Julian, Yuta, Ethan, Theo, Linna, Ray, Zahid...

If even one of the people Aietar had dismissed as “worthless nobodies” hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have even had the chance to steal his divine power.

Because this opportunity wasn’t something I made on my own, I couldn’t give up—I carried everyone’s lives in this moment.

At some point, even Aietar’s frenzied shouting turned into a low hum that I could barely hear.

Blood and tears streamed from my bloodshot eyes, blurring my vision.

Maybe I was holding on longer than he expected, because Aietar twisted violently inside the tangle of vines, trying to shake my hand off.

“You—stop this right now! Stop! You repulsive little—!”

“Guh... kuhuk...”

Now blood was leaking from my ears too. I could barely feel my limbs anymore, but I forced myself to stay conscious—I didn’t stop.

How much time had passed?

It sounded like Aietar was still shouting obscenities, but I couldn’t make out the words clearly anymore.

“Rosie!”

Zahid’s voice finally drew near—he must’ve finished dealing with the clinging holy knights.

“If you get hurt even a little... I don’t think I’ll be able ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) to take it.”

Even in that brief, anguished cry of my name, the pain in his voice was unmistakable.

“Rosie, stop! Please!”

“...It’s... already too late, Zahid. Kuhk, don’t... kuhk, don’t stop me. If you make me let go, this man will steal my divine power again...”

Aietar was still screaming, too.

“You lowborn wretch...!”

“Rosie, please!”

At the same time, there was a dull thud, and Aietar let out a scream. It must have reached the point where I had taken so much divine power that his body could no longer heal on its own.

I heard a rough breath, followed by the scraping sound of a blade being drawn. Zahid must’ve been right in front of Aietar, pointing his sword at his throat.

“...Ha... are you going to kill me?”

Aietar’s eerie voice addressed Zahid.

His tone, oddly calm now, was laced with madness.

“That would be troublesome, wouldn’t it? The divine power with nowhere to return to will end up killing my daughter.”

Zahid’s sword seemed to hesitate.

“There’s a way to end all of this, you know.”

Even as I still had my hand on him, Aietar whispered to Zahid.

“You kill this woman.”

His voice was so soft and kind, it was almost ridiculous considering how violently he’d been thrashing earlier.

That voice—already not normal—knew exactly how to hurt us the most.

“Then the power you feared so much will disappear with me.”

I coughed violently, vomiting blood once again.

Aietar continued speaking to Zahid.

“If you leave her be, I’ll just take my divine power back anyway. Shouldn’t you let her feel that her pain meant something?”

His voice even held a trace of amusement.

By now, it was obvious—he wasn’t just angry. He had fully descended into madness.

I could already picture the tortured expression Zahid must be making.

He couldn’t stop me, but he couldn’t just stand by and watch either. How painful that must be for him...

“My daughter so desperately wants to become a hero by destroying me. Wouldn’t it be better if her comrade granted her that wish...? Ah, judging by your eyes... you weren’t just comrades. Lovers, then? So that ridiculous engagement wasn’t fake after all?”

Aietar let out a giggle, laughing openly now. Realizing how strong my resolve was, he played his final card.

“I’m generously offering you the perfect solution—why that expression? Wasn’t she prepared to die from the beginning?”

The fact that his voice kept reaching me meant Zahid was still hesitating.

He must’ve been unable to swing his sword after hearing that killing Aietar would result in the divine power within me killing me instead.

“I’ve hated the Dyfenril family since long ago. Your parents’ funeral? That was a delightful day.”

Aietar’s voice grew more unhinged, likely because I had drained so much of his power.

“The one who walked into this checkmate was my daughter. So now, Duke, you must choose where your sword will point.”

He seemed to take great pleasure in watching Zahid’s expression twist in agony.

“Will you kill me and end her? Or kill her and end all of this?”

Though trembling all over, I still couldn’t let go.

“But judging by this stunt she’s pulling, it seems pretty obvious what my daughter wants from you, Duke.”

My vision was so blurred I couldn’t see Zahid’s face.

But then I realized—you can suffer just from the sound of someone’s breathing.

“The weak—those with something to protect—can never do anything in the end.”

Finally, I understood what Aietar was thinking.

He wasn’t just lost in madness—he’d calculated everything.

He was stalling. If I lost consciousness, he’d kill Liri and capture me to reclaim his divine power.

Divine power flows in only one direction—so as long as I wasn’t dead, he could take it back once the situation was over.

“If your sword fails to kill my daughter, all of you will lose to me.”

Aietar chuckled darkly.

I took a deep breath—and vomited blood again. I was truly at my limit.

Even I couldn’t withstand this any longer. I felt it instinctively.

I whispered with all the strength I had left.

“Liri...”

“No! Rosie! No!”

Zahid screamed in a hoarse voice. He must’ve thought I was going to use Liri’s vines to kill myself.

And truthfully... I had thought about it.

But I had made a promise to Zahid.

“Live with everything you have, Rosie.”

“...Yeah.”

So I intended to give it everything I had, to the very end.

“No!”

Zahid cried out in despair just as—

One of Liri’s vines rapidly approached me.

As Zahid threw down his sword and reached toward it—

Tap.

What the vine handed me was the Sacred Relic of Time—something Liri had been holding all this time.

‘Ah.’

The texture was exactly the same as when I’d touched it in the prison in my past life.

I’d already been betrayed by the Sacred Relic of Power. The hope that I could control it had been shattered.

But the Sacred Relic of Time?

I had used this one before.

“Liri, stay hidden with the Sacred Relic of Time—somewhere far from here.”

The moment I heard that from Yuta, a new plan had formed in my mind.

‘If the Sacred Relic of Power won’t work, then I’ll use the Sacred Relic of Time.’

They said the Relic of Time required an immense amount of divine power.

But I had once succeeded in turning back time with nothing but a sliver of divine energy.

This time, of course it would work.

Because Aietar’s monstrous divine power now filled me to the brim.

If I poured it into the Relic of Time—couldn’t I turn back time again?

I began channeling the divine power that flooded my body into the Sacred Relic of Time.

“Foolish girl!”

Aietar, still bound in vines, screamed. He hadn’t expected the Sacred Relic of Time to appear.

“No matter how much divine power I built up, even I couldn’t control the Relic of Time!”

His voice trembled with shock.

If you fed insufficient divine power into the Relic of Time—you’d simply die.

“Stop! I said stop!”

In other words, if I died like this, his divine power wouldn’t return to him either.

“...If it’s not enough... I’ll use mine too.”

I said, blood pouring from my lips.

“I have to... try...”

“You plan to kill yourself like this? You filthy wretch! You’d end everything I’ve built this way? If you’re going to die, do it alone, quietly! How dare you do this to me—me, who became a god!”

Leaving behind Aietar’s raging voice, the explosive divine power surged into the Sacred Relic of Time.

“No, Rosie! No!”

Zahid’s voice cried out, clutching my arm.

Fire’s soft fur brushed against my trembling body.

“Rosieeeee!”

“No! Rosie! Rosie!” 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

I could faintly hear Ray and Linna’s voices from far away.

“We’ll meet you soon. We’re coming around back after burying all the holy knights.”

So they really buried them all...

“RosieRosie! RosieRosieeeee!”

Even Julian’s voice rang out, nearly a scream.

So... everyone really did come.

‘Ah...’

If Julian made it here, then maybe the other brothers from the tower came too?

‘I didn’t... want to show them this awful sight...’

I was probably covered in blood—just looking at me would break their hearts.

‘My brother... he’ll probably faint if he sees me up close...’

That was my last thought—before I blacked out.

Before Julian could faint... I fainted first.