Extra's Perfect Ending

Chapter 143: Winning move

Lola, on the other hand, was busy with something, though, from this distance, Reeva couldn’t quite make out what he was saying. Still, he knew it wasn’t anything good. But for now, he had to deal with Landlong.

The man had the typical build of a middle-aged merchant—broad and with a large belly—but his movements were quick, like a cat pouncing on its prey. His sword lunged forward, aiming for Reeva’s hip. Reeva swayed to the left, narrowly dodging the thrust. But Reeva couldn’t stop there. Without seeing any more thrust he began dodging to the right anticipating the fact that he was under an illusion.

The vision came back to him and he successfully dodged the real strike.

His vision steadied as he regained his footing, smirking at the shock on Landlong’s face.

"You shouldn’t have shown me the trick to steering the ship," Reeva taunted.

Landlong’s expression darkened. "You’ve got some skill for a burger boy," he sneered.

With that, Landlong leaped at Reeva again. Reeva dodged each attack, weaving around the strikes, but this time Landlong didn’t cause any disorientation. He tried to dodge the illusion and put enough distance between them, but the momentum sent him tumbling slightly, off balance.

That was when Landlong made his move, aiming a vicious strike at Reeva’s neck. In a split second, Reeva tried to stabilize, but the blade came fast and with deadly intent.

Just as it seemed like the strike would land, Reeva’s hand shot up, catching the blade mid-swing. He clenched it tight, the steel halting in his grip. Realizing that it wasn’t an imbued weapon, Reeva’s half-demon body was strong enough to handle it.

Landlong was visibly stunned, pulling hard to retrieve his sword, but it wouldn’t budge. At that moment, Reeva saw through the illusion—the sword hadn’t moved an inch. Despite the mystic power affecting his perception, his hand felt the truth.

The illusion faded, and Landlong, now weaponless, stood there in shock. Reeva, without hesitation, drew his pistol.

Bang!

Blood sprayed as Landlong clutched his abdomen, the bullet buried deep inside him. Reeva followed up quickly with Landlong’s blade to the heart. He shut his eyes for a brief second, still uncomfortable with the violence, knowing that Landlong might have been just an ordinary man outside of this cult. But his power—his mystic influence—was too dangerous to leave unchecked.

He had no choice.

Landlong stumbled, his breath ragged, blood dripping from his mouth. Reeva pulled a knife from his suit and drove it into Landlong’s back, finishing the job. The merchant gasped, collapsing to the ground, his life leaving him as the blood pooled at Reeva’s feet.

Reeva exhaled heavily, his attention snapping to the altar. The sinister red glow coming from it was growing more intense. He glanced over and saw Hilda, victorious in her own battle. The mayor, though trained and possessing some mystic abilities, was no match for a seasoned veteran like Hilda, who had been trained from youth for moments like these.

But Lola… Lola was still standing.

Lola’s lips curled into a smirk as he watched the scene unfold. "Do you know why I didn’t bother joining the fight?"

His voice was filled with glee as he spoke. The nearby torches began turning grey, the light visibly expanding and dimming. On the altar, Reeva saw it—a picture of darkness, propped in front of the altar. Now that he looked closely, the altar itself was nothing more than a coffin.

"I didn’t need to fight," Lola continued a twisted joy in his tone. "The ritual is already on its way to completion."

The white coffin before them was adorned with red trimmings, exuding an ominous aura. Sinister was the only word that came to mind as Reeva’s eyes locked onto the thing. Without wasting a second, he raced up the stairs toward the altar just as Hilda finished incapacitating Wanmer with a precise strike. Unlike Hilda, Reeva couldn’t afford to leave Landlong incapacitated.

There had been no room for mercy.

The altar was now glowing with an eerie red light as Lola stood triumphantly, watching them with madness in his eyes.

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However, as Reeva dashed up the stairs, he slammed into something solid. The altar was right in front of him, but it was unreachable—blocked by an invisible barrier. On the other side, Lola turned to see Reeva approaching, his lips curling into a manic smile.

"Hey, Penu, do you know the ritual of marriage?" Lola’s voice rang out, his tone eerily calm. "It’s said that when two people marry, they are joined together for eternity. It’s a ritual from old times, a celebration of love. Do you know how it feels to lose the one you love? The world turns as grey as the gods see it..."

What the hell is he talking about? Reeva thought, bewildered by Lola’s sudden speech.

"That day when she died, I lost everything." Lola continued, his voice trembling with emotion. "So, I intend to marry her again... to live with her forever. Do you understand me, Penu?"

Lola paused, locking eyes with Reeva.

"You don’t, do you?" Lola burst into manic laughter. "No one fucking cares! Nobody! So I’ve taken matters into my own hands, Penu. I’m going to marry her again, and we’ll be together forever."

Besides Lola, Reeva spotted Leon lying on the ground, blood flowing onto a carved surface. The red liquid formed a glowing circle around the altar, but the color began to fade, turning into dull grey. A sense of dread washed over Reeva as he realized how close the ritual was to completion.

"Stop this! You can’t reunite with her this way!" Reeva shouted, the words escaping his mouth in the heat of the moment. He had always found dialogue like this cheesy in books, but now, facing this nightmare, it felt like the only thing he could say.

Lola’s eyes gleamed with madness. "What do you mean? We will become everything and nothing at the same time. We’ll be united forever. This is a fate better than anything else."

Lola opened the lid of the coffin, revealing the corpse of a woman inside. Her body was barely recognizable, skin clinging to bones in a grotesque state of decay. But something about her stood out. Reeva’s eyes widened as he recognized the wedding dress she wore—it was eerily familiar

The same pendant as Riche...