Free Web NovelChapter 209: Ch 209: No way to save her
The world was beginning to turn red for her. Serena wanted to blink her eyes and get rid of the filter, but her eyes felt heavy.
Her arms were rapidly being covered in scales and she could feel her skin parting to let those sharp claws out. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
"Is...this what it feels like to become a monster?"
Serena questioned as she felt her consciousness starting to fade away. She fought tooth and nail to remain at the forefront, but she was unsuccessful.
Her mother’s hands were pulling her back from the surface and away from the light.
’You have fought enough, my dear. Now, it’s time for us to return home. I will take you to a place where you will no longer feel hurt or betrayed.’
Her mother’s arms were solid around her and Serena felt her worries melting away as she lay in them.
She looked up at her mother’s face, but she could not see anything. It was a dark puppet that was dragging her toward the depths, and a bitter feeling took over her heart.
’So I did get fooled. It was never my mother who called out to me.’
The faceless entity dragged Serena until she could no longer feel her body or emotions. She was being consumed by something.
’Open your eyes, my dear. It’s time you see the last sight you will ever see in your life.’
Her mother’s voice was back and Serena opened her eyes, only to see a glowing tree right above her head.
No, it was not a tree but a creature of overwhelming might. And Serena knew that this would be her end.
’You can blame that man, Rin, for all of this. Your fate was not supposed to be like this, but then he decided to get involved with you. You likely won’t have another life because your soul will be used as fuel here. But still, curse him one last time.’ freēwēbnovel.com
Serena’s eyes widened in shock before they closed.
Her feelings were mixed and complicated. Now that she had heard the reason she had died, she wanted to resent Rin. But her feelings...would not allow it.
Her common sense was telling her that her meeting Rin had been a coincidence and nothing he had done had contributed to her current condition.
She had been cursed by corruption way before she met him again.
So unless the wheels of her fate had started changing ever since she met him as a child, this was all a coincidence.
’Tsk, it seems you are hell-bent on making excuses for that man, my dear. Did you fall for him to become like this? Ah, what a pity.’
That made Serena pause in shock as she considered what her mother had said to her.
Had she...truly fallen for Rin? Surely that cannot be! They had not even known each other for long and Serena...maybe she did like Rin a little bit.
If she had more time, she was sure that her feelings could have evolved into love. Or maybe she had already fallen for him anyway.
Not that it mattered anymore. The giant tree-like creature was absorbing her and her feelings. And with that, Serena was no more.
Only a shell of her former self remained as a calamity in this world.
__________
A monster with scales and claws tore down the surrounding buildings. The entity seemed to be destroying its environment without any concern for the damage it was causing.
It did not take long for the destruction to turn from normal into a fire-imbued fury. It began to burn the area and it was hot enough to even melt metal.
This was the Crimson Sorrow, the demon of flames, and it had finally been reborn.
Rin looked at it from a distance with mixed feelings.
That new form had nothing left of Serena. He could not even sense her presence and the system confirmed this for him as well.
[Rookie, I am sorry to say this, but the presence of the person known as ’Serena’ has ceased to be. Her soul has been devoted to the system. So even if you hesitate and want to bring her back, there is no longer a way to do that.]
The system confirmed this for him and Rin gritted his teeth before he decided to bite his lower lip.
He was biting it so hard that it started to bleed, which made Shelly freak out.
"Rin, your lip is bleeding! Are you alright? Let me see it for a moment-"
Shelly grabbed his face before turning it from side to side to keep an eye on him. Her eyes looked over him patiently, but Rin could not appreciate her concern.
He could only look at the mindless monster causing destruction.
[Congratulations: you have completed your KPI.
Reward: You have gained Fire Resistance.]
[Please complete the task by putting the calamity to rest now.]
What a perfect reward for such a situation. But Rin could not even be happy about it. His heart was beating far too fast from sorrow and annoyance.
’Is there...truly no way to save Serena? I was able to save Alex...’
[In user Alex’s case, his soul was not consumed by the system so you could awaken him as a familiar. But the soul of user Serena is already gone. Please wake up and do your duties. This is not the time to be feeling guilty.]
It felt like a cold slap to Rin’s face.
He wanted to argue that his current worry was not because he felt guilty toward Serena. But he froze as soon as he opened his mouth to argue. His words got caught in his throat when he tried to speak.
It was only because of one reason—he did feel guilty toward Serena.
"Ugh, this is bad. As much as I don’t want to fight Serena, that thing needs to be taken down before it causes any more damage. Rin, what should we do?"
Albus asked and Rin felt like he was echoing his own words back at him.
He wanted to ask someone else what he should do as well in such a situation. His heart and mind wanted different things.
Thankfully, Shelly was there to ground everyone.
"What else is there to do? If we are facing a calamity, then we need to make sure we take it down, right? That thing might have been Serena in the past, but now it’s a mindless monster. If we don’t stop it, then more people will die. I think the outcome is obvious."
One life against a hundred others. The outcome was obvious indeed. But Rin’s heart was not ready to hear it for some reason.
