Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough?

Chapter 101 Ivina, the Zhang Family Bar

Chapter 102 Ivina, Let's Go Home (4.5k)

very noisy.

It's so noisy.

The surrounding sounds to Rhodes were like harsh mockery.

His heart was not at peace, nor could it possibly find peace.

Yes.

He got tricked again.

Just as Lilith had tricked him on the altar, he was now being tricked by Cecilia once again.

It's just how things are, isn't it? After all, he was indeed a bit cruel to Cecilia in his previous life, so it's understandable that she would have a twisted desire to take revenge on him.

But when the truth was laid bare before him, and Ivina remained silent, his heart sank to the bottom of the ocean, unable to move any further.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 20 ...

He reminisced about the shy Ivina nestled in bed, about the Ivina who would cry and whine about wanting "friends," and his heart began to crumble.

Why is it like this again?

Is this yet another environment woven from hypocrisy?

Why does he always meddle in other people's business and help them, but in the end he gets nothing in return?

That's terrible—that's why I said I shouldn't have wasted my time coming to the Duke's mansion in the first place.

Rhodes's heart sank even deeper.

He bent down and picked up the short knife from the ground.

It's so noisy, really noisy.

The nobles were even more overjoyed after he picked up the knife.

But I don't want to hear anything right now.

So Rhodes roared angrily, "Shut up, all of you!"

The [Soul Shock] instantly swept away all the noise, silencing them all.

All right.

Now, everything has quieted down.

Yet the knife in his hand still felt so heavy.

Rhodes doesn't need to believe Cecilia's claims that she will become weak after he kills Ivina.

Because Merrick was there, he was able to kill Cecilia no matter what.

But the problem is—

Should he angrily pick up a knife and actually rush over to kill Ivina, who is Cecilia's true form?

At the very least, Ivina's power has only been upgraded twice, that's a fact.

Furthermore, he couldn't guarantee that Cecilia hadn't left any tricks on Ivina.

Therefore, there is absolutely no problem with him listening to Cecilia's advice, making a decision, and killing Ivina.

But he also understood—

In this way, there is nothing left.

The girl he wanted to save no longer existed, and all his efforts were in vain.

He clearly wanted to see the rescued girl grow stronger and stronger, even able to live independently without him.

He clearly hoped that Ivina's future could be in her own hands, that she could save herself —

But that doesn't make sense either.

Because from the very beginning, everything was fake.

Her feigned emotions were fake, her expressed love was fake, and even her entire being and existence were false.

So, what exactly did he save? What was he doing?

He had never been so angry, not even when facing Lilith, so angry that he was speechless.

He took a step.

Step by step, they steadily approached the top of the steps.

"Yes, that's it! Come here with the knife and end it all!" Cecilia laughed maniacally, her mind racing.

At the same time, she took out the hidden [Echoes of the Demon God] with her other hand and held it in her palm.

If he kills you, then you can come back and become my vessel.

【————】

Ivina did not respond to Cecilia's words, and Cecilia did not seem to care.

The collapse of the soul happens in an instant, and the state of the body's soul will not be reflected back to her.

Undeniably, she felt exceptionally excited to perform in a play that made her feel uncomfortable.

Because that's what it means to hurt each other.

She is hurting herself with her vulnerable past, and at the same time, she is taking revenge on Rhodes.

Yes, the more she looked at Rhodes's coldness and the trembling in his eyes, the more wonderful it felt.

This is the consequence of his final choice to kill her; this is the ultimate way she toyed with Rhodes.

Closer and closer—when Rhodes kills Ivina with his own hands, he will surely become even colder, won't he?

It didn't matter if she hated him, because she understood that no matter how much Rod hated her, he would still have to cooperate with her in the end.

Tap, tap, tap.

Footsteps fell.

Skills were unlocked one by one.

[Body of Creation] [Heart of Life] [Listen to the Song of the Dragon of Life] [Chaotic Realm of Dreams] ————

"I do want to end all of this," Rod said coldly. "I hate lies, I hate having my efforts looked down upon."

"Then come on, kill her in front of me, and you'll be free!"

"Don't be sad, my dear."

After all, I told you a long time ago, you should never, ever go and save random girls for no reason.

"But you never listen, so what else can I do?"

At this moment, Cecilia looked at Rhodes, who had come to stand in front of her, her eyes becoming increasingly tender, yet also increasingly crazed.

Rhodes raised his dagger.

At that moment, his gaze met Ivina's once again.

The girl's eyes had lost their luster, and she no longer denied her fate.

Her breakdown stemmed largely from the realization that she had hurt Rhodes.

Even if these weren't things she wanted to give, they were, in fact, caused by her.

She was wrong from beginning to end, so isn't it only natural that it ends here?

Her mistake was that she greedily wanted to live a better life and tried to be saved by some so-called knight.

She shouldn't ask for anything, she shouldn't want anything. This kind of bastard wildcat should just obediently die in that pile of garbage, be eaten, and disappear from the world.

It's all her fault — it's all her fault —

With a swish, the knife naturally slashed across the ground.

but----

It wasn't Ivina who was injured.

Ivina raised her empty eyes, gazing blankly at the person she loved—

"Huh?" Cecilia was slightly taken aback, feeling a cut on her arm, and tilted her head in confusion.

"Honey, what are you doing?"

"Let me see if this so-called sensory sharing is real."

"Even so, you still try to find that sliver of the impossible? Darling, you're so gentle, so incredibly gentle—"

"How stupid—" Cecilia pinched Ivina's cheek with one hand and lifted it up. "Look, she's feeling the pain in my hand, isn't she? Really feeling it, isn't she?"

She added frantically, "Yes, her body is trembling, even though her heart is already dead, she's still honestly trembling—do you think that's interesting?"

"yes."

Rod's voice trailed off softly.

"I don't find it funny, Cecilia."

"Ah~ that's right, I'm sorry, darling————" Cecilia smiled apologetically.

"However—" Rhodes' eyes were icy cold as he focused all his power on the sword.

"I'm very unhappy."

"Um?

'

"Because you hurt her, didn't you?"

"Hmm?" Cecilia was slightly taken aback.

"Ivina, say something." Rhodes said calmly at that moment.

Ivina's gaze briefly tried to break free from the murky emptiness, but when she realized that whatever she said now would be wrong, she lost the will to argue.

That's enough. There's no need to make Rhodes even more upset, nor to make myself suffer more.

No matter how much you want to cry, no matter how heartbroken you are, you must hold it in, you absolutely must hold it in, Ivina————

It was all so good, and we just missed each other like that.

miss----

It would have been better if we had just missed each other.

But the suppressed emotions finally broke down and erupted—

She was unwilling to accept it!

She almost had all of this, she almost achieved her dream, but why did she end up with nothing, nothing at all!

She just wanted a home—just such an ordinary wish; she never thought about any grand future!

But why————

Don't do this—no—

Even though her body was in despair and her soul was parched, at this moment, her controlled body still couldn't control the secretion of tears.

The girl, tears streaming down her face, showed no sobbing, no despair, her entire body was paralyzed by the control.

Even though her face didn't change, she kept crying and crying—

Um----

The girl was like a puppet.

But what she didn't know was...

Rhodes could clearly feel her despair.

Everything was flowing clearly into his mind within the field.

Her pain, her pleas, are being transmitted into his mind through his soul.

This was the first time Rhodes felt that the Soul God race, this disgusting race, had ever been truly meaningful.

I just happened to obtain this soul realm, it's really wonderful!

"Get ready to go home, Vina," Rod said softly.

The dagger flew out—!

call out-!

The short sword unleashed a terrifying power that had been upgraded four times, and with its swift explosive force, it pierced through Cecilia's defenses in an instant.

With a soft slap, Cecilia's neck was slashed open, leaving a bloody gash!

She froze instantly.

What?

What the hell?

The moment Cecilia realized that the dagger was aimed at her, she was filled with confusion and stunned silence.

Did they attack the wrong person?

No, no—this is wrong!

Cecilia's eyes widened in surprise. As she quickly defended herself, she sensed an even stronger force pressing down on her from the side—

"Lilith, switch!" Rhodes shouted, and as his arm wrapped around Ivina, who had been released by Cecilia, Lilith acted instantly.

【A Realm of Starlight】

The [Domain] belonging to the [Hero] rank suddenly erupted in that instant, causing a world to be turned upside down.

As if falling into the realm of gods.

The Milky Way was so enchanting that it made everything before my eyes seem ethereal yet lifeless.

The entire hall's darkness was instantly obscured by the dazzling starry sky, making everyone feel as if they were in a galaxy.

In that instant, Luo Ling's position was taken by Lilith, who instantly used [Star Chain] to fling Tianxing directly towards Serenlipi.

Bang Bang Bang!

A terrifying force instantly tore apart the front of the entire hall. If He Ruo hadn't entered Lilith's domain, the entire Duke's mansion would have been annihilated into the ground.

Luo Ling, however, hopped a few steps, picked up the unconscious girl, and returned to her back.

Selippi's voice burst forth from the Ashes, and at the same time, her violent aura swept out instantly.

"Why—why didn't you kill Ivina!" Selippi shouted in disbelief.

"Is there a difference between educating you and educating you and her?" Luo Ling's eyes were cold. "If she is a bad person, then I will educate you and her together and enslave you forever."

"But that's not actually the case, is it?"

"Her soul and your soul are not the same soul at all, and her consciousness has fallen into a state of mutual torment."

"Serene Lipi, the most ridiculous thing is that you yourself admitted that [her heart is dead]."

"But here's the problem: isn't she your true form? If she is your true form, then if her heart is dead, why are you still behaving normally?"

"This time, your behavior was truly appalling."

This is true.

In that instant, Luo Ling felt increasingly uneasy.

Celia and Ivina do indeed have a complex relationship.

The problem is, the two of them could never be the same person.

First, if Serenipe still loves Ivina, then given her personality, it's impossible for her to make Ivina a puppet who doesn't say a word, but rather someone who speaks a sentence to someone else.

Secondly, their souls are in different states. When Luo Ling used her domain skill, Pao Yu's perception of the soul seed clearly told him that these were clearly two independent individual souls.

As shown, Selpi himself admitted—[Ivina's heart is dead].

They were clearly two people who were actually one person? Yet one of their souls died in agony?

Are you in pain?

When I caught that word in my mind's eye and saw Ivina's empty eyes, a feeling of heartache naturally arose, and my anger towards Serenipe reached its peak.

Yes, just now, Ivina was about to take off her bandages and explain everything herself, but Serenipe made a complete mess of things.

So stupid! So stupid!

Just a moment ago, he actually denied the clumsy girl's genuine feelings, and his heart turned cold because of Selippi's words.

But now that I've realized what's happened, everything has returned to normal.

Serenipe is an enemy who is to be tied up and educated, while Ivina is just that foolish lover.

That's all.

"No—wait, I just misspoke—" Serenipi realized in an instant that she had said something so stupid because she was so embarrassed.

"A slip of the tongue? That doesn't matter. As long as we suppress you all, what's the point of all this talk?"

"Like I said, educating you alone, or educating you and Ivina together, is just a side job."

At this moment, Luo Ling's aura had reached its peak, and the overwhelming rage in her eyes brought her fighting spirit to its zenith, while the aura behind her grew increasingly scorching.

And Serenipe understood.

Failed.

Her approach failed.

Luo Ling saw through the truth, and at this moment she herself was in danger.

She first lowered her voice, then smiled with relief—

Ivina, why are you so lucky?

How lucky, how wonderful.

but-

"My dear, what makes you think that the Demon God's Echoes can only belong to Ivina alone?"

Luo Ling's eyes narrowed.

"You think Lilith can easily kill me just because she's leveled up five times?"

"How ridiculous—how could I, who once inherited the position of a demon god, be unable to suppress a mere echo?"

In that instant, Seripi swallowed the [Demon God's Echo] in her hand.

boom.

Hey, hey, hey.

Like the heartbeat of an ancient god in the abyss, a terrifyingly frenzied madman was instantly awakened at this moment.

Hundreds of unique, jet-black lines violently sprouted from Serenipi's body, covering her entire form.

And in that very instant, her aura reached its peak!

As a terrifying [demonic phantom] appeared behind her, her entire body erupted with frightening energy.

The crimson and brilliant gold in his eyes became even more dazzling, and at the same time, he unleashed all his power!

"Upgraded five times, the echo of the demon god lingers."

"Come on, Lilith—let me kill you!"

Serenipe chuckled and reached out to beckon Lilith, who was standing in front of him.

Lilith simply watched this scene calmly and said indifferently, "Is the echo of a demon god we killed enough to give you the confidence to challenge me?"

"Serene Lipi, you can be considered—" Lilith paused for a moment, her eyes cold and arrogant, "utterly stupid."

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