Subaru Natsuki, who returned from the new Three Kingdoms

"Let me show you clearly what I really look like!"

Large scales fell off her body, turning into gas and disappearing into the air, while the dragon bones shrank and contracted beneath her flesh.

First, it transformed into Capela's original blonde appearance, and then her beautiful face was squeezed inwards, with the corners of her eyes and mouth splitting open at the same time.

Tumors of varying sizes bulge out from one cheek while the other side collapses inward, causing the mouth to become deformed and unable to close tightly, revealing layers of interlocking teeth.

Grayish-white chunks of flesh slumped down her shoulders, crushing her left shoulder.

The skin on his back was pushed out by sharp protrusions from the bones, emitting a foul, rotten smell.

This is the true face that Capela has always hidden beneath countless beautiful faces.

"So, this...this is the truth hidden beneath my body..."

Capela has shed the sharp, girlish voice she once deliberately projected, and her voice has become mature, like that of an adult woman.

This is her true voice. (She used it during the Minato arc.)

Natsuki Subaru remained silent.

Capela didn't get the response he wanted, so he raised his twisted head, about to continue his taunts.

But when she met Subaru Natsuki's eyes, those eyes that shone like stars even in the dark cave made her voice catch in her throat.

What was I just doing?

'Why do I want to turn back to normal...'

After reverting to her original form, completely corrupted by dragon blood, the power of the dragon blood surged within Capella's body, gradually dispelling the effects of the witch's miasma on her.

Capela then realized that something was wrong with her emotions just now.

But it was too late; Subaru had already seen it.

Just moments ago I wanted to tear his lies apart, but suddenly a part of my anger vanished.

Instead, endless regret began to engulf Capella.

She began to regret why she had changed back, and why she had to put this body in front of him.

This face will remain in his memory.

No matter how beautiful she becomes in the future, all he will see is this rotten, disordered mass of flesh and blood.

He will remember what he has hugged and will feel nauseous the next time he reaches out.

He...will leave me too...

no, do not want...

Capela's contorted body trembled violently...

She stared at Subaru's face, fearing the hint of disgust that would inevitably appear there sooner or later.

But Natsuki Subaru's eyes showed nothing but worry.

This calm did not reassure her; instead, it instilled even greater fear in her.

Perhaps he hasn't realized it yet, perhaps he'll back away in the next moment, perhaps those eyes will soon become like those of the people in the past.

We can't wait until that moment.

Capela then realized just how afraid she was of losing the man in front of her.

She has been suffering from this illness for decades.

Only this man...

Only the man in front of me is special...

How crazy would a person who is dying of thirst go if someone tried to take away her water after she had drunk it?

Capela's crimson eyes, now transformed into a demonic dragon, blazed with madness.

Since Subaru Natsuki has already seen it, let's destroy him too.

If only I could make him like me...

She quietly channeled the purest dragon blood from her body into the flesh and blood of her chest.

The curse gathered beneath the tumor, waiting only for Subaru Natsuki's Sanctuary Sword to fall.

This cursed blood would then splatter down Subaru's cracked body, contorting his face, bones, and flesh.

Once he too becomes a monster cursed by dragon blood, he will no longer have the right to despise himself.

Capela slowly lowered all her arms, revealing her defenseless chest.

"Chop!"

A harsh laugh squeezed out from between his crooked teeth.

"You were chopping so enthusiastically just now, why did you stop?"

Subaru approached, sword in hand.

He had already realized that Capela had lost his will to fight.

Capela remained motionless, watching the sword's edge draw ever closer, the dragon blood within him surging to his skin.

Just one sword strike.

If only he could slash himself with his sword again.

'Please, Subaru, don't leave me...'

However, the sword she had been waiting for fell to the ground before her.

Subaru released his grip, and the Sacred Sword landed on the stone slab with a clear sound.

Before Capela could figure out what was happening, he had already walked up to her, avoiding the protruding bones, and gently embraced her.

Subaru's festering skin clung to his clothes, the sweat from the enhanced metabolism caused by the dragon's blood soaking through the fabric of his garments.

Subaru's arms remained firmly around her back, without hesitation or letting go.

Capela froze; her brain was completely unable to process what was happening.

Will she even get a hug like this?

"What are you...doing?" Capela's voice was already trembling.

"Don't worry, I know it wasn't your fault just now, I won't blame you." Natsuki Subaru gently stroked Capella's strangely swollen body while comforting her softly, just like before.

"Who told you to hug me? Let go!"

She screamed fiercely, but her body showed no sign of struggling.

"Have you clearly seen what I look like?"

"I saw it clearly."

"Then you still dare to touch it?" Capella's voice had turned into a sob.

When her voice transformed into a mature, sophisticated tone, her sobbing became even more heart-wrenching.

Subaru held the body in his arms more securely.

He calmly looked down at Capela's crimson dragon eyes, which had been transformed by the erosion.

"A true man's word is as good as gold, and even four horses cannot overtake him!"

"Since we said you were our mount, we will love you no matter what you become."

"What kind of master dislikes a horse just because it's sick, and is fickle and easily bored?"

"This kind of person doesn't deserve to ride a BMW for the rest of his life!"

Listening to these absurd words, and looking into those earnest eyes above...

All the vicious words that Capella had prepared were stuck in his throat.

She slowly lowered her head, no longer daring to look into Natsuki Subaru's affectionate eyes, and instead buried her face in Natsuki Subaru's chest.

"Why..."

Capela's voice returned to her usual childlike tone, only this time with less madness and more trembling.

Subaru didn't explain, he just hugged her tighter.

Capela's hard shell, built up over many years with anger, malice, and sarcasm, finally cracked in this embrace.

Tears kept streaming from Capela's eyes.

With the blessing of dragon blood, even these tears possess a strong corrosive quality.

Tears fell onto Subaru's chest, scorching a patch of skin and sending up plumes of smoke, but he did not flinch.

Capela cried even harder, like a helpless little girl left alone in a room to die.

Everyone who saw her avoided her like the plague.

Even her father and mother would show disgust when they saw her.

The pain of the past flowed out with her tears, and was gradually caught by the man in front of her, dissipating along with them.

Capela slowly raised her arms and embraced Subaru, at which point her body began to churn with blood and flesh once more.

She transformed from her ugly, sickly appearance back to her original, healthy self, the blonde little girl she used to look like.

Are you feeling better?

"Hmm..." Capella nodded, still burying her face in Subaru's chest, and replied softly.

"That's good." Natsuki Subaru patted Capella's head again, and said with some concern:

"You really scared me to death just now, I thought I was going to lose you..."

Subaru Natsuki is not exaggerating.

Throughout history, there have been countless examples of people whose personalities have been completely corrupted by fate, even undergoing drastic changes.

Basically, once it's corroded, it's not far from death; there are very few cases where it can be saved...

Capela wanted to say, 'I'm afraid of losing you too.'

But she didn't say it out loud; she simply hugged Subaru tighter, within the limits he could comfortably bear...

Natsuki Subaru felt this pressure and was quite helpless...

What can I do? My family has a little mare.

If you like to act cute, then so be it.

The two hugged for a while.

Capela suddenly realized that her previously calm emotions were starting to fluctuate again.

This time she was prepared, and after a careful inspection, she discovered what had happened.

It turned out to be miasma...

Capela was no stranger to this kind of thing.

As the Archbishop of Sin of the Witch Cult, she knew very well how witch miasma could invade a person's body and how it could push a person's anger, fear, and desire to extremes.

But why is there such a strong miasma in this cave?

Even she, who was a high archbishop of sin and had long been one with the witch factor, was affected.

If she hadn't returned to her original form and hadn't had the gate inside her body cleansed by pure dragon blood, she wouldn't even have regained her sanity yet.

What's behind the iron wall?

Could it be that a sinful witch who has become a spirit is sealed here?

Capella closed her eyes, feeling the flow of magic within her body.

Upon discovering that miasma had invaded again, it immediately changed the shape of the "gate" inside the body.

The pathways of magic were forcibly reversed.

The wisp of dark purple mist was forced out of the body along the new flow, turning into a viscous shadow that slowly dissipated after landing on the ground.

At the same time, Capela looked up with a puzzled expression.

Why is this man in front of me unaffected by the miasma?