Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son-Chapter 520: [When Fallen Fall] [End] [A Servent Eternal]
"...Arawn?"
He vanished from his place.
And I felt his katana close to my neck.
My instinct kicked in, and a small shift of my body barely saved my neck.
Immediately, I rushed back, creating distance between us.
Arawn loosely gripped his katana, his eyes on me. "...Slow."
Aimar rushed toward me. "Himmel—"
"Stay out," I said, raising my hand. "Just stay out."
He didn’t seem to understand for a long while before he nodded and moved away.
I relaxed my tense muscles, keeping my eyes on him.
[<You need help?>]
’No.’
I replied, extending both my hands to my sides.
[<He is a peak demigod.>]
’I know.’
A katana conjured in my right hand and an axe in my left.
"Is this how you greet your master?" I asked, tilting my head. "Arawn?"
He kept his silence, lowering his body to get into a battle stance.
Arawn vanished again, not in a burst, not in a flash, he simply wasn’t where he had been.
I twisted sideways as steel slid past my ribs, close enough that I felt cold.
I swung the axe wide, forcing space.
Arawn reappeared just outside the arc, blade angled low.
With an acute sense of urgency, I leaned my body forward and rushed in.
I swept the axe over his face. Arawn caught the axe on his katana and swept it away.
The moment my axe was knocked aside, I felt the opening.
I stepped in instead of back.
Steel rang as my katana met his, the impact sending a dull shock through my arm.
He turned his wrist slightly, redirecting the force rather than blocking it.
He moved inside my guard.
I barely had time to twist my shoulder before the flat of his blade struck my ribs.
The hit wasn’t meant to cut, but it drove the air out of me all the same.
I slid back, boots scraping against the stone.
I exhaled slowly and shifted my stance.
The wings behind me flexed once, not to fly, just to balance.
"You’re holding back," I said.
"So are you," Arawn replied.
He stepped forward again, slow this time, measured.
"You rely on instinct," he continued. "That will save you once, maybe twice but not always."
He vanished.
I felt it before I saw it.
I dropped low as his blade cut through the space where my neck had been.
The katana in my hand came up instinctively, catching his strike at an awkward angle.
The clash sent both of us sliding apart.
This time, I didn’t wait.
I pushed off the ground, wings snapping open just enough to change direction mid-step.
The axe came down in a tight arc aimed at his shoulder.
Arawn caught it again, but this time his feet shifted.
I pressed the attack, chaining movements instead of thinking them through.
Arawn retreated, parrying without strain, but he was no longer still.
The ground beneath us cracked slightly from the pressure.
"Enough with this circus," he said, tilting his head. "Don’t you think?"
He vanished from his place, and I had enough of holding back.
Mana condensed within me. Mana began guiding me.
Arawn’s every attack became clearer than ever.
I sidestepped, pivoted, and ducked around his attacks, parrying those I couldn’t dodge.
A chain of mana circles bloomed everywhere around me.
A burst of flame immediately tried to engulf my body.
I could easily move aside, but I didn’t.
Instead, I focused on the Orb of Fate in my body.
The world slowed down. A miniature version of the River of Fate glowed like a protective barrier around me.
The mana circles shuddered, their edges warping as if something had rewritten the rules they followed.
The flames curved, spiraling past my shoulders and crashing into the ground behind me instead.
Arawn froze for the first time.
"...Fate," he murmured.
I opened my eyes fully.
The River of Fate vanished, but its effects remained.
The world felt slower yet faster at the same time.
Lines I couldn’t see before now stood clear, like paths already walked a thousand times.
I stepped forward.
Arawn attacked again, faster than before, and I moved before he did.
My body shifted into the exact space his blade wouldn’t reach.
My katana met his strike perfectly—not by strength, but by inevitability.
Steel rang once, twice, three times in rapid succession.
Each clash pushed him back.
His expression sharpened, no longer calm.
"You shouldn’t be able to do this," he said.
"I know," I replied quietly.
The axe in my left hand came around, not aimed at him but at the future step he was about to take.
Arawn halted mid-motion, forced to retreat instead.
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he landed.
The mana circles around me faded, one by one, like dying embers.
I exhaled.
The pressure lifted slightly, but the awareness remained.
Arawn sheathed his katana with a soft click and walked toward me.
The pull of Fate had faded, but it left a mark behind.
"Why did you try to kill me?" I asked.
His eyes flicked to my neck, then away. "To see if you were still worth protecting."
He unbuckled his katana and put it down on the ground.
Then he slowly got on his knees and lowered his head.
"Please forgive your servant, master," he spoke in a soft voice. "I crossed the line and tried to test you."
I stared at Arawn kneeling in front of me, his katana resting on the stone between us like an offering.
"...Get up," I said.
He didn’t move.
"I said get up," I repeated, sharper this time.
Arawn’s shoulders tensed, but he remained kneeling, head lowered.
"You are within your right to sever the bond," he said calmly. "I acted without permission. I drew my blade against—"
"Enough," I cut in.
I stepped forward, stopping right in front of him.
"I forgive you," I said. "So, get up."
He still did not get up as he lowered his hand and placed his knuckles on the ground.
"I am Arawn Helga Haze, blessed by the Ruler of Death and Time,"
he spoke, his voice echoing within the palace.
"I have returned to serve you, master."
"..."
Do I really need a servant—.
[<Accept him.>]
’But—.’
[<Don’t be a stupid child!>]
’Alright, jeez.’
I reached down and picked up his katana.
The metal was cool in my hand.
I held it out to him, hilt first.
"Stand up, Arawn," I said. "Return back to your duty."
Arawn stared at the katana for a long second.
Then he took it.
He rose to his feet in one smooth motion, posture straight.
Arawn met my gaze again.
"...Then hear this," he said. "I will protect you, not because I am bound, but because I choose to."
"That’s all I wanted," I replied.
I turned away, already feeling the exhaustion creep in now that the fight was over.
"We’re leaving," I said. "This place is done with us."
Aimar, who was standing on the side, quickly walked toward me. "I saw Oliver."
I turned toward him. "Really?" I asked. "Where?"
"He ran away," he replied.
I clicked my tongue as I turned to move but immediately stopped.
Kaelia stood in front of me, like a wandering ghost.
"...What?" I asked as her eyes met mine.
"Can my sister and I stay with you?" she asked, her voice cold as ever. "Just for a while."
"...."
I was thinking of bringing Elijah and his family to my house.
It would be better if they stayed with me.
"...Alright," I said, nodding my head.
She didn’t say anything else as she walked away.
But as I looked at her back, a sudden thought lingered in my mind.
It was an absurd thought, but I couldn’t bring myself to stop it.
I parted my lips as I called, "Chione?"
Kaelia didn’t turn back. She just ignored me completely.
Urgh, what was I thinking?
I ignored Aimar’s suspicious look as I began to walk toward the palace.
I’m done with the Aljanahs now.
---
[Asura Palace, Akasha]
The world had never been gentle with the Asura.
It carved strength into their bones and called it a blessing.
The second child of mana was born within the Asuran family...
...the man who led Asura to countless wars.
His tomb was placed at the very heart of the Asura Palace.
And like many other Asura, Lysander also looked up to him.
In the empty hall of the palace stood the heir of the Asura family.
Lysander was nothing like his previous arrogant self.
Gone was his pride in his strength...what was left was an empty shell.
The attack on the Asura Kingdom on Lumina and the undeniable strength of Himmel had completely broken him.
Even though Himmel gave him little to no acknowledgment...
Lysander made it his goal to destroy the man who took away his pride.
But as time passed, Lysander understood...
...he was nothing in front of him.
"I was stronger," Lysander muttered. "I was supposed to be."
His nails bit into his palms.
The doors behind him creaked open.
An old Asura elder entered, leaning on a staff carved with runes of mana.
His gaze lingered on Lysander for a moment longer than necessary.
"You’ve been standing here for hours," the elder said. "Still drowning in that defeat?"
Lysander didn’t turn. "It wasn’t a defeat."
The elder raised a brow. "Then what was it?"
"...Humiliation."
The elder sighed. "Some are born closer to the core of things."
"I don’t care," Lysander snapped. "I will surpass him."
The elder studied him carefully. "With hatred?"
"...."
Lysander had no response.
In all senses, he had nothing that could even dent Himmel.
The elder sighed, cleaned the tomb of the first head of Asura, and left.
Lysander still stood there, staring at the tomb.
"Give me strength, ancestor," Lysander spoke grimly. "Give me your strength."
"You want strength, child?"
A chilling voice echoed within the room.
Lysander froze in place as he looked around. "...Ancestor?"
The threads of Fate shifted.
...Himmel moved forward without knowing that another path had begun to tighten behind him.
