Chapter 650: The Truth And Only The Truth
Chapter 650: The Truth And Only The Truth
The silence stretched between them like a fragile thread, threatening to snap at any moment.
But eventually, the Battle Angels forced their minds back to the present.
There would be time for questions later. Right now, only one thing mattered.
Mika!
They surged forward at full speed, desperate to check that he was still himself.
The lingering remnants of the Eternal Queen’s presence still clung to him like a shroud, and the thought of what that malevolent force might have done to their boy made their hearts pound with terror.
But just as they were about to reach him, they stopped.
Mika floated in the air with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze fixed on the spot where the Eternal Queen had vanished.
His posture was relaxed, but there was something in the way he gazed forward, that spoke of thoughts far too heavy for someone his age.
It was the look of someone who had glimpsed something beyond mortal understanding and was still trying to make sense of it.
The Battle Angels hesitated. They didn’t dare interrupt whatever was going through his mind.
So they simply watched him, floating silently in the blood-soaked air, their hearts aching with concern.
Mika thought and thought and thought.
And then, finally, he let out a deep sigh.
But he didn’t turn toward them. Instead, he looked down at the children below—thousands of them, huddled together in their restraints, their eyes wide with terror.
They had watched their families die. They had witnessed horrors that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
And now they stared up at the blood-drenched figures floating above them, waiting to see if they would be next.
Mika’s gaze swept across the crowd, taking in every frightened face, every tear-streaked cheek.
It was as if he was looking through them, seeing something that no one else could see.
And then he whispered something under his breath.
The Battle Angels tensed.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, from among the thousands of children below, several hundred suddenly found themselves surrounded by wisps of black mist.
The shadows coiled around their bodies like serpents, and the children shrieked in terror.
“What is this?!”
“Get it off! Get it off me!”
“Help! Someone help!”
The shadows lingered for a single heartbeat, then dispersed as quickly as they had appeared.
The children looked around in confusion, patting their bodies, checking for wounds. But there was nothing—no mark, no pain, no sign that anything had happened at all.
But Mika’s eyes held a dark, knowing look.
He knew exactly what he had done.
Yelena couldn’t hold back any longer. She surged forward, her voice trembling with dread.
“Mika…what was that? What did you just do?”
The others followed close behind, their faces pale with apprehension.
They had thought, that Mika had finally relented and decided to spare the children. But those shadows had radiated a sinister energy, a malevolence that made their skin crawl.
Mika turned his head slowly, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips.
“A curse…” He said simply.
The blood drained from their faces.
“I’ve decided that killing children outright wouldn’t exactly be good PR.” He continued, his tone almost casual. “I don’t want you all to be branded as child killers. That sort of reputation tends to stick.”
He glanced back at the children below.
“So instead, I’ve placed a curse on certain ones among them. In a few weeks, when the world’s attention has moved on, they’ll die of what appear to be natural causes. No one will suspect a thing.”
The Battle Angels felt as though they had been plunged into an ice-cold pond.
They realized the truth. He hadn’t spared the children.
He had simply found a more insidious way to kill them.
Fauna opened her mouth to cry out, to protest, to beg him to undo whatever terrible thing he had just done—
But Mika spoke first.
“Don’t misunderstand.”
He gestured toward the children he had marked.
“Those ones aren’t innocent. Their hearts are already steeped in corruption.”
“They’ve committed deeds that can’t be spoken of, things that would make their parents look tame. And they won’t change. They’ll only grow into venomous, filthy adults.”
His eyes grew heavy. “So I passed judgment on those few. The rest are untouched.”
The Battle Angels felt a complicated mixture of emotions wash over them.
Relief that he hadn’t actually gone through with a full genocide of innocent children.
Gratitude that some line had still been drawn, even if it was far beyond where they would have liked it to be.
But at the same time, an icky, disgusting feeling settled in their stomachs.
They knew Mika had killed before. They knew he couldn’t even be considered a child anymore with how many bodies lay in his path.
But still, he was young. He was supposed to be innocent.
And to witness him passing judgment on children without even flinching…
It made them feel as though they had failed him in some fundamental way.
—
Mika looked back at the children he had cursed, watching them for a moment longer.
Then he turned and began drifting slowly toward the Battle Angels.
But to the shock of the women, every step closer sent a fresh wave of pressure washing over them!
‘What is this…?’
‘Why is it so hard to breath?’
‘Is Mika the one who’s making me feel this way?!’
It wasn’t killing intent…not exactly. It was something else, something more primal.
They eventually realized, with a shock that left them breathless, that Mika was far stronger than he had been before!
They could literally feel it. His mana radiated from him in waves, so dense and powerful that even they felt a flicker of genuine fear.
It was as if they were facing someone who could grow into a threat that would definitely surpass them in the future.
And what they sensed was exactly true.
After his experience in Marcus’s domain, Mika’s entire mental state had changed.
Through that, he had gained a completely new realm of understanding regarding the manipulation of mana that unlocked doors that had previously been closed to him.
And then there was the emergence of the Eternal Queen.
The Eternal Queen hadn’t merely possessed him; she had wielded his power like a master assassin wielding a child’s toy knife, and in doing so, she had shown him possibilities he had never imagined.
New channels of mana. New refinements of control. It was as though a new chapter in the book of magic itself had been opened to him. His growth from this point forward would be terrifying.
And yet, despite their alarm, they didn’t feel fear. Not really. Because this was their Mika, their precious boy who had just stood against the Eternal Queen herself to protect them.
He would never hurt them. They knew that with absolute certainty.
Mika finally stopped in front of the Maiden of Fate.
But she couldn’t meet his gaze. The guilt was too overwhelming, too all-consuming. Instead she stared at the ground below, her shoulders hunched.
Mika knew what was going through her mind.
But he didn’t mention it. There would be time for that later. Right now, there was something more pressing he needed to address.
“Look at me.” He said softly.
She raised her eyes reluctantly, meeting his gaze with visible effort.
“I want the truth.” Mika said. “And only the truth.”
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
“I need to know if your big sister…the woman you’ve told me is my mother my entire life is actually my mother.”
The question didn’t surprise them. After everything the Eternal Queen had said and the way she had looked at Mika with that terrible, loving gaze, it was only natural that he would be confused.
Even the Battle Angels themselves were confused, their certainties shaken by the revelations of the past few hours.
The Maiden of Fate opened her mouth to answer.
But Mika held up a hand.
“Think carefully before you respond.” He warned. “You can tell me the truth or you can lie—I don’t care which. But what you say right now will have consequences for the future.”
He smiled, a small, honest smile that somehow made his warning all the more chilling.
“Please. I hope you can be honest with me.”
The Battle Angels tensed. This was a test, and they all knew it.
If the Maiden of Fate lied now, and Mika found out later…
But she didn’t flinch.
“I promise you.” She said, her voice steady despite the tears still wet on her cheeks. “Your mother is exactly who I’ve always told you she isn She is our big sister! Not the Eternal Queen!”
Mika’s expression flickered.
“I know this is difficult to believe.” The Maiden of Fate continued. “Especially after everything that happened tonight. And I understand why you might doubt. But I have proof. Actual video footage of our sister giving birth to you. And then…”
She trailed off, her voice catching.
“…and then dying in the process.”
Mika stared at her for a long moment. Then he chuckled.
“I trust you.” He said. “You don’t need to go that far to prove the truth to me.”
He let out a deep sigh, and something sad flickered across his face.
“You know, I should be relieved. I should be happy that the Eternal Queen’s words were lies.” He pressed a hand to his chest. “But I don’t know why I feel this ache. Almost as if I’m disappointed that she isn’t my mother after everything she said.”
The Battle Angels exchanged nervous glances.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Mika admitted, and for a moment he sounded exactly like the lost boy he was.
Then he looked up at them, and his expression shifted to something apologetic.
“I’m sorry for everything I made you do.”
Their hearts trembled.
“After what I suffered in Marcus’s domain, my mind fractured. All I could feel was rage. Fury. The need to set the world on fire.”
He glanced down at the gruesome mountain of meat below before letting out a hollow, self-deprecating sound.
“Looking at it now, I might have made a mistake. Maybe I should have done it discreetly. Or maybe I shouldn’t have done it at all.”
He met their eyes. “I honestly don’t know. But I apologize for what I made you all do.”
The Battle Angels immediately shook their heads.
“No, Mika—you don’t need to apologize—”
“We should be the ones apologizing—”
“You weren’t in your right mind—”
“We failed you, not the other way around—”
But Mika held up a hand, silencing them.
“It’s not your fault.” He said firmly. “None of this is your fault. The world simply wants me to suffer—that’s all there is to it.”
They stared at him in confusion.
“There’s nothing any of you could have done.” He continued. “It was beyond your power from the very beginning. Especially yours.”
He looked directly at the Maiden of Fate, and she flinched.
“I know exactly how you work. You take all the guilt onto yourself and silently drown in it.” He floated up to her, and before she could react, he flicked her forehead—a sharp, playful tap that made her gasp.
“Don’t ever think you’ve failed me.”
He said, his voice carrying a warmth that cut through her despair.
“I’ve told you this before, but the weight of the world is not your constant responsibility. You’ve done everything you possibly could.”
“And when things slip through your fingers despite that—just let them go. Accept that there are things beyond even your power.”
He smiled at her.
“You’re the Maiden of Fate. But even fate has limits.”
The Maiden of Fate felt something massive lift from her shoulders, a burden she had carried for so long it had become part of her skeleton.
She had been drowning in the conviction that she was a disgrace of a mother who couldn’t protect her son. And with a handful of words and a flick to the forehead, Mika had pushed it all aside.
But before she could respond, his eyes flickered.
Their brightness dimmed, growing dull and unfocused.
“Ah.” He murmured. “I think I overdid it. I’m going to need some sleep.”
And without warning, he fainted mid-air.
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