I Have 10,000 SSS Rank Villains In My System Space

Chapter 383: Sofia’s Realisation

While on the other side of the cracked street, Maria finally allowed herself to breathe.

The collision had not happened.

Selena’s golden aura had withdrawn inward. Celestia’s platinum presence had softened into controlled authority rather than unleashed force. The three-way detonation that Maria had feared saintess, princess, and Atlantis princess tearing apart the capital in the middle of an already unstable crisis had paused at the edge.

For now.

Honestly, Maria had been worried. The way everything had been escalating... the sharp words, the emotional instability, the way Sofia’s aura had flared when Razeal’s name entered the conversation if things had progressed even a step further, Sofia might truly have clashed with both Celestia and Selena.

And that would not have been a simple fight.

That would have been devastation.

Seeing it calm down even temporarily Maria allowed herself one small, light breath before her expression hardened again.

But.. There was still something to handle.

The tremor in the air was still there, but it was no longer escalating.

Selena and Celestia stood close together now, speaking in lowered voices. From a distance, it almost looked calm. Almost.

Maria knew better.

The calm was thin.

Still, it was enough.

She turned her attention toward Sofia.

And irritation returned immediately.

”What are you doing?” Maria hissed under her breath as she walked toward her, keeping her voice low enough not to draw attention. ”Making such a huge commotion here?”

Her steps were quick, controlled, but there was sharpness in them. She stopped in front of Sofia, eyes flashing.

”If you were going to attack, at least you could have asked me first.”

There was accusation in her whisper half frustration, half genuine fear.

Sofia, however, did not respond to the reprimand the way Maria expected.

She cut her off almost immediately, her own thoughts clearly running in a different direction.

”No worry about that later,” Sofia said, her tone abrupt, distracted as if Maria’s reprimand barely registered. Her mind was somewhere else entirely. ”First tell me what was the relationship between Razeal and Selena?”

Maria blinked.

Sofia’s gaze was intense now, sharp with suspicion.

”Because I think something is very wrong with that Selene,” she continued, voice lowering slightly, but the urgency inside it unmistakable. ”When I said Razeal’s name... the expression she had on her face...”

Sofia’s eyes searched Maria’s, demanding confirmation, demanding clarity. ”That wasn’t what it shouldve been.”

Maria blinked, caught off guard by the abrupt shift in subject.

Sofia had confusion clear on her face.. Obiously that’s the only reason she didn’t directly went on a killing spree.

And that was the truth.

If not for that strange reaction if not for the desperation she had glimpsed in Selena’s eyes Sofia might have already drawn blood.

But suddenly

Her focus shifted.

Her expression changed mid-sentence.

”Wait.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly as they dropped to Maria’s face.

”What happened to your face?”

Maria stiffened.

”Were you crying?” Sofia’s voice softened instinctively, suspicion replaced by concern. ”What’s going on, Maria?”

Her gaze sharpened again. ”Don’t tell me it’s about Razeal. I saw you both in the room just before. Did something happen between you two?”

The words struck like a quiet blow.

And just like that, Maria remembered.

The room? The confession? The fight?

The complicated mess of emotions that had left her breathless and shaking.

Her hand moved almost instinctively, wiping quickly at her face with the back of it. As if the evidence could be erased by force alone.

Damn it.

How could she forget her face still looked like that?

For a brief second, panic flickered through her eyes. Then she forced it down. Forced everything down.

”No,” she said quickly. Too quickly. ”I wasn’t crying.”

Her tone steadied, though her fingers tightened slightly at her sides.

”It’s just because I came here too fast,” she added, gesturing vaguely. ”Flying at high speed. When you move through the air like that... your eyes water.”

The explanation came out rapid, almost rehearsed despite being entirely fabricated.

Obviously, she wasn’t going to tell Sofia that she had just proposed to a man who was technically her husband and then been rejected.

Still, despite her attempt at composure, something betrayed her. A flicker of complicated emotion passed across her face hurt layered with shame, awkwardness, lingering sadness and unresolved hurt.

Sofia noticed.

”Really?” she asked, skeptical but not pushing too hard.

Maria nodded, perhaps too firmly.

”Yes.”

Sofia looked at it but didn’t fully beleived the explanation but she chose, for now, to accept it. Even though Maria’s expression clearly carried more than just wind irritation.

But there were more pressing concerns.

Sofia exhaled slowly and shifted her attention back to Selena.

”Anyways...” she muttered.

Without warning, she reached out and caught Maria’s wrist firmly not violently, but insistently. She turned her body slightly, forcing Maria to look in the direction she was pointing.

”Look at that woman.”

Her tone was no longer angry.

It was confused... Deeply confused.

”There is something very wrong with her.”

Maria followed her gaze.

Selena stood a short distance away, still near Celestia. But even from here, something about her posture was off.

Her shoulders were tense, yet her stance wasn’t defensive.

Her eyes..?

Sofia’s grip on Maria tightened slightly.

”I said Razeal’s name in front of her,” she continued slowly, eyes fixed on Selena’s face. ”And she reacted like that.”

Maria followed her gaze.

Selena stood close to Celestia, aura subdued but still faintly visible. Her posture was rigid. Her attention seemed divided half on Celestia’s words, half still burning in Sofia’s direction.

”Do you know where she was going before I stopped her?” she asked.

”She was heading toward Razeal.”

There was certainty in her voice.

”I’m sure of it.”

”She was running to him.”

”And you know when I said I wouldn’t let her meet him...” Sofia’s jaw clenched faintly, ”...she looked at me like I had just denied her something that belonged to her she even directly tried to threaten me or like just about to attack me.”

She shook her head once.

”That is not how someone behaves if they despise a man.”

Sofia continued, her voice dropping further.

”That look...”

”You know that look, right?”

”Look at her,” Sofia whispered. ”She’s desperate.”

”Just look.” Sofia lifted her hand and pointed directly toward Selena.

Maria followed the direction of her finger.

A short distance away, Selena stood facing Celestia, their heads inclined toward one another as they spoke in low, urgent tones. But it was Selena’s body language that caught the eye. Her hands were moving rapidly as she spoke one moment slicing the air in sharp gestures, the next lifting to clutch at her own temples. Her fingers tangled briefly in her hair as though she were trying to steady her thoughts physically. Her breathing looked uneven. Even from here, the agitation in her posture was unmistakable.

She looked... disturbed.

Not in anger.

But in turmoil.

Selena’s golden aura had retracted inward, but faint flickers still rippled around her shoulders, flaring and dimming in unstable bursts. It mirrored the instability in her expression. Her brows were drawn tight. Her lips moved quickly, as if she were trying to force logic into place before it slipped away again.

Maria followed the direction of Sofia’s finger, her gaze settling fully on Selena.

And she understood.

She understood the situation and what Sofia was trying to say.

And she understood Sofia’s reaction too.

But understanding did not mean agreement.

”I think I know what you’re thinking,” Maria said quietly, keeping her tone measured. ”But it isn’t that.”

”You’re thinking too much.. Its not that.” Maria continued. ”Yes, she’s desperate to meet Razeal. That part is true and i know it.”

She did not deny it.

”But thats definitely not whatever you are thinking.”

Her eyes remained on Selena as she spoke, her voice softening slightly.

”Because you might not know this, but Razeal and Selena were childhood friends. Very close ones. Before everything happened.. like before the accusation happened.”

She paused briefly, watching Sofia’s expression.

”After the accident... after everything fell apart... she regretted it.”

”I know her. She’s a very kind person so.. Whatever happened back then she’s carried that guilt ever since.”

Maria’s gaze returned briefly to Selena, whose agitation was still visible even from this distance.

”She even tried to help him during the arena incident,” Maria added. ”You weren’t there. But I saw it.”

”So.don’t get the wrong idea,” Maria added firmly. ”And first, calm down. Think about the situation clearly.”

”You’re having the wrong idea about all of this. At the very least, you should’ve come to discuss it with me before directly launching an attack.”

Her eyes flicked to Sofia, frustration slipping through.

”You don’t even know anything yet. You just heard Razeal’s words and came here ready to fight. What are you doing?”

The last question came out harsher than intended.

Maria turned fully toward Sofia now and gently held her hand, her grip light but steady.

”Calm down,” she said again, quieter this time. ”Let’s think before we act.”

”You can’t afford to misread all this now.. Right?”

For a split second, it seemed like Sofia might actually absorb the words.

But Sofia didn’t calm down.

Instead, she pulled her hand back sharply.

”No.”

Her voice was flat.

Then, without hesitation, she reached up and caught Maria by the back of her head firm fingers tangling slightly in her hair as she forced her to turn back toward Selena.

”Don’t give me that,” Sofia snapped.

Her voice was low, but it vibrated with restrained intensity.

”I told you look at her.”

She physically turned Maria’s head toward Selena again.

”You can’t be that blind Maria.”

Her voice sharpened, frustration clear.

”You’re a girl. Look at her.”

Maria’s eyes fixed on Selena once more.

Selena’s gestures had grown more erratic. She was speaking rapidly now, her fingers lifting to her head again as if the thoughts inside were colliding too fast. The faint golden flickers around her shoulders flared once, then stuttered.

Sofia’s voice dropped lower, but it grew more intense.

”I understand what you’re trying to say,” she continued. ”I get the childhood friend angle. The regret. The guilt or whatever.”

She leaned slightly closer, her eyes never leaving Selena.

”But look at her expression.”

There was calculation in Sofia’s gaze now not confusion, not insecurity.

Recognition.

”This isn’t someone who despises him.”

Her words came slower, more deliberate.

”This is someone who wants him.”

She swallowed slightly before adding, almost grimly

”Badly.”

Maria didn’t speak.

Sofia’s eyes hardened.

”But.. Why?”

Her grip tightened faintly against Maria’s hair.

”Why would the woman who accused him carry that look?”

Her jaw clenched.

”Why would she burn like that when I said she wouldn’t meet him?”

Sofia’s breathing had grown slightly heavier not from fear, but from the tension of piecing together something ugly.

”And look at that expression,” Sofia pressed. ”Do you know how it appeared?”

”It changed the moment I said I’d gift her heads as a wedding present to Razeal.”

Her eyes flashed.

””And I’m damn sure she wasn’t panicking because I said I’d cut her head off.”

There was dark certainty in her voice.

”She reacted to ’wedding gift to Razeal’ that’s what hit her.”

Sofia’s lips pressed thin.

”Right now, everything in her mind is probably spinning

She didn’t wait for an answer.

”Razeal married? Wedding? Who am I to him?”

Her eyes narrowed.

”I can see it. It’s written all over her face.”

She gestured faintly toward Selena again, whose fingers were still trembling near her temples.

Maria blinked, truly looking at Selena’s face this time. As her gaze lingered, she began to feel that something about Selena’s expression was strange. It stirred a quiet suspicion within her. Still, she couldn’t fully believe it.

”There’s no way,” Maria said finally, though her voice lacked its earlier confidence.

She turned her head upward toward Sofia, forcing steadiness back into her tone.

”Calm down.”

”It might not be what you think.”

”It could still be a misunderstanding.”

Her brows furrowed slightly.

”First, calm down that’s not the concern you should have right now.”

She shook her head once.

But sofia simply shook her head.

The movement was slow at first, almost disbelieving. Then firmer. Final.

Her face usually ethereal, breathtakingly beautiful like a water goddess sculpted from moonlight and ocean foam had hardened into something far more dangerous. The softness that made her radiant was gone. In its place was something sharp. Focused and Terrifying.

Her eyes, clear and luminous by nature, now held a depth that felt like the dark ocean before a storm.

”You’re not understanding,” Sofia said, her voice low and controlled, but vibrating with conviction. ”This is exactly what I think it is.”

Her gaze flicked toward Selena again.

”She wants him.”

There was no hesitation in her tone.

”Look at her expressions.”

Maria opened her mouth to argue again but Sofia exhaled sharply and suddenly let go of Maria’s head.

”Leave it,” she muttered.

Then her lips curled slightly.

”You know what? Let me just prove it to you.”

And.. before Maria could react, Sofia stepped forward.

”Hey what are you doing?” Maria reached out instinctively, trying to catch her arm.

But Sofia didn’t slow down.

She didn’t listen.

And honestly, it was already too late.

With just one step forward, Sofia paused deliberately, her presence expanding slightly just enough to draw attention.

”Heyyyy you both!”

Her voice rang out sharply across the space.

Selena and Celestia instinctively turned their heads toward her.

Selena was still visibly boiling inside her emotions unstable, her breathing uneven from the turmoil she had already been experiencing. But at Sofia’s voice, she snapped her attention toward her.

And Sofia chose that exact moment to drop the bomb.

”I am Razeal’s wife, just so you know!”

She didn’t say it quietly.

She yelled it.

Clear, direct and nmistakable.

Her eyes locked onto Selena’s face while saying each word.. While closely watching her.

And yeah.. she saw it.

Because the reaction was immediate.

Selena’s face went pale, as if she had just seen the most horrifying thing in the world. It twisted into utter, absolute shock. Her eyes widened, and even her breathing became uneven and rapid. She had only ever imagined this possibility before just thinking about it had been enough to trigger panic attacks. But now, hearing it spoken out loud, confirmed so clearly by this woman... it completely shattered her mind.

She started having trouble breathing.

It was too much to digest. Far too much. So instead of accepting it, she rejected it outright.

”No... you’re lying! I don’t believe it! No way absolutely not! No, he would never... it can’t be!”

She shouted, her voice trembling and stuttering. She could barely form proper words, yet she screamed them anyway as if the louder she denied it, the less true it would become.

But Sofia simply raised her ring finger.

”No. Look at this. This is the ring he put on my finger himself. And yes, we very much are married.”

She emphasized every word.

And her eyes her eyes turning dangerously dark as she studied Selena’s expression.

”No! You’re lying! I don’t believe you!” Selena screamed once more.

She just shook her head again, more violently now.

Now, no matter what was shown to her, she refused to believe it. She didn’t even look at the ring Sofia was trying to display. Her hands clenched into fists, her entire body trembling with agitation and fear. She was so overwhelmed that she was just about to attack the woman for even daring to say something like this. Because to Selena, this was the most terrifying nightmare imaginable.

She was the one who loved him the most. For years.

There was no way anyone deserved him more than she did.

Her hand moved.

Energy flickered faintly around her fingertips.

She was about to attack.

Not out of logic.

Not out of strategy.

But out of sheer panic and fear.

Because if she destroyed the source of that claim..

If she silenced Sofia

Maybe she wouldn’t have to hear it again.

But just as Selena was about to lunge forward, her hand was suddenly caught mid-air.

Making her movement stopped mid-motion.

Selena instinctively looked back.

And saw Celestia.

Celestia’s face was completely expressionless.

Not cold, angry or gentle.

Nothing.

Just still.

Her hand held Selena’s wrist effortlessly, preventing her from acting further.

With her other hand, Celestia slowly raised a finger and pointed toward her own eye.

Then she spoke.

”She’s not lying.”

Her voice was calm.

Almost too calm.

But there was something beneath that calm something tight.

Controlled.

She tapped lightly under her eye.

A silent reminder.

And Selena understood the meaning behind it instantly.

Celestia had the Truth Eyes

The ability to see whether someone was speaking the truth or lying just by looking into their eyes. Selena knew exactly what that gesture meant. Even though Celestia’s face showed no emotion and her voice remained steady, Selena could tell.

Celestia wasn’t calm either about this revelation.

”No... no...” Selena’s voice fractured into something almost unrecognizable as she staggered backward, her entire being recoiling from the truth as though distance alone could undo it. Her head shook repeatedly, not in reasoned denial but in desperate refusal, as if she could physically reject reality by refusing to let it settle in her mind.

Tears burst from her eyes without restraint, heavy and unrelenting, blurring her vision as they streamed down her cheeks and fell freely to the ground. It looked as though her entire world had collapsed in a single instant; the sky above seemed to dim, the ground beneath her felt unsteady, and everything that once held meaning twisted into something hollow and cruel.

”No, no, no... this can’t be... it can’t...” she whispered hoarsely, her hand clutching at her chest as if trying to keep her heart from breaking apart. Her breathing grew uneven, bordering on frantic gasps.

”He’s mine... how can he...? He’s mine... just how? How?” The possessiveness slipped from her lips before she could restrain it, raw and instinctive. Years of buried longing, regret, guilt, and obsession erupted all at once, crashing through her like a tidal wave. In her heart, despite everything the accident, the accusations, the hatred she had always believed Razeal would return to her, that somehow she would fix what was broken, that fate itself would bend back toward her.

Married? To someone else? Her mind rejected it violently. The terror gripping her was suffocating, an icy hand wrapping around her lungs.

Her shoulders began shaking. It wasn’t anger. It wasn’t even rage.

It was terror.

The kind of terror that comes when reality no longer matches the story you’ve told yourself for years. When the only thing keeping you alive hope gets ripped away in a single sentence.

In her mind, something was screaming. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real.

But Celestia’s truth-sight had already confirmed it.

The ring glinted on Sofia’s finger.

The finality of it settled in her bones.

Her golden aura flickered violently once then collapsed inward like a dying flame.

Then.. suddenly her legs gave out.

She hit the ground without grace, without dignity, knees buckling beneath her as if the strength had simply drained out of them. She didn’t brace her fall. She didn’t care. She sat there on the fractured stone, staring at nothing, lips moving faintly as fragmented murmurs slipped out between sobs.

”No... he wouldn’t... not him... not like this...” The saintess who radiated divine authority minutes ago now looked like a girl who had just watched her entire future burn to ash.

Across the street

Sofia threw her arms outward with explosive emphasis, her voice ringing with vindication and something darker beneath it.

”Seeeee? I told you! Look at her expressions!” she shouted, gesturing sharply toward Selena’s crumpled form before turning her blazing gaze toward Maria. ”It’s right in front of you now. Don’t tell me you still can’t see it.”

Maria stared, and this time she could not deny what was laid bare before her. She saw the devastation, the possessive anguish, the desperate claim in Selena’s broken words. Her hand slowly rose to cover her mouth as her thoughts spiraled violently. Selena loved Razeal? The idea struck like lightning. No, that made no sense. She loved the one who tried t rape herrrrrr? That was impossible wasn’t it? And yet the rawness of Selena’s reaction did not resemble hatred or trauma; it resembled heartbreak. Maria’s mind raced uncontrollably.

Could what Razeal said be true? Because this did not align with the version of events she had accepted. No one reacted like this toward someone who violated them. No one collapsed in despair because another woman claimed marriage to their attacker. Unless something was twisted. Unless something had been misunderstood. Thousands of questions collided in her mind without resolution, leaving her disoriented and shaken. ”What is going on here...?” She felt like the ground beneath her had shifted without warning

Beside her, Sofia grabbed her arm and shook her roughly.”See? I told you this bitch wants him,” she hissed, her voice dripping with confirmation.

”Yes...” Maria answered instinctively, still lost in her storm of confusion

but just in the next second she suddenly felt it an overwhelming surge of killing intent erupting from Sofia’s body.

It was suffocating, heavy, and immediate, like the ocean depths collapsing inward. Maria’s heart lurched in alarm.

”Wait.. what are you going to do?” she demanded, reaching out in panic to restrain her.

But Sofia’s expression had already transformed into something chillingly serene, her beautiful features sharpened by lethal resolve. A thin, dangerous smile curved across her lips. ”Obviously,” she said in a low, steady voice that sent a shiver down Maria’s spine, ”I’m going to kill this bitch.”

And.. Before Maria could even react further, Sofia launched forward with explosive force, the ground beneath her feet cracking into a small crater as she propelled herself toward Selena like a streak of water-bound lightning.

Simultaneously, the air around them shimmered violently as thousands of razor-sharp water spears materialized in an instant translucent, lethal, perfectly formed. They hovered for the briefest fraction of a second before locking onto Selena’s collapsed figure.

Then at same time they shot forward all at once, slicing through the air with piercing velocity, shrieking as they tore toward their target with merciless precision. Each spear carried killing intent.

Each one aimed for a fatal strike. Selena, still kneeling on the ground in shattered despair, barely aware of her surroundings, was seconds away from being impaled. And Maria could only watch in horror as the situation spiraled irreversibly out of control, her mind screaming, This has gone too far... this cannot be how it ends.

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