KFBRV Pt 2 Ch 88

Johan writhed so violently that his agony was plain to see. Tears streaked his face, and his brilliant blond hair clung to his skin, soaked in cold sweat.

Jagged scars, reminiscent of burns, covered his arms, legs, and neck.

Odette recognized them instantly. They followed the exact lines where Johan's body had been torn apart in the deep sea. Every time his sweat touched those red marks, He flinched as if scorched by hellfire.

His sobbing intensified. A low, guttural groan escaped him—a sound more like a wounded beast than a man. The dignity and refined grace he once possessed had vanished, replaced by the desperate struggles of a dying animal.

Even though she knew it was impossible, Odette reflexively reached out to comfort him.

[Johan] “……Odette.”

He whispered her name.

Can he see me?

Startled, she looked at his face, thinking he had discovered her. But his gaze didn't fix on her. His blue eyes simply drifted through the empty air.

[Johan] “Odette……”

When he spoke her name again, she realized why. He was calling to her to forget the pain.

As if to prove it, his expression brightened slightly each time he murmured her name.

Despite the torture that made every word a struggle, despite the wretched state that stripped him of his humanity, he smiled faintly. He looked like a man tasting something incredibly sweet, finding happiness in that single word.

That look of pure devotion made Odette's heart sink. She couldn't look away.

Suddenly, golden light spilled from Johan's burn scars. Starting from those wounds, his body began to crumble like shattering light.

Why? Why is this happening?

It looked exactly like the moment the Fruit of Calamity vanished after Odette purified it in the deep sea.

Panic seized her. She lunged forward to grab the light, but she didn't truly exist in this space. The golden glow passed right through her hands.

No. No! Don’t go. Don’t disappear!

Johan scattered into light and vanished. Even the golden dust that lingered as fireflies evaporated into nothingness.

Odette stared blankly at the empty forest. What she just witnessed wasn't death, but total erasure—the process of an unnatural being ceasing to exist.

What is this? This is the future three months from now?

Why? Karl had clearly brought him back to life!

As the thought crossed her mind, the World Tree provided an answer through the Laurel Crown of Light.

Karl's power was fundamentally rooted in time. While he could turn the dead into the living, he couldn't fully resurrect those whose "coordinates" hadn't been previously marked.

Karl's command to "live" had simply rewound the Transcendents' time to the split second between life and death.

Furthermore, the Transcendents were creations of the Dead God. Even if Karl ruled as the god of this world, exercising total power over beings belonging to another divine authority was difficult.

Just as Karl's influence on Odette's purification water had limits, his ability to fix the Transcendents to a specific point in time was also limited.

He could only force their time to remain in this world for three months. He couldn't stop the clock for Johan and the others forever.

Then…… what should I do?

She shouted the question to the World Tree, but it didn't answer. Instead, it cast her back into the real world.

Johan stood where the prophecy had been. His face remained calm and still, but his eyes were clouded, just as she had seen in the vision.

He wasn't being quiet. He couldn't speak.

The pain was that severe. Odette reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling back his sleeve.

[Johan] “Odette……. Wait.”

Startled, he tried to pull away. He acted like a man hiding a shameful secret. But Odette remained firm. Slowed by the agony, he could only watch as she bared his arm.

The scars from the prophecy were already there. They looked like jagged seams where his limbs had been torn and forcibly stitched back together. While not as bright red as in the vision, they would undoubtedly turn into the hideous marks she had seen.

Karl can only keep him alive temporarily.

It was a harsh reality. Their time was running out. They were abandoned vessels that had lost their monsters. According to their fate, they would vanish in the near future. Viktor and Zion faced the same end.

Odette swallowed hard.

Finally, the World Tree answered her question. While she couldn't stop their erasure, she could delay it. The solution was her purification—the bond they shared as a pair.

However, it had to be done "properly." It wasn't a one-time fix. Mere accidental touches wouldn't stop their fate.

How am I supposed to do this?

She couldn't let him die. But she couldn't purify him either. She had already promised her love to Karl. She felt trapped.

Touching another man while having a partner felt like a betrayal. Since she didn't yet love Karl, loyalty was the only thing she could offer him. That made the idea of betrayal even more unacceptable.

How can I touch Johan while Karl is right here?

Odette reflexively looked at Karl. Even if it was cowardly, she wanted to follow his choice—whether he told her to save Johan or let him die.

But Karl only watched her quietly. His eyes didn't offer an answer; instead, they posed a question. He was asking what she would choose, as if he had known this would happen all along.

[Odette] “……Karl.”

Karl approached and cupped her cheeks in his hands.

[Karl] “You don't need to ask for my permission. The one you must ask is yourself.”

[Odette] “Karl, do you…… do you understand what you are saying?”

Her voice trembled with fear as she questioned his madness. But his dark red eyes remained steady.

Is he really okay with me touching Johan?

Johan loved her, and she knew it. Yet Karl was saying it was fine to touch him as long as she followed her heart?

It made no sense. She hoped Karl was testing her, but she saw no such sign in his eyes.

Odette suddenly realized she was still holding Johan's arm. She pulled away, shocked by her own guilt.

Holding one man while being cradled by another—the realization made her fear that her messy feelings were exposed.

But Johan didn't let her go. He reached out and tangled his fingers with hers.

Everything is falling apart.

How was her behavior any different from the Count's? He had deceived his wife into being with Mrs. Becker.

[Karl] “You can't just let him die.”

He spoke warmly, as if comforting her. He acted as though anything she did with Johan was merely "purification."

Odette wished that were true. If it were purely a sacrifice to save a life, she could face Karl without shame. But it wasn't. The gut feeling that she wouldn't hate touching Johan terrified her.

What if…… I actually want this?

She desperately wanted Johan to live. That desperation proved how much she valued Johan. Because of that, she couldn't make the decision. It felt like a betrayal of Karl and a betrayal of her promise to love him.

[Karl] “I understand you, and I accept everything about you. You haven't betrayed anyone. You don't need to ask for my forgiveness.”

He spoke with certainty, but his words only made her guilt grow stronger.

[Karl] “The only thing that matters is your heart.”

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