Part 2 Chapter 92
I froze, facing my father, who was staring blankly at his son, who had suddenly turned into a corpse.
How could anyone remain unaffected?
My father is human, after all.
The years spent with his children, the memories they built, and the bonds they shared must exist.
As his daughter, I knew that better than anyone.
“What is this, you bastard?”
I heard Ryan’s shocked voice and turned my head away from my father.
I wasn’t sure what was happening, but…
Clearly, David’s face, which had been crushed to the point of not even recognizing his eyes, nose, and mouth, was now intact.
It was obvious who was behind it.
‘But where is it?’
Now that I thought about it, he had been missing for a while…
“Heh.”
Ryan let out a hollow laugh as he looked somewhere.
Far away, under the table.
Dianna was hiding, her hood flipped over her head, with only her eyes peeking out.
She startled when she was seen by Ryan, quickly covering her head with her hood and crouching down.
It was a desperate attempt to avoid being seen by Ryan, who had the power to kill instantly.
“You think you can survive this way?”
Ryan said, as though it were absurd.
Dianna clearly wanted to live.
While everyone else was distracted by Elliott’s death, she must have seen David as her only chance and secretly healed him.
She even left her father’s wounds untreated, perhaps afraid she’d be caught.
“Why didn’t you treat your father’s wound? You were so desperate to feed him medicine earlier?”
“……”
Despite Ryan’s question, Dianna didn’t reveal her face. Her hood quivered with fear.
“Your father’s face is pale, almost dead, and you’re still hiding?”
“……”
“Well, of course,” Ryan chuckled.
“So, when you thought your father would die and you couldn’t delay time anymore, you pulled this trick. Now that there’s no hope left, your true nature comes out. What a wonderful family bond.”
He clicked his tongue and grabbed David’s face, turning it this way and that.
“You wicked girl. Moving fingers is easier than saving a dying human, huh?”
Ryan’s words made him choke up.
“We never even got to bury our pet bird properly! You killed my beloved hoppy!”
“Aha!”
A voice responded with admiration.
It was Gabriel.
“Hoppy! I remember now, Ryan! The cute little bird you loved so much! Was it a yellow-feathered canary?”
“Yeah, you idiot! You tore my hoppy to shreds!”
“Ahaha, that’s right, that’s right. You were crying so much back then! I still don’t know why, though!”
…Gabriel hadn’t changed at all.
The angelic face and the horrifying personality that couldn’t empathize with anyone’s feelings.
“Ha, I think I’m going to lose my mind just listening to this guy talk.”
Ryan stopped dealing with Gabriel and slapped David’s cheek.
“Stop pretending to be dead and get up, you idiot.”
“……”
“Get up!”
“Lord.”
Max tried to calm Ryan down, shaking his head.
“……”
“Remember when you were so mad you slammed his head with your fist earlier?”
When I realized what he meant, I recoiled.
“He was already dead then.”
…Oh my god.
It seems that David had already died from the torture, and his body was only now regaining its appearance.
I stared at David’s now-normal face in shock.
“What…what…”
Ryan, who was twisting his body in disbelief, screamed.
“This doesn’t make sense! He died from that? Is his body made of glass?!!!”
“Well, when you hit someone that hard in the head, they usually die.”
At that moment,
Thud.
My father collapsed to the ground.
Everyone turned to look at him.
In an instant, he had witnessed the deaths of both of his sons.
His face was filled with despair and pain, his pale skin covered in blood, making his misery even more apparent.
I felt strange looking at my father’s face, one I had never seen before.
The second son, who had to watch death unfold before him.
And the first son, who was killed.
Truly, how could there be such a cruel punishment?
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
At that moment, footsteps rushed into the meeting room.
I flinched and turned around.
…Thankfully, the reinforcements were all wearing royal knight uniforms.
The fact that they had reached the eighth-floor meeting room meant that the Barsenberg forces inside the castle had been completely neutralized.
“Ah, son-in-law, you’ve arrived.”
The expression on my father’s face, which had seemed to break further, turned even more miserable as he saw the “Third Prince” entering.
He must have suspected it, but now he realized for sure.
This wasn’t just Ryan’s personal revenge; it was a meticulously planned hunt, orchestrated with the royal family.
“Why are you here…”
Niké, who had been wiping his bloodstained face, looked around and froze when he found me.
He quickly turned his eyes to survey the situation.
First, he confirmed that David and Elliott, whom he needed to eliminate, were dead. Only then did he seem to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Your Highness.”
Ryan scratched his cheek as he approached.
“I couldn’t control my strength, so the first one died. He’s still warm, fresh from death. Would you like to poke him a little until you feel better?”
“What?”
That bastard!
“No, well, that bastard was really rude to Your Highness, too…”
When I glared at him in secret, Ryan quickly faltered.
“No need to do that.”
Niké fortunately shook his head.
“If it’s something you want to do, I have no right to stop you. Just take care of the bodies, or whatever.”
His added words were horrifying.
I watched the casual exchange between them, while noticing my father, trembling as he collapsed.
What must it feel like to hear such a conversation, after losing his sons and knowing they would desecrate their corpses?
The deep wound on his neck, and the mental shock.
I felt that my father was slowly dying before my eyes.
Perhaps thinking the same thing, Niké took a vial of salvation medicine from his coat and approached.
Kneeling down, he checked my father’s condition and uncorked the vial, offering it to him.
“Drink.”
“……”
My father looked at Niké and the medicine with empty eyes.
We had been asked by Riban to save him and bring him along.
It was for us, the “Special Abilities” users, who would continue to live.
“Ordinary humans and the users of special abilities will always have problems coexisting in some way. I believe the Duke of Barsenberg’s powers are the only way to solve this problem.”
Though I couldn’t guarantee success, Riban had offered to try…
Clink!
But my father waved his hand and rejected the medicine. The vial shattered on the ground and rolled away.
“Wow, is this guy crazy? Do you know how much that’s worth?!”
Ryan was furious.
“Kill him…”
My father glared at Niké.
“I’m… crazy… I’d rather die… than be dragged along like this…”
This was, of course, a natural response.
There must be a reason for wanting him alive. He knew that a life worse than death awaited him.
Blood continued to spill from the wound on his neck.
His mind had already shattered, and he had no will to live.
In time, he would naturally die.
My father, with a detached expression, managed to lift his feeble arm and pull the dead Elliott toward him.
His head swayed as he tried to stabilize it and, holding his dead son, he faintly smiled.
It seemed that what satisfied him was not allowing us to achieve our last wish through his death.
<Mirror’s Eye – Light Restoration>
His wounds healed in an instant.
My father’s eyes widened in shock.
Surprised, he fumbled at his neck and then quickly turned his head.
Still hiding under the cloak, Dianna trembled, but she didn’t come out.
It couldn’t have been her.
My father’s confused gaze finally landed on me.
And then, as if realizing something,
With a twisted expression, neither smiling nor crying…
“Heh, heh…”
He stared at me.
At the fatal mistake he had let loose with his own hands.
“Heh, heh, heeek! Haaaaaak!!!”
