I Have 10,000 SSS Rank Villains In My System Space Chapter 406: Bringing Back From Death

After Razeal whispered those hushed words, an oppressive quiet gripped the room for what felt like ages. The atmosphere turned thick and burdensome, weighing on every corner of the shop like the world had halted in its tracks. Nothing broke the hush except the steady plink of blood dripping from Maria’s throat gash onto the wooden planks below. Each droplet hit with a soft yet piercing sound, seeping into the wood grain as an insistent dark blotch. Amid that unnatural hush, even that subtle noise rang out far too loudly.

Sofia stayed rooted kneeling by Maria’s corpse. Her palms hovered close to the ragged slash in Maria’s neck, frozen mid-air as though her body had lost its next command. Her digits quivered faintly, yet refused to advance or retreat. Her thoughts flat-out rejected the statement she’d just caught.

Dead?

That term had no place here.

It clashed entirely.

It defied logic.

"She’s... what?" Sofia murmured faintly moments later, her tone empty and brittle while raising her gaze to Razeal. Desperation flickered in her stare now, a childlike plea for him to retract it instantly. For him to admit an error. For him to confess faulty sensing.

That Maria was merely out cold.

That shock explained it all.

Anything but his declaration.

Yet Razeal offered no further words.

He stayed motionless, unresponsive.

He just loomed there, eyes fixed on Maria’s still form sprawled across the floor.

That mute stillness conveyed all Sofia required.

"No... no way that’s real," she breathed rapidly, her voice constricting as she fought the truth head-on. Her hands sprang to life at last, seizing Maria’s shoulder for a gentle shake to rouse her.

Maria showed zero reaction.

Her frame hung utterly slack.

Worse still, transformation had already set in.

For Maria was a vampire now.

Devoid of vital flow, her complexion paled dramatically... ghostly pale. Vitality fled her skin, leaving an ashen, spectral hue. The radiant luster from moments prior evaporated, swapped for a deathly calm that rendered her hauntingly delicate. Faint crimson trails lingered at her eye edges, where tears blended with throat blood. Her figure seemed shrunken, death’s hush carving hollows into every contour. Even her fingers, splayed limp on the floor, bore the rigid void of a cadaver.

"...No," Sofia breathed once more, conviction draining from the word.

The fact stared her down plainly.

Acceptance eluded her grasp.

She lingered kneeling silently for beats, eyes locked on Maria’s ashen visage, yearning for her chest to heave anew.

Nothing stirred.

"What... in blazes was that?!" Sofia burst out abruptly.

Her shout sliced the quiet like a blade as fury and incredulity erupted from within. She whirled to face Razeal, face etched in stunned outrage.

"Why pull that stunt?!" she pressed, voice quaking amid the bewilderment. "She’d just evolved! Snagged godlike strength! She was barreling toward divinity!" Her finger jabbed futilely at Maria’s prone form. "Who offs themselves fresh off a breakthrough like that?!"

Her outburst reverberated in the hushed shop.

Razeal held back his reply.

His eyes drifted back down to Maria’s features gradually.

For the first occasion post-incident, a subtle furrow etched his forehead.

Truth be told... he grappled with his own emotions here.

The whole affair struck him as... odd.

A suicide had unfolded before his eyes.

And the trigger...

From observations and words exchanged, Maria’s act stemmed from crushing remorse.

Remorse over misjudging him.

Remorse over swallowing the falsehood.

Remorse over failing him in his hour.

To him, it boiled down simply.

She ended it out of guilt over his ordeal... assuming his hunch held...?

That precise element baffled him utterly.

For someone raised convinced of universal selfishness... that none genuinely valued him, actions purely self-serving... this defied digestion.

Maria’s deed shattered that conviction clean.

She ended her life.

For him...?

The notion struck his psyche as preposterous.

Razeal silently pictured role reversal.

If he’d slighted another.

If a grave error dawned on him.

Would self-destruction follow?

His verdict hit swift.

No.

Not remotely.

No soul sprang to mind worth such sacrifice.

Not a single one.

No visage surfaced.

No identity.

Void.

The concept rang laughably foolish.

Nevertheless...

Maria executed it precisely.

Before his very eyes.

Post-apology.

Post-sorrow...?

She claimed her life.

Owing to him.

Razeal truly puzzled over his fitting response.

Anger evaded him.

Sorrow too.

Rather, bafflement reigned... disorienting him into doubting long-held tenets.

Was such feasible?

Could one cherish another to self-annihilation via guilt?

Or Maria just... he lacked the term...

His stare held her countenance.

Yet fresh contemplation brewed inwardly.

Maria mentioned something key before.

Something vital.

She owed him her existence.

He’d rescued her.

And that fragment escaped his recall...

Likely tied to that, right?

Her fierce response traced to some ancient deed of his... linking those blank voids.

That insight furrowed his brow deeper.

For a fresh query arose.

What precisely occurred then?

Whatever transpired...

It imprinted profoundly enough for lifelong debt.

Profound enough for crippling remorse upon abandonment realization.

Profound enough...

For self-slaughter.

Dwelling on it unveiled his scant grasp of personal history.

Regardless of history’s veil or lost recollections, one truth crystallized sharply for Razeal. Maria’s sincerity shone toward him. No deceit laced her claim of care. Nor her love admission... scarcely hyperbolic. Proof loomed unmatched in her final act. None discard life thus for uncared souls.

His eyes stayed downcast on Maria’s inert form amid the planks. Her pallid features donned death’s spectral hush, crimson pooling under her neck, creeping along boards. The view stirred an alien knot within, unfamiliar and leaden, lodged awkwardly in his torso like immovable ballast. He scrutinized her long, the face lately brimming vitality now serene. Vacant. Oddly tranquil. A faint scowl creased him as that odd burden gnawed. Unfathomable. His debut brush with such nebulous weight.

Sofia observed him through the lull. Initially fixated on Maria’s remains, wrestling the event. Gradually, her focus swung to Razeal. Unshifted since his murmur, he gazed earthward at Maria. To Sofia, the tableau screamed pathos. Suicide mere feet away, amid tears, pleas, farewells.

Any would reel. Concern creased Sofia’s brows appraising him. He’s deeply grieved, she mused. Though new to Maria, their bond predated hers vastly. Tangled history brimmed: misreads, laments, silences. She knew his prior rejection, the grudge. Yet truth unveiled, Maria’s drastic end... unimaginable turmoil for him. Especially given his emotional frailties.

"Hey, you okay?....... And.. it’s not your fault, alright?" Sofia uttered tenderly, shattering quiet turning to him. True compassion laced her tone. "This mess... words fail... but not your fault." She chose words deliberately, steadying herself amid the bizarre. Maria perished. Irrevocable finality. No mending rifts, no talks, no fixes. Tragedy pure to Sofia. She nodded faintly, sole comfort proffered. "Truly... don’t shoulder blame."

Razeal raised his sight from floor to lock on Sofia mid-speech. Silent beats passed eyeing her. Sofia eased her look maximally, beaming empathy, bolstering. Fragile juncture; ill words could wound. She waited mute, presence her anchor for his turmoil.

Then Razeal scowled.

A hefty exhale fled as hand rose to face, kneading brow leisurely.

Sofia’s pulse clenched at the sight.

First blatant emotion from him.

He’s reeling bad.

Swiftly rising, she closed to him.

"Hey, hey... ease up," she cooed nearing, palms up pacifying near-breakdown. "I get the shock, but no self-blame or wild moves, yeah?" Her murmur deepened. "None foresaw this. Not you, me, nobody. Don’t bear it alone." Genuine dread gripped her; suicide scars lingered eternally. She’d witnessed. Razeal harbored ample inner shadows already.

Razeal exhaled anew.

Shook head faintly.

"She’s so dumb and stupid... I swear..." he stated bluntly.

The quip landed so offhand Sofia blinked stunned.

"...Yeah... yeah, she is," Sofia echoed clumsily post-beat, adrift on his vibe. Hand settled soft on his arm, deeming it grief-veiled ire. "I’m sad too."

Razeal just vented air.

"Sigh... whatever," he grumbled.

Hand dropped from visage; he strode to Maria.

"Let me just bring her back to life."

Delivered so breezily, Sofia missed it initially.

Then shock ballooned her eyes.

Grief snapped him, she feared fleetingly.

Cracked.

"Hey.. hey hey! You good?" Sofia lunged blocking his advance to Maria. Palms thrust defensive against folly. Sorrow flipped to stark panic. "What’re you doing?" she barked urgently. "She’s dead!" Heavy, edged. "I know it sucks.. horrible, but reality! Face it!" Eyes probed his frantically for sanity.

Razeal exuded calm.

"I’m all fine," he drawled leisurely, nonchalant. "No worries." Zero turmoil as anticipated. "Also... don’t block me." Fingers grazed her arm soothingly. "It’s fine. Not sad." Head cocked eyeing her. "Do I look sad?" Faint grin relaxed amid grimness. "Just surprised she’d go that far for me. That’s it." Shrug casual. "All good otherwise. I can revive her. Chill too." Palm lingered light on her before earnest addendum, "And I’m glad you care... Thank you for your concern."

"What...?" Sofia batted lids repeatedly, derailed utterly. Gaped assessing jest or madness. "You don’t seem... mentally stable right now," she voiced measuredly, eyes slitting. "You need rest bad." Cadence turned coaxing for shocked kin. "And thanking for care? Normal stuff, no thanks needed." Awkward halt, dialogue awkward.

"No, no," she rushed, mirroring shoulder grips. "Drop it. Sit first. Calm." Pity softened her gaze. Obvious snap under strain. Such a kind soul... she lamented inwardly. Hides deeper pain. Sympathy welled gazing.

Razeal met her stare blankly.

Shook head deliberate.

"Just two seconds, okay?" he murmured gravely.

Ere Sofia’s rebuttal, he eased her aside single-handed, bypassing.

Sofia iced solid then.

For jest vanished.

True intent gleamed.

Striding to Maria... convinced of revival claim.

Sofia’s bewilderment surged.

Within Razeal’s psyche, a voice interjected.

[Host... I wouldn’t recommend it.]

Villey’s timbre rang gravely uncharacteristic.

[It was her choice to end it. Revival mocks that. Honor her will at minimum. No pragmatic gain either. Subordinates abound in system space, superior picks. Summon one. Effortful, yet doable. With Maria... risk falling for her. Your "Cursed Love" trait? I oppose hard. Self-sabotage akin.]

Razeal dismissed wholly.

Utterly.

System plea rang ludicrous internally.

Self-sacrifice for him unfolded.

Now weigh revival’s "profit"?

Absurd folly. Seriously, need reason? For this?

Sacrifice for cost? Debatable perhaps.

But no such toll...

Revival cost-free.

Why balk?

Not so callous to abandon post-such display.

Least when death sprang from perceived betrayal.

Lifelong creed: indifference universal.

Pure self-interest reigned.

And yet..