"Master… save her…" her voice cracked a bit. "Save your daughter!" Olivia finally managed to say the words in a painful whimper, then again started roaring like a dying animal, swallowed in black flames.
"Melodis, release the flames," Johan whispered to himself, his voice low.
"…but…" Melodis felt truly puzzled. She had watched Johan for the whole of Kirin's life and knew how much of a bastard he was to outsiders. The risks of releasing the bitch tree's vessel were too high—and now the pain was overwhelming her instincts.
A beast like the God Tree fully relied on instinct to fight, survive, and submit. But releasing her would mean giving the God Tree clarity to think—which would definitely cause problems.
"I said, do it!"
The bright black flames instantly dimmed out of existence, Olivia's body regenerating back to perfection.
Rattle! Rattle!
A bright blue sphere, about the size of a palm, slowly launched from Sebastian's hand. Even with its slow speed, the sphere instantly appeared beside Olivia—traveling through space.
"Ahh—no, please, my baby will die, please stop this!" she screamed as her flesh began to be sucked in by the small sphere, its density slowly growing.
Johan shut his eyes, walking up to her with a strange hollowness in his chest.
"Is she our daughter?"
His voice escaped as a soft whisper straight to her ears.
The voice that had always yelled at her for the smallest mistakes now sounded like the sweetest melody she had ever heard.
Her tears stopped.
Her left side had completely disintegrated inside the sphere.
"Leor… he's insane. He imprisoned every last member of House Matilda—from Matriarch Lady Acier, to the main family's cousins, to the last servant. They're all being interrogated for something…
When I was in the dungeon, Leor visited me. He said he'd kill our daughter if I didn't eat some kind of tree root…
I don't remember anything after that. I just woke up here."
She muttered the important information Johan needed the most in that moment.
Johan leaned in, his rough hands touching her delicate right arm.
"You said our daughter… don't worry. I won't let you or her die. Trust me."
Johan spoke through gritted teeth, not sure if he could keep his promise—but at least he'd give it his all. Either he would die with them… or they would all live.
This wasn't what the real Johan would've chosen. Who knew how many children he had abandoned? People here were more medieval in their behavior—the concept of morality didn't exist. Even those who did good, only did it for the religion they followed.
So they wouldn't be sent to hell when the Creator Ymir brought judgment.
Forcing your young daughters to be prostitutes, or selling them for a few months' worth of food—or your son as a labor slave—was normalized among atheist commoners.
This world was cruel.
Johan couldn't abandon Olivia. The one he had tortured. The one he had ruined everything for. He hated his predecessor for that.
But nothing else matters anymore. I'll kill the God Tree and save her from corruption… save Acier… and my new family. Kill Leor… and bring back Selene.
Johan's body trembled with adrenaline, his blood boiling at Leor's mention.
This bastard even used a pregnant woman and a fetus as just a move… like it's a strategy game. It's not. They're real.
Johan bit his lip, turning to Sebastian, who was panting hard on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
"My son! My son is also…"
Hearing Olivia's words, Sebastian's fatigue from casting the seal vanished—but his chest grew much heavier. His eyes burned as he tried his hardest to stop the tears from coming out… but they didn't listen.
Crunch!
Her beautiful body vanished in an instant. Only the arm Johan had been holding remained in his hand.
Her face—at the moment she was gone—wore a smile. A smile that seemed to say: I trust you.
Johan clenched the soft arm close to his chest. His breathing grew rapid, as if the world were about to collapse.
The blue sphere stayed still, as if adapting to what had just intruded.
His eyes grew firm.
"Don't worry, Sebastian… we will save them all." He consoled Sebastian, patting him on his old bones.
"Eat it! Her soul is leaving! I can sense it!" Melodis' yell rang deep into his eardrums, shaking Johan's soul.
Johan turned to look down at the soft arm, growing colder by the second—black slime seeping from its edge.
He suddenly felt like crying.
"Stop thinking! Don't forget to swallow the bones too!" Melodis pressured him loudly, making Johan swallow his saliva.
Johan opened his mouth, his jaw trembling.
He brought the arm closer. The scent hit him—iron and rot, and something faintly sweet, like burnt sugar.
He gagged. His hands shook violently.
This… this isn't what I meant when I said I wanted to eat a woman, God…
The first bite was the hardest.
His teeth sank into the flesh just below the elbow. The skin gave way with a wet rip. Warm blood flooded his mouth, thick and coppery.
The meat beneath was soft—too soft—like overcooked meat. Slick and stringy. He chewed without thinking, without breathing.
Something popped in his mouth—a tendon, maybe.
He wanted to vomit.
But Melodis screamed again.
"SWALLOW IT! CHEW THE MEAT! HER SOUL IS FADING!"
The second bite was easier.
He bit deep, tearing off a chunk. The skin peeled like paper. His jaw worked numbly. His mind blank. The taste no longer mattered. His body moved on instinct, driven by desperation. Blood trickled down his chin, mixed with tears.
Bone crunched between his molars. It split like dry wood.
He swallowed it.
He didn't know how long it took. Seconds? Minutes?
But when it was done—when only the hand remained, limp and gnawed, its beautiful fingers still half-curled—he stopped.
He fell to his knees, breathing ragged. His hands and face were smeared in blood. His stomach lurched—but he forced it down.
He couldn't waste it. Not now.
He first licked off the black slime pouring from her hand, then slowly bit it too—finger by finger—eating it completely.
"Good job. I wasn't wrong with my judgment. You truly are a real one.
Now try to feel your Aether. Stay calm," Melodis seriously praised Johan, then immediately hurried him to stand up.
[Quest 4: Praise the Fool]
Johan's pupils dilated, trying his hardest to suppress any thoughts from rising.