A Glimmer of Resistance

Guh-uh!!

Seraphina had barely registered what was happening when a powerful force seized her shoulders.

The next instant, she was sent spinning into the air, tumbling in a dizzying 360-degree spiral.

The world spun around her, the sudden assault making her head throb and blood rush to her face, leaving her utterly disoriented.

Yet, even in this dazed state, she knew one thing clearly…

‘This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!’

‘This person is serious… she might actually kill me!’

Faced with such an overwhelming disadvantage, Seraphina had only one choice.

‘Run! Run the moment I land!’

However, even this desperate fantasy of escape proved impossible against such an absolute disparity in strength.

Before she could even touch the ground, a flash of silver light erupted beneath Seraphina.

The next second, her already soft abdomen rippled like water, a fist-sized indentation appearing abruptly.

Guwah!!!

Before she could even register the pain, a searing sensation flared in Seraphina’s throat.

Immediately afterward, a hot, sweet rush of blood surged up, erupting from her mouth.

‘Tsk…’

Gazing at her abdomen, Seraphina, with her knowledge of modern medicine, knew precisely what had occurred.

The powerful punch had brutally torn through her ribs, likely damaging her internal organs and causing severe internal bleeding.

As blood continued to pour into her mouth from her throat, Seraphina understood.

‘This rate of bleeding… it’s no different from having been shot by a Desert Eagle.’

‘If I don’t get immediate medical attention… I could die from massive blood loss very soon!’

Tumbling to the ground, Seraphina was wracked with intense pain in both her chest and abdomen.

She couldn’t even muster the strength to rise, instead collapsing clumsily onto the ground, covering her mouth with her hand in a futile attempt to stem the bleeding.

Yet, no matter her intention, Seraphina’s actions proved utterly in vain.

Blood seeped between Seraphina’s fingers, dripping onto the ochre earth and into the verdant meadow.

In this tranquil, sun-drenched garden, basking in the clarity of spring, that crimson stain stood out with jarring incongruity.

****

“Tsk…”

With a clang, a silver boot landed directly in front of Seraphina.

“A rat is a rat,” Sevilya sneered, “even before it dies, it must defile the ground, leaving its filthy mark.”

“…Sevilya…”

Her voice, raspy and unpleasant, was likely due to the blood in her throat.

“You… you strike with such ferocity. Aren’t you afraid you might accidentally kill me?”

“Hmph,” Sevilya scoffed, lifting her helmet’s visor to reveal a wild grin. “And what if I do kill a rat like you!?”

Staring into the fierce glint in Sevilya’s eyes, Seraphina struggled to maintain her outward composure.

“Heh heh… if you kill me… won’t your revered Life Goddess… hold it against you? Didn’t she specifically request me?”

“If you kill me… aren’t you afraid of the Life Goddess’s wrath!?”

“Wrath? Hahahaha…”

For some unknown reason, Sevilya suddenly clutched her forehead and threw her head back, laughing uproariously.

“Hahahaha… Seraphina, Seraphina… while you are a Familiar, you are ultimately not one of the Life Goddess’s personal attendants.”

“You don’t understand… the Goddess merely desires this body of yours, which possesses the [Familiar Constitution]!”

“As for your soul, your memories, and your personality… in the Goddess’s eyes, these are nothing but dregs, impurities to be cleansed and purged!”

“And dealing with such impurities… naturally, the Goddess would not deign to do it herself. It falls to Familiars like me to carry out the execution!”

“Therefore…”

Looking down at Seraphina, Sevilya’s contempt was palpable.

“Seraphina, I advise you to simply await death. Do not presume to blackmail me using the Goddess!”

“…Is that so?”

However, to Sevilya’s surprise, Seraphina merely offered a faint smile in the face of such blatant disdain.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. The Life Goddess certainly won’t do anything to you…”

“But don’t forget… you have an old nemesis who is constantly watching over my life and death!!!”

Sevilya faltered.

Knowing Seraphina referred to Iqiyah, the contempt vanished from Sevilya’s face, replaced by a flush of guilt.

“That Scarlett family princess… tsk! Imprisoned by Evra and her allies, what kind of waves could she possibly make!?”

“Heh heh… are you certain she won’t?”

Seraphina smiled faintly.

“Surely you haven’t forgotten… how she pinned you to the ground and beat you the first time you met her?”

!?

Sensing an ominous undertone, Sevilya was instantly startled.

“So what, then!? Last time, in the Scarlett Estate’s basement, I already—”

“Hmph, you foolish creature,” Seraphina shook her head with effort.

“You don’t truly believe that was her true strength, do you?”

[Imprisonment]… and subjugation, do not affect her body’s recovery.”

“Presumably… after a few days, her body has long since recovered to—”

“—a strength several times greater than it was that day, correct?”

“With such power… even with the [Imprisonment], you,”

“and the elves’ combined strength, couldn’t harm her in the slightest. Furthermore, her”

“power is growing day by day…”

“Do you truly believe… your elven friends’ magic can”

“imprison this noble Vampire Princess for an eternity!?”

!!!

Sevilya’s eyes widened, her chest heaving rapidly, and her bull-like breaths, furious and potent, sprayed in chunks onto Seraphina’s body.

“You… what exactly is the meaning of all this!!!”

Though Sevilya’s voice was loud and her demeanor fierce, Seraphina knew: ‘This creature’s heart is already consumed by fear!’

“What meaning? Are you so clever, yet still don’t understand?”

Seraphina pressed her advantage. “If you kill me, then what awaits you will be the Scarlett family’s—!”

Although victory seemed within her grasp, unfortunately, Seraphina had miscalculated one crucial detail.

She hadn’t given it much thought, but that very oversight caused her to neglect an extremely vital point.

Sevilya’s pride.

Before Seraphina could finish her sentence, a silver flash erupted before her eyes.

Sevilya abruptly lifted her silver boot, the plated armor gleaming brightly in the radiant sunlight.

The next second—

Guah!!!

With a violent stomp, Sevilya mercilessly brought her foot down on Seraphina’s abdomen.

“You… wretched… damned… blood… kin! Can’t… you… just… not… disgust… me… for… once!?”

…

Each word was punctuated by another brutal stomp.

The first time, Seraphina could still feel the excruciating pain deep in her bones.

But by the second, the third… and countless stomps thereafter, her dazed mind could no longer register the feedback from her body.

She was accumulating a defeat of a truly rare and humiliating kind.

‘Damn it…’

Lying on the ground, Seraphina watched the silver boot stomp on her abdomen, again and again.

‘So… a stomach really can be stomped flat…’

Her consciousness already fading, in this moment of impending death, Seraphina recalled Claire, who had been a constant worry these past few days; Fourierina; the True Ancestor she had always opposed; and Godia, whose mind was perpetually filled with idiotic schemes.

She remembered Fulkarn, the maid who had stepped on her, and the somewhat bothersome Iqiyah.

As she desperately tried to hold Iqiyah’s image in her mind, Seraphina exerted every ounce of her remaining strength to etch the other’s form into her memory.

Yet… she didn’t hear it… In her mind, another voice had already emerged.

“Seraphina.”

“…”

“Seraphina?”

“…”

“SERAPHINA!!!”

‘Ugh, who is it!?’

Somehow, the image of Iqiyah before her eyes suddenly came to life.

Iqiyah pouted, leaning forward, and looked at Seraphina with a displeased expression.

“Hey, Seraphina, are you just going to give up like this!?”

‘What else can I do? Do I have any way to resist Sevilya?’

“…You idiot!”

Frustrated by Seraphina’s inaction, Iqiyah stomped her foot in anger.

“I won’t allow you to just die so easily!!!”

“Think carefully, you idiot! What other trump cards do you have!?”

‘That’s right!’

A flash of lightning streaked through Seraphina’s mind as she recalled the glorious days of passionate brawls with the True Ancestor.

‘Oh, right! How could I have forgotten that!?’

The moment she remembered this power…

Like a raging fire, a golden light instantly ignited within her, spreading like a wildfire, engulfing her entire being.

Then—

“Die! Die! Die!”

Outside Seraphina’s mind, just as Sevilya was about to deliver her next stomp—

A golden light burst forth from Seraphina’s body, carrying immense energy and sending Sevilya flying to the ground!