Chapter 106
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Sibling Fight (2)
Finding Ariel wasn't difficult.
Right after separating from the prophet, one sensation had immediately become clear.
A perception that transcended the five senses.
The power to detect the other side of the world.
And that living presence was in the Leonhart Duchy lands.
'Close.'
She hadn't gone far after all.
A hill a short distance from the mansion.
The energy of the other side of the world emanated from the spot landscaped for the family to enjoy.
And it was gradually drawing closer to me.
What the hell. She acts all sulky and pissed off, but ends up coming back anyway.
A chuckle escaped my lips.
And then it hit me anew.
How much I cherished Ariel.
Just the fact that my little sister was mad at me shook my heart more than I expected.
Look at me now. She's calming down and coming back, and I'm already relieved.
Step by step, I walked toward the hill.
I matched my pace to hers, not rushing.
It wasn't like I was deliberately yielding the initiative to my sister or anything.
I just wanted some time to think.
Ariel had just confessed to me.
Not as brother and sister, but essentially declaring we redefine our relationship as man and woman.
I'd turned her down for her own happiness.
At the time, I hadn't felt a shred of regret.
But now that things had turned out like this, my resolve wavered.
'I'm such a hopeless siscon.'
How should I apologize to Ariel?
There was only one way.
Accept my sister's confession.
I'd rejected it because I wanted her to live normally... but let's flip that around.
Regardless of whether Ariel becomes normal or not, do I romantically love my sister?
"......"
It was honestly a tough question to answer right away.
If I said yes without a moment's hesitation, it'd feel off.
I'd come across as inhuman myself.
But what if I added one condition?
Not my idea of Ariel's happiness, but Ariel's own sense of happiness.
Then, could I love Ariel romantically?
That one, I could answer definitively.
'Yes.'
Forcing my version of happiness on Ariel might be wrong.
Not my happiness, but the one Ariel desires.
A good brother would support the latter, right?
And if that happiness is marrying me—could I love Ariel as a lover?
...It'd be awkward to admit this out loud to anyone.
But the answer was yes, I could.
'Guess I'm done for too.'
Have I spent too much time around Ariel?
Did the other side of the world corrupt my brain?
But I really couldn't help it.
Just seeing Ariel sulk tore at my heart like this.
Imagining her wasting away like a heartbroken woman, living alone forever—it was unbearable.
If that's how it'd be, I'd just marry her myself.
...Having thoughts like this meant the whole "family barrier" concept had faded for me.
The distance to Ariel was shrinking.
Well, I still wasn't sure it was Ariel.
But it had to be. The prophet said it was the power to sense the other side of the world.
And the energy was so overwhelmingly powerful and vast.
Like when I first saw Ariel—no way it could pass for human.
A difference in species you couldn't even imagine.
What else could it be but Ariel?
"Hoo."
I took a short, deep breath.
What should I say when we meet?
First, apologize. Say I'm sorry for forcing my will on her like that.
Then tell her, let's just get married.
Hmm. No, I had no idea how I'd explain this back at the mansion.
But above all, I wanted to see Ariel smiling.
I wanted my sister to be happy.
The world already said Ariel wasn't human anyway.
So why bother following human rules?
"Phew."
Yeah.
I steeled my resolve and parted the leaves.
Ariel was just beyond there. The energy from the other side of the world was right in front of me.
All I had to do was go apologize.
"Ariel—"
That's when it happened, as I mustered my determination and a smile tugged at my lips.
Whoosh...
The wind blew.
It should have carried the fresh scent of grass, but it didn't feel that way at all.
A stench of blood so foul it made me think there was a slaughterhouse nearby.
As if the wind itself had been dyed red.
'What the hell.'
Up ahead.
A woman stood before me.
But it wasn't Ariel.
She was much taller. Much more buxom. Much older.
And above all.
Her red hair, like it was melted from blood, and eyes like congealed droplets of it.
She wasn't human.
"Vampire...!"
I tensed up immediately, ready to respond.
No doubt about it. In this world, red eyes symbolized demons.
And every red-eyed foe I'd met so far was from the Crimson Blood Cult.
Moreover, only one member of the Crimson Blood Cult remained now.
The final boss of Shardia Academy.
The Elder Vampire, Blood Demon.
"I've finally found you."
The Blood Demon, who had been approaching me slowly, finally spoke.
Her voice sounded oddly familiar.
Ariel? No, not quite. Less similar to Ariel's voice itself.
The emotions and weight of years in her tone—they were utterly inhuman.
"You're really making me chase you. I heard you were in Aonia, so I went there, and you'd already left. Had to come all this way because of you."
Lies.
No way this monster found it bothersome.
If she wanted, this woman could reach the other side of the planet in a second.
This was just her amusement.
Toying with me, Kline Leonhart, like a god playing with an insect.
"Wha...t are you."
My mouth went dry.
But I forced the words out.
I couldn't let her momentum overwhelm me.
I had no idea how the Blood Demon ended up in Leonhart Duchy lands.
The important thing was no one had noticed.
If I didn't handle this right here, our family could be wiped out.
"Why are you here? Looking for me?"
"Oh, I've found you alright. Didn't I just say? I went to Aonia."
"One of your subordinates died there. Here for revenge?"
"Revenge? Hmm. Well, not particularly."
I glanced around.
Any escape routes?
Plenty of openings. With my footwork, I could hide anywhere.
...But pointless.
Could I avoid all sunlight by opening an umbrella?
Impossible.
She was that kind of existence from the start.
'Fight her head-on?'
Absurd.
Right here, I could feel it clearly.
I couldn't win against her.
She wasn't made to be beaten by humans from the beginning.
Like Ariel before.
A gap no human could ever bridge.
'Then there's only one option.'
Buy time and assess the situation.
"Haha. I see?"
With my path decided, my mind eased.
Of course, my heart raced with tension facing a predator.
But I'm infamous for being optimistic and shameless.
I decided to steer the conversation as calmly as possible.
"You like me? A beauty I've never met confessing like this—gotta say, I'm flattered."
"Of course. How could I not adore you? A brother with a monster for a sister—that alone piques my interest. And you even defied your original fate. Putting on such airs and then asking why I like you? You're quite the tease."
"What?"
What the hell. This woman.
Defied fate?
Did she know about the original story? That I'm a possessor?
...No. That's not it.
Same principle as the prophet.
The closer tied to the other side of the world, the more you see fate.
And the prophet said she only glimpsed parts.
Ariel and the Blood Demon were the other side itself.
'Right.'
I recalled the prophet's words from moments ago.
Ariel and the Blood Demon were essentially the same being.
Staring at her now, it clicked.
The world's strongest force. A different species from humans. Eyes that pierce fate.
At that level, no human could stand against her.
Only another Ariel could match it.
'That's why she said it.'
That I needed to become like Ariel.
Spot on. Only another child of the other side could beat the Blood Demon.
No matter my talent or training, conceptually, she outclassed me.
"Oh ho. From that look, you've realized you're walking the Path of the Heaven-Defying Son. Fascinating. Truly fascinating. How did you even know? You weren't supposed to realize it yourself."
"Eh, I'm just that exceptional. Not hard for me."
"Indeed, that attitude of yours is the most puzzling. The life originally permitted to Kline Leonhart wasn't supposed to be so brazen..."
The Blood Demon stopped walking.
The distance between us was less than ten steps.
Chance.
I punched my stiff knee to loosen it.
I had to run, even if just a little.
Not sure it'd work, but create distance first.
Head to the mansion or elsewhere—I'd figure it out.
As I turned to bolt—
She, who seemed to ponder briefly, soon curved her lips into a deep smile and spoke.
"Well, not that it matters much. I'll just make you mine, and that's that."
"What?"
A statement I never imagined coming from the final boss.