‘……Ruined? By me?’

Natasha fought against her repeatedly closing eyelids. Beyond her barely open field of vision, she could see Kyle Letius smiling viciously.

Her limp hands, drained of strength, slowly began to dry. Her small clenched fist trembled on the ground, unable to contain its anger.

‘No, no.’

It’s not true.

The operation had to succeed.

After all, eliminating Kyle Letius and rebuilding the Charliee Kingdom was what everyone wanted. Not just Natasha and Sieghart, but also the knights of Charliee and the Duchy of Kshant.

The worst-case scenario Kyle had been boasting about would not happen. Natasha Asthart had not faced Kyle Letius alone to meet such a disastrous fate.

That’s right.

She hadn’t entered this beast’s lair alone just for that reason.

“Haha……”

Natasha came to her senses as she realized what she had forgotten. Laughter flowed from her mouth that had been tightly shut all this time.

Kyle frowned as he recognized that the emotion behind the laughter was not despair but contempt. No matter how arrogant one might be, it was impossible to maintain one’s pride until now.

He asked the woman who was laughing without realizing the gravity of the situation.

“Are you crazy? Have you lost your mind?”

The man twirled his finger next to his head, asking if she had gone insane.

“God?”

Natasha retorted in a clear voice, as if to prove that her mental state was sound.

“There’s no way an incompetent and weak being like you could be the god ruling the world, Kyle Letius.”

“What did you say?”

“I’m saying there’s no reason to fear someone as insignificant as you. I only revere the One in heaven.”

For a man with nothing admirable about him to call himself a god – the real God should rightfully be angry at such an insolent statement.

Natasha raised the corner of her mouth crookedly, pointing out the man’s arrogance. Soon she smiled mischievously, as if to clearly indicate her mockery.

“So no matter what you do, I’m not afraid. Do you think I’d be intimidated by your mere violence? I’m sorry, but that won’t happen.”

Just as Kyle seemed to know Natasha’s vulnerabilities well, Natasha also knew Kyle’s vulnerabilities well.

Kyle, his nerves struck, approached Natasha angrily. His rough, large hand seemed about to harm the woman at any moment.

“You crazy bitch, I left your face alone thinking it should stay intact, but now you’ve gone too far. Shall I show you what true fear is? I’ll make you crawl to me, unable to bear the pain!”

He snarled fiercely. It seemed as if he was waiting for her to realize her mistake even now and start trembling.

But contrary to Kyle’s wishes, what came out of Natasha’s mouth next was not an apology but jeering.

“You really…… haven’t changed a bit.”

“What?”

“You’re still living in this world as the same vicious and stupid Kyle Letius as ever.”

Her red eyes scrutinized Kyle’s face. Though he was clearly the one physically overpowering the woman, Kyle somehow felt overwhelmed by Natasha.

While the opponent was distracted, Natasha unclenched her fist and slowly moved her hand.

“Remember, Kyle? No, you probably don’t remember.”

And she recalled that time.

That dreamlike day when she had mercilessly trampled her nemesis.

Kyle Letius had missed the crucial point then as now, underestimating Natasha.

He had carelessly approached, presenting a good opportunity, completely forgetting he was in front of an enemy.

“It was similar to now back then too. There were only the two of us, you and me. Although the knights came in later and killed me…… It seems I don’t need to worry about that now. Thanks to your stupidity in sending the knights away, I don’t seem to be in danger of following you to ruin.”

“……What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Did you think I’d quietly become your hostage? That I’d be the one to ruin this plan?”

Natasha caressed the man’s waist. The sword’s security was ridiculously lax, as if he had never even suspected the possibility of his toy rebelling. He seemed to think she had no chance to resist once he had taken her sword.

“No, Kyle Letius. With this, my revenge is completely finished.”

From the moment she told Sieghart that she would also participate in the operation, Natasha had made up her mind. She had been counting down to this day ever since she insisted on being in charge of X-2.

No, she had been determined since her past life.

She had resolved over and over, even before killing Kyle, and even when she directly killed him in her regressed life.

Her nemesis and Sieghart Asthart’s nemesis, Kyle Letius.

A vicious being that defied God.

She had vowed to bring about his end with her own hands.

And the perfect moment was now.

What was needed to annihilate this man was neither Sieghart Asthart nor the Charliee Knights.

It was Natasha herself and her two capable hands.

“If you wanted to live, you should have remembered.”

Natasha drew the sword from its sheath and stabbed the man’s eye.

Aaargh! A loud scream echoed through the hall. Blood gushed like a fountain from the eye that had been smugly laughing just moments ago. Agonized groans poured out like a bursting dam from the mouth that had been boasting so arrogantly.

“I had taken your life that day, you know.”

The same situation as that day was unfolding.

The two eyes that couldn’t resist their filthy desires finally became docile.

As did the two hands that had completely destroyed Natasha’s long-standing home, the family she loved dearly, and her brilliant future.

The annoying lips and tongue that had been full of mockery were now nothing more than a ferocious conduit for expelling pain.

“And today, I will definitely take it, Kyle Letius.”

“Ugh, ugh….. Uwa…… Uwaaaah!”

“Your beating heart.”

But what followed would be different from that day.

There would be no knights rushing in upon hearing the screams to surround her. No resolute command from the knight commander to kill her immediately, nor the dozens of blades that would follow.

The sword in Natasha’s hand would finally pierce Kyle Letius’s heart, and she would gloriously witness the scene of the man turning into a cold corpse.

Natasha raised the sword, drenched in crimson blood, towards the sky. The gleaming sword under the magnificent chandelier then swung downwards.

Aaargh!

With a final death cry, Kyle Letius stopped moving. Even his hideous screams seemed to have ceased completely.

Now he was no longer alive.

It was finally his end.

Having finished her task, Natasha wandered the corridor.

Outside, it had already brightened. Beyond the verdant sky, colorful fireworks continued to spread. It was a brilliant signal flare announcing the start of the festival.

Natasha stopped in her tracks and stared blankly out the window. The loud sounds of fireworks, masking the fall of the imperial palace, penetrated the shields and reached Natasha’s ears.

She could almost hear the cheers of people celebrating the biggest festival of the year.

Natasha, touching the cold window, thought leisurely.

‘……Ah, so it’s that day.’

Yes, it was that day.

The day that announced the honorable achievements of the Letius Empire and the new birth of the Duchy of Kshant.

The day that announced the fall of the Charliee Kingdom and the day Natasha Asthart’s happiness was shattered.

The day Natasha Charliee’s family died years ago and the day Enoch Calrent’s family died decades ago.

The day both of them began to become truly unfortunate.

Natasha gazed at the sky dyed in various colors as if paint had been spilled across it, then left her spot.

Her slow steps gradually picked up speed. Finally, she was running.

Her breathing became ragged and her heart rate increased. A sweet taste rose in her mouth, followed by the tangy scent of iron.

She stopped when she encountered a man covered in bloody armor.

Her body, which had barely been resting, moved again. She leaped and landed in the man’s arms.

The man who naturally caught Natasha seemed bewildered by the woman’s sudden appearance. Regardless of Sieghart’s reaction, she shouted:

“I’m not sympathizing with you. I still resent you.”

“……Natasha?”

“I really resent you for mercilessly defeating and killing me with secrets I didn’t know. Therefore, I love you. Yes, therefore I can love you.”

She blurted out the confession they had agreed to make after the battle, when both of their wishes had finally come true.

“It’s because I resented you that I can fully love you now. In the end, we hurt each other. We were hurt because of each other….. So can’t we forgive and love each other, Enoch Calrent?”

“……”

“So, let’s not attach the ugly name of guilt to our feelings anymore and accept them with dignity now. We’re no longer children, so we don’t need to live trapped in the past……”

One way or another, Natasha had no choice but to love Sieghart.

“I love you.”

Just as that man had loved her while bearing the atonement of the world, so did she. Even while harboring bitter emotions, she couldn’t help but hold the other in her heart.

“I love you, Enoch Calrent.”

“……”

“I love you, Sieghart Asthart.”

In the end, Natasha couldn’t let go of Sieghart.