[Nightmare]

Chapter 37 [Meaning Of Loss]

"Emelia has nothing to do with this!" Helix growled.

"Hah! You used that little pawn to thrash my reputation. Don't deny it." Linna scoffed.

"What are you talking about, Lina?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

"You bought her that beautiful dress!

The next day I spent all of my gold in the noble district picking out the best clothing for my servant." She described.

"Then I showed up the next day, and the other girls had bought their servants' clothing too.

However, they didn't look at mine. You know why?"

Helix closed his eyes. He knew what would happen when Lina stormed out but couldn't do anything about it.

He forgot because he was knocked out for the next three days.

"Why, Lina?" He asked with a serious expression.

"Because everyone bought cheap clothes!

Everyone was so excited they never looked at my servant, and they ridiculed me for spending all of my money.

Then I couldn't go shopping with anyone and spent my time in isolation!

You told every girl but me about where you shopped on purpose!

That was how my adventure started!" She screamed.

Helix sighed.

"Lina. You left before people talked about it.

You walked out almost immediately.

I didn't do it to spite you." He replied with a serious gaze.

"That's hilarious. Ever since the beginning, everything I've tried to do has failed.

Yet you're getting everything I've desired.

You didn't want to come here, and you don't want this lifestyle.

What a lie.

How is it a coincidence that you're accidentally getting everything I work for!?"

Helix gave her a wry smile.

"I don't know why things have worked out as they have.

But I didn't expect it, didn't understand it, and wished people would stop trying to kill me over it.

I plan to leave, and I don't want anything else to go wrong.

So please, Lina. Let me leave, and you don't have to worry about me anymore." Helix replied.

"Hah. Hilarious. Do you think things are going wrong for you?

Do you even know what the meaning of loss is?" She scoffed with anger in her sky blue eyes.

"Let me show you what loss feels like!" She declared.

Before Helix could process what happened, Lina unsheathed her sword and ran it through Emelia's heart.

When Helix's eyes processed what he saw, his mind went blank.

"E-Em…elia…." He whispered in disbelief.

Lina burst into laughter.

"Your face right now is priceless!" She giggled.

"The mighty Helix, love-stricken over an NPC slave!"

Darkness swirled in Helix's eyes like a vortex.

"I see…." He replied in a low voice.

"Take this and show it to your friends.

You officially have another heaven-defying artifact."

Helix threw the Mirror of Helioquie in the middle of all the other students.

There was a loud clang as its golden backing touched the ground.

"What did you just do!?" Lina roared in desperation.

Every hero clambered for the mirror, hoping to be the first to touch it.

As they all moved within a meter of the artifact, it illuminated with blinding light.

"Gahhhhhhh! What the fuck is this!?" Lina screamed.

"Hahahahahahahah! Haha! Hah!"

Helix burst into maniacal laughter.

The others looked at him in shock.

"Just… hahahaha. Look… hahaha. Around you!" Helix laughed uncontrollably.

"See for yourself what murderers look like!"

The others turned to the first person in front of them.

"L-Lina… what happened to your f-face?" One of the men asked.

Lina touched her face in shock.

She reached down and grabbed the Mirror of Helioquie and stared at her reflection.

"T-This…. T-This is…." Lina stuttered.

"Your face, Lina. It's your real face.

The Mirror of Helioquie removes the effects of the last change made to your body by a treasure." Helix explained with a ruthless tone.

"It's primarily used to get rid of effects from evil curses like it is now.

It's really useful for reminding you that you're Angelina Wainwright.

You're not a new person.

You're the same weak, geeky woman who is now a murderer.

It's disgusting that you need a treasure to remember that."

"She's… ugly." A young man commented.

"Shhhhh. Matthew, be quiet. It'd be funny if we pretended that we didn't notice."

"Yeah! Great idea, Stan. We can watch her pretend to be high and mighty!"

"Let's parade around the pig!"

"Greg, that's a great idea. This is going to be legendary!"

"W-Wait, Helix. I…."

"Hahahaha! You should see your face right now! It's [priceless]!" Helix laughed mockingly.

"The best part is that you'll always see your new self in the mirror.

That way, despite people seeing your old face, you'll always be reminded of what you lost!"

Helix's eyes were merciless and cold.

There was not a single shred of pity or empathy for the woman he used to call his friend.

Lina looked up and saw that all of her co-conspirators had their new faces.

However, she wasn't looking at them, nor were they looking at her.

"Hah! Look at Mathew. He's lost his appearance!" Lina sneered.

"Yeah, it's pretty hilarious. Let's pretend like we don't notice!" Stan confirmed.

"Shhhhhh. Keep it down, so Matthew doesn't hear you." Greg said.

"Woooooooah. Check out Greg's appearance!" Stan announced.

"Yeah. Glad I didn't touch that treasure. He has his original face!" Matthew confirmed.

"Shhhhh. Keep it down! Let's pretend like we don't know how fat and ugly he is!" Lina suggested.

Helix explained the mirror's effects to each of them individually.

Then they all experienced the same conversation with their peers.

No one was seeing one another.

They were all hallucinating in a world devoid of outside interaction.

Helix gritted his teeth in a murderous rage as he watched Lina desperately clasp at her face in despair.

—

"The rules of the blood pact are simple.

You make an oath between two parties, and the Myriad record will require that the oath is carried out.

The oath is simple. You declare you will fight a person in a death match.

I will release Whitney Skarrot's servant Mira Iris if you arrive, and I must protect her from future harm." A man in a guard uniform stated.

"Isn't that your job, anyway?" Helix asked with cold eyes.

"Look, I'm here because you put my life into danger, kid.

I don't want to hear your excuses for making enemies with the wrong people." The guard replied.

Helix cut his hand with his sword.

"I will enter into this blood pact if you tell me the names of those I've offended as part of the blood pact." Helix declared with blood dripping from his hand.

"I can't do that." The guard replied.

"Good. I guess [you] and a servant will die today.

I've never even met that woman." Helix commented while turning around.

"Wait! Let's work something out!" The guard called out nervously.

"Fine. How about this? I'll make two blood oaths.

The first is that I won't speak the names of the parties involved.

No one will ever hear those names come out of my mouth.

I will also never physically point the finger at the people or try to use sign language to out them.

I won't write the names out either.

If you agree, the blood pact will force me to agree to the second blood pact." Helix compromised.

The guard thought about it for a moment.

"It's a deal." The guard stated.

The two cut their hands.

"I, Albert Salamon, enter a blood pact…."

The two took their vows for the blood pact after chanting the blood ritual.

Then they reached out to shake hands.

After their hands collided, a bright red seal tattooed itself on Helix's hand.

"The name of the person who leads this goes by Angelina Wainwright.

The person in control of the operation is Walter Ritzen.

There are eight other people involved, though four are only speculation.

These are their names…."

—

"I should have destroyed you all and watched this entire fucking kingdom burn." Helix whispered as the group screamed in despair.

"You animals didn't even give me time to throw a damn mirror before…."

Helix's eyes flashed with pure hatred.

He kneeled and looked at the deceased body of Emelia.

"Emelia…." Tears welled in his eyes.

Helix picked up her small, frail body and started walking away.

"Where are you going!?" Lina called out.

"To expose you and destroy every last thing you hold dear." He replied coldly.

"You don't have proof!"

—

"You entered a blood pact for a deathmatch!?" Macron roared while slapping his desk.

"There's no backing out, boy! Do you even understand what you've done!?"

"Yes, I do. Soon, you will know too." Helix replied while pulling out a shirt from his leather bag.

"T-This is…." Macron said with wide eyes.

"Yes. It's the Circle of Remembrance.

There's a full recording of why I'm in that blood pact and who was behind it." Helix replied.

"I can't tell you what happened, but here is the spirit particle mixture necessary to activate the circle."

Macron raised an eyebrow.

"You can't just activate it normally?" He asked.

"No. You're looking at a double-layered magic circle.

It will play a normal message if you infuse the normal spirit mix.

If you use the custom activation trigger, it will play the true one.

Burn that piece of paper when you're done with it."

Macron looked at Helix in disbelief.

"You're so talented. Why would you risk your life at all?" He asked.

Helix sighed and opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Listen to the recording and do nothing.

As of this moment, that shirt is insurance for my life alongside Emelia's.

I've given other pieces of clothing to trusted people to ensure it doesn't get stolen.

Take care, Macron."

—

"I have recordings of your involvement in Whitney Skarrot's servant's kidnapping." Helix replied coldly.

"The guard you and Walter hired was under a blood oath to tell me who you were.

He's still alive. The Myriad record confirmed you were involved, and the evidence is undeniable proof.

It's like having DNA, a video recording, and fifty witnesses.

It's a judge, jury, and executioner level of evidence in Myriad.

You should have learned the laws before murdering people." Helix scoffed.

"I also have concrete proof you used your Nightmare and killed Emelia tonight.

That's not all I have either. The amount of evidence I have on you is a joke."

Lina looked at Helix with devastating eyes.

"Lina, I don't know what your future holds but I can tell you this."

Helix turned around with Emelia in his arms.

He stared into her eyes with a ruthless gaze.

"You're fucked."

—

[A/N: Emelia's death isn't proof the cultivator's mindset is necessary.

It's the opposite.

The mindset drove Lina and Walter to commit crimes and put themselves in danger.

That's irrational.

If Helix didn't stop his partners from killing Lina and Walter, they'd be dead—over a cafeteria speech and dressing up a servant.

That's insane.

The mindset isn't a necessity, it's a justification for murder, assault, and stealing.

That's reality.

All this event proves is that Lina is a killer, treating the world like a novel is disturbing, and Emelia died a truly meaningless death.

This was the result of an insane, unnecessary mindset that came from a book.

Simple as that.]