Chapter 98: A Moment of Reckoning

Despite the initial disbelief, the joy of victory instantly flooded my mind when Rodd personally delivered the news.

It was so exhilarating, I felt utterly spent!

My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the ground.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Rodd quickly steadied me, his voice laced with concern.

“N-no… I’m fine, just… overwhelmed with excitement.”

My voice, thick with uncontrollable excitement and ragged breaths, trembled noticeably.

“I finally have a chance. I finally… finally won’t have to lose again…”

A choked sound escaped my throat.

“Mm.”

Rodd nodded, yet his expression remained composed and serene.

“This Witch appears to be incredibly important to Governor Sherlock. If we can capture her alive, we should be able to use her as leverage to rescue Lulona.”

“Yes… rescue Lulona…”

I eagerly agreed, clutching Rodd’s hand tightly. Kneeling on the ground, I looked up at him as if he were a god, my words a jumbled mess, tears of excitement welling in my eyes.

“As long as we can save that child, I’ll do anything you ask!”

In that moment, I cast all shame and morality aside.

Scattered thoughts, whispered fragments—who cared about any of it?

If only that child could be saved, there was nothing I wouldn’t do.

However, Rodd frowned at my words.

“Huh?”

Unsure what I had done to displease him, I immediately adopted a timid, guilty expression.

“W-what’s wrong?”

“Sigh… You’re making that face again.”

“Which face?”

“That humble, weak expression, waiting for others to save you.”

“I’m sorr—”

“Hey—don’t say that.”

His finger gently touched my lips, conveying a certain forceful authority—soft, yet utterly unyielding.

“We can talk about repayment later. Right now, I only ask one thing of you.”

Rodd smiled, a flicker of tenderness in his eyes, but then he slowly rose. His tone, however, remained firm.

“Stop crying like a child.”

His words stunned me. He then turned and swiftly walked toward the Witch, leaving me sitting alone.

My inner turmoil had not yet fully subsided, but Rodd’s admonition, ‘Stop crying like a child,’ instantly made my cheeks flush with embarrassment. I felt utterly mortified.

Lectured again…

‘Like a child?’

‘Ugh…’

‘Is… is that true?’

I bit my lip, staring down at my delicate hands, a mix of emotions swirling within me.

‘It can’t be. I used to be so detached.’

‘How could I have become so compassionate now?’

‘Could it be…’

‘Is it because of this body again?’

‘I once heard the theory that women are controlled by hormones throughout their lives. Could it actually be true?’

‘I’ve only been influenced by hormones for a few months, yet my original mindset has been ‘corrupted’ to this extent.’

‘If this continues for even longer, what will I become?’

‘Will I become even more feminine?’

‘Perhaps even…’

‘Fall in love with a man?’

‘N-no… that can’t be right.’

I scarcely believed such a possibility. After all, I used to be a man; I knew too much about males.

Those foul-smelling, rough, reckless male creatures.

How could they ever appeal to me?

How could…

As if by some strange impulse, a certain person’s smile flashed in my mind, and my heart fluttered as if struck by lightning.

‘It’s a lie, isn’t it?’

‘I… how could I possibly feel that way about *him*…’

I took several deep breaths, trying to calm myself, then slowly turned my head, wanting to confirm with my own eyes just how absurd those thoughts were.

However, the moment I saw Rodd’s back, an unnameable unease suddenly surged from deep within me.

‘Stop…’

‘Stop…’

‘Don’t get any closer…’

“Wait—”

I shrieked, but my cry was a step too late.

The instant Rodd approached the fallen Witch, a ghastly, twisted arm tore out from her abdomen!

Rodd reacted in a flash, yet just as he moved to act, his body abruptly stiffened.

It seemed the cumulative effect of his previous injuries had finally caught up, causing his movement to be a fraction too slow.

That arm, like a fiend climbing from hell, brutally pierced through Rodd’s lower abdomen!

“Ah—”

My vision blurred, and my body nearly froze solid.

The sudden attack seemed to suspend time itself.

Rodd’s sword clattered to the ground with a dull thud, and he himself was held immobile by the pale arm’s grip.

“No… no… how could this be…”

I mumbled, my voice trembling with terror.

“Boss!”

“What the hell is that thing!”

“Quick, save him!”

Rodd’s subordinates, sensing the danger, rushed forward, eager to rescue him.

‘Don’t come any closer!’

The Witch, still lying on the ground, suddenly let out a piercing shriek. The sound, like a sharp blade, stabbed into everyone’s eardrums, carrying an irresistible suppressive force.

Rodd’s subordinates instantly halted, some instinctively clamping their hands over their ears, their faces etched with pain and fear.

‘Dare to take another step, and I’ll kill your leader!’

Her voice was hysterical, and then her gaze shifted to Rodd.

By now, her eyes were consumed by dense, dark shadows, hollow and vacant, radiating an eerie and terrifying aura.

‘Despicable mortals! To push me to such a state!’

That dreadful gaze slowly drifted toward me. A malevolent smile twisted the Witch’s face, her lips quivering as if brewing an even fouler curse!

‘Brat! Your blood does possess a peculiar quality. If I hadn’t already modified my body, you might have truly caught me off guard! But now I see, you are not a true Witch at all! Unable to even control your own power, you are nothing but a half-finished product!’

‘What? A Witch?’

‘Miss Lilian is a Witch?’

‘Did the boss know about this?’

Her words were like a boulder thrown into their midst, and Rodd’s subordinates immediately fell into disarray.

They all looked at me with strange eyes, whispering amongst themselves, a mixture of panic and vigilance on their faces.

But at that moment, I had no time to explain. All my attention was fixed on Rodd.

“You… you let him go!”

I cried out desperately.

“Let him go?”

The Witch sneered, a glint of mockery in her eyes.

“Fine, hand over that thing of yours.”

“What thing?”

“That treasure that can help me ‘advance’!”

Her voice was thick with greed.

I immediately understood she was referring to the heart-like crystal.

So, I quickly rushed back to the carriage and retrieved the crystal, still stained with my blood.

“Is this it!?”

I held up the crystal, brimming with anxiety.

“That’s right!”

Fanatical fervor instantly ignited in the Witch’s eyes, as if she had found a long-sought treasure.

“Now, bring it to me yourself! Alone!”

Her tone grew more urgent.

I glanced at the surrounding soldiers, knowing they wouldn’t dare make a move at this moment. In this situation, I could only rely on myself.

Taking several deep breaths, I tried to calm my anxious heart and began to walk toward the Witch.

However, perhaps due to extreme tension, when I was just a step away from the Witch, my foot slipped, and I fell heavily to the ground.

“Ouch…”

I couldn’t help but let out a soft groan.

The crystal flew from my grasp, rolling to the Witch’s feet and stopping beneath her.

‘Advance… advance…’

She murmured softly, her voice filled with ecstasy.

“Ugh—”

The arm that had pierced Rodd’s lower abdomen suddenly withdrew, and Rodd’s body slumped weakly into my embrace.

“Rodd… Rodd!”

Holding his body, I called out to him anxiously.

However, the man who was usually omnipotent now appeared exceptionally weak.

His face was deathly pale, as if covered by a thin, gray sheet of paper.

“Go…”

He mouthed the word to me silently.

‘Go? Where to go?’

For a moment, I found the scene somewhat absurd. His mind was usually so clear; why was he acting so foolish now?

I looked up at the Witch and saw that her lost hands were slowly regenerating. One had already grown sharp, like a claw.

She was using that claw to tear open her own chest, carefully placing the crystal heart inside.

‘So, this was her method of ‘advancement’?’

“Ugh…”

Rodd mouthed the word again.

I understood: he wanted me to go alone.

At this moment, the Witch was indeed engrossed in her ‘advancement’ ritual, temporarily oblivious to me.

If I ran now, I might actually have a chance to escape.

But… I didn’t want to leave.

I didn’t want to be a useless coward anymore.

The surrounding soldiers were too far from the Witch to react in time.

And I was merely a step away from her.

‘I can do it!’

A resolute thought ignited within my heart.

‘I can do it!’

Hidden beneath my skirt was the dagger Miss Sharon had given me—my last strike.

‘I can do it!’

My heart was ruthless enough now, and most importantly…

‘A weakling like me would never arouse any suspicion!’

A step, a flash, an instant!

By the time I regained my senses, the dagger was plunged deep into the Witch’s chest, the blade shattering the pulsating crystal heart.

My dagger couldn’t sever her head, but my intuition told me that stabbing here was absolutely the right move!

The next moment, I saw a look of venomous rage, but more than that, utter disbelief, appear on the Witch’s face.

“b*tch…”

She simply couldn’t believe that a cowardly, weakling like me would possess the courage to strike back.

“Ugh… Ugh-ugh—Aaaah—!”

But she could no longer speak. A horrifying shriek tore from her throat.

And along with the ear-splitting sound, a dazzling light suddenly enveloped my entire body…

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