System vs Rebirth

Chapter 1626: Salvation

’Looking at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t see my face anymore.’

Laufey was staring at himself in the mirror, but what he actually saw was a faceless monster. The monster that had so much innocent blood on his hands.

When was the last time he could smile sincerely? When was the last time he could sleep soundly? When was the last time he could just relax and think that the world would be running just fine?

How many innocent people had he killed? No, he never personally killed innocent people. He was sure of it.

However, it didn’t mean he wasn’t responsible for the deaths of those people.

Even if his hands weren’t stained by blood directly, he was the one who ordered it.

”You idiot. You were the one who killed them.” Laufey screamed, pointing at himself in the mirror.

He couldn’t help but look at his hands as if they were coated with blood. There were numerous corpses in front of him. All the people he murdered. It was as if they wanted to drag him to the abyss.

Gradually, his heart went numb. He knew that at one point he would suffer the karma for all his decisions.

It was for the sake of the world. It was for the sake of the Ardagan family. He had to fulfill his role as the devil saint of the Supreme Devil Organization.

That was how he managed to convince himself all this time. That was what kept him going. But deep in his heart, he knew this was just an excuse.

He had to face retribution sooner or later.

”I don’t know how long it has been since I could sleep without having a nightmare...’ Laufey muttered.

”Ehehe...” The image of a baby holding his finger while laughing flashed in his mind. He instinctively flinched and pulled back his finger. That hand was not clean anymore.

He didn’t want to dirty the baby’s hands with his blood-stained hands.

It had been suffocating. He sometimes forgot the last time he could breathe in fresh air. All he could suck in this forsaken place was the foul air that was filled with madness.

He wanted to stop, but he couldn’t stop.

He wanted to kill himself, but he had to remain strong.

He wanted to give up, but there was a reason why he had to see it through to the end.

His sins, he would definitely pay for them. But at the very least, he wanted to pay for it after he finished his mission.

”Aaaaghhhhh!” He screamed. The pain of the demon invading his consciousness was excruciating. He was already plagued with nightmares, but with the addition of the demon, he didn’t know when was the last time he slept.

His body was breaking down piece by piece. At this rate, he might collapse, and he wouldn’t know what would happen next. He might not be himself anymore when he wakes up. Or he might never wake up anymore, as his consciousness had been replaced by the demon.

”This is my retribution. I know it, but at least this will be the last of it.”

Laufey might have smiled for the first time, a smile filled with relief.

”I just have to last long enough. Once the war begins, I will send demons and fight as an officer. At that time, I will die at my nephew’s hands. He will become a hero for killing me, the greatest traitor.”

Laufey wanted to believe this was the best scenario. The more he suffered from the demon, the more he was convinced that the time to die was near.

Dying would become his salvation. In this mission, he would definitely die. No, he took this mission fully aware that he would die.

Rather than dying for nothing, he was satisfied that his death could make his nephew a hero.

That was driving him at the last moment. Meanwhile, his mind was being plagued by a lot of thoughts.

”I want to stop.”

”Haven’t I done enough?”

”I have gone undercover for so many years. I never wanted to kill innocent people, but because of my current identity, I had to do it.”

”Can someone kill me?”

”Can anyone stop me?”

”Please!”

”Let me die!”

”I’m tired. Can I please... rest?”

He screamed, screamed, and screamed, but no one was there to listen to him. No one could help him. He didn’t even know how much longer he should wait.

His heart had already broken. At first, he thought he would be helping people. But he had to give out an order for a massacre.

He massacred a village, he annihilated numerous people, and he even terrorized the entire country.

”Maybe I should just give up.” Laufey wanted to close his eyes forever, not wanting to open them again.

Laufey was thinking of surrendering his body to the demon, but at the last moment of his life, a hand reached out to him.

The same hand that had been holding him so tightly decades ago. He couldn’t hold this hand because he had to kill the owner of this hand, or at least, that was what he had brainwashed himself into.

But it was this hand that pulled him out of the dark, deep ocean.

Noel’s smile was shining like the sun, as if trying to melt all his worries. ”I will save you.”

For the first time after so many years, he could finally breathe again. He thought he would die in this person’s hands, but this person extended that kind hand to him, saving him from the bottomless abyss.

He cleared his name and even restored his reputation.

”Uncle. You’ve worked hard.”

His voice sounded as if he understood all his pain and sorrow. For the first time, he finally found someone who could understand his struggles.

This one sentence might be the biggest reason he could continue living.

For that one person, he was willing to do anything to repay him.

So, when he looked at the two ancient demons before him, he couldn’t help but smile as if he wanted to imitate the smile that pulled him back from the abyss.

His eyes were filled with killing intent from the abyss, but his heart remained clear. He jumped forward. ”No matter how many demons are in my path, you won’t be able to pass me.”

”I am... Laufey Ardagan!”