Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

"Your plan would have been impossible without me. How could you have won if I hadn't weakened the Dragon God by half?"

"And in the end, I still died... and I died at your hands."

"To put it simply, I don't think I would be happy just by being with you."

"Because Lilith is very selfish, isn't she? Not to mention me, even Natalie and the others ended up feeling unhappy. If I really went with her, it would definitely be very painful for me."

“I’m not reconciled, and I’m resentful. From any perspective, I feel that I have to take revenge and drag Lilith down with me.”

Upon hearing this, Rhodes remained silent.

Cecilia spoke these words with extreme personal emotion.

In fact, she knew that the cause-and-effect relationship was not like that at all.

Cecilia is like a powerful warlord who controls a region. She often opposes them in the early stages, but later she cooperates with them to kill the dragon god, an enemy they must kill.

The problem is, Cecilia's true nature is that of someone who could degenerate into a mad demon god—

After dealing with their greatest enemy, there is no doubt that they will have to deal with Cecilia in return.

However, they faced two choices—to keep Cecilia alive or to kill her.

Rhodes had already given Cecilia a chance; if she were willing to give up the position of the fused demon god, she could have survived. But she didn't do that.

It's like a general who holds too much power during the founding of an empire and wants to take back her military authority, but she refuses... She wants a divine position and also wants to survive, which is almost impossible.

But Cecilia is right about one thing.

If she hadn't betrayed him and had actually stayed with him, she really wouldn't have been able to get what he promised her back then.

He promised her a safe life, but in the end he neither did nor could have done so.

Because without her, the Dragon God could not be killed, and any pleasure would only be temporary...

So, it was indeed him who broke his promise.

Mistakes and contradictions, in fact, from any perspective, are all just the right gears of fate.

One wrong step can lead to a completely different direction and a different outcome.

If Cecilia hadn't left, she would have been just an ordinary maid, and under Lilith's suppression, she wouldn't even have had the chance to get close to the core area.

Moreover, without Cecilia becoming a false demon god, they would have inevitably failed.

Rhodes unexpectedly felt a surge of relief, his mood heavy with suppressed emotions—

Yes.

That's just how it is... Cecilia mocks him every day for not being capable enough, but in his previous life, he really wasn't capable enough.

Rhodes let out a breath.

Then he began to walk toward the altar.

"If you're going to say what's wrong, then in reality, there might only be one thing that's wrong."

"That's because I was too weak back then."

"I failed to fulfill my promise and did not possess the power to kill the Dragon God on my own, so I need to use you."

"In the end, it was because you were too weak that I had no choice but to kill you."

“But the past is the past, and the present is the present.” Rhodes raised the Star Punishment Dragon Sword. “The present me is slightly more successful than before.”

Cecilia.

"I want to ask you, are you willing to come with me?"

"Just follow me, and you'll have plenty of food and a safe place to live."

"From now on, you won't need to be the leader of the rats in these alleys anymore, and you can live a good life."

The second time I asked.

But this time, he will not break his promise.

The voice was extremely calm, yet it carried intense emotion.

Rhodes took all the problems into his own hands, without needing to think about who was right and who was wrong.

He used to be too weak, but now he is not the same person.

His power was enough to make Lilith retreat, enough for him to kill the Dragon God, and even enough for him to replace Cecilia in completing the method to eliminate the demonic seed [curse].

So all you have to do is carry it.

He has enough now.

Cecilia pursed her lips slightly and lowered her eyes.

"What if you're still not strong enough?"

"What if my livelihood remains uncertain in the future?"

"To entrust one's fate to others, to entrust everything to you... Rod."

"Defeat me."

"If you can defeat me, then I will believe in you."

Cecilia stood up, her figure like a blood moon, and once again condensed her final aura.

Chapter 192 The Girl Crying Amidst the Blazing Flames

The shadows behind Cecilia twisted and converged, forming a dragon-like monster with one eye and a serrated mouth.

To describe Rhode's first impression, this dragon was a special version of Ivina's Blood Demon, smaller in size and black in color—but its inherent evil nature was exactly the same.

"By the way, if I attack you, won't your pain be transmitted to Ivina?" Rhodes asked, raising his Star Punishing Dragon Sword.

"I know a little bit," Cecilia shook her head. "I apologized afterwards; what else could I do?"

Having said that—

Her hands then assumed the posture of playing the violin, and moved lightly.

There was no zither, no bow, but with just a flick of the wrist, time seemed to freeze and began to mutate.

[Pendulum Domain] Her domain skill,

Within the domain, her speed will increase by 20%.

The moment the domain was released, her figure shot out, passing by like lightning, striking Rhodes directly. She drew her spear and swung it like a dragon.

In her eyes, the only way to deal with Rhodes's [Ignore Space] skill is to unleash a burst of power instantly, leaving him no time to defend!

Therefore, she must attack Rhodes in an instant and restrict his movements!

As she moved, the dragon beasts behind her separated and coordinated with her, each launching an attack on Rhodes from the left and right sides.

"brush--!"

The dragon's sharp claws and fangs tore towards Rhode.

At that moment, the [Mad Spirit Life] instantly appeared in front of Rhodes and surged out wildly again, blocking the dragon beast's attack and creating a tearing sound!

"Kill!" Cecilia's spear arrived at the same moment. Her spear was exquisite, and her thrust was of the highest level. The moment it came, it swept towards Rhodes like a hurricane!

"The momentum is very good."

Rhodes' eyes turned cold, and he stepped aside, using the Star Punishment Dragon Sword to block Cecilia's attack, cutting it apart and sending it far away, before counterattacking.

The reason his skills are so extraordinary lies precisely in this—

【Life Dragon Heart LV.4】: Can share spirit within a kilometer radius and inflict 【Mental Stifling】 on enemies.

The sole purpose of mental suffocation is to instantly deprive the enemy of physical control.

Rhode instantly activated his skill, and a soul storm of cleavage erupted from his body, enveloping Cecilia and himself, and began to churn.

In an instant, Cecilia's soul disintegrated under this soul-tearing attack, and her body froze—

Cecilia laughed in anger as she felt her body being forcibly controlled.

As the fight went on, she almost forgot that Rhodes was a Soul God Seed, but then he remembered at the crucial moment that he was a Soul God Seed?

She felt helpless and could only watch as Rhodes' attack landed.

At this moment, Rhodes' longsword did not strike Cecilia at all. Instead, he casually swung it lightly to the left, and a strong cleaving sword aura tore through space and slashed towards Cecilia's elbow!

[Ignores spatial distance and causes damage]

This field is too ruthless. Once the opponent can't kill Rhodes instantly, then the one who will be tortured 100% will be the opponent.

"Pfft-"

Cecilia's elbow was cut open, leaving a scarlet gash. Blood splattered out instantly, and the spear flew out of control.

Meanwhile, even more bizarre effects appeared;

【Star Punishing Dragon Sword LV.5】: You can forge a Star Punishing Dragon Sword. When the weapon pierces an enemy, you can cause the 【Mental Tear】 effect.

In an instant, the true wound tore open Cecilia's soul, making her feel dizzy and her soul burning with pain, causing her to grit her teeth.

Cecilia endured the intense pain and, the moment she regained a sliver of consciousness, summoned a dragon beast that slashed fiercely at Rhode's location. Her figure vanished into the shadows, attempting to escape Rhode's attack range.

She was also extremely exhausted inside.

Is this an opponent that humans can defeat?

Ignoring attack range, it forces control and deals true damage—and it's true damage that makes enemies increasingly tired.

Her teammates have basically already lost.

Faced with the sea god's hunt, the goddess of lust was utterly powerless to resist.

Faced with so many level 7 upgrades, including peak level 7 upgrades like Shirley and Merrick, her level 7 upgrade teammates had already been suppressed to the point of having no chance to fight back.

On her side... needless to say.

It's true, there wasn't even a chance for one last dance—

If you close the distance, you get hard-controlled and killed; if you keep your distance, you get killed regardless of space. What's the point of fighting like this?

Moreover, she could clearly sense that from the start of the battle, Rhodes had been holding back, attacking her in places that were not vital, and had no intention of killing her outright.