Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 825: Rise of the Calamity [1]

Evelyn J. Verlice : Corruption

: Progress - 84%

Swooosh—

I had no choice but to move. The numerous strings of notifications made it impossible for me to ignore her as I excused myself and found my way towards where she was.

It didn’t take long for me to find her.

But what greeted me was a sight that made my heart drop.

Ka Cha! Ka Cha!

Streaks of lightning tore through the air, crashing in every direction and obliterating the statues that advanced toward her.

The power surging from her body was enough to make me shudder. When her eyes met mine, the first thing I saw was the thin black veins crawling down her face.

’...It’s just like Aoife.’

There was no doubt about it.

Seeing her like this, I could only silently sigh.

’Things keep turning worse and worse for me. Not only do I have to think of a way to get rid of the curse, but I also have to make sure Evelyn doesn’t turn. Great. Super fucking great.’

I wanted to throw up.

Still, I maintained my calm as I looked at her.

Her face was pale, and the subtle quivering of her body indicated to me that she was cold. I nudged in the direction of the safe house.

"Stop standing in the cold over here. You’re going back with me."

"....."

Evelyn didn’t answer, keeping her gaze locked firmly on me as her eyes flickered for a moment.

That was all it took for my heart to sink.

And sure enough, a smirk soon played at her lips.

"Are we about to do this again?"

Her voice was soft, yet carried a hoarse edge that made me instinctively hold my breath.

"We’re not."

I eventually shook my head.

"...We’re not going to do it again. You’re free to do whatever you want. If you want to help them, I won’t stop you any longer. In fact, I acknowledge that you’re the only one who can cure them. That’s why I’m telling you to go back. So that I can help you cure them."

"You’re going to help me...?"

Evelyn raised her brow, the smirk playing at her lips growing even more pronounced.

"With what skill? You may be strong, but when it comes to elemental control, you’re practically a tier below everyone. You’re going to try to suppress my emotions. Is that what you’re going to do?"

"That’s more than enough."

"Ha."

Evelyn chuckled, looking at me in disbelief.

"...Are you going to take credit for it? I’ll be doing all the work, but in the end, you’ll still get some credit for it. That’s all you really want to do, right?"

"What?"

I felt my head throb.

Lost it.

She had completely lost it.

"You’re not going to let me do this alone, aren’t you? You want to steal my thunder. In the end, I’ll still be useless, while you’re the one who helped the useless one, isn’t it? That’s your end goal, right?"

"....."

My mouth opened, but no words came out.

I was speechless.

I didn’t know how to reply.

Evelyn was so lost in her own delusions that she didn’t even realize how idiotic her words were. What credit? What nonsensical thing was that? The last thing I cared about was credit! I just wanted to get the hell out of this place.

But as I stared at the black lines that spread across her face, I knew the reason why Evelyn wasn’t being reasonable.

’It’s feeding on her insecurities. Even if I say anything, it won’t be of any help.’

In the end, I raised both hands and sighed.

At the same time I did, I paused before looking back up at Evelyn.

"Alright, you caught me."

I changed the tune of my voice, adding a smirk to my lips.

"You’ve read me like a book. That’s indeed what I wanted to do. For someone as usually lost as you, I’m surprised you managed to read my intentions. You’ve changed. I’m quite surprised by the changes."

The smirk wiped from Evelyn’s face, a cold look replacing it as she looked at me.

I could feel the black veins around her face starting to spread further.

At the same time, I could also see the confusion in her gaze as she noticed the sudden change in my demeanor.

Still, I didn’t let her doubts carry on further as I started poking at her expression, my smirk growing even more pronounced.

"What? You spoke as if you knew. Why do you suddenly give me that look? Don’t tell me you actually didn’t believe it yourself?"

"....."

Evelyn didn’t speak; instead, she remained still. It was this silence that further proved to me that I was right, and I was just about to follow up when I suddenly stopped.

Hm?

Turning my head slightly, my gaze fixed on the figure that had appeared out of nowhere.

He stood amid the snow, his blue hair fluttering in the cold wind as he quietly surveyed the scene. Shards of shattered ice littered the ground around him, remnants of the statues Evelyn had broken, and nearby, the dark veins creeping across Evelyn’s skin that pulsed faintly.

He looked at it all.

I suddenly started to have a bad feeling.

That was the moment that I knew that I had to do something.

Tik, Tik—

"That power..."

His gaze flickered, and I felt a heavy pressure radiate from him, filling the air as his eyes locked onto Evelyn.

He laughed a moment later, his gaze sweeping the surroundings once more.

"I was naive. I was stupid."

He clutched his face, another augh slipping from his lips. It was quiet, yet it echoed through the air, and with it, the temperature seemed to drop even further.

Evelyn’s gaze locked onto him, her head tilting slightly. She began to part her lips, ready to speak, but before a single word could leave her mouth, he cut her off.

"You were with them all along. I was naive for thinking you could help us. I finally understand why Reginald and Sal died! It’s because of you! You did this to them!"

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The numbers in my vision continued to rise. Evelyn’s face changed as she heard Velar’s words, her previous cold face cracking as she shook her head, mumbling things like, ’No, that’s not true.’

"What’s not true? You did it! There’s no other explanation!"

"No, but... I really..."

But her words fell on deaf ears.

The more she looked at him that way, the harder Velar laughed. His glare grew even more terrifying, and the ground itself trembled from the force of his presence. This was the first time I’d seen the usually calm Velar starting to lose it.

"You say that, and yet... yet! Look around you!"

His eyes drifted to the shards of ice scattered across the floor, and Evelyn’s expression cracked even more. It was only then that the weight of it all seemed to hit her. She stared down at her trembling hands, her lips parting as a broken whisper escaped—"Wait, I... what have I done? That’s..."

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The veins across her face darkened, standing out starkly against her paling skin. Her eyes, once bright, began to cloud over, slowly turning pitch black.

A suffocating pressure poured out from her body, thick enough to make the air feel heavy. Velar’s expression hardened, his face turning utterly cold.

The crushing pressure only confirmed his suspicions. Several magic circles flared to life around him as the wind surged, howling through the air, and the cold deepened until it bit at the skin.

A terrifying attack shot in Evelyn’s direction a moment later. Unable to react in time, Evelyn was directly struck by the attack.

Bang—!

".....!!"

Her body skidded several steps back, her expression changing from shock to betrayal.

"What... why? Why are you doing this?"

Velar gave no reply as more magic circles ignited around him, each one larger and more menacing than the last.

Evelyn’s expression turned paler as she mumbled, ’No, why... why...? Why!!’

Her eyes flickered even more dangerously.

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Notifications kept flashing before my eyes, the meter climbing until it hit ninety. The air itself seemed to tighten around me as the black veins on Evelyn’s face thickened, spreading like cracks across porcelain. A suffocating pressure burst from her body, oozing out as a dark, viscous aura that began to engulf the surroundings.

"I... didn’t. I didn’t..."

Her voice deepened with each word, gaining layers, her voice overlapping with itself, as though another presence was speaking through her.

"... I’m just trying to help! I just want to be useful! I’m not useless!!"

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Evelyn let out a piercing scream, the sound splitting the air as the snow around her shattered. Every attack rushing toward her disintegrated in an instant.

"Uekh!"

Velar found himself getting knocked back several steps, his face paling as he stared at Evelyn in horror.

"The curse! You’re the curse!"

He continued to shout at her, but Evelyn no longer paid any attention to him.

With each passing second, the darkness enveloping her thickened, her hair fading to black. Her eyes, already dark, deepened into an even darker abyss as the pressure radiating from her grew more and more terrifying.

I watched all of this happen from where I was.

I wanted to act, but I couldn’t act.

In fact, I couldn’t move at all as my body shuddered from the inside.

Staring at her, I could feel my heart drumming loudly against my chest.

But not out of fear of her, but from something else.

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

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The notifications continued to appear.

The more they appeared, the darker Evelyn’s presence became.

But within the darkness, I felt something starting to awaken.

Something that made my entire body shut down and freeze in place.

I swallowed, staring at the scene before me with wide eyes.

"Haaak! Hyaaaaak—!"

Evelyn held her head with both hands, screams tearing through her throat as the darkness completely engulfed her.

And soon—

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The counter struck one hundred.

Evelyn J. Verlice : Corruption

: Progress - 100%

That moment.

The world was engulfed in black.