Rise of The Anti God (Web Novel)

For a moment, Lina felt her heart shudder upon seeing the dark light in Arthur's eyes that seemed like the most frightening thing she had ever seen in her life.

However, instead of being scared of him, she only became even more worried since the Arthur she knew would never have such eyes. She didn't care about the Xeton Emperor's life, but she didn't want Arthur to risk his life by trying to kill his own father.

After all, who could possibly survive after going against the strongest man in the world? It was not that she didn't believe in Arthur, but she was thinking realistically, and even if Arthur had a way to really take down his father, she felt that he might lose something important in doing so.

Even now, she was worried sick after learning that he had taken something to rapidly increase his cultivation. People die from straining their ethereal core every day, mostly due to their desperation to reach a higher level.

And seeing Arthur's pale face and his condition, how could she not worry for his life? How could he possibly think about fighting the Xeton Emperor in this condition? Was his mind clouded with revenge, making him unable to think straight?

Lina wanted to stop him, but seeing the look in his eyes, she realized he was not in his right mind to listen to her.

Still, that didn't mean she did not want to try and said in a pleading tone, "Your Highness, please…Think really hard about what you are saying. This is very dangerous. Your life might be put in danger if you do this. So please don't. I am begging you."

"Hahaha…." Arthur started to laugh with a manic expression before looking at Lina as he said, "Put my life in danger? You don't understand. My life is already gone. Because of what I did, I only have a few more years to live at best. So I better kill him before I breathe my last. Otherwise, everything I sacrificed would be for nothing."

Lina felt a sudden weakness in her limbs as pressure built up in her chest, making her forget to breathe. She felt her heart hurt all over and a feeling of numbness upon hearing him casually say that he was dying.

She had never felt so much pain and sadness. How could she not feel so when her beloved prince was ruining himself and blinded by revenge. Even if he wanted to take revenge, why couldn't he do it in a slow and steady way instead of going for shortcuts?

Before she knew it, her eyes became watery as tears incessantly trickled down her cheeks, "Y-Your Highness…how could you do this…It's not fair…" Lina said in a fragile voice.

Arthur, for a moment, regained some clarity as he saw her heartbroken face and felt a thickness in his chest, feeling guilty for making her cry.

He wanted to console her, but then he suppressed the urge to do so as he thought that maybe this was the best. Maybe he could use this moment to make her stay away so that she won't get hurt because what he was going to do was a suicide mission, and he didn't want the only person he loved to get hurt because of him.

"Now you know why it's best for you to leave. There is no future for you if you stay. I am no longer the Arthur you fell in love with. What is left is someone or something even I don't fully recognize. We were never meant to be together anyway," Arthur said in an inexpressive voice, though one could feel the heaviness in his voice.

Lina slowly shook her head with a glazed expression, "No…I don't care…I will still stay with you no matter what you are going to do."

Arthur clicked his tongue in frustration seeing how she was too stubborn to understand. After a great deal of hesitation, he decided to say something he didn't want to tell before, "Lina, don't be foolish! You don't understand. If you stay near me, I will be the one who might hurt you. For some reason, when I kissed you before, your skin had an intoxicating scent and taste. I felt like…devouring your flesh for a split second. I know this sounds crazy, but it terrified me, and I am sure now you must be terrified of me as well. I can't even eat vegetables but only meat. Maybe this is all just side effects because of the process I underwent to increase my powers, but the thing is…you will be in danger and a nuisance to me since I have to keep restraining myself to not hurt you. It is just so tiring."

For the most part, Arthur was indeed telling the truth. He had no idea why he developed an aversion to food that didn't contain meat and blood. He even had some hair loss, but he thought it was because his life force was getting burned out.

Lina was standing as if she was frozen, though one could see her pained expression with cloudy eyes.

Even after hearing what Arthur said, she shook her head slowly as her eyes became firm and determined, "Your Highness…I am sorry, but I am going to be selfish here. As I said before, the only way you can make me stay away from is by killing me. I know this is unfair, but Your Highness is also unfair to put your own life in danger. And I am your maid, so despite whatever I feel for you, it is my duty to look after your needs no matter what."

"Lina…" Arthur wanted to get angry at her for being so foolish. But for some reason, he couldn't find it in him to get angry. But instead, he realized that just as how he was determined to get revenge, she was determined to stay beside him no matter what.