TSMMT Ch 161

The Moment of Revenge

The ropes binding her wrists dissolved into ash. She rose to her feet and struck the helpless Saruvia squarely across the cheek.

[Saruvia] "Agh!"

[Dianna] "What? Did you assume I would submit without resistance?"

In that moment, she felt grateful to God. She had spared the version of Saruvia who possessed no memories of their past life, a choice she now knew was unequivocally correct.

But if Saruvia had reclaimed those memories only to inflict harm upon her once more, Dianna had no reason to withhold her vengeance. She had no reason to spare the woman's life.

[Dianna] "Thank you for remembering. I sincerely thank you for carrying those past-life memories."

How the foolish Saruvia had suddenly recalled her past life, or how she had used illusion magic to kidnap her, remained a mystery.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, only one course of action remained: pure vengeance.

She craved vengeance against the woman who had dragged her into the abyss when she was already languishing in a pit. She wanted revenge against this vile creature.

[Dianna] "Did my quiet death back then make me appear an easy target? Is that why you claimed to carry his child? Hoping I would choose death once more, just like last time?"

She gripped Saruvia's throat tightly with both hands, choking her. She commanded vast power now. She was no longer the helpless victim of her past life. Saruvia clawed viciously at her hands, and the sharp pain forced her to let go.

Saruvia shrieked in sheer terror.

[Saruvia] "H-Help me! Quickly!"

Accomplices had clearly helped bring Dianna to this place. She summoned Salamander and ordered the spirit to attack anyone who approached. She had zero intention of stopping her revenge.

[Saruvia] "Ah! Why... Why is no one coming?! You promised to help me!"

Panic washed over her face. Dianna signaled Gnome, and the spirit altered the earth beneath them. The solid floor turned into quicksand, swallowing Saruvia.

This vengeance belonged to Dianna alone.

[Saruvia] "I-I am pregnant! I am carrying a child!"

[Dianna] "And?"

She exacted this vengeance with her own hands, not through Guiscard's power. Whether Saruvia carried a child mattered little. It didn't matter at all.

The earth spirits churned the ground beneath Saruvia, dragging her legs downward. She sank rapidly.

[Saruvia] "You fool! You don't even recognize the true target of your vengeance!"

[Dianna] "..."

[Saruvia] "You should exact revenge upon His Majesty, not me! Upon Guiscard Lodbrog! Why vent your rage upon an easy target like me?!"

[Dianna] "..."

[Saruvia] "That bastard killed you! That bastard drove you to your death! You chose to die, so why blame me?!"

She shrieked in frantic desperation.

Dianna's expression remained cold and unyielding as she spoke.

[Dianna] "The fact that you killed my child remains unchanged."

[Saruvia] "You were too foolish to protect your own child, so why blame me?! If you want revenge, kill the child in my womb, not me!"

Saruvia bellowed hysterically. Dianna knew expecting anything from this woman was futile. Had she apologized or begged to spare her child, Dianna might have stopped.

A reason for revenge required a reason for forgiveness as well. Yet this woman was incapable of remorse. Certain people were born to trample others, feeling no guilt for the suffering they caused.

Gren had been such a person. Emil had been such a person. This woman was no different.

[Dianna] "You offer no apology. You didn't stab me personally, yet you murdered me all the same."

[Saruvia] "Ah, aaaah!"

[Dianna] "You choked the life out of me step by step, making existence entirely unbearable, just as you are experiencing now."

[Saruvia] "Why? Are you mollified now that His Majesty treats you well this time?! You crazy wench! That man...! That man loves me!"

Saruvia shrieked hysterically. Dianna refused to engage with her delusions and remained silent.

[Saruvia] "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, save me! I am going to die!"

Lost in her delusion, Saruvia screamed frantically for Guiscard. Gnome's quicksand swallowed her relentlessly, covering her face until soil filled her mouth.

Suddenly, her eyes widened. As if realizing a terrible truth, she stopped struggling. She went still for a brief second before erupting into a renewed frenzy.

[Saruvia] "Ah, aaaah! Why... Why did I only retain memories up until my death?! I was deceived! Aaaah!"

Despair washed over her face. Dianna watched as the earth swallowed her whole, burying her completely beneath the soil.

Witnessing a death was gruesome. Taking a life was equally horrific. Yet why couldn't people understand? Dianna Brienne was entirely capable of taking revenge. She was a noblewoman who knew how to channel her rage when wronged. Even understanding the horror of murder, she could still take a life.

This was her path.

Dianna clutched her abdomen. The pain would trouble her no longer. She had taken her revenge with her own hands. Savoring the weight of her vengeance, she drew a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling as tears trickled down her cheeks.

She had taken a life, and she felt no regret.

In that moment, she spotted a hooded figure standing against the wall at the far end of the ruined banquet hall. The figure stood silent like a shadow, devoid of any presence, causing her breath to catch.

Is that person her accomplice?

She summoned her spirits and locked her gaze onto the figure.

[Dianna] "Who..."

Something was wrong. The space beneath the hood was pitch black. A human would show a jawline at the very least, but only a void of shadow existed inside, as if fashioned from pure darkness.

What is that?

It was unlike anything she had ever seen, sending goosebumps across her skin. She realized the entity within the shadow radiated dark satisfaction.

She flinched and took a step back. The figure matched her step, advancing toward her and extending a hand.

A sickening sensation washed over her. Had the entity watched her commit murder without a single reaction? She felt only repulsion and dread.

[Dianna] "D-Don't come near me."

Yet the entity beckoned with its black hand, gesturing for her to approach.

A sudden realization struck her. That thing was a rift, moving to take her as if claiming what belonged to it.

She shook her head, and the entity raised a hand toward the sky. Dark violet lightning struck with a deafening crack, and something erupted from the ground.

[Dianna] "Ah, aaaah!"

Decaying flesh showed beneath battered armor, while other corpses were bare skeletons. Their eyes gleamed with wild fury as they surged toward her.

Ah, I know these.

They were monsters depicted in ancient scriptures.

Undead.

Dianna attacked them using her spirits, but her magic proved ineffective. Though classified as monsters, the undead were original creations of the God who formed the world, preventing the spirits from unleashing their full power.

Gnome transformed the terrain into quicksand, but the undead effortlessly broke free from the trap and charged at her.

How can this be...?

Dread seized her.

What will become of me if I fall to those creatures? What fate awaits me? Will I become like them?

Biting her lip, she knew that failure meant death.

I have accomplished nothing yet.

Too many matters remained unfinished for her life to end here.

[Dianna] "I... I don't want to die."

She needed to talk to Guiscard. Rather than dwelling on memories of the man from her past life, she wanted to look directly at the present Guiscard and talk about their future.

[Dianna] "I... I don't want to die anymore."

Tears streamed down her face. She wouldn't return to those days of cursing fate in helpless apathy, praying for death. She had so much she wished to do, so much she needed to accomplish.

[Dianna] "He only just confessed to me!"

A touch of bitter resentment edged her voice. Though their bond had been forged in tragic fate, and though she had harbored profound resentment toward the man she had yet to forgive, they were finally at a new beginning.

Perhaps startled by her unexpected outburst, the black figure flinched slightly, momentarily halting the undead. But a second later, the monsters charged at Dianna once more.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed as the ceiling shattered, opening up to the bright blue sky.

[Taras] "Oh? Everyone is here."

The black pupils in his silver-blue eyes widened when he spotted Dianna. She stared up at the sky in stunned amazement. Tarascus had arrived.

Standing beneath the open sky, the dragon narrowed his eyes, contracting his diamond-shaped pupils.

[Dianna] "Oh..."

His arrival couldn't have been more timely. As Tarascus shifted into human form to descend, a loud thud echoed. The doors burst open, and heavy footsteps resonated through the room.

[Guiscard] "Ann!"

Dianna turned at the sound of his voice. Guiscard sprinted forward and seized her hand. He turned his back to the banquet hall entrance and pulled her into a tight embrace. Wrapped in his arms, she listened to the steady thrum of his heartbeat.

He had come for her once again. Knowing she was in danger, he had rushed to save her.

She looked at the man holding her, a man risking his life to protect her from everything because he loved her. An overwhelming wave of emotion surged in her chest.

[Dianna] "I love you."

She whispered softly.

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