<Episode 49>
“Pathetic, truly.”
“You… won’t… go…”
Abellard clung tightly to Rubellite’s leg with arms that could barely muster any strength.
Rubellite looked down at him with disdain, gripping his hair tightly.
“When Eveline Wilden dies, it’s all over. You know this.”
“If you’re going to kill Eveline, kill me instead.”
“Why would I do that?”
Abellard felt a deep sorrow, his immobile body a testament to his helplessness. His efforts to protect Eveline felt pitiful and insignificant.
“Are you crying?”
“Shut up.”
Using every ounce of his strength, Abellard tightened his hold on Rubellite’s leg, preventing him from moving forward.
Rubellite’s grip on Abellard’s hair was so tight that Abellard’s face turned pale.
“Are you so afraid of the Lady’s death?”
“Yes! Kill me instead!”
Rubellite laughed derisively, looking down at him.
“I wonder if the Lady knows about your pitiful sincerity.”
“Argh…!”
Abellard’s body trembled as Rubellite pulled on his hair harder. Finally, with a powerful strike, Rubellite hit Abellard’s head.
“Guh…!”
Abellard’s face collided with Rubellite’s knee, causing him to pass out.
Rubellite smirked at the sight of Abellard’s unconscious body, blood trickling from his nose, and continued toward the cabin.
Slowly, he opened the door with a creak.
Bang!
“Ugh!”
“I still have ears, you know.”
Eveline, feeling feverish, had blurry vision. Despite this, her shot managed to pierce Rubellite’s ear.
“Lady.”
“What have you done to my brother?”
“I just knocked him out.”
Eveline didn’t believe him. Keeping her gun aimed at Rubellite, she tried to check outside.
The problem was that she was forcibly suppressing her heat cycle.
She was still feverish, her vision blurry, and the ground felt like it was swaying beneath her.
“Brother!”
Eveline called out, hoping he would wake up.
Beyond her blurred vision, Abellard lay limp. But she couldn’t run. Instead, she slowly moved towards him, gun still trained on Rubellite.
“Snap out of it, brother!”
“I told you, he’s just unconscious.”
“Abell!”
She deliberately called his name. He used to smile joyfully every time she did.
But now, he lay motionless.
Eveline knelt beside him, attempting to turn him over, but her eyes darted to Rubellite Croppers’ every move.
“Why did you do this to my brother?”
“Do you want me to tell you…?”
Bang!
“Ugh!”
Eveline didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
If Rubellite had killed Abellard, she planned to shoot him in the head without hesitation.
“Calm down.”
“Why did you do this? Why my brother…? Did you… do something to Elkais too…?”
“No.”
Rubellite clutched his hand where the bullet had passed through, continuing to speak. Having been injured before, he found it bearable.
“You are mere playthings of the gods.”
“What did you say?”
“The gods are using you to place bets.”
Eveline froze, her eyes widening at his words.
“Not a sorcerer?”
“That’s right. What sorcerer could create this island?”
Eveline tried to piece together the few things she knew.
So, the red man wasn’t a sorcerer, but a god…
She recalled the moment he handed her the gun and the carvings in his temple… the God of Destruction, Dekarv.
“What kind of bets are the gods making?”
“I don’t know. But you already know why you’re here and how to survive this place.”
<Only one person can leave this island alive.>
Eveline thought of the red man, Dekarv, who had handed her the gun.
“What did your god tell you?”
“Why should I believe you?”
“My god told me to kill you.”
Eveline stared at him without blinking.
“What?”
If only one person could leave this island alive, Rubellite’s actions made sense.
She felt a chill run down her spine.
“I originally intended to kill you the first time we met. But you saved me, so I didn’t want to.”
“Then why now? Why attack my brother and try to kill me?”
“I’m not trying to kill you.”
Rubellite stepped closer, and Eveline, struggling to stay steady, sat down on the floor.
With her free hand, she checked if Abellard was breathing by placing her fingers under his nose. He was warm and breathing.
She pressed her fingers to his carotid artery to check his pulse. His heart was beating.
Relieved, she turned back to Rubellite.
“If you’re not trying to kill me, then what?”
“I’m trying to deceive my god.”
“What do you mean? Explain!”
Eveline was too feverish to stay calm and couldn’t hold back her anger.
Abellard was injured, knocked unconscious trying to protect her.
<Am I useful now?>
His foolish smile was still fresh in her mind.
“If I truly wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t have done something as sloppy as pushing you off a cliff. There were plenty of trees below, and your god wouldn’t let you die so easily.”
“……”
“Isn’t that right?”
Eveline slowly stood up, approaching him. The dizziness made her nauseous.
“What do you mean by deceiving your god?”
Eveline thought it would be better to shoot him than to pass out. If she lost consciousness, both she and Abellard would be in danger.
“I’m only pretending to want to kill you.”
“Wouldn’t it be more beneficial for you to kill me?”
“No. It would be problematic if you died.”
Eveline pressed the gun against his chest.
“You can kill me right now. Just like before, magic will activate when you pull the trigger, and I’ll be blown to pieces.”
Eveline, her vision darkening, thought his blood looked black.
“I still don’t know what my god truly wants from me. And if I hastily kill you, I might end up dead too.”
“……”
“Even hunting dogs get killed after the hunt is over.”
His words made Eveline glare at him more fiercely.
Her mind was foggy, and she was reaching her limit.
“Tell me what your god said. How do we leave this island?”
Eveline looked into Rubellite Croppers’ yellow eyes, her lips pressed tightly together.
Only one person can leave this island alive.
If that were true, Eveline would have to kill everyone here.
She knew the gods of this world she was in: Remeros, the god of the past; Yulias, the goddess of the present; and Dekarv, the god of the future.
These gods corresponded to Betas, Alphas, and Omegas.
If she became an Omega, it explained why Dekarv, the god of Omegas, was her god.
“I don’t trust you.”
Even so, she couldn’t fully dismiss his words.
In the original story, two people left the island alive.
No, three.
Elkais, Abellard, and the child they carried.
So what did the gods mean by saying only one person?
“You better trust me, Lady. Has anyone else here told you everything like I have?”
That was true. But looking at Abellard, she knew it wasn’t of his own volition.
Whenever she tried to speak about the gods, there were restrictions that prevented her from saying anything.
“If you don’t trust me, go ahead and kill me.”
Eveline shifted the gun from his chest to his forehead, looking him straight in the eye.
At that moment.
“Ugh…!”
“You’re stronger-willed than I thought, Lady.”
Bang!
The bullet fired into the air, embedding itself in the wall. Rubellite transformed into a monstrous shape, enveloping Eveline.
She couldn’t let go of the gun as she lost consciousness.
* * *
When Eveline opened her eyes, something felt off. This was clearly inside the cabin.
“Ugh… Brother…?”
“What is it?”
Eveline thought her voice sounded strange. Her face hurt terribly, as if she’d been struck. Her nose felt like it was burning, and her cheekbones ached.
Her head throbbed.
“Ugh…”
She touched her face, feeling wetness. Her hand came away covered in blood.
Why was her nose hurting more and more?
“Pathetic.”
Eveline forced herself to focus on the cold voice. Something was wrong.
Her hand, wiping her nose, was large and white. Her skin was pale, but this hand was much bigger.
When did her hands get this big?
Was she hallucinating from the pain?
“Elkais.”
“Clean up the blood if you’re awake. Eveline will worry.”
“What did you say?”
Eveline was stunned that Elkais addressed her as if she were someone else.
Next to Elkais were two other figures lying down. One was Rubellite Croppers, the grand duke, and the other was…
“What is this!”
Eveline Wilden.
It was her body.
