Chapter 706: [Blood Moon War] [47] Interruption

"I’ve always disliked him."

Cain’s lifeless body lay at my feet, headless and sprawled like discarded trash. For a second, I just stood there staring.

Damn Cain.

Unrequited love, endless desperation... and this is how you end up? Head chopped off, forgotten in the dirt.

But before I could even let that sink in, his corpse began to dissolve. Flesh, bones, everything — melting into thick streams of blood until nothing was left.

"What the hell...?" I muttered, instinctively taking a step back.

"His presence had always been a pest outside and inside me. But now that I know everything, he’s unnecessary. Nothing is needed from him anymore."

My eyes narrowed. "Weren’t you two allies?"

Rucain chuckled. "He was a tool. A stepping stone to understanding what needed to be done. And once a tool has served its purpose... well, tell me, do you keep broken blades in your sheath?"

"And what exactly ’needs to be done?’" I asked, as I summoned Wrath slowly.

This man wasn’t just anyone.

He was a Demigod.

"You don’t like the man who killed me, but somehow... your face is even more displeasing to look at." Rucain said and lifted his hand lazily, and the blood on the ground surged upward, twisting and hardening into a crimson lance.

With a flick, it shot toward me, blindingly fast.

Amaya stepped in front of me, but I pulled her close against my chest, summoning Wrath at the same instant—ready to shatter the attack.

And then—just like that—the blood lance scattered, bursting into harmless droplets before it could touch us.

"What are you doing to my Darling?"

I spun around.

Alicia stood there, her head tilted, her fingers twitching as if she’d been a heartbeat away from tearing Rucain apart.

"My apologies, Vampire Witch," Rucain said, his lips curling into a small smile. "I wasn’t aiming for him. I meant to kill the woman, but he... interfered."

"I’ll take care of her," Alicia replied.

Rucain smirked. "Then I shall make sure your Darling doesn’t intervene."

But Alicia shook her head, her expression twisting into something darker, more excited. "No. I want Darling to watch me when I kill her."

"Alicia, enough!" I snapped. "If you touch Amaya, if you kill her—forget about me. I will never love you."

For a moment, she froze. Then slowly, her lips curved upward, her cheeks flushing red as if I’d just whispered something intimate.

"Ah~ Darling... yes... show me your anger. Get angrier. Let me see it~"

"..."

Alicia... what the hell have you become?

"Darling, you need to run," Amaya urged me at that time.

"Like hell I’m leaving you alone with these freaks!" I shouted back.

"They’re both Demigods. You can’t fight them," she said, her eyes locking onto mine.

"She won’t kill me. You saw it," I argued, glancing at Alicia, who was still trembling with... excitement.

"But he will," Amaya countered, her gaze flicking toward Rucain, who was smiling creepily.

Before I could reply, another voice rang out.

"Regent King."

The sound of heels clicked against the stone as a new figure approached from behind. Long black hair spilled down her back, and her crimson eyes glowed calmly. She wore armor the color of fresh blood, sculpted like a gown of war.

Another Demigod.

Are you fucking kidding me?

"Daleliah, you’ve arrived at just the right time;" Rucain said.

Daleliah’s eyes swept across the corridor in one smooth motion, analyzing everyone present before her gaze snapped and locked onto me.

"He’s the one who killed Lakalros."

This is bad.

I had to get Amaya and Levina out of here somehow—buy us time, regroup, then figure out a way to save Alicia from the Original Witch’s grip. But before I could move, Alicia’s body blurred.

In a heartbeat, she was right in front of Amaya.

"Get away from my Senior!" Alicia roared, swinging her hand like a guillotine.

Amaya moved as fast. She stomped forward, catching Alicia’s arm mid-swing, and with a surge of strength dragged her straight through the nearest window. Glass shattered, stone cracked, and both of them vanished into the night air outside.

"Amaya!" I shouted after her.

"Darling! You have to leave—immediately!"

Leave? After I’d just gotten her back?

Damn it! No way in hell.

"Daleliah. Make sure Alicia doesn’t kill Amaya. We need her alive to assimilate the remaining half of the Vampire Witch first," Rucain said meanwhile.

Daleliah gave him a sharp glance, but before she leapt after them, her eyes flicked toward me for the briefest moment. Something unreadable lingered there, then she was gone—vanishing through the shattered window after Amaya and Alicia.

Now it was just me and Rucain.

I tightened my grip, glaring. "Aren’t you worried? If Alicia comes back and finds out you tried anything against me, won’t she kill you herself?"

Rucain smirked. "When she merges with her other half, she won’t even remember you exist."

"You seem to hate me a lot. I wonder why." I pulled Trinity Nihil into view.

For the first time, his gaze shifted. His eyes flicked to the weapon before snapping back to mine. "Well," he said, "wouldn’t you hate the person who killed you?"

My grip froze. "...I don’t remember killing you."

"That," Rucain’s voice dropped to a growl, his eyes narrowing with cold anger, "is disappointing. You’re weaker than your former self—and worse—you don’t even remember what you did. I wanted the satisfaction of killing the one who ended me, but it seems all I get is this... pale shadow."

Heat flared inside me, Nemesis’s voice calling out from within, whispering that I should release her. Let her take over. But I clenched my teeth and shut her out.

I raised Trinity Nihil just as Rucain blurred forward, moving so fast my eyes couldn’t even track his body. My instincts screamed, and I braced to parry—

But then the ceiling split open with a deafening crack.

Rucain skidded back, retreating instinctively as a figure came crashing down, slamming into the floor hard enough to send dust and stone fragments flying everywhere.

"Kyaa!"

I raised an arm to shield my eyes. The dust cleared slowly, and when I caught sight of the hair—dark blue strands catching the dimlightof the ceiling’s chandeliers—I froze. My eyes widened.

"You’ve got to be kidding me... What are you doing here?"

Lisandra groaned, glaring up at the hole in the ceiling.

"Ugh... Next time, Sylvia, try giving me a proper warning!"

"I did warn you," Sylvia’s voice came right after as she descended lightly through the gap, landing beside Lisandra with grace.

"Yeah, you warned me after I was already falling!" Lisandra snapped, her cheeks flushing red as she scrambled to her feet, brushing dust from her clothes.

I blinked, still reeling. "No, seriously—what the hell are you two doing here?"

They both turned toward me at once. Lisandra froze, her face going scarlet when our eyes met. Sylvia’s gaze lingered just a second too long before she looked away, a faint pink creeping into her cheeks as well.

Something was... off.

Different about them both.

"Wait—don’t tell me you followed me?" I said, dumbfounded. "Because if you did, that’s honestly getting scary. This is beyond stalking and reach unhealthy obsession."

"We are not stalking you!" Lisandra shot back immediately, almost too quickly.

"Then what?" I asked. "What are you doing here? And where’s your master?" I glanced around, half-expecting Amael to appear, but he was nowhere in sight.

"He’s not our master!" Lisandra snapped, fists clenching. "And we... we just wanted to make sure everything was okay here, that’s all!"

"She wanted to make sure everything is okay?" I repeated flatly, arching a brow. "That’s it?"

Lisandra’s face burned even redder when my eyes narrowed. She stuttered, fidgeting with her hands as though the words were caught in her throat.

Sylvia stepped in. "We were worried."

"Worried?" I tilted my head. "About what exactly?"

Sylvia crossed her arms, her slender fingers drumming against her sleeve in nervous rhythm. Her eyes flicked toward me, then away, then back again before she finally admitted, "About you."

"About me?" I asked incredulously. "Don’t tell me Amael sent you to babysit me. Did he order you to keep an eye on me?" It was the most logical explanation.

But Sylvia’s lips tightened. She shook her head, her voice soft but wounded. "No... We came here on our own. Why can’t you just accept that?"

For a moment, guilt twisted in my chest. Why did it feel like I was the one in the wrong here?

I looked her expression. The hurt in her eyes was genuine, and I didn’t like seeing her like this at all.

"Fine," I muttered, turning back toward Rucain. "Then I’ll leave him to you."

"W–Wait, what?" Lisandra’s eyes widened in shock.

"I have to find Levina and help Amaya against Alicia," I said, already moving, not giving them a chance to argue.

"Lisandra, go on ahead," Sylvia ordered, stepping in front of Rucain with calm. "I’ll hold him off."

"Okay... but don’t push yourself, Sylvia! We’re not even supposed to be here, remember?" Lisandra’s voice wavered with concern, but she obeyed, breaking into a run beside me.

So, they were under restrictions. That explained why they hadn’t gone all out before—too much attention would be dangerous for them it seems.

"Maybe you should stay and help Sylvia," I suggested between strides.

Lisandra shot me a sharp look, her tone oddly pointed. "Don’t underestimate her. Sylvia can handle him easily. Shouldn’t you already know that?"

"What the hell are you implying? I’ve only fought her once—when both of you jumped me out of nowhere."

"T–That’s because you kidnapped me!" Lisandra stuttered, tripping slightly over her words.

"You mean when you and your merry band tried to kill me and Alicia, if I remember correctly."

Her voice dropped, barely audible. "...I didn’t want to."

I glanced at her but said nothing, brushing it aside. "Whatever. Where’s Amael then?"

That question earned me a mischievous grin. "Oh? Are you worried about him?"

"Of course I am," I said bluntly. "Maybe he sent you ahead to stall me while he prepares a nice, neat little plan to kill me off."

Her grin shattered.

"You—blockheaded, distrustful, paranoiac idiot! You haven’t changed a damn bit!"

I grimaced, deciding it was safer to ignore her tantrum. She might have lost her mind.

A few tense minutes later, we finally reached Levina.

Lisandra had eagerly dealt with the knights we ran into along the way—or more accurately, I let her cut loose since she seemed a little too eager to ’help’. I wasn’t going to complain if it made my job easier.

And there she was. Levina. Still safe, still gently swaying in her little chair, sound asleep as if the chaos of the world couldn’t touch her. Relief washed through me, and I quickly scooped her into my arms, careful not to wake her.

Lisandra reappeared from the door moments later, her clothes splattered crimson, dripping with the blood of the knights who had gotten in our way.

"Did you get her?"

"Yes," I answered, before gently transferring Levina into her arms.

Lisandra blinked in surprise. "Eh?"

"Take care of her. Get her out of Valachia and back to the Resistance. Entrust her to Viessa for me."

Her eyes widened, panicked. "W–Wait, what? No! We have to leave together!"

I shook my head. "I can’t. I have to go back. Amaya’s still fighting Alicia, and I won’t abandon her. Not again."

Lisandra grabbed my arm, her grip tight, her voice trembling with emotion. "Mael... it’s too dangerous. Even for you."

I smiled faintly, placing my hand over hers. "I’ll be fine. And even if I’m not... I’d rather die than lose any of them."

Her lips quivered. She bit down hard, lowering her hand, eyes glistening with a conflict she didn’t voice.

"Please," I said softly. "I’m counting on you for Levina."

Her whisper was so faint I almost missed it. "I don’t want you to die again..."

But I was already gone.