Chapter 579: Jealousy is My Power (79)
Chapter 579: Jealousy is My Power (79)
The vast southern woods, known as the Great Forest or the Great Sea of Trees, are hailed as a treasury of all life.
It is a place where over millions of species breathe and thrive. No one knows exactly how many lives inhabit that endless paradise of wood and water, and it is likely to remain that way even hundreds of years from now.
It is a place that is as secretive as it is mysterious.
However, the reason humanity has failed to conquer the Great Sea of Trees to this day is that the forest hides dangers as lethal as its value is great.
The Great Sea of Trees is home to the majority of the continent's venomous insects and creatures. Among the myriad of strange and wondrous organisms living there, a particularly famous poisonous plant came to my mind.
The Moon Rose.
Fatal poison flows through the thorns of this rose, which tinges with silver or blue. Despite the danger, rumors say it is a curiosity so beautiful when blooming under the moonlight that one cannot help but reach out a hand.
It was a flower that perfectly fit the old adage: "Beautiful things hide poison."
As for why such a thought suddenly occurred to me... well.
Wouldn't anyone feel the same?
If they saw the woman standing before my eyes right now.
The poisonous roses growing deep within the Great Sea of Trees were not limited to flora. Monsters in the form of women are also born with a fatal beauty.
A Vampire Kin.
And among them, a powerful being known as a 'Direct Lineage' had appeared before me.
While calling me her 'son-in-law.'
"Oh my, I didn't realize you two were sharing such a moment already. I suppose it's only natural for a young couple. For the record, I also... only two days after meeting my child's father..."
"Who are you?"
My voice was stiff with wariness as I addressed the woman.
I pulled Seria, whom I was supporting, even closer. I couldn't see Seria's expression clearly, but her eyes were filled with obvious bewilderment and doubt.
She likely didn't even realize what she had just done.
I was afraid that the presence of her parent might negatively affect Seria's psyche, as she had only just snapped out of her berserk state. That was why I deliberately asked an obvious question to buy time.
Asking who she was.
Even though I already knew the answer.
The silver-haired woman, who looked to be my age at most, held her skirt with a graceful posture and bowed her head slightly.
It was the flawless, impeccable etiquette of the North.
"Forgive my rudeness at our first meeting, son-in-law. My name is Aira Yurdina... or should I simply introduce myself as 'Aira' now? As you have heard, I am Seria's unworthy mother."
"Why show up at this specific moment?"
At my question, Seria's mother wore a faint smile.
The arc of her lips seemed sad, bitter, and yet resigned all at once.
The woman shook her head weakly.
"I didn't wish to meet like this either. But the irony of fate is truly lamentable... To think we would meet at such an inopportune time, in such an unfortunate relationship."
It was around then that Senior Elsie came trudging over to my side.
She brushed the dust off her ruined clothes and began to growl with a face full of irritation and hostility.
"That woman... she's strong."
"I can tell just by looking at her."
It wasn't empty talk; Seria's mother, who introduced herself as Aira, looked powerful even at a glance.
The aura of composure unique to the strong radiated from her. And despite her clothes being scorched in places from her fierce battle with Senior Elsie, her snow-white skin appeared to be without a single scratch.
Furthermore, the surrounding mana reacted turbulently to even her smallest gestures.
Seria was still unable to say anything, her mouth merely flickering open and shut. I had to tighten my grip on her arm, fearing she might leave me.
Regardless, Seria's mother continued in a gentle voice.
"Son-in-law, may I ask a favor?"
No answer came from me. Even seeing my unyielding wariness, Seria's mother did not lose her sorrowful smile.
"Please leave now. This fight was not born of such simple ties. Haven't you realized it by now, son-in-law? Good and evil are merely two sides of the same coin. The Heavenly God and the Evil God, humans and demonic beasts... the distinctions seem clear, but if you dig into the circumstances, they are anything but."
"Are you saying the vampires are in the right, then?"
"No one is right. And no one is wrong."
However, Seria's mother could not hide the momentary chilling look that crossed her face.
A sharp point seemed to glimpse through the gap of her alluring lips. As her blue eyes began to glow with cold murderous intent, the woman wore a bleak smile.
"We are simply doing what we must from our respective positions. There is no place for you, son-in-law, on this battlefield."
To be fair, she wasn't wrong.
I stood here staking the fate of humanity, but no one had ever asked me to shoulder that burden. I had simply ended up here by meddling of my own accord.
Furthermore, I didn't know much about the circumstances of the Great Witch or the vampires.
So, while the suggestion to leave was welcome in a way...
Unfortunately, I had one more question to ask.
"......What about Seria?"
At my short counter-question, Seria's mother clamped her mouth shut.
Seria's confused voice echoed in my ear.
"Se-Senior..."
"What happens to Seria? Can I take her with me?"
My tone was thick with firm resolve.
Seria's mother also seemed to realize how heavily I weighed this question. That must be why she was stalling, unlike how she had answered without hesitation until now.
But the silence did not last long.
After a brief hesitation, Seria's mother offered an answer laced with a sigh.
"Son-in-law, Seria is my daughter..."
"I know."
"In other words, it means Seria is not human."
Seria's breathing hitched once more.
The soft weight of Seria leaning against me grew heavier. Despite that, I merely continued to glare at Seria's mother in silence.
"Perhaps she could have been deceived in the past. Pretending to be human, ignorant of her own fate... and she likely suffered some pitiful things because of it. But not anymore."
"Why is that?"
"Because her destiny has arrived."
A declaration.
It was a heavy tone that allowed for not even a minor tremor. As she spoke, Seria's mother slowly reached out her hand.
"It is time to return to her proper place. Me, my sister, my eldest sister... and Seria. My daughter, come here."
Seria's body stiffened with a start.
Seria's eyes, having only just regained their sanity, wandered here and there with nowhere to settle. Her gaze, filled with confusion and hesitation, seemed to be asking me a question.
Asking where she should go.
I wasn't the only one who noticed Seria's internal conflict.
The silver-haired woman continued her persuasion in a calm voice.
"Do you still not see? The fact that you are not a being meant to be there... Come, look around you. And what about the power squirming inside your body?"
The trembling in her blue pupils grew more violent.
Seria's body didn't just stiffen; it began to shrink back. Her shadowed eyes turned toward the ground, and her panting breath grew hotter.
It was an ominous sign.
"I, I am..."
"I cannot allow it."
It was then that I stepped in.
At my voice, speaking on behalf of the hesitating Seria, the trembling in my arms ceased. The same went for Seria's mother.
Blue eyes stared at me in silence.
They resembled Seria's, but were deeper and more ferocious. Like an ocean hiding a storm.
"I cannot leave Seria like that. You want her to live the life of a monster that loses its reason and goes berserk?"
"It is merely a process of adaptation."
"And after she adapts?"
"Hmm," Seria's mother let out a curious sound and glanced away.
A life adapted to berserk power.
It would likely never be the same as before. Vampires were monsters born as a result of a contract with the Evil God, and there was no way their way of thinking would be the same as a human's.
Hadn't the vampire subordinates I met at the Academy been exactly like that?
They were those who chose the life of a monster after sacrificing others without hesitation, remaining numb to the pain of others, and sacrificing those dear to them.
I could say with certainty that Seria had never committed such sins.
That was why I had to put my foot down with an even firmer tone.
"As her senior, I cannot leave Seria like that."
"Last chance."
With a snap of her fingers, Seria's mother spoke.
The scorching sunlight decomposed and turned into particles of pure white light. As the dancing light began to envelop the silver-haired woman, Seria's mother, already beautiful, took on an even more alluring appearance.
But I knew.
That the act was not merely for the sake of beauty.
As if to back this up, Senior Elsie's stiff warning reached my eardrums.
"......Be careful."
Cold sweat began to form on my hand as it moved toward my waist.
There wasn't much time left.
But the woman didn't care about my anxious state of mind.
She simply extended her snow-white hand and wore a lovely smile.
It was an ultimatum.
"Leave Seria and go now, son-in-law. Wouldn't it be better to leave with your limbs intact?"
"You're quite confident."
"Fufu, how foolish... Don't think that what you've seen is the extent of our power. Above all, you. Your physical condition isn't normal right now, is it? I hope you make a wise judgment... So, your answer?"
An answer, huh.
I decided to give her a very simple and clear expression of my will.
Clang!
The hand axe, flying like a flash of light, was struck by the back of the woman's hand and soared into the air.