Reincarnated as the favorite of an obsessive goddess: gave me a system-Chapter 37: The Decapitated.

Kai looked at the illusions with cold indifference. He didn’t have time for guessing games, he needed a massive area of effect attack. He extended his right hand, palm facing upward.

"Rain of Swords," he uttered.

The air above Kai froze instantly. Hundreds of ice swords hovered in perfect formation. Everyone present, Qaxy included, looked up in awe and terror. The amount of mana required for such a spell was immense. Kai lowered his hand in a sharp, cutting motion, and the hundreds of ice swords were launched at hypersonic speeds. There was no whistle of wind, only the thunderous roar of the sound barrier breaking repeatedly.

The attack was devastating. The swords riddled the plaza, piercing through every single one of Qaxy’s illusions. The physical copies shattered upon contact. The original Qaxy screamed in pain as several blades impaled his shoulders, legs, and torso, pinning him against the remains of the rock behind him. He tried desperately to use healing magic, but he was gravely wounded, near death.

Kai gave him no time to recover. He knew a demigod, even a wounded one, was dangerous.

Time remaining: 20 seconds.

The pain in Kai’s body was reaching critical levels. He had to end this. Now. Kai vanished from his spot and reappeared directly in front of the immobilized Qaxy. His speed was so great that Qaxy didn’t even have time to blink. Kai extended his hand, ignoring the agonizing pain in his arm, and grabbed Qaxy by the neck.

The strength of the grip was such that Qaxy’s neck cracked. With a brutal movement, Kai ripped out the ice swords that were pinning the demigod and hurled him against an ancient tree that marked the entrance to the village. Qaxy slammed into the tree, the trunk creaking and splintering under the force. He fell to the ground, completely still, without the strength to move, his eyes fixed on Kai with a final mixture of hatred and absolute terror.

There was no longer any trace of his former arrogance. Kai stopped. His body was trembling uncontrollably, blood soaking the ground beneath him. His vision was turning blurry.

Time remaining: 5 seconds.

He had one last act to perform. Kai concentrated with all his might as he extended his hands.

"Liquid Blade," he whispered.

A line of water shot out at high speed, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the damp earth. Qaxy’s head, with its expression of terror frozen on its face, separated from his body and rolled across the ground.

[ Skill Return deactivated. Time expired. ]

The exact moment the System’s voice resonated in his mind, the strength sustaining Kai’s body vanished. His body, already damaged beyond its limits, collapsed. He fell to the forest floor, the dull thud echoing in the silence that followed the battle. Kai didn’t scream. He didn’t move. He was unconscious, his mind shut down by pain and exhaustion, his body on the brink of death.

The silence lasted only a second. And then, chaos erupted again.

"KAI!!" Lyla’s scream was heartbreaking, filled with pure anguish.

Lyla was the first to reach him. She threw herself to the ground at his side, ignoring the blood soaking her clothes. Her trembling hands caressed his pale, sweaty face. Allice, Roshia, Mira, and Thorne arrived moments later, forming a protective circle around him, their faces full of worry and horror at their leader’s state.

"Kai, Kai, please, look at me," Lyla pleaded, her tears falling onto Kai’s chest as she tried to heal him. Kai did not respond. He lay still and silent.

"Help me lift him! Quickly!" Thorne shouted, his voice hoarse with suppressed emotion. His usually steady hands were shaking non stop. "To the village! We have to get him to the central building right now!"

Thorne carried Kai in his arms, running with surprising agility despite the young man’s dead weight. Lyla ran beside him, one hand pressed to Kai’s chest as she applied her healing magic. When they reached the village, time seemed to stand still, the silence that fell as Thorne entered with Kai’s bloodied body was sepulchral.

"Make way! Move back!" Allice exclaimed.

In the middle of the crowd, a small figure stood paralyzed. Elara. Seeing the scene, she dropped a doll that Kai had patiently made for her just the day before. Her protector, the man who always had a smile or a kind word for her, was unrecognizable. Blood soaked his clothes, and his arms hung limp.

"Kai...?" Elara whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

No one had time to answer her. They entered the central cabin and laid Kai on his bed. Once there, Lyla dismissed almost everyone with a look that no one had ever seen before. Only Allice stayed behind to help clean the wounds. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Minutes, hours, and days passed. Three days of silent agony.

Lyla did not move from his side. She refused to eat, to sleep, or even to blink for too long. Her hands were constantly over him, healing what she could. Allice came in occasionally with warm water and clean cloths to lightly wash Kai. Outside, the village felt like a living funeral. Thorne patrolled the surroundings tirelessly, venting his frustration on nearby trees, while the villagers left flowers and small food offerings at the door of the central building.

At dawn on the third day, the system emitted a faint beep in Kai’s mind.

[ System Message ]

Enemy defeated.

You have leveled up!

Your mana has increased to 1000!

Level: 30 (120/800)

You now need 800 XP to continue leveling up.

You have 18 points to distribute among your stats.

Kai regained consciousness, feeling a suffocating heat before opening his eyes. It pained him even to breathe, as if his lungs were filled with broken glass. When he finally managed to open his eyelids, the first thing he saw was Lyla’s hair, messy and dull, resting on his sheets. She was sound asleep from exhaustion, sitting in a chair next to the bed.

Kai tried to move his hand. His fingers felt numb, but he managed to brush against hers.

"Ly... la..." he said very weakly.

Lyla woke up with a start. Her eyes, red from crying and lack of sleep, locked onto Kai’s. For a second, she didn’t dare believe it.

"Kai?" her voice trembled. "Are you... are you awake?"

Unable to contain herself, she lunged toward him but stopped millimeters from his chest, remembering his injuries. She began to cry again, but this time it was a cry of pure relief, sobs that shook her entire body.

"You’re an idiot! You almost died, you almost left me alone again!" she scolded him through tears, kissing his forehead and cheeks over and over.

Kai smiled weakly, feeling the moisture of Lyla’s tears on his skin. "I... I wasn’t going to die from a mere subordinate," he managed to say, weakly squeezing her hand.

At that moment, the door opened and Thorne, Allice, and the others walked in. Seeing Kai conscious, the atmosphere changed electrically.

"He’s alive! The Boss is awake!" Thorne shouted with a joy that resonated throughout the room. Allice approached, and although she tried to maintain her professional posture, a solitary tear rolled down her cheek as she nodded her head in respect.

Roshia and Mira entered shortly after, with Elara running behind them. She climbed onto the bed carefully and hugged Kai’s arm, hiding her face in his shoulder.

"You’re awake!" the little girl exclaimed between laughter and tears.

The news spread through the village like wildfire. Outside, shouts of joy and applause could be heard. People began to celebrate immediately.

Hours later, when the noise of the celebration outside turned into a distant murmur and the sun began to set, the room returned to peace. Lyla had insisted that everyone leave to let Kai rest, though she, of course, had no intention of moving. Kai was sitting up, leaning against cushions of straw and furs. He felt weak, but his mind was clearer than ever.

He looked at Lyla, who was sitting at the foot of the bed, watching him intently.

"Lyla," Kai called, his voice now firmer. "Come here."

She moved closer and sat beside him.

"When Qaxy entered my mind... while looking for my fears and traumas, he hit a barrier. He broke it and... I remembered everything. The system spoke to me and said it had adapted; it gave me a new skill. Return. That’s what I used to be able to kill him. It’s as if all my old power came back to me for 60 seconds. It warned me that my current body wouldn’t handle it and that I’d be left on the brink of death. That’s why, when I killed him..."

Lyla held her breath, her eyes wide.

"Return... you’re an idiot for using that skill, you almost died," she replied with affectionate anger. "But... do you remember everything, Kai?"

Kai nodded slowly, an expression of deep nostalgia and pain crossing his face. "I remember our walks. I remember the promises we made to each other before the other gods decided I was a threat. I remember everything."

Lyla let out a muffled sob and lowered her head, hiding her face in Kai’s shoulder. He weakly wrapped his arms around her, and they stayed in silence for a while.

"It’s all very confusing, remembering everything all at once..." Kai stopped, thinking as a small blush appeared on his cheeks. "We need to talk about us."

Lyla stopped him by placing a finger over his lips, knowing what he wanted to say.

"No, you just woke up, Kai. And although I’m the one who wants to talk about it most, the one who most wants to hear those words that will make my heart try to jump out of my chest, I don’t want you to feel pressured, especially after being unconscious for three days." Lyla withdrew her finger and gave him a soft kiss near the corner of his lip. "We’ll talk when you’re recovered and when everything is calmer. I want it to be a beautiful moment."

Kai nodded with a silly little smile.

"Fine, but I want you to know that regaining all those old memories didn’t make me decide. I made my decision days ago, these memories only... only increase what I felt again."

Small tears of happiness formed in Lyla’s eyes, but she quickly reacted and nipped his cheek, not hard, but with tenderness.

"I told you, some other time, idiot," she murmured with a smile, letting go and snuggling against him, trying not to hurt him.