Chapter 151: The War Between the Shadow and the Golden Vow
The Final Gambit of the Grandmother
The courtyard of the house had now become the site of the soul's ultimate trial. Diyari stood amidst a radiance that had turned the entire surrounding world into shimmering crystal, yet the grandmother had not yet played her final, loathsome card. Realizing she could not withstand Diyari's imaginative power alone, she began chanting an ancient, forbidden sorcery known as the "Absolute Knot of the Peri." This spell was not merely for physical control; it was designed to funnel all the historical hatred and malice of the world into Rina's very blood.
Grandmother: (In a raspy, diabolical voice, screaming) "Rina! Do not fall victim to this false light! This man wants to use this beauty to tell you he was never 'ugly'! He is consuming your mind! Let your marks speak! Bind him to the oath you swore with my blood!"
At that moment, as Rina lay in Diyari's arms, her body stiffened as if struck by a massive electrical current. The purple marks on her arms did not fade; instead, they began to swell, coiling like black serpents around her throat. Rina's eyes, which had briefly begun to return to their natural state, instantly became an infinite, pitch-black void. The love that had flickered in her gaze for a second was violently displaced by a manic thirst for blood.
The Attack of the Puppet Queen
With superhuman strength, Rina tore herself from Diyari's embrace and leaped backward. In mid-air, the purple energy surrounding her solidified into a long, poisonous blade forged from the grandmother's concentrated spite.
Rina: (In a voice not her own, a voice carrying the echoes of a thousand dark screams) "Why don't you come forward? Why do you try to blind me with this light? Grandmother says you are the thief who stole my soul for yourself! You are that ill-mannered 'ugly' wretch who wants to shatter my dignity! Die! Just die so this pain in my brain will finally end!"
Rina lunged. She moved like a purple lightning bolt through the crystalline courtyard. She slashed her purple blade across Diyari's shoulder. With a single thought, a single beam of his "imaginative power," Diyari could have thrown Rina kilometers away or knocked her unconscious, but he did not. He had vowed never to raise a hand against her, even if she became his executioner.
Diyari stood in absolute silence. The blade sank into the flesh of his shoulder, but instead of blood, a golden light poured from the wound. The pain was excruciating because the blade was crafted from the venom of "Memory Erasure," yet Diyari did not even close his eyes.
Diyari: (In an incredibly calm voice, saturated with mercy) "Strike me, Rina... if this makes you feel at peace, strike me. Every wound you create on my body breaks a piece of that filthy magic of my grandmother. I am here, like the mountain that the rain cannot move. You are not 'ugly,' Rina; you are simply lost in the darkness."
The Sacrifice of the Golden Heart
Rina attacked again and again—with her claws, her blades, and every ounce of power the grandmother had bestowed upon her. With every blow she landed, a black energy transferred from Rina's marks into Diyari's body. Diyari was willingly absorbing the "poison." His body began to tremble, and his golden light dimmed slightly, yet he remained as immovable as a mountain.
The grandmother watched from a distance with a satanic grin: "Keep going, Rina! Tear his heart out! He is just a fantasy! That 'mindless' fool cannot withstand your hatred! Look at how his golden blood spills! He must die so you can become queen again!"
Rina reached Diyari's face, pressing the purple blade against his throat. Her heavy, ragged breaths hit his face. Within those black eyes, for a fleeting moment, a tiny glimmer of a tear appeared. Rina's hand began to shake.
Rina: (In a trembling whisper) "Why... why don't you defend yourself? Why do you look into my eyes as if I am the purest human alive? I am killing you! I am that 'ugly' one the grandmother speaks of! Why does my heart scream to keep going, but my soul begs me to stop?"
Diyari smiled at her—a smile so deep it seemed to harbor all the years of humiliation he had endured. He slowly brought his glowing hand forward and very gently placed it on Rina's cheek. At that moment, the entire courtyard fell silent. Even the grandmother's voice was severed.
Diyari: "Because I am the man who, in the midst of hell, did not only endure my own pains but protected my love for you. You can tear my body to pieces, but you cannot distort the image I have painted of you in my mind. Rina... do not look into the light... look into my heart. Who is 'ugly' here? The man who loves you, or the woman who forced a weapon into your hand?"
With these words, an immense flash of light exploded between Diyari's hand and Rina's cheek. The grandmother's spell began to incinerate completely. Rina let out a scream and fell to her knees, her head and mind on the verge of exploding from the rush of memories flooding back. Seeing this, the grandmother's face turned the color of death. She knew if Rina fully awakened, nothing would be able to stop Diyari.
Wrettin by: Dlin_myth