The Price of Victory

“Hmph, hmph…”

Our perspective returned to the basement of the Scarlett Estate.

Amidst the crumbling earth, Sevilya stood on the magically cratered ground, a lock of pristine white hair clutched in her hand.

“Iqiyah… you didn’t have to fight to this extent.”

Gazes fixed on the beauty, now powerless to struggle beneath her silver hair, Sevilya could not help but feel a tremor in her heart.

“I told you, you won’t lay a hand on Seraphina until you step over my corpse.”

Her clothes were torn, her body exposed.

Scars covered her, blood flowed freely.

Yet, true to Iqiyah’s vow, even as her body failed and her magic was utterly spent, she still fixed her remaining eye on her enemies, glaring with the ferocity of a she-wolf defending her young.

Just as recounted before, Sevilya had won. She had cleansed the shame of her defeat by the bloodkin.

But her victory had not come easily.

Faring little better than the Iqiyah she held, Sevilya’s upper body armor was almost entirely shattered, revealing the linen garments beneath.

Beyond that, one of her eyes was swollen shut, several ribs in her chest were broken, a gash on one arm stretched nearly its entire length, and one of her legs appeared to be fractured.

However, unlike Iqiyah, who could no longer receive Seraphina’s healing due to the [Confinement], Sevilya, however, could.

“Evra… help me recover.”

“Understood.”

Wielding her staff, the elf named Evra cast healing magic.

“Elves… let us all heal the Emissary!”

Overlapping magical hums reverberated as, amidst a flurry of coalescing light, the wounds on Sevilya’s body gradually began to mend.

“Can’t even this many stacked healing spells achieve a complete recovery?”

While the combined glow of multiple spells was dazzlingly brilliant, their actual effect proved quite limited. Sevilya could still feel a throbbing pain in her calf.

An odd sensation, and a faint ache in her chest.

After all, these were merely [Epic] healing spells; even Evra’s magic barely reached the [Legendary] tier, falling far short of Seraphina’s divine-level effects.

‘Am I the same as her?’

Recalling her conversation with the Goddess of Life, and the divine miracle she had personally witnessed from Seraphina even earlier, Sevilya couldn’t help but question the goddess’s infallibility.

‘Healing grievous wounds, restoring spent magic, even raising the dead… could she truly be an existence akin to my own?’

Shaking her head, Sevilya dismissed the vexing thoughts that plagued her mind.

“Iphya… to have fought to this extent, you are a true powerhouse.”

“I respect you, and I apologize for my previous offense. However… please do not interfere with what comes next.”

“Never!”

Twisting her head, Iqiyah attempted to bite Sevilya’s ankle, making a final, desperate struggle.

Yet, how could such a broken body withstand the strides of a divine attendant?

With a slight flick of her calf, Sevilya raised her silver sword and slowly approached Seraphina, who lay on the other side.

“Levian, quickly, take Seraphina and run!”

“…Yes!”

Quickly embracing Seraphina, Levian was about to take a step when, just as she accelerated, a powerful force abruptly seized her shoulder.

“Guh!”

In an instant, Levian lost her balance, crashing heavily to the ground.

“Maid…”

For some reason, Sevilya didn’t immediately turn to Seraphina. Instead, she moved closer to Levian and grasped a lock of her hair.

“Get away, get away!” Levian shrieked, clearly startled. “My body is exclusively for Lady Iqiyah! How could I let a lowly human like you trample upon it…”

“Iphya, I have no interest in you,” Sevilya stated, standing up and casting a sidelong glance at the fallen Scarlett behind her. “My apologies, Iqiyah, I seem to have misunderstood you again.”

“? What are you talking about, you fiend?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to clarify if you have any particular preferences when choosing your retainers.”

“No, I am not Lady Iqiyah’s subordinate!” Levian’s focus was clearly misplaced. “Lady Iqiyah’s only subordinate will forever be Seraphina, wuwuwuwuwu!”

“Silence, little mouse. I have no desire to hear you speak.”

Utterly willful and arrogant, Sevilya extended a finger, sealing Levian’s mouth and limbs with magic.

Lifting herself, Sevilya did not spare another glance for Levian, instead walking directly towards Seraphina, who lay on the other side.

‘Hey… this one.’

Sevilya raised her foot and gently nudged the motionless Seraphina, who was curled on the ground.

“Your master, your companion, they’ve all been defeated by me now, you know.”

“Do you have anything to say about that?”

……

Utterly silent and completely motionless, Seraphina remained curled on the ground, her eyes askance, staring sideways at Sevilya above her.

‘My master said you are an existence akin to mine.’

‘This one is unusually quiet.’

‘If I recall correctly… last time, this one was chattering away, buying a significant amount of time with their words.’

‘And now… they merely observe everything in silence.’

‘As if they were a mute, born unable to speak.’

‘This isn’t normal. Absolutely not normal.’

“Evra, could you please reconfirm the effects of the [Confinement]?”

Aware of Seraphina’s formidable power, Sevilya kept a close watch on Seraphina’s movements while simultaneously using magic to sense the two bloodkin behind her.

Indeed, with this one’s support abilities… if not for the [Confinement], she could instantly transform the two incapacitated bloodkin nearby into formidable bosses.

At that point, everything would be utterly reversed.

[Confirmed. The magic is still active. Seraphina remains in a state of [Confinement].]

‘Phew… that’s a relief.’

Lowering her guard, Sevilya’s expression visibly relaxed.

“Seraphina, I know you probably don’t want to come with me, but this is the will of the Goddess of Life. You have no choice.”

Seeing no reaction from Seraphina, Sevilya sighed, bent at the waist, and reached out directly to touch Seraphina’s slender waist.

“But… for myself… this is definitely a good thing.”

Wait.

How…

As Sevilya lifted Seraphina by her armpits, she was astonished to discover—

“What’s going on? Why can’t I lift her?”

In hindsight, Sevilya would realize that this crucial mistake had directly squandered a rare opportunity.

The next second—

“Ora!”

“Puguah!!!”

Suddenly, a golden figure materialized beside Seraphina.

Without her massive hammer in hand, Cardo, at close range, simply clenched her fist and launched a fierce punch directly at Sevilya’s face.

“What, what’s happening? When did they appear?”

Before Sevilya could even comprehend what was happening, a flurry of continuous punches, like Pegasus Meteor Fists, rained down upon her.

“Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora—!!!”

Countless heavy blows struck Sevilya’s head, chest, abdomen, and other vital areas in a relentless, chaotic barrage.

Though numerous, these punches also possessed immense power; each strike carried the force equivalent to an [Epic] spell’s energy. Such a tempest of blows inflicted damage no less than that of a [Legendary] spell.

Poor Sevilya, having just recovered, was once again covered in injuries after barely a few moments.

“Listen closely… I don’t care about the will of the Goddess of Life, nor whether this is a good thing or not….”

Slowly rising, Seraphina lowered her head, extended a hand, and pointed directly at Sevilya, who was being mercilessly pummeled.

“All I know is that you harmed the person most important to me. I will make you pay the price!”

“Ora!”

“Buoh!!!”

Ending with a heavy punch, Sevilya was sent flying across the air, like a discarded ragdoll.