They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System Chapter 673: Finish The Mission

Chapter 673: Finish The Mission

Darius shook his head, bitterness in every movent. “No. I can’t. I-I’m sorry. You were right to doubt ,” he said, voice breaking. “Even now, I still can’t get the job done. I couldn’t keep her safe.”

Silence pooled around them. Nnenna’s heart hamred against her ribs. Words crowded her throat, anger, pleading, a thousand small betrayals, but the cold tal kept them locked inside.

The choice hung in the air: a man pointing a gun at the woman he claid to love, and the rest of them, helpless, watching the terrible price of a “right thing” that had gone horribly wrong.

“I failed to love her enough,” Darius added, voice raw. “But I can still get one job done. I can save the world, whether I walk out of here alive, in a body bag, or in cuffs.”

Short. Final.

“Let her go,” he added, nodding toward Athena.

Arthur’s reply was flat, controlled like a machine. “No.”

Darius stepped forward, desperate now. “Then Trade. Athena for Nnenna. Both she and I leave free.”

But Arthur’s eyes didn’t waver. They looked as chill as ice. “No.” he repeated.

Darius shook his head, anger and pleading mixed. “Why does everyone have to be so damn sturbbon. You know what Nnenna ans to you, Arthur. Don’t pretend she isn’t the love of your life. I’ve spent a month watching you two. I know how you feel. There’s no comparison between her and Athena.”

He looked at Arthur as if proof should change him. “So make the trade. You will let Athena go and convince Nnenna to hand over the power source. You don’t have a choice.”

Seconds passed.

Arthur said nothing. He hesitated heartbeat by heartbeat not sure what to do at the mont.

Nnenna’s voice finally cut through, calm, cold. “Enough.”

She looked up at Arthur. Her face steady. No tremor. No fear. “Arthur, finish the mission.”

Then she delivered the law like a verdict. “By the continent’s code, Athena is guilty of countless cris. She will slip away if we don’t act now. Take her in.”

“I don’t care if Darius kills ,” she continued, each word precise. “I want justice for the lives she ruined. For my parents. For Somto.”

Arthur t her gaze as she spoke. The space between them tightened. He heard the command. He really did. But he also felt the consequence.

“Finish the job,” Nnenna repeated, voice colder than the dim lights above them.

The air felt heavy now, thick with silence and disbelief.

Everyone stared, but no one more shocked than Athena. She hadn’t spent enough ti with Nnenna to understand her infamous stubbornness. Arthur and Darius, however, knew it all too well. Especially Arthur.

But he didn’t respond. Not a word. Because this wasn’t just about what Nnenna wanted, it was about what he could and couldn’t bring himself to do. And risking Nnenna’s life? No. He couldn’t do that. Not again.

It didn’t take long for everyone else to notice, including Nnenna.

“Arthur?” she called, her voice edged with confusion.

“Ha!” Athena let out a sharp laugh, amused and unbothered, as if she wasn’t the one whose fate was hanging by a thread. “He can’t do it,” she said mockingly, her tone dripping with triumph. “I knew using you as a bargaining chip would work perfectly.”

Nnenna ignored her. “Arthur?” she called again, louder this ti. Her eyes searched for his, desperate for an answer.

He still wouldn’t look at her. His jaw tightened, eyes fixed sowhere past her, anywhere but her.

“Arthur!” she called a third ti, her voice breaking slightly, half command, half plea.

But again, silence.

He couldn’t et her eyes because the truth was written there, in the way she looked at him, expecting him to do what was right for the world. But how could he?

How could he destroy the one person he couldn’t bear to lose , even if he had never said it aloud?

Although nothing more than friendship existed between them, sothing did exist. Sothing unspoken but real to him.

“You would actually sacrifice the fate of the world for her?” Darius asked, disbelief and a trace of sorrow flickering in his tone.

This was exactly the choice he himself had faced months ago. He had tried to choose love but failed, eventually choosing to save the world instead.

Yet here was Arthur, the great warrior, the prince of legend, the man destined to beco one of the most powerful king of his era, choosing her. Choosing the woman he loved over everything else.

“I guess you’re a better man than I am,” Darius said at last, regret clouding his features. It was too late for him now; his choice had already been made.

“That’s good,” he murmured finally, giving Arthur the go ahead to release Athena.

And that was exactly what Arthur did, to Nnenna’s disbelief and disappointnt.

Once Athena was free, she flexed her arms with a casual shrug. “Do you even know how to handle a woman? My arms are all red now. But you’re lucky, I’m in a forgiving mood. After all, apart from your life and hers, there isn’t much left for to take. She’s my niece and you… well i was one of those who raised you briefly so I’ll spare you both”

She turned to Nnenna, ignoring Arthur’s dark, warning look. “Now, dear, hand over the power source so you two can be on your way and live happily ever after. If it counts for anything,” she added with a teasing smile, “I approve of him.”

She gestured toward Arthur. “You have my blessings.”

But Nnenna couldn’t care less, neither about her approval nor her blessings.

There was nothing to approve. Nothing to bless.

It wasn’t like Arthur would ever admit he liked her. And what the hell was that a few minutes ago?

If sothing happened, would he just ignore her words and do whatever he wanted every ti she was in danger? She wanted a partner, not a babysitter.

Arthur had always let her make her own choices, he respected that, every ti. But did this new, possible dynamic an he wouldn’t do what was necessary anymore, even if her life was on the line?

“Nnenna.” Athena’s voice cut through the tension, sharp and deliberate, testing for a response.

“I don’t have any power source,” Nnenna called back, keeping her voice steady. “And even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you, or anyone.”

Athena’s smile thinned into sothing cold. Darius looked torn, the conflict written across his face, but his jaw set with the kind of resolve that didn’t listen to doubt. If Nnenna refused, he would do what had to be done.

“My patience is thin, Arthur.” Athena’s words landed like a blade. “You better convince your little sweetheart to hand it over.”

“Nnenna.” Arthur’s voice found her amid the noise; he didn’t bother answering Athena. “Just give them what they want. Nothing is worth your life.”

“You too?” Nnenna’s disappointnt was a small, hard thing. She sounded smaller than she felt. “You said I could keep what’s mine.”

“Yes.” Arthur’s voice broke, soft, urgent. “But not when it could cost you your life.”

The silence after that was heavy. Choices hovered between them, sharper than any blade.

“Listen to him, Nnenna,” Darius added calmly. “We just want to make the world a better place.”

“You really expect to believe you would use sothing like that for good if I give it up? Don’t make laugh,” she said, amused.

Then she paused, as if sothing just clicked in her mind. “But…” she began, turning toward Arthur. “You’re right, Arthur,” she finally said, her voice quieter now. “Nothing is worth my life.”

Athena and Darius both exhaled in relief, thinking she had finally agreed, but before the air even left their lungs, Nnenna spun around and tackled Darius for the gun.

Humph!

The move was fast and controlled. She hit him with precision, knocking him backward before he could react. The struggle didn’t last long, Nnenna was better trained, stronger, faster. Darius tried to hold on, but she already had him pinned, her hand wrestling the weapon from his grip.

Arthur instinctively moved forward, but then stopped himself. He held Athena back from rushing to Darius’s aid, keeping her behind him. His expression was tense, but he didn’t interfere, knowing his sudden involvent might do more harm than good.

The sound of their struggle filled the room, the scrape of boots, the sharp gasp of effort. Darius fought to regain control, panic tightening his grip.

Then it happened.

The trigger pulled.

Bam!

The gun went off.

A single shot echoed, and Athena let out a sharp cry. The bullet had hit her, right where Arthur held her back.

Arthur’s face went still, his expression tightening. He caught Athena before she hit the ground and pressed his hand over the bleeding wound. His movents were precise, controlled, all instinct and duty.