THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 710: A Spark Before the Collapse (1)

“Carmen…” Ada murmured, her voice shaking as she uttered the name of the woman who had spent years by her side—protecting her, mentoring her, and supporting her through every trial.

Carmen...

The older sister figure to both Ada and Frey Starlight.

The clock had already started the moment Ada and Carmen regained consciousness. This ordeal would not conclude unless one of them perished; those were the rigid conditions established by Maika himself.

Whether it was Ada or Carmen…

The gravity of the situation was clear to both.

Information was surged directly into their minds by the Balance the second their eyes opened.

They understood that Maika—Carmen’s biological son—was the architect of this nightmare.

He had bided his time for the perfect opening.

When the demonic forces launched their strike on the Empire, he ambushed Carmen with a devastating blow, ensuring her defeat in the ensuing struggle.

Both Carmen and Maika held the rank of SS-rank.

In a fair confrontation under normal circumstances, Carmen would never have been overcome by him.

Maika was well aware of this fact—

which is why he struck precisely when she was at her most vulnerable.

As for Ada…

She had never been a combatant. Subduing her afterward was a simple task.

Tears began to well in Ada’s eyes as the sheer malice of their predicament sank in.

Either she would die… or Carmen would.

It was heartless..

Beyond cruel.

Carmen was family. The thought of losing her in such a way was something Ada found impossible to stomach.

From the start, Ada had no intention of raising a hand against the woman who had been her pillar for so many years.

However, the look on Carmen’s face was one Ada didn't recognize..

Carmen appeared fully prepared to commit murder.

“Carmen… what are you planning to do?” Ada asked with caution as Carmen closed the distance between them, one measured step at a time.

“There is no other way, Ada.

One of us must perish.”

“No!” Ada cried out, retreating several paces.

“I won't give in to this foul machine… and I refuse to fight you, Carmen!” she declared with conviction, stealing a glance at the timer—a full minute had already slipped away.

A thin, frigid smile touched Carmen’s lips.

“You are mistaken about something, Ada.

You cannot fight me..

and you cannot fight that device..

because you are simply too weak.”

Her voice was heavy, lacking any trace of her usual reckless but affectionate temperament.

“I could end your life from right here, and I don't even rank in the Empire’s top ten.

That is the extent of your weakness… as a family head.”

Ada bit her lip. She was aware of Carmen’s shadowed past..

how she had turned her back on her own child,

how she had lived a sordid life in isolation,

and how she had slain her son’s father before he even knew of the pregnancy.

Carmen had committed atrocities.

Deeds that were beyond redemption.

Yet, none of that altered Ada’s devotion to her.

Everyone has flaws.

What defines a person is the path they walk afterward.

Carmen had been Ada’s protector and teacher, and that bond was enough for Ada to hold onto her with everything she possessed.

“No matter what… I will not fight you,” Ada insisted, trying to lock her resolve in place.

Carmen’s grin grew wider.

“Then if I am not the one to die…

will you take that place, Ada?” she challenged.

“Will you sacrifice yourself to save me?”

She drew closer with every sentence.

“Will you throw your life away? Everything you’ve built?”

“Will you abandon Frey—and die so far from his side?”

Ada’s eyes turned sharp.

“No.

I have no intention of dying.

And I won’t let you die either.

Nobody is dying tonight.”

“Dear Ada… you know the world doesn't work that way.

Not our world.”

The rules were set in stone.

They were unbreakable.

But Ada wasn't bluffing. She intended to challenge reality itself for her convictions.

From her robes, Ada produced a peculiar device she had kept hidden for a long time.

A mechanism provided to her by that man.

His instructions had been explicit:

“Only activate this when it feels as though your entire world has crumbled, when every hope is lost.”

The current situation didn't perfectly fit that description…

but Ada was desperate for the strength to demolish the cursed Balance holding her and Carmen captive.

The object was a cylindrical trigger.

Its function was a mystery.

Its potential was unknown.

But Ada placed her faith in it—believing it was far from ordinary.

Without a second thought,

and with total determination,

she engaged the trigger.

The one-time-use tool..

her ultimate hidden card, her final option..

was deployed just like that.

That act alone demonstrated her love for Carmen..

she was willing to gamble her entire existence for her.

Ada staked their survival on the engineer’s invention.

As she pulled the trigger, the device erupted in light, emitting a strange ripple of aura that caused everyone to wince.

There was no mistake..

this trigger held something terrifying, something primal.

Even Frey felt the tremor of that bizarre aura.

Hope flared in Ada’s heart as the glow intensified.

But then…

Ultimately…

The impossible occurred.

The light faded.

The aura vanished.

The device simply… went cold.

As if it had never been activated at all.

The trial’s countdown continued to tick away.

They were right back where they began.

Ada stood paralyzed, her breath catching in her throat.

“What?”

She couldn't comprehend it.

Was it a dud?

Did it fail?

What had gone wrong?

“Ada…” Carmen whispered after seeing Ada’s desperate attempt.

“What exactly are you trying to achieve?

Are you truly depending on something you don’t understand to flee the trap you’re caught in?”

A look of disappointment crossed Carmen’s features.

She didn't know the nature of the device either, but she knew Ada had obtained it from a mysterious source..

a tool designed for a specific purpose,

at a specific time,

in a specific crisis.

Everything about it was a blind leap of faith.

Ada had gambled recklessly.

And as a consequence, the device remained silent..

leaving them in their dire situation.

“Time remaining: 3 minutes.”

The clock kept dropping… second by second.

Only three minutes remained to decide..

or they would both perish.

In that moment, it seemed Carmen had already reached a conclusion, unlike Ada, whose spirit began to fracture after her final card failed to resolve the crisis.

“Why… isn’t it working?”

She had been told to use it only when all hope was gone..

when her world had collapsed..

and yet, the device had failed to respond.

It was as if it were telling her:

This is not the place,

and this is not the hour.

I was created for a different destiny altogether.

But what did that matter now…

when Ada was on the verge of death?

From the sidelines, Maika and Frey watched the drama unfold..

each gripped by vastly different feelings.

Maika looked ecstatic, particularly as he saw Carmen bracing herself to strike Ada down.

Everything he had orchestrated was falling into place so perfectly it felt surreal.

“I’ll admit… that odd aura wave gave me a scare for a second, but Ada Starlight remains as pathetic as ever. She is powerless to change a thing.”

Maika slowly shifted his gaze toward Frey.

“And now, Frey… observe with your own eyes.

Witness the true nature of the woman you trusted so implicitly.”

He continued his taunts..

but was abruptly cut off as Frey unleashed his aura, slamming Maika to the ground under sheer, crushing weight.

Frey pressed a finger to his lips, demanding silence with a look so gruesome it rattled Maika to his core.

“Choose your next words with extreme care.

You have only three minutes of life remaining.”

Frey made it clear he would end him the moment the trial concluded.

He would have done so already if not for the rule that Carmen and Ada would die if the master of the Balance was killed.

That single caveat was the only thing keeping Maika breathing.

Frey was consumed by rage because of it.

With fury seething inside, Frey spoke sharply in his mind:

“Nameless… you once stood at the pinnacle of the world, damn it. Are you telling me you can’t disable this wretched device!?”

Nameless responded with his usual cold, vacant tone:

“Not as I am now.

I cannot interfere with the laws of life and death.

Had the Balance been turned against you—or me—I could have undone it.

But against Carmen and Ada?

It is impossible.”

The Balance was an artifact of Wesker.

It possessed an absolute authority.

Once triggered with all requirements satisfied, its power reached its zenith..

and unfortunately for Frey, the trap was already sprung.

If only he had arrived sooner, before Maika finished the ritual…

If only he could have somehow diverted the Balance’s target to himself instead of them…

If only.

But nothing in Frey’s existence had ever gone according to his desires,

not even with Nameless at his side.

All he could do was stand as a witness..

forced to swallow another cruel reality.

“Once again… I am forced to stand here and watch those I value die right before me.”

He spat the words out with pure venom.

Meanwhile, even with his face pressed into the stones by Frey’s pressure,

Maika wore a twisted grin as he watched his mother move toward Ada.

“Now, you miserable woman… kill her.

Finish it.”

This was the climax he had been thirsting for.