The Sickly Youngest Member of the Villainous Family

Upon hearing Othello’s words, I was quite surprised.

 

Vanessa Halo, the seemingly good-natured head of Halo, turned out to be the mastermind.

 

“Sasha, Halo is trying to kill you. I caught one of her men and got a confession. ”

 

“Is there any possibility that it was a false confession? ”

 

In response to Recardo’s question, Othello shook his head.

 

“No, it’s not. And I have evidence. ”

 

From his bloodstained arms, Othello pulled the hide of a Bahimos.

 

The hide bore the mark of Kaisa and was embedded with a white gemstone that could only be found in Halo.

 

I was puzzled.

 

Why would Vanessa want to kill me?

 

The original work has already deviated too much, but in the original that I saw, Vanessa was just a good-natured head who laughed heartily.

 

She mediated between Winchester and Taylor, sided with Taylor when Winchester crossed the line, and also helped Evan a lot.

 

But why…

 

“Vanessa always had a child. ”

 

Evan, who came into the room, said with a complex expression.

 

Standing by the window, Evan looked outside and continued.

 

“A child? ”

 

“The child always died. ”

 

The version of Evan’s memory I saw in The Secret of the Blue Falcon was edited to focus on the important events, leaving out the unimportant details.

 

So what Evan is telling me is what he has seen firsthand during dozens of regressions.

 

“Dying of disease, dying in accidents, always before the age of five. ”

 

“You could have told me. So, to Vanessa……”

 

“Will anything change if I say it? ”

 

Evan looked at me with emotionless eyes.

 

Only then could I understand what he was saying.

 

“ He was a child who would die when the apocalypse came, even if he survived. ”

 

Throughout countless regressions, the death of someone had become less and less moving to Evan.

 

There was no need to attach to those heading towards destruction anyway.

 

With a righteous heart for the weak, he had become so insensitive.

 

“You’re right. ”

 

I said to Evan.

 

Seeing memories doesn’t mean you can fully understand that person.

 

Just like Vanessa couldn’t understand what happened to me, even if she saw it.

 

And I couldn’t fully understand Evan either.

 

“Some things won’t change. ”

 

But I thought.

 

Nevertheless, there are things that can be changed.

 

“ But fate isn’t set in stone, just like how the 27th regression is different from now. ”

 

In response to my words, Evan’s eyebrows twitched.

 

“Like how I am different from the previous regressions. ”

 

Within his eyes, my reflection was visible.

 

I don’t know what Evan is thinking, but I continued.

 

“ If what you desire is change, then you’re going to have to move. ”

 

Because,

 

“Change is more noticeable when you move than when you stay still. ”

 

The blue hue in Evan’s eyes deepened at my words.

 

***

Vanessa’s water pierced the black flame and enveloped the clarity.

 

Halo’s ability was that powerful?

 

The ground trembled as if an earthquake had struck, and the sky vibrated.

 

I clenched my fist at the sight, feeling like it was a situation beyond human fights.

 

“That’s why I told you not to come out.”

 

Jin’s lips curled as he strode nonchalantly down the destroyed path.

 

Everyone was against my plan to pull Vanessa out, except me, of course.

 

Only Elysion sided with me, saying it was the least damaging way to get to her.

 

With Lysonia attached to Evan, Taylor’s men provided cover for me during the ambush.

 

In fact, when Recardo and Chenoa clashed, it was clear why Vanessa had put Lysonia on us.

 

When she kill me, she could send Taylors’ successor as well, a two-in-one deal.

 

The whole clan would be fooled into not realizing she was behind the curtain.

 

“Eek…….”

 

But in the end, Vanessa Halo couldn’t withstand Recardo and Chenoa’s combined attack.

 

To be precise, the black flame engulfing the land was something she couldn’t endure.

 

After all, it was vaporizing all the water.

 

“Give up.”

 

Recardo’s voice was dry.

 

Chenoa mumbled, “It’s over,” while retracting the clarity.

 

Hundreds of black flame blades were pointed at her, mere centimeters away.

 

One flick of Recardo’s hand and Vanessa would be gone.

 

“……Ha…”

 

In the end, Vanessa lowered her hand.

 

Resignation was reflected in her eyes.

 

The beautiful flower garden was devastated, but somehow it was a fitting backdrop to the current situation.

 

Vanessa’s gaze turned to me.

 

“Now tell me, Vanessa, why you’re targeting this insignificant child. Is that why you’ve kidnapped Taylor’s relatives, too?”

 

Chenoa furrowed his eyebrows and approached Vanessa.

 

Under an intense force, Vanessa knelt involuntarily.

 

Despite her blood-stained face, there was no visible sign of pain, only regret.

 

“…The only family that can directly hear the dragon’s testimony is ours, the Halo, even among the four major families.”

 

Vanessa’s voice echoed.

 

True to her word, only Halo could communicate with the water dragon.

 

It happened so infrequently that it could be called an annual event, but it was different from the other three families.

 

So usually, Halo was there as a mediator.

 

As it was considered that Halo’s opinion, as a mediator, was better than the thoughts of the descendants of dragons or human lords, the Halo family often held the position.

 

“The dragon referred to that child as the ‘key.'”

 

Vanessa’s lips twisted.

 

“Although I couldn’t hear what the key was for – prosperity, glory, peace… I couldn’t hear the details. But it was clear that Mechius had chosen that child.”

 

“Vanessa, you haven’t gone astray, have you? Just for this child.”

 

Chenoa’s disbelieving words were interrupted.

 

“Trisha Quenne said the same thing and left”, Recardo said.

 

Quenne did not come from a powerful noble lineage like the Four Families, but it was widely known that they were blessed by Mechius.

 

They were mentally connected to dragons and had special dreams.

 

Trisha Quenne was the closest thing to a pureblood among the Quenne’s, though her parents were short-lived, and she had been adopted and raised by her uncle since infancy.

 

All eyes were on me.

 

“…….”

 

I couldn’t make sense of it. The Key of Mechius, that’s what I saw in the status window.

 

I was just an extra in the original story, but now I was something special.

 

Then what about Evan? Isn’t Evan closer to being a savior as a regressor?

 

“I couldn’t accept it. At first, I was thinking of testing the child. What is different from my child…… !”

 

Vanessa’s desperate cry turned to me. There was a dark desperation in her eyes that I had never seen before.

 

At her cry, a thick silence spread like a plague to all but her.

 

“Why has Mechius chosen that child, why has the cursed day of my child’s death become a day of glory for the Winchesters!”

 

Recardo, Chenoa, and Elysion were silent.

 

“The Prophet…… spoke to me. That if I killed Sasha, my dead child would return and be the key of Mechius.”

 

And then Vanessa’s unintelligible screams were accompanied by a gurgle of blood from her mouth.

 

I rushed towards Vanessa, breaking free from the grip of Jin.

 

Recardo’s eyebrows twitched, but he said nothing.

 

I spoke to Vanessa, trying to calm her.

 

“The Lady saw the baby die that day and…….”

 

Vanessa’s gaze was on me.

 

“I saw my mother die that day.”

 

“…….”

 

I thought a lot about Vanessa.

 

She is the black sheep of this whole series of events, and she deserves to die.

 

“But the difference between me and you…… is that I can’t see it again with my powers.”

 

In that moment, Vanessa’s pupils shook significantly. Vanessa could read memories through water.

 

And the difference between this life and the previous one was that Vanessa could only recall the moment of the baby’s memory—solely the moment of their death.

 

“…..Ah…”

 

A whimper-like cry escaped Vanessa’s lips.

 

“Ahhhh…….”

 

Soon, she covered her face.

 

Vanessa must have relived that memory countless times—the moment when the baby first cried and the moment, it took their last breath.

 

The Vanessa from previous regressionss must have longed for the dead child as well. But she would have at least been able to see her child smile.

 

“I… couldn’t stop it.”

 

And then, she must have been buried in endless solitude.

 

Rain had been falling from the sky at some point. Tears flowing from Vanessa’s eyes mixed with the rain.

 

I reached out my hand to Vanessa.

 

“Stop it now.”

 

Even though Vanessa had tried to kill me, in this moment, she was a mother, and I couldn’t bring myself to hate her.

 

Revenge must be taken for the deeds she had done….. but I didn’t wish for Vanessa’s death.

 

“It’s not over yet.”

 

However, Vanessa just looked at me with a sad smile.

 

After a while, Vanessa spoke.

 

“The words I said when I first hugged you, that you were lovely.”

 

“…….”

 

I knew instinctively that something was wrong, but I couldn’t stop it.

 

“I meant it, Sasha.”

 

Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Then she pulled something out of her clothes and handed it to me.

 

“There’s no one else in Halo…… to take it, so you’ll have to take it for now, Sasha.”

 

It was the “Key of the Water Tower” in the Halo family, functioning similarly to Winchester’s “Key of the Black Tower.”

 

Shortly after, Vanessa collapsed, pressing her forehead against the damp floor.

 

I could just make out the shape of her mouth: ‘Sorry and be careful.

 

“She reversed the flow of blood.”

 

Recardo stared at Vanessa with a cold gaze.

 

Jin took off my jacket and wrapped it around my head.

 

It was humid… and my heart felt empty.

 

I turned my head to where I felt a gaze, but there was no one at the window.