Chapter 248: After All, I'm Not a Monster

At that moment, Queen Snow White finally regained consciousness. She instantly realized that the seductive charm magic she had always relied on had ceased to function. That could only mean one thing: her true appearance had been exposed.

When Jon had burned her earlier with Hellfire, it hadn't scorched her body. Instead, it targeted and incinerated the magic cloaking her, rendering her completely powerless.

"No... how could this happen?!" she whispered, finally understanding what had just occurred, and what was to come.

The illusion she had lived for decades was now crumbling before her eyes.

"Why..." Snow White hissed, her eyes bloodshot as they locked onto Jon. Her grotesque ugly face made her look even more terrifying in her rage. "Why not just kill me? Burn me to ash? Why punish me like this? What kind of grudge do you hold that you would do this to me?!"

Jon burst out laughing. "Are you serious? If I killed you outright, I'd be remembered as a criminal for centuries. But this way? This way, I become a national hero."

Her hideous face twisted even more in fury. She realized his actions mirrored her own past ones, hunting down witches to preserve her image. And now, she was suffering the same poetic justice.

Overwhelmed by despair, she converted her sorrow into rage and lunged at Jon, hands stretched out like claws. "I'll kill you!"

"The one who deserves to die... is you!"

A cold voice echoed from the side.

Suddenly, a shining blade plunged into the Queen's chest.

"Kirk... my Prince Charming... why...?" she choked, blood pouring from her wound, her face filled with disbelief.

King Kirk had appeared silently on the execution platform. Without a word, he had driven his sword through her chest.

"Why did you lie to me?!" he roared, twisting the blade savagely, tearing her insides further.

"Were all those years of love fake? Does it really matter what I look like? I did everything... for you!" she gasped, broken.

"For me?" King Kirk spat. "You think I wanted to be King? I could've lived out my days as a carefree prince in my own little duchy. It was you who forced this crown upon me! You wanted me to conquer the world, just so you could be Queen of everything. All of this was about your pride!"

He stared down at her, voice cracking. "Still, I gave everything to you. I devoted my life to you. And today I learn... the woman I loved... is a revolting monster. You've been lying to me all along!"

Jon, standing to the side, shook his head and sighed. "Tsk. Poor kid clearly never went through a catfishing experience, or he wouldn't be breaking down this hard."

Swish!

King Kirk yanked his sword free. Blood gushed across the platform. Snow White collapsed to the ground and looked up at him.

Once, he had been her perfect Prince Charming. She had rescued him from witches and planned to mold him into the ideal man to match her ambition. But now, she was dying by his hand.

She turned to Jon and saw him smiling.

By now, the spirit of vengeance had taken root in Jon. He had begun to relish in the suffering of the truly wicked. The greater their despair and regret, the more delicious their soul would be.

And Snow White, who now had her life's delusions shattered, her evil exposed, and would die at the hands of the man she loved, was the perfect dish.

She realized it all too late.

This wasn't just a man.

This was a demon.

Crushed, she sat limply on the floor, eyes closing in acceptance. She waited for the final blow.

But Jon wasn't finished.

"Hey, hey! Giving up already? Come on, I haven't even had my fun yet!"

He snapped his fingers beside her ear. Suddenly, something deep within her mind unlocked.

Floods of forgotten memories surged back.

Memories she had once known but had long forgotten.

She remembered Kirk. And their child.

A boy named Adam.

The Beast Prince.

"Adam... my Adam... my son..." she gasped.

She had abandoned him in a remote village years ago. And then, as if by magic, she had completely forgotten his existence.

"Adam, why did I forget you?!" She clutched her head, as pain like knives cut through her chest.

The truth was, Antimora's curse not only turned Adam into a beast, it also erased him from the memories of everyone who once knew him.

"My son... where is he now? Is he still there?" she muttered in a daze, then turned to Jon, pleading with tearful eyes. "Please... before I die, can I see my son one last time?!"

Then her voice froze.

Because she realized why Jon had restored her memory in the first place.

It wasn't mercy.

It was to give her hope... and then destroy it.

Jon shook his head. "Sadly, it's not that I won't help you. It's that I can't."

He leaned in slightly.

"Because he's dead. Killed by my hand. So now, the only thing I can do for you... is send you to meet him."

A wicked smile curled his lips.

"After all... I'm not a monster."