Transmigrated as the Devil of the Meaningless-Chapter 97: Loveliest Betrayal

She immediately tried to pull the bracelet off, but before her fingers could loosen it, her mind went blank.

Her hands dropped to her sides, her eyes unfocused.

A notification appeared in Seth’s mind.

[Sin of Ignorance, 1st Circle Ability.]

[Blank Thinking] Temporarily numbs the target’s mind, rendering them incapable of coherent thought for a brief period.

Seth immediately backed away, trying to create distance between himself and the attacker.

But as he moved, his body felt strange and sluggish.

His reactions were dulled, as if his thoughts were reaching his limbs through thick mud...

The bracelet in Fiona’s hand trembled.

The sapphire gem seemed to melt, flowing outward like liquid.

It formed fingers first, then a wrist, then an arm.

Within seconds, a woman stood where the bracelet had been.

She had wavy brown hair that fell just past her shoulders, and she wore a patterned red skirt that swirled around her knees.

Her face was calm, almost bored. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Fiona, still struggling against the mental fog, tried to lunge forward.

But the woman simply raised a hand.

"Limit."

Seth’s knees buckled.

A sudden weakness flooded through him, heavy as lead.

Beside him, Fiona collapsed as well, her body refusing to obey.

More notifications flooded Seth’s mind.

[Sin of Ignorance, 2nd Circle Ability.]

[Delayed Reaction] Causes targets to comprehend events only after a critical delay, often when it is too late to respond. May also postpone the activation or effects of other abilities.

[Sin of Ignorance, 2nd Circle Ability.]

[Word of Limit] Grants power over the word "limit," allowing the user to impose restrictions on targets, actions, or phenomena to a specified degree.

[Sin of Ignorance, 3rd Circle Ability.]

[Anatomical Disregard] The user ignores biological restrictions, permitting unnatural alterations to their body without consequence.

Seth’s mind raced even as his body refused to move.

She delayed my thinking and my body.

And if she can delay the effects of my abilities too...

Fuck.

He was powerless.

He.. couldn’t even resist...

Fiona struggled against the invisible force pressing down on her.

Her voice cracked with fury, but her eyes burned.

"Roluna... what are you trying to do!"

Roluna turned her head, meeting Fiona’s glare for only a moment before looking away.

Her voice was soft, almost tired.

"Do not worry, Lady Fiona. I will not kill you."

Fiona laughed with a bitter tone.

"Kill me? Oh, how generous of you. How kind. After everything—"

Her voice broke for a second before hardening again.

"My father pulled you out of that gutter. He gave you a name, a home, a purpose. He raised you like his own daughter, and this is how you repay him? By stabbing us in the back?"

Roluna barely flinched.

Her fingers curled into the fabric of her red skirt before relaxing again.

"You think I do not remember?" Her voice was quiet.

"I would never forget the people who’ve saved me..."

"Then explain it to me!" Fiona’s voice echoed off the empty walls.

"Explain why you are doing this. Explain why you would throw away everything—every kindness, every meal, every night you slept safely under our roof... for a bunch of fanatics who worship death!"

Roluna’s jaw tightened, but she did not raise her voice.

"When the calamity comes—"

"I do not care about the calamity!" Fiona spat.

"I care about the woman who sat beside me at dinner. Who held my hand when I was scared of the dark. Who taught me how to braid my hair because mother was too busy to bother."

For a moment, something cracked in Roluna’s expression.

Her eyes glistened then she blinked it away.

"When the calamity comes," she repeated, steadier this time.

"Your father will understand. He will see why I had to do this."

Fiona shook her head slowly, her anger giving way to something colder.

"You are lying to yourself. He will never forgive you. I will never forgive you."

"You will," Roluna said.

"Once you are named a heretic. Once the Coven brands you as someone who joined forces with the Church of Abomination. Your family will have no choice but to follow the same path if they wish to survive."

Her voice grew harder.

"It is survival, Fiona. Not betrayal."

"Survival?"

Fiona let out a hollow laugh.

"You call dragging my family into damnation survival? You call betraying the only people who ever loved you survival?"

Her hands trembled, still pinned to the floor.

"Have you no shame? No guilt? Does nothing from those years mean anything to you?"

Roluna’s face tightened. Her voice dropped to barely a whisper.

"I did not want it to be this way."

"But you still chose it."

Silence. Roluna said nothing.

"Answer me!"

Fiona shouted, straining against the weight pressing down on her.

Roluna’s eyes flickered with guilt but she did not look away. "I chose what needed to be chosen."

Fiona stared at her, breathing hard. Then she laughed again, softer this time.

"You are a fool, Roluna. A coward! You hide behind destiny and calamity because you are too afraid to admit you chose the wrong side."

Roluna did not respond.

She just knelt down slowly, until her face was level with Fiona’s.

"Perhaps," she said quietly. "But it is done now."

Fiona’s lips parted for another retort, but Roluna spoke first.

"You are not that resistant to the idea of working with the Church of Abomination, are you?"

Fiona’s eyes widened.

"Do not—"

But her words faltered.

Her brow creased as her jaw slackened.

Something in her expression softened against her will, as though her resistance was being peeled away layer by layer.

Roluna reached out and brushed a strand of silver hair from Fiona’s face, her touch impossibly gentle.

"You know, I didn’t use this ability on you until now because I wanted to convince you normally..."

"Sleep now, Lady Fiona," she murmured.

"Everything will be alright when you wake."

Fiona’s eyes fluttered once, twice.

Then they closed, and her head fell forward into Roluna’s waiting hands.

’What a liar... she probably didn’t use her ability because it could be detected by other witches within the Amoret family...’

Seth thought.

’But now that today’s events will label Fiona as a colluder with the church of Abomination, it probably does not matter anymore...’

Roluna lowered her to the floor slowly, as if handling something fragile.

She arranged Fiona’s arms at her sides, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

For a long moment, she simply looked at her.

Her lips pressed together.

Her hand hovered over Fiona’s cheek before pulling away.

Then she stood and turned to Seth, and whatever softness had been there was gone.

"Now," she said, her voice flat and cold.

"What am I to do with you?"