Chapter 1225 (1/2)

Lord Miln gradually returned to consciousness through a haze of pain. His side ached and Lord Miln could distantly tell that he was missing parts of his lower body. Everything pulsed and ached. Still, at least he was still alive. With every breath, more of his senses returned to him. He found himself laying on a rough and unforgiving stone ground with the familiar sensation of Aether on his skin.

Really, that’s all that important. As long as I still live, I’ll have another chance...

For a while, Lord Miln simply lay there and savored the sluggish wind on his face. It was warm and reassuring in a way. It seemed like the world was glad to see Lord Miln return to the fold. It was almost like Aether itself was bending so closely over Lord Miln to watch over him that it was breathing on him.

I wonder what happened with the Nether King. Since we are all not dead, Ileot must have taken care of it… dammit, if it wasn’t for that attack of his- but no matter. If the Nether King is dead, things haven’t reached a point where I cannot recover… Yes, I just need to make it back to my headquarters-

Ah… but it was all… annihilated…

After sighing, Lord Miln’s mood fell. There was a sour taste on his tongue after all the elaborate Aether constructs he had designed had been annihilated by the casual power of the Nether King. But Lord Miln didn’t let him stay depressed for long. As his body slowly recovered, his optimistic mood returned to him.

Starting over just means I can do it better… at the very least, I’ll prevent anything like the situation that happened with Randidly Ghosthound from happening again...

Yet when Lord Miln opened his eyes, his pupils dilated; all of his optimism shriveled and died as he looked upward. He was staring at the source of that breath that Lord Miln had felt on his face. Lady Iellaya smiled down at him with dark and gleaming eyes.

As soon as Lord Miln recognized the situation that he was in, Lady Iellaya didn’t hesitate any longer. She raised her heavy leather boot and stomped on the gore-y hole that she had opened in his side with her wing earlier. The blood that had since dried since he had initially been wounded now cracked and oozed. Groaning helplessly, Lord Miln simply closed his eyes once more and attempted to endure the pain.

...a-as long as I don’t die…

“You know, I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Lady Iellaya said casually. She twisted her heel on Lord Miln’s side, grinding the vulnerable flesh around the wound into mush. “I really don’t understand karma. It was just never something I bothered with on my own world. You ate or were eaten; that was life. Yet suddenly I find myself surrounded by fools who speak so authoritatively about karma.”

Gasping, Lord Miln pressed his eyes closed and endured the steady, painful grinding of Lady Iellaya’s boot on his wound. After quickly scanning his situation, his outlook became even grimmer. Lord Miln could tell immediately that most of his images were injured and he had several Skills that had fractured into pieces from Ileot’s Swacc attack.

Although he had recovered most of his Stamina, his physical body was nowhere near healed. Rather than Vitality, Lord Miln had put most of his Stats into Endurance.

Ileot Swacc…! I hope your fate is one thousand times worse than mine! If I get out of here-

Lady Iellaya continued to speak, leaning over so her nose was very close to Lord Miln. Her weight pressed more and more painfully onto the oozing wound. “They say karma is a destiny that cannot be avoided. That it’s a powerful weapon that can cut and maim. That it’s a record of everything you’ve ever done… Isn’t it ridiculous? Do they really expect me to believe that it can be all of these things at once…?”

Then Lady Iellaya straightened. She removed her foot from Lord Miln’s wound, finally allowing him to catch his breath. “...but it clearly exists. I think of them all, I like Randidly’s definition the best: that karma is the choices you are making with your every action, every moment of your life. And I… I choose to walk to the Path I promised Abiodun I would take. That I will one day rule an entire world, and be able to protect my people there.”

Sighing, Lady raised her hand and looked at it. Because Lord Miln was on the ground underneath her, Lady Iellaya’s entire face was covered in shadow as he looked fearfully up at her. “...and I have to admit that taking revenge on you now for so stupidly endangering us all… would harm that Path. It would be so easy for it to be discovered that I was the culprit… no matter my contributions in this battle. Being found out would mean I lose everything.”

Although Lord Miln kept his breathing even, he inwardly sneered. Heh, getting cold feet Lady Iellaya? Typical. Oh I’ll certainly take my time getting my revenge, but now that we’ve had this discussion, do you think I can let you live…?

But then Lady Iellaya’s face changed. Her lips curled into a smile that could be seen even though the rest of her face was in darkness. With a soft voice, she said. “...but I suppose I can’t find it in me to really care. Abiodun was my dearest… he was my pillar. And because you took that away from me… I need to repay the favor, no matter what the consequences are. Fuck the karma involved.”

Lady Iellaya reached down and pressed her hand over Lord Miln’s face. Panicking, Lord Miln began two twist side to side. But he was simply still too weak. Horrified, he looked up through Lady Iellaya’s fingers and saw that her face was covered in scarlet lines that seemed to glow. Her hand tightened on his face.

A brown scaled serpent with crimson lines crisscrossing its body licked its lips.

When Lady Iellaya pulled her hand away, Lord Miln’s life fluttered away through her fingers.