Karon stared blankly at the scene unfolding before him.

There stood a girl with blue hair, wearing a maniacal grin, but at the same time, she was weeping sorrowfully.

She was walking towards Karon, brandishing a blood-soaked sword.

However, what shocked Karon wasn’t the sight of the bloodied girl.

It was the grotesque transformation of Karon’s own body, altered by imitating a demonic contract.

It showed him things he’d never typically witness.

He could see the souls behind the girl.

The filthy refuse that inevitably occurs during the extraction of divine power.

In other words, the souls of the children.

Filled with deep resentment and curses against the Holy Church, they were likely condensed into one to suppress their power and stored away.

But somehow, they were now manifesting in that girl.

‘Why on earth…’

Karon’s mind couldn’t keep up with the situation.

Who was that child, and how could the discarded refuse intermingle with her?

He couldn’t make sense of anything.

Yet, regardless of Karon’s understanding, the reality unfolding before him remained unchanged.

In literal terms, sin had come to find him.

The fruits of his past misdeeds were now attempting to kill him.

“Did you think we wouldn’t find you just because you changed your appearance?”

Hundreds… no, thousands of voices overlapped with the girl’s voice, sending chills down Karon’s spine.

Sweat began to run down his back.

The overwhelming difference in power felt palpable.

With most of his divine power and the stigma already drained, Karon stood little chance of defeating that monster.

However, the monster showed no concern for Karon’s plight. The blue-haired girl continued her slow advance toward him.

With every step she took, it sounded like the ringing of a death bell.

Your life is over now; a second chance isn’t fitting for scum like you.

It’s time to bid farewell to this world.

‘No…’

He couldn’t accept that.

He had to live.

He decided he’d survive, no matter what it took.

From this point on, nothing else mattered.

Just staying alive was enough.

He didn’t even wish for success; he just yearned to return to an ordinary life.

Yet, even as Karon pleaded in his heart, the girl kept approaching.

He could see the souls behind her mocking him.

It was as if they were voicing their thoughts.

The very survival he so desperately wanted was what they had once wished for too.

And they urged him to reflect on how he had reacted when they cried out for help.

Did he really think they would listen to his pleas for life?

“D-DON’T COME ANY CLOSER! I SAID DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!”

Karon’s body trembled with fear.

Panic-stricken, he began hurling curses wildly.

But… it was futile.

Even if his body had transformed like a demon’s, he had only absorbed one life.

Ultimately, Karon’s curses were insignificant.

The blue-haired girl didn’t feel the need to dodge; instead, she calmly endured his curses while continuing her advance.

And…

That moment he wanted to avoid at all costs finally arrived.

The monstrous girl reached right in front of Karon.

A horrific intent to kill radiated from her.

The curses and grudges pressed down on Karon, causing him to collapse to the ground. He didn’t even have the energy to retreat.

As he lay there, looking pitiful, the girl grasped her sword.

In the blink of an eye, the strike was made before Karon even noticed.

His face twisted in agony.

Blood gushed from his abdomen as he felt the excruciating pain, making him feel like he could lose consciousness at any moment.

Whether Karon suffered or not made no difference to the girl; she smiled while tearing apart his insides.

His consciousness faded.

His vision grew cloudy until everything became a blur.

And just like that, Karon’s life came to an end. It was certainly meant to be.

But…

Karon’s consciousness didn’t fade away. He was still alive.

His battered body swelled, regaining its original form. In an instant, Karon returned to his previous self.

However, there was no sign of joy in his face for having survived.

He knew it wasn’t a miraculous gift.

“This counts as one.”

The girl smiled as she said this.

Tears flowed down her cheeks as she smiled.

A wild madness twisted her features.

Before Karon’s eyes stood a figure of vengeance.

Not just any, but the very vengeful spirit he had created.

“Ah…”

Sin bore down upon Karon.

The shackles he had forged now faced him.

This was the punishment handed down to him.

*

Karon felt hazy.

Ever since he plunged into that black liquid, it was as if he were dreaming, with his consciousness fuzzy.

The only thing he could hear was voices.

Voices constantly uttering curses and contempt.

That’s why Lucy moved according to those voices. She avenged them by following their directive.

In the brilliant Holy Palace.

That once majestic and serene place was now unrecognizable.

It was bathed in blood, strewn with flesh and bodies everywhere.

And… before the girl stood an old man.

The last remnants of the Holy Church.

A man so broken he could no longer speak, begging for death was beyond him now.

Lucy stared at him… then twisted the old man’s neck.

This time, there would be no resurrection.

Their revenge had reached its conclusion.

Thus… the old man’s life extinguished.

This human, who had sacrificed so many for his own benefit, ultimately met his end at the hands of those whose lives he had stolen.

Now, Lucy remained as the only one left in that space.

The voices of the souls faded away.

She had braced herself for this.

Someone might still be around.

One of the thirty children might remain unsatisfied in this world, seeking revenge against her.

But… those children didn’t harm her.

Once they confirmed she had not collaborated with the Holy Church in their abduction,

The children demanded only to use her body in a gesture of atonement, not to seek revenge.

However…

That made it all the more horrifying.

If they had merely resented her, if they had blamed her for everything,

It wouldn’t have hurt so much.

This torturous guilt wouldn’t have engulfed her so deeply.

Those children who blamed themselves instead of executing revenge.

They had their innocent futures robbed by none other than her.

She had stolen the lives they rightfully deserved.

Lucy numbly drew her sword from its sheath. There were no enemies left. There was no one to defeat anymore.

The souls of the children had all returned to where they belonged once their grudges were satisfied.

Yet still,

‘There are still people who deserve to die.’

Tears streamed down Lucy’s cheeks.

But even a single tear wouldn’t wash the blood from her hands.

It couldn’t erase the sins she had committed either.

That was only natural.

Ignorance could never absolve her.

In total, Lucy had led thirty children to that terrible fate. Her ignorance had plunged those thirty children into hell.

That was a sin that couldn’t be erased with mere apologies.

No matter how she expressed her remorse or sought atonement, the children who had departed wouldn’t ever return.

‘I must pay for my sins.’

Up until now, the girl had lived proudly off her actions.

She had not saved anyone; instead, she had taken everything from those lives.

And so she had been brazenly believing that she was enacting justice.

Someone like her had no right to live.

She shouldn’t be alive.

Therefore,

She had only one thing to do.

It wasn’t anything complicated.

It was merely to do what she had always done.

To eradicate the heinous murderer.

The girl closed her eyes.

Pressing the blood-stained blade against her neck.

She felt the sharp tip draw blood, a small droplet trickling down her neck.

But nothing changed.

Her body was already drenched in blood.

This foul body of a wretched killer was beyond redemption.

And so the girl was about to sign the end of her life.

…Or rather, she tried to.

But then the grip on her sword abruptly vanished. Someone had snatched it from her.

“…Lucy Valierre.”

At the same time, she heard that voice.

It was a voice she had heard before.

She opened her eyes and faced the man calling her name.

A boy dressed in a black robe with white hair.

His deep blue eyes fixed on her.

The Commander of the Black Fangs was standing right before her.