Chapter 55: A Plot Within a Plot (Part II)

Hino Wuma, however, had no intention of letting me be. She swung her whip, lashing it toward me.

"You shameless monster, I'm going to kill you!"

"What deep-seated grudge do I even have with you?" Seeing her look as if I had murdered her entire family, I hurriedly dodged the attack, shaking my head and sighing.

Hino Wuma pressed her assault, looking as if she wouldn't rest until I was dead.

"Ah... I see!" Dodging another strike, I suddenly pointed at her with a devious smirk. "It seems our cute little girl has succumbed to mortal feelings..."

Hino Wuma's face suddenly flushed a deep red. "Shut up!"

"Could it be... that the Great Director of the Inquisition has fallen in love with her Grand Priest?" Ignoring the hollow ache and sharp pain in my heart, I let out a mocking chuckle.

"Shut up! Shut up!" Hino Wuma's face turned from red to pale with fury; she was utterly incensed.

The corners of my mouth curled up in a sickeningly sweet smile. "Are you jealous? Do you want to kill me to keep Cass all to yourself? Don't worry... I won't fight you for him. I won't..."

"You shameless monster! Five years ago, Cass nearly lost his life because of you! And you actually..." Hino Wuma glared at me with eyes full of resentment.

What?

I froze for a second, and in that moment of hesitation, I failed to dodge. I took a direct hit from the whip.

The whip, carrying a white glow, lashed across my body. With a "hissing" sound, it carved a bright red bloody welt, as if I had been seared by fire.

I instinctively grabbed the whip, staring at Hino Wuma. "What are you talking about?"

"Hmph, enough talk! Only by getting rid of you can Cass truly find peace!" Hino Wuma snorted coldly, pulling hard to retract her whip.

I held on tight. My left hand, gripping the whip, was already a bloody mess, "hissing" as white smoke rose from the contact. "Speak! What did you mean by what you just said?!"

"You, Aurora, you are nothing but a jinx to Cass! Five years ago, you caused him to be nailed to a cross! He nearly lost his life! And yet you knew nothing!" Unable to pull her whip back, Hino Wuma screamed at me in a rage.

"Hmm?" I blinked. "You said... five years ago, I caused Cass to be nailed to a cross? What... does that mean?"

"Do you really not know?! Because you are the reincarnation of Lilith, because you are a monster! Fifteen years ago, the elders discovered your existence in the human world. They wanted to find you and eliminate you before you awakened! But Cass, as a member of the Inquisition's clergy, hid you for fifteen whole years! When he was finally discovered five years ago, he preferred to be nailed to the cross rather than reveal a single word about you!"

I was completely stunned.

Motionless as a stone statue.

"Aurora, Aurora!" Seeing that something was wrong with my expression, Alastor rushed forward.

Finally snapping back to reality, I released my grip on her whip and asked blankly, "You said... he was nailed to a cross? You're saying Cass was nailed to a cross for me?!"

"That time, he almost died!" Hino Wuma retracted her whip, roaring at me with reddened eyes.

So... the reason he disappeared five years ago was...

"Where is he?" Slowly clenching my fists, I asked.

Cass's sudden disappearance five years ago...

My five years of waiting and searching...

Our reunion five years later...

My Cass had actually endured such agony for me without me ever knowing?

Hino Wuma didn't answer. Instead, white light gathered in her palm as she lunged at me with all her might.

"Where is he!" A dense aura of darkness erupted from my body, and I barked out a sharp command.

That intense surge of dark energy even caused Samael, who was in the middle of a magical duel with the ten elders, to cast a brief, sidelong glance toward me.

Nailed to a cross... how much must that have hurt?

That man who was always so gentle, the man who treated me better than anyone else in the world—how could he be allowed to suffer such pain?

Cass...

I was filled with a murderous ferocity. I grabbed Hino Wuma's fair neck in a vice-like grip. "Where is he?! Where is Cass?"

I wanted to see him.

I wanted to see him...

I wanted to ask him why he did it! I wanted to ask him why he didn't tell me!

Hino Wuma's face gradually turned purple. Just as she was about to perish in my hands, a gentle voice suddenly rang out.

"I am here, Aurora."

I am here, Aurora...

That gentle voice seemed to drift in from a distant horizon. I froze slightly. Through the chaos of the magical battle, I saw a tall, slender figure appear at the doorway. He was enveloped in white light, and the silver-white Holy Cross uniform he wore gave him a beauty that felt untouchable and sacred.

"It's you!" Samael narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Cass at the door with a faint expression of loathing.

I didn't stop to wonder what Samael meant by "It's you." My eyes were only for Cass. I let go of my grip, allowing Hino Wuma to collapse on the floor, coughing violently.

In those deep gray eyes, there was a tiny reflection of a person. Was that me? Cloaked in malice, looking like a demon.

I was suddenly struck by a sense of shame.

Before Cass, I felt utterly ashamed of myself.

Abruptly, he slowly reached out his hand toward me.

His lips curved into a slight smile, and his deep gray eyes were filled with warmth. His smile was pure and bright.

My eyes lit up slightly. As if under a spell, I stepped toward him unconsciously. That was Cass—Aurora's Cass...

He was right there in front of me...

"Stop!" From behind me, Samael's voice rang out, carrying an icy chill that seemed to come from the depths of hell.

I startled, and my footsteps faltered.

"Aurora." Cass spoke again with a smile, calling my name softly.

He tilted his head slightly and held out his hand to me. His hand looked large and warm.

I looked at that hand, and my gaze softened involuntarily.

"Aurora, come..." he said.

That gesture reminded me of the time he taught me how to walk. In my memories, he would always stand a distance away from me, then squat down and reach out his hands. He would look at me and say, "Aurora, come..."

Under his warm gaze, I would totter and struggle to walk toward him. And he would always wait patiently in the same spot, waiting for me to wobble and stumble until I finally tumbled into his arms.

My vision blurred. Just like back then, I walked toward him step by step, wanting to take hold of that large, warm hand.

I walked toward him.

Wanting to drown forever in that gentle gaze.

"Stop! You idiot!" Samael's voice rang out again, ruining the moment. "He will kill you!" He shouted at me while simultaneously fighting off the dozens of white-robed elders.