Outside the tent under the moonlight, the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves echoed.
Many people watched from the sidelines but dared not approach even a step, deeply afraid of being entangled by Gerard, who was kneeling on the ground, sobbing and wailing.
Only when the Barrier was opened did a bewildered Sig slowly step out.
His clothes were still a bit disheveled, the lingering scent of a maiden fading away in the night breeze, his golden hair fluttering slightly.
Sweeping his gaze around at the crowd, and at Gerard’s utterly pathetic appearance, he more or less understood the situation.
He still mumbled a line.
“What happened?”
It seemed Gerard heard him, thinking Sig was mocking him.
He staggered to his feet, his face covered with tears and snot, utterly disgusting.
Muttering and complaining nonstop, he waved his feeble fists regardless of anything, ready to vent his anger and frustration.
“You bastard, how dare you treat Emilia like that! How dare you! I want your life! You must have threatened Emilia with my life, right? You actually dared to interfere with the pure love between me and Emilia! Today, I’ll tear you to pieces! If I don’t take you down, I’m not Gerard! Aaah, die, die!”
His fists carried an unstoppable force, but Sig, now collected, caught them with ease.
Yawning, he seemed a bit bored but didn’t fight back, just planning to play along for fun—after all, it’s rare to see the Hero in such a state.
He kept provoking Gerard with his words, deliberately angering him.
As expected, the enraged Hero charged at him, his fists spinning like propellers, while Sig simply dodged left and right, occasionally giving him a kick.
“What’s wrong, Hero? Don’t be so hasty! See, you’re getting all worked up again. I was just doing some private things with Emilia, you probably already guessed what. By the way, what does this have to do with you?”
“She’s my woman! You’re courting death!”
Gerard declared this with absolute conviction, not blushing or skipping a beat.
He seemed utterly convinced of their relationship, truly lost in his own fantasy.
With the upper hand, Sig continued to toy with him, following his delusions to deliver a fatal blow, then easily kicked him over and said with deeper meaning,
“Oh? Really? That’s interesting. But when I was in bed, I didn’t hear Emilia call your name. Maybe next time I’ll have her call it out, give you a sense of participation. What do you think, Hero?”
“You deserve to die! Emilia, watch me! I’ll avenge you now and take you away from here!”
Instead, Gerard was even more infuriated.
He scrambled up, clumsily took off his outer clothes to reveal his bloated figure—ever since he gave up the power of the Hero, and with a careless lifestyle, it was natural he lost the physique others once envied.
He picked up a wooden stick at random and charged at Sig, his flab wobbling comically.
“Alright, this is getting boring. Let’s end it, Gerard.”
Sig stood his ground, not dodging or flinching, and took the blow head-on.
A bit of blood trickled from his forehead, but he just smiled.
From this moment, it was legitimate self-defense, kids.
He instantly grabbed Gerard’s wrist and slammed him back and forth on the ground like a baton, making Gerard see stars.
In his daze, Gerard saw the belated arrival of a silver-haired girl slowly walking out from the tent.
Ignoring his own injuries, Gerard started yelling again, still lost in his fantasy.
“Emilia, wait for me to save you!”
“Interesting.”
Unexpectedly, Sig heard that Gerard still had the strength to shout, so he deliberately slowed his movements, then gently let go and tossed Gerard to the ground like throwing away a corpse.
The bruised and battered Gerard panted heavily, staggered to his feet again, and another big bump swelled on his head.
Trying to show off his might and dominance in front of the woman he loved.
Seeing the girl walking over with a worried face, Gerard’s heart surged with emotion—after all the suffering, happiness at last.
He understood that Emilia’s sacrifice and submission at this very moment were all for him.
He promised himself she would never be hurt again, probably.
But to his shock, the girl stopped beside Sig, took a handkerchief from her bosom, raised her slender hand, and gently wiped his wound, tender to the extreme.
No, that should be his treatment!
He started to feel touched by himself again, fantasizing wildly—could it be for him once more?
Sadly, reality slapped him hard in the face.
“Sig, are you alright? Next time, just leave disobedient slaves to me. There’s no need for you to do it yourself.”
“Doesn’t matter, just playing around with him…”
Sig, who had seemed nonchalant, shook his head, then glanced sidelong at the girl beside him.
In an instant, his pupils widened with a trace of killing intent, his smile fading, as if he sensed something ominous.
At that moment, Emilia was momentarily dazed, her brows furrowed.
She hadn’t noticed the change in his mood.
Suddenly, the System’s voice echoed in her mind, and for the first time, a so-called Mission was issued, with quite a few rewards, all closely tied to Sig.
So this damn System finally decided to do something.
[Mission issued…]
Before she could even finish listening to the System’s Mission introduction, she saw Sig beside her, his face deadly serious with not a hint of a joke, gently patting her fragrant shoulder to get her attention, and simply said,
“Emilia, I’m very big, so bear with it. It’ll be over in an instant, your pain will end quickly.”
“…What?”
She looked at him in confusion, tilting her head, not understanding what he meant.
Before she could finish her thought, her proud chest was pierced straight through by him.
A wave of pain crashed over her, tearing at her soul.
She looked up in disbelief, unable to understand why, what had happened—just moments ago everything was fine…
Until the bloody reflection in her eyes showed his cold, mercilessly handsome face.
All she had left was gentleness and understanding, her gaze gradually dimming.
Maybe this is for the best, atonement can only end here.
I’m sorry, Sig, for staining your hands.
Her thoughts ended there as she completely lost consciousness.
Sig, expressionless, reached into the girl’s body and took out a Sanctified Sphere.
That thing radiated holy light, burning his skin and purifying filth, but he didn’t retreat.
He gripped it tightly with his bloody hand, the two forces clashing fiercely.
Fortunately, he had the upper hand, and he quickly sealed it to prevent it from disappearing or escaping.
With his other hand, he kept healing the girl’s wounds until she was fully recovered, while Gerard had already fainted in terror nearby, foaming at the mouth.
Only Sig’s muttering was left.
He pulled the unconscious girl into his arms, his eyes fixed coldly on the object in his hand, filled with killing intent.
It was clear he had strong opinions about the gods.
“Such a boring little trick. The Goddess’s toy, huh? Why was it inside Emilia… I don’t get it. I’ll ask her when she wakes up. Hope she answers honestly.”
He suddenly realized there were still people watching around him, so he shouted at the slaves,
“What are you staring at? Get back to sleep! Want to work overtime?”
Somewhere, the sound of mourning echoed, full of emotion.
“I really underestimated you, Sig. Even now, you’re still so sensitive, completely unaffected. What a pitiful result. It seems I’ve lost my subtle influence over Emilia. The last Demon King, do you really refuse to walk the beautiful path we’ve planned for the future? If you insist on going your own way, only destruction awaits.”
The gods can only guide, never directly intervene, and variables are always the most troublesome thing.
There was only one before, but now there are two.