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The people involved in the main scenario are never ordinary, and it’s rare for anyone to possess only good traits. There are always those whom one must avoid at all costs, and one of the top contenders is this person right here. Death Wish, Katia Heinkel Craven, a ‘major character’ who holds as much significance in the scenario as Noel.

As for her notable characteristics: she’s eccentric, unpredictable, self-destructive, and does whatever she pleases. On top of that, her innate strength is terrifyingly overwhelming. The negative ripple effect when things go wrong is bound to escalate into something severe. Considering the direction the game’s story is heading, all the main characters are destined to stain their hands with blood.

Yet, regardless of the path one chooses, the one responsible for the most deaths will likely be the person standing before Aiden. It’s not that she’s someone who indiscriminately commits murder or delights in wielding violence against the innocent. However, if one triggers a particular ‘switch’—if you touch her raw nerve—this girl wouldn’t blink as she carries out a massacre.

Outwardly, she appears like a wealthy young lady, casually strolling down the street without a care, but underneath, she’s a ticking time bomb.

!! Sub Quest !!

You will come into contact with ‘Death Wish,’ Katia Heinkel Craven.

Try to resolve the situation as peacefully as possible.

▶ Successfully managing the current situation will greatly increase her affection toward you!

Failure will result in penalties!

And now, he was supposed to handle this situation peacefully while entangled with such a person. It’s as if something unpeaceful is bound to happen. Just thinking about it is dreadful, but now that it’s crossed his mind, he needs to stay sharp.

…… Crisis could also be an opportunity.

If used well, it could turn out that way.

Raising her affection drastically means more skill copy tokens, doesn’t it?

“I’m bored.”

After a long, silent walk together, suddenly the girl muttered.

“Isn’t there anything to do?”

It feels like she’s asking him to chat, but wasn’t there something she wanted to say?

“Nothing like that.”

“I really just called you because I was bored. I was about to have fun, but it got interrupted, didn’t it?”

Aiden was at a loss for words at her cheerful response.

No.

Aren’t there a lot of questions to ask? Why did she interfere just now? How does she know my identity? Even these could be interesting topics for conversation, right?

“Or do you want to entertain me yourself?”

“….”

“I have a few pretty good ways to toy with you, want to hear–”

“Doesn’t matter what?”

Cutting her off, Aiden’s question made Katia chuckle. It wasn’t at all the respectful tone you’d expect when addressing royalty, but from what he’d gathered about her, she’s not someone who cares about such formalities.

She’s straightforward about everything. No need to overthink it.

“Anything’s fine.”

“I have something to do, so follow along if you want.”

When Aiden moved ahead, Katia snickered upon seeing his destination.

“A gun shop?”

In the back alleys of the city, it’s natural that you can find anything, even firearms that require tricky licenses. All you need is money.

“And what good is this?”

“I need it.”

“Why?”

“Why do you care?”

“You can use powers, can’t you?”

How does she know that?

Aiden stared at Katia, conveying that thought, and she casually tilted her head in response.

Her sheepish reply came immediately.

“……You can just tell by looking.”

There’s certainly a lot one can tell just by looking. Of course, explaining why he needed a gun, even though he had powers, would be a bit complicated.

As Katia mentioned, there’s no real reason for people who can use supernatural abilities to wield firearms. However, considering Aiden’s own unique traits, there’s no tool that fits better than a gun.

– “When your abilities take shape in this manner, they become much more refined. You can channel them into your body, but it’s more efficient to infuse them into a weapon.”

Aiden remembered Noel explaining this to him before. While supernatural abilities can be used on their own, their efficiency doubles when channeled into a weapon. It’s a simple enough concept.

But for someone like Aiden, who handles multiple abilities, the choice becomes a bit more complicated. He would need several components, and most importantly, he had to be able to ‘use’ them, despite his lack of combat training. For that reason, traditional melee weapons like swords and spears were not options. Aiden had no experience with such weapons.

Naturally, the most fitting choice was this one: a simple weapon composed of various firearm components.

“Welcome!” 

The owner of the gun shop was a friendly old man who warmly greeted his customers. Considering how intimidating Aiden’s disguise looked, his hospitality was impressive.

“Do you have a handgun that’s easy for beginners to handle?”

“Yes, sir! Right this way!”

Despite Aiden’s peculiar request, which didn’t quite match his appearance, the old man responded courteously.

“This doesn’t seem like it would be of much use,” Katia, who had been trailing behind him, said as she curiously glanced around the shop, seemingly dissatisfied.

“Weapons are meant for killing people. These are just for self-defense, right?”

To be fair, Aiden was looking for something similar, but before he could explain, Katia seemed intent on acting on her dissatisfaction.

“Excuse me, where are the cartridges?”

“Oh, they’re in the drawer over there.”

Katia whistled as she rummaged through the drawers, soon pulling out the appropriate ammunition for the handguns displayed. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary up to this point—just a normal scene, so much so that neither Aiden nor the shop owner found it strange.

“If you want to try using the weapon, you can head out to the backyard—”

But before the shop owner could finish his sentence, Katia was already aiming a loaded gun at her own head.

“Wait, ma’am—!”

Before the shop owner could express his alarm, the deafening sound of a gunshot rang out inside the store. The empty cartridge clattered to the floor, and Aiden stood there with his mouth agape.

Near Katia’s body, divine flames instantly flared up the moment she fired the gun. It was the same divine flame Aiden had witnessed before—an automatic reaction to detect the user’s danger. The high-temperature flames had instantly melted the bullet into nothing.

“Even when I suppress it as much as I can, it still bursts out like this. It’s so annoying,” Katia said, smirking as she casually placed the now-smoldering gun back onto the display shelf.

Then, as if to test a theory, she continued down the row of firearms, picking up each one, loading it, and shooting at her own head—like she was making comparisons. While Aiden and the shop owner stood frozen, watching in disbelief, the divine flames surrounding her body melted every bullet that fired in her direction.

“Oh, right.”

Naturally, as she continued along the display, the firearms grew larger, until she eventually picked up something that looked more like a hand cannon than a pistol.

“This one feels pretty good.”

And with that, she fired the large-caliber round at her head. Although her divine flames had easily stopped the smaller bullets, they were no match for the high-caliber round, which pierced through her head.

But even as Aiden watched in shock, his face drained of color, Katia turned around as if nothing had happened. Her head, which had been blown apart by the bullet, quickly reformed, as if made of clay, fusing back together seamlessly. The divine flames that had protected her earlier filled in the gaps, refusing to allow even the smallest sign of injury or a single drop of blood.

It was as if the power she wielded wouldn’t permit her to die or even bleed, rapidly ‘regenerating’ her wounds as if they’d never existed.

“Now this is some decent firepower. I’d recommend buying from here onward,” she said with a nonchalant smile.

Even though her head had been blown apart by a bullet, she didn’t blink an eye. Not a trace of emotion crossed her face. It was as if, truly, she couldn’t feel ‘anything’.

“The divine protection I’ve suppressed as much as possible is about as strong as a few layers of thin metal plates. If it can’t penetrate that, what good would it be in battle?” 

Aiden silently groaned as he watched Katia, who was still grinning while handing the gun back to him. He understood her abilities intellectually. 

No pain. 

And far beyond that: no sensation at all.

Katia Heinkel, in exchange for wielding such an absurd divine power, had lost the ability to feel any physical sensation. Thanks to the divine power that automatically erased any harm that could befall her, all external stimuli were completely blocked. 

‘Seeing it in person, she’s truly…’ 

A monster, isn’t she?

Even though she said she had suppressed her abilities to the maximum, it’s no exaggeration to call her immortal. It was now clear why she held as much importance in the main story as Noel. And there was undoubtedly someone else who strongly agreed with Aiden’s sentiments.

The sound of a gun cocking came from the counter, making both Aiden and Katia turn their heads. The shopkeeper, his face pale, had aimed a loaded gun directly at Katia.

“Get out of my shop.”

“Kind of a bad sight, right? I’ll pay for the bullets I fired,” Katia said nonchalantly.

A flash of light appeared before her eyes, as the divine power erased the shopkeeper’s bullet.

“I told you to get out, you monster…!” 

His voice was strained with tension, his trembling hands clearly showing that he wasn’t used to dealing with such threats. This was likely a panicked reaction to Katia’s insane behavior.

But upon seeing this, a wide smile spread across Katia’s face.

“Sure, I might look a little strange.” 

Her casual smile looked no different than usual, but Aiden, skilled at reading people, could instantly detect the change. Beneath that expression was a murderous intent sharp enough to slice through skin.

This girl was extremely sensitive to others’ hostility.

“Just pulling the trigger without warning is a bit rude, don’t you think?” she said, taking a step toward the counter.

Click.

A switch flipped in Aiden’s mind. The alarm that always went off in extreme situations. It was the same feeling he had when Noel had almost swung a sword at him before.

If nothing is done, this man is going to be in serious trouble.

!! Sub Quest !!

You have come into contact with ‘Death Wish,’ Katia Heinkel Craven.

▶ Resolve the situation as peacefully as possible. Successfully handling the current situation will greatly increase the character’s affection toward you!

▶ Failure will result in penalties.

Given the current situation, what was about to unfold was far from ideal for Aiden. He groaned internally, clutching his head. This was the second time since meeting this cursed princess that he found himself in a situation where someone could end up dead if he didn’t intervene.

And at least…

He wasn’t the kind of person who could simply stand by and watch something like that happen, especially when he had a means to stop it.

Weaver of Fate

【Katia Heinkel Craven】

– Bond Level: 2

– You can copy one skill.

<Copied Skill>

The First Oath

He quickly manipulated the familiar interface used for copying skills. Since he’d checked over the available skills before, it was easy enough to choose. 

At this moment, the only way to stop Katia from doing something insane was to distract her—he had no way of physically stopping her. And when it came to calming down a fickle, eccentric, unpredictable person like her, the only method was to capture her interest.

With that in mind, the skill he needed was already decided.

– System Message:  

You have copied the ‘Sacred Body’ skill!

As Aiden worked through the interface, the colorless flames around Katia’s body began to ripple as she walked toward the counter. Those flames soon sharpened into the form of blades, aiming directly at the man behind the counter.

Without hesitation, she fired.

The shopkeeper, whose face had gone from pale to a shade of purple, seemed to sense his impending doom.

“Huh?”

And then, Katia’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

She must have noticed Aiden, who had thrown himself between the two of them, as if flying through the air to intervene.

But her eyes soon widened in shock.

Probably because Aiden, who had intervened, had his arm pierced by the fiery blade.

“It hurts—!”

He screamed as his arm, now pierced, was being regenerated by the radiant divine power. The scene was identical to the one just moments ago, when Katia herself had regenerated her own head after it was blown apart.

It hurts.

Sacred Body  

Recovers the body based on the power of the First Oath.  

The power can be enhanced through the Oath Ritual.  

◎ The prerequisite skill ‘First Oath’ must be possessed!  

◎ No unique traits have been added to the ‘First Oath’ skill. The ‘Sensory Block’ trait is removed. Penalty applied.  

◎ Only minor wounds can be healed!

Thanks to this, his arm was fine, but the pain was still there. Aiden twisted his body in agony, clutching his arm. Needless to say, the most intense pain a person can feel is burning pain. The excruciating agony of having an entire arm pierced by a blazing blade was indescribable. His reaction was entirely natural.

However, Katia’s eyes were filled with astonishment, as if she were witnessing something utterly impossible.

“You’re just like me…”

While Katia stood frozen in disbelief, Aiden groaned and spoke toward the counter, his voice barely a whisper.

“Run… quickly…! God, this hurts so much…!”

The shopkeeper, understanding Aiden’s words, quickly turned and fled. Thankfully, it seemed the reckless act had paid off.

Katia, meanwhile, clearly had no interest in the shopkeeper who had just run off.

“You’re just like me.” 

Her cheeks trembled, her usual smile now contorted with confusion.

“Hey, Aiden. Answer me. That was ‘my’ divine power just now, wasn’t it?”

Still shedding tears from the intense pain, Aiden blankly turned toward Katia.

“You really are Aiden, huh?” 

“……”

“So you thought you’d fool me with that disguise? More importantly, answer me. What the hell was that just now?”

So, she had known who he was from the very beginning.

It had already felt like she knew too much about him, and it was too convenient to call their encounter a coincidence. But instead of asking her more about it, Aiden sighed inwardly. 

In the end, that wasn’t the important thing right now.

“Right.” 

There was no point in lying. She wasn’t an idiot, and this wasn’t something he could deceive her about. More accurately, there was something else he needed to lie about.

“I’m just like you.”

“……”

“You can see it, can’t you?”

Katia’s expression became even more bizarre. Her gleaming eyes were filled with an excitement so obvious that even a fool could recognize it.

“But how?”  

“How can I feel pain?” 

Katia froze, her eyes shaking wildly as if he had hit the nail on the head. Aiden knew why she recklessly shot herself in the head without a second thought.

Surpassing painlessness, the state of complete numbness was a curse of terrifying proportions for someone born with it. To live on, day after day, without feeling anything, as if hollow and incapable of death—it was a nightmare. It made sense that she repeatedly engaged in bizarre acts in an attempt to feel something, ‘anything’.

In that regard, the real reason for Katia’s shock was not just because Aiden had mimicked her ability. It was because, even with such power, he was vividly able to experience pain.

So then…

“Do you want to know?”

Katia’s body stiffened, clearly hit where it hurt the most. And in Aiden’s mind, the switch was still turning. The situation had erupted in an instant, and his response had been an improvisation, but now that he had made it this far, he could push it further.

He might as well gain everything he could from the situation.

“If you want to know,” he began, staying true to his nature—deception, manipulating the truth to his advantage. “You’ll have to do me a favor.”

– System Message

You have wisely navigated the Sub Quest.  

Katia Heinkel Craven’s interest in you has increased.  

▶ Bond level has risen from 2 to 3.  

You gain an additional skill copy opportunity!  

Main quest details have been updated!

Aiden exhaled a sigh of relief as he looked at the glowing system interface.

The feedback from his gains was as clear as ever.

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