Chapter 155
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Chapter 155
By forcibly unraveling the magical formula, the mana wavelengths had become hopelessly entangled. Jenath coughed up a mouthful of dark blood.
Success had been within reach. All I needed to do was watch everyone bound within my magic circle perish.
But then—
A thousand years of preparation, a grand design on the verge of fruition, reduced to nothing in a single moment. Because of Margaret.
How could I have made such a mistake, no matter how consumed by madness I was?
I had never doubted that I could kill everyone with my own hands. I always had before.
That's why I hadn't hesitated to unseal the pendant, saving its power for after opening the dimensional gate, to dominate that dimension itself.
Had I foreseen this outcome, I would have unsealed the pendant first.
Everything stemmed from my arrogance.
"This... this is unbelievable. Margaret, what have you done to me?!"
As Jenath shrieked, Margaret startled and glared at him.
"Stop your nonsense and let go!"
"Damn it...! How did you do this to me?! How could you...! How?!"
Margaret struggled in his embrace, then drove her forehead hard against his. Though he released her from his arms, Jenath remained dazed by the impact.
What was this emotion?
Hoping she wouldn't die in that moment of descent.
Just moments before, I hadn't cared what happened to her life. She was meant to die anyway... and yet.
This couldn't be. This couldn't be happening.
[Thank you for saving Margaret, you fool.]
Kaiden's voice echoed in my mind.
At the same moment, sand-like particles scattered from his body. The grains dispersed into the air coalesced into a human form and rolled across the ground.
As the mana became severely tangled and my control weakened, Kaiden reclaimed his body.
Jenath was hurled backward, groaning as he skidded across the floor. Kaiden, regaining his senses, rushed toward him with speed.
A sharp sound.
Intense pain erupted from my chest.
Jenath stared blankly at the dagger embedded in his heart.
[Never meet the Test Subjects directly. You'll psychologically synchronize or assimilate with them. The moment that happens, it's over. You won't be able to kill them.]
Only now did Anata's words cut through with bitter clarity.
I was different from Anata. A thousand years hadn't been so difficult for me.
I had been certain of that.
When I met Yuanna, it was nothing, so why now...?
As Jenath's vision blurred and flickered toward complete darkness, he burned Margaret's face—the face of the one who stared down at him—into his eyes.
The architect of his ruin, the one who had shattered his grand dream prepared over a thousand years in a single instant, he etched her image deep within his gaze.
That was his end.
* * *
Jenath was dead.
Confirming that his breath had ceased, Kaiden urgently searched for me. When our eyes met, his face bore the faint traces of tears.
"Margaret! Thank goodness you're safe. Thank goodness. I... you... you..."
He pulled me into a tight embrace and buried his face against my shoulder. His entire body trembled faintly. He couldn't find the words and closed his mouth.
That's what I should be saying. I'm so relieved that Kaiden returned safely. I was so worried about him. The shock of seeing Jenath wearing Kaiden's body still felt vivid.
My eyes burned with tears as I pulled him into a tight embrace and stroked his back. I couldn't hold back the sobs welling up inside me as I wiped away my tears.
Enoch came rushing toward me, gasping for breath. He checked my condition briefly, then looked at Kaiden's battered face before letting out a relieved sigh.
With his large hand, he patted my head in silence, then turned away to confirm Jenath's death once more.
Jenath was truly dead.
I couldn't believe that vicious human was actually gone. It wasn't until a long time passed and I realized he wasn't moving that we all finally relaxed our guard.
It's over now. Truly over.
Strangely, Jenath's final expression as he looked at me remained etched deeply in my mind. Why had he worn a face that seemed to suggest he felt betrayed by me?
I picked up the pendant from the ground—the one sealing the Tower Masters' magical power.
"Cough."
At that moment, Asdal, who had been lying collapsed, coughed up blood.
Kaiden, who had been holding me, lost consciousness as if all his strength had been drained.
I came to my senses and hurriedly gathered my companions. Diego hoisted the unconscious Kaiden onto his back. Enoch supported Asdal as he stood.
Everyone's condition was critical. We needed to find Yuanna and receive treatment as soon as possible.
Silver Earthworm, who had transformed back into a small serpent, quickly clung to my arm.
I urgently searched for the location where Yuanna and Anata were. According to Asdal, they had agreed to find the exit and leave the door open.
An exit.
At that moment, a conversation I'd had with Jenath suddenly came back to me.
'This Island opens a gate to the Langrid Empire once every year. Anata and I received new sacrifices whenever that gate opened. It hasn't been a year since you all arrived on this Island yet. What do you think happens if you forcibly open a closed gate before the cycle is complete?'
'What happens?'
'That's where the questions end.'
What if that gate—the one Yuanna's group went to find—was that very gate?
No, actually, it seemed certain. It had to be that gate.
In the Cabin, the only thing that could be called an 'exit' was that gate in the Underground.
Only then did I understand why Jenath had given Yuanna the 'universal key' in the first place.
'What could the universal key possibly mean? He wouldn't have given a master key that opens every door just to open the Bunker.'
'Could it be he prepared a contingency in case his plan fell apart?'
'Then using that key to open "something" could be the trap.'
Our prediction had been correct. The real reason Jenath gave a master key that opens every door must have been this.
If any of us discovered the Basement door, he wanted us to use Yuanna's key to open it.
When I think about why Jenath did this, there's only one answer. Opening the door was connected not only to the Island's destruction but to our deaths as well.
This Island contained various routes to death, and the key was probably one of them.
'What happens if you forcibly open a closed gate before the cycle is complete?'
His words continued to nag at me uncomfortably.
"...We need to hurry! We have to meet her before the Holy Maiden opens the Basement door!"
I shouted to my companions and rushed toward the entrance of the Basement.
* * *
I barely found the Basement door among the ruins of the collapsed Cabin.
Yuanna stood before the door and looked back at Anata. Anata nodded silently. It was a signal to open the door.
Yuanna swallowed dryly for a moment, then pulled the key from her pocket. It was the same key that had opened the Room of Rest where Anata had been sealed.
Before the regression, the universal key that Jenath had given her.
'There shouldn't be any problems, right?'
Then, suddenly, a question Margaret had asked before came to mind.
'Is she really someone trustworthy?'
I had thought she was trustworthy. That hadn't changed even now. Hadn't Anata sacrificed herself, prepared to be sealed away by Jenath?
Yet still, I kept hesitating.
"I know you're suspicious, but it really is an escape route."
As if reading my thoughts, Anata sighed and spoke.
It was when Yuanna, who had been hesitating for a long time, inserted the key into the door handle.
"Holy Maiden!"
Margaret's voice rang out, breaking through the ruins of the cabin. Yuanna brightened upon seeing her.
"Margaret! I'm so glad you're safe!"
"Thank you for worrying about me. Ah, and please wait a moment before opening the door. Jenath said something that's been bothering me."
Margaret, who had rushed over urgently, was breathing heavily, and a Silver Earthworm—even smaller than usual—was coiled around her forearm.
"Anata, didn't you say this door opens once every year?"
"That's right."
Anata nodded in affirmation at Margaret's question.
"I asked Jenath if there was a way for the Holy Maiden, whose soul is bound to the Island, to escape as well. He said it might be possible if the Island were destroyed. And then he told me the method to destroy the Island, but...."
Margaret pointed at the firmly sealed door.
"He asked me in return: 'What would happen if you forcibly opened a door that only opens once every year?'"
"What could that mean?"
Yuanna's brow furrowed. Margaret shrugged and carefully withdrew the key from the door handle.
"Holy Maiden, this key. He said it was a gift from Jenath before he turned back time."
"Ah. Yes.... That's right."
"Why would Jenath specifically give a universal key that could even open the escape door as a gift?"
"...!"
"I think this is a trap. If you forcibly open the door with the key before a year has passed, the Island will be destroyed."
"If the Island is destroyed, we can escape from here, so isn't that good?"
"The problem is that Jenath said it. The context of the conversation was also a bit strange. It doesn't seem like only the Island would be destroyed. Anata, you really don't know anything?"
At those words, the gazes of Rujeep, Yuanna, and those who had followed behind Margaret all turned toward Anata.
"What...?"
Anata's eyes widened in surprise, blinking. Looking at her, Yuanna's face was filled with deep betrayal.
"Anata, you really don't know anything?"
"Jenath deceived even me and set a trap? That can't be right. That can't be...."
Anata pressed her forehead, her face disbelieving.
She fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, then suddenly looked at Yuanna.
"Why did Jenath give you that key in the first place, and why didn't he take it back? If it's him, he probably expected some amusing 'variable.' He wanted you to open the door, believing it was an escape route, full of hope. Just like now."
"...!"
"Of course, whether you open the door or not doesn't matter to him.... It was simply a gift for his own amusement."
Hearing those words, Yuanna's brow furrowed in incomprehension.
"If you open the exit, the Island will be destroyed, won't it? That wouldn't benefit Jenath at all."
"This door is interlocked with the Island's entire system like gears. If you forcibly open such a door, the Island will naturally be destroyed. Will only the Island be destroyed? It will also affect the Test Subjects connected to the system."
"Ah...."
"There's a high possibility you're all dead except for your magical essence. It was the final experiment, after all. The Island's destruction isn't a significant blow to Jenath. What matters to him is effectively draining your magical and divine power and opening the dimensional gate."
Yuanna's face grew unsettled as she let the key in her hand fall to the floor.
Thud.
Everyone's gaze shifted toward the key that had fallen to the ground.
Then Anata suddenly asked.
"Wait, but what about Jenath?"
"He's dead."
At Margaret's reply, Anata's complexion visibly paled.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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