A Desperate Bargain

“What happened next?”

“After that…”

Before confronting the stark reality, Godia had clung to a desperate hope. Perhaps Cardo’s concealment had been too effective, or perhaps he had glimpsed the truth but refused to acknowledge it.

This fleeting hope persisted until he descended into the manor’s basement, until he bore witness to the great battle’s conclusion.

“Oh, you’ve arrived.”

Whether it was a trick of the light or something more profound, the True Ancestor’s form seemed to have diminished even further compared to before.

“…”

Godia stared in silence at the chaotic scene unfolding before him. The True Ancestor was propped up on her hands, sprawled upon the ground—no, she was slumped in a glistening pool of blood.

Her long white hair fanned out across the crimson-stained floor. The True Ancestor meticulously licked her blood-soaked claws, resembling a small white cat that had just concluded a hunt.

“Cardo… is she with you?” Godia asked, his voice barely a whisper.

“Cardo?” The True Ancestor ceased her licking, lifting her gaze to meet Godia’s. “Are you referring to her?”

She then snatched up a clump of white fur coiled on the ground. Only then did Godia realize it wasn’t the True Ancestor’s hair at all, but a grim relic of his daughter.

“You killed her!?”

“Indeed.”

The True Ancestor’s voice remained utterly placid, as if the life she had just extinguished was not that of a human being, but merely an irritating gnat.

“…”

A profound silence descended. Even Godia, known for his stoicism, could no longer endure.

“She was your descendant! How could you simply murder her!”

He roared, and blood-red waves surged violently around Godia. Driving a power he hadn’t touched in an age, he lunged fiercely towards the True Ancestor.

Yet, facing the incandescent Godia, the True Ancestor merely extended a hand and closed her fingers with a gentle squeeze. Godia’s body instantly froze, his charging momentum arrested mid-stride, utterly immobilized.

“What’s wrong with slaying a descendant?”

Rising to her feet, the True Ancestor swayed her diminutive form, sauntering with an affected grace towards Godia.

“During the last conflict, I eliminated countless children of the Redster family, you know~”

“One might say, I’m quite adept at such matters~”

“Damn you! You wretched pest!” Godia struggled with furious desperation, attempting to break free from her control. “How can you manipulate my body!?”

“Hmph, did you truly believe I would allow you to retain so many secrets in peace?”

With a swift flick of her hand, a colossal blood-red ice pillar instantly impaled Godia’s body, pinning him aloft in mid-air.

“The moment you forged a pact with me, you became my kin.”

“And for a master to command their kin’s form, a mere drop of essence blood suffices, you see~”

Extending her tongue, she delicately licked her freed right hand with an alluring grace. The True Ancestor then closed one eye, offering Godia a playful, charming wink.

“However… thanks to your daughter, I’ve been severely weakened, you know.”

With a narrowed eye, the True Ancestor gazed down at the pool of blood beneath her feet and a pair of indistinct tissues, a visible expression of annoyance marring her features.

“Since that conflict, every ounce of power I had painstakingly amassed was expended upon your precious daughter.”

“Tell me… how do you propose to compensate me for that?”

“Perhaps… I find Iqiyah quite adorable. How about using her body… as my compensation?”

“No! No! No, no, no, no!”

Upon hearing the True Ancestor’s desire for Iqiyah’s body, Godia’s resolve utterly shattered.

“You absolutely cannot! You absolutely cannot do that, I forbid it!”

“Cannot?” The True Ancestor’s eyes flared with a crimson glow. “Godia, do you truly believe you possess any leverage to defy me now?”

“The sole hope of your Scarlett family was just reduced to mere flesh and blood by my hand.”

“Or perhaps…”

She strode towards Godia, seizing his cheek with brutal force. Her sharp claws sank deep into his pallid skin, tearing open several horrifying, bloody gashes.

“Do you intend to impede me with this utterly useless body?”

“…”

Godia was plunged into the depths of despair.

In that moment, he profoundly regretted his earlier decisions, and even more so, his choice to align himself with the True Ancestor. Had he not stood by her side… perhaps, neither his family nor the Redster family would have suffered such devastating losses. The Scarlett family might not have been dwindled to just three—no, two—remaining members.

Had he not sided with the True Ancestor, the Scarlett family might never have been reduced to its current puppet-like existence. Yet, ultimately, these were his own choices, the grievous errors he himself had committed.

And a person, he knew, must bear responsibility for their own mistakes. His immediate imperative was to mitigate the damage as much as possible—to at least fight with every fiber of his being to protect Iqiyah.

But… the True Ancestor was undeniably correct. He possessed no leverage whatsoever to alter their dire predicament.

Was there truly anything left to contend with? …

It was at this precise moment that a crucial shift occurred. Godia noticed a subtle tremor running through the immense ice crystal that had impaled his body.

‘This ice crystal… is it melting?’

‘Could it be…’

“True Ancestor…”

“What is it?”

“Stop feigning strength. I know you no longer possess the power to sustain this ice crystal.”

“!?”

Witnessing the astonishment in the True Ancestor’s eyes, Godia knew his conjecture was accurate.

The trembling of the ice crystal affirmed Godia’s realization: the True Ancestor before him was likely far weaker than he had initially conceived.

“Even though Iqiyah has only just reached adulthood, she now wields the authority of the [True Ancestor’s Blood].”

“Do you… still have the capacity to confront her directly in your current state?”

“Hmph, Godia, do not grow so arrogant.”

Even though Godia had pierced through her facade, the True Ancestor maintained her composure, crossing her arms and projecting an air of effortless command.

“While my power has indeed waned significantly, wresting your daughter’s consciousness from her is still hardly a formidable task.”

This, of course, had already factored into Godia’s calculations.

“But if I’m not mistaken, seizing her body would also require some time, wouldn’t it?”

“If she were to learn the truth beforehand… do you truly believe she would simply resign herself to her fate?”

“And do you… still possess the residual strength to vanquish the spirited Iqiyah now?”

“Foolish!”

The True Ancestor erupted in a furious rage. Unbeknownst to her, however, the violent surge of emotion inadvertently compromised her power, causing her to momentarily lose her hold on the ice crystal.

With a deafening crash, the ice crystal abruptly shattered. Godia was freed from his impalement, collapsing to the ground. His pierced body trembling, he pushed himself up on his arms, casting a wretched smile at the True Ancestor.

“Do you truly believe I cannot control your body and corrupt your daughter!?”

With a brutal stomp, the True Ancestor planted her foot squarely on Godia’s face, grinding it viciously.

“Are you truly so confident in that?”

Even as the True Ancestor’s bare foot ruthlessly pressed into his cheek, Godia still managed to force a smile.

“Thanks to the post-war order, my poor little daughter never received much affection from me in her childhood.”

“I imagine… she wouldn’t be particularly inclined to heed my words, would she?”

“Guh…”

A desperate deadlock now confronted the True Ancestor. Her current strength allowed her only to subtly seize Iqiyah’s consciousness, yet she was utterly incapable of overpowering Iqiyah’s physical form.

She could manipulate Godia to conceal the truth from Iqiyah, but she lacked the confidence to truly deceive her. Moreover, Iqiyah was no fool; when the opportune moment arrived, she would undoubtedly raise the banner of rebellion against her, just as Cardo had.

‘If this continues, my entire plan will be ruined!’

‘Tsk… damn it, I truly miscalculated back then. I should have transformed the entire Scarlett family into my kin…’

Regretting her past impulsiveness, the True Ancestor gritted her teeth in frustration. Concurrently, her inner thoughts began to spiral towards an extreme resolution.

‘Damn it! Damn it! If the plan cannot be executed… then cut losses immediately!’

A dazzling crimson light erupted from her eyes. In the True Ancestor’s hand, a blood-red ice crystal coalesced—the last vestiges of her precious [Essence Blood].

Then, she raised this ice crystal and violently smashed it against Godia’s forehead.