The two figures standing opposite each other, a man and a woman, presented a striking contrast.
Firstly, my body was battered, and not a single part was unscathed.
I had forcibly pulled at the blood-red thread and bolted away. Scratches marred my skin in several places, and my crushed ankle was a horrific sight, a mixture of blood and flesh.
My broken right wrist dangled, still clutching a knife. It was a ghastly sight.
In contrast, the maiden before me bore not a single scratch.
Her pure white skin still shimmered with a sheen. Unlike me, gasping for breath, her breathing remained steady. However, there was one exception: the vivid, passionate hue splattered across the pristine drawing paper.
Blood dripped down from the hand axe lodged in her shoulder. With the rhythm of her heartbeat, blood occasionally sprayed out in bursts.
That one wound created yet another decisive contrast.
Though I was sweating profusely, my face bore a smile, while the maiden’s face was tinged with bewilderment and shame. A faint heat escaped from her tightly clenched teeth, as if expressing her frustration.
As if she never expected to be defeated by someone like me.
Yet the blood pouring out testified to the undeniable reality. Suppressing a groan, I asked the maiden.
“…What’s the outcome?”
The maiden’s body trembled.
Her golden eyes glared at me with resentment, yet she couldn’t bring herself to touch me.
Such was the ‘contract’.
Had she revealed her true feelings, the outcome might have been different, but the victory and defeat were already determined. It was time to pay the price.
In the end, the maiden had no choice but to concede defeat.
“Alright, I have lost.”
At that moment, the thrashing of the faceless monsters ceased.
The monsters, blown away by Celin’s strike, lay on the ground searching for their lost limbs. However, further combat seemed pointless, and the monsters also appeared to feel no need to restore their bodies.
Or perhaps the maiden had deliberately issued such instructions.
Only then did the tension that had been taut relax. Celin and Senior Elsi let out sighs of relief, and I felt a desire to collapse in exhaustion.
But I couldn’t fall now.
I retrieved the hand axe that had been embedded in the maiden’s shoulder. Despite the pain likely being severe, there was no change in her complexion. It was as if she had experienced much worse pain before.
As a vague compassion drifted across my sight, the maiden offered me a distorted smile.
“Don’t worry. Compared to what I’ve been through until now, this doesn’t even count as pain…”
In demonstration, fresh flesh began to sprout directly from her shoulder. The speed at which rainwater fills a dry well couldn’t compare to this.
And silence.
As I hesitated for a moment, a bitter voice slipped from my lips.
“…I’m sorry.”
It was something I should have said long ago.
I didn’t even know what I was apologizing for. Everything just felt sinful and pitiable.
I couldn’t even imagine the pain the maiden had to endure all alone. Moreover, we had drifted too far apart. There was no way to ask for forgiveness now and return to our previous relationship.
For her sins were far too deep.
Of course, that sin wasn’t solely hers to bear. It was also the responsibility of me and my family who had abandoned a powerless little girl. Thus, I found it even more difficult to forgive her.
The one thing I hoped for was that the maiden would bear no more sins.
That was the bare minimum of my duty. Perhaps the maiden would also never forgive my family.
It was an apology laden with many emotions. Alternatively, it could be seen as a farewell.
The maiden’s lips remained tightly sealed and did not part. She showed no intention of replying to me at that moment.
Instead, she simply turned her back and walked lightly back into the blood-red sunlight. By then, a blood-red throne had appeared in that spot.
Just before taking her seat on the throne, her golden pupils chased me. The eerie smile matched her gaze disturbingly well.
“Don’t apologize just yet. Our meeting isn’t over, is it?”
“It’s about to end soon.”
“That’s for me to decide.”
Settled in her seat, the maiden gazed at me without a trace of doubt on her face. It was not the attitude of someone who spoke lies or bluster.
At that point, I sensed something ominous in the air.
As I narrowed my brow and was about to question the maiden again.
“I am ‘Greed’.”
The sharp sound of fingers snapping resonated.
“I must have everything I want. And right now, before my eyes, a being I’ve longed for all my life has appeared…”
As she spoke, the blood-red sun began to swell in intensity. The solitary scarlet orb emitting light in the darkness was overwhelming and eerie.
It was a sign of an anomaly.
With a bang, the woman’s hand struck the armrest violently. The ecstasy staining her complexion surged with a sensual intensity.
“How could I let this slip by?! How can I give up?!”
It was ridiculous to me.
The victor of the wager was I. Naturally, I had the right to demand the fulfillment of the contract.
My voice rose sharply.
“What are you planning?! You wouldn’t dare break the ‘contract’, would you…?!”
“You don’t have to worry too much. The ‘contract’ must be upheld.”
With a languid voice, a cascade of blood began to flow from the sky.
The tide of blood surged, staining the maiden’s pure white dress. Initially crimson, it turned to a dark red, ultimately transforming into pitch black clothing.
The thick robe worn by the priest resembled a convict’s garb instead. In the midst of its black fabric adorned with white trim, a blood-red demon writhed, revealing itself.
Delphrium, the mark symbolizing the first criminal of humanity.
The maiden bit down on a refreshing smile. It was hard to believe that just seconds ago, she had displayed madness.
“According to the contract, ‘I’ will not lay a hand on ‘you’ today.”
Just as I was about to angrily respond to what she was saying.
The maiden clicked her tongue and shook her finger, seeming to have expected this reaction. The quagmire of love and hate swirled within her golden gaze.
“Thus, you should have listened closely to the contract terms, right? If you even give me a tiny injury, it was agreed that I wouldn’t touch ‘you’ today.”
“The subject is missing!”
“Of course, it’s ‘me’!”
Chuckling, the maiden voiced an especially unreasonable claim.
“Since it’s what I said, doesn’t that seem natural?”
“What nonsense…”
“Do you think I came here without any plans?!”
Once again, blood flowed into the maiden’s eyes.
The woman’s emotions danced between excitement and calm with each passing moment. It certainly seemed like it was time for ‘excitement’.
Her exhilarated voice shot at me.
“I’ve been watching for a very long time. Continuously… for over a decade, I’ve imagined the day I would take you back from that fake… So, did you underestimate me too much?!”
A faint groan escaped my lips.
A decade is not a short time. It was around the time Liya first arrived at Percus Manor, making it hard to take the maiden’s claim at face value.
If that was the case, did it mean she had watched over me for a very long time?
It was an exceedingly cruel story.
Witnessing the cozy moments of a family that excluded her. Seeing no one care about the place where she originally should be.
It must be an agonizing burden that could crush one’s heart.
While my lips struggled to part, the maiden continued her declaration.
“There’s no such thing as a transaction without compensation… All rise!”
Bang, bang, bang.
Blood-red beams pierced through the bodies of the fallen monsters. The faceless monsters began to emit long wails in response.
Uuuuuuu!
Staggering, the risen monsters bit and tore at each other’s flesh. The unsettling noise continued, and instinctively, I screamed.
“Stop those monsters immediately!”
The ones who responded right away were Celin and Senior Elsi.
Years of combat experience had tempered them into weapons of war. They were prime examples of that.
Celin and Senior Elsi had already prepared to intercept at a moment’s notice at my command.
The storm of blood and electricity vibrated the air.
The blood-red sun still stood strong, but the crimson threads that had been binding us for some time had long since disappeared. The maiden could no longer exert control over this area like before.
At least not until then.
In the midst of my urgent preparations, my eyes met the maiden’s.
A twisted smile lingered in my vision. She seemed completely devoid of any doubt.
Victory was mine.
It was the face of one who had snuffed out any other possibility. My gaze instinctively followed her pupils.
Celin became visible.
Oh? In the blink of an eye, Celin’s axe began to descend upon Senior Elsi’s shoulder.
“W-What?!”
Senior Elsi could not even let out a proper scream.
She merely stared wide-eyed at Celin. But Celin was equally clueless.
Only the faint crimson mana crawling up Celin’s arm offered any clues.
It was the ‘contract’.
When did it even happen?
Just before I voiced that very question.
“…Partner, you must fulfill the ‘contract’, right?”
With a thrust, a silver blade pierced through my abdomen.
Blood surged up to my throat. I couldn’t comprehend the situation at all, and had to convey my wide-eyed stare to the rear.
I hadn’t even sensed a presence.
No, to be precise, I had felt it but ignored it.
With jade hair and an androgynous appearance, the man whispered with a face more wretched than words could describe.
Muffled by a sigh.
“I told you to run away, I-an…”
The moment the betrayer revealed himself.
