Chapter 90

If the soul sitting inside Hayden were someone who, like herself, had read the entire original story and possessed Hayden, then the possessor must be in an incredibly awkward situation as well.

 

Naturally so—because in the original work, Hayden didn’t exist at all.

 

 

‘Maybe he was bewildered by how the hero and heroine’s circumstances changed from the original too.’

 

Born as the son of a villainess who dies in a gruesome bad-ending, perhaps Hayden had also been quietly working in his own way to twist the storyline.

 

‘If Hayden really is a possessor, would it be better for him to know that I’m one too? …No, maybe it’d be better if he didn’t know.’

 

Even though she suspected that Hayden’s extraordinary genius might come from him being a possessor like herself, the idea of him finding out felt troublesome.

 

After all, here, he was the child she had given birth to—her own flesh and blood. If another personality were living inside her child…

 

Thinking that far, she blankly stared at Hayden. He met Enria’s eyes.

 

“Mom, pretty?”

 

With a bright, innocent face, Hayden asked whether the face of Enria he had created was pretty.

 

The expression was so pure that Enria felt foolish for all the things she’d been worrying about.

 

‘Right. Whatever the truth is, he’s still my son. And the fact that he’s this lovable isn’t going to change.’

 

“Yes. It’s really pretty. And I’m happy—because Hayden made Mommy’s face for me.”

 

“Happy?”

 

Hayden blinked with those jet-black eyes so similar to Caldeon’s.

 

“Of course I’m happy.”

 

“Then baby make two. No—three.”

 

He struggled to raise three tiny fingers and smiled brightly.

 

Because of him, both Enria and Caldeon’s faces blossomed with the same warm smile.

 

As if on cue, they pulled Hayden close and kissed each of his cheeks.

 

Hayden giggled, delighted by their kisses.

 

Then he suddenly let out a big yawn and stretched his arms toward Enria.

 

“Baby, hold.”

 

His once-bright eyes were already heavy with drowsiness.

 

Enria picked him up and gently patted his back.

 

Having used black mana to shape Enria’s face, he must’ve been tired—he buried his face in her chest and kept yawning.

 

Enria swayed slowly, softly, helping him fall asleep.

 

“Is it nap time already?”

 

“It’s earlier than usual. He must be tired from using black mana so much.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“Do you know how much black mana Hayden has?”

 

At Enria’s question, Caldeon shook his head.

 

“No. But since he also has holy power, we don’t need to worry about him going berserk.”

 

“That’s true, but unless his black mana is infinite, he’ll need to learn how to conserve it.”

 

“He probably already knows. My son is a genius.”

 

He had never been taught how to use either black mana or holy power, yet he could use both—and even read a black magic tome. Managing his own power would be nothing for him.

 

Enria found herself perplexed again—how could Hayden even read a black magic book?

 

“How does Hayden know the language of black magic?”

 

“No idea.”

 

“That makes no sense. Language needs to be learned.”

 

“Making sense stopped mattering a long time ago. That’s just one of many things that don’t make sense.”

 

Enria nodded; that was true.

 

“I worried since he walked late and spoke late, but… to think he’s a genius. It’s surprising.”

 

He had been born in a spirit village and grew faster than other children, yet his movements were slow compared to his appearance. Naturally, she had worried.

 

It was something she could have realized if she’d thought a little deeper, but humans judged based only on what they saw. Even Enria, as his mother, had fallen into that mistake.

 

“He’s your child and mine.”

 

Caldeon brushed a gentle kiss across her cheek, careful not to wake the sleeping Hayden.

 

Enria smiled back.

 

“But what black magic book did he read?”

 

“A special tome created by black magic. It supposedly contains everything about black magic.”

 

He had never seen it himself, but black mages treasured it as a relic.

 

Others had found it many times before, but the language was written in a script only black mages—those who used and studied the art—could understand. No outsider had ever read it.

 

“And Hayden read that.”

 

“……”

 

“He read the part about resurrecting the Evil God. A black mage was probably reading that page.”

 

Caldeon said Hayden must have seen it by chance and, thanks to his genius, managed to read the section that was already opened.

 

And if that page was open, then the black mage must be planning to revive the Evil God soon.

 

Enria’s face tensed.

 

She already knew about Pahomel resurrecting the Evil God using their own body from the original story.

 

But the current Pahomel clearly had no intention of using their body—they likely intended to use Panz’s.

 

‘If that happens, the Evil God’s soul will enter an even more perfect vessel than in the original.’

 

Enria’s face went pale.

 

“Caldeon, we need to get rid of the fire spirit who sided with the black mage. If the current fire spirit becomes the vessel, he’ll hold far greater power than any black mage ever could.”

 

Caldeon nodded—he had already thought of this.

 

“Yes. Whatever happens, that must be stopped.”

 

The resurrection of the Evil God meant disaster for the empire.

 

Even if all humans and spirits united, they might not be able to stand against him.

 

No—they definitely wouldn’t.

 

“But I disabled Panz’s legs, so we still have time.”

 

He said Pahomel would want a perfect vessel. Since Caldeon had broken Panz’s legs, they wouldn’t attempt anything until he healed.

 

Enria’s expression hardened instantly.

 

She remembered the original.

 

“They’ll gather souls. Maybe even spirit souls.”

 

In the original, Pahomel—pushed to the brink before deciding to use themself as a vessel—had been severely injured by Caldeon.

 

To heal, they used immense black magic, which required massive quantities of human souls.

 

Plagues, disasters—they caused them all to harvest souls.

 

When Caldeon disrupted their attempt, they eventually resurrected the Evil God using their damaged body.

 

Because the vessel was imperfect, Caldeon and Roseanne barely managed to defeat the Evil God.

 

“We must stop them from gathering souls. Their recovery, and the resurrection of the Evil God… both will require countless souls.”

 

Caldeon nodded.

 

“I’ll contact the palace and have them prepare.”

 

But before he finished, the break room door burst open without a knock.

 

Rahar entered with a stiff face and shouted: “A plague! A plague has broken out in the South!”

 

Enria and Caldeon’s eyes widened.

 

 

***

 

 

In the small southern village of Sdelam, the plague had swallowed every villager.

 

Not only the people—livestock and crops had rotted away too.

 

Pahomel, pressed for time, was clearly harvesting not only human souls but those of animals and plants as well.

 

“I’m coming too.”

 

As Enria prepared to head out to purify the area where the plague originated, Belona spoke up.

 

Although her light attribute was for defense rather than purification, she said she could block plague and poison effectively.

 

“It’ll definitely help.”

 

Light mages in the tower mainly formed defensive ranks, so her power would indeed help.

 

“But Belona, shouldn’t you conserve your strength until we face the black mage?”

 

Enria looked at her with concern.

 

Half of Belona’s soul was already gone—she could die at any time.

 

They had promised to avenge Groen together, but for Belona to live whatever remained of her life peacefully, more dangerous battles should be avoided.

 

Still, since she desired revenge, Enria planned to take her to the final battle.

 

“Right. You still haven’t recovered completely. You should rest for now.”

 

Roseanne agreed, trying to keep Belona in the duke’s castle.

 

But Belona firmly shook her head.

 

“If I die stopping the black mage, that just means I’ll see Groen sooner. That’s fine.”

 

“……”

 

“The only thing keeping me alive is one goal: killing the black mage who killed Groen. If I can’t do it myself, then at least let me help you kill him.”

 

No matter how they stopped her, Belona insisted she would go to the plague-stricken village and stop the black mage from harvesting more souls.

 

Enria and Roseanne eventually gave in.

 

Because even in this dying state, the only thing keeping Belona breathing was her desire for revenge.