My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 257

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 257
* * *
Orsini was about to leave the Valentino Estate with Kanna Adis in his arms when he pulled back on the reins and stopped.
“What is this?”
The Imperial Knight Order had established a formation in front of the estate.
“Duke Adis, please return inside at once.”
“What?”
“His Majesty has commanded that you remain within the estate.”
“Are you confining me?”
“It is His Majesty’s direct command.”
“The Capital is in that state, and you want me to sit idle?”
The Knight Guard’s expression darkened at those words. But it was only momentary.
“It is an imperial decree. You must obey.”
Ha! Orsini burst into a harsh laugh.
So the Black Apostles had indeed intoxicated him with their drug—Kanna’s words had been the truth after all.
‘And that wretch calls himself king?’
Fire flashed in Orsini’s eyes. As he grasped the hilt of his sword, the Imperial Knights tensed visibly.
“Stand aside. If you don’t move—”
I’ll cut you down.
Orsini knew full well.
The moment he finished those words, it would be treason.
Yet he had no intention of stopping.
That was when—
“Duke Adis.”
Orsini turned his head. Silvien Valentino was approaching.
“You do have a quick temper, don’t you?”
Silvien smiled quietly and gave Orsini a meaningful look—a silent warning against his actions.
Silvien had commanded his Valentino Knights to subjugate the monsters before heading toward Adis. He had intended to cooperate as always.
But the moment he arrived, he witnessed Orsini about to draw his sword against the Emperor’s Knights.
‘Truly, a fiery colt like no other.’
Silvien clicked his tongue inwardly. For now, he would resolve this through dialogue.
With that thought, he opened his mouth—
“….”
Yet nothing emerged.
His gaze had become fixed on Kanna. On the woman cradled in Orsini’s arms, drenched in blood.
“Duke Valentino, what are you saying?”
“…Ah.”
Silvien opened his lips again without tearing his eyes from Kanna. And he smiled smoothly.
“I have brought His Majesty’s command.”
“Pardon?”
“From this moment forward, the Imperial Knight Order shall exterminate the monsters plaguing the Capital under Valentino’s command.”
“…Is that truly the case?”
“Would I fabricate an Imperial decree? Surely you understand that would constitute treason.”
It was indeed true. Therefore, the Emperor’s Knight Guard accepted it without hesitation.
Or rather, he wanted to believe it, even if it were a lie.
As the Capital descended into chaos, the Emperor’s command to imprison Adis was incomprehensible.
“…You’re lying, aren’t you?”
Orsini approached and muttered to Silvien Valentino. Silvien answered with laughter instead of words. Then he spoke.
“Can you save her?”
He didn’t bother asking unnecessary questions. It was certain that Orsini was heading somewhere to save Kanna Adis.
“Yes.”
“Good. Leave this matter to me and go. And save her.”
“…I’m in your debt.”
With those words, Orsini snapped the reins of his horse.
Watching his receding figure, Silvien Valentino laughed. His words were right. Adis owed a debt to Valentino.
‘How troublesome. I’ve gotten myself into quite the predicament.’
Valentino had become the traitor instead.
* * *
Kanna Adis blinked weakly.
Her consciousness was fading. The power contained within the magic stone was nearly exhausted.
Atop a horse galloping through the Forest at full speed, I leaned against Orsini’s chest and gazed up at the sky.
The Black Rift, fortunately, had not grown larger. Yet it had not shrunk either.
With my own strength alone, that was the limit.
“Why must you do such a thing?”
Orsini spoke in a harsh voice.
“You were always someone who only cared about yourself. Why are you sacrificing yourself now, of all times?”
“….”
“Stop this at once.”
His gaze turned down toward me. At that very moment, I coughed up blood again. Watching Orsini’s face fill with terror, I thought to myself.
‘That’s right, I only needed to survive.’
How did I end up doing things like dying to save others?
What was even more absurd was that this situation didn’t surprise me in the slightest.
There was a time when I seemed to want to live that way….
I closed my eyes.
“Kanna, open your eyes!”
It’s impossible.
My eyelids are far too heavy.
“Don’t you dare die, damn it, if you die I’ll—!”
Orsini’s cries grow distant. The horse’s movements grow distant. The searing pain that tears through my body grows distant.
Everything fades away.
“Kanna Adis!”
That was when it happened.
Neigh!
The horse shrieked and reared up violently. The sudden burst of light caused Orsini to lose his grip on the reins.
Under normal circumstances, he would have held firm, but Kanna Adis lay cradled in his arms. Orsini pulled her close, shielding her body.
The moment his feet touched the ground.
Crash!
The earth ruptured violently. Something massive pierced through the soil and erupted upward.
Before Orsini could even comprehend what it was, he drew his blade and slashed through the surging form.
“What in the—”
Black and elongated. Like a plant’s root….
‘A root of the World Tree?’
Then, roots burst from the ground again. Orsini cleaved through dozens of them in a single sweep.
Such things posed no real threat.
The problem was….
“Hey! You wretched beast, get back here!”
Orsini cursed as he watched the horse bolt away in blind panic.
“Damn it.”
Monsters began pouring forth as if thrust from deeper despair. He swung his blade frantically, seized by urgency. Time was slipping away. I had to get Kanna Adis to the World Tree, now!
That was when hoofbeats approached rapidly.
“Are you unharmed?”
For a moment, Orsini nearly released a sigh of relief.
“Raphael.”
That sinister creature who trailed after Kanna Adis like a shadow. Yet in this moment, his arrival was most welcome.
“Dismount. Lend me your horse.”
“No. Give Kanna Adis to me.”
“I said dismount.”
“Kanna Adis is dying.”
At those words, Orsini clenched his teeth.
“I understand her condition better than anyone. If we do not reach the World Tree immediately, she will perish.”
I know that. Who wouldn’t?
“You deal with the monsters. I will take Kanna Adis to the World Tree.”
Orsini felt an instinctive resistance surge within him.
“Hurry. Would it satisfy you if Kanna Adis died because of your jealousy?”
Damn it. Orsini finally handed Kanna Adis over to Raphael.
Raphael extended his arms and drew her into his embrace. Without hesitation, he snapped the reins sharply. The horse surged forward, rapidly disappearing into the distance.
Orsini, gripped by a strange distortion, fulfilled his role. He seized the monsters and roots pursuing them, crushing, shattering, and slicing them apart. He slaughtered them all.
‘Yes, this is right.’
Dealing with each obstacle individually would waste precious time. Kanna Adis would die. Dividing our roles was the correct choice.
Then why did this feel so ominous?
“Ahhhhhhh!”
In that instant, a scream pierced the air.
Kanna Adis. It was her scream.
“Save me, Orsini!”
His eyes rolled back. He charged forward like a beast, shattering everything in his path.
“Kanna Adis!”
And finally, he found her.
Kanna Adis lay sprawled on the ground.
“Kanna Adis!”
The moment his foot touched the earth as he rushed toward her.
“…!”
Boom! Crash!
The ground exploded. A deafening roar tore through his ears.
Orsini groaned. For just a moment—mere seconds—consciousness slipped away. He lifted his face from the ground.
Suddenly, violent pain flooded through him.
‘Damn it.’
He grimaced. A thick branch had pierced through his shoulder. Yet Orsini pushed himself upright.
“Kanna Adis.”
He walked toward her. Orsini knelt before Kanna Adis and checked his wrist. Useless. The bracelet that distinguished her from her doll—whether lost in the explosion or elsewhere—was nowhere to be found.
In that moment, words she had spoken before flashed through his mind.
“Next time, even if it looks like I’m in danger, stay still. It might not be me.”
But it could be you.
I don’t know how to ignore that possibility.
“Where is Raphael?”
“R-Raphael tried to kill me.”
With those words, Kanna Adis nestled into his arms.
“I was so scared, Orsini.”
A sweet fragrance mingled with the scent of her blood, beginning to spread.
“You protect me. I can’t trust anyone else.”
Orsini pulled Kanna Adis close as she leaned into him. She whispered.
“I love you, Orsini.”
Words I never thought I would hear in this lifetime.
“….”
Orsini buried his face in her shoulder without answering. The sweet fragrance now overwhelmed the scent of blood.
Buried in that comforting aroma, I felt laughter welling up. No—truthfully, tears threatened to spill.
“I love you, Orsini. I only realized it now, in a moment like this.”
Because that word was so beautiful.
“Only you remain by my side.”
Because that sentence was so intoxicating.
I despised myself for wanting to pretend ignorance and surrender to it.
“Stay by my side….”
In that instant, Kanna’s words cut short. Her crimson lips parted. Orsini murmured.
“I do too.”
Pulling her closer, I clawed at the hand piercing through my back. My heart clenched.
“I love you too.”
And then I shattered.
“…!”
Her eyes widened in shock, meeting mine.
But it lasted only a moment.
She crumbled back into her true form. Dust, dust—collapsing into sand.
That warmth vanishing in an instant, that weight, that fragrance. How unbearably I missed it all….
Orsini swallowed a bitter laugh and pushed himself upright. That confession of love had revealed the truth—she was a doll.
Kanna could never love him.
Orsini staggered, leaning against a wooden pillar. That peculiarly sweet fragrance was surely poison. Because of it, my vision swam.
‘No, it’s fine. It will pass soon.’
So I had to chase after Kanna, now….
“Orsini.”
He froze. He turned around.
“Stop hitting me, Orsini.”
A dark-haired girl trembled behind a tree.
“I was wrong. Okay?”
Then something rushed past from the side. A red-haired boy. He lunged at the girl and kicked her down.
“Ow, it hurts! Stop hitting me!”
“Filth like you deserves to die!”
Orsini’s fingertips trembled. He held his breath, suffocating.
This was a moment from the past.
Young Orsini was beating young Kanna.
* * *
‘Why didn’t he fall for it?’
I thought that fool Orsini would be deceived and die.
Argon, watching from afar, tilted his head. Had the doll made some mistake in her lines?
‘Regardless, he’s been poisoned.’
A poison that corrupts the mind while degrading bodily function—it poured from every inch of the doll’s body, so the intoxication would soon begin.
Now Orsini would face the deepest darkness within his heart. Soon he would waste away, his mind crumbling to ruin.
‘I’ll make sure to kill him then.’
Argon rose, donning the Butterfly Masked Man’s visage.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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