The Price of Purge

“Ah, this…”

Upon hearing Seraphina’s words, Iqiyah’s surging, fiery aura instantly dissipated, and her voice softened.

“Hmm? By your tone, you didn’t happen to… did you?” Seraphina gestured towards Ailur, whose head was still clutched by a tentacle. She then mimed a blade with her hand, drawing it across her own neck twice.

“No, not exactly…” Faced with Seraphina’s questioning, Iqiyah averted her gaze, avoiding eye contact. “I just got used to it. I couldn’t hold back…”

“Couldn’t hold back, you say?”

Seraphina narrowed her eyes slightly. She slowly walked before Iqiyah, then reached out, cupping Iqiyah’s chin and gently squeezing it twice.

“Then tell me… do you think I, in my current state, should hold back?”

With that, Seraphina raised her other hand. Light coalesced, forming a luminous orb. She then crouched down, cupping Iqiyah’s soft face and gently but firmly turning her gaze towards the energy-filled sphere.

“Within this orb before you now, Iqiyah, is the concentrated energy of my [Purge].”

Seraphina’s finger twitched slightly, and the orb began to spin.

“In other words, this is a materialized [Divine Status Purge].”

At the mere mention of ‘Purge,’ Iqiyah’s eyes immediately blazed with a dazzling red light.

“Hah, hah…” As she stared at the faintly humming orb, drool began to pool on the ground. “Give it to me, quickly! Give it to me!”

“Mmm… Lady Iqiyah has performed quite well, so I suppose I’ll reluctantly bestow a small reward upon you~”

Saying this, Seraphina held up two fingers, pinching the orb between them, and slowly moved it closer to Iqiyah’s body.

Concurrently, she discreetly activated her [All-Seeing Eye] to observe Iqiyah’s status.

Ever since the moment their roles as mistress and servant had reversed, Seraphina had been curious: what peculiar magic did this [Purge] hold over the creature, making her crave it so intensely?

Seraphina looked at the [All-Seeing Eye], confirming Iqiyah’s status.

Iqiyah Scarlett:

[Race: Bloodkin], [Level: ???], [Strength: ???], [Endurance: ???], [Life: ???], [Magic: ???].

[True Ancestor’s Blood] effect active: Subjected to 33.333 HP Drain debuff per second. This effect cannot be dispelled by [Purge] effects below [Divine] tier.

[Unknown Blessing] effect active: Adapting body modifications: [Omnivorous Adaptation], [Weakness Immunity]…

Good, all preparations complete. Let the experiment begin!

With the meticulous precision of a scientist conducting an experiment, Seraphina carefully controlled her arm, guiding the orb inch by inch towards Iqiyah’s forehead.

Precisely at the moment the edge of the orb made contact with Iqiyah’s skin—

“Guu-woooh—!”

Iqiyah’s body jolted violently, and a string of inarticulate grunts escaped her lips, not a single word discernable.

However, likely because the orb hadn’t fully penetrated, Iqiyah didn’t experience the intense reaction and dizziness she’d displayed before. Instead, she was merely drooling and developing a severe squint—colloquially known as being cross-eyed.

This was precisely what Seraphina had intended. She had specifically crafted this small orb to control the variables.

Seraphina looked at Iqiyah’s panel, intending to first confirm her status.

Iqiyah Scarlett:

[Level: ???], [Strength: 199], [Endurance: 115], [Life: 1550], [Magic: 192]

[Danger Warning]: [True Ancestor’s Blood] detected to be under an unknown dispelling effect, values severely diminishing!

[Danger Warning]: Bound attributes detected to be under attack, [Unknown Blessing] effect active, error report sent to developer…

Just as before, under the influence of the [Purge], the positive enhancements of the [True Ancestor’s Blood] were weakened, and its values consequently decreased.

Even the Windows error report was identical, how interesting…

Observing Iqiyah’s weakened stats and the sputtering creature sprawled on the ground, a mischievous glint appeared in Seraphina’s eyes.

The orb’s penetration was currently at about 10%. Time to go a little deeper.

Seraphina gently pushed with her finger, and the orb delved further in.

“Ugh-uh↓-uh↓-uh↓-uh↓-uh…”

Iqiyah’s back suddenly arched, her entire body contorting into an unnaturally arched shape.

Checking Iqiyah’s stats again:

[Level: ???], [Strength: 122], [Endurance: 75], [Life: 1060], [Magic: 119]

Now at approximately 20% penetration, the reaction is quite amusing~

Hmm, let’s try a variable resistor.

As if manipulating a sliding rheostat, Seraphina pinched the light orb, sliding it back and forth across Iqiyah’s forehead.

Pull it back a little~

“Guu-woooh-woooh-woooh-woooh…”

Bring it closer~

“Ugh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh…”

Hehe~ How fun~

So, what might Lady Iqiyah’s mood be at this moment?

To Seraphina, this was perhaps her greatest curiosity, so she eagerly scrolled through Iqiyah’s status panel.

Iqiyah Scarlett:

[Psychological State]

So good!

So, so good!

Good!

Truly good!

Absolutely amazing!

…

Woah-oh-oh-oh!!! (Like a banshee’s shriek) Stop here, stop here! Any more, any deeper, and I’ll explode! Any closer, any nearer, and I’ll melt! This feeling, not too much, not too little, just right, guh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh…

Eh, had she gone too deep?

Seeing Iqiyah on the verge of entering a state of complete shutdown, Seraphina quickly glanced at her fingers.

Sure enough, she had unintentionally pushed the orb too far, and its penetration had already exceeded fifty percent.

It seemed fifty percent was the boundary: enough to satisfy Lady Iqiyah, yet still allow her to remain conscious.

Watching Iqiyah’s dazed, unfocused eyes, Seraphina raised her eyebrows and sighed.

Judging by Lady Iqiyah’s current state, it seemed she wouldn’t get any other results.

Though she hadn’t quite uncovered the exact reason for Iqiyah’s intense pleasure, the results were still quite substantial, and Lady Iqiyah certainly looked satisfied…

Well, perfect enough for now. Time to conclude!

Seraphina lifted her hand, and the orb dissipated. Iqiyah instantly broke free from her unconscious state. The enervating [Purge] had decimated her stats, leaving her unable to support her own body. She could only lie sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.

Seeing the once haughty, “elegant and dignified” Blood Princess Iqiyah in such disarray, Seraphina’s lips couldn’t help but curl into a smile.

She lifted her black stiletto, dangling it before Iqiyah’s eyes.

“Now, have you found your answer, Lady Iqiyah?”

Her ankle swayed, and the black stiletto tip circled Iqiyah’s nose again and again.

“Do you think I need to hold back?”

“Please, please, by all means, don’t hold back!”

“Hmph hmph~” Hearing Iqiyah’s submissive reply, a look of profound satisfaction graced Seraphina’s features. “Then you had best behave, and I’ll find it even harder to restrain myself~”

“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm!”

“Now then, please release the head of this poor prey~”

It was about time she saved her poor teammate, after all~

Seraphina turned, looking at Ailur, who was currently presenting a rather grim tableau reminiscent of Louis XVI.

The crimson tentacles parted, losing their grip on her suspended form. Ailur’s headless body instantly went limp; had it not been for the tentacles supporting her feet, she would have already collapsed to the ground.

But it didn’t matter. Had they ever heard of a respawn point?

Even if you were reduced to ashes, as long as your respawn point hadn’t been moved, you could still be brought back.

Seraphina was precisely that kind of ‘respawn point.’ Though she was the battle-hardened version, in terms of healing others, it was as exaggerated as having a literal cheat code for resurrection.

[Divine Resurrection]!!!

Ever since her transmigration, Seraphina had been waiting for the day she could finally unleash this skill. Now, she finally had the chance.

As light surged forth, the crimson tentacles beneath Ailur’s feet began to convulse, writhing their bloated form and spitting out a saliva-soaked head.

Light coalesced beneath the head, lifting it and slowly ascending to the place where Ailur had mimicked Louis XVI’s fate. With a soft hum, the light dissipated, and Ailur’s head returned to the embrace of her body.

“Ah, holy crap!”

The very next second after her head reattached, Ailur’s eyes snapped open.

“Ah, holy crap! Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah…”

“Well? My dear Miss Ailur, being killed wasn’t a pleasant experience, was it?”

Seraphina watched Ailur, who was shaking her head wildly and screaming incessantly, wanting to provoke her.

Unfortunately, Ailur was completely engrossed in the terror of her recent demise. She didn’t even notice Seraphina, who was standing right before her, only continued to let out mournful wails:

“Ah, holy crap, ah, I want to go home, I want to go home! Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah…”

This one could certainly scream. Her lungs must be excellent; no wonder she could run so fast.

“Alright, stop your racket.”

Seeing Ailur had descended into a dazed stupor, Seraphina grabbed a tentacle from the ground and pressed it firmly against Ailur’s face.

Muffled by the tentacle, Ailur’s screams became considerably weaker. She instead began flailing her limbs like a frog, struggling violently.

Too disinclined to waste any more words on the idiotic creature, Seraphina turned to look at Avril and Levilan, who were still kneeling submissively on the ground.

“Ailur says she wants to go home. Any objections?”

“……”

Avril remained silent. She understood that Seraphina’s words were a deliberate provocation, which indirectly confirmed that Seraphina was indeed Shulk.

Levilan, however, was different. She had always been outspoken.

“I want to go home too… Can I?”

Perhaps frightened by the absurd and terrifying farce unfolding before her, Levilan began speaking, seemingly to herself, before Seraphina could even react.

“Shulk, they’ve always been bullying you. Avril ordered you around, Ailur looked down on you, and I only bullied you along with them to fit in.”

“If you want revenge, just get back at them. Please, let me go…”

“……”

Watching this habitually selfish mage at her feet, a profound sense of gloom settled within Seraphina.

Without responding to Levilan’s plea, Seraphina turned her gaze back to Avril.

“Is there anything you want to say?” she asked the question once more.

For a moment, she felt a surge of humiliation. She had only wanted an apology, yet she was forced to badger them this way. It was truly infuriating.

But what infuriated Seraphina even more was Avril’s reply.

“I don’t know who this Bloodkin standing before me is, and I have no intention of conversing with an enemy.”

Avril’s eyes were like dust-covered gems, dull and gray, devoid of any light.

After witnessing Seraphina’s bizarre display, Avril had already concluded that this Bloodkin was no longer the Shulk she knew. Even if it was, he had clearly gone mad.

Rather than be toyed with by a madman, it was better to quickly return to the embrace of the Goddess of Life…

“If you intend to kill or dismember me, please do so swiftly!”

“Hey! If you want to die, don’t drag me into it! I don’t want to die yet!”

Levilan’s face instantly contorted with panic. She looked at the despairing Avril, then at the expressionless Seraphina, before offering Seraphina a pleading, puppy-dog look.

“Please, please let me go…”

“I will not kill you.”

Not addressing the pleading Levilan at her feet, Seraphina looked at Avril’s deathly still eyes and said coldly.

“Now, get out!”

She extended her hand, and with a flick of her finger, a fierce, eerie gust of wind erupted behind her, sending all three—including Ailur—flying out.