146 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 146
146
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Anyone with eyes and ears would have known. This was not a sacrifice for the gods.
Aileen belatedly realized she was trembling. She shook violently, almost hyperventilating, as she looked at Cesare.
She knew Cesare wasn't a saint. If she had to categorize him as either good or evil, he was closer to evil.
She knew his nature wasn't kind or gentle, that he only treated her specially.
Yet, witnessing his act of murder with her own eyes was painful.
Especially since the beheaded man didn't seem to have committed any crime. He just seemed like an ordinary citizen of the Empire. Too ordinary to be Cesare's enemy...
Aileen slowly lowered her gaze. And she saw the balls rolling on the floor, no, the severed heads. The corpses with only torsos remained were tangled messily.
It was the trace of the carnage Cesare had committed.
Even though she believed he wouldn't do such a thing without a reason, Aileen couldn't help but instinctively recoil from the shock.
This must be a terrible dream. But even as she thought it was a dream, Aileen looked at Cesare, who was covered in blood and looked like a demon, with fearful eyes.
Cesare, with his sword hanging down, was smiling. The smile Aileen saw for the first time was filled with madness. He looked as if he would throw even his own body into the flames of the sacrifice at any moment.
"Cesare..."
Aileen opened her lips, which kept stiffening, and called out to him. But her voice still didn't reach him.
He said he would offer a hundred lives tomorrow. Even if it was a dream, Aileen wanted to stop Cesare.
Aileen ran towards him. Her feet tangled and she almost fell, but she barely reached Cesare.
But Cesare didn't see Aileen. Even though she was calling him desperately right in front of him, he didn't know, so she hesitated and carefully grabbed his arm.
At the same time, the world changed. It had been night until just now, but now the sky was filled with the setting sun. Under the blood-red sky, Cesare was once again committing a massacre.
With an expressionless face, he stood before the altar and repeatedly cut off the heads of the men. The number of corpses scattered around the altar had clearly increased compared to yesterday.
Aileen watched motionlessly until the moment he cut off the last man's head. The sunset sky had turned black, and stars appeared in the night sky. The hundredth head rolled on the floor.
Cesare slowly wiped the blood that had splattered on his face with the back of his hand. And like yesterday, he prayed.
"Tomorrow, I will offer a thousand lives."
The number of sacrifices had now increased to a thousand. A thousand... Aileen, pale with disbelief at the incredible number, tried desperately to grab him.
"Cesare... Cesare..."
She called his name countless times, but Cesare didn't answer. He just stared at the flames of the altar. As if waiting for someone's answer.
It was then. Suddenly, a hot heat rushed in. The flames of the altar instantly grew in size.
Sparks scattered everywhere, and the crimson flames transformed into gold. It was a dazzling gold, just like the feathers of the Winged Lion.
The sacred golden flames danced and surged. It was a miraculous moment, but Cesare remained expressionless. He just slowly approached the altar.
As he released the strength in his hand, the blood-stained sword fell to the floor. His red eyes were filled with golden flames.
He approached the flames dangerously close, but Cesare didn't seem to feel any heat. After gazing at the golden flames for a while, he opened his lips.
"...The only thing I want."
The words he uttered pierced her heart. Because Cesare looked so pained. He clearly had a calm face, but for some reason, Aileen felt as if her heart was being crushed.
Cesare, who had been looking up at the flames, slowly closed his eyes. A drop of blood that flowed from his fingertip fell into the pool of blood on the floor, creating ripples. Soon, Cesare opened his eyes again.
"The resurrection of the dead."
And he prayed to God in a low voice.
"May Aileen Elrod be resurrected."
"Hngh..."
Aileen opened her eyes with a faint groan. Her head ached as if it would break, and her throat stung as if it had been torn.
Unfortunately, even after regaining her senses, it was dark all around and she couldn't see well. Aileen waved her hands around, still not knowing if she was in a dream or reality.
The blade that had taken the lives of innocent people, the red eyes that said the reason for the slaughter was to revive her, still lingered in her mind. As she groaned and sweated, a cold voice was heard.
"You're finally awake."
The voice made her feel a sense of reality as if she had been hit by a cold shower. Aileen gathered her saliva and swallowed, taking a breath. Her eyes, which had adapted to the darkness, slowly took in the surroundings.
Aileen was trapped under the collapsed Pantheon. Along with Ornella.
Only then did she clearly realize that she had been in a strange dream until just now. Aileen unknowingly groped inside her pocket.
A smooth Pocket watch was caught in her hand. She could faintly hear the ticking of the second hand, indicating that the hands were moving.
'It was definitely stopped...'
Her mind was still hazy as if she was still dreaming. Aileen put the watch back in her pocket for now and checked her body condition.
The Pantheon had collapsed right above her. But miraculously, she wasn't injured. It was thanks to the pillars that were stacked askew on the marble altar, creating a space. Her body was perfectly fine without even a small scratch, just covered in dust.
'Why did the Pantheon collapse?'
The Pantheon of The Capital had collapsed once in the past and was rebuilt, but that was destruction caused by humans. Since the founding Emperor rebuilt the Pantheon, it had stood firm against any natural disasters.
The construction method of mixing volcanic ash with concrete and adding horsehair in between was so strong that it was still being researched and used in modern architecture.
Such a Pantheon had collapsed in an instant. No matter how she thought about it, it was impossible.
But in the current situation, there was no point in worrying about the cause of the Pantheon's collapse. Aileen put her curiosity aside and looked in the direction where Ornella's voice was coming from. Ornella sarcastically asked for help.
"You seem to be fine, so stop acting like an idiot and help me."
Aileen belatedly recognized the smell of blood and flinched in surprise. Ornella, whose one arm was strangely twisted, was leaning against the altar, panting.
"O-Ornella!"
Since there wasn't enough space to stand up, Aileen crawled towards her. Ornella, who was covered in dust like Aileen, nodded.
"There's a candle next to you, so light it first. The matches are here."
She stretched out her good hand. In her clenched fist was a matchbox, damp with sweat.
Aileen quickly took the matchbox and set up a prayer candle that was rolling around and lit it. As she lit the candle, Ornella's condition became even more apparent.
Her dress was soaked in blood. Her face was pale, as if she had lost a lot of blood. Ornella gasped for breath and said.
"Get the cigarettes out of my pocket."
Aileen pretended not to hear her and examined the affected area. Aileen was a pharmacist, but she had memorized all the basic first aid methods in preparation for emergencies.
It seemed that her arm had been hit by a falling rock and her bone was broken. However, the bleeding was coming from her lower body.
"Let me see for a moment."
Aileen immediately lifted Ornella's skirt. Ornella shouted something, but she ignored it. Blood was constantly flowing from her thigh, which had been sharply cut by something. Fortunately, it seemed that she had narrowly avoided the artery.
'I need to stop the bleeding first, and the arm... I need to fix it temporarily.'
Aileen picked up a candlestick that was rolling far away. She tore her skirt into long strips with the pointed part of the candlestick to make bandages.
"Don't move."
Aileen pressed down on the wound with the cloth and wrapped it. She heard Ornella groaning in pain and cursing, but she ignored it as well.
'I need to fix the arm in a triangular shape...'
As she tied the cloth tightly and thought about how to fix the broken arm in her head, Ornella retorted with a mocking voice.
"Don't do meaningless things."
"Pardon?"
"How are we going to get out of here? Even from the outside, they won't be able to remove stones this big easily, so we'll die before we get rescued. We're both going to die here anyway, and I want to smoke a cigarette before that, so hurry up and get it out."
"We can get out."
But Aileen finished tying the knot and answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Cesare will save us."
