Chapter 268: Some People Never Change
The memory collapsed at that point, much to Minos's relief, his heart having already been overwhelmed by a deep sickness that left him incredibly nauseous.
Opening his eyes, the frozen world seemed to slowly grind back into motion, Minos still looking towards Lilia, though his entire perspective had changed tremendously.
His heart was still filled with rage, though it was no longer directed towards Lilia, but instead her heartless father who had done something so vile to her.
Of course, Lilia was completely unaware of Minos's change of heart, instead preparing to launch another volley of attacks.
However, before she could do anything, Minos suddenly spoke, his peaceful and delicate voice tiding her over for a moment.
"Lilia, I understand your pain, but you don't have to become like your father."
Hearing his words, Lilia came to a complete pause, her heart thumping rapidly as the words seemed to strike a chord.
"What are you saying?" She shouted, not ready to hear what he had to say.
"I'm saying that you can be better. The pain and suffering he caused you doesn't have to dictate your life, you are your own person!"
"Better person? No, no, I can't." Lilia cried, clutching at her hair as she seemed to go a little crazy.
"You can, and you must, not only for you, but for your son too." Minos said, slowly walking up beside Lilia.
"But I'm broken, I've already done too much, I can't go back now."
"You can, and even if you're broken, I'll help fix you, I promise." Minos said, resting his hand gently on her shoulder.
"Y-You will?" Lilia said, raising her lowered head and looking up into Minos's eyes.
"I will, after all, I never make a promise I can't keep." Minos smiled.
Returning the smile, Lilia stood back up, Minos seemingly ready to let his guard-down for a second.
Fortunately, with his Heart Path active, Minos could feel Lilia's emotions suddenly devolve back into chaos, his heart tensing up as he quickly jumped back at the last second.
The same second he jumped back, Lilia stabbed out towards him with a sharp dagger, just barely missing his vitals.
"What the hell are you doing?" Minos shouted, having thought he had actually connected with her for a moment.
"Isn't it obvious? Using power to get what I want." Lilia laughed maniacally, tossing the dagger aside before pulling another weapon from her spatial ring.
Realizing Lilia was far to gone, Minos could only pull out his own sword, the two once again falling into combat.
Realizing she wasn't strong enough to beat him, Lilia thought for a moment before jumping back, Minos looking at her curiously as he wondered what she was about to do.
Biting her thumb, Lilia smeared the blood across her forward, her fingers rapidly connecting into dozens of different signs as blood on her forehead rapidly evaporated.
Knowing this wasn't good, Minos shot towards her, but Lilia seemed intent on finishing her move, so she only watched as Minos's sword plunged deeply into her stomach, coming out the other side.
Coughing up a chunk of blood, Lilia finally finished her move, her entire skin becoming blood-red as a dense steam mist slowly dissipated off her body.
With a reach, Lilia took the blade into hand, shattering it with seemingly no effort, causing Minos's brow to raise in shock.
That wasn't any ordinary weapon, it was a Half-Step Seven-Moon Sword, quite a bit better than a typical Six-Moon weapon.
Even so, Lilia shattered it without any difficulty, making it clear that that move of hers had tremendously increased her strength.
"Mother, no!" Little Minos shouted out, being fully aware of what move his mother was using.
This was a forbidden technique that only the royal family knew, aptly called Life Sacrifice.
Like the name implied, Life Sacrifice would multiply a person's strength a dozen times over, but in exchange their life-force would rapidly drain away, most people only leaving behind a husk of their former selves by the time the move was over.
Ignoring her son's words, Lilia dashed towards Minos, her fist akin to a comet descending towards the earth.
The move was so fast that Minos couldn't fully avoid it, only being able to gather all his Nux into a shield in front of him.
After only a fraction of a second, the shield collapsed, Lilia fist continuing towards Minos's crossed-arms.
Like a mortal being hit by a raging bull, Minos's entire body flew backwards through the air, shattering dozens of trees before his body dug deep into the earth, leaving behind a large trench.
Coughing up more than blood, Minos used all his strength to sit up, his arms having been rendered completely useless from the attack.
Looking at his arms that could only hang lifelessly by his sides, Minos was forced to get onto his knees before finally standing up, his body stumbling a few times before he finally regained his balance.
Looking out into the distance, Minos saw Lilia, who was slowly walking towards him, not at all worried that he'd escape.
"Why are you doing this?" Minos could only ask, no longer having the strength to fight back.
"Haven't I already answered you?" Lilia responded, getting even closer to Minos, who was so injured that a strong wind could blow him over.
"This state of yours, you know you won't survive it, right?" Minos said, his Omniscient Eyes allowed him to understand the mechanisms behind the technique Lilia used.
"It's okay, as long as I get to feel your warmth before I go, I'll be happy." Lilia smiled, finally arriving directly in front of Minos.
Unable to refuse her advances, Minos could only watch as Lilia hugged him tightly and stood still, seemingly enjoying the moment.
Time passed slowly in this way, and Minos could feel that Lilia's embrace was getting weaker and weaker, her skin aging rapidly as it wrinkled into itself.
"I love you Minos, I always have, but before I go, I've got to take someone with me." Lilia whispered.
"What do you mean?" Minos asked, worried that Lilia was about to do something stupid.
"Isn't it obvious, a man should only have one wife, whether in life or death, so let me be the last one you embrace." Lilia giggled before collapsing completely.
"Don't!" Minos shouted, knowing she was about to use her Aptus.
He was long since aware of her Aptus due to his Omniscient Eyes, but considering its nature, he had ignored it for the most part.
Using what was left of his strength, Minos quickly ran off towards Tinka, not even bothering to give Lilia's decayed body a second glance.
…
While Minos was running off to find his wife, little Minos had arrived at the scene, his mothers withered corpse being the only thing left behind.
"Mom!" Little Minos cried out, collapsing on his knees as he took his mother's dry hand into his own, his tears soaking her dress as he cursed his own weakness.
"Why, why did you do it! We could have been a normal family." Little Minos wept, a mysterious power brewing inside him as the despair poured out of him.
"Father, I understand this isn't your fault, b-but, I still can't forgive you…"
"What should I do, Mother? I'm so confused…" Little Minos asked, having lost both his parents on the same day.
Unfortunately, his Mother couldn't answer him when he needed her most, though the peaceful smile left on her face seemed to say enough.
"I understand! My father, I'll get him to bury you with his own two hands, only then will you be able to rest in peace!" Little Minos said with resolve as he stood back up, his eyes filled with clarity.
…
Arriving by Rinka, Minos found his wife collapsed in her arms, her face pale and bloodless as she breathed heavily.
"Dad! What happened to mom!?" Rinka cried, handing her mother over.
"It's Lilia, her Aptus did this." Minos said, not even able to find peace with her after she died.
"What should we do?" Rinka asked.
"Don't worry, I'll figure something out, but for now we have to keep running." Minos said, carrying his wife's unconscious body onto his shoulders before summoning up a disc of Nux and stepping onto it.
Despite his body's protest, Minos forced himself through the pain, clutching tightly onto Rinka's hand as he took flight, gliding along the forest floor at an incredible speed.
…
Not long after Minos left, Little Minos arrived, and after a quick search, he found a few blood stains that Minos was unable to clean up due to his weakness.
'I'll find you, through the heavens and earth, that much I promise.' Little Minos swore, before heading back to the guard team, ready to use their strength to go after him.
Meanwhile, Minos kept running, fully-aware that the entire world would likely be chasing after him soon.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone