The Villainous Family Loves Me Too Much!

“This is quite the predicament. I wonder if any among us can contend with a god.”

Sylonne scratched her head, implying the situation’s difficulty.

To create a new wormhole, I would need to expend immense Ability energies.

But if I exerted that much power… the existing wormhole imprisoning the God fragments would likely be destroyed.

Allowing Beatrice and Colin to escape, potentially unstoppable by anyone present.

“What about repairing the current wormhole, then transporting Sir Robben inside for treatment?”

“The wormhole cannot be repaired. We must create an entirely new one to transfer him, but even that won’t be easy.”

“Why all this fretting? You have me now, Rena.”

Gabriel had appeared in the room.

“Brother, how did you get here?!”

“Not pleased to see me, Your Highness?”

And with Gabriel came his fiancée Hailey.

The two became engaged immediately after I promised the Emperor to assume the Crown Princess role.

“How did you both arrive here?!”

“Did you forget already? With you stipulating regional reconciliation and equity as conditions for your Princess coronation, this brother had to come represent the Empire in those negotiations.”

“You’ve arrived, Your Highness the Prince.”

As we exchanged this sudden reunion, Lucian entered with his advisors.

“Perhaps we should postpone the meeting for now, Your Highness. A more urgent matter seems to have arisen.”

“A more urgent matter, you say…”

“We’ve found a way to revert humanoid monsters back to humans. But it’s a rather risky method.”

Readjusting the scheduled imperial-Felosite conference, Gabriel and Lucian approached our table in the receiving room.

“In essence, your Abilities could achieve it, but utilizing them risks the God fragments escaping.”

“And I can temporarily suppress that eventuality, should your mana combine with my Abilities.”

Gabriel’s proposed plan seemed relatively safe and feasible:

First, I would create a new wormhole for Sir Robben and myself to enter. The existing wormhole currently containing the God fragments would likely destabilize, allowing Beatrice and Colin’s escape attempt.

At which point Gabriel, Lucian, the knights, and I would collaboratively subdue those two.

Once the reversion process completed, I would return with the human Sir Robben and reseal Beatrice and Colin within that new wormhole.

Not exactly simple, but certainly achievable by marshaling all our personnel alongside formidable Abilities, mana, and divine power.

“Given the inherent dangers, we should evacuate all palace residents while this operation proceeds.”

Thus, we resolved to attempt Sir Robben’s treatment the following day.

* * *

‘Can I really do this?’

A gentle breeze pleasantly caressed my nose.

It felt like nature’s reassuring signal that all would proceed smoothly.

With the palace residents evacuated to the city, the Felosite palace grounds remained eerily silent and deserted.

Only the essential operation personnel remained, their solemn expressions betraying the gravity of our undertaking.

“Are you ready, Sir Robben?”

“As ready as I can be, Your Highness.”

Leaning on me with one arm, Sir Robben stood supported by a cane.

Though the Archmage had fully mended his shattered legs, his muscles had yet to fully recover.

“If we succeed, we can save your daughter.”

A strained smile surfaced on Sir Robben’s face, forced and unnatural –

Undoubtedly due to the countless failed prior experiments.

“It will definitely work this time.”

Beside the existing tower wormhole, we prepared an adjacent empty site to establish the new wormhole.

Me, Sir Robben, Gabriel, Lucian, Archmage Tenziyon, Sylonne, and the knights – we all took our designated positions.

“Then, let’s begin!”

Extending both arms, I focused on channeling the light permeating my body to forge the wormhole’s creation.

As brilliant radiance swirled alongside gales, an immense wormhole gradually materialized over the vacant lot.

“I leave the rest to you all!”

With Sir Robben at my side, I leapt into the wormhole’s depths.

Entrusting subsequent events to my comrades in my absence.

Within the wormhole, Sir Robben lost consciousness – an expected outcome that any ordinary Ability wielder could scarcely endure.

Because this was the ‘gap in space-time’ itself.

To rewind his soul’s time here… I would need to exert my Abilities.

‘I just need to retrieve Sir Robben from the moment before his beast transformation.’

That instant I had witnessed before:

The awakened young Lucian turning his master into a beast.

I focused my Abilities on Sir Robben’s soul, homing in on that specific timeframe.

‘I can do this. I can definitely do this.’

And when I opened my eyes, I had indeed returned to that very moment.

“That’s right, I made it. Lucian!”

There stood the pitch-black-eyed Lucian, confronting his father Ferrel the Archduke.

“Lucian!”

At that shout, Lucian raised his right hand, gathering his mana.

This was precisely my moment to intervene.

* * *

The instant Karena and Robben leapt into the wormhole, a deafening shatter resounded from the tower.

The wormhole imprisoning the God fragments had ruptured.

Another explosive burst, and two trails of smoke rapidly emerged from the wormhole’s fracture.

“Stop their escape! Aid His Highness the Prince and His Highness the Archduke!”

Gabriel’s water and Lucian’s dark mana coalesced, enveloping the fleeing smoke wisps.

Together, they forged a raging electrified stream.

“Aargh!”

As one wisp made contact, a pained scream rang out before it assumed human form.

“That stings, you know!”

It was Beatrice.

Locking eyes with Beatrice, Gabriel’s expression contorted slightly.

“Oh my, Gabriel. Didn’t you miss me at all?”

“Enough with the nonsense.”

Gabriel’s hand trembled, his emotions shaken by Beatrice’s presence.

A fact she keenly perceived, naturally.

“I hear our mighty Prince discarded the young maiden to become engaged to some new wench. I simply must meet this trollop.”

“Your Highness, don’t listen! She merely seeks to provoke you!”

Though Gebino identified Beatrice’s tactic, Gabriel’s fury had already reached its peak.

His water stream destabilized unsteadily.

“Our prince, were you such an easy man? How fortunate for me. Farewell, then!”

Slipping through the wavering stream, Beatrice fired a rippling divine blast at Gabriel.

The potent divine power slammed squarely into Gabriel’s torso, sending him staggering back.

In that instant, Beatrice reverted to smoke form and vanished skyward in a flash.

Lucian focused his mana on the remaining smoke wisp, restraining its escape.

“Aaarrrgghh!”

An anguished scream erupted from within as the smoke assumed Colin’s human shape.

Even amidst her obvious agony, Colin curved her lips in an enigmatic smirk, fixing Lucian with an intense glare as she shrieked:

“You were the one who first turned a human into a beast, weren’t you?! This is all your fault! You were the evil one from the start!”

“I know. I know that already…”

Witnessing Lucian’s wavering resolve, Colin sneered mockingly.

“What do you know? Even your father’s death was your doing! Without me, this was always the path you would have walked!”

As her taunts struck deeper, Lucian’s restraining mana slowly weakened.

“You’re the worse one, not me!”

Just as Colin attempted her final breakout, a voice rang out:

“Tsk tsk, Colin. Talking such nonsense behind my back?”

The brilliant radiance enveloping Colin’s smoke form was none other than my dazzling light.

“Sorry for the delay, everyone. You must have all been waiting a while.”