"But the resistance remains fierce. Every time I try to focus elsewhere, they aim to devour me whole. Wretched pests."

The voice was laced with irritation, as though it couldn’t fathom why anyone would continue such a futile fight.

Farell pressed his lips tightly together.

He knew speaking up now would be pointless.

‘That girl… she was one of Julius’s cherished ones, wasn’t she? Theo held her in genuine regard too.’

Hilda’s failure during the first Sublimation Ritual had rendered her original body unusable.

Her flesh had begun to collapse.

So she made a different choice.

To her, the body …