Reincarnated as the Weakest Magical Beast-Chapter 114: Moment of weakness

"Amaras...?"

Queen Vivian’s voice trembled, thin and fragile, as she stood before his blade. For the first time since the corruption had consumed her, her eyes were clear again, and the gentle warmth within them had returned.

"What... are you doing?" she whispered, confusion and worry trembling in her tone. "Why is there... so much blood on your face?"

Her words struck him harder than any claw ever could. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Amaras froze, his breath caught in his throat, his fingers tightening around the hilt. He did not know what to say. He did not know what he could say.

But then her gaze lowered.

Slowly.

There, Vivian saw her severed arms lying upon the stone floor, still twitching faintly. She saw the shattered pillars, the scorched walls blackened by magic. The blood... everywhere, soaking into the cracks of the royal dungeon.

And then—

She saw him.

King Alan.

Her husband. Her king. Her beloved.

He lay crumpled in a pool of red, armor torn open, chest hollow and empty. His once proud face was still, his eyes half-open, as though he had not even been given time to understand his own death.

Beside his body, resting against the cold stone, was his torn-out heart—half devoured by something monstrous.

Only then did Vivian taste it.

The thick, metallic flavor coating her tongue.

The warm, sticky substance still clinging to her lips.

Her breath hitched violently.

"No..."

Her knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the floor.

Her entire body began to tremble.

"No... no... no..."

Her hands, or what remained of them, shook violently.

"What... have I done...?"

Her eyes darted back to her son.

"Amaras... what have I done?!"

Her voice cracked, breaking into something raw and shattered.

Then she screamed, a sound so filled with anguish that dust rained from the ceiling and the air itself seemed to tremble.

It was not the scream of a demon.

It was the cry of a grieving wife.

Of a shattered mother.

Because with her own hands, she had killed Alan. She had torn out his heart. She had drunk his blood.

And worse, she had nearly killed her son too.

Her eyes, now clear and painfully human, locked onto Amaras. Tears streamed down her bloodstained cheeks, cutting pale lines through the blood.

"Please... my son... please..."

Her voice was now small and broken.

A begging voice.

"Kill me."

"You must kill me now! Before that thing comes back!"

Before the darkness swallowed her again.

So that she would not live another day as a monster.

So that she would never harm another innocent soul!

And of course, Amaras knew.

He truly did.

He knew what had to be done. Her clarity was only temporary. There was no saving her. The demon could return at any moment.

"I’m sorry... Mother."

His voice was hoarse, filled with pain and grief.

Vivian straightened as best she could and forced herself to kneel properly before him.

Even without arms, even drenched in blood, she lowered her head, like a queen accepting judgment.

Like a mother giving her son permission.

Tears continued to fall, but she smiled through them.

"My brave boy... thank you... and I love you..."

"I... love you too," Amaras whispered. "May your soul return to the Heavens of Arventia."

He raised his blade high.

His arms screamed in protest, and his heart felt as though it were being torn apart from the inside.

Still... he brought the sword down with everything he had.

For a brief heartbeat, he believed it was over.

But then, it happened.

Clang!

A harsh metallic cry rang through the chamber.

The sound of a shattering blade!

It echoed against the dungeon walls as steel splintered and scattered across the bloodstained floor. Amaras stood frozen, staring at the broken hilt in his trembling hand, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

No.

It was not possible!

He was utterly confused at first.

Then realization dawned upon him like a cold blade sliding into his chest.

Turns out, he had been secretly inflicted with a terrible debuff skill—[Will Breaker].

Through his mother’s eyes, through the love and hesitation buried deep within his heart, it had taken root. It had waited for that final moment—when conviction mattered most—and weakened him.

His resolve had faltered, and that single flicker of doubt had been enough.

Queen Vivian lifted her head.

And in an instant, the gentle smile that had once belonged to his mother twisted into something else. The warmth drained from her features, replaced by a cruel and knowing expression. Her eyes burned once more with violent madness as the corruption surged back in full force.

"Thank you," she said softly, almost tenderly.

"For being such a good son."

Then boom!

The demonic aura exploded outward, filling the chamber with crushing pressure.

Before Amaras could react, her tail lashed out with terrifying force.

BAM!

The blow struck his chest and sent him flying across the dungeon. His body smashed through a pillar, stone collapsing around him as he crashed hard against the far wall. Pain tore through his ribs, and the breath was forced violently from his lungs.

He tried to rise.

He forced his body to move.

But by the time he staggered back to his feet, blood dripping from his lips, it was already too late.

Dark wings tore from Queen Vivian’s back in a violent spray of shadow and flesh.

And then, with a thunderous roar, she leapt upward.

The reinforced ceiling shattered as she burst through it, stone and debris raining down in her wake. Cold night air flooded into the chamber, carrying the distant sounds of alarm from the capital above.

Amaras reached out, as if he could still grasp her and drag her back.

But his hand closed on nothing.

He could only stand there, amidst the ruins of stone and steel, and watch her silhouette disappear into the dark sky.

And just like that, he had let her go.

A demon now free upon the world.

In a single night, the kingdom’s greatest hero had failed in the one moment that mattered most.

****

In the days that followed, reports flooded the capital.

"A greater demon has appeared!"

"It slaughtered an entire battalion!"

"It is heading toward Abyssia!"

But no one knew, no one dared imagine the truth.

No one except Amaras.

He buried his father with royal honors, declaring his death as a sudden heart attack.

And he carried the secret alone, a secret heavier than any crown.