I'll kill you after I finish this game!

"How could that be!" his wife said with a forced smile. "It's just a birthmark."

With melancholy eyes, he touched the scar on his daughter's neck, and the crimson light flashed by as if it were an illusion.

In this world, the only mortals who can touch the girl, who is protected by the guillotine, without suffering any backlash are the girl's parents.

The baby girl grew up under the secret watchful eyes of the two domineering gods. The red scar on her neck seemed to fade with the years. By the time Mary was able to crawl on the bed, the scar on her neck had turned into a light pink color and was no longer noticeable.

Mary's mother was overjoyed; maternal love replaced her former fervor for the guillotine and filled her heart.

"Finally...the guillotine left no trace...Mary will become a jewel of Saint-Malo!" Mary's mother said with immense joy, her eyes filled with love for her daughter. "In ten years, no one will remember that she was born under the guillotine!"

"No one will remember?" Mary's father's face was full of bitterness, but when he looked at his sleeping daughter in the cradle, he couldn't help but smile happily.

Why did his face turn bitter? Because his daughter and his own reputation had spread far and wide, and people would remember them no matter how much time had passed, and would continue to mention the baby girl born under the guillotine.

Two years have passed, and the political climate has changed. The guillotine has been abolished, and the last time it was used was when Mary was born.

So people who knew the couple and those who didn't began to distance themselves from them.

Mary's father was deeply distressed by the nickname "The Last Executioner" given to him by his colleagues at work. His only solace now was his beloved daughter.

The lovely and pure Mary, whenever she sees her daughter laughing like a delicate angel in her cradle, no matter how much hardship life brings the couple, they receive what the Mercury Serpent in the shadows considers the highest blessing.

However, Mary, who was already able to stand and walk, never spoke a word. Despite her parents’ tireless efforts to teach her to speak, the girl remained silent, only looking at her somewhat anxious parents with pure and innocent eyes.

That night, the couple suddenly found a gift from an unknown person at their door.

The first was a basket of cakes exuding an incredibly delicious aroma, along with other exquisitely crafted foods, with the inscription in French: "To the most dazzling pearl of Saint-Malo."

Today is Mary's birthday. The couple, who are now so reclusive that no one dares to approach them, are overjoyed to receive such a valuable gift, which also makes them feel a touch of the coldness of human relationships.

The fact that it was not given by name and was not presented in person is probably just because of the couple's reputation.

That night, Mary, who was celebrating her birthday, ate an incredibly delicious cake, and a sweet, innocent smile appeared on her delicate little face, which was still covered in cream.

That very night, as Mary was about to go to sleep after her birthday celebration, she suddenly opened her rosy lips and made an incredibly beautiful sound.

Upon hearing the girl's voice, which was not her husband's, Mary's mother immediately called her husband over as if she had been summoned.

The parents couldn't contain their joy as they watched their daughter's voice, which sounded like she was talking in her sleep.

"Speak, Mary! Come, say something, my good girl!" The mother said, stroking her daughter's head affectionately, as if encouraging her.

With such patient urging and encouragement, listening attentively, and opening her sleepy, beautiful eyes, young Mary remained silent for a moment.

Then, with her incomparably beautiful blue eyes, she looked at her mother, who was praying with her hands clasped together in a Christian ceremony, and then opened her mouth and sang a low melody.

"[Blood, blood, blood, I want to drink blood. (Jeveuxlesang,sang,sang,etsang.)]"

The tender and touching melody came from the girl's mouth, and the surprise that had just appeared on Mary's parents' faces immediately turned into a stiff and terrifying expression.

But Mary, with a smile on her face, paid no attention to her parents' expressions and continued to sing the bloody songs that no one had ever taught her.

"[Pouring sweet dew onto the guillotine stand. (Donnonslesangdeguillotine.)]"

"[To satisfy the thirst for the guillotine. (Pourguerirlasecheressedelaguillotine.)]"

bang——

The mother, utterly terrified, fell backward and fainted. Her husband, in a panic, rushed forward to support her.

Meanwhile, Mary continued to sing increasingly sweet songs.

"【My only desire is blood, blood, blood. (Jeveuxlesang,sang,sang,etsang.)】"

"Ah...Stop! I beg you, please stop!" The mother pleaded in a weak voice, her face contorted with a look of utter despair, but the child showed no sign of stopping.

Lei Zhe, watching this scene from a hundred miles away outside the cabin, shook his head helplessly. For these parents, the birth of such an unusual daughter was not a good thing.

The same yet different sighs, like mercury serpents peering at the light from the shadows outside the window, showed no interest in the girl's parents; the beautiful scenery, which mortals could not appreciate, was more in line with his XP.

The mercury serpent seemed to reside in a gloomy, dark, and cold corner, its pupils reflecting a faint yet dazzling twilight light.

Yes, his eyes were only on the singing girl; he only thought Mary was really beautiful now.

Inside the house, Mary's father was completely bewildered, shifting his bewildered gaze from his daughter to his wife, who had collapsed and fainted.

His wife, whom he helped up, had lost the light and vitality in her eyes, and her pale forehead was etched with prominent wrinkles. In just one minute, she seemed to have aged more than ten years.

The next day, wanting to try again, the mother taught Mary to speak normally, but the daughter revealed an angelic smile and sang a forbidden melody in a lovely voice.

"[Blood, blood, blood, I want to drink blood.......]"

It was these lyrics, these utterly detestable ballads, that Mary uttered a single word beyond the lyrics of this song.

It was precisely because of this that Mary's mother suffered a fatal blow. After just a few months of distress and breakdown, she finally succumbed to her illness and died suddenly in her grief.

In her final moments, the last sound she heard was her daughter Mary singing.

"Jeveuxlesang, sang, sang, etsang."

He watched as his wife, lifeless and dead, lay on the bed, never to rise again, while his daughter, still holding her mother's hand, sang with a smile.

“Mary…”

Mary's father looked pained, as if he were experiencing a devastating heartbreak, and tears streamed down his face.

He didn't blame the child; instead, he took all the blame upon himself, wishing he hadn't been the executioner, if only he hadn't...

The father and his daughter depended on each other for survival. Every time he saw the child, he was overwhelmed with intense regret, which was extremely painful.

Whenever he came home from work, Mary would greet him with this ominous melody, and he could only respond to his daughter with a forced smile.

Even so, he remained a good father and still deeply loved Mary.

All his feelings and love were poured into Mary, and besides that, there was something else that kept him from collapsing.

Whenever it was Mary's birthday, she would always receive lavish and exquisite gifts at her doorstep—birthday presents and cakes from someone who had sent them to her daughter.

If even strangers of unknown name and identity show such love for his daughter, how can he, as a father, collapse alone?

Ten-year-old Mary has become even more adorable. Perhaps she inherited her father's dissolute nature, but she is determined to go out and wander.

However, once Mary steps out of her house and into the crowd, no matter how bustling the street is, it immediately becomes deathly silent.

People feared her and avoided Mary because they knew the tragedy of her birth, and those who knew her called her the Child of Retribution.

Regardless of right or wrong, Mary was ostracized and feared, and her father was also affected, suffering rejection and targeting.

His colleagues dared not associate with him, and his boss at work fired him.

Life's hardships came, but in order to raise his daughter, he, as a father, had no choice but to become a smuggler.

It was precisely because of this that the father had to commit smuggling and be sentenced to death; he did it all for his beloved daughter.

Mary, now all alone, survived like a stray cat or dog and was known as a witch by everyone.

"Blood, blood, blood..."

Mary, with her delicate, small feet bare and wearing a somewhat dirty white dress, wandered aimlessly, singing a hateful, bloody ballad.

The Mercury Serpent, watching this scene from the shadows, seemed to be struggling with something. It was observing the scene from the dark corner of the alley, its steps hesitant and unsteady, swaying back and forth.

Watching Mercury Serpent's fussy behavior from the shadows, Lei Zhe really wanted to give him a good beating.

Damn, is giving Mary a birthday present and cake all you have the courage to do?

With that thought in mind, Razer, in a rather unpleasant mood, quietly appeared behind Mercury Serpent.

“Merkelius…”

Suddenly hearing a name that hadn't been uttered for tens of thousands of years, and a familiar, deep call from tens of thousands of years ago, the Mercury Serpent widened its eyes and turned to look behind it.

Lei Zhe, dressed in a tattered white robe in an ancient style, stared at him with an expression of utter disappointment.

"My dearest friend!!"

Mercury Serpent exclaimed with great surprise, never expecting to encounter Rai Zhe, whom she had parted ways with before, at this moment.

The other party has traveled through time and arrived at this point!

"Mercury, you've met your destined goddess, and this is how you act—only daring to stay in the shadows?!"

Lei Zhe showed up directly this time because he was angered by this guy's incredibly nagging behavior.

In the gaps of time, besides observing Narakuka's movements, he also used his sense of touch to watch the contact between the mercury and the goddess.

Aside from secretly sending Mary birthday gifts, this guy never once dared to show up and communicate with her.

"Uh......"

Mercury Serpent's face stiffened, and a blush crept onto his cheeks like that of a shy young man, his eyes involuntarily drifting towards Mary outside the alley.

Even with Reiji's prophecy, and even knowing that Mary was the very being born from the opposition between law and reason, the Mercury Serpent admitted that he had fallen the moment he saw Mary in person.

He did indeed develop feelings for that goddess and fall in love with the flower that bloomed under the twilight.

but.......

"The one who can stand beside the goddess should not be the decaying me..."

Faced with his best friend's concern about his love life, Mercury Serpent's face revealed a long-lost, completely calm smile. He knew what his best friend's disappointed look meant. If you love someone, why not go for it? Why not pursue them?

Mercury's answer was that he really wanted to go up to the woman he admired and express his love.

But he couldn't do it; he couldn't stand beside the goddess because he was unsuitable for her due to various factors.

"I will kill her, I will kill her again and again..."

With a smile more painful than a grimace, the Mercury Serpent told him, through its rotten and vicious venom, that the first eternal return was about to begin.

After meeting Mary, that feeling grew stronger and stronger. There was no one, except him and his friends, who understood the concept of eternal recurrence better than them.

The meaning of life, in the eyes of the Mercury Serpent, is "the task of turning the unknown into the known." Now, apart from not experiencing death, he has explored all the unknowns of the universe and achieved omniscience.

"So you backed down? Is that your reason? You actually faced the same dilemma as me, ha... what a twisted fate."

When Lei Zhe heard what Mercury Serpent said, a helpless expression appeared on his face. He didn't expect that the young Mercury Serpent was not only affectionate and pure, but also surprisingly likable.

"The same dilemma!?"

Mercury Serpent's gentle and intellectual Eastern face revealed a look of surprise and uncertainty as she looked up and down at her close friend, who also wore a bitter smile because of his words.

His dilemma stemmed from the fear of harming the flower he so deeply loved—a thought born of a young and still-intact mercury serpent.

He looked down upon all living beings with equality, except for his best friend and Mary, because he cared about Mary and therefore could not tolerate his eternal return ruining the life that belonged to the goddess.

When he met Mary, his first thought was to have her inherit his mantle, but because of what his best friend had told him, he had to suppress this desire.