Rebirth: Childhood friend of the heroine-Chapter 235 - 234- Hunt(End)

The sight of his brother's calm, almost gloating face filled him with unease. Had Solaris finally broken under the pressure?

Solaris easily caught the doubt in his brother's eyes.

With a snap of his fingers, a shimmering screen appeared between them.

"Look," he said, voice rich with satisfaction. "And rejoice."

Eldorin turned toward the screen—and his breath caught.

From the vision of one of the servants in the Lower Realm, he saw it:

The battlefield was bloodied and broken.

And there, at the center, was the familiar cursed one—on his knees, clutching his stomach. A gaping wound tore through him, and something dark and foul was eating away at his flesh.

Slowly, relentlessly.

The wails of his lovers echoed faintly through the vision—raw, desperate, and helpless.

This wasn't a trick.

It wasn't a game.

Eldorin felt a heavy silence fall over him. For the first time in an age, he wasn't sure what to say.

"As you can see," Solaris said calmly, "my servants have done their work. The poison of Atohalp is incurable. The only being who could save him is Mother—and I'm certain she won't even notice."

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A handsome, almost radiant smile lit Solaris' face as if he wasn't watching a man slowly die before his very eyes.

Eldorin's frown deepened.

"How can it be this easy?" he muttered. "The Curse swallowed hundreds of skills... he must have a way to at least slow it down."

Solaris scoffed and leaned back lazily on his throne.

"You think that brat merged with the Curse already? He would need at least another hundred years before that could even begin."

Still, Eldorin wasn't convinced.

He took a step forward, voice tightening.

"Do you even understand the danger? The Curse gave itself willingly to that boy... and you think it would just let him die like this?"

Solaris clicked his tongue in annoyance as if explaining something obvious to a child.

"Of course not," he said. "The Curse didn't give him everything. It must have hidden pieces of itself in his children, or maybe in some beast. But it doesn't matter."

His eyes narrowed a glint of satisfaction there.

"As far as I'm concerned, only that boy's appearance in the Trials would have drawn Father's attention. Now that he's dying... we no longer have anything to fear."

Eldorin pulled his gaze away from the screen, his expression cold.

"I was never a part of this from the beginning," he said quietly. "If the Curse does reach the platform, I won't carry any blame."

Solaris snickered, resting his chin lazily on his hand.

"I don't need your help anymore either," he said, a glint of arrogance flashing in his golden eyes. "So do me a favor—and stop meddling."

A heavy feeling settled in Eldorin's chest, but he didn't argue.

There was no convincing Solaris now. His brother had made up his mind, blinded by his own ambition.

Eldorin turned on his heel, letting the court's grand doors swing open before him.

'I just hope your arrogance won't be the reason for your fall,' he thought, his heart heavier than he wanted to admit.

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Osthalf's eyes were closed now—his duty was done.

He had already sent the message to his master.

They had fulfilled their mission: the evil being had been struck down.

And with that, Osthalf could welcome death without regret.

Meanwhile, Sarah had collapsed, her body giving in to shock and exhaustion.

Celestria wailed helplessly, and Rebecca's tears streamed down her face without end.

Amanda sat quietly, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she cradled Edric's head in her lap.

But her gaze never left Alex.

They all gathered around him as if by sitting close, they could keep him alive a little longer.

Celestria clutched his hand, sobbing, "Why did you have to throw yourself into danger?! Why can't you ever lean on us?!"

Alex gave her a faint, crooked smile and gently placed his hand on her head.

"I thought I had him," he whispered. "Guess... I got too full of myself."

"I-Isn't there any way to save him?" Rebecca choked out, her voice trembling, her question thrown into the empty air like a desperate prayer.

Sarah, using every last drop of her strength, cast her strongest healing spell.

For a single moment, the rot halted... but then, cruelly, it resumed—eating away at Alex's body as if mocking their efforts.

No one had imagined this.

No one had thought that among them, it would be Alex who stood at the edge of death.

At a time when they should have been celebrating victory... they were staring helplessly at a nightmare.

"R-Rebecca..."

Hearing his weak voice, the Vampire quickly looked up.

She saw Alex struggling to lift his hand, gesturing for her to come closer.

Rebecca obeyed without hesitation, lowering her ear to his cracked lips.

"Destroy that monster's body... completely," he breathed out, his voice no louder than a dying wind.

Her eyes widened slightly.

She pulled back and met his gaze, full of confusion—

Why now? Why waste energy on a dead body?

But Alex simply nodded at her, a silent urgency in his fading eyes.

Rebecca clenched her fists.

She didn't know why he made such a request, but her heart was already seething with rage.

Without a second thought, she turned and unleashed her blood magic.

Dozens of blood-red tentacles erupted from her back, writhing like serpents drunk on hatred.

They shot toward Osthalf's body, slamming into it with violent force.

The tentacles pierced through his vacant eyes, burrowed deep into his skull, drove through his throat, and twisted into his chest.

Osthalf's huge frame jolted, spasming grotesquely, as if life had been cruelly yanked back into his corpse just to torture him further.

The tentacles didn't just stab.

They burrowed.

They tore into the flesh, ripping veins and muscles apart, multiplying like worms gnawing at a rotting tree.

Under his skin, it looked as though thousands of bloated insects were crawling—bloating, writhing, tearing their way out.

His already pale skin began to split open in jagged lines, dark blood, and some yellowish pus oozing from every crack.

The stench was unbearable, a rotting, sour smell that made even Amanda turn her head and gag.

Cracks spread across Osthalf's torso like shattered glass, and pieces of his bones began poking through the flesh, sharp and ragged.

One of Rebecca's tentacles twisted itself around his jaw and ripped it off with a sickening snap, tossing it aside like garbage.

Rebecca's face was expressionless as she continued her assault, her red eyes glinting with a merciless light.

She didn't stop.

She couldn't.

She would fulfill his last request even if it meant turning this monster into nothing but pulp and dust.

And as Osthalf's ruined body fell apart, piece by disgusting piece, a low, faint hum trembled through the air.

And then—

**BOOOOOM**

Blood and gore exploded outward, painting the land red around them.

Celestria was shocked by the sight and Amanda nearly jumped when the huge body of the monster exploded.

Everyone turned towards Rebecca, unsure why she suddenly took revenge on the being who wasn't actually the cause of Alex's condition

Rebecca, herself, wasn't sure, so she just turned to Alex, asking him wordlessly.

Alex finally heaved a sigh, and told the Curse,

"Now, go on."

Suddenly, the rotting wound stopped crawling on his skin.

Rebecca's eyes widened and Celestria jolted.

Not only did it stop, but the wound started to heal as well—his skin crawling back to form his frame.

"What the....you were acting?" The one who responded to the situation was Amanda.

Rebecca and Celestria looked at him with their lips parted and eyes round, as they heard him saying,

"Ahah~I guess it wasn't a good prank."

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A/N:- Thanks for reading.