Diana said with a chilling smile, "A paradise ruled by a perfect monarch is about to be born."
But before that, there were things that needed to be done.
"No need for humans who dared betray me."
Diana glared at Ullrich, still staring blankly into space with unfocused eyes.
"I annihilated the Eiles Duchy and brought you so many benefits, yet you repay me with deceit, bringing a commoner girl into the royal family. How outrageous!"
Diana never considered her own faults. She only lamented the injustices she suffered.
"Someone like you doesn't deserve to be an emperor!"
"Gaah-!"
Ullrich regained his senses for a moment when Diana choked him.
But it was of no use. He was completely drained, unable to withstand Diana's power.
Ullrich, trying to survive, noticed Creed.
"Cr, Ree... Gah!"
Creed felt a dizzying surge of intense anger.
He detested the selfishness of his mother's murderers.
He wanted to tear them apart right then and there.
It was when Creed was about to unleash his attack magic.
Boom-!
The magic exploded in the air, filling the room with blue mist. The room, as bright as day from the lights, was suddenly engulfed in darkness.
Something was wrong.
Navia had a strong intuition and immediately reached out to Creed beside her, calling out, "Creed!"
She grasped at nothing. The space seemed immeasurable, like falling into an abyss.
'What phenomenon is this?'
If it were magic, Black Moon would have reacted, but Black Moon remained calm.
Navia felt powerless for the first time in a long time. In front of the power of a god, neither Black Moon nor White Moon worked.
Realizing she couldn't do anything, she felt anxious.
...She needed her father.
If he were here, she would have been safe, but now she was truly alone.
'Father, please wake up.'
As Navia groped around in the darkness, someone suddenly embraced her from behind. Her expression instantly brightened.
"Creed!"
Definitely Creed! Creed has found me!
But when she turned around, she faced a face she didn't want to see at that moment.
"...Ares."
Ares embraced her tenderly, smiling gently and straightening her disheveled hair.
"I've been looking for you for a while. I never imagined you'd be in the imperial bedroom."
Hearing his words, she felt like a lover who disappeared without a word.
She was disgusted and repulsed.
"Let me go!"
Navia struggled to escape his embrace, but couldn't match a man's strength.
"You'll hurt yourself if you do that. Be good."
Ares looked down lovingly at Navia, who glared at him furiously.
"My cute Navia. I knew you were special, but I never thought you were an incarnation."
He kissed her shining silver hair and then buried his nose in her neck.
His smile, filled with satisfaction, twisted strangely.
"But it's strange."
His expression was like that of a man who had gone completely mad upon witnessing his wife's infidelity.
"Why do I smell that brat on you?"
The fresh scent of the forest. It was Creed's magical scent. How could Creed's scent be on Navia?
"And you called me Creed."
You turned to me with such a happy face when I embraced you. His eyes grew cold.
Navia didn't care what he thought or if he was filled with rage.
"Let go of me!"
Ares didn't budge. Instead, he held her tighter, his possessiveness and desire to dominate boiling over.
He ground his teeth, trying to suppress his anger, and said, "Please, don't make me angry."
His words were absurd.
"Who are you to say that?"
Navia looked at him scornfully.
"What right do you have to say that to me? You're not my boyfriend, fiancé, or anything!"
"You were mine from the beginning, Navia."
"I have never been yours, nor have I ever wanted to be."
Ares tilted his head, bringing his face close to hers, almost touching lips.
"We'll see about that."
Ares was strangely convinced that as an incarnation, Navia could not oppose him.
He was about to kiss her, to breathe his life into her, to make her submit to him.
Whack-!
At that moment, Creed broke through the darkness and punched Ares in the face.
"Creed!"
Navia wanted to rush to Creed, but Ares, with only his head slightly turned, remained in his original position.
Creed tried to separate Navia from him, but his magic didn't respond properly.
He had felt this overpowering force before, often when Lark confronted him.
"Kugh-!"
He had drawn out the maximum of his abilities, veins bulging throughout his body.
Ares slowly turned his head and burst into a giggle, one of his eyes turning black in the white part.
"You can't stand against me as long as you're human."
Creed, who had barely emerged up to his upper body from the dark shadow, was swallowed back into the darkness.
"No!"
Navia stretched her hand towards him, trying to approach, but Ares pulled her back to himself again.
"That's not something at your level."
"Let go! Please, let me go!"
Navia was devastated. She felt so horrible that she wanted to die right there.
What if something happened to Creed because of her?
The thought was unbearable for Navia.
"Huh...."
Ares looked at Navia, who was shedding tears in misery.
He hated seeing her cry over someone else, especially a whelp like that.
"Don't cry."
He gently wiped her tears away.
Looking at him with tear-soaked eyes, Navia said,
"Please, just disappear from my life."
'Please, this is already the ninth time. It's time to stop now.'
Ares couldn't understand why Navia was shaking to this extent.
"You're meant to be a goddess, not just a queen. You could have humanity at your feet."
He gently chided her as if talking to a stubborn lover.
"Why would you refuse me?"
"You see no reason to refuse you?"
Navia scoffed coldly. Even her cold laughter seemed to strangle the heart with its beauty.
"Just accept it, Navia. I'm the only one who can appreciate your true worth."
He whispered, embracing her from behind, his fingers threading through her beloved silver hair, pulling her head closer.
Just as he was about to kiss her,
Navia suddenly raised her hand to his forehead. Since it wasn't an aggressive move, Ares didn't stop her. He was just perplexed.
"What is this...."
He was about to finish his sentence when a bizarre scene unfolded before his eyes.
"Look at me, Navia Agnes."
Startled,
Ares' eyes widened in shock at the unfamiliar memories flooding his mind.
It was him. Yet, it wasn't him.
'Navia Agnes?'
In the strange memories, he pleaded with a tired expression.
"They're not your family. You're just a well-behaved dog to them."
A very different Navia responded emotionlessly.
"You're exaggerating, Your Highness."
"Am I supposed to watch the woman who will be my wife be loyal to another bastard? Don't test my patience. I'm already going crazy..."
"Our engagement is broken. Vivian will be the next princess consort and eventually the queen. Please retract your statement."
"Navia, please."
The memories continued to show unfamiliar scenes forcibly.
"I've always wanted you."
The scenes were almost identical.
And he always acted the same.
He wanted Navia. He was crazed with desire for her.
And Navia was always the same. Whether she looked thin and sharp, or young and tender.
"I'm sorry, but I've never wanted you, Your Highness."
"Ugh!"
Ares clutched his head, overwhelmed by the sudden influx of strange memories.
These were memories of other lifetimes that he didn't know about, probably reacting to Navia's memories in his divine consciousness.
Now, Ares finally understood Navia completely.
'Navia, this woman was always like this.'
A woman who saw everything other than family as stone.
A woman who seemed to think that romantic love was trivial and lust was filthy.
Yes. Navia always struggled with despair, but on the outside, she always appeared dignified and untroubled.
"At least nine times."
Ha. Haha. Ares chuckled bitterly.
Navia Agnes, no, Navia Eseled, had lived nine times.
"A mere incarnation can do that?"
Even just a local deity's incarnation could have such power?
But that was a secondary concern.
The important thing now wasn't that.
It was her, happily embracing Creed. Kissing him and smiling gently.
"Creed, there's something I want to tell you."
"You're mine!"
This woman, who never gave her heart to anyone, was in love with Creed.
"Navia, this is wrong."
Navia showed him all the memories that would lead him to despair and then cut off her magic.
Ares was engulfed in a rage bordering on madness. This was wrong. Incorrect. It had to be corrected. What went wrong? Where did it start going wrong?
Squirm! Something twitched inside him.
Swallow this woman.
He felt the aura of his great and foolish father from this woman. If he devoured that trace, he could gain even greater power.
"I can become stronger. With a more powerful force, let's reverse this world again, just like Navia did."
That way, everything will find its place again.
Ares' eyes were engulfed in a fierce energy. He gripped Navia's jaw with a chilling aura.
"You will forever cry beneath me."
With the last of her magic, Navia created a sharp dagger.
And aimed it at her own throat.
"No."
After all, attacking Ares with this would be futile.
"I will never love you."
Tightly!
"I'm sorry, Dad."
I really wanted to see you. I dreamed of the future we would build together.
With that, she thrust the dagger into her neck with all her might.
It was then.
Boom! Suddenly, Ares' body was blown backward and crashed.
At the same time, the darkness filling the surroundings was torn apart by a golden light, returning to its original form.
The dagger formed from Navia's magic vanished without a trace. And then, there was the scent of winter.
Navia's eyes widened.
It was unmistakable. The cold scent that didn't match the spring of April.
It was the scent of Lark.
Navia quickly scanned the room and spotted a man.
His long hair fluttered, emitting light from his entire tall, imposing figure, a back so familiar it instantly brought tears to her eyes.
"Dad!"
It was Lark's return.
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