Chapter 217: The End of the Stage Play

Litt’s initiative to throw herself into his arms caused Red’s body to stiffen slightly, leaving him appearing somewhat at a loss.

He could feel the trembling of the delicate body in his embrace and the fragile dependence born from surviving a disaster.

After a moment of hesitation, his slightly stiff hand finally rose.

With an unfamiliar tenderness, he began to pat Litt’s back rhythmically, attempting to convey a small measure of comfort.

Meanwhile, in the darkness, a figure wearing a Joker mask stood as silently as a ghost.

His gaze took in the sight of the two figures in the distance.

“Heh…”

A deep sigh, so low it nearly dissipated in the wind, slowly sounded.

It carried a hint of surprise, yet seemed to acknowledge a preordained conclusion.

‘The predicted script has ultimately deviated from its track, hasn’t it?’

He whispered to himself as the golden cube in his hand began to transform.

It turned into two Magidrive creations that looked very much like pistols, yet were not.

This was the weapon of his most beloved—Icefire Verdict.

Now, he had to use this weapon to kill his closest person… it was somewhat ironic.

Otto slowly raised the Icefire Verdict in his hands, but he delayed pulling the trigger.

The two people not far away were far too similar to his own past experiences.

He understood the pain of a beloved person leaving.

Because he understood, he had been willing to sacrifice everything to find every possible way to see that young girl again, even going so far as to follow the Script for the so-called God.

Time passed in silent torment.

Below, Litt seemed to have calmed down slightly and loosened her embrace.

Red was whispering a question to her.

Otto looked at Red.

That restrained and helpless appearance was very much like his younger self.

Litt was the Bright Moonlight in this man’s heart.

Once this girl died, Otto understood all too well how much pain and agony would fill his soul.

‘Yelena…’

Otto’s heart was in immense turmoil.

His original plan was to complete this “necessary sacrifice” through the controlled monsters.

He only needed to watch the gears of fate turn silently from behind the scenes.

He never thought that, in the end, he would be the one who had to act…

No… that wasn’t right.

Letia would probably not just sit by and watch.

Although that little girl’s mouth was always stubborn and she talked a big game, pretending to be a tomboy all day, he knew that in Letia’s heart, Red was her best friend and brother.

This was somewhat similar to the way he and Yelena had interacted back then.

Usually, they were both equally stubborn, but when he was injured or depressed, she would come to him and offer comfort in a clumsy tone.

However…

Otto’s gaze fell upon Litt and Red once more.

It was already difficult to see any trace of Letia in that young girl.

Was the girl controlled by the mask truly still her original self?

The side effects of the mask seemed to be on the verge of swallowing her completely.

If he continued to hesitate, then… everything would be beyond redemption.

Otto raised the Icefire Verdict and aimed it at Litt’s chest.

He closed his eyes, his fingers trembling incessantly.

‘Litt… is fake. Just for Letia’s sake… pull the trigger on Litt.’

Bang!!

A single gunshot pierced the deathly silence of the darkness.

Red’s eyes widened the moment he saw Litt’s chest stained red.

Even Mason’s expression turned into one of shock.

He looked toward the source of the sound and saw a blonde man wearing a Joker mask slowly disappearing into the darkness.

“This shot… only then will the stage play end.”

For Letia, the moment she was held by Red, her entire brain went blank.

She closed her eyes, and her consciousness sank into darkness as if she had fallen asleep.

But for some reason, she felt like she could clearly see herself snuggling in Red’s arms, looking like a little girlfriend.

‘What is going on?’

Bang!!

She was a little dazed, but at that moment, a gunshot pierced the darkness.

Letia felt a pain in her chest, but it was like a phantom pain without any actual sensation.

However, she could see that her hands were covered in blood.

‘Is this my blood?’

The world before her eyes gradually turned dark, but Letia’s consciousness remained exceptionally clear, as if the girl who had died was not her at all.

‘What on earth happened…’

She was very confused.

At this moment, her perspective was as if it had been separated, watching this scene from the darkness.

Honestly, Letia did not like tragedies.

Looking at Red’s expression, she didn’t want to describe it too much.

If she had to use a word, only one would suffice.

Pain.

‘So, am I dead?’

In a daze, Letia felt the image before her eyes fall completely into darkness.

Amidst the chaos and nothingness, she heard the sound of a mask shattering.

“Phew!”

Letia suddenly woke up.

She looked at the bright sun outside, feeling a bit lost.

She subconsciously touched her chest.

It was flat, with no wound.

‘Was I dreaming?’

At this moment, Letia was truly filled with confusion.

She was about to climb out of bed when her hand unconsciously touched something.

After picking the object up, Letia froze.

It was her Disguise Mask.

However, the mask was now broken into two halves… and the magic inside had completely dissipated.

A day had passed.

The mask was completely shattered, and she had somehow returned to Nightbright Town.

Thinking back to the scene that felt like a dream yet also like reality, Letia realized a terrifying fact.

What she had just seen was likely not a dream… but something that had actually happened in the Dungeon!

Cold sweat broke out on Letia’s forehead.

She quickly searched the Script in her mind, trying to find out the truth.

Sure enough, the previously determined aftermath of her death appeared.

Under the extremely cold magic of the Icefire Verdict, “Litt” had gradually turned into a crystal-clear ice sculpture.

Then, she collapsed into a cloud of ice crystals amidst the deathly silence, leaving behind not a single trace of flesh or blood, as if she had never existed.

Red had failed to pursue Otto.

Eventually, with a heart full of gloom and total despair, he stepped onto the teleportation array leading to the Twenty-fifth Floor and returned to Nightbright Town in a daze.

Right now, he was sitting alone in the darkest corner of the Riverside Tavern, pouring bitter liquid down his throat, one cup after another, trying to quench the coldness and despair in his heart.

With the help of the Script, Letia also figured out the name and function of the mask in her hand.

It was called the Fool’s Mask.

It could change a person’s appearance, but the character created would gradually affect the original personality until it completely overwrote the user.

During the use of the mask, the death of the created character would not cause the death of the original user.

In other words… she had indeed died, yet she was not the one who had died.