Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 183: #-Sacrifice And Miracle
Today, lightning continues to appear in the De Louis empire.
The rain fell heavily. As if, this was a sign that soon, the war against Goddess Oizys and Gabriel Brown would begin. Edmund Gerwyn had discussed this war with the Emperor. They would wait in the capital square. Edmund also asked the Emperor to give orders to all the wizards in the magic tower and the remaining priests in the temple to join in the fight with him and Penelope Askary. Wizards were needed to fight the monsters and priests were needed to treat the wounds of the wizards and knights who would fight against the monsters. Meanwhile, Goddess Oizys and Gabriel Brown will be faced by Penelope Askary, Edmund Gerwyn, Helios Rune Abelavish, and Ethan Askary.
"I wouldn’t miss this."
Those words made Penelope blink and turn her head. Her mouth opened wide and she pointed at the green-haired man in front of her.
"You... How did you get here? I’ve locked you in a room that doesn’t have a window so you can’t escape!"
Edmund, who was discussing something with Ethan and Helios, immediately approached Penelope and Claude Sylvester.
"Perhaps you have forgotten, Duchess, but I am a high-ranking wizard whose abilities are recognized as being on par with the owner of a magic tower," chuckled Claude. "How could I let you fight those bad guys alone? I also want to help because this empire is my home! I also want to take revenge for my injuries given to me by them. I’m healthy because you healed me."
"But—"
"Penny, just leave him be," said Edmund, interrupting Penelope’s sentence. He smiled and stroked Penelope’s hair affectionately. "This is his decision. You tried your best to protect him but he wanted to help you. You can’t force your will on Claude. I’m sure he’ll be fine."
Penelope looked at Claude and the man nodded firmly. At this rate, Penelope had no choice but to allow the man to join the fight.
"What about Phil?" Ethan asked. "I haven’t seen him since earlier."
"He’s still unconscious," Penelope answered in a low tone. The woman lowered her head and clenched her hands into fists. "I have ordered two knights from the Gerwyn family to protect the room he occupies. I’ve also installed protection magic in that room."
"Your children?" Helios asked.
"They are together with Sarah, Edgar, and Ren in my room. I’ve also installed strong protection magic there. What about Isabel, Big Brother?"
"Brandon is with her and I’ve sent her home to Mother and Father’s mansion." Ethan smiled and hugged his little sister. "Don’t worry, we will end this fight soon, Penny. We will be the winners!"
"Confident now, huh, little Prince Ethan?"
Those mocking words made Penelope, Edmund, and the others alert. The knights and wizards had started fighting with the monsters while the priests of the temple were starting to prepare to treat the injured people. Then, the black magic circle appeared along with Goddess Oizys and Gabriel Brown.
"Strong belief will make anything come true, you damn Evil Goddess," growled Ethan. Goddess Oizys laughed.
"Interesting." The woman in black dress nodded. "Well, what if we start this war now? I can’t wait to see your blood splattered on this empire. Ah, before that, how about we change places first, Penelope Askary?"
Penelope blinked and Edmund froze.
"What?!" Edmund exclaimed loudly. "Penny won’t—"
However, Edmund’s protest was stopped when Goddess Oizys snapped her finger. Penelope Askary suddenly disappeared, as did the Goddess. Edmund, Ethan, and Helios were wide-eyed. The Duke immediately ran in all directions to look for his wife but could not find her.
"Penelope Askary!" shouted Edmund in a panicked and anxious tone. "No! Penny! Give me back my wife!"
Edmund didn’t realize that Gabriel opened his palm and the black light that formed the arrow shot towards him. Seeing that, Helios immediately activated protection magic for Edmund and Gabriel Brown’s arrow of black light disappeared. Before it disappeared, there was a small explosion due to a clashing between black magic and white magic.
"I am your opponent, Duke Edmund," Gabriel said in a cold and sharp tone. He grinned mockingly. "I will defeat you and kill you here. Just let Goddess Oizys have fun with her new toy. Besides, I have asked the Goddess not to kill Penelope Askary because I will make that woman mine."
Edmund growled and pulled out his sword. The sword had been imbued with Penelope’s holy power so it gave off a pink light. Then, there was also blue and black light surrounding the sword, which came from Edmund Gerwyn’s power.
"I will tear your mouth apart first because you dare say such nonsense, Gabriel Brown!"
###
Penelope Askary looked around her with a confused look.
She knew she would be facing Goddess Oizys directly. However, the woman did not expect that the Goddess would only teleport her to a place not far from the capital square. This was the roof of a building only two blocks from where Edmund Gerwyn was. From here, Penelope could see how chaotic and destroyed the condition of De Louis’ empire was.
Then, the Duchess remembered her conversation with Helios Rune Abelavish when she returned from the Crown Prince’s funeral.
’As for the dark sky and all the monsters, I know how to eliminate them all.’
Those were the words spoken by Helios at that time. Penelope still remembers being very shocked by that sentence. And that, of course, made Penelope curious.
’What should we do?’ She asked at that time. Penelope will do anything as long as she can save everyone she really cares about in this empire. Penelope wants everyone to be happy in this empire.
’Sacrifice.’
Penelope also remembered how her heart beat so fast when she heard the answer from Helios.
’I had a dream. I don’t know whether I can believe that dream or not. But, in the dream, I heard a voice. The voice said that she couldn’t meet you in your dreams. The voice says we have to make a sacrifice. Only people who dare to sacrifice everything, even their own happiness and life for others, will defeat the darkness. Then, the voice told me to read a book. In the book, it is written that such a sacrifice will indeed bring miracles. And, the sacrifice must be made when they see a crescent moon shining very brightly in the dark of night.’
Penelope smiled and took a deep breath. She had gotten everything she wanted. She already got more than enough happiness from the people around her. If she had to make sacrifices for everyone’s happiness, Penelope was ready to do it. Maybe, from the start, her destiny had to be like this. Penelope Askary was never meant to live. But, the woman didn’t mind it. For Raven and Ocean’s future, for Edmund’s future, and also for the future of everyone in this empire, Penelope was willing to sacrifice her own happiness.
"Thank you, Goddess Elleia," said Penelope in a low tone. "Because you made me come to this world and meet very good people. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to love and be loved. Please, give happiness to my husband and my children, as well as my family, and all the people in the De Louis empire." Then, the woman rubbed her still flat stomach. "Honey, I’m sorry for not being able to bring you into the world. Mother will pray and ask the Goddesses to give you another chance to live."
"I love this place," said Goddess Oizys, making Penelope look at her. "At least, when I made it together with Elleia. But, because of your presence, everything was destroyed! Therefore, you must die! I must kill you, Penelope Askary! I will create a new world again! A world that only has darkness in it!"
Penelope Askary is silent. Then, her eyes realized something. A light disturbed her eyes a little. She turned her head and looked up at the sky. She could see the crescent moon peeking out from the black clouds that were hiding it. Penelope smiled faintly and took a deep breath. She looked at Goddess Oizys with a firm gaze.
"I will make you meet Goddess Elleia again," Penelope said in a gentle tone. "If you meet her again, please, make up with each other. I’m sure you really love Goddess Elleia. I want you to stop hurting the people in this empire, in this world. I want everything to go back to normal."
A strong wind suddenly blew. Then, the pink magic circle appeared under Penelope’s feet. The pink light slowly rose upwards, surrounding Penelope. The woman closed her eyes and put her ten fingers together in front of her chest.
Seeing that, Goddess Oizys widened her eyes.
"No, wait!"
However, Goddess Oizys could not move. She wanted to stop Penelope but couldn’t. The woman growled and clenched her fists at her sides.
"Have you lost your mind, Penelope Askary?!" cried the Goddess. "If you use this power, you will also die with me! This was a high level of power possessed by Elleia! She’s a Goddess but can still faint when using it. Unlike you ordinary humans, you will die immediately!"
"I don’t care. As long as I can make everyone safe and happy, my life is nothing, Goddess Oizys."
Goddess Oizys froze. She seemed to be able to see Goddess Elleia standing behind Penelope and hugging her neck from behind. Goddess Elleia smiled at her, making Goddess Oizys wide-eyed. The pink light grew bigger and shot towards the sky. Slowly, the dark sky faded and disappeared. Slowly, the pink light spread throughout the De Louis empire and killed the monsters flying around or on the ground.
"Penelope Askary! You will die, dammit!" shouted Goddess Oizys.
Penelope opened her eyes and smiled sweetly. She tilted her head and the tears trickled down her cheeks.
"I want it to be over. I want everyone to live happily. And I’m sure, after all of this is over, they will be happy. You don’t need to be afraid, Goddess Oizys. I will go with you. We will meet Goddess Elleia together."
Penelope’s pink light now enveloped the entire De Louis empire. She could see Goddess Oizys fall to her knees and cry loudly. Penelope didn’t know why Goddess Oizys was crying. Does the Goddess regret all of her actions? Or, the Goddess feels afraid? None of that matters. She will guide the Goddess with her warm and loving light.
’I’m sorry because I couldn’t protect you anymore, Penelope.’
Penelope smiled as she heard Goddess Elleia’s voice. The woman shook her head.
"I told you, I’m fine. This is my destiny." Penelope felt her body start to weaken. Slowly, what she saw started to blur. Slowly, her eyes started to feel heavy.
Slowly, everything started to look dark.
’I’m sorry for leaving you alone in this world, Edmund Gerwyn,’ whispered Penelope in her heart. ’Please, protect Raven and Ocean. And hopefully, we will meet again in the next life. When that time comes, please choose me again to be your life partner. I love you.’
