Chapter 11: The Gorgon’s Gaze

Levi, dragging his pierced right foot, limped towards the Blood Red Queen.

“Filthy sinner.” The Queen stared at him, her voice cutting. “Touch me, and you will wish for death.”

“I am no sinner,” Levi quietly corrected.

“I told you to stop!” The Queen glared, striving to keep her voice from betraying any weakness.

As Levi drew nearer, her composure frayed, becoming increasingly difficult to maintain.

Indeed, just as the Inquisitor had stated, she was on the verge of collapsing.

Each attempt to curse the executioners who sought to harm her had drained her strength. She had little power left to resist the Holy Mark’s relentless erosion of her body and mind.

Should she overdraw her power to curse the young prisoner before her, the Holy Mark might consume her in an instant.

Rather than become a tool of the Church, she would choose death.

Yet, the Holy Mark’s mental interference had already begun to manifest. The will of the Church’s Fourth Saint, embedded within the mark, constantly thwarted her attempts at self-destruction.

‘Don’t—’ As Levi, covered in blood, drew closer, she almost cried out.

At that moment, a vision flashed through her mind, like lightning tearing across the sky.

The Witch’s power of premonition had suddenly activated; in that single instant, she saw the future!

In that future, she was freed from the execution stand. Slowly, she bent down and gently lifted the young man who lay fallen on the ground.

Passive premonitions only occurred when one’s destiny took a sudden, significant turn. This was a special ability inherent to all ranks of the ‘Witch’ pathway.

With each advancement in rank, however, the clarity of the visions intensified.

Her eyes suddenly widened.

The young prisoner before her would rewrite her fate!

Levi stopped before her, lowering his voice. “Do not worry; I will not harm you.”

“You…” The Queen stared blankly at him. “Who exactly are you?”

Levi leaned his face close to the Blood Red Queen’s. She did not flinch away.

“I will try to save you,” Levi whispered into her ear. “If I succeed, you must kill that Viscount constable over there for me. He is my sworn enemy.”

The Queen felt a flicker of doubt. This prisoner had been tormented to such an extent that he lacked even the ability to resist. What could he possibly do against a Holy Mark left by a Saint?

Ultimately, however, she chose to believe the future she had witnessed.

“Very well, I promise,” she replied softly.

Levi offered a relieved smile, choosing to trust the Queen’s promise in that moment.

‘I am willing to pay any price to free the Witch before me!’ he prayed inwardly.

In that instant, the “Mark of the Sacrifice” illuminated on the back of his hand once more. The power of the abyss immediately manifested according to his will.

Levi suddenly felt all strength drain from his body. He swayed forward, his head coming to rest on the Queen’s shoulder.

Outside the cell, the Inquisitor, hidden beneath her iron mask, frowned in displeasure.

“Enough of this intimate prelude,” she urged. “If you’re going to do your duty, do it quickly.”

The Queen showed no signs of resistance, which was a good omen, indicating she was finally depleting her strength to fight back. However, the prisoner’s actions were far too slow.

Viscount Dumpty watched the scene, utterly enraged. He had specifically ordered Levi to be brought here, hoping to witness the boy’s agonizing death under the Witch’s curse.

Now, however, it seemed the Witch had lost her ability to resist, effectively benefiting the boy. It would be better if… he took matters into his own hands!

Concealed by Levi’s body, neither of them noticed that approximately a quarter of the Holy Mark on the Blood Red Queen had transferred to Levi.

The Mark’s power allowed Levi to sacrifice himself, bearing the curse, injury, and even death in the Queen’s stead. Yet, the Saint’s power was so immense that even at the cost of his own life, he could only transfer a fraction of the Holy Mark.

For the Blood Red Queen, however, this was enough to shatter the delicate balance between her and the Holy Mark.

“It’s back…” As the Holy Mark’s seal weakened, the Queen felt a surge of joyful surprise as some of her power returned.

Meanwhile, Levi saw a black mist unfurl before his eyes. His heart struggled to beat within his chest, feeling as though it might give out at any moment.

The last vestiges of strength peeled away from his body, and he could no longer support himself.

Then, the Inquisitor and Viscount Dumpty watched as Levi’s body, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, slid from the Queen’s shoulder and crashed heavily to the ground.

“So, he was cursed to death after all,” the Inquisitor scoffed. “Bring in another prisoner.”

“There’s no need.”

This response startled the Inquisitor, for the one who answered her was the Blood Red Queen.

The Queen met her gaze from afar, a faint, enigmatic smile playing upon her lips.

A chill ran down the Inquisitor’s spine at that smile.

She suppressed the remaining Holy Mark on her body, and it quickly extinguished. In its place, iridescent snake scales abruptly appeared on the Queen’s neck and wrists.

As a “Banshee” of the third rank in the ‘Witch’ pathway, the Blood Red Queen could wield all abilities from ranks below her own.

The fourth rank of the ‘Witch’ pathway: the “Gorgon”!

A Witch of this rank could apply the power of curses to herself, transforming into a monster possessing strength comparable to a magical beast!

The Blood Red Queen flexed her arms, and the iron chains shattered. With the activation of her “Gorgon” power, she gained a body as resilient as a magical beast.

“Execution by fire!” The Inquisitor, in a surge of terror, raised her hand and pointed at the Blood Red Queen.

She couldn’t believe her eyes, yet this inexplicable event had just unfolded before them.

Such a sudden and bizarre turn of events unnerved even a seasoned veteran like herself.

The “Archmage’s” domain immediately expanded, allowing her to summon and manipulate elements within its bounds. She began to call forth flames with all her might, just as she had done when burning the guard earlier.

She had to burn the Blood Red Queen at once, or she would be the one to die!

But then she realized she had made a mistake in her panic—a fatal error!

Her attack could never be faster than the Blood Red Queen’s, for she had already met the Queen’s gaze.

The whites of the Blood Red Queen’s eyes had turned black, while her irises became amber, her pupils elongated and slit-like.

Her viper-like eyes glowed with a ghostly, deathly luminescence in the darkness.

Gorgon’s Petrification Gaze!

The Inquisitor tried to avert her gaze, but it was already too late. In the very second their eyes met, her neck and face had already completely stiffened; she couldn’t even close her eyelids.

In the unavoidable, sustained gaze that followed, the petrification curse rapidly consumed her body.

Beside her, Viscount Dumpty, an ordinary man utterly defenseless, had already transformed into a stone statue, his expression twisted in terror.

“Mon…ster…” The Inquisitor forced out one last sound from her stiffening throat, before completely freezing.

Her body rapidly petrified, starting from her head and the tips of her limbs, finally spreading to her heart.

Levi, on the brink of death, lay on the ground. He desperately twisted his head, seeing the two stone statues, and the frozen, terrified expression on Viscount Dumpty’s face.

A faint smile touched his lips. His life was drawing to a close, yet the sweet ecstasy of revenge filled his heart.

In this world, such a delightful sight still existed.

However, in these final moments of his life, a hint of regret brushed against his heart.

His revenge was not yet complete; Camilla had not received her just retribution.

‘I cannot die like this. That person must be punished by my own hands…’

Having concluded the one-sided battle, the Blood Red Queen withdrew her powers and lowered her gaze to Levi.

Just as she had seen in her premonition, she bent down and gently cradled Levi.

She found his body as cold as ice.

Levi struggled to turn his face towards the Queen, a movement that consumed almost all his remaining strength.

His vision was blurred, yet the Queen’s face remained strikingly clear.

In his fading consciousness, his lips moved slightly, uttering a sentence.

“What did you say?” The Queen, puzzled, leaned her ear closer.

Then, she heard him whisper faintly beside her ear, “I think… I can still be salvaged…”

With that, Levi lost consciousness.

“I won’t let you die.” After a moment of silence, the Blood Red Queen spoke softly as she gazed at him.