Flanking is, surprisingly, a skill that requires extensive training.
The battlefield was a place where life and death hung in the balance. This was no amateur’s playground; in the high-stakes confrontation of highly skilled killers, the smallest slip could mean the difference between survival and demise.
Much less when you had to coordinate with a partner whose timing didn’t mesh well with yours.
There was a significant risk of interrupting each other’s momentum. And this was the battlefield, after all—a place where even the briefest hesitation could cost you your life.
That made what was happening all the more unexpected.
The coordination between the maiden and myself was remarkably harmonious. Like interlocking gears, she was almost preternaturally in sync with my attacks, supporting them as if she could foresee them.
Not that she lacked individual prowess—she was formidable on her own.
But when our movements began to flow together so perfectly, the synergy we created was extraordinary, leaving even the “Vampire” visibly troubled.
The silver trajectory of my blade was followed by a crimson filament.
The vampire deflected my sword with its left hand, only for the crimson filament to bind its arm. Confirming this, I wasted no time retargeting my strike.
Directly at its empty left shoulder.
Not that the vampire would ever surrender so easily. Its right hand clamped around my blade with such force that you could almost hear the steel groan under the pressure.
Still, the blood-red filaments crawling up its legs forced it to quickly withdraw its grip.
Before long, its eyes had bloodshot veins crawling across them.
“These… these things, in pairs!”
Bang!
Baring her teeth, the silver-haired woman swung her arm in a violent arc, causing the crimson strings binding her body to burst apart in an instant. The ensuing explosion rattled the very boundaries of the magic circle.
That’s the technique that had given the Great Witch trouble.
Ordinarily, I would have been thrown off my feet by the shockwave, tumbling gracelessly in the dirt.
If it weren’t for the maiden’s assistance at my side.
With a faint sound like a soft thud—
A lattice of crimson strings intersected and gently cushioned my fall. Meanwhile, the young woman who had conjured these strings reclined effortlessly in mid-air, stretching and yawning as if she hadn’t a care in the world.
Her posture, hands cushioning her head as she lay comfortably back, radiated a serene ease. She might as well have been dozing off on a swing during a summer’s day.
Soon, her voice carried through with a sly smile.
“Hmm, ‘Envy’… you’re struggling more than I thought you would. Surely, even with the power of the barrier behind you, you shouldn’t be pushed this far… Delphrium-sama would be disappointed.”
“Shut your mouth.”
The grinding sound of clenched teeth accompanied the words.
The vampire dusted off its hands as if they were dirt-covered. A faint blush of red tinged its wrist.
It must have been the price of overexertion in swinging its arms.
Still, the wound would heal in mere seconds—of that, there was no doubt.
I reflected on how unfair this battle truly was, raising my eyes to the crimson moon above. The sole constant, it hung in the sky, heedlessly bright.
I felt like I’d seen this scene somewhere before.
As it turned out, the next words from the two women tied it all together.
“If I’d only been able to summon my true self, you lot wouldn’t have stood a chance… And I haven’t even fully awakened the power of the Seven Deadly Sins!”
“But I suppose it’s enough to interfere with your barrier. Now, take a look. At that beautiful moon.”
And as she said that, she tossed her hair back with a mysterious smile. The crimson moon illuminated her alluring features, lending an otherworldly air to her visage.
“This is by Delphrium-sama’s grace… As long as that moon hangs in the sky, you won’t get your way.”
“Hmph.”
The vampire sniffed and turned its head slightly, its expression seemingly dismissing her claims. But the emotion flickering in its eyes betrayed genuine irritation.
It seemed it had no real counterargument.
With a sigh, I recalled a memory.
Looking back, I too had seen that moon during our first encounter with the maiden.
The crimson moon, floating in the subterranean cavern—it seemed that that was the source of her power.
As I absorbed this new information, the vampire interrogated the girl again, suspicion lacing its tone.
“How long have you been plotting this? It couldn’t have just been a day or two for you two to sync like this.”
“Of course not. It’s only natural. The brother and sister were born as one.”
With a clap of her hands, the maiden gazed upward, her eyes glittering.
Even in the darkness, her presence illuminated the world around her momentarily, as if the universe revolved around her.
She was, after all, someone who lived in her own world.
With genuine fervor, the maiden exclaimed.
“Could this not be the will of the divine, who destined us to be one? Oh, Omeros be praised! Thank you for providing such an excellent partner!”
“Get a grip… It’s obvious. Practicing on her imaginary ‘brother’ every day is surely why her eyes have memorized his swordplay. You’re clearly some kind of twisted pervert, aren’t you?”
At the vampire’s blatant mockery, the girl’s eyes narrowed. Her expression changed slightly, giving off a look that was anything but friendly.
In fact, her lack of denial scared me more than her words did.
The dialogue between the two lunatics finally seemed to be reaching an end.
“Aren’t you dismissing the power of love too lightly, ‘Envy’? Of course it’s expected, given that you’ve never known such a thing in all your life!”
“And why would I ever bother clinging to something like that? My goal in life has been singular for a long time now.”
“Haaa.”
As if pretending to understand, the maiden shook her head while a sly smirk crept onto her lips.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t you like to see it? The ‘power of love’, I mean.”
It seemed that an ego clash was about to unfold between the two.
Having remained silent for a while, I let out a weary voice, trying to intervene before it escalated further.
“You two talk nonsense. I don’t even have any connection—let alone ‘love’—with some henchman of the Dark Cult…”
“Big Brother, run!”
Of course, my words were never given a proper ending.
The resonant sound of something releasing and the crimson strings that had kept me tethered up to that point flung me aside.
The momentum of this sudden flight was like nothing I had experienced before. Instinctively hitting the ground, I found myself face-to-face with a vampire smirking with feral anticipation.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Resigning myself with an internal sigh, my only option was to lower the blade I held towards the lower left.
The next technique that followed was the Golden Lionsword.
Seven swift slashes, both high and low, intersected like a predator’s teeth. This was the decisive strike that had earned Yuridina her place as Northern Champion.
Yet the opponent was no mere mortal but a legendary fiend.
Surely, that sort of technique could easily be countered.
Had it not been for the hundreds of crimson thread-like strands targeting its limbs.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The sensation was akin to cutting through solid wood, rather than flesh. Of the seven strikes, only three managed to pierce its skin, and not deeply enough to sever its limbs.
Even so, the vampire clearly took this as a grave insult.
Its fury boiled visibly, veins popping as its eyes glowered with rage.
“Even patience has its limits…!”
And then, in the blink of an eye.
The crimson streak cut through the void. It wasn’t just aimed at me—it seemed to bisect the entire world, rending my body in half from the top down.
BOOM!
The explosion of scarlet filaments was terrifying. Although I managed to use the mystical seal of the edge of my blade to protect myself, I couldn’t stop the shockwave from shaking my insides.
Coughing up a mouthful of blood,
I staggered back. To make matters worse, I now carried an additional burden.
“Kyaa~”
In a performance that would fool no one, a high-pitched scream rang out as the maiden launched herself into my arms.
‘Tammy’ it was.
Her voluptuous figure pressed into me without hesitation. Though I instinctively caught her, my body already reeling from internal injuries, it felt more absurd than anything.
What is she doing now?
The mystery was quickly unraveled when the maiden, nestled in my arms in the so-called “princess hold,” rubbed her face against my chest while sighing contentedly.
“Aah, I almost fell there! Thank goodness for Brother, your scent is so nice… Huh?!?!”
I cut her off mid-sentence by unceremoniously throwing her to the ground.
Her ample backside lifted skyward as she tumbled. Nonetheless, she recovered almost instantly.
Covering her forehead with her hand while glaring up at me, she let loose an irate shout.
“How dare you! We’re supposed to be on the same side!”
“Are we?”
The girl’s lips closed for the first time.
She didn’t appear shocked. Instead, she gave a sly smile and asked me,
“What do you mean by that?”
“Why do you only assist? You charging ahead would make things far easier.”
Another oddity struck me as I questioned her.
The vampire hadn’t launched a single offensive against us yet. Not even when I remained helplessly suspended on the threads.
All it did was waste time exchanging banter.
That made my question valid. Or perhaps I was also seeking an excuse to rest my body, having rolled around long enough.
In any case, I stood to gain.
Whether ‘Greed’ was a traitor or not.
The girl let out a short, amused laugh in response to my words.
…
