Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son-Chapter 338: [Who Killed Mary?] [6] [Lover]

Tall buildings.

Bustling streets.

Small figures.

Planes in the sky.

Even though it looked like Lumina... it wasn’t.

It was Earth.

"....What?"

A thousand thoughts surged through my mind.

Wasn’t Earth supposed to be free of mana and anything supernatural?

Just a normal planet?

"Then what is it doing here…?" I murmured, stepping closer.

The small markings that had made the entire pattern glowed softly at my touch.

How was Earth connected to Lumina?

The more I uncovered, the less sense it made.

I exhaled sharply, forcing myself forward.

The carvings shifted.

The sky above Earth shattered.

And then—a hand.

No.

A claw.

A rustling above my head made me glance up.

Liraz, perched on my head until now, fluttered down onto my shoulder.

His small body remained tense, his glowing eyes locked onto the engraving.

The claw tore through the sky, widening the gap, and slowly, something descended.

A being.

A massive being, towering and perfect, even in mere depiction.

A dragon.

A breathtakingly beautiful, radiant purple dragon.

In one engraving, it landed on Earth.

And in the next…

The planet was gone.

Reduced to nothing but rubble.

My mind turned numb.

....Did the dragon kill everyone?

In an instant?

"This is getting ridiculous," I muttered, rubbing my temples.

What was a dragon doing on Earth?

A soft tweet snapped me from my spiraling thoughts.

Liraz let out a tiny cry.

Tears trickled down his face.

"…Liraz?" I whispered, gently stroking his feathers.

But he didn’t stop crying.

Tweet.

Another broken sound, his gaze meeting mine.

Pain.

Hatred.

Deep, unwavering hatred.

"...."

Something clicked in my mind.

I turned back to the engraving.

A single word came out of my mouth.

"Morningstar."

The dragon who slaughtered the phoenixes.

The one who wiped out Earth.

"No," I muttered, shaking my head, shoving the thoughts down. "I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. There’s no proof that this is—"

I froze.

My eyes locked onto something.

Unconsciously, I moved.

A different carving caught my attention.

A single building, still standing amidst Earth’s ruin.

And—

A boy falling from the rooftop.

A girl, crying on the terrace.

My heart clenched.

I didn’t know why, but I felt like shit.

I stood there, staring, trying—failing—to understand.

A deep, shaky breath did little to steady me.

The following engraving was different from the rest.

[<Something you should be aware of, Qais.>]

"…I’m listening."

[<There are two beings trying to revive Kyr’Vhal.>]

Silence filled the place.

My fingers twitched as I turned back to the dragon.

[<For time unknown, they have been planning his revival… Be wary of them.>]

As she was trying to tell me more, she stopped midway and just warned me.

I nodded curtly.

My gaze drifted to the next carving.

It showed neither Earth nor Lumina.

But something else.

A man, chained, bound from head to toe.

Surrounded by angels gripping the chains.

He stood alone, beneath four bright stars.

And above him—

A single star shone the brightest.

I reached out, my fingers brushing against the carving.

Realization struck.

That star…

It represented the Primordial Gods.

"…Is he—?"

[<Anastasia’s lover.>]

I swallowed.

So my suspicion was right.

The engraving shifted again.

The angels fell.

Their wings crushed, twisted, broken.

The man who killed them now stood beside the star.

And then—

Something sharp pierced through the light.

Straight into the man’s heart.

I blinked.

Rubbed my eyes.

Tried to make sense of what I was seeing.

A hollow chuckle left my lips.

"No way…"

I had to be imagining things.

This couldn’t be real.

[<It is real, Qais. Anastasia was the one who killed her lover.>]

A long sigh escaped me.

Surprisingly, it didn’t shake me as much as I thought it would.

’I wonder how Ashlyn would react if she knew.’

"…."

I rubbed my temples, her image flashing in my mind.

She used to believe in Anastasia so much.

Sighing again, I moved forward.

And the next set of engravings told a different story.

Three figures sat upon thrones, with three women standing at their side.

One glance was enough.

I recognized their races instantly.

Elf. Vampire. Asura.

"Are they the first heads of their families…?" I wondered aloud, stepping closer to the next carving—

But stopped.

"…Huh?"

There was nothing.

The engravings ended there.

"What the hell?" I groaned, moving further along the wall, searching.

But there was nothing else.

That was it.

Frustration crawled under my skin.

I thought I was finally getting somewhere, but this?

Another sigh left my lips as my gaze flickered toward the last thing in the room.

A painting.

Hanging at the far end.

I walked toward it, Liraz’s soft glow illuminating the canvas.

Two girls.

One with raven-black hair flowing down her back.

Her face—blurred.

No.

Someone had deliberately blurred it out.

My gaze shifted.

To the other girl.

She had the same hair.

Recognition struck immediately.

Mary.

And then—

I looked back at the blurred face.

"…Lumi."

I whispered as I raised my hand to touch her face.

But.

Just as I touched her face—

Something froze me in place.

A memory.

A whisper of something buried deep within me.

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A chuckle—low, hollow, self-deprecating—escaped my lips.

[<You alright?>]

"…Yeah."

I inhaled, steadying myself.

"I think… I know who killed Mary."

*******

"Are we really just going to sit back and do nothing?"

Elijah’s frustrated voice echoed through the room as he paced restlessly.

His gaze flickered to his team.

A team that was supposed to have thirty members.

Now, only twenty-two remained.

Eight were already dead, and they still had no clue who was behind it.

A boy raised his hand. "Mind if I say something?"

Elijah turned to Carson. "Go ahead."

Carson’s voice remained calm. "Have you looked at the other teams?"

Elijah frowned. "What about them?"

"It’s the same, if not worse." Carson glanced around the room.

"Most of them haven’t even figured out who’s been killing their teammates."

"What’s that have to do with us?" Heather asked, her cat-like eyes on him.

"We have to find the killer, not happiness in others’ condition."

Another girl hesitantly raised her hand. "Actually… the Azure team hasn’t lost a single member."

Silence fell over the group.

All eyes turned to her.

Elijah stepped closer. "Explain."

The girl squirmed under his intense gaze.

"M-my friend told me," she stammered. "Oh, and… their leader is missing."

Elijah ran a hand down his face. "Himmel, huh?"

It didn’t take much to piece things together.

One of the killers had to be Himmel.

"But the question is of which group?" he mumbled to himself, glancing at Pasithea.

Pasithea shrugged. "We should name him in the next round. Maybe we’ll get lucky."

Elijah nodded.

It was a one-in-three chance that Himmel was their culprit.

Enough for him to take the risk.

Bam!

The door suddenly burst open, making everyone jump.

A boy, not from their team, stormed inside.

"What the hell—"

"I heard someone solved Mary’s riddle!" the boy shouted, cutting them off.

His words sent a ripple of shock through the room.

"Come out now!"

Without waiting for a response, he bolted.

Elijah, still processing, exchanged glances with his teammates before hurrying after him.

He reached the balcony railing and peered down.

A boy with long, pristine white hair with a soft purple undertone stood out in the entire hall room.

Walking beside Zenith.

*****

"There goes another one!"

Elise exclaimed as she twirled around a fallen body.

A teleportation circle glowed underneath him, taking him away.

Giggling, she glanced at her bracelet.

5,000 points.

"Think that’s enough to make me second place?" she mused, glancing at Aimar.

Aimar stood beside her, arms crossed, watching her silently.

She tilted her head.

"Are you done?" he asked, looking away.

"Yep!" She grinned and raised her hand.

"High-five!"

Aimar ignored her and walked off.

"How rude," she said, catching up with him.

"Don’t be with me," Aimar said, without looking at her. "People will get suspicious."

"You are worrying too much," Elise replied, shrugging. "Everyone is busy blaming themselves."

Aimar didn’t respond.

His gaze flicked to his side.

A boy identical to him strolled along, flashing him a creepy smile.

"What?" Aimar muttered.

"I’m telling you, brother," he said, grinning. "She wants your dic—."

"Shut up!"

Aimar’s sudden outburst made Elise flinch.

"What? I didn’t say anything," she frowned.

"Not you."

"Then who—?"

Before Aimar could answer, their gaze shifted.

The main hall was packed.

"What’s going on?" Elise mumbled.

But Aimar didn’t respond.

His focus was locked onto the boy at the center of it all.

*****

"Are you for real?"

Zenith’s voice was quiet as she walked beside Himmel.

Himmel glanced at her. "Yeah. I think I know the answer."

Zenith furrowed her brows.

"How?" Her curiosity was evident. "Nobody has ever solved it before. How did you?"

Himmel smiled. "That’s a secret."

Zenith huffed but didn’t push further.

"How will they even know if I’m right?" Himmel asked.

It was the one thing that had been nagging at him.

"The answer was recorded in Lady Lumi’s very first book," Zenith explained. "The academy has a copy, so they can confirm it."

"I see…" Himmel murmured, nodding.

Zenith stopped.

"Alright, this is where I leave you." She patted his back. "Good luck. Don’t embarrass yourself with the wrong answer."

"…Yeah." Himmel gave an awkward smile.

Zenith turned away, walking back toward the crowd.

Himmel followed her with his eyes—until he spotted Epione and Siersha.

They stood apart, maintaining a careful distance.

His gaze drifted to Siersha.

"..."

Maybe he was imagining things, but—.

"Did she lick her lips just now?" he mumbled to himself.

No.

Not possible.

Shaking off the thought, he stepped forward.

The countdown for the next cycle hadn’t ended, but still—

A voice echoed through the hall.

"Are you sure about this?"

The once-cheerful, taunting voice was now serious.

Himmel met the unseen speaker’s gaze. "Yes."

A long pause followed.

Then—

"Are you all really going to let him do this?"

The voice addressed the gathered students.

"Let me remind you—if he’s right, you’ll all have to retake the midterm exam."

Tension rippled through the room.

Murmurs spread.

"She’s right."

"Wait, I don’t want to fail!"

"Yeah! Can’t he just answer later?"

"If he wants attention, he can get it some other time!"

Himmel listened to their complaints without a word.

He wasn’t waiting for them.

He was waiting for her response.

"Oh, did I mention?"

The voice suddenly turned playful again.

"The first-rank winner gets access to the Rejuvenation Hot Spring—along with their friends."

The hall fell silent.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Then—

The sound of weapons drawing echoed in the hall.

Himmel gave his surroundings a quick scan.

Excluding a few, nearly everyone had pulled out their weapons.

Ready to jump at him.

"I’ll hear your answer in thirty minutes," the voice purred.

"Until then—survive."