Chapter 357 Necessary Sacrifice

“María José?” I heard Axel’s concerned voice behind me.

I didn’t turn around. I did not care for whatever he was about to say. My heart had gone cold—cold as ice—and so I felt nothing for his words. I walked slowly towards Luis, my eyes flashing with a murderous glint.

He clicked his tongue and tried to vanish from his spot again, but to his dismay, he failed.

“¿Qué está pasando? What is this madness?” He looked around in desperation, and I could finally hear that fear in his voice.

He was wise to be scared. I was going to cause him unimaginable pain. I calmly reached Luis and struck him with my claws.

My attack barely left a scratch on his face. He looked at me with puzzlement and surprise.

“Mi amor… María José, why do you look at me with such eyes?” He asked in confusion. “What has happened to you?”

What has happened to me?? He dared to ask such a question, knowing fully well that he was the one who turned me into this monster that I now was.

If it were any other time, I would have flared up in rage. However, I felt nothing. The world seemed fickle, like I could crush everyone and everything with just a gesture of my palm.

Was this what true power felt like?

I knew—as I had seen it in my dreams—that there was darkness in me.

If I had embraced what I was long ago, then maybe I wouldn’t have been defenseless against him. Maybe I wouldn’t have been defiled over and over again by the filth of a creature before me.

And maybe Axel’s mother wouldn’t have died. Ximena wouldn’t have died.

I had been too scared before. But now? Good and compassionate María José was gone. Only an empty husk that existed just to get the job done. And the current job was to erase the demonic bastard terrorizing the pack.

Seeing as my physical attacks were still weak compared to his, I commanded the shadows again.

“Argh!” Luis let out a painful yell as cold hands grabbed at his spirit and soul, aiming to tear him apart from the inside.

“Don’t underestimate me, you tainted cabrona!” He yelled in agony, before releasing a blast of air that shook the entire garden.

I was struck backwards, barely managing to maintain my footing. I was prepared to advance, when I suddenly felt someone grab my arm.

It was Axel, now in his human form. His eyes contained the same agony that I had moments ago, and he spoke in a whisper, “María José. This isn’t you, mi cielo. Please, do not give in to the darkness.”

My heart trembled for a moment. Still, I shook my head and said, “It’s too late now. I should’ve done this a long time ago.”

The voice that escaped my lips didn’t seem like mine anymore. It was deep, guttural, and carried a faint stench of sulfur. I was becoming something else— a demon. But that was fine. For everyone, I was willing to make the sacrifice.

I flicked my fingers and froze Axel in place. I froze Álvaro and Lucia too. They didn’t need to interfere anymore. I was going to handle it all on my own.

I turned back to look at Luis. Confusion and doubt now plastered his face as he took a step backwards.

“Right… Master said you were his! ¿Cómo… how could he give you power now? How could he betray me like this?!” He barked endlessly.

I ignored his rants and clasped my palms together, suddenly vanishing from where I stood. I emerged from the shadows behind Luis and pressed my palm against his bare back.

“ARGH!” He let out another pain-filled scream. I was attacking his soul directly, sending a wave of torment through his very being.

I didn’t derive joy from his suffering. I was simply using the most efficient method to steal all the dark powers he had. I was reducing him to what he originally was— a powerless, paralyzed reject. His demonic form rapidly crumbled, revealing the weak and helpless human skin beneath.

Luis fell to the grass. He crawled forward as he tried to escape my grasp, all while wailing ceaselessly.

“Por favor! María José! I beg of you! Show mercy! I cannot go out like this! I need to take my revenge on everyone! We need to spend an eternity together!”

Naturally, I didn’t listen to him.

I calmly followed him as I said, “I told you, didn’t I? That you were going to die today. Every sin you have ever committed, today is the day you receive retribution for all. And I will be the hand of judgment that falls upon you.”

I outstretched my arm, and a large, gleaming blade fashioned from shadows appeared in my palm. I stomped my foot on Luis’s hand, and he groaned in pain.

I proceeded to break both arms, so he wouldn’t be able to crawl anymore.

“It is time for you to return to hell,” I said with an empty gaze.

Then, I raised the blade into fur air. As I prepared to strike him down, a faint cry resounded in my head.

“María…”

I halted.

“María José…”

“María José!”

My head suddenly buzzed. That was Xiomara’s voice. The darkness had previously overwhelmed her, pushing her to the darkest pits of my soul. However, she had fought against that darkness to resurface.

“Don’t do it, María José!” She cried out again. “No te dejes consumir… Don’t let the darkness take you!”

My lips quivered. “It’s too late,” I muttered.

“It’s not! I promise you, it’s not! You do not have to kill him. You have stripped him of his powers. If you kill him now, you will never be free of evil. You will become that very thing you despise.”

I forced words out of me. “It is a sacrifice I am willing to make. For the sake of everyone. For the sake of Axel.”

“Is this really what Axel would want?! Answer me, María José! Is this what your husband, who had tried everything possible to protect you, would want you to do?!”

Of course not!

Of course not!

But at this point, I had to make agonizing decisions. Besides, Axel was still frozen with my magic. There was nothing he could do to stop it…

I raised the blade once more, preparing to strike. Yet, for some reason, I felt someone’s hand on my palm.

“It’s alright now, mi amor.” Axel’s soft voice whispered in my ear as I felt his warm hands wrap around me.

“Come back to me.”