Mejga’s Twisted Reunion

Mejga Kerfen, Saranya’s brother.

Since the Cathedral incident, Saranya had believed Mejga had fled Vero City, never to show his face in this region again.

That was not the case.

From her first step into Vero, her plot to seize the tavern, her development of a gang, and every subsequent event, her brother had been watching her.

This time, her brother must have seized an opportunity to make his move against her.

“Dan-danger! Talia, we’re in danger!”

Previously, Kaelan had always intervened with her powerful magic to resolve crises. Now, Saranya might have to face a skilled spellcaster alone, and without her master by her side, the fear in her heart was ineffable.

“What’s the matter? Why such a panic?”

Facing the thick layer of ice before them, Talia opened the lantern’s cover, continuously heating the ice with the flame while gently chipping at it with her scimitar.

“It’s nothing… *hiss-huff*… just a bit cold. This kind of trickery… won’t trap us.”

“No, it’s not…”

Saranya raised her longsword, its hilt slick in her hand. She knew Talia’s optimism stemmed from ignorance.

“Did that person not follow us?”

Talia set down the lantern and was rubbing her hands together for warmth when she suddenly realized someone was missing.

The young sailor brother was gone.

“We have to find him!”

“Wait—”

Saranya didn’t have time to stop her. Talia gripped her scimitar and dashed back, leaving only a gust of cold air in her wake.

However, before Talia could vanish into the darkness beyond the lamplight, the figure suddenly shivered and froze in place, as if encountering something unseen.

A single figure.

The newcomer swayed gracefully, taking a small step forward, allowing the dim, yellow lamplight to creep across his face.

!

Saranya’s heart plummeted.

‘How strange,’ she thought. ‘Brother, you’ve become even more beautiful…’

A soft, flawless feminine face, features as delicate as a sculpture, skin as smooth as jade. His naturally wavy hair framed his face, brushing against two provocative wolf-head earrings.

Mejga’s icy blue eyes, identical to her own, widened. They slowly bypassed Talia standing before him, fixing abruptly on Saranya.

“Ugh…”

As if bitten, Saranya let out a fearful whimper.

She couldn’t bear his gaze; it felt as though it would swallow her whole at any moment.

Mejga’s lips curved upward, a smile blossoming amidst his extraordinary beauty. This brother, stunning beyond human comprehension, swayed his gaze, imbued with the most fervent and profound fanaticism, greedily devouring his sister’s every movement, every expression.

“Saranya… my dear sister, I see you again…”

Along with his even more perfect countenance, her brother’s state seemed worse than their last encounter.

In her brother’s smiling face, Saranya could discern no trace of brotherly care or warmth. Mejga was not happy about their reunion; his face displayed only a morbid, twisted pleasure.

While his affection for her was undeniable, it was a familial love warped to its most extreme degree.

Akin to the possessiveness found in romantic love, a similar desire can exist within the bonds of family — between parents, or siblings. Should a person’s spiritual void be too vast, this possessiveness can become overwhelmingly intense, so much so that it demands the object of affection be mercilessly molded and torn apart, merely to gain a sliver of pitiful solace.

“The Kerfen family’s little snowflake… my little snowflake… why did you run away? In this world, you and your brother are each other’s only family. Brother only has you left… As long as you return to my side… just like that…”

A faint blush crept onto Mejga’s pale cheeks as he whispered, exhilarated.

“We can complete our revenge together. We can hunt… we can kill everyone who ever wronged us… and live as we did before… just like before…”

Seeing her brother reduced to such a state, Saranya sighed mournfully, her eyes gradually welling with tears.

“Brother, you’re mad. We can’t go back to how things were in the Northern Reaches… Don’t be like this… Father wouldn’t want to see you like this…”

Saranya attempted to reason with Mejga, but he seemed to ignore her words, his attention only caught by the initial address of “Brother.”

Mejga’s body trembled as he inexplicably let out a soft, seductive moan. Then, tilting his head to one side, he caressed his slender neck with his palm, falling into a state of blissful delirium.

“Saranya… you truly… truly still love your brother…”

A chorus of barks.

Three grotesque, distorted creatures, crawling on the ground, emerged from behind Mejga. These were humans whose bodies had been drastically altered and whose minds had been completely bestialized. Their furry muzzles were stained vivid red, each clutching gruesome fragments of human flesh.

The long bloodstains, the fate of the missing sailor—it all made sense now.

Two of the human-hounds wore the uniforms of high-ranking Imperial officers, seemingly Mejga’s “targets of revenge.” The remaining one… was Westir, the brother of another unfortunate girl.

The next moment, a healthy, wheat-toned back muscle blocked the horrifying sight.

“Keep your monsters away from Xiao Ya!”

Talia stepped forward, her scimitar pointed directly at Mejga’s prominent Adam’s apple.

“Are you deaf?! You damn freak!!”

“Talia… retreat!”

Saranya roared, but it was too late.

Mejga didn’t even move; his pupils merely constricted slightly. An ice blade instantly materialized from thin air, hurtling straight for Talia’s throat!

“Whoa!”

The nimble sailor woman threw herself backward, narrowly evading the ice blade. Then, using her arm to brace against the ground, she rolled once and landed beside Saranya.

Movement stirred behind them. Two humanoid fiends emerged with howls, blocking the path to the exit.

Saranya gasped in alarm; as far as she knew, demons absolutely never cooperated with living beings.

“How… how is this possible?”

“Let’s deal with them first, we can ponder it later!”

Talia swung her scimitar, positioning herself in front of Saranya.

“You handle the demons, I’ll take on the weird male witch!”

“You… you be careful. Brother, he’s very strong…”

“Huh? That big manly woman is really your brother?!”

“Enough chatter!”

“Well said! Let’s make this fight a clean one, ahhhhh!”

Talia initiated with a battle cry, lunging toward Mejga. Mejga raised a hand, conjuring ice blades in the air, while the three human-hounds before him roared and charged to protect their master.

At this point, Saranya could only trust Talia’s strength and focus on confronting the fiends on her side.

“Roar—!”

The two fiends attacked with intense ferocity, lunging at her simultaneously. Due to the cramped space of the ship’s cabin, however, one jostled the other out of position, allowing only one to strike at her with its sharp claws.

Saranya adopted a natural plow guard, her blade firmly holding the centerline, deflecting the fiend’s claws. The moment their weapons clashed, she twisted her wrist, rotating the sword outward, and with a clang, parried her opponent’s attack.

The monster’s claws scraped against her shoulder plate, sending sparks flying. In a swift, precise thrust, Saranya impaled the creature’s throat, pinning it to the cabin wall.

Foul blood spurted out, staining Saranya’s cheek. Ignoring it, she uttered a spell, and an ice spear flew towards the second fiend, striking its raised claws mid-air.

“Ugh-roar!”

Seizing the moment the fiend’s lunge missed, Saranya darted to its side, pressing her longsword against its throat. As the creature recoiled its claws to fight back, she drew the dagger from her waist and stabbed the fiend’s jaw multiple times!

“Talia!!!”

Seeing both monsters dissolve into blood, Saranya spun around and sprinted back at top speed, joining Talia in the fray.