The Boss Wants to Die - Chapter 19

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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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The boss wants to die.
Chapter 19
“…….”
‘So that’s why Michael was so certain Aktu would restrain me.’
Michael killing the powerless Evil God.
At least in that scenario, Aktu could watch me die.
That’s what Michael was insisting—that Aktu would restrain me.
‘Strange psychology.’
Why was Aktu so desperate to stay by my side?
Just as Michael finished speaking, footsteps sounded on the stairs.
It was Aktu returning to his room after leaving the Inn.
‘Why is he back so soon?’
Aktu, who seemed to be heading to his own room, turned toward mine instead.
“Aktu Hebgenia is coming, it seems.”
“Indeed.”
“What will you do? Shall we proceed?”
“If Aktu doesn’t restrain me with the Leash, things will get complicated.”
“Aktu’s obsession exceeds imagination. Your worry is unnecessary.”
Michael brimmed with certainty.
His conviction was strong enough to crush my anxiety entirely, so I decided to place my hope in his words.
Aktu stood before my door.
“So, kill me the moment Aktu uses the Leash.”
Creak, the doorknob turned.
“By your logic, Aktu will choose to restrain me and watch me die.”
And the door opened.
An oppressively tense atmosphere engulfed the room.
Aktu stepped inside thoughtlessly before catching sight of Michael and me.
I swallowed dryly.
Aktu stared at Michael’s face for a long moment.
“…….”
Then he looked at me.
Suddenly, Aktu tilted his head to one side.
His brow furrowed as though doubting whether he was seeing an illusion.
After staring at me for a while, he raised his hand and made a grasping motion.
Ching, ching, ching…….
The Silver Chain, normally invisible, shimmered with holy radiance as it materialized in Aktu’s grip.
He gazed at the Leash for a long moment, then murmured.
“……Not a dream, then.”
His reaction differed from what I’d anticipated.
Aktu’s response was, how to put it—far too understated.
Like someone who’d endured this countless times before.
‘He was supposed to lock me up right away?’
Sensing the bad omen, I shot a glare at Michael.
He looked distinctly flustered as well.
‘Now what?’
Just as I was about to regret playing so naively, the Leash pulled taut.
I flew toward Aktu as if my body had caught the wind.
I drifted forward light as a feather and came to stand directly before him, his gaze bearing down on me from close range.
He hadn’t said a word, yet he seemed to have grasped the entire situation.
Every detail of my intention—luring the high-level Michael here to die.
How could he have known?
Surely he didn’t possess Mind Reading.
I crushed the rising doubt and focused on the present moment.
An opportunity revealed itself.
This time, if I provoked Aktu, I might actually anger him.
‘That’s right. I haven’t failed yet. The plan is still in motion.’
I could die.
I could return to my life.
I forced my lips upward and began to perform the Evil God’s persona.
A character I’d been acting for six years.
Now I can’t even tell anymore what’s real about me and what isn’t.
“You look good like that.”
I pretended to savor the murderous air he radiated.
“So much better than usual. You were always so bland before.”
I grabbed his collar and pulled him close.
Aktu didn’t resist. He was utterly docile.
As always.
“Upset about being blindsided?”
……
“I didn’t plan to be discovered so soon. But things were getting tedious, so I figured I might as well hurt you more thoroughly.”
How could I make Aktu angry?
What should I say……?
‘Don’t slip. Don’t you dare slip.’
A chill ran through my spine as cold sweat pooled there.
‘Act perfectly. You’ve done it this long. Just speak like the monster you are.’
Please. Don’t be stupid.
Don’t let it show.
Iroun is dead. Think of him as dead.
It’s what I do best.
Gripping my sweat-soaked hands tighter, I opened my eyes wider, voice dripping with venom.
If only I could die.
If only I could just log out!
“Surely you didn’t think you could insult me like this and still have peace, did you?”
……
“I was never interested in your happiness from the start. I was planning to die right in front of your eyes, put on a show. That would be the real loss for you, wouldn’t it?”
I pressed my lips to his ear and breathed out acid words.
They say the Demon Blade bores into a person’s heart and corrupts the soul.
I knew exactly how it worked.
Because I am the Evil God.
Whatever you imagine, the real thing is always far more vicious than any fragment.
“I just wanted to watch you play along, and then see how pitifully you’d crumple when you realized the betrayal. That’s all.”
“Your happiness meant nothing to me.”
Aktu repeated it in a low voice.
I laughed as though deeply moved.
“That’s right. There are so many Players in this world. Trash like you is easily replaced—there’s no shortage of fresh cards to play.”
“I see.”
He gave a small laugh, voice so faint it was barely audible.
“So Iroun, you never cared about my happiness. Never have. Not once.”
Our breaths tangled in the space between us, and our eyes met.
Aktu’s black eyes, which had seemed hollow and endless as an abyss, now swirled full of some emotion—wavering, wavering.
Like deep seawater darkened to pitch, churning in whirlpools, his eyes spun without reason.
The dim eyes glistened, wet with pooling sorrow, yet the expression that crossed his face was raw fury.
He could make such an expression.
I was startled. Aktu had always been so infinitely tender.
Anger born from accumulated wounds burst forth from every twisted line of his features.
Aktu hated me.
With a depth that made me wonder how he’d hidden such feeling all this time.
‘But something’s wrong. If he hates me this much, why did he treat me so kindly?’
And why would he hate me so deeply?
For merely breaking a contract?
For our relationship to be wounded by betrayal of trust—it’s too shallow for that.
“Since you’ve bared your heart, I suppose I should bare mine too. Don’t you think, Iroun?”
Aktu spoke kindly, his voice gravelly and low.
“The truth is……”
Aktu looked down at me with tear-glistened eyes, his voice sickeningly sweet.
“I hate you, Iroun. I hate you so very much……”
His voice melted viscously, caressing my ear.
It was like dark chocolate—rich and thick.
So sweet it made my ears ache.
As I flinched to escape the creeping chill, Aktu’s large hand cupped my cheek.
My skin, cold with tension, flooded with Aktu’s scorching heat as if it might burn.
“I want to devour your lips, your eyes—everything about you. I hate you so much.”
Why?
Why does he hate me like this? What are we to each other?
His thick thumb brushed my face—a face full of innocent questions—with a tenderness that contradicted his words.
“You’re always trying to die. I want to keep you bound to me so desperately that you can’t move an inch.”
He was singing of hatred, yet his voice was soft and his touch gentle, leaving me uncertain how to respond.
Should I meet his fury head-on and glare at him defiantly?
Or should I flee in panic from his lingering, sticky caress?
While I wavered between the two, his hot hand burrowed deeper, tracing the curve of my ear.
The hand that had once held back, respectful of boundaries, now moved without hesitation.
He knew my body completely.
It was as if he were studying a map.
His fingers seemed to have eyes of their own—fearless in knowing which places were sensitive, which I disliked.
He laughed decadently, tapping the corner of my quivering lip with his fingernail.
The man who had pretended to be proper and faithful, buttoned up to his neck to hide his base nature, had abandoned all pretense.
In its place came a suffocating, strange atmosphere.
‘He’s like someone else entirely.’
Unaccustomed to human warmth, I bit my lower lip.
Truthfully, his touch—crawling over me with affection displayed so sweetly—was not unpleasant.
He was far too skillful.
He kept himself precisely on the line between pleasant and unpleasant, as if by instinct.
When unfamiliar excitement began to escape as heated breath, he asked.
“What should we do? The contract between us seems to have become worthless.”
……
“You hate me and I hate you, so perhaps this ending is already decided?”
Then should we die?
What?
Should we?
Aktu’s head tilted over my face.
White hair cascaded down, dimming the world around us.
‘Should I run?’
His swollen lips drew closer and closer.
My heart pounded in my head so fiercely I couldn’t think clearly.
Aktu’s black eyes held me like a snare, pinning me in place.
‘Michael is watching. I can’t move……’
His head tilted, and his lips approached my crimson mouth.
A faint scent of blood and whiskey drifted from his parted lips.
It was a scent so perfectly him.
“Die with me.”
At a distance where a kiss might happen, Aktu suddenly commanded.
My mind snapped clear.
“What?”
Aktu ignored my question and looked past me at Michael.
Startled by this unexpected turn, I tried to push him away, but the leash made it impossible to move.
Aktu seized my shoulders and spun me around.
With Aktu and me now facing Michael, the atmosphere sharpened like a honed blade.
“You’re going to die with me, Iroun.”
“You’re insane……”
I pulled at the leash and gritted my teeth.
“Don’t you care about the Legendary Item you farmed? You’d throw it away to die like this with me?”
“Don’t worry. Now you won’t die alone.”

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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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