Chapter 185: You Hurt Me

Serlina didn't care that the Redcaps had dismantled her stronghold.

As the "Tactile," the concept of failure didn't exist in her lexicon—only delayed success.

Resistance would inevitably turn into acceptance. Distance would eventually close into proximity. Death would merely become a precursor to reunion.

To her, life was like a story with its ending already written. No matter how chaotic the plot, the final chapter would unfold as ordained.

The only thing Serlina cared about was Ash Heath.

The Four Pillars' refusal to respond to her sacrifice said everything. This man mattered.

And intriguingly, the Four Pillars had also ignored Ash's counter-sacrifice.

To outsiders, Ash's desperate act of turning the tables—attempting to sacrifice the cultists to the Four Pillars—might have seemed laughable, a last-ditch act of defiance. But Serlina saw it differently.

If she hadn't been the one conducting the ritual, if she hadn't been in the hall, or if she weren't one of the people named in Ash's declaration, things might have gone very differently.

Because the Four Pillars clearly didn't want to sacrifice Ash, which meant they valued him.

Based on her experience, the Four Pillars rarely took an interest in mortal affairs. The only exception Serlina had ever seen was when the Tactile was involved.

Somehow, Ash was a Tactile, just like her.

It puzzled her how someone with that status had ended up in such a miserable state, but one fact remained: as a Tactile, Ash's requests—like sacrifices—were likely to be honored by the Four Pillars.

Yet, the ritual had ended in deadlock. The Four Pillars responded to neither her nor Ash.

This kind of neglect was almost unheard of for Tactiles. Serlina could only think of one explanation:

The Four Pillars were divided.

If the Four Pillars had sided fully with either Ash or Serlina, one of them would have succeeded. The fact that neither prevailed suggested a split decision: some Pillars backed Serlina, while others placed their bets on Ash.

Was it a 3-1 split? A 1-3? Or an even 2-2?

It was impossible to say.

Her thoughts drifted to the divine directive issued a few days prior, a rare edict from the Four Pillars themselves:

"The next sacrifice must include beings from another realm."

At the time, she hadn't questioned it, assuming it was a simple request. She'd tasked the Mortician's Office with locating such outsiders, leading to Ash's capture.

In hindsight, the edict was clearly orchestrated to bring Ash to her domain.

The Four Pillars were setting the stage to replace her with him.

After all, a single territory didn't need two Tactiles.

When there were two, the Four Pillars always chose the better one, discarding the other like a worn-out tool.

But something had changed. The Four Pillars hadn't completed the replacement. They didn't value her more than Ash, nor did they value him more than her.

They were hesitating.

So Serlina's path forward became crystal clear:

She had to remove the wrong choice for them.

Ash was stunned by Serlina's sudden headbutt. It took him a second to process what had happened, but surprisingly, it didn't hurt as much as he expected.

He looked at her, bewildered, as blood trickled down her forehead. "What are you doing?"

His own thick-skinned forehead was completely unharmed, but Serlina's delicate one had split open.

Serlina stuck out her tiny tongue, trying in vain to lick the blood near her lips. After several failed attempts, she grinned mischievously. "See? I'm bleeding."

"Yeah... so?"

"I don't think much of people who rely on the Book of Revelation, but even I have to admit it speaks the truth." Her voice was sweet but unsettling. "The warning was clear: 'You cannot harm me.'"

"But you hurt me." Her smile grew cold. "And for that, you owe me your life."

Ash stared at her, dumbfounded. "You rammed into me! How is this my fault? If anything, I should be pressing charges for assault! You're clearly the one trying to scam me!"

"Angry? Frustrated? Go ahead, hit me," she taunted, sticking out her tongue mockingly.

Her grin turned sinister. "When you injured me, you activated my Tactile. If I absorb your death, who knows how much stronger I'll become?"

A chill ran down Ash's spine. "What even is a Tactile? A miracle? Some kind of ability?"

He recalled the term from Professor Shirin but had never found any concrete information on it. Now, even in a different realm, he was once again ensnared by the Four Pillars.

It was like switching jobs only to realize your new company was owned by your former tyrannical boss.

"Tactile is just Tactile," Serlina replied, tilting her head in confusion. "If you're asking about mine, I already told you."

"Huh? Could you repeat that?"

Her smile turned sweet but chilling:

"Eternal Entanglement. Always Everlasting."

"SERLINA!"

Cleo and the Redcaps had finally managed to temporarily seal the gushing water and fortify the area. Tears glistening in her eyes, the elven leader raised her gun, aiming directly at the partially submerged silver throne.

A precise shot to its base could destroy the throne, plunging Serlina into the water to drown.

Cleo's marksmanship didn't fail her. Her bullets struck the base dead-on, and the silver throne emitted a high-pitched whine as it crumbled. Serlina, fully immersed in water, made no attempt to swim, sinking like a lifeless doll.

But even as the water closed over her, Serlina's expression remained eerily calm.

Glug-glug-glug.

A strange sound emanated from beneath the throne. Around Serlina, whirlpools began forming, rapidly draining the water. Cleo bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, but her hand froze mid-air. She couldn't fire directly at Serlina.

The Book of Revelation had made it clear: harm her, and the consequences would fall on you.

"You're afraid, Cleo."

Serlina lay back, entirely at ease as the vortex pulled her downward.

"But it's not me you fear. It's the Gospel you fear."

Her voice echoed mockingly: "A gun on safety kills no one."

With that, she vanished into a small crevice revealed beneath the broken throne. The vortex was too small to drag Ash along, sparing him.

When Cleo rushed to investigate, her long elven ears stiffened in frustration. Below the throne lay a dissipating virtual realm portal.

"You've got to be kidding me," Ash muttered.

By sheer coincidence—or fate—Serlina had been sucked into a realm portal, one that was now vanishing before their eyes. Even if Cleo wanted to chase her, it was too late.

"Damn it! Damn it all!" Cleo collapsed to her knees, trembling with rage as tears streaked down her face.

Ash watched her meltdown, shaken. He hadn't anticipated Serlina's escape either.

But this wasn't just luck. This was the essence of Serlina's Tactile: Eternal Entanglement. Always Everlasting.

She was calamity incarnate.

Even though his forehead no longer ached, Ash felt a deep, unsettling chill.

Serlina's headbutt hadn't been a childish prank. It had been deliberate, setting him up to bear the Four Pillars' ire.

Having left the Blood Moon without resigning properly, Ash had already soured his relationship with the Four Pillars. Now, thanks to Serlina's interference, the Four Pillars' boardroom likely had him marked as "Public Enemy Number One."