Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 189 The Path Of Rhys Wilder

"All of you… were dead already."

There was a silence that slowly brewed in the air; the only sound that preceded it was the sound of McArthur's body being dropped on the floor, and the only sound that accompanied it was the trickling whistle that was being emitted by all the harsh lights.

The members of the Dregs of Society really only stared at Rhys as he stood there calmly, surrounded by the corpses of his dead comrades with a slight hint of sorrow on his face. This silence was allowed to persist, only broken as one of the terrorists finally moved and carefully approached Rhys.

If anyone else was here right now, they would quickly recognize the individual as the one who was present in the video — the one who burned Secretary Karen in cold blood. The masked woman stood in front of Rhys for a few seconds…

…before wrapping her arms around him.

"I did it, Sir…" The woman's voice was completely different from how it was in the video; it was sweet, quiet, and extremely gentle. But it did, however, still contain the same sadness. The woman buried her face on Rhys's chest, causing the mask she was wearing to fall off, revealing an even kinder face seemingly devoid of any malice,

"...my siblings — are my siblings finally going to be happy?"

"..." Rhys did not really say anything as he just gently placed his hand behind the woman's head; caressing it as he closed his eyes before whispering,

"No… not yet. We're not done yet, Stacey."

"Of course… of course," the woman, Stacey, lightly sniffled before letting out a small chuckle as she leaned away from Rhys and looked him straight in the eyes,

"But I did it, right…? I did?"

"You did," Rhys smiled as he caressed the woman's face, returning her gaze with the same passion, "And you did it incredibly well."

"I'm glad…" Stacey smiled as the tears endlessly trailed down her eyes; her cheeks, as red as they could be, "...I'm glad that I did well for you."

The woman did not really have any defining features; one could pass by her on the street and not even notice her — and she had lived her entire life just like that. Even then, however, she could not help but feel warm as Rhys was looking at her as if she was the last woman on Earth.

"You did this for your brother and sister, Stacey," Rhys smiled back as he wiped Stacey's tears. He then very subtly glanced at the Hearts floating above her head; 4 of them, completely filled up; the last one, flickering.

"Then…" Stacey's lips trembled, "...Have… Have I finally proven myself to you, Sir?"

"...You did."

Stacey Holland — one of the people rejected by the Wilder's Harem during its first recruitment.

Most of what Stacey stated in the video is true; her Lowborn siblings truly were burnt alive… but not by her parents, but by her.

It wasn't even an accident, she burnt them. But it is true that her baby siblings were being abused by their parents, they were also being abused by their teachers and everyone around them — the only person they could really rely on was her.

But Stacey couldn't do anything, the world was set against people like her younger siblings. Try as she might, their abuse continued — and so, she did the only thing she could…

…release them from their pain.

And Rhys knew all of this… because Stacey approached him outside Wilder's Harem HQ and confessed to him everything away from the eyes and ears of the others. She kneeled in front of him, begging for a forgiveness he couldn't give.

Stacey wanted to die, and she wanted Rhys to give it to her. But of course, Rhys did not do so and instead just invited Stacey to talk…

…and Rhys learned that Stacey had a very special set of skills.

"Sir…" Stacey smiled at Rhys as she placed her hands on his cheeks, "...I love you, Sir. I love you."

Stacey, however…

…was even more broken than him.

"You're the only one I could trust," Stacey then once again embraced Rhys and buried her face on his chest; the smile on her face, almost reaching from ear to ear even as her tears fell endlessly from her already red eyes, "Don't… don't leave me, okay? Don't leave me."

"...I won't," Rhys placed his hand on Stacey's back, and soon, the other members of the Dregs of Society started to move closer to him… before all of them just burst into flames one by one; none of them screamed at all, however… they just crumbled.

All of them, just turning into dirt and ash.

"Oh… oh no," Stacey whispered out as she watched the other members of the Dregs of Society crumble, "I… I lost control."

"It's fine, Stacey. It's over," Rhys just shook his head as he very gently caressed Stacey's back as he just watched all the dirt and ash be blown away by even the slightest of wind — none of them were humans in the first place, they were golems. Golems created by Stacey.

"Am I…" Stacey leaned her head away as she once again smiled at Rhys, "...Am I going home with you now, Sir? With Lady Katarina and the others?"

"..." Rhys stared at Stacey's eyes for a few seconds before nodding, "Yes."

"...Really?" Stacey's voice almost trembled as she looked back and forth between Rhys's eyes, "I did… I did everything you asked. I did… I did everything."

"Hm," Rhys once again nodded, "You did really well."

"Then…" Stacey then stood on her toes as she closed her eyes. And without even saying another word, she kissed Rhys on the lips, "I'm… I'm sorry!"

Stacey then suddenly yelped like a child as she pushed herself away from Rhys and covered her face; her muffled screams, whispering through the empty floor, "I… I got ahead of myself! I'm sorry… I didn't—"

"It's okay, Stacey," Rhys shook his head as he stretched his hand toward him, "Let's go home, okay?"

"Ha…" Stacey excitedly showed her teeth as she caressed her own cheeks as she felt a tingling sensation electrify her mouth, "I'll… I'll need to take a bath first, I wonder if—"

"It's you!"

And before Stacey could finish her words, someone suddenly jumped out of the shadows and pointed at them; the man's face, completely mangled beyond recognition. Rhys, however, quickly recognized who it was — after all, he was the one who made his face that way.

"...Stretcher," Rhys could not help but lower his eyebrows as he looked at Stretcher. He was about to rush toward him, but he saw the body cam still hanging on his chest.

"T… that's right, you fucking dregger!" Stretcher let out a maniacal cackle, "They saw everything! You're done! You're fucking done! You can't get yourself out of this one!"

"Stretcher…" Rhys shook his head, "...Our body cam doesn't receive audio."

"How is that even releva—"

And before Stretcher could finish his words, Stacey stretched her hand, and a large spike of Earth pierced through the back of his head and out his mouth, instantly killing him on the spot. Stacey was about to gesture down with his finger to destroy the camera, but Rhys grabbed her hand.

"S… Sir… we need to destroy the camera!" Stacey looked at Rhys; her eyes, trembling in panic.

"No," Rhys, however, just looked her in the eyes while shaking his head, "It's fine, Stacey… It's fine. It doesn't matter."

"W…Why?" Stacey's eyebrows lowered for a moment before her eyes widened and the smile on her face returned, "You… are you and I going to run? Just… just the two of us?"

"...Yes," Rhys smiled as he let go of Stacey's hand, once again caressing her face.

"What about… what about the others?" Stacey looked away; the expression on her face, becoming wildly excited, "They… they don't matter? I… do I matter more?"

"Right now, you do…" Rhys then placed his hand at the back of her neck, very gently pulling her closer as he gently placed his lips upon hers.

Stacey's heart fluttered as Rhys leaned in closer, his lips meeting hers in a gentle kiss. Tears of joy welled up in her eyes as she closed them, basking in the warmth and love radiating from his touch.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as the intensity of the warmth they created overwhelmed her, drowning out all other thoughts in a wave of raw emotion; the final Heart floating above her head, flickering even wilder.

"I…" Rhys then slightly leaned away from Stacey, releasing her lips.

"I love you, Rhys…" Stacey smiled… she smiled even as she felt the sharpness of Rhys's threads very softly wrapping and falling upon her neck, "I do…

…I really—"

"I'm sorry." And before all the five Hearts floating above Stacey's head could be filled, Rhys pulled and stretched his hand away.

"---love you." Stacey's eyes did not waver at all as her words of love for Rhys became her final breaths. She fell to her knees, her body trembling with a sense of acceptance. Her head rolled to the side, barely hanging on by a thread as Rhys quickly caught it.

He held her limp body in his arms, her blood drowning his shirt. With trembling hands, he gently places her head back onto her decapitated neck. But even in death, Stacey's eyes remained gentle, staring into Rhys's filled with love and adoration.

"I'm…" Rhys very gently closed her eyes at the same time as his,

"...I'm really sorry."