Chapter 41 : The Past is Gone

“My skills, they don’t work!”
Gavin stared in shock at Ophelia before him. When a skill was ineffective, there were only two possibilities.

One, the opponent has strong resistance.

Two, the opponent’s level is higher than his.

Gavin would never have thought that Ophelia’s level would be higher than his. After all, she was just a seemingly frail girl.

Wasn’t she supposed to be the easily obtainable heroine at the beginning of the story?!

Wasn’t she supposed to be the heroine who would be conquered with just a little effort?!

“No, impossible!”

His face contorted. All of this was different from his plan. His carefully crafted plan of many years was completely shattered at this moment.

In any game, there was something called “operation.” Whether it was early investment, finding strong partners, or disrupting other people’s turns.

In the world of adventure, it was nothing more than growth, killing monsters to level up, developing, and building a harem.

However, if even one of these things went wrong, it would cause a domino effect of errors.

But since wit failed, it was time for force.

“Heh, heheheh…”

Gavin let out an uneasy sound, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Ophelia.

This stunning blonde beauty was now looking down on him with contempt.

‘If the soft approach doesn’t work, then it’s time for the hard one!’

He picked up his sword and approached Ophelia step by step.

“Liel! Quick, run…” Evelyna, despite the blood constantly gushing from her body, gritted her teeth and shouted at Ophelia.

“Ah, okay!”

Ophelia finally came to her senses. She looked around, found a direction, and ran.

Gavin roughly tried to follow her, but was frustrated to find that this girl ran too fast.

Although her running posture was completely chaotic, he couldn’t catch up with Ophelia at all.

“What?”

‘Are you telling me that a swordsman who has studied martial arts for years and is skilled with a sword can’t catch up with a seemingly powerless girl?’

Gavin was still too careless. He had never considered what a heaven-defying existence the woman in front of him was.

His mind was filled with thoughts of pinning Ophelia to the ground, enjoying her struggle, and having his way with her body.

Lust had consumed his brain.

“Don’t, don’t come over!”

Ophelia waved her small fists, putting on a fierce look.

“Hey! Hey!”

However, that appearance only deepened Gavin’s desire.

“Heh heh, the pervert’s excitement fist? Interesting…”

Gavin was momentarily dazed. He only felt the blood rush to his head, wishing he could charge up right now.

“Hey!” Ophelia shouted fiercely.

In his eyes, she was just a girl waving a powerless fist. It wasn’t threatening at all, but rather added a certain charm.

“Haha, this kind of attack, how could it be effective against me…” His smile froze.

Boom!

Gavin was sent flying.

“Eh?”

“Huh…?”

Ophelia looked at her small fist suspiciously, then gestured in the air in disbelief.

The next moment, even the air trembled.

“Waah!”

The huge heat wave made Ophelia also fall to the ground. She blinked her eyes, trying to figure out what had happened.

“I don’t remember teaching my brother to act like this…”

Ophelia’s gaze turned to the side with the sound. Appearing there was—a maid.

The wind gently blew through the treetops, her pink hair fluttering in the wind. The cloth on her chest also bounced with her panting.

“A maid?”

A maid had appeared silently in front of her.

“Eh, where did he get hit to?”

She didn’t notice Gavin on the ground, and accidentally stepped on him, almost tripping.

“Ow, honestly, why are people sleeping everywhere in broad daylight!”

She looked at Gavin lying on the ground and kicked him ruthlessly in his groin.

“Ugh!!!!” Gavin let out a sound unimaginable for a human. He struggled to get up. Seeing the maid, he put on a fawning smile:

“Si-sister! Help me, they’re trying to harm me!”

“Harm you?” Aileen tilted her head.

“That’s right, this one, this one is a succubus!” Gavin excitedly pointed at Ophelia, trying to hide his guilt. He knew that although his sister had become less attentive to him in recent years, she was still willing to give him some money occasionally.

Moreover, her coming here in person was surely proof that she cared about him.

Aileen looked at the girl Gavin was pointing at. The girl happened to have turned her face away, making it impossible to see her appearance.

“No, weren’t you the one trying to attack her?”

“Tsk! Aren’t you my sister? Shouldn’t you be helping me?!”

Aileen remembered, a long, long time ago, her brother was never as vulgar, dirty, and full of lies as he was now.

Of course, perhaps people do change.

Aileen closed her eyes, and memories of the past spread before her like a recurring winter.

She remembered that winter was exceptionally cold and long.

The food they begged for was not enough to sustain the two siblings. However, the death of a small life was still insignificant in this world.

“Sister, you eat the rest. I, I’m not hungry yet.” The boy stubbornly stuffed the little bit of bread left in his hand into Aileen’s mouth. He knew that Aileen hadn’t eaten for a day.

His sister always said, “You’re a boy, eat up and grow up quickly.”

But Gavin wondered, could they really survive this winter? Could he really see the small flowers at the base of the city wall with his sister again?

Last spring, his sister had pulled him to look for wildflowers at the base of the city wall. The occasionally blooming petals had enveloped their entire early life.

Perhaps it would be his entire life.

As if sensing her brother’s worry, Aileen patted his head.

Her brother was still young, so Aileen had to go to the church alone. She was in rags. If she was lucky, someone would give her some food.

She knew that the big shots didn’t like beggars lingering on their territory, but doing so also had its risks. If she was seen by some noble youth, she would be beaten up like a sandbag.

The girl was also young. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Her years of hunger had made her thin and sallow, and the dirt on her body always helped her avoid the sadistic pleasure of the nobles.

That day, she gathered her courage and went to the church again. Unfortunately, her luck was bad. A group of noble youths had just finished their worship.

“Yo, isn’t it the little beggar?”

“Begging again?” They mocked the girl, crowding around her and holding their noses. “So smelly!”

Then they burst into harsh laughter.

Aileen was already numb. Ah, no food again today. Maybe she would be beaten up again later.

Thinking about herself and her brother still hungry, for some reason, a wave of sadness washed over her.

“Hey, why aren’t you talking?”

“Are you mute? We’re asking you a question!!!”

“Eek!” Aileen was startled by his raised fist. Just as the noble youth was about to bring his fist down, a faint voice came from behind.

“Celia.”

“Yes.”

Aileen closed her eyes tightly. She didn’t want to hear anything. It hurt when she was hit, and it was very uncomfortable.

But she felt nothing.

Aileen timidly opened her eyes. A blue-haired girl was standing in front of her, firmly blocking the man’s fist.

Behind her, a low voice spoke:

“Isn’t it Dean? How have you been lately?”

“Tsk!”

The boy grunted loudly, not answering, but just signaled his lackeys to leave.

Aileen blinked. She turned around, and a black-haired youth appeared before her. She didn’t understand why the youth had helped her, or who he was.

The youth had a slightly complicated expression. He merely glanced at Aileen, then turned his head away with no interest.

“Celia, give that to her.”

“Young Master, that is… yes.” Although the blue-haired girl hesitated, seeing that the youth had no intention of taking it back, she handed her a very luxurious-looking package.

“Hey, share it with your brother.” With that, the youth turned and headed for the church door.

“? I, did I say I have a brother?”

“Ah…” The youth showed a look of having messed up, but he didn’t turn back. Instead, he quickened his pace. The girl wanted to chase after him, but the church was a holy sanctuary, not a place for someone of her status.

But confusion and puzzlement still made her take a step forward. The next second, she was stopped by the blue-haired girl.

“Please do not pester.”

There was a hint of displeasure in her eyes, a look as if shooing away a small dog, forbidding Aileen from getting closer.

When she carefully returned home and opened the package, a fragrance she had never smelled before wafted towards the siblings.

It was six warm loaves of bread.

Aileen swore that she had never eaten anything so delicious in her life. That day, she couldn’t help but eat two whole loaves, and she fed the rest to her brother.

Gavin fell ill, but there was no way she could treat him.

She thought that at least if Gavin ate his fill, there might still be a chance for him.

At that time, Gavin had smiled happily and said, “I wish it could be like this every day. Thank you, sister!”

But that winter was so long, so long that all memories were as hard as ice, and all the past dissipated like smoke.

He changed later, overnight, he was no longer himself.

“Give me money.” “Give me the food!” “Sister, can’t you go sell yourself?”

Aileen knew everything about Gavin, but she felt very unfamiliar with that Gavin.

She took a deep breath. She found that she could finally smile and walk out of the past. None of that mattered to her anymore. When she came to her senses, she clenched her fists:

“Gavin, from today on, you and I are through.”

These words announced the severing of their sibling relationship.

The girl ignored Gavin, who was still saying something. This trip, she was only here to convey this one thing.

Aileen patted the dust off her clothes and turned to leave.

Ophelia temporarily ignored the touching reunion of the siblings. She noticed that the energy around them seemed to have changed.

A huge energy was gathering around them, and its target was—Shirley, who had been making collapsing sounds from the beginning.

Her body was enveloped in a dark, ominous magical power.

Although she was standing, a sinister smile hung on her lips.

Ophelia’s lips parted slightly. In that instant, a concept flashed through her mind.

“Contract!”

Darkness, a bottomless darkness surrounded her.

Shirley, the girl named Shirley, had just woken up.

All along, she had been watching the world through a glass, with very keen senses, but she was very vague about herself.

“Why?”

All the answers were solved. That man had done something to her that he shouldn’t have. He had forcibly twisted her feelings, destroying everything beyond recognition.

She finally regained her initial memories. From their first meeting, she had been frightened by the overflowing malice from him, but was quickly controlled by his skill.

Regret, anger, a deep hatred.

To think that she had called his name in a sweet voice, touched his dirty body with her proud hands, and used her brain to think about him entirely.

The more she recalled the details, the more she felt how filthy she had become.

‘Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.’

Although nothing had been done to her yet, the memories engraved on her body could not be erased.

From somewhere, Evelyna’s painful voice came. Seeing her being stabbed by that man’s sword, she could do nothing.

Seeing Ophelia about to fall into the same situation as herself, that innocent young lady would fall into his trap, yet she could do nothing.

If coming out of that village was the wrong decision, if she had never longed for the outside world, today’s ending would not have happened.

“Why, am I alive?”

“What is the meaning of my life?”

To watch her childhood friend die, and her companion be humiliated.

This was the first time the girl had asked the “something” in her heart.

Cowardice, anger, hatred, and longing were all wonderful things that attracted it.

Not to mention such intense hatred.

“Anyone, save me!”

At that moment, she felt time stop.

Time, space, wind, consciousness, were only part of human perception, and at this moment, she seemed to exist in a way that transcended these things.

That vague voice was speaking to her in a way of will.

“Is it you? Are you calling me?”

It was a pitch-black, ominous, mysterious existence. It was shrouded in black mist and its true form could not be seen, but it appeared so tangibly in front of Shirley.

“Eh? What are you!”

In Shirley’s past life, she had never seen such an ominous existence, as if its existence itself was hatred.

“That’s right, sadness, pain, anger, and this beautiful hatred…”

“Ha, how delicious. You, you need power, right?”

“No, no…”

Shirley felt instinctively that if she accepted its power, she would become a very bad existence. She shook her head, wanting to escape from this space.

“Don’t be afraid, I am a gentlemanly Demonkin. I, Nemesis, will not force anyone to do things they don’t want to do.”

“But, aren’t you hateful? Don’t you want to save your companions? Don’t you… want revenge?”

The devil’s whisper was lingering in her ear.

“Revenge…”

“Yes, are you going to let him go like this? After all, you’ve always been so powerless, powerless to be controlled, powerless to want to escape with death…”

“Shut up…”

“Powerless to watch your companions die.”

“I told you to shut up!”

“Oh my, oh my…”

Shirley gritted her teeth. She lifted her face, wet with tears. That’s right, she still had to save Evelyna!

Since this matter started because of her, let it end with her. At worst, she would just commit suicide!

She would never be controlled by this thing!

“What should I do?”

“You don’t have to do anything, just accept…”

“Accept what?”

“The hatred in your heart.”

“I will lend it to you, until you personally crave it.”

As soon as the words fell, the black mist completely disappeared, and the world returned to its original color.

“Ah, that’s right, I hate it.”

Shirley stood up. She had never felt her body so light, her magic so abundant. The giant spider that had previously made her despair was probably just a plaything in her hands.

She casually pointed at Gavin, and a huge amount of magic instantly rushed out, sending Gavin flying.

She lifted her eyes and looked at Gavin. He was struggling to get up from the ground, his eyes full of shock.

“Shirley, you, when did you…”

‘I just sent my sister, that big shot, away, and now what’s with this Shirley?!’

His brain couldn’t process the current situation.

“Don’t speak, don’t open your mouth, don’t look at me, don’t call my name with that disgusting voice!”

“You controlled me with that filthy spell?”

“You messed up my life?”

“And you want to take Evelyna away from me?”

“Shirley, I just like you all…”

Gavin noticed something was wrong with Shirley. He decided to use the emotional card to shake her first, then get close to her and finish her off.

‘It’s nothing, just killing an ugly woman, not a bit of a pity.’

“Shut up.”

Shirley didn’t even need to wave her staff. Just adding magic to her voice, she sealed Gavin’s mouth, making him perform a puppet show of opening his mouth but being unable to make a sound.

“I will make sure you can never lay a hand on a woman again.”

Shirley picked up her staff and gently chanted.

“No, don’t!”

Gavin had never had such an ominous premonition. He struggled to get up:

“Please spare me! I, I’m willing to be your dog!”

“You’re not worthy!”

The magic surrounding her body flickered with a dark red light.

[Secret Word] [In the Name of Nemesis] [Destroy]!

Although she had never encountered those words before, they were as familiar as if they were carved into her mind.

“!”

Gavin quickly attached magic to his sword and strengthened his body, intending to block Shirley’s magic.

A magic wave rushed out from the staff and slammed into Gavin’s sword.

A dinging sound echoed around.

Spiderweb-like cracks spread across the blade, and then the longsword shattered.

“How could it be!” Gavin knelt on the ground in despair, constantly picking up the fragments of the sword.

Gavin couldn’t understand, where did his “game steps” go wrong?

Then, a huge magic wave came.

The magic seemed to track and hit him—a certain part of his body.

“!!!! Ugh ugh ugh!!!!”

Gavin’s shrill screams echoed in the forest, and his that place was already a bloody mess.

“Waaah…” Ophelia only dared to glance at it, and was so frightened by the miserable sight that she instantly turned her face away.

“Haha, what a nice scream, but it’s not over yet.”

Shirley was smiling sadistically.