures, or any records she had studied.
The more aware she became of her power, the more suspicious she grew.
‘Why is my power stronger than the in-game heroine Charlotte’s? And why didn’t it manifest even a little in my previous life?’
Perhaps… Charlotte was connected to her failure to awaken in her past life.
‘While I’m on the run, I need someone to watch Charlotte.’
Charlotte had appeared before the male leads earlier than she should have. There was definitely a reason.
If Odette observed Charlotte’s behavior closely—she would figure out what that girl was plotting.
Odette’s teal eyes glinted coldly.
The sea was the worst possible place for Zion, a beast of the feline family.
Sea creatures had low intelligence, making Zion’s abilities nearly useless. His mind-control power could not force beings to act beyond their physical or mental capabilities.
Telling sea animals—who forgot everything in three seconds—to find Odette was pointless.
If only there were whales, he might have tried using his power. But there were none anywhere nearby, as if the species had gone extinct in this region.
With no landmarks and nothing to gain footing on, even his transcendent physical abilities meant little.
If Johann hadn’t used his ability to lift Zion into the air, he wouldn’t even be able to stand on the water.
Thus, all Zion could do—pathetic and powerless on the sea—was wander aimlessly and call Odette’s name again and again.
“Odette. Please. Please… don’t do this to me.”
His voice was desperate, lonely.
“God… please. Please…”
He looked even more pitiful than the ordinary humans he once mocked—crying out to God with every breath, frantically and helplessly.
