KFBRV Pt 2 Ch 80

[Karl] "Wouldn't it be better if I handled this? You will only hurt yourself."

[Odette] "I want to do it with my own hands."

[Karl] "Why must you get hurt? What is the point of having a slave? They exist for moments like this."

His devotion bordered on obsession.

After embracing Odette for a long time, Karl focused entirely on her well-being the moment he calmed down.

With a single snap of his fingers, every wound on her body vanished, and her fatigue evaporated. Thanks to him, Odette remained in peak physical condition.

I can hardly believe I feel this good.

Despite her recovery, he continued to make a fuss. He was a god, yet he acted with zero dignity.

[Odette] "How could a mere human treat a god like a common slave?"

Tired of his nagging, she tossed out a light joke. However, his expression turned deadly serious.

[Karl] "Am I... no, am I too much of a burden for you to use as a slave?"

His low voice tried to sound calm, but it leaked pure agony. His eyes searched her face with painful sensitivity. Despite his massive frame, the way he lowered his posture reminded her of a puppy tucking its tail.

Why is he acting like that? He looks so pitiful.

[Odette] "It was a joke. Goodness, I can't even tease you anymore."

When she spoke in a brighter tone on purpose, he quickly forced a smile.

[Karl] "Ah... a joke."

His eyes remained full of anxiety even as he awkwardly pulled up the corners of his mouth.

Anyone could see he was hyper-fixated on her comment about being "scared." He looked exactly like a dog begging for affection. She wanted to stop him, but she knew adding more words would only make the situation worse.

[Odette] "Anyway, Rosaline is my enemy. I want to settle this myself. I don't want her to have a peaceful end."

[Karl] "Then you should use me even more. Cruelty is my specialty. You know that well."

He replied, still wearing that forced smile.

[Karl] "You have already been hurt several times. And just moments ago, you were caught up in my emotions."

Regret filled his voice as much as worry. Though he had lost his mind due to the sudden rush of memories, he clearly blamed himself for forcing Odette to endure that resonance.

[Odette] "I just healed completely, didn't I? Thanks to you, Karl."

Her refreshing tone made his brow furrow. He looked like he had a lot to say, but she cut him off.

[Odette] "Actually, I want to ask you for something else."

[Karl] "What is it?"

His determined reaction showed he was ready to do anything.

[Odette] "Prioritize protecting those three Transcendents over everything else. They are back to life, but they look fragile."

At her request, the smile Karl had been holding onto vanished.

[Odette] "Their breathing is so weak it makes me nervous."

No one knew what happened to a Transcendent after a monster was forcibly removed from their body. They might become ordinary humans, or they might live as Transcendents without monsters, like Karl did before his memories returned.

If it was the latter, they would regenerate, but the former was dangerous. Their breathing was currently so thin that they could die at any moment.

They didn't seem this fragile when Karl first brought them back.

Even an evil god might have limits when reviving the dead. If the root of his power was time, perhaps he was merely freezing their time in place.

She feared that while Karl was distracted with Rosaline, these three would die. That guilt would crush her soul.

Suddenly, Karl asked a question.

[Karl] "Do you think what you feel now is only a debt of the heart?"

[Odette] "......!"

Startled, she looked at him. His gaze was infinitely deep, as if he were looking straight through her. It was a look that held countless questions about fate and all the answers to them—a look that understood all of Odette's contradictory longings and confusion.

If it isn't a debt of the heart... then what?

During the short silence of her uncomfortable questioning, Karl whispered distantly.

[Karl] "'Someday,' is it......"

He let out a low sigh and finally nodded.

[Karl] "I will do as you say."

His answer relieved her. It acted as a divine promise that they wouldn't die. Almost at the same moment, a ding echoed.

[Karl] "Receive the power through the Status Window. Your body can't handle my direct power. Taking the power stored in the soul fragment will be much easier to endure."

[The 'Status Window' grants the power of 『 』 to the 'Master of the Status Window.']

[Do you wish to accept the power of 『 』?]

[YES / NO]

She looked at the text and questioned Karl.

[Odette] "So the Status Window inside the necklace was a fragment of your soul?"

Perhaps she changed the subject on purpose to stop thinking about the question he had raised earlier.

[Karl] "I did leave a soul fragment in the necklace, but I didn't leave it in the form of a Status Window."

[Odette] "Then......"

[Karl] "The fragment inside must have decided on its own. It likely realized that to reclaim the Status Window Rosaline stole, it was better to merge with the system itself."

[Odette] "My Status Window?"

[Karl] "The Status Window originally belonged to you as the chosen Savior. Rosaline stole it along with your purification powers in the last life."

Odette recalled the role of Karl's necklace in the game. It was an item that checked the Affection and Loathing of those around her.

Rosaline stole all the other functions, and Karl's soul held onto the remaining pieces inside the necklace.

If so, even the separated soul fragment had sacrificed itself for her.

Odette fell into a brief silence. Karl misinterpreted her quietness and spoke with a desperate voice.

[Karl] "If the fact that I am the Status Window makes you uncomfortable or disgusted, don't worry. Almost none of my ego remains in the system. Only the will to protect you exists. If you hate even that because it's mine. I can't help it, but......"

He seemed to think Odette found the Status Window creepy. The calm, detached god from moments ago disappeared, replaced by a child terrified of being abandoned.

[Odette] "No wonder things happened that didn't occur in the past life. Like the Status Window or divine revelations appearing whenever I needed them."

She finally understood. That fragmented soul of Karl had guided her time and time again.

[Odette] "In the end, you were the one helping me, Karl. Thank you."

She smiled at him and pressed the YES button. Instantly, his power flooded her body.

[The body of the 'Master of the Status Window' can't handle the power of 『 』.]

[Reason: Weak physical durability.]

[A limited portion of 『 』's power has been applied.]

Black light erupted from Odette's body. Her turquoise eyes bled into a deep red, identical to Karl's. Her vision cleared, revealing everything within the deep sea.

This is... more overwhelming than I thought.'

She realized why Karl told her to use the Status Window instead of taking the power directly. Though not as painful as the resonance, a heavy pressure tightened around her heart.

I only took a fraction of the power, and it's already like this?

Fatigue hit her instantly, draining her strength. However......

I can feel it clearly. I know exactly how to give Rosaline the most horrific end possible.

She finally felt the reality of being an evil god. Every method to create a living hell for Rosaline now sat within her grasp.

A demonic smile stretched across her face as she looked at Rosaline, who was frozen in time. Odette checked the leashes of the monsters in her hand.

Huh?

Zion's Cerberus. A rattling sound came from the leash connected to the hound of hell. Rosaline's monsters and the ones from Johan and Viktor remained frozen, but Zion's Cerberus moved slowly yet surely.

That monster grew even larger.

Odette instinctively knew Zion's monster was undergoing 'evolution.' The beast's movements grew faster and sharper, like a hunting dog demanding a chase. It acted like a predator starving for Rosaline's blood.

The leash connected to Odette snapped tight like a bowstring.

Responding to that demand, she snapped her fingers. At that small gesture, time in the deep sea began to flow again.

[Rosaline] "What? You killed the Transcendents already?"

She spoke with a surprised voice. Her words revealed exactly when Karl had frozen time.

[Rosaline] "I lost everything in the end. What a waste. I didn't think I'd lose all four S-ranks."

She muttered, her voice full of regret.

[Rosaline] "It can't be helped. I guess I have to kill you and reset the world again. The World Tree told me. If I do, that jerk Karl will turn back time again."

She wore the same smile Han Songyi had when Han Suwan fell down the stairs to her death. It was the smile of a saint looking down with pity on someone about to die.

[Rosaline] "Die well, sister. In the next life, I'll be even more careful."

At that moment, hundreds of monsters began to charge toward Odette.

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