"Why?"
The word slipped out of Ethan's mouth like a broken breath, hoarse and trembling.
Pain exploded through his back—hot, cold, burning, numbing all at once. His body refused to obey him. His knees buckled, yet he didn't fall, frozen in place like a puppet with its strings cut halfway.
His vision blurred.
Slowly, painfully, Ethan turned his head and looked over his shoulder.
Lily stood behind him.
She wore the same innocent smile she always did. Soft eyes. Gentle lips. The smile that had once pulled him back from countless battlefields, that had given him a reason to keep fighting when the world drowned in blood.
But in her hand—
A dagger.
No. Not just a dagger.
Its blade was blacker than the void between stars, engraved with ancient runes that pulsed faintly like a living heart. Purple venom clung to the edge, dripping in slow, lazy drops before evaporating into mist.
The Fang of Nidhyra.
A mythical-grade assassination relic, forged from the fang of the Void Serpent Nidhyra itself. Its poison—Paralysis of Eternal Stillness—froze not only flesh, but will, mana, and even thought.
Ethan recognized it instantly.
And that recognition hurt more than the blade in his spine.
Lily twisted the dagger slightly.
Ethan's breath hitched. His nerves screamed, then went silent.
She leaned closer, her voice warm and sweet.
"You're such a nuisance."
She smiled wider, as if speaking about a misbehaving pet.
Then she turned her head to the side.
"Hubby," Lily called out casually.
"He can't move now. You can come out."
'Hubby?'
Ethan's heart dropped.
'No—
No, no, no—'
His eyes strained toward the direction Lily was looking at.
Footsteps echoed.
Slow. Confident. Familiar.
From the shadows stepped out a man Ethan knew better than anyone else.
Tyler Smith.
The man Ethan had killed with his own hands.
The man whose corpse he had personally confirmed.
The man he hated most in this world.
Tyler walked forward, clapping slowly.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
"Well, well, well."
His lips curled into a grin, but his eyes were filled with naked mockery.
"What's wrong?" Tyler said lightly. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Ethan tried to speak.
"T… Tyler…"
The paralysis crushed his throat. The poison was eating through his system, suppressing even his legendary-grade physique.
Tyler stopped right in front of him.
"Hahahaha!"
The laughter rang cruel and loud.
"What? Thought I was dead?" Tyler shook his head exaggeratedly. "Oh no, no, no. How could I die and leave this beautiful wife of mine to a guy like you?"
He reached out, pulled Lily into his arms, and hugged her tightly.
Then—
He bit her cheek.
Lily giggled.
She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist, acting completely lovey-dovey.
Ethan felt something tear apart inside his chest.
Cold despair and boiling rage mixed together until he couldn't tell which hurt more.
"H… how…?" Ethan forced out.
"How are you still alive?" His eyes trembled. "When… when did you start plotting against me?"
Tyler and Lily looked at each other.
Then—
They burst out laughing.
Lily wiped imaginary tears from her eyes.
"You're really an easy idiot," she said cheerfully.
"I'm glad you loved me so much." She tilted her head, smiling innocently.
"But my heart always belonged to my hubby."
She stood on her toes and kissed Tyler deeply.
"And as for how he's not dead," Lily continued, turning back to Ethan. "Well…"
Tyler cut in, his grin widening.
"It's all thanks to you."
He laughed loudly.
"Thanks for giving Lily that Elixir of Genesis Rebirth. It came in very handy when saving me. Hahahaha!"
Ethan's eyes widened.
The world seemed to tilt.
That potion—
The Elixir of Genesis Rebirth.
The item he had almost died obtaining.
The potion capable of restoring a person from the brink of true death, even repairing shattered cores and fractured souls.
He had given it to Lily.
Because he loved her.
Because he wanted her to be safe.
Ethan slowly turned his gaze toward her.
The woman he had trusted with his life.
The woman he had protected even when the world turned against him.
For her sake, he had lost everything.
His friends.
His comrades.
His parents.
His sisters.
They had all died while protecting her.
And she had used his gift to save the man who caused it all.
"Why…?" Ethan whispered.
His voice cracked.
"Why did you do this to me?"
"What enmity… did I ever have with you?"
"I protected you… but you…"
Lily tilted her head.
Her smile never faded.
"Well," she said casually, "you were too strong for my hubby to handle."
"So he told me to become your lover and help him kill you."
"I just did that."
Her words were light, almost playful.
"As for your mother, your sisters, and the others…" Lily shrugged. "Well, they just died, I guess."
"They weren't really important, right?"
She said it with a mocking tone, clearly enjoying the way Ethan's face twisted.
At that moment, Ethan felt like he was seeing her for the first time.
Not Lily Cross.
But a venomous snake wearing human skin.
"Hah…"
A broken laugh escaped his mouth.
Blood trickled down his chin.
"So… you plotted against me from the very start?"
"From the beginning?"
"I see… I see…"
He inhaled painfully.
"But why now?"
"Why kill me now?"
Tyler stepped forward, hands in his pockets.
"Well, for two reasons," he said lazily.
"First—you've already conquered the world for us."
"Second—you now own all the wealth of the world."
He spread his arms.
"Killing you means everything transfers to Lily."
"No more struggling. No more poverty."
"We get to live happily ever after."
Hearing that, something inside Ethan went completely silent.
His eyes turned dead.
Then—
He laughed.
"I see…" Ethan said softly. "So it was for my treasures."
"For the things I collected with blood and bones."
"That's why you want me dead."
He lifted his head slightly and stared straight at them.
"Guess what?"
"Fuck."
"You."
Ethan shifted his gaze forward.
"System," he said hoarsely.
"Self-destruction countdown initiated."
Tyler froze.
Then laughed.
Lily laughed too.
"Oh, don't worry, dear," Lily said smugly. "I already took over your command authority."
"Nothing will happen."
Ethan looked at her with pure contempt.
"It's not for the destruction of the ship," he said quietly.
A system window appeared before his eyes.
[Do you wish to sacrifice yourself to the System and all items in your possession?]
[This action is irreversible.]
"It's mine."
[Confirmed.]
Ethan accepted.
His body began to disintegrate—starting from his legs, turning into streams of light.
"Oh no—!"
Tyler's expression finally changed.
"Kill him!" Tyler screamed. "Kill him now!"
"If he dies like this, I won't get anything!"
Lily rushed forward, grabbing the Fang of Nidhyra, trying to twist it deeper—
But the space where the dagger pierced was already gone.
Disintegrated.
"Hahahaha!"
Ethan's laughter echoed.
"Fuck you both!"
"Hope you two shits live a happy life!"
His torso vanished.
Then his chest.
Then his head.
"Nooooooo—!" Tyler screamed in madness, punching at empty air.
Nothing remained.
No corpse.
No items.
No system inventory.
Nothing.
Only Tyler's howls and Lily's stunned silence remained in the empty space.
Their lottery.
Gone.
----
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