Chapter 589: Jealousy is My Power (89)
Chapter 589: Jealousy is My Power (89)
“Aha, ahahaha! What’s this, Brother? Were you really sulking over just that?”
“There isn’t a single part of my body that doesn’t ache.”
“Well, of course. Your body was so broken that if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have even been able to recover.”
As she spoke, her hand suggestively stroked my arm.
With a strangely seductive glint in her eyes, the corners of the girl’s lids curved into crescents.
“...Maybe being that whore of Arus is too much for you now?”
“Don’t talk reckless.”
I growled, snapping my hand out to brush hers away.
“So, what’s the answer? Are we on the same side?”
“My, you worry too much. Of course we are.”
The girl didn't seem offended at all; she simply hummed a tune and stood right beside me.
Then, with a sharp snap, a blood-red whip appeared in her hands.
“Don’t misunderstand. Do you think I didn't want to fight alongside you, Brother? It’s just that the reason it was awkward for me to step in was...”
Before she could even finish her sentence.
Mirrors shot up from the ground like tombstones. There were far more of them now than the dozens that had been shattered by the Vampire’s earlier strike.
Soon, unfamiliar scenes began to play across the reflective surfaces, splitting the white light into the seven colors of the spectrum.
A woman biting her lip until it bled; a dark room where no one visited; then, someone wearing a deep hood arriving.
A burning mansion and the Great Forest; a bloody battle that lasted over a week; and finally, the ‘Vampire’ collapsing while weeping tears of blood.
With so many images playing at once, it was enough to make one’s head spin. The cacophony of sound buried their true essence in a sea of information.
As my brow furrowed, a voice washed over my eardrums. It was Greed’s explanation.
“She’s calling upon the power of the ‘Boundary’ right now. The ‘Boundary’ is essentially a form of collective unconscious, so memories inevitably get mixed in like that.”
“Are those mirrors the medium for drawing out the power of the ‘Boundary’?”
“Hehe, exactly. But there’s one thing that woman is mistaken about... I can also manipulate the power of the ‘Boundary.’”
As if to prove it, the girl struck the ground once with her blood-red whip, and something mysterious happened.
Wooooooo—!
From the empty ground, faceless monsters began to rise one by one. It was a sight that looked as if they were tearing through space itself to emerge.
Furthermore, what of that brilliantly shining blood-red moon?
It was a scene that brought back nightmares of the past. I frowned deeply and asked.
“Those poor people again...”
“For your sake, Brother, I’d sacrifice hundreds or even thousands! Isn't that touching?”
She even went as far as to wink, as if this were her way of showing affection.
Knowing that saying anything more would only give me a headache, I let out a sigh and tightened my grip on my sword.
My instructions were brief.
“...Let’s go.”
“Alright! Watch closely, because I’m going to show you the power of a real younger sister, not some fake!”
Just as we held our weapons and were about to kick off the ground.
“Wait!”
Cutting through the polarized light and moonlight, the Vampire’s shout erupted.
She sounded so desperate that both the girl and I flinched, our bodies freezing in place. Not missing that opening, the Vampire raised her voice even louder.
“Greed... stop! Stop this nonsense! Are you really planning for us to fight each other?!”
Despite the Vampire’s shout as she pressed a hand to her forehead, the girl merely gave a shameless shrug.
“Why not? You targeted my brother first... something that belongs to me and no one else.”
“You can have him!”
That single sentence.
The Vampire’s declaration, shouted out of sheer exasperation, plunged the area into silence.
The girl’s eyes narrowed with a soft hum.
The Vampire spoke in a weary tone, as if she couldn't handle this anymore.
“Seriously, you crazy bitch... was that the only thing you wanted? I did hear something from Lord Delphirem, but...”
“Oh my, Lord Delphirem even gave you a hint? That’s a bit embarrassing.”
“There’s no way you’d pull something this big on your own. And there’s no way Lord Delphirem would just let the two of us fight like this.”
In short, she was asking if this wasn't exactly what Greed had been aiming for.
The atmosphere was getting stranger the more the conversation progressed. I had no choice but to ask a question mixed with a sigh toward the girl, who was now lost in thought with her arms crossed.
“You said we were on the same side, right? That you’d show me the power of a real younger sister.”
“Mmm, mmm... hmmm...”
The answer didn't come for a long time.
With her arms crossed, the girl tilted her head with her eyes closed. She swallowed a groan, continuing like that for a while.
When she finally opened her eyes again, a crescent-shaped smile was hung on her lips.
A smile brighter than ever before.
“...Did you really believe that? Ria Kick!”
Immediately after, thud.
Feeling the sensation of a kick slamming into my solar plexus, I thought:
Ah, of course.
The Dark Cult was never to be trusted...
But, well.
It was a relief.
Because it felt like it was finally over.
My body cut through the air, flying far away and rolling across the ground. It was a strike so powerful it created a tearing sonic boom.
My consciousness faded to black.
The end of the battle.
It was an anticlimactic, predictable conclusion. When two of the Dark Cult’s Seven Deadly Sins, who had been clashing, began to cooperate, the side of humanity was miserably defeated.
It could be seen as a miniature version of the battles that would soon unfold across the continent. Humans, no matter how much they struggled, would never be able to defeat the Dark Cult.
However, despite the victory, the Vampire’s expression was not bright.
In fact, it would be more accurate to say she was thoroughly offended.
The sound of her grinding her teeth was constant. The woman glared with annoyed eyes at the girl who was skipping toward her from the opposite side.
“I won’t forget today, Greed.”
“Don’t mention it... you definitely shouldn't forget. Especially that ‘promise’ to give my brother to me.”
Every word she hummed back was incredibly irritating.
The Vampire felt a surge of anger and was about to argue.
But she soon stopped herself.
The fight was over anyway, and the deal was done. Since it was a battle mediated by none other than Delphirem, even the great Vampire couldn't break the agreement.
She merely let out a deep sigh and pleaded.
“Still, just for a moment... can’t you lend him to me for just a little bit? That man possesses ‘Dragon’s Blood.’”
“Hmm, don’t you worry.”
At the Vampire’s request, the girl puffed out her chest. She had a triumphant attitude, as if she were granting a great mercy.
“I’ll lend him to you for that much. Even if we fought for a bit, we’re comrades, aren't we? My brother’s blood... well, maybe a single sip?”
To think that her idea of ‘sharing’ while acting so smug was a single sip of blood.
The Vampire almost let out a hollow laugh but decided against it.
After all, everyone in the Dark Cult knew that this woman was insane.
It wasn't anything new.
More importantly, she had to settle a long-standing grudge first.
The Vampire’s blue eyes held a light far colder than anything seen before. Her gaze was directed far off, toward the Great Witch who was crawling toward Ian.
The Great Witch was forcing her trembling limbs to move. A faint dampness could even be felt in her urgent voice.
“Fi-First Child... First Child, First Child! Are you alright? Quickly, get up... you children must escape...!”
Truly a pathetic, insect-like sight.
That was the extent of the Vampire’s impression. To think she would crawl on the ground weeping like that, all over a young human male.
It took the thrill out of it.
The woman the Vampire had been jealous of and wanted to destroy should have been...
Should have been someone stronger and more magnificent.
However, her will alone was commendable.
Even now, she wasn't calling upon the power of her main body, all to avoid releasing the Vampire’s own main body.
Of course, it was a useless stubbornness.
If the Great Witch died here, it would all be for nothing.
When the Vampire’s gaze drifted toward Greed, the girl gave a quick answer.
“I didn't kill him. My brother is precious... as for the rest, I don't care.”
“Hmph, as it should be. Revenge must be mine to take.”
“Oh, and try to keep that one puppy alive if possible. I want to raise it in my yard. If I train it well, won't it become a good dog?”
A ‘puppy.’
The Vampire tilted her head slightly at those words. There were no dogs here.
But her confusion didn't last long.
Come to think of it, there was one more human left here. A wizard with a particularly small stature.
Recalling that figure, the Vampire couldn't help but click her tongue.
To have one of the Dark Cult’s Seven Deadly Sins personally handle the ‘training.’
The girl would be lucky if she could retain even a fragment of her humanity. Judging by those words, it seemed Greed truly intended to turn her into a dog.
Of course, it wasn't a problem the Vampire needed to care about.
The victor decides the fate of the loser. Whatever was done with the spoils of war was up to Greed’s whims.
It was just as Greed took a silent step forward.
“...?”
The Vampire’s body froze just as she was about to continue walking.
It wasn't just the Vampire. Greed, who had been observing the situation with a relaxed posture, and the Great Witch, who had been crawling on the ground in tears, all widened their eyes in unison.
The man was standing up.
Staggering and precarious.
But he was clearly pulling himself up. With pupils so dilated they had lost focus, and unable to even calm his ragged breathing.
It was a sight that looked unrealistic to anyone.
But since it was happening before their eyes, it was an undeniable reality. The Vampire clicked her tongue and moved to swing her hand.
That is, if Greed hadn't screamed out first.
“N-No!”
The Vampire’s brow furrowed at that urgent dissuasion. When she sent a gaze demanding an explanation, the girl began to speak in a voice more frantic than ever.
“If—if his body breaks any further, he might actually die! I only kept him alive by the narrowest of margins!”
“We can just fix him later, can’t we?”
“No, he’s overused recovery too much! Even when I regenerated his limbs just now, it required the souls of a hundred people!”
The Vampire had no choice but to let out a long sigh.
Truly, he was a man who remained a nuisance until the very end.
Even in the midst of that, the man was finally standing straight. The Great Witch, who had been speechless with shock for a moment, finally tried to grab the man’s pant leg while crying.
“E-Escape... quickly, take the Second Child and escape, First Child! I will somehow handle this...!”
But her hand never grasped anything.
A gale.
By the time anyone noticed, the Great Witch’s bangs were fluttering. It was a dash so swift that not even a sound of surprise could escape.
One might say it was nearly the speed of light.
There was only one way to achieve such velocity.
By stopping time.
Before anyone knew it, the Vampire, with her eyes wide, was thrusting the edge of her hand into the solar plexus of the man who had suddenly appeared before her.