After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 76

The sharp light curved sharply and plummeted. Henkett’s eyes gleamed with manic glee. But in the next instant, a powerful force slammed into his wrist, knocking it away.

“Aaaagh!”

A pathetic scream escaped his lips. Clutching his hand, which trembled violently from the electric shock, Henkett stumbled backward. Dehart glared at him, slowly rising to his feet. An eerie, crackling light danced across the dark fabric of his clothes.

“You insect-like bastard…”

The voice, a low mutter, was chilling. He had instinctively erected a lightning barrier to block Henkett’s attack and was now on the verge of losing control. It didn’t matter how Henkett had sneaked in, or why he had attacked.

All that mattered was the safety of the medicine.

A quick glance confirmed his worst fears, his eyes widening with worry. Fortunately, the glass snowflower [a delicate, magically preserved flower] was unharmed. The sound of his fist clenching echoed in the cold air. A wave of relief washed over him.

But that didn’t mean he could forgive Henkett.

“I shouldn’t have entrusted your disposal to the physician in the first place.”

Dehart smiled coldly and drew his sword. The faint light from the luminous stone [a naturally glowing mineral] bathed him from below. Henkett cried out, sounding almost hysterical.

“You’re not the real Duke! He died protecting me, ahhh. Duke, forgive me! That demon is wearing your skin and coveting your possessions!”

Contempt flickered across Dehart’s cold face. It was understandable, in a way. Henkett had been out of his mind since succumbing to madness in the Nightmare Forest [a region known for its mind-altering properties]. He probably couldn’t accept his failure and had constructed his own twisted fantasy.

Like discovering the Duke imprisoned, but failing to rescue him and escaping alone—an absurd delusion.

‘But I have no reason to indulge him.’

Sparks flew, and sharp light enveloped him in the darkness. Dehart’s eyes narrowed, his grip tightening on the sword.

“But it ends today, children of the devil!”

Henkett shouted with a manic laugh, then abruptly turned and fled, disappearing into the darkness in an instant. A deep furrow formed between Dehart’s brows.

“Does madness come with a drop in intelligence? Well, I suppose…”

Looking at me, you’d know. Dehart chuckled humorlessly. He remained calm even as Henkett fled.

He sheathed his sword and snapped his fingers. With a sharp click, the darkness of the canyon was once again banished by an explosion of light.

Fzzzt. Fzzt-!

Thousands of orbs of light floated upwards, illuminating the surroundings. Henkett’s figure was revealed as the darkness receded. Dehart stared intently at him, drawing his wrist back. A long stream of light gathered in his empty hand, coalescing into a bolt of pure energy.

“God. Help this poor lamb!”

Henkett, who had run into a nearby cave, pulled something out and raised it into the air. At that exact moment, the lightning bolt shot from Dehart’s hand and struck Henkett.

“Huff…!”

The small, intensely focused lightning spear pierced Henkett’s upper body in an instant. But it was already too late. A sneering smile stretched across Henkett’s lips.

KWA-GWANG-!

“What…!”

A deafening roar shook the ground. Dehart scanned his surroundings, eyes wide with alarm. This wasn’t from the lightning. Only then did Dehart notice the holy relic [an object of religious significance, often imbued with power] that had fallen from Henkett’s hand.

His eyes widened further. There was no time to think. Dehart immediately whirled around. It was then.

“Duke!”

Rion, who had heard the commotion and rushed over from the opposite side, stared at Dehart with a look of utter horror. Their gazes met across the holy relic, which had begun to glow an ominous red. And then, a cloud of dust instantly obscured their vision.

KWA-GWA-GWANG!

The canyon began to collapse.

* * *

KWAANG-!

The impact was immense, shaking the entire mountain range. Sebelia, who was chasing after Claude, collapsed to the ground. Wartz hurried to her side, struggling to maintain his own balance.

“Are you alright?”

“I… I’m fine. But Claude…!”

Sebelia’s gaze shot towards the ridge. Claude, who had abandoned the knight and fled, was now sitting down, gasping for breath.

“I’m fine, so go.”

Sebelia pushed Wartz away, her voice firm. Wartz hesitated for a moment, then nodded and started towards Claude. But it wasn’t easy for him either.

Koo-roong-!

The ground continued to tremble violently. The forest, eerily devoid of any wild animals, emitted a strange, unsettling sound as it shed its leaves. Sebelia bit her lip and pushed herself to her feet.

“Let’s go together.”

Sebelia grabbed Wartz’s arm and took a tentative step, then another. Soon, a groan filled with pain pierced her ears. Claude was rolling on the ground, gasping for breath, his eyes rolled back in his head as if his heart had been ripped out.

“No, no. Ah, heok…!”

Claude’s eyes, which had been wandering aimlessly, suddenly snapped back into focus. It was like watching a corpse come back to life. Before Sebelia could react, he jumped to his feet.

Claude seemed to have lost his mind.

“Alos has been reverse summoned!”

“Pardon?”

“Something must have happened to him…!”

Claude grabbed Sebelia and shouted, his grip tight. Sebelia understood instinctively. The ‘he’ that Claude was talking about was not Alos, but Dehart. Claude then abruptly released Sebelia and ran off again. Sebelia, still reeling from the shock, stood blankly, blinking.

‘No way.’

Her ears had clearly registered Claude’s words. But her mind refused to process them.

The ground shaking as if it would give way at any moment, the roar echoing in the distance, and Claude running away, shouting that Alos had been reverse summoned. The situation pointed to only one conclusion.

“No.”

Her hands, resting on the ground, trembled uncontrollably.

It felt like someone was splitting her skull open with a chisel. Sebelia felt her entire body freeze.

“No, no. It can’t be. You promised you wouldn’t risk your life to relieve your guilt anymore. So….”

He’ll be fine.

Sebelia tried to calm herself. But the hand clutching the lamp that had fallen to the ground was shaking violently.

“Hoo….”

She barely managed to catch her breath. Then she tried to chase after Claude. But her body hesitated, paralyzed by the terrifying sounds that continued to reverberate around her. A deep tremor originating from beneath her feet threatened to swallow her whole.

Koo-oong…. Koong.

The sound of something collapsing and falling from afar pierced her ears. Sebelia gritted her teeth. She plunged into the forest, devoid of any light, and clenched her hands tightly.

‘Let’s get a grip.’

He will be fine. He would surely greet her without any wounds, with his terribly arrogant and handsome demeanor.

[I will no longer risk my life in reckless acts to relieve my guilt.]

[Because I know my place now.]

He had clearly promised that, with his own mouth.

Thump, the light from the lamp illuminated the pitch-black darkness. The wind blowing from the canyon buffeted her, trying to push her back. But Sebelia didn’t stop walking.

The wind, thick with dirt, whipped away the hood she had pulled down low, but she didn’t notice. Her eyes, forced open, were stinging with dust, and she couldn’t even make out Claude’s figure in the distance.

‘You’ll be safe. You have to be safe, you have to be.’

Sebelia kept moving forward. She had to see him unharmed, without a single scratch. She had to. If not, if he sacrificed himself for some stupid reason, even by some remote chance….

The blue eyes piercing through the darkness shone with cold determination.

* * *

The moment the holy relic that had been dormant in the cave left its sanctuary, the towering rock walls that had enclosed the canyon like a thick curtain crumbled and collapsed. As a result, the darkness that had filled the canyon until just a few hours ago was forced to yield to the reddish glow of the setting sun.

But the people who had regained the light found no joy in it. The canyon, which had been filled with silence until recently, was now a scene of utter devastation.

“No, way…!”

The knights were stunned to see the rock walls collapsing and tumbling into the canyon. The thought of Dehart’s death flashed through their minds. But one of them quickly regained his composure and shouted.

“Contact the garrison below the mountain range immediately and get the wizards up here!”

The chances of him being alive were slim. But even if Dehart was dead, they couldn’t just stand idly by. As knights of Inverness and vassals of Hillend Hall, they had a duty to recover Dehart’s body.

But the situation was rapidly deteriorating.

“No. The road leading up to the canyon has collapsed.”

The path through the narrow gap in the rock wall had been blocked by the earthquake moments earlier. Despair flickered across the knights’ faces. But they soon gritted their teeth and began to remove the stones, one by one.

“Those who are able, come here and help!”

Carriers, herbalists, and everyone else were mobilized to clear the debris. The remaining knights bit their lips as they stared down at the cliff below, where dust was still billowing.

“Damn it….”

Thud.

Blood dripped from their clenched fists.

Kwa-roo-reung-!

A bolt of cold lightning split the sky and struck the ground. It was a terrifying sound and sight, like the wrath of a god. But for the knights of Inverness, it was a sign of hope.

Clatter. The rope ladder leading to the bottom of the canyon shook. Everyone who had been shouting fell silent. Dust settled in the sudden quiet. And a cold voice echoed through the canyon.

“Shit.”

Thud, a scarred hand gripped the edge of the cliff. The hand, with its thick veins, pushed against the ground, and a large figure hauled itself over the edge.

“This damn city, I’ll tear it down no matter what it takes.”

Dehart, who had somehow survived a tragedy that seemed impossible to overcome, glared with terrifying intensity. The red flames that had surrounded his head like a protective curtain fluttered and fell to the ground.

They were the remains of Alos.