"You dare go against me like this...?!" Lara angrily snapped as she tried to free herself but surprisingly enough, Marvin was quite strong.

Lara tried to control the boy but unfortunately, it seemed that there was a wall protecting his mind from her influence.

"It\'s of no use," Marvin clicked his tongue as he guessed what the girl was trying to do.

Since LeiLei had also given Marvin the ring that Hecathe used to wear, Lara was basically powerless against him.

"LeiLei, kill-" Lara was about to order the woman to kill Marvin just like she had killed Hecathe, however, her words were cut short as Marvin used his left hand to strike the back of LeiLei\'s neck, immediately knocking her unconscious.

"It looks like your only strong weapon has been disarmed," Marvin commented with an emotionless voice.

"Marvin, do not fight me!" Lara clenched her fist as she snapped, "It\'s not a fight that you can win."

Marvin let out a small breath that almost sounded like a dry chuckle, "Do you think I care anymore?"

Marvin raised his head and his eyes still looked to be a golden color.

After defeating Darius, Marvin should not have been able to move around like this nor would he normally have the energy to keep using his ability like this.

When the limited time was up, he should have passed out.

However, oddly enough, he was still standing.

He was awake but at the same time, it also looked as if he was not completely conscious.

"Have you gone crazy?!" Lara gritted out, "You are still too young and naive. If you kill me today, your end would also not be too far."

Marvin let out a small sigh as he heard this, "Death shall be avenged with death. Fairness shall see no title. Under the watchful eyes of the imperial rule, our land shall not forgive sinners!"

Lara gulped as she heard this and couldn\'t help but tremble as she felt a sense of fear.

Marvin grabbed her by the neck and pulled her up as he asked, "Do you feel no regret?"

Lara struggled at first but soon understood that it was impossible to get away so she laughed as her face turned red from anger and the pressure of suffocation, "I have already got my revenge. Why would I feel any regret...?!"

"I see..." Marvin muttered as his grip around the girl\'s throat tightened.

He chanted something that could not be heard and a warm glow started coming out from the palm of his hands, burning the girl\'s skin and making her scream in pain.

Lara immediately grabbed Marvin\'s hand and kicked him away as she freed herself.

She fell down onto the floor and gasped for air as she rubbed her throat.

"You crazy son of a bitc-"

Marvin raised the saber and hacked down as he tried to behead the girl on the spot, but Lara was a bit quicker as she moved away.

"Marvin, let\'s not do this," The girl anxiously spoke as beads of cold sweat formed on her forehead, but it seemed that her words were simply not able to reach Marvin whose judgment had been clouded by the sight of his dead friend.

Marvin raised the double-bladed saber once again and used both of his hands to strike down with a single neat swing that was meant to chop the girl in half.

"Damn you!" Lara scrambled back in fear and avoided the saber by just a few inches.

"There is nowhere to run," Marvin muttered as his glowing golden eyes looked at Lara with a bored gaze.

It was as if the one standing in front of the girl was not Marvin but was a grim reaper who had come to suck out her soul and take it to hell.

Lara gulped as she tried to come up with a way to beat the boy but the more she tried to come up with a plan, the more she felt as if she had already been trapped in here with this monster that was going to devour her soul.

It didn\'t take her long to realize that if she wanted to survive, she would first need to run away far from here and make sure that this boy was not able to catch up to her.

Lara gritted her teeth and although she felt embarrassed to run away like a coward, since this was a matter concerning her life and death, it was only natural that she would put her embarrassment aside and run with all her might.

Marvin sighed as his eyes followed after the girl who had pushed herself off the ground and ran away, deeper into the passage.

She gasped for air as she ran but no matter how tired she felt, her legs didn\'t stop as she continued to run.

Marvin shook his head and followed after her, leisurely spinning the saber that he held.

Right now, they were in the secret passages that were hidden under the main castle belonging to the three willows of spring.

The underground passages were twisted and too complicated for a person to remember. Without a map in hand, there was probably no person in this world that could safely make their way out.

However, even after knowing this, Lara ran without any hesitation since she was sure that since the passages were so complicated, even Marvin might not be able to find her.

However, her plans to run away immediately failed as Marvin threw his double-bladed saber forward, aiming for the ceiling that immediately collapsed in front of Lara, closing off the escape route for her.

Lara gulped as she fell back in shock.

When the girl turned her head, she was met with Marvin looking down at her with those fierce golden eyes, and she couldn\'t help but feel a deep sense of fear squeezing her heart.

"W-wait," The girl muttered as she immediately crawled away towards the debris that had blocked off the passage, and with her back against it, she faced Marvin as she spoke, "The war... What happened to the war...?! Do you really have time to torture me like this when there is a war going on right above us?"

The girl thought this would be enough to stop the boy, but it was no surprise that her words were completely useless on him.

"The war ended," Marvin spoke as he informed and Lara looked to be a bit stunned, although she had already expected this after noticing the eery silence.

"H-how can it be over so soon?" The girl stuttered as she questioned, feeling a bit unsure of what had happened in her absence.

Marvin said nothing and simply walked over to retrieve his sword.

Lara gulped as she immediately pushed the boy away and ran towards the direction where she had come from.

Marvin clicked his tongue but still looked to be calm as he slowly followed after her.

"There is nowhere to run now," Marvin spoke with a sigh, "Everything is already over."

Lara refused to believe it as she continued to run with the hope of keeping herself alive.

However, it seemed that Marvin\'s words did contain some truth.

Lara\'s footsteps immediately came to a stop as she looked at the people that had suddenly come down to block her path.

"Zather...?" Lara muttered in disbelief as her expressions turned uglier, "Why are you here?"

Zather smiled as she heard this question and from behind her, a beautiful girl stepped forward and bowed as she spoke, "We received a request."

Lara\'s eyebrows creased together as she heard this and she repeated in confusion, "A request?"

"Do you remember her?" Zather asked as she gestured over to the girl, "She\'s the slave whom you tried to use but failed."

Lara gulped as she heard this but said nothing.

"And this," Zather stepped aside and gave some space to the people who had followed her here, "Is your mother whom you wanted to kill."

Hecathe\'s landlady smiled as she heard her introduction and simply said nothing as she looked at Lara.

"I guess you had fun playing the role of God for a bit," Xanie\'s voice was heard as the woman sighed, "You even dared to use my brother and planned to kill him."

Lara looked to be shocked as she faltered a few steps back.

She could not understand what was happening and it could clearly be seen that this was not something that she had planned for.

"You must feel confused," Zather spoke with a chuckle, "So let me explain."

"In order to get rid of all evidence, you tried to get rid of the people that helped you. But of course, thanks to an unknown benefactor, we were forewarned about it and had already received an option," Zather continued with a smile as she patiently explained, "An option to keep supporting you at the expense of our own lives or to betray you and keep living."

"Among the two options, as you can see, we chose the one that benefitted us," Zather added with a chuckle, "But since you wanted to destroy the three willows of spring so much, I guess we\'ll take it as your last wish and make it happen even after your death."

"I... Don\'t understand...." Lara muttered as she got even more confused after hearing these words.