You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

"Ugh...!"
With a gasp, blood trickled from Margarita’s lips.

One of the sentinels she had placed on Yuhanul's shadow had been destroyed.
The crack in the astral world and the continuous destruction within the domain had taken its toll.
No matter how strong a mage, it was impossible to avoid such a hit.

However, pain was not the dominant emotion she felt.
With trembling hands, Margarita brushed the blood that spilled onto her clothes.
‘You think I’ve been deceived...?’

She never imagined the person she had been using as a knight for these past few months had been resisting her influence all this time.
Even worse, they had been looking for weaknesses within the domain.
‘How did he maintain his sanity? I must have stirred his mind... Did Lucy play a trick on him? But...’

Margarita had not anticipated this situation.
She had expected Lucy, but another human resisting mental control was a complete surprise.
Who was this man really?

‘Could it be... no, even if that man has some secret, I can still manage it.’
The bug crawling was nothing to worry about.
What truly mattered was dealing with Lucifer, that woman.

Fortunately, Lucifer's reborn body was not yet mature enough to house her soul properly.
Moreover, this was a domain Margarita had ruled and controlled for hundreds of years.
No matter how much Lucifer tried, it wouldn't easily collapse.

Even if it shook a little, she could repair it...
Boom!
At that moment, the entire building trembled as if struck by thunder.
Boom!

At the same time, there was the sound of an explosion, as if part of the building was breaking apart.
Margarita narrowed her eyes.
"Could it be... that not only one, but others have regained their senses?"

Crack!
Soon after, the main door of the hall where Margarita was located shattered.
Margarita clicked her tongue.

"How rude."
Behind the broken door, the figure of a knight with artificial eyes and a prosthetic arm appeared.
"…I’ll teach you some manners, you damn little brat."

Before long, the knight with a prosthetic arm walked toward her, his eyes shining sharply.
Margarita frowned.
She couldn't believe it, but it was reality.

"As much as Lucy might have played a trick, I didn’t expect these kinds of people to regain their senses... This is disgraceful."
"Heh, these kinds of people? I really hate those who don’t know how to respect the elderly."
"Respect the elderly? Then, shouldn’t I be the one to receive respect?"

"…Well, maybe you're right?"
Despite the back-and-forth banter, the knight's eyes remained cautious.
No matter how much he had regained his sanity, the opponent was no push-over.

An S-rank statue.
While the exact nature of the S-rank statue monster wasn’t clear, the few days of mental control made it clear that the opponent was formidable.
Judging by the way he spoke, it seemed like he had lived for over a hundred, or perhaps even hundreds of years.

But that wasn’t all.
"I’ll just ask one thing."
"I have no obligation to answer, but since you’re a guest in my domain, I’ll allow you to ask."

"Are you human?"
At the knight’s question, a smile curled on Margarita’s lips.
"Aha, now I understand why you’re asking."

In her long years, Margarita had encountered beings like this more than once.
While she appeared like a girl on the outside, Margarita’s age had long surpassed the human lifespan.
She understood what the knight was thinking.

"Your hive intelligence species calls us monsters, but since we look human, it seems to stir up your guilt."
It wasn’t entirely incorrect.
The knight’s brow twitched.

"…You know about the system."
"Names and forms may differ, but in a world facing crisis, such species are always present... But even the monsters you’ve killed so many times were just struggling to survive."
As Margarita spoke, strange shadows flickered around the knight.

The Shadows of the Spirit.
These were the shadows of the lives that the knight had taken.
The knight flinched.

"Calling the hive intelligence species monsters is simply out of convenience."
A sinister aura surrounded Margarita’s face.

Her eyes, a mix of sea and forest green, seemed to search for distant memories.

"This isn't some special power granted only to humans. It’s merely a species’ desperate struggle to survive."
In the end, everything was a fragment and tool of the will to survive.
That was why Margarita didn’t care if other-dimensional humans called her a monster.

What mattered was living. Surviving.
Nothing else.
Even if it meant devouring the woman she had hated for so long, and longed for in equal measure.

"Life is originally about consuming others to survive. It’s the way of nature, not a matter of good or evil. It’s the right of life that comes with birth."
Rumble!
The air around them vibrated as Margarita spoke.

The knight’s face hardened.
‘Is this her incantation magic?’
The knight had yet to see her use incantation magic directly, but from the movements of the surrounding magic, it was easy to sense it.

Incantation magic, a powerful force that could change the laws of the world by shouting the mage's truth!
The very act of speaking one’s belief resonated with the magic around them... How solid was her mental projection?
‘...I can’t drag this out any longer.’

The knight quickly made his judgment.
He began circulating the magic within him, glaring at Margarita.
"You’re making a mistake... I’m just curious. Even if you are human, it changes nothing."

Clank!
The sound of metal echoed as the prosthetic hand aimed at Margarita.
"My eyes and arm weren’t lost to a monster, but to a human."

This was something only those present at the scene knew.
The day the knight lost his arm and eyes, he had lost the brilliant future of a swordsman... lost his friend... and lost his faith in humanity.
That time had already passed over a decade ago.

"Killing humans to survive isn’t anything special. Why are you so surprised… ugh!"
Boom! Boom!
The knight launched his magic cannon from his prosthetic, scattering it in all directions.

Margarita squinted.
Naturally, she had prepared to counterattack, assuming he would aim at her.
But it was a clever move.

Even though Margarita had regained her sanity, it was unwise to engage directly with an S-rank.
Even if the magic cannon hit Margarita, its firepower would be insufficient.
From the knight’s perspective, it was better to draw the battle into a chaotic skirmish.

"How dare you attack my domain!"
And if he could provoke her, even better.
Margarita shouted, and the energy balls flying around exploded in various parts of the building.

Fortunately, the building didn’t collapse, but it was enough to make Margarita furious.
"...Last time, I almost took your eyes and arm with anti-spell magic, but I’ve changed my mind."
Whoosh!

"I’ll make sure you die painfully."
Margarita drew a long, transparent, and beautiful sword.
The sharp sword hummed with deep blue magic.

The knight and Margarita locked eyes, preparing for battle... until, in a flash, they charged at each other like lightning.
Clang! Clang!
In an instant, several exchanges took place. The knight clenched his teeth.

‘What is this, not even a magic boar...!’
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than .net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
Though a mage, the knight’s strength was on par with Margarita’s, but the raw power he infused into his sword was overwhelming.

The sword that could withstand that much power was no ordinary weapon.
After several more exchanges, Margarita’s sword finally cleaved through the knight’s prosthetic arm.
The wrist was severed and fell to the ground.

It was the same outcome as the last time.
So, up to this point, everything was...
"That was easier than I thought. Now you can die…?"

However, this time, the knight didn’t just take the blows.
As Margarita attempted to drive her sword into him, aiming for the brief gap after his prosthetic arm was severed, the knight had anticipated it.
Whoosh!

Using an acceleration magic item he had saved, the knight moved faster than Margarita and pushed in with his own attack.
Crack!
A short dagger in the knight’s left hand shot straight for Margarita’s neck.

"...Is this all you’ve got?"
Of course, Margarita didn’t fall that easily.
She also used acceleration magic and quickly backed away, avoiding the dagger.

The dagger didn’t penetrate her neck but instead left a shallow cut.
‘Gotcha!’
But the knight’s plan didn’t end there.

Seeing the smile on his lips, Margarita recoiled instinctively.
As she took a moment to step back, she stepped on something soft.
It was the severed wrist of the prosthetic.

With a grin, the knight called out joyfully.
"I don’t need teeth to bite if I’ve got gums!"
Boom!

The severed wrist exploded under her foot.
Boom!
Although Margarita quickly cast a shield, the explosion preceded the shield’s completion.

"Ugh!"
Even with her incredible magical abilities, this was something even she couldn’t avoid.
The partially completed shield saved her from a fatal blow, but it was still a highly effective attack.

"...Is that all you can do...?"
But there was no time to continue the conversation.
Boom!

Rubble began to fall from the ceiling.
Only then did Margarita realize that she had lost control over the magic that maintained the building.
"This...!"

"Goodbye!"
Boom!
As the knight jumped back, the ceiling directly above Margarita collapsed.

The largest part of the ceiling fell directly on top of Margarita.
Margarita couldn’t make a sound as she was buried under the rubble.
"Cough..."

As part of their plan, the knight, who had avoided being crushed by the collapsing ceiling, coughed.
From the gaping hole above, Hyunjoon peeked out.
"Are you okay? Did you succeed?"

"Don’t start setting flags now."
"Stop talking nonsense and come up here!"
While the knight dealt with Margarita, Hyunjoon focused on taking control of the building’s magical structure.

The knight grabbed Hyunjoon’s hand and climbed onto the collapsed ceiling.
Looking at the completely collapsed ceiling, Hyunjoon asked.
"I fought pretty hard... but you couldn’t defeat her, could you?"

"Do you think this little bit would have done it?"
Retired hunters like them couldn't easily take down an S-rank monster.
This was, in essence, just buying time for the other hunters to join in.

Hyunjoon sighed.
"Really, what a pain getting old. I should’ve given our daughter more allowance before we left."
"Why does it matter? If we die, she gets everything."

"Allowance and inheritance are a little different."
Thud!
Before Hyunjoon could finish, a white hand shot out from the rubble.

Hyunjoon recoiled in disgust.
"Is this some kind of horror special?"
"Well, it worked out in the end."

As the knight had said, Margarita’s appearance as she crawled out from the rubble was beyond recognition.
Her once pristine, noble pearl-like face was now covered in dirt, blood flowing from her forehead, and her legs badly burned. Her long, beautiful silver hair was a complete mess.
"...Ha."

And her once green eyes now burned with rage like molten lava.
"This humiliation... it’s been quite some time."
"If that’s the case, I should at least receive my fee for the lesson. It’s better to know humiliation than to be ignorant of it, they say."

Despite Hyunjoon’s provocation, Margarita’s fury didn’t explode. Instead, it settled into a cold, calculating calm.
"...I’ll tear your soul apart and throw it into hellfire."
"We're heading to hell, honey."

"Can we go separately? I want to go to heaven."
"Heartless."
Despite the very disadvantageous situation, the knight and Hyunjoon showed no fear.

They simply exchanged jokes.
"I feel pathetic getting old, if I were just 30 years younger."
"Yeah, if that was the case, at least one more hit would’ve landed."

"Such a lovely couple. Now, die."
As Margarita coldly responded, she raised her hand, gathering magic.
Whirl!

A brilliant light ring flew toward Margarita.
The bright light coiled around her neck like a whip and tightened mercilessly.
This wasn’t magic from a mage, but something different.

"...This is..."
The knight immediately recognized it and shouted happily.
"Jaeyoung!"

Before long, Jaeyoung appeared, holding a white wand.
Transparent wings briefly shimmered behind him.