---
And asking me to run?
That's not saving me.
That's sentencing me to a slower death.
Because if I leave her behind—
if I let her scream alone while I disappear like some coward—
Then whatever's left walking around in my skin isn't me.
Just... the aftermath.
A hollow echo wearing my face.
[[Constellation 'Fallen Prince of the Lunar Throne' watches in silence]]
[[Constellation 'Ephemeral Blossom That Grows from Graves' lowers her petals in mourning. Even beauty, she whispers, must sometimes bloom in ruin.]]
[[Constellation 'Void That Watches Through Broken Mirrors' reflects your fractured heart, showing you the pain you've buried, the fear you've fed, and the truth you must face.]]
[[Constellation 'She Who Walks With Grief' clutches her heart of ash. Her silence is a prayer—for you, for her, for all that might still be saved.]]
"Elina—don't you dare," I shouted. And something in my voice cracked in half.
"Don't throw yourself away like that! I'm not—I'm not leaving you!"
But the howler didn't care. Of course it didn't.
It moved like regret. Like a storm made of smoke.
Black mist curled around it, elegant and cruel—death playing dress-up.
This wasn't a fight.
It was an ending dressed up in false hope.
Unless…
Unless I used it.
The magic circuit came from the original author. Never actually used in the novel—just a half-formed concept she threw at the fans like crumbs.
No one knows what it does.
But I'm inside the damn novel now, aren't I?
So by narrative logic—or whatever rules this stitched-up world runs on—it should work.
But I knew one thing—
If Elina died…
Then the demon sealed inside her would woke up?
And if that thing woke up?
Yeah. Game over. For both of us.
I looked at her.
Still holding her bow like she wasn't already bleeding out.
Still standing like death was just an inconvenience.
I made my choice.
I'd rather lose myself completely—
Than lose her like this.
Even if I lived, something inside would rot.
And then what?
What's the point of surviving when the best part of you is gone?
So I stepped forward.
And I whispered:
"Perfect Recall."
[[Exclusive Attribute — "Perfect Recall" is now activating…]]
[[You are attempting to retrieve a forbidden magic circuit that does not exist within the bounds of recorded reality.]]
[[Success: Magic circuit "Angel of Sacrifice" has been reconstructed from fragmented conceptual data.]]
[[To activate "Angel of Sacrifice," you must offer a price equivalent to the intended effect.]]
[[Numerous constellations from Japanese mythology are reacting with disbelief.]]
[[Constellation 'Amaterasu Who Watches From the Sun' questions the very possibility of such invocation.]]
[[Constellation 'Susanoo-no-Mikoto, Blade of the Tempest' scoffs, demanding justification.]]
[[Constellation 'Yamata-no-Orochi the Cursed Serpent' begins to laugh—soft and serpentine.]]
[[Several constellations are now watching you with delight, eager to witness the cost of your hubris.]]
[[Constellation 'Fallen Prince of the Lunar Throne' is glaring at you in silence. His sorrow is a blade turned inward. He knows how this ends.]]
They were watching.
The stars. The old ones.
The constellations who never blink.
Who see pain as amusement and mortals as a passing novelty.
I could feel them, you know?
Their attention—it's not comforting. It's like standing naked under judgment, except the judge thinks you're a fascinating little tragedy.
And maybe I am.
Their gaze pressed down like gravity made of eyes.
Sifting through my doubts. My hopes. My fear.
Still…
I didn't run.
Because Elina was still on her feet.
And me?
I wasn't out of offerings yet.
I didn't know what the effect of the magic circuit would be—
Didn't know the cost. The consequences.
But thinking too much… that's what cowards do.
If I let her die here, I wouldn't survive anyway.
Not truly.
So why not give everything I have?
Why not at least try,
To not feel so fucking pathetic.
So be it.
I raised the dagger.
And yeah,
I drove it straight into my chest.
No hesitation.
No second thoughts.
Just steel and resolve.
And the moment the blade pierced my heart—
Something above me screamed.
The air tore itself open.
A massive, complicated ancient magic circuit ignited in the sky, pulsing like a second heart—
Alive.
Screaming.
Bleeding.
Its sigils twisted, ancient and impossibly dark, whispering in a tongue no living being should understand.
Each rune carved itself into the fabric of reality like scars.
They howled like dying gods.
Then—
The sky fractured.
Split itself from horizon to stars.
And from the abyss beyond—
An angel came.
Not descending.
Not falling.
But emerging—
Tearing through the crack in the sky, like a blade piercing flesh.
A deep red aura oozed from the abyss behind it, coating the angel like blood.
It didn't radiate light—
It radiated judgment.
Its two wings were white once—maybe.
Now they were soaked in blood.
A radiant halo flickered above its head, cracked like broken glass.
And across its eyes?
A black blindfold, stitched with runes older than time—
like it didn't want to see the world anymore.
Chains followed it—thousands—spilling from the crack like vipers.
They lashed through the void—
And without mercy, they stabbed into the obsidian howler, piercing its limbs, locking it in place.
The world froze.
Time stopped.
And then—
The angel looked at me.
Not at my body.
Not at my face.
It looked at my soul.
A gaze that stripped me bare,
That pulled apart every lie I ever told myself—
Every mask I ever wore.
And it spoke.
Not aloud.
Not with a voice.
But with something truer than sound.
Words no one else could hear.
Words meant only for me.
And I understood them perfectly.
It's telling me to make a sacrifice.
To pay the price for summoning it into this cursed world.
It doesn't care about good or evil, right or wrong—only balance. Only payment.
And then, the truth cut deeper than any blade:
"If the price is not sufficient,"
"I will kill."
"And I will keep killing… until there is nothing left for me to kill."
The chains twitched like they were alive.
The howler shrieked in silence, trapped and bleeding.
But I knew—
If I failed to pay the cost, those chains would turn on everyone.
Even her.
Even Elina.
The red aura thickened like clotting blood.
And the angel waited.
For my decision.
For my offering.
The moment the action was taken—
—a ripple surged across the Akashic Record.
[[Constellation 'Amaterasu Who Watches From the Sun' is questioning the probability cost of this obscene action.]]
[[Constellation 'Susanoo-no-Mikoto, Blade of the Tempest' demands an explanation.]]
[[Constellation 'Tsukuyomi, Fallen Prince of the Lunar Throne' remains quiet.]]
The nebulae flickered with agitation. One could feel the debate crackle through the constellations.
[[A large number of constellations have entered a heated discussion regarding the plausibility of this scene.]]
[[Constellation 'Hachiman of Countless Battles' calls it an impossible event.]]
[[Constellation 'Izanagi the Creator' simply watches.]]
[[Constellation 'Yamata-no-Orochi the Cursed Serpent' begins to laugh.]]
[[Constellation 'Kaguya of the Moonlit Prison' seems... amused?]]
But then—like a sudden eclipse—silence fell.
[[The constellations have gone quiet.]]
[[They remember the history of the Angel of Ruin.]]
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[[ Author's Note:
If you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a comment and a Power Stone! Your support means a lot to me. ]]