Unable to move,
Nor able to escape,
Lizzy Poliana Claudia felt shackled as she saw the hateful life of Ferzen.
And she scoffed while seeing it.
Naturally, the mories of a man nad Seo-jin were excluded, so there were tis when Ferzen's actions appeared to be completely incomprehensible......
No, in fact, it was ridiculous to think that she could understand them.
The onset of a life stained with powerlessness, frustration, and despair.
The developnt of a life stained with desperation, urgency, and relentless pursuit.
And the conclusion of a life ending in resignation and compliance.
Why should she "understand" all this?
After all, it was probably because the mories that washed over her also carried the emotions felt by him.
Among them, the most revolting were...
Yuriel,
Laura,
Euphemia,
Jeremiah,
Raymond,
Elizabeth,
And many others.
It was the process through which Ferzen realized his own happiness through his bonds with them.
Therefore, Lizzy erased all those emotions through the karma Ferzen had transferred to her.
While she never handled such power before, the nature of Karma made Lizzy instinctively aware of how to use it, so there were no mistakes.
Then, naturally, that void began to be filled with pure anger and hatred.
Unsympathetic.
Unspeakable personal circumstances.
As life crumbles.
As the companions disappear.
As the family leaves.
Even if she carried the tragedy of her own life on one side and his circumstances on the other.
The scale showed a clear asymtry, rely tilting.
Despite learning the importance of happiness from building connections with others, he destroyed her bonds.
Despite knowing the pains of being cursed with sothing beyond his control, he bestowed upon her the sa.
......After all, now that she knew all of this, wasn't he just being a stubborn fool by choosing to be evil at every crossroads?
Lizzy could hardly stand the nausea from his attempt to take on such a clumsy form of atonent.
Rustle!
Struggling to her feet, Lizzy staggered towards him, raising her hand before...
She struck his cheek fiercely.
Even though she could bend causality by consuming karma,
Directly inflicting physical damage by releasing karma—devouring the karma he held—was impossible, and Lizzy felt her frustration boil over.
No, releasing it was possible, but
It was rely a handful of karma.
Thus, the ti it took to release all of it was shorter than the ti it would take for her soul to collapse under the weight of this karma.
"Disgusting to the very end."
"......"
"Don't even utter the word 'atonent' with that mouth. Isn't this just an act to soothe your own creepy and uncomfortable feelings? You block everything that could be the worst for you, and then ask to be your balance?"
Lizzy grabbed Ferzen's face with both hands, forcing him to look at her as she bit her lips.
As a soul, she couldn't shed blood, but the twisted expression on her face conveyed the deep resentnt she felt.
"Stripping away all the irrationality that bound you, and returning to this world to live a happy life—I can't stand to watch that with open eyes."
"......"
"What do you think about reincarnating as the child that Euphemia is carrying?"
Or,
"Sister Yuriel...No...It's funny to even think of her like that...But what if she can't have children?"
Or,
"What If I make Laura sothing beyond your reach?"
"......"
"Wouldn't it be funny if I beca Jeremiah's wife as well? I could wrap him around my finger and corrupt Brutein, bringing that twisted Empire down with it. Yes...That seems like the best idea. Well? What do you think?"
Lizzy leaned in close, her voice low and filled with deep resentnt as she murmured.
"Let's hear that eloquent mouth of yours speak."
"......"
"Speak up—!"
Slap!
"Speak!"
Slap!
"Speak—!"
As Ferzen maintained his silence, Lizzy continued to slap his cheek while demanding answers from him.
In response, Ferzen bowed his head, and, unable to contain his frustration, began to tremble as he opened his mouth towards Lizzy.
"......If you've seen my mories, then you already know the answer better than anyone, Lizzy."
Lizzy would not harm those she had connections with.
No, more precisely, she couldn't.
Because that would be less about revenge and more about venting her inability to destroy herself due to the essential limitations of a human soul in this place.
And could she truly follow in the footsteps of the life led by Ferzen, whom she so despised, a man who stubbornly committed evil deeds for his own ends?
As families leave,
As houses fall,
As lives are shattered,
Lizzy questioned herself about these excruciating irrationalities.
And by doing so, the humans known as "Ferzen Von Schweig Brutein" and "Lizzy Poliana Claudia" beco equals.
......At that point, she would no longer be able to demand any further price from him.
Of course, from Ferzen's perspective, Lizzy's thod would be the most painful.
However, from Lizzy's perspective, the fact that others, not Ferzen himself, would bear the cost would be unacceptable.
"Do you think...... I can't do it......?"
"If you really would do that, then here I should kneel and beg you."
When Lizzy ntioned using the karma she had received in such a way, it was sothing Ferzen could potentially mitigate.
However, the amount of karma consud to mitigate it would not be insignificant, naturally reducing his standing in the underworld.
Even if he had been pushed to the very bottom, the mont they realized he was weakened, the monstrosities would surely move against him.
Isn't the end of that path vividly demonstrated by the previous lord of the underworld, whose na has been forgotten?
In fact, if we were to delve deeper, that would be a secondary reason.
No, it would be incorrect to even call it secondary.
The weakening of his position in the underworld ant that, in the long run, he would not be able to keep the souls of Yuriel and Euphemia tethered to him after their deaths.
'......'
And when he reaffird his purpose and resolve, Ferzen could only chuckle bitterly to himself.
For he found it curious that he, existing in the Underworld, was struggling to extend his earthly connections even here.
Even if he achieved his goal, there was no guarantee that the future would be smooth.
Becoming tiless did not an eternal, after all.
As the forgotten one had said, eternity was an unreachable ideal—permitted only in dreams.
Yet, despite this, Ferzen dared to grasp it.
Even if turning the mortal into an immortal was impossible, he could perhaps sketch sothing infinitely close to immortality.
"Then try kneeling."
As Lizzy lifted her head and spoke thus, Ferzen bowed his body without a mont's hesitation.
In this realm, governed by the laws and all monstrosities,
He,
Berthem Elquia Eruie.
Knelt to a re human soul, a re cog in the workings of the world's order.
Ferzen believed that Lizzy would not choose to pass her burdens onto others...
Yet as long as there was even a slight possibility, he was clearly the subordinate at this mont.
"Is this all? You've seen how desperately my family and I begged that day—!"
Lizzy sneered, demanding further humiliation from him.
To which Ferzen willingly bowed his head even lower, to her feet.
"Ha... Ahaha...!"
Watching this, Lizzy stomped on Ferzen's head with her foot, howling like a beast.
"It's so easy... to do this—!"
Why,
Why things weren't like this on that day?
Why now after all this ti?
Had it been done then, this outco would never have co to pass.
What fuels her fury even more here is knowing all too well the motives behind Ferzen's actions.
Indeed, Lizzy could never have made such a choice.
The fact that Ferzen does not bear the consequences of this injustice is utterly intolerable.
The re result of such venting, becoming just like him, was too repulsive.
No, beyond repulsive, it was profoundly unjust.
The perpetrator is clearly him.
Why should she, the victim, beco just like him to return the pain she felt?
Why should she, the victim, bear the burden of his sins?
"Aaaaaah!"
With a desperate scream of the oppressed, Lizzy reached out both hands, struck down on Ferzen's head, and tore at his hair, pouring out her suppressed emotions.
While she wished for Ferzen to fully experience the frustration, despair, and pain she felt,
she wanted to do so without dirtying her hands, remaining the victim to the end.
...Is this truly a misguided wish?
No, surely it is not, for humans have created laws to punish cris.
The maintenance of order.
The ideal a state expects from its people.
While the concept of "law" may have various perspectives, ultimately, Lizzy thought of it as a ans to eliminate the absurdity of a victim having to beco a perpetrator to punish their aggressor.
But neither the laws of the living nor the order of the Underworld could dare to punish him.
In this relentless injustice that bound her to the end, all that remained for her was a twisted scale.
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