Read Novel Full Chapter 993: Home at Long Last
Chapter 993: Home at Long Last
"Sera, would you please...?"
Those were the words Quinlan heard when he returned from the Soul Realm with his consciousness. Rosie and Rykar arrived next. He used air magic to make the limbless old man levitate, not wishing to disgrace him by letting him on the ground.
Quinlan had a lot of thoughts about Rykar, and not at all were all of them positive, but he wouldn’t make fun of his crippled state just for the sake of it. Especially not when the man lost his prosthetics while fighting a literal god invading his world.
As for the words uttered...
They came from Jasmine.
"Sera, please... I suffered a great deal at the hands of my father. But my misery doesn’t compare to what my mother went through. I want her to be the one to end him. To hurt him. To decide how long his agony should last. She spent my whole life locked away, and knowing this bastard..." Jasmine’s jaw tightened, "... she was likely forced to endure more than just idleness."
Silence followed.
Seraphiel, who had spent most of the torture session offering snide medical commentary with cheeky remarks swapped with her sisters and Iris, now grew quiet. She stared at Jasmine’s bowed figure. The woman’s posture was firm on the surface, but the tremble of her shoulders betrayed how deep this request went.
With a soft sigh, Seraphiel rose from her seat and walked over.
Two gentle hands landed on Jasmine’s shoulders.
"...Why are you bowing to me?" she asked. "I’m your equal. Your friend. And if I’m not wrong, you just had the time of your life, didn’t you?" A teasing grin tugged at her lips. "So, of course, I’ll help you out. You don’t need to ask so seriously." <subt>.</subt>
Jasmine’s breath caught.
The words struck her harder than she expected.
Because for most of her life, she had calculated every request. Every favor. She had measured risk and reward, spoken in transactional terms. Who would benefit? Who would gain more? How much leverage would she lose?
She bowed to Seraphiel because she was a woman far above normal Healer-classed people. Her services would be worth a great deal of gold, gold she couldn’t provide her with.
But this... this reaction of the elf was different than what she was used to.
There was no ledger between them.
No favors owed.
No hidden cost.
Her lip quivered, and before she could stop herself, Jasmine wrapped Seraphiel in a tight hug. Arms locked firmly around the elf’s back.
"Thank you..." Jasmine whispered.
Seraphiel chuckled and hugged her back, resting her chin lightly on the woman’s shoulder.
"Any time. But..." she tilted her head toward the chair "... if you want him to live long enough to scream some more for mother dearest, then..."
"Oh!" Jasmine pulled back in a sudden flurry of movement, her hands flying to her mouth. "Right!"
A round of soft laughter rippled through the room as she hastily stepped aside, giving Seraphiel space to work her magic.
The elf, ever composed despite the carnage, stood gracefully over Aurelion’s ruined form. A swirl of soft green and silver mana flowed from her materialized staff, enveloping the man’s broken body. Bones cracked and realigned beneath his skin. Flesh sizzled as it tried to stitch itself together. Seraphiel’s expression was cool and professional, but with a mischievous edge. She was an artist fine-tuning their work. РàＮОBƐ𝙎
Jasmine, meanwhile, watched in awe. But then her gaze lowered, toward the splashes of red on the white fabric of Seraphiel’s unbelievably gorgeous dress. A guilty smile tugged at her lips.
"I ruined your pretty dress..." she mumbled. "Look, it’s all dirty now. Is that okay too? No, it’s not... I’ll pay you back as soon as I have the money."
Seraphiel blinked, then slowly looked down at herself.
Her gown, a silky number the color of moonlight, was absolutely defiled. Smears of crimson could be seen all across the dress.
"Curses!" she muttered under her breath. "And it’s this scum’s blood at that."
She spun around with a dramatic sigh and gave the fabric a useless flick.
Then, like it was the most natural thing in the world, she turned to Quinlan and fixed him with a pointed look. "We must go shopping. Just the two of us."
Quinlan raised an eyebrow. "You know the maids can wash it, right? Hell, I can do it right now if you’re uncomfortable."
"No! It’s been forever tainted!" she declared, clasping her chest dramatically like a scandalized noblewoman.
"Do you change your armor every time an enemy’s blood gets on it?"
"Men...!" Sera growled cutely. "You don’t understand at all."
Seraphiel narrowed her eyes and sent him a silent but potent glare full of ’I will definitely not let you deny me.’
"Alright, alright..." Quinlan lifted his hands in surrender, chuckling. "A shopping date, coming right up."
"Hehe~!" Seraphiel twirled playfully on the heel of one boot for a second time, incredibly delighted this time around as the bloody hem fluttered behind her. She looked over her shoulder at Jasmine with a wink. "Pay me? You? Gold coins? Hell no, I don’t want your coins. I like this arrangement much better."
Jasmine’s cheeks flushed. The warmth in her chest grew again.
It was a kind of lightness she never thought she’d feel.
Friends.
Real ones.
She then sent Quinlan a look. The man who made it all possible, her revenge, her chance at a good life, the nexus point who kept her awesome new family together with his mere existence.
She felt a bit guilty. "Quin... After all you’ve done for me, it seems you’re rewarded with a punishment..."
Quinlan let out a deep, theatrical sigh in response, dragging a hand through his hair as if weighed down by unbearable burdens. Then he slowly shook his head with mock solemnity.
"Indeed, Jasmine," he replied, voice full of deadpan sorrow. "Imagine my misery. I must go on a date... with this absolute bombshell of an elven DPS healer of mine. A sharp-tongued beauty with legs for days, enough sass to kill, and a penchant for snarky remarks. Truly, what cruel fate have I earned to deserve such torment? Maybe I should take another healer with me to ensure I survive the date."
Seraphiel, standing off to the side with a hand on her hip and a knowing grin, pretended not to be satisfied. "Hey! You can’t speak of your cute and devoted lover as if she were a horrible harpy!"
Quinlan gave her a long, meaningful look.
Seraphiel met it full on, refusing to back down.
Seeing this display, Jasmine burst into a soft, breathy laugh. Then her lips stretched into a smile, wide and radiant, the kind of smile that started from deep within her heart and bloomed to the surface like dawn breaking over stormy skies.
It spread slowly, tugging at the corners of her mouth as if it didn’t quite believe it had permission to exist. But once it did, it took over everything. Her eyes shimmered. Her shoulders relaxed. Her soul... lightened.
For the first time in her life, she felt it; not just safety, not just revenge fulfilled, not just power reclaimed.