Chapter 107
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Sibling Fight (3)
"Didn't you hear me? I said all I need to do is taint you with my blood."
The Blood Demon was utterly relaxed.
Her red eyes flicked briefly toward my legs.
She knew. She knew I was trying to run.
Of course she did. Damn it. The gap in our power was just that vast.
"This is ridiculous. Do you actually like me? I'm not even your type."
"That's hardly the important issue."
The Blood Demon raised her hand.
The world around us began to warp at the same moment.
"...!"
The Prophet's power rang an alarm in my mind.
The entire world was being dyed by the Reverse World.
Puddles formed in the underbrush, trees twisted whole and vanished.
Holes punched through the sky, the ground split open to reveal the void.
'What the fuck.'
What was this?
This wasn't magic. No human could cause something like this.
"All rules are set by the strong. You need only writhe and scream beneath me."
"You crazy bitch."
"Planning to run? Give it a try. I'll follow at my leisure."
I kicked off immediately, bolting backward.
Everything spun in chaos, making it hard to even plant my feet, but I pushed forward somehow.
The ground right next to where I stepped cracked open into the Reverse World.
One misstep, and I'd tumble straight in.
What would happen then?
The terrifying truth was, I had no idea.
I didn't know if I'd lose my sense of self inside or get trapped in time.
And I couldn't even gauge how strong the Blood Demon was, wielding the Reverse World like her own limbs.
"This is quite the amusing diversion. How tempting it is, a lesser thing fleeing in fear of being ravished."
I sprinted ahead, ignoring the bullshit coming from behind.
Even my sense of direction was failing now.
Was I heading toward the Leonhart estate?
Or toward someplace devoid of people?
The world brimmed with gray puddles, impossible to discern.
How long had I run like that?
In a sprint where seconds or hours blurred together, unknowable.
"Hah!"
Finally, I gulped in ragged breaths and stopped.
It hurt. My heart felt like it would burst. No clue how far I'd gone.
But the distance wasn't growing.
She took just one step at a time, yet I couldn't shake her.
"Is that all?"
"Hahk, huu. Shit."
I realized it then.
The Blood Demon was toying with me.
From the moment she'd infested the surroundings with the Reverse World, escape was never an option.
Maybe even my running was just an illusion she allowed.
"Hm. Quite the entertaining pastime. The heart of a girl racing toward her beloved is truly amusing."
"Crazy bitch... Calling me a girl is a real stretch, even for you."
"Silencing that impertinent mouth of yours will be a pleasure in itself. I'm looking forward to it."
The Blood Demon swept her hand again.
The Reverse World bound my limbs in the same instant.
Damn it. Ariel couldn't do this much.
As the final boss, was she treating the Reverse World like her own appendages?
Kwaaak—
No matter how hard I strained, they wouldn't budge.
This wasn't mere restraint.
It was like a computer with the plug pulled—no way to function.
I simply couldn't break free from this Reverse World on my own power.
Swipe—
The Blood Demon lifted my chin with her fingers.
She'd clearly been shorter than me, yet now she gazed down imperiously.
"Shall I give you one chance? Do you wish to become mine of your own will?"
"Ha... ."
I closed my eyes, weighing my options.
No matter how I looked at it, there was no way out.
Beating the Blood Demon was impossible. Calling for help from anyone else wasn't feasible.
Even stalling with words was starting to feel futile.
Fine, then. Might as well learn more about her.
Something might come of it.
"What changes if I become your man?"
"Everything."
The Blood Demon declared it leisurely.
Like a mother stating the obvious fact that the sun rises in the east.
"You'll transcend the talents you were born with and surpass your sister. The very concept of lifespan will vanish, and one day, you could bring this world to its knees at your feet."
"Sorry, but I'm not interested in the first part, let alone the last two. I have no desire to surpass Ariel."
"Indeed. That's the puzzling part. Kline should naturally envy and resent Ariel. Hm."
The Blood Demon's face drew closer.
Close enough that her breath brushed my skin.
Her red eyes took in my face clearly as she whispered.
"But that's precisely why I like you more. The number two who escaped fate. I want to make you mine all the more."
"You gonna let me refuse?"
"Try it. If you have the confidence to drop below."
I followed her gaze.
Beneath us lay an ocean of the Reverse World.
A panorama of countless scenes flowed through it.
The birth of the universe, a blazing sun, Aonia's traditional garb, Fride's winter.
A vortex transcending time and space swirled below.
The Blood Demon brought her lips near my nape.
I could see her white fangs glinting.
Shining as if ready to sink into my neck.
"Can't do it? Then obediently take my blood."
"... ."
"Wouldn't it be an honor? I never personally transfused blood to Bloody or Graever. The glory of becoming my kin directly through my fangs is yours alone."
"Ha."
Her lips inched ever closer to my nape.
I didn't know the details, but I was certain.
The moment those fangs pierced me, it was over.
I probably wouldn't stay sane.
A way out of this?
'Just one.'
Plunging into the vortex of the Reverse World below.
She'd deliberately loosened the bonds just enough to allow that.
Two choices left to me.
Become her kin meekly.
Or get lost in the Reverse World.
What a joke.
No need to even think about it.
"Fuck off."
I shoved the Blood Demon away with my hands.
She licked her lips, not even slightly surprised.
The ground vanished from under my feet in the same instant.
A floating sensation enveloped me, like falling backward onto a bed.
"I see. You chose to preserve your chastity over being defiled by me."
Her murmur echoed faintly from afar.
But it was already hard to hear.
Was this how an astronaut felt entering a black hole?
"Farewell."
On the cusp between an instant and eternity, as consciousness teetered.
"I'll be waiting right here."
The Blood Demon whispered to me.
**
Ariel came to her senses before long and looked around.
A meadow far from the estate.
How had she ended up all the way out here?
"Haa."
She let out a slightly stifled breath.
It felt so foreign. Ariel had never experienced the sensation of "suffocating" before.
But ever since the Sword Emperor had interfered with her back then, her body had changed a little.
Just like an ordinary girl. She now felt exhaustion as exhaustion.
Of course, she was still more than qualified as one of the absolute strongest.
"... ."
Suddenly, Ariel tapped the ground with her toes where she stood.
Her lips pouted for some reason.
Irritated. Resentful. Angry. Sulky.
'Why.'
Had her brother said those words?
Why wouldn't he accept her love?
She hadn't assumed he'd accept for sure. She'd even thought he'd refuse.
That's the kind of person he was. He seemed like he'd do anything for her, yet he never crossed that line.
So she'd prepared for refusal. But when it actually happened, her chest ached.
"Idiot."
It was her one and only confession in life.
"...Idiot."
As long as she had her brother, nothing else mattered.
"...Idiot."
Marrying him would be happier than any ordinary bliss others talked about.
Tears somehow welled at the corners of her eyes.
Uncharacteristic behavior—she wiped them roughly with her sleeve.
"Tch."
Pathetic. Ariel. Getting rejected by your brother and acting like this—what are you doing?
This wasn't right. After all he'd done for you.
Even thinking that, she couldn't help it.
"...What can I do about hating it?"
She squatted down, burying her face in her knees.
She just hated it. Hated this situation.
Shouldn't have confessed. Should've hidden her feelings.
...No. That would've been more painful.
She couldn't hide her feelings for her brother.
Ariel Leonhart would probably love Kline Leonhart until the day she died.
Better to confess than hide it.
That's how Ariel, who'd watched over Kline all this time, would act.
The brother she loved had always been positive and shameless.
"... ."
How much time passed like that?
"Sniff."
Ariel wiped her tears and stood.
Nothing was sorted out yet.
Going back now wouldn't change his mind.
She might get rejected again.
That would hurt too much. Make it hard to even face him.
"Still... ."
She had to go back.
No helping it. The one who fell first loses.
All the books she'd read said that. If the woman falls for the man first, it's an unfair fight.
Knowing that, Ariel decided to return.
'Go back and apologize.'
Say she was wrong.
Apologize for being so selfish.
If he wouldn't accept her love.
She'd work until he had no choice but to accept—beg him not to leave her.
Someday.
Someday, he'd accept her feelings.
With that resolve, Ariel took a step.
Toward the estate where Kline waited.
And.
By the time she returned and heard that Kline had gone missing.
It was already far too late to offer her apology.
**
Consciousness drifted through the void.
Up, down, left, right.
Before, after, past, present, future.
Yesterday, today, tomorrow.
Drifting down a river where time and space tangled chaotically.
Like a broken TV, static crackled across my vision.
Various scenes floated there.
The moment I was born.
The moment Father fought for the Empire.
Memories of a past I hadn't lived.
That wasn't all.
The chaos erupting at the estate after my disappearance.
The servants bustling to find the Young Master.
Adel with a hardened face.
Elly bawling her eyes out.
Yoru racing madly outside.
Memories of a future I couldn't experience.
'What is this.'
Consciousness blurred.
Where was I now?
I didn't know where. I shouldn't be here.
Had to get back and apologize to my sister.
Right. Ariel, where was Ariel?
'There she is.'
I saw Ariel.
Long white hair trailing down. Eyes glowing white.
...But something was off.
This wasn't the Ariel I remembered.
She was much taller, with much larger breasts, much older.
She hadn't noticed me, her back turned.
'Where are you going?'
I screamed until my throat tore.
Ariel. Don't go. I'll apologize.
Sorry for not accepting your love.
Sorry for not playing that ocarina for you.
I should've accepted the ocarina you brought then.
Sorry. Sorry for keeping up the jealousy even after.
I wanted to apologize, just once—
"Hey."
Tap tap—
A palm prodding my cheek.
Consciousness surfaced.
My mind sharpened, as if waking from a long dream.
"Ugh, urk... ."
"Hey. Snap out of it. I'm no saint, so healing magic isn't my specialty, okay?"
"Ugh, kuh... ."
"Jeez. You really don't listen. Do you even realize the Third Imperial Princess is right in front of you? ...Well, not like anyone's gonna care if you freak out now."
"What, did you say...?"
I opened my eyes.
The one who'd slapped me awake had pink hair.
And her face was completely hidden by a mask.
"I said snap out of it. If you don't regain consciousness, you'll die from Reverse World poisoning."
"...No way."
I guessed the person's identity and broke into cold sweat.
I remembered seeing her.
More precisely, I'd seen her in a "dream."
Adelheit von Baldrion.
Not from the timeline I'd twisted.
The original Adelheit, from the fated story that was meant to be.
She was right there before my eyes.