The tension in the air was heavy.

Alden's face was grim as he spoke. "I don't know the full story, but… her hair had turned purple. Inside her room, we found several corpses. There isn't a single scratch on their bodies. It's like they all died in their sleep."

He hesitated. "One more thing."

Alex's jaw tightened. "What."

"The Queen. Regina," Alden said. "She's in a dire state. Her body has started to rot. Badly."

Alex's eyes narrowed. "Did you see Charlotte?"

"Yes," Alden replied. "But she was… different. All her hair was purple. Her eye color had turned completely grey. She ran away while I was trying to stop her from killing that idiot Joseph."

Alex clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. 'What the hell… I was sure I erased those desires she was suppressing. So what happened?'

The system's voice echoed in his mind. [ Host, right now her mental state is far from stable. Who knows what she'll do if left alone. ]

Joseph suddenly came running down the corridor, eyes red, breathing hard. "You… you're back," he gasped. "Please—please save my mother! You can do something, right?!"

Alex looked at him once. "Where is she?"

Joseph quickly led the way.

They entered Regina's chambers.

On the grand bed, Regina lay groaning in pain. The room reeked faintly of rot.

Both of her hands were already blackened and decaying, skin splitting, flesh looking like it was decomposing while she still breathed. Veins near the spreading corruption were dark and swollen. She twitched and whimpered, staring at her own ruined hands in horror.

Alex, Alicia, and Evelyn stood there for a moment, silent.

None of them could quite believe that Charlotte had done this.

Alex stepped closer. 'Analyze her body,' he thought. 'What the hell happened to her?'

Dark energy shimmered around Regina's form, scanning every inch of her corrupted flesh.

After a few seconds, the answer came. [ Host, someone used their own life force to cast a curse upon her. Her body will rot a little more every day like this… until she dies a horrible death. ]

Alex frowned inwardly. 'Just out of curiosity—can we break it?'

[ We can't, ] the system responded. [ She used her life force as part of the casting, and I've detected an unknown energy signature I can't identify.

Our current mastery of life energy isn't high enough. We could temporarily heal the rotted parts, but the moment we stop, the curse will resume.

And the curse itself is extremely high-level. Honestly… it's hard to believe Charlotte is capable of something like this. ]

Alex let out a slow breath, then turned his glare on Joseph.

"Tell me the truth," Alex said coldly. "What the hell were you doing in her room?"

Joseph's breath hitched. "W-We were just… asking about her well-bei—"

SLAP.

Alex's hand cracked across his face, sending him stumbling. "I said, tell me the truth."

Joseph shook, eyes wide with fear. In the next few seconds, everything spilled out—how Regina had come to Charlotte's room, how she had provoked her, tried to kill her, how all of it had backfired and left Regina in this state instead.

Alex's expression darkened further.

On the bed, Regina's cracked lips moved. "Help… me…" she croaked weakly.

Alex looked at her.

"You got what was coming to you," he said flatly. "I have no sympathy for someone like you."

He turned away. "You're lucky I wasn't here at the time."

He paused at the door. "For the last time in your life, at least repent for everything you've done—to whatever god you believe in."

Without waiting for a response, he walked out of the room.

Alicia and Evelyn followed.

"Don't worry about her," Alicia said quietly. "She got what she deserved. The doctors already said there's nothing they can do. The healers are useless too. Let's stop thinking about her."

Alex nodded once.

Even from the corridor, he could still hear Joseph's broken sobs for his mother.

'…Am I feeling bad for her?' he wondered.

[ Stop feeling bad, Host, ] the system said sharply. [ That bitch has done far worse things. She got what she deserved. ]

'You're right,' Alex answered in his head.

He looked at Alden. "Where did you see Charlotte last?"

"Follow me," Alden said.

He led them out of the palace to a courtyard where he had fought Charlotte earlier.

"This the place where she kicked your ass and ran away?" Alex asked.

A vein popped on Alden's forehead. "She did NOT kick my ass. And yes, this is the last place I saw her."

"Where exactly did she teleport from?" Alex asked.

Alden pointed to a specific spot on the stone ground.

Alex turned to Elaria. "You're an elf, right?"

Elaria's mouth twitched. "Oh? Did you just figure that out now?"

"You elves are blessed by mana itself," Alex said. "So you should be pretty good at this kind of thing, right?"

Elaria narrowed her eyes. "What's your point?"

"Analyze that spot," Alex said. "See if you can find the coordinates of where she teleported to."

Elaria's mouth twitched again. "Why do I have to—"

Alex gave her a look.

She sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll do it."

Elaria walked over to the indicated point. A wave of mana pulsed outward from her body, spreading over the ground, tracing the lingering spatial distortions.

Not even a full second passed.

"Got it," she said.

Alex blinked. "Got what?"

"I found the coordinates she teleported to," Elaria replied.

Alex's mouth fell open. "Already?"

Elaria flicked her hair back. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

Alicia laughed. "You wouldn't know, Alex—you never bother showing up for most classes or exams. But she's the top student of the first years."

Elaria smirked at him, clearly proud.

Alex clicked his tongue. "Guess you're not just talk after all."

Elaria knelt down and began drawing a mana circle on the ground—complex patterns, layered runes, sigils for space and direction. When she was done, the circle glowed faintly with a stable teleportation matrix.

"Here," she said, stepping back. "This will take you to where she teleported."

Mumbling something under his breath, Alex stepped onto the circle.

Light flared.

His body dissolved into motes of light and vanished.

In the next breath, Alex's form reassembled elsewhere.

He found himself standing before a colossal tower that reached so high it seemed to pierce the sky itself—the Tower of Ascension.

The air vibrated with ancient power. At its base stood enormous gates made of stone and strange metal, carved with shifting constellations and ascending figures. As Alex approached, the runes carved into the doors lit up one by one, reacting to his presence.

The massive gates began to open on their own with a deep, resonant rumble—as if the tower itself had been waiting for him.

-----

A/N:

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