Silence.

Jecky, who had been silent for a while, suddenly turned her head unnaturally.

And then.

"Wha-what is this? Disgusting. Disgusting! Disgusting!!! Ahhh! No, no, no, no, no, no, no. This is not meeeeee! Ahhhhh!!"

She screamed while tearing at her head with both arms and spitting blood.

However, no matter where she looked, her arms and legs kept appearing in her field of vision.

"Turn my arms back! Please! This is, this is too disgusting! I hate it! I don't want to live like this!!"

While screaming, she suddenly looked at Edna.

Crying tears of blood, she crawled towards Edna with terrifying speed.

Just a bit...

"Edna... please... save me... I'm begging you..."

However, now there was no way.

She had completely transformed into a dark mage, and there was no way to undo it.

The NPCs hesitated and stepped back. Reluctantly, they carved expressions of disgust on their faces.

Both noble NPCs and students, everyone.

They were distancing themselves from her.

'This, this is... not reality...'

Jecky trembled and stuttered in despair. She wanted to cover her face with her hands, but her hands had become sharp and wouldn't allow such a simple gesture.

"Please, please... Edna, please. You... you can do anything."

Until a moment ago, there was a possibility of recovery. If it wasn't complete corruption, it could have been purified.

But now it was impossible.

Edna closed her lips tightly and lowered her head.

"... I'm sorry, Jecky."

With that, the final verdict was pronounced.

"Hahaha. Hehehehe. Hehe, hehe... hehehe. Hihihihi...."

Suddenly, Jecky realized the culprit behind all of this.

"That's right."

From the beginning, if it weren't for Edna.

"It's all because of you."

"What...?"

"It's because of you. You, you, you! It's because of you!! If it weren't for you! If you didn't exist at all!!"

While screaming, she raised her arm, resembling a blade to swing at Edna, but…

Whoosh! Sizzle...!

Fiery flames and chilling icebergs shot from the sides, piercing through Jecky’s body.

"Gah... Ugh...!"

Her ability was to manipulate the opponent's mind. But could she exert her power when her own mental state was in turmoil?

She was already severely wounded and weakened by the fading barrier; she had lost most of her strength, making even such an attack fatal.

"I hate it... Why..."

Whoosh! Boom!!

Hong Bi-Yeon did not stop there, and shot another fireball.

She stepped forward as if she couldn't stand it anymore.

"Wait, hold on. It's dangerous..."

"You should be quiet now. You've done what you needed to do."

Brushing off Edna’s attempt to stop her with a low voice, she stood coldly in front of Jecky.

Hong Bi-Yeon glanced over Jecky’s face and spoke with an emotionless expression.

"How pathetic."

"You...!"

"Inner ugliness is worse than outward appearance."

For her, being ignored was far better.

Hong Bi-Yeon, who had once lived a more wretched life than that, understood that very well.

"Yes, what do you know... Aaah!!"

££Whoosh!!**

Before Jecky could say anything, Hong Bi-Yeon immediately used fire to burn her wounds.

"Don't dare speak informally to a princess. You're no longer my equal, so there's no reason for me to tolerate informality."

"Wait, please stop! I still have my sanity! If I can find a way...!"

"If you can find a way?"

"... Huh?"

As Eisel hurriedly shouted, Hong Bi-Yeon turned her head and locked eyes with her.

Unlike when looking at Jecky... there was a mixture of pity and indescribable anguish in her gaze.

That was right.

Her cold gaze directed at Jecky was just an act.

Realizing this, Eisel stopped in her tracks.

"If you find a way, is there a solution?"

Once completely consumed by the dark magic, there was no other answer. There was no solution other than overcoming the dark magic before it completely took hold.

"Well, even so..."

"Ha, your kindness surprises me. Fine, I'll give your friends the chance they want."

Hong Bi-Yeon spoke as if showing compassion.

"If you repent sincerely and apologize for your mistakes even now, I'll spare your life. Kneel and kiss my feet."

"... What!"

It was... an incredibly humiliating and disgraceful situation.

However, no one, including Edna, tried to stop her.

No, they couldn't stop her.

If the situation had gone wrong... everyone here might have died at Jecky’s hands.

The crime of trying to kill fifteen students was by no means trivial.

Still, it could be said that Hong Bi-Yeon’s generosity in offering a chance to repent was significant.

Jecky gritted her teeth, knelt down, and slowly approached Hong Bi-Yeon, while bowing her head.

However.

No matter how she thought about it.

Apologizing for her mistakes here and receiving
forgiveness wouldn't allow her to live a proper life in the future.

With her transformed, cruel, and horrifying appearance, it seemed unlikely that she could pursue a normal girl's life.

Jecky’s red eyes, lowered in submission, flickered brightly.

Hong Bi-Yeon Adolveit.

Born as a princess with unparalleled beauty; a girl known as the incarnation of flames. She was born with exceptional talent.

Her future would shine more beautifully and brilliantly than any gem, while Jecky would lead a life like filthy sewage.

‘I wanted to live like that too. If I'm going to fall into ruin anyway, it wouldn't be so bad to fall with someone living in the high heavens.’

‘If I can't have that life.’

'If it's going to be like that...'

‘It's an opportunity.’

An opportunity to end that perfect girl's life with her own hands.

Crawling on her knees, Jecky reached Hong Bi-Yeon’s feet and bowed deeply, hiding her expression.

Without any hesitation, Hong Bi-Yeon extended her foot without even batting an eyelid.

"Stupid girl."

The opportunity had come.

As if pretending to hold onto her foot, Jecky clenched her fist.

A sinister red gleam emanated from her.

"You're also going to fall into ruin with me, Adolveit!"

She stood up abruptly and stabbed Hong Bi-Yeon with her transformed spider's right arm.

Undoubtedly, it would be an instant death.

That was how it should have been.

"Ah...?"

Missed...!

It didn't connect.

Her knees froze, preventing her from standing up properly.

Her arms were caught in spider webs, preventing her from swinging them properly.

Even as she saw the sharp spider's blade that had reached right in front of her, Hong Bi-Yeon remained unperturbed and said with a pitiful tone.

"So you've missed your last chance. That's why humans are said to be unfixable. You wasted your efforts."

…

"Just wait, in fact...!"

"I hope you repent in death." Hong Bi-Yeon flicked her finger as if there was no worth in hearing any excuses.

Kwaaang!!

A giant cylindrical pillar of fire shot up, engulfing Jecky’s body.

Whoosh!!

She died instantly without even screaming.

With that, the situation came to an end.

"Ah......"

Edna sat down in her place at Hong Bi-Yeon’s action.

At the same time, a guide line message appeared.

["Conquered the ‘Masquerade of Temptation!"]

[The story of the Duchess Aeron, who wanted to gain the world's greatest beauty and popularity, has come to an end like this.]