It was an action driven by the instinct for survival. The man spewed blood from his mouth once again and was sent flying far away.
“Ah, no… noooooooo!”
At that moment, the one on the verge of madness was ‘Greed.’
Veins stood out in the girl’s eyes, which had been relaxed throughout. The grip of her hand holding her hair was so strong that many strands had already been pulled out.
‘Greed’ glared at the vampire in a state of extreme excitement.
“Jealousy, if something happens to my brother, you will definitely be in my hands…!”
“Ah, no. But suddenly showing up right in front of me….”
“How can my brother suddenly appear in front of you? Are you mad?!”
With that, she pointed her pure white finger towards a distant spot.
There lay the man who had been struck by the vampire, as if dead. To anyone, he looked like nothing more than a corpse.
“With a body like that, how could he suddenly appear right before your eyes?! Are you saying my brother has time stopped?! He can barely hold himself up?!”
“But, in reality….”
“There’s only one excuse allowed!”
With a crack, the girl clenched her fist until blood flowed from her palm, shooting a fiery glare.
“If my brother’s life is at risk one more time…!”
Just then.
A sound that could not possibly be heard echoed.
The girl’s dazed gaze turned towards the spot she had pointed to. There, the man who should not have been able to rise was getting up.
He stumbled, hitting his knee against the ground a couple of times.
Yet he did not stop. Using his sword as a cane, he managed to lift his body again.
It was the second time.
In front of a sight that could not be explained medically, just as the girl was losing her mind.
Once again, a gust rushed by.
She could no longer deny it. This latest rush had brushed past right next to her.
The cold wind left a shallow scratch on the girl’s pure white cheek.
And once again, bang!
The man was thrown far away again, collapsing. At that moment, the girl’s eyes, which had been dazed, finally burst with the sign of blood vessels.
“Jealousy, I will definitely…!”
“Here it comes again.”
A simple statement.
No further explanation was needed. ‘Greed’ tried not to even turn her head as if to say not to lie.
Once again, a gust rushed by.
An explosion rang out, and the man fell far away.
Rags?
That body had already reached a level that could not be described with such words. But how was it possible for the bones and muscles to still function?
It felt as if time was resetting periodically.
Over and over again.
The man got up and charged. The vampire responded by throwing him far away, and ‘Greed’ screamed, only for the man to rise again, repeating the cycle.
How many times could this possibly happen?
Now even ‘Greed’ was hoarse from screaming. At first, the vampire had been responding mechanically, but now she had to let out a cry filled with malice.
“Fall down, fall down, fall down, fall down…!”
She struck, punched, knocked off limbs, and even tore apart organs with her claws.
Yet the man kept getting up. It was incomprehensible how his broken limbs could reattach.
Even after rolling on the ground so many times.
In the end, the vampire had no choice but to appeal for help.
“Greed, you need to help too!”
“B-but…!”
“If not, should I blow that body away completely? If you want to save that man, come out and suppress him immediately!”
The girl’s gaze wandered, shaken.
However, her contemplation was short-lived. No matter how madly in love she was, seeing the scene repeated dozens of times, she couldn’t help but realize something.
Something was dangerous.
Her instincts were ringing alarm bells. Moreover, she had an inner feeling that the vampire’s words were correct.
To save her brother.
Once she made her decision, the girl’s finger twitched as she controlled the crimson thread. A wide web spread out like a spider’s net, and the man’s body, which had been frozen in time, could not escape that confinement.
A flash of crimson energy shot forth toward the man, who floated motionless.
Snip, snip, snip!
The vampire had sweat beads forming on her forehead as she plunged her hand into the man’s solar plexus. For the first time in a long while, she gritted her teeth as if praying.
“Please, let it be over…!”
Bang, the man’s body floated into the air.
And then it fell, bringing it all to an end.
The man’s breathing gradually slowed. Seeing this, ‘Greed’ was ready to scream in terror again, but the vampire’s explanation came out faster.
“He won’t die.”
The girl’s eyes, wide and filled with disbelief, locked onto the vampire. If it were a lie, her intent to not let it go was explicit in her gaze.
Yet the vampire merely appeared exhausted.
“All his organs and blood vessels are shattered. To survive, we’ll have to bring him to a state of suspended animation.”
“That must be the truth…!”
“Hmph, of course.”
The vampire grumbled and let out a sigh of relief.
It had been annoying until the end, but she was glad it was all over.
However, it couldn’t end like this.
The vampire attempted to negotiate with an arrogant tone.
“Still, I should receive some compensation for the trouble I went through at the end. Do you know how hard it was to fulfill your demands? I need to claim my rights over that man as well.”
“W-what?!”
At that bombshell revelation, ‘Greed’ jumped in her place. The look on her face conveyed a deep sense of anger, almost to the point of hostility.
Whenever her brother was involved.
Though the vampire secretly clicked her tongue, what could she do? It was best not to touch a matter that could not be conceded at all.
Only adjustments to the deal within a reasonable range were possible.
“I’m obviously not saying I want him completely, okay? I know well that you love your brother. Instead, I’d like a little bit of blood to be supplied regularly…”
“Ugh, ugh…!”
“Don’t be so dramatic, ‘Greed.’ A woman with excessive obsession is disgraceful. It’s just blood; drawing it periodically won’t make your brother go anywhere.”
As the gentle persuasion continued, ‘Greed’ had no choice but to gradually relent.
At first, she had snapped in anger, but the vampire’s request was far from an excessive level. Ultimately, after a long moment of contemplation, a lengthy sigh escaped the girl’s lips.
“Really, I have no choice… But just a little, okay?”
As the vampire finished a satisfactory deal and reached out with a beaming smile.
“Of course, I’m not asking for a lot…!”
Silence.
Every sound vanished at once, chillingly. Not even the sound of speech, breathing, heartbeats, or even the groans of faceless monsters was left.
Cold sweat formed.
Both the vampire and ‘Greed’ could not comprehend the changes in their bodies. What did the beads of sweat trickling down their foreheads and along their spines signify?
Tension, shock, and ‘fear.’
It was absurd. No matter how much one’s true self had not awakened, the women standing here were both responsible for the Seven Deadly Sins of the Dark Cult.
Fear?
Such an emotion had long been lost.
If, if only it were possible.
The vampire’s gaze rushed frantically to a certain area. There stood the Grand Witch.
“If it’s ‘Master,’ it might be possible.”
If it were a Master who could exert full power, they could overwhelm both the unawakened Seven Deadly Sins.
But it was not.
The Grand Witch’s complexion was no different from that of the vampire. With wide eyes, she simply stared blankly at a certain point.
Eventually, the attention of those present shifted to the remaining possibility.
Surely not, right?
That was when the abnormality began.
“Gyaaa, ugh… Aaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Suddenly, the Grand Witch clutched her head and rolled on the ground. The screams that erupted suggested the magnitude of her pain. The one who cried out was not just the Grand Witch.
“Ugh, ugh… Gyaaaaaaaaaah!”
Elsi, who had been unconscious, also let out a sudden scream. It was an extraordinary situation that left even the vampire and ‘Greed,’ who had been calm, displaying expressions of shock.
However, the noise was not only coming from them.
Brrr—!
Hundreds of mirrors began to vibrate in unison.
“What is happening….”
The mirrors reflected unfamiliar memories. Naturally, they were not landscapes remaining in the vampire’s mind.
All of them were incomprehensible images.
A crying man appeared. No, countless men.
Hundreds of images together reflected a road stained with blood and flames. The miserable cries squeezing out one’s soul, the eyes colored with despair and malice, were intensely fierce with bloodshot.
Today, for the first time, the vampire took a step backward.
It was inevitable. Any intelligent being would feel fear in the face of a phenomenon they could not comprehend.
The sights reflected in the mirrors became more intense. As they did, the trembling mirrors shook even more violently.
[Delphrium, Delphrium, Delphrium……!]
Bang! Bang! Boom!
The man pounded the ground recklessly until his fists were crushed and covered in blood. Having cried so much his tear ducts had dried up, the man’s eyes poured forth dry light.
Thus, it turned into an even more intense flame.
If negative emotions were concentrated and made into a drop of liquid, it would surely carry that kind of hue.
[You… you must… die.]
His strained vocal cords could no longer fulfill their function. He could barely emit sounds that were neither voice nor mere wind.
Yet somehow.
The moment he faced those golden eyes like blazing flames, everyone present felt a chill as they clearly understood.
What that man wanted to say.
[…I will kill you.]
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
Hundreds of mirrors, unable to withstand the tremors, shattered all at once in a spectacular display. Particles of light resembling crystals danced, painting the once dark space with a fantastic scene.
And in the next moment.
“…Give me blood, just a little. And, what else… whatever.”
A dry voice resonated.
The quiet whisper sounded like thunder in the ears.
The gazes of ‘Jealousy’ and ‘Greed’ slowly turned towards the source. Their eyes were all filled with frozen shock.
“How dare you prattle on like that. This body, as if it were some kind of trophy….”
Snap.
As the man, who had been lying like a corpse, raised his hand to the sky, the sword stuck in the ground found its place like a beam of light. The veins stood out on the back of the man’s hand grasping the sword.
Ian Fercurus.
No, could it really be ‘Ian Fercurus’?
The man rose like a water sprout, standing tall on the ground. As he dusted off his clothes, he resembled ‘Ian Fercurus’ but felt different in some way.
The vampire and ‘Greed’ sensed it the moment they saw those golden eyes.
The deep sorrow that was soaked in blood.
“Has the madness finally come to an end?”
It was the man’s return.
Leaving his collapsed apprentice and teacher behind.
