Chapter 393 Nihil And Harivel [2]

393 Nihil And Harivel [2]

"He never would have become this if Eden had swallowed his pathetic pride. It was your job and Raphiel's, and you both failed miserably. You are the reason for Samael's unending wrath. Pray, Nihil, to whatever you hold sacred, that if Samael awakens, he doesn't remember that wrath."

"Do you even hear yourself, Harivel?" Nihil retorted, his voice edged with disdain. "Don't let your own misfortunes cloud your judgment. I know you aren't Nemes. You wouldn't wish for such devastation. Samael will meet his downfall again if he seeks vengeance. We are more than prepared for it. Or do you desire his death yet again?" Nihil's tone was stern.

"Regardless of his intent," Harivel responded icily, "there can be no reconciliation between him and Eden. You understand this, don't you? Unconsciously, he's already begun to view Eden as the enemy, even without the full recollection of his past as Samael. Once those memories return, I assure you, I will not stand with any of you." Her words were cold.

Nihil fell silent, but the radiant light emanating from his being intensified, pushing back against Harivel's influence.

"I won't allow it. Eden cannot die," he said.

Cleenah's lips curled into a sly smile as she let out a soft, mocking laugh. "Samael once regarded you as a close friend. He bestowed upon you Trinity Nihil, a gift for Nevia. She was still young then, but you knew she loved Samael. Yet you never acknowledged her feelings. In the end, you kept Nevia, who inherited Fate, and had her play a role in Samael's demise. Was that truly for the world's sake, or because you couldn't bear the thought of giving your daughter to him?" Her voice dripped with scorn.

Nihil's smile was tinged with bitterness as the light around him dimmed, revealing a man of divine beauty who appeared to be in his late twenties. His hair and eyes were as white as Nevia's.

"All I ever wanted was happiness for Samael," Nihil confessed, his voice heavy with regret. "I loved him and Sia as though they were my own children. But when the time came to choose, I had to side with Eden. Eden must endure. As for my daughter, she was too young, too naive. She didn't understand who Samael truly was. At his side, she would have known only sorrow. In the end, I was right to make that decision, especially given what he's become."

"Is that what you truly believe?" Harivel raised an eyebrow, her smirk deepening with a knowing glint in her eyes. "Nevia would have found happiness with him, no matter what path he chose."

"Nevia isn't as twisted as you or Nemes," Nihil said, his voice laced with disdain as a scowl darkened his features. "I doubt she would blindly follow Samael through whatever madness he succumbs to."

"Perhaps~" Harivel replied, her tone dripping with vague amusement, as though she found his concern trivial.

Nihil exhaled a long, weary sigh. "Everything I'm enduring now, it's for Samael's sake. All I want is for him to find the happiness he's been denied for so long—to finally live peacefully with Sia and Nemes, as he's always wished. If you truly love him, Harivel, then stay by his side. But only if it means leaving behind those dangerous memories."

Harivel's eyes fluttered shut, her expression softening into something almost pained.

'I am sorry, Jophiel. It seems I was truly born to be the villain in Eden's story.'

She recalled the last words Samael had spoken to her before surrendering himself completely to his emotions, words that had echoed in her mind for millennia.

'But I am glad I was born this way. Otherwise, I would have missed out on the priceless bonds I forged with Nemes and with you.'

'I have no regrets, and I will never regret it, not even at the very end.'

He was reminding me of Orlin so it prickled my Daddy's instincts.

"What do you think?" I groaned, the pain radiating through every fiber of my being. But I couldn't let him see my fear. I gently pushed him away. "Run. Now."

"Y–Yes!" He stammered, scrambling to his feet and leaving.

"Do you really have time for such trivialities?"

-BAM!

The dark blade sliced through the air, aiming straight for me, but I reacted swiftly, summoning a shimmering, amber-hued shield just in time.

"Aegis," I murmured, and the shield surged with thick, pulsating mana.

Ruglis's eyes widened in shock as the light from the shield exploded, engulfing him entirely.

-BOOOOM!

The force flung him back hundreds of meters, but I knew it wasn't enough. He was far from defeated, merely shaken.

"No other choice," I muttered, a faint smile tugging at my lips despite the pain. "I'll have to take things up a notch."

But before I could gather my strength, a sudden chill ran down my spine. My knees buckled, and I collapsed, my body refusing to obey.

"What...?" I whispered, disbelief and fear mingling in my voice. I had never felt this kind of weakness before—like every ounce of strength had drained from me in an instant. My limbs were numb, completely unresponsive.

Cleenah!

I tried to call out to her, to reach for her presence, but I couldn't. My voice faltered, and the connection to her was gone—replaced by something else, something far more sinister.

Pale arms snaked around my neck, cold and lifeless, as a whisper filled my ears, chilling me to the core.

{Samael.}