[88.10] Cyrus POV: For My Queen

[Author's note: This part of the chapter is from Cyrus's perspective]

"-Orphelio."

I looked at Reika in surprise, "This is him? Are you sure?"

She nodded with a grave expression, "It's him. I will never forget that hideous smile of his."

Orphelio attempted to look hurt by this, "Hideous? I think I'm quite handsome. Even this body resembles me and I heard the original soul was a famous womanizer. So how could you call me hideous?"

She sneered, "If you think you are so handsome, then why don't you leave that body and prove it?"

His nose curled as he taunted her back, "Am I in the body of your boyfriend? Why do you want me to leave so badly? Or is it that you just want to gaze upon my beauty again?"

She shouted, "AS IF!"

My chest immediately felt enflamed from rage as I pulled her even closer to me.

Who does this bastard think he is?!

"That's right. You seem to be very close to someone else now." Orphelio seemed to notice something and casually looked over at me, "Although, that's better for me. Now I have more options to torture you."

Before he could even flick his wrist, my instincts took over.

"Reika! Watch out!"

I pulled her close to me as I thrust out my sword, breaking the malicious cloud of smoke pouring past us. My sword vibrated violently with cracks of golden light appearing on the dark, hard surface. The smoke dissipated as soon as it came across the blade.

Orphelio raised a singular eyebrow, "Huh." 

That magic…

Isn't it the mana of resentment?

However, only ghosts can use that kind of energy. Would that mean-

Orphelio's dull voice cut through my thoughts, "It seems I will have to use a different tactic."

The smoke flowed out of his body and burst towards the people who had yet to run away. Their bodies started to convulse and twist as the smoke poured inside. Their heads slowly twisted to look at us, their eyes were completely white and their veins were crawling under the skin as if maggots were inside.

Orphelio tilted his head with a mischievous smile, "I can always get other people to fight my battles for me."

The crowd of people surrounded us as Reika and I stood back to back.

My eyes quickly assessed the situation, "Reika. These people-"

"-It's necromancy."

My lips pressed together as my pupils narrowed, "Necromancy fueled by resentment?"

"It appears so." She turned back to Orphelio with a smirk, "But what do you have to be resented over? Oh! Is it perhaps the fact that I told you I would never let you have Moni and I was right?"

"Y-You…" Orphelio's expression started to twist furiously, "Who said I didn't have him? I was with him for a THOUSAND YEARS!"

As he launched a barrage of furious attacks, I blocked them effortlessly with the help of my sword. I asked Reika in a low voice as I blocked, "Can it be reversed?"

She furrowed her brow, "I'm… I'm not sure. I don't know much about necromancy and everything I do know involves either a dead body or a soul replacement. It is possible they might be able to return to normal."

My expression darkened, "I see… Then let's not kill them. Just make it so they can no longer fight."

She gave me a wink, "Your Royal Magician hears you loud and clear, my King."

Chains of ice shot up from the ground and wrapped around their wrists. The people were struggling to break free as I sprinted forward and used the blunt side of my sword to knock them all unconscious.

Seeing that his handiwork was taken care of so effortlessly, Orphelio clicked his tongue.

"Such a shame this body is so weak. It seems I am no match for you." He glanced at his hands with a smirk, "My darling pup took so much of my power, it's going to take such a long time to recover it."

Reika shouted out, "As if we will give you the opportunity-"

A blinding light exploded in the sky, causing all three of us to stop moving. It only lasted for a brief moment, but that was enough to fill my stomach with unease.

Reika stared at that light with a pained expression as she held her chest. I could tell just by the look in her eyes that she was reliving a distant memory. As she watched that beaming light, another zombified person lunged toward her. 

I quickly kicked him back and turned to her, "Reika. Go."

She flinched, "H-Huh?"

"That's where Zephyr and Atta are. They might need help. You need to go to them."

"But what about-"

Orphelio sent another wave of smoke that I slashed through, "I can handle him."

"But-"

I pulled her into my embrace and gave her a quick kiss. A look of confusion passed through her dark irises but she didn't push me away.

"What the hell." Orphelio's expression twisted, "How disgusting do you two have to be?! I'm right here!"

I turned back to him as I spoke to her, "Do you trust me?"

"I… I do!"

"Then go. I can hold him off… Just go save our twins."

She couldn't hide the emotion in her voice as she nodded, "Mmn!"

"YOU B*TCH! I WON'T LET YOU LEAVE!"

A sudden furious wave of resentment gushed out of his body, shooting towards Reika like an arrow. However, she didn't even glance at him because she knew I would block it for her.

Which of course I did without fail.

I clenched my jaw as I seethed in anger, "Don't you dare call her that!"

Reika ran off to the Academy, quickly leaving us behind. I forced myself to hold back, maintaining that thin thread of sanity I had left. The sword in my hands was shaking from boundless energy as the pure white light shimmered frantically on the cold dark surface.

Orphelio seemed to notice this and smirked as if he had gleaned my weak point, "I understand what you are going through right now, you know. Right now, your holy power is at odds with your demonic power. That curse is using the conflicting mana to warp your judgment. The illusions you see are the ones that your body is using to attack itself. Even if you will no longer die from the curse, you can't escape the dual forces constantly at war inside yourself. You'll question reality and you'll never know if it's an illusion or not."

I sneered, "I think I can figure out reality from fiction. I'm not delusional like you."

"Are you sure? Are you even sure this is real?"

Butterflies started crawling out of the darkened parts of my blade and flew off.

I tightened my grip, "Shut up."

"Maybe you're just imagining me because you secretly want to be rid of the Great Fairy."

A cynical laugh escaped my lips, "Great Fairy? If you want to trick me, you have to at least know her name."

"Her name?" His lips twitched, "What name could she possibly have?"

"Her. Name. Is. Reika."

Orphelio smiled at me through the black butterflies scattering around us in the smoke. Although they seemed to feed on the environment around them, none of them landed on him as if commanded not to.

"Regardless of that, how can you know that she is real or if she is an illusion?"

My heart trembled, "Shut up."

"Think about it. Traveling through time? Doesn't that sound completely delusional? It's obvious you lost her a long time ago and are now just going crazy from the loneliness."

"SHUT UP!"

The ground at my feet shattered as I jumped towards him with my sword in hand. I swung my sword, scattering the smoke surrounding him. The bright light burst forward and knocked him back. 

He skidded to a stop and grimaced, "You seem to be more insane than I am."

I stepped towards him with a thumping heart.

"You claim to understand me, but you don't. That woman is the love of my life. I would do anything for her. I would sacrifice the world if she wanted me to. How can a man like you, who has never felt love, even begin to understand me?"

"Love? Hah… Hahahaha!" He burst into laughter, "What use is love!? That's the most cliched thing I've heard in a while!!! Love is such a useless emotion."

"Oh? Then why did you chase after Moni all these years? Who would do that other than someone who loves him?"

His laughter abruptly stopped, "He is entertainment."

"Now YOU are the delusional one." The corners of my lips quirked up as I taunted him without hesitation, "Ah, but you're right. You don't love him… After all, love isn't meant to be painful. I think you can only call me obsessive because you know what it means. Moni wasn't entertainment, he was your obsession."

"...You talk a lot for someone who knows nothing."

"Oh? I know nothing? I grew up alongside Moni. He was my best friend my entire life. No matter what he did in the end, it will never change that he is my friend." My head turned up haughtily, "Anyone with eyes could see how much he wanted to be free from you. No matter where he is now, he's lucky… Because he will never have to see you again."

I could see the anger and rage turning my cousin's features hideous. Just as I readied my sword for his attack, his features suddenly smoothed over.

He smiled back at me with an ominous look in his eyes, "I wonder just how much your woman told you. Did she tell you how I killed her scum of a disciple? She was pregnant, you know…. And I was the one who cut that baby out while the mother was still alive."

Smoke poured out from around him as his entire eyes went pure black.

"I was there the day her barrier fell. I watched her get shot through the chest." He suddenly burst out into laughter, "Her little fox was so traumatized! You should have seen that delicious expression on his face when he saw his mother collapse in a pile of her own blood!"

This…

THIS BASTARD!

"She thought she could send them all away to different places so that I couldn't get to them. She thought that she could keep my darling pup from me… But I found him."

His voice grew deeper as the air around him rose from the tension in his body, "And I was with him. And I egged him on… I annoyed him until he tried to kill your wh*re-"

I lunged forward with hatred in my eyes.

How dare he hurt Reika!

How dare he touch her!!!

How dare he-

Right before I stabbed into his chest, a familiar voice echoed in my head.

-That's Nicholas-

I snapped out of the illusion and pulled myself back just before the tip entered his chest. My eyes regained their clarity as the butterflies dissipated into air.

I can't kill Nicholas.

As much as I want to kill Orphelio, Nicholas is completely innocent.

"Hmmm." Orphelio smiled, his eyes curving into crescents with ominous shapes, "It seems this body is more useful than I thought."

Before I could react, a teleportation spell made from blood encircled him.

As he disappeared, he whispered.

"Cyrus. Next time I return, I will make sure to greet you the nicest way I know how."

My grip tightened on my sword as I could only helplessly watch him disappear. My fingers turned white from the pressure, "...Reika."

I'm sorry I let him get away…

I'm sorry-

A burst of pain exploded in my vision, causing me to collapse to my knees. I groaned and clenched my jaw, trying desperately to avoid screaming in agony.

As the pain came, so too did pieces that shouldn't fit.