The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 139

At the final moment, I instinctively turned my body.

Even though I dodged, Kayden’s sword lightly grazed my shoulder as it passed.

After striking me once, Kayden stood still in place like a wind-up toy that had run down.

“Just now… what was that?”

I demanded from Gabriel in a voice full of shock.

Why did Kayden suddenly become a mindless being and attack me?

Gabriel responded, “As expected, you wouldn’t die that easily. You are, after all, the Lord of Contract.”

“That’s not what I’m asking! Just now, why did Kayden act like that?! As if…”

As if you were controlling him.

I couldn’t erase the horrified look on my face.

Then Gabriel said to me in a composed voice, “Do you know why my Power is also called the power of the soul?”

Gabriel continued explaining, “Sin is etched into the soul. Therefore, I can possess the soul of anyone I’ve decided to judge.”

“……”

“After I failed to kill you the first time, I sought another method. One that would not fail.”

I didn’t want to hear what came next. I wanted to block my ears immediately.

But against my will, I stood there and listened to Gabriel speak.

“The reason I failed to kill you the first time was partly due to that Beastkin… but ultimately, it was because your contractor resisted to the end. Refusing to kill you.”

I slowly blinked. Could that… could that really be true?

At the same time doubt arose, several scenes flashed through my mind.

That day.

“Lady Bella, please. Please run away.”

“Kill me instead. Please.”

The image of Zachary, sobbing in front of Ethan’s corpse.

After killing Ethan, for a brief moment, Zachary had regained his senses and said those words to me.

How could I forget? How could I forget such a memory?

I froze on the spot in shock.

My heart dropped coldly. At the same time, it felt like the floor vanished and I was falling helplessly through space.

There’s no way… there’s no way I could forget something like that. Never.

Even as my mind reeled in chaos, Gabriel continued speaking.

“So I decided to create the perfect weapon. The most perfect weapon that could kill you.”

“Weapon? What are you saying right now…”

“A rather excellent weapon. Trained just right, according to my plan. Though… there were a few variables.”

Gabriel’s words slowly seeped into me.

I turned my head toward Kayden—no, Zachary.

His eyes still held no life, like glass marbles.

A weapon. Zachary, a weapon made to kill me.

“Over the past five hundred years, I created a weapon for your sake.”

At those words, I finally understood why Zachary’s soul was so uncharacteristically strong for a human.

Gabriel had taken ownership of Zachary’s soul.

Kayden had once said he’d fought in a war against heretics that ended before he was even born.

At first, I thought he was speaking nonsense… but what if he really had fought in that war?

In another name, in another life.

Gabriel had reincarnated Zachary over the past five hundred years. Living such a long time, his soul had grown strong, and eventually…

“He will no longer remember you. He cannot. That soul no longer retains any self.”

“How dare you… How dare you touch him,” I gritted my teeth and muttered.

How dare you touch my contractor? How dare you steal the soul that should be mine?

Gabriel ignored my words and continued, “For the past five hundred years, I confined that human in endless suffering to create a stronger weapon. In all the lives he’s lived, he’s never lived past the age of twenty-five.”

The more suffering one endures, the more elevated the soul becomes.

The soul I saw within Zachary, its quality was incomparable to an ordinary soul.

Just how much suffering had he endured to reach that state?

Countless thoughts raced through my mind.

While I turned away from reality in the Demon Realm, my contractor was living a life of pain in the Middle Realm.

“Still… you can’t defeat me. Even after five hundred years, a human can’t…”

Even if Kayden’s soul had grown stronger, he was still human at his origin.

A demon who had lived a similar length of time—that is, me—could not be surpassed by him.

“He was supposed to be stronger than you. But a variable occurred. Still, he is the one human you cannot kill.”

I couldn’t deny Gabriel’s words. After learning that Zachary never truly betrayed me.

And that he had suffered at Gabriel’s hands for hundreds of years.

How could I kill Zachary now?

A weapon that could kill me, but that I could not kill.

When I said nothing, Gabriel spoke again, “If you obediently surrender your life, I will release him.”

“……”

“This is my form of mercy toward you. Isn’t it better to die at the hands of the one you love?”

I gritted my teeth and said, “Honestly. At this point, I don’t know who the demon is and who the angel is.”

The situation was dire. I couldn’t defeat Gabriel… and what was I supposed to do with Kayden?

His eyes still held no life. It looked like Gabriel had completely seized control of his body.

“Zachary.”

I called my contractor, my human.

He didn’t respond.

My hesitation was brief.

I slowly walked toward him and said, “Ever since I met you, I’ve always felt like a complete fool.”

How dare you, just a human, make me feel this way?

“Even so.”

I wrapped Zachary’s hand in mine.

His hand was as cold as ice.

What I was about to do was incredibly foolish.

But I didn’t want to leave him with the guilt of killing me.

Even if he never regained his memories.

“Even if I could turn back time, I’d still make the same choice.”

I pulled the hand I held toward me.

The cold blade pierced my heart.

***

It hurt.

As the blade pierced my heart, I vividly heard the sound of flesh splitting apart.

Haah.

“…A wise choice.”

Gabriel said as he looked at me gasping roughly.

He must have thought I chose death for Zachary’s sake. As if.

Had he forgotten that I am a demon?

I exhaled harshly. My breathing was becoming more irregular. At the same time, I could feel the blood flowing out of my body.

I coughed several times. With each cough, the amount of blood from my wound increased.

And then.

I grabbed the pouch tied to my waist. As I did, the magic condensed in the magic stone began to flow through my hand and into my entire body.

It felt like molten gold was coursing through my veins. A pain I had never felt before in my life.

And at the same time, the demonic energy, swelling and greedily devouring the magic, gave me an overwhelming sense of elation.

“What are you doing right now?”

Gabriel couldn’t hide the flustered look on his face.

“…Did you think I’d just follow your plan obediently? You damned bastard.”

I had intended to let down his guard and absorb the demonic energy from the magic stone in that opening.

But the wound was deeper than I had expected.

Breathing was becoming more and more difficult, but I forced myself to endure and said, “Even if I die here today, I’ll at least take you with me.”

As I said this, I gathered magic at my fingertips. A dark sphere formed at the tip of my finger.

I hurled the sphere at Gabriel. He easily evaded my attack, but it seemed he had not expected my magic to explode.

Boom—!

The sphere burst brilliantly, unleashing powerful killing intent in all directions as it attacked Gabriel.

It was a weak attack that merely left a scratch on his face.

But that alone was enough to disturb Gabriel’s concentration.

At that moment.

“The Saintess just—!”

“Kyah!”

Gabriel’s power, which had been restraining the people, wavered.

The cathedral was now filled with fear and confusion. People, bewildered by the sudden commotion, began to scream.

“Isabella!”

Among the uproar, the loudest voice came from someone familiar.

The duke.

He was looking at me in disbelief. Me, pierced by a sword and bleeding.

You should’ve listened to me. I told you attending the prayer gathering would only end badly.

And just then.

I could feel the seal that had bound my soul completely vanish.

“Isabella!”

The duke called out to me again. He tried to push through the crowd and run toward me.

But in that instant, Gabriel waved his hand and created a translucent barrier between the steps.

It was his will not to allow any more intruders.

The duke banged on the barrier forcefully and seemed to shout something.

But perhaps the barrier even blocked sound, because the duke’s cries didn’t reach my ears.

I forced myself to ignore him.

All my magic had returned. And yet, I still would not be able to face Gabriel.

I gathered the magic into my body and released an explosive force that struck the ground. At that moment, my eyes began to burn.

One chance. I had to kill Gabriel with everything I had.

I began to focus.

But just before I launched my attack, another anomaly occurred.