Irene Decided to Die - Chapter 156
Thinking quickly, Irene changed the subject to distract him.
“Rest… I will rest in the North.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes, I promise.”
Only then did Burt finally calm down. The problem, however, lay with the other two rulers.
“Why the North? It’s far too cold there,” said Guy.
“I’m disappointed. I had hoped to spend more time with you,” said Aura.
The moment they heard Irene would be staying in the North, both rushed over to express their disappointment. Guy, in particular, looked as though the sky had fallen, and it took quite a bit of effort to console him.
And so, the world found temporary peace.
* * *
It felt as though her entire body was on fire.
Waking and falling asleep countless times from excruciating pain, when Ramiel finally came to her senses, she found herself in a filthy cave.
The knight who was supposed to be by her side was nowhere to be seen, and she was all alone.
“Go… Goddess…”
Ramiel raised her hands to pray but immediately sensed something was off.
Her once pearl-white, glossy nails had turned pitch black. She tried to rub them clean, thinking something had stained them, but nothing came off.
‘What about my stomach?’
She recalled the final moments when she and Sage were pierced by the freezing cold ice.
Pulling aside her tattered clothes to inspect her stomach, she saw that the place where there should have been a gaping wound had healed over.
If that had been all, she might have been fine with it.
“What… What is this?”
The spot where she had been injured was stained black, and from that point, strange dark veins spread outward. It was, in a word, hideous.
If her hands and stomach looked like this, what about the rest of her? Suddenly, fear gripped her.
“I need… I need a mirror.”
Ramiel, her hands trembling, tried to stand up. She stumbled and fell several times, but eventually made her way out of the cave, only to be blinded by the sunlight.
“Argh!”
Her eyes burned painfully, as if they were melting under the light, and she staggered backward. Everything was wrong.
On a whim, she reached her hand out into the light again after the pain subsided, but the searing pain returned instantly.
“What… What is happening to me?”
Repeating the same words over and over, she waited, hoping the knight would return, but no one came, even as night fell.
Ramiel could only move once the moon rose.
Barefoot, she walked forward. Her body felt much better than it had during the day.
Listening carefully, she heard the sound of water flowing somewhere.
She headed in the direction of the sound and soon found a small stream. Desperate to see her reflection, she crouched down and leaned over the water’s surface.
“What?”
Ramiel let out a startled sound as she saw her reflection in the stream.
“W-what?”
Her once proud, lake-like eyes had turned red, and her hair was now pitch black. Though her skin was still pale, it resembled that of a corpse.
“What is this?”
Even as she stirred the water, her reflection didn’t change. Wondering if her vision had gone wrong, she looked around and realized something strange.
Everything appeared unnaturally clear.
[My child.]
The voice of the Goddess echoed in Ramiel’s ears, startling her further.
“G-Goddess! Something is wrong with me!”
[What do you mean, something’s wrong?]
“M-My eyes are red, and my hair is black. I look like… I look like a demon!”
[Why are you so shocked, child? Think about what you’ve done.]
“W-What I’ve done?”
Ramiel began to retrace her memories. Vivid images of everything she had done up until now flashed before her eyes.
She had turned healthy people into ghouls, killed so many. But something felt off.
She was only following the will of the Goddess—why had it all turned out like this?
Her mind spiraled into confusion.
“N-no… No, it can’t be… right?”
Ramiel, her face filled with fear, looked up at the sky.
“Please answer me, Goddess.”
[Whatever you are thinking, my dear child, you are correct.]
“A… aahhh!”
She curled up and cried like a wounded beast. The being she had believed to be the Goddess all this time was no Goddess.
She was lured into sin and corruption. Her twisted, monstrous body was the price she paid.
“Why! Why me!”
[Because you were the most fitting.]
“You monster!”
[More precisely, a demon.]
“Turn me back!”
[It’s far too late for that. Just give in and follow me.]
“No, no, I won’t!”
[Then what will you do?]
The voice of the entity she once thought was a Goddess mocked her.
[Do you even have anywhere to go?]
“Of course.”
She did. Her parents loved her, surely they would still accept her.
Even if she had to live in hiding for the rest of her life, she could endure it. Desperately, Ramiel scrambled to her feet.
