A Demon’s Vow

Suspended in the air, ice blades spun slowly, casting an eerie, faint blue demonic glow. Mejga, their wielder, advanced, his leather boots echoing with heavy thuds against the ground.

Directly opposite Mejga, Kaelan lay prone, her witch’s face alarmingly pale, bathed in the demonic glow. Her black hair, typically meticulously styled, now fanned out in disarray across the ground, strands clinging with ice shards and dust.

Saranya’s dulled eyes shifted, her gaze abruptly fastening on Kaelan’s ear.

Kaelan’s left earlobe bore a jagged tear, already swollen and seeping blood. Someone, coveting her mistress’s adornments, must have ripped them off with brutal force, leaving behind this grievous wound.

“They’re gone, both of them…”

‘The blood agate earrings I had given my mistress… they were stolen.’

“You wretches… you filth…”

A fiery rage ignited in Saranya’s eyes, crimson blood vessels spiderwebbing across her irises.

‘She could not give up yet; she refused to lie there like a worthless husk.’

‘She had to protect her mistress.’

With a primal, beast-like roar, Saranya forced her body upright, gritting her teeth against the searing pain in her chest. She crawled to Kaelan’s side, then collapsed over her, shielding her with her own body.

Mejga’s ice blades hovered just behind her, radiating an icy chill that made Saranya tremble uncontrollably:

“I am Kaelan’s demon s*ave! Without my mistress to replenish my magic, I will surely perish!”

“A demon s*ave… she dares to treat you in such a manner?!”

“I am willing!”

“Brother, you may either release Kaelan and take me, or… you might as well kill us both, just as you did Haru. Go on, disembowel your own sister too!”

Saranya furiously swung her arm, flinging the remnants of flesh and blood from her palm toward Mejga. Yet, this defiant act seemed to achieve little beyond splattering his boot with gore.

‘She knew this resistance was futile; of course, she knew. But what else could she do…’

‘There was nothing… she was too weak.’

“Brother! Now! Stop this instant!”

Mejga’s form loomed perilously close. Saranya, still prostrate on the ground, fixed her ice-blue eyes on him, a savage glint blazing within them. She resembled a gravely wounded, solitary snow wolf—one that, despite knowing its strength was insufficient and its end inevitable, would still bare its fangs with desperate ferocity at its adversary.

“I will ensure her corpse is properly preserved… the blood of this dead woman will suffice for your sustenance for a time. Worry not, during this interim, your brother will devise a method to break her sorcery.”

Mejga stood still, the ice blades spinning ominously above his head, poised to descend at any moment and claim the life beneath their lethal tips.

“Or perhaps, you prefer her body? It matters not. Your brother can transform her into a flesh doll for you, to manipulate however you desire. Being with a flesh doll can be quite pleasurable, you need only try it to understand…”

Mejga’s voice had taken on an almost mesmerizing, seductive quality,

“So, little snowflake, step aside…”

Saranya ceased to acknowledge her brother, lowering her head with a bitter expression. Her gaze drifted to Kaelan, and her face softened, becoming infinitely tender:

“Mistress… you haven’t yet confided your plan to me…”

“To transform Vero, to safeguard more lives amidst the demonic scourge, my mistress will surely achieve it… Saranya will ensure her mistress’s ideals are realized, for Saranya’s own ideal is merely the fulfillment of her mistress’s.”

Saranya clung tightly to Kaelan’s cold, delicate form, pressing her mistress firmly beneath her. This movement caused her fractured ribs to dislocate once more, savagely piercing her flesh. She coughed up a mouthful of blood, drawing in a sharp, painful breath, as a ragged gurgling sound emanated from her chest.

‘Her brother would never harm her, so as long as she held her mistress close, he would be utterly powerless…’

At this thought, Saranya managed a faint, bitter smile. She propped her mistress’s head with her elbow and drew Kaelan’s face gently into her embrace.

Within her arms, Kaelan’s eyelids fluttered, her damp lashes twitching. A few tears, thus released, traced paths down the corners of her eyes, crystallizing into delicate frost flowers upon her reddened, chilled cheeks.

‘Her mistress was caught in a nightmare, forever trapped within the specters of the past. Outwardly so formidable… yet, even her mistress possessed vulnerabilities…’

‘Aquilis. That traitor was to blame for everything. She would make that traitor pay dearly!’

“Mistress, it’s alright. Saranya is right here… *cough, cough—retch—*”

“Saranya, you’re spitting blood! Your wounds have worsened! Step aside, your brother will take you away… your brother will care for you properly… Damn it! What exactly makes this witch superior to your own brother?!”

Saranya wiped the crimson smear from the corner of her mouth, utterly disregarding Mejga’s frenzied howling, and murmured softly to Kaelan:

“Mistress, the things within dreams are mere illusions. Those terrible past events will never recur. Saranya does not know what precious thing her mistress has lost, but… but Saranya will forever remain by your side… and you, too, must always remain by mine…”

Her consciousness blurred, her mind feeling dull and heavy. Saranya, her voice barely a whisper, lightly kissed Kaelan’s earlobe, then breathed a bold declaration of love into her ear, at a volume only she herself could possibly discern.

“…”

“You’re quite heavy… Little Ya.”

Beneath her, Kaelan suddenly spoke, responding to Saranya in a breathy voice that carried a distinct double meaning. She slowly opened her reddened eyes, her ruby-like pupils shimmering, radiating a soft, gentle light.

“Eh?!”

Saranya’s cheeks instantly flushed a deep crimson, the sudden embarrassment eclipsing even the searing pain from her wounds.

“No… Mistress, I thought you were unconscious—”

‘Oh no, she heard all those sappy words!’

“Shh…”

Kaelan closed her eyes once more, resuming her pretense of unconsciousness.

“Keep going. Drag this out a little longer. Wait for my signal before you make your move.”

“Mm-hmm…”

“Rest assured, Little Ya, no one will take you from my side…”

“Mm-hmm!”

Saranya nodded silently, pressing herself close to Kaelan’s head, hoping to conceal her flushed cheeks from any onlookers.

‘Wonderful! Kaelan remained unaffected by Aquilis. Truly, her mistress was a Black Witch through and through!’

‘Indeed! She had harbored far too little faith in her mistress before. Her mistress was a witch, after all! How could years of arduous cultivation have been squandered? Even Saranya, a cunning witch hunter herself, had once been toyed with in her mistress’s palm. A mere ‘Onii-san’ (TL Note: Japanese honorific for older brother, used here mockingly), in the mistress’s presence, was nothing more than a novice player who had just stumbled into the game. When it came to truly dirty tricks, how could he possibly contend with her mistress?’

‘Her mistress’s prolonged inaction here surely indicated she was awaiting something specific.’

Saranya pricked up her ears, dedicating her full attention to meticulously discerning the sounds around them.

Finally, within a few breaths, she caught the faint whisper of footsteps on the first floor. The person had not yet ascended the stairs, apparently also awaiting her mistress’s signal.

“You, shackle her. Do not harm her.”

Mejga composed himself for a moment, then issued cold instructions to the Redwater Gang members, his gaze toward Kaelan now imbued with an even deeper, sinister malice.

“Little snowflake, do not blame your brother… your brother merely wishes for your betterment…”

Saranya heard the clanking of shackles and chains behind her. Someone pressed down on her shoulders, intent on restraining her, yet their movements were painstakingly cautious, fearing to inflict further injury.

She deliberately let out loud, pained groans, significantly impeding the enemy’s efforts to shackle her.

Concurrently, Kaelan’s hand discreetly found hers beneath her body:

“Take this.”

Kaelan pressed a single blood agate earring into her palm. Its lower tip was sharp, gleaming with a faint, chilling light—a surprisingly effective weapon for a surprise attack in the absence of any other armaments.

“Forgive me, the situation was dire, I only managed to retrieve this one…”

Kaelan murmured in self-reproach, her tone tinged with a rare hint of self-blame. This uncharacteristic apology left Saranya feeling utterly taken aback.

“It will suffice… Thank you, Mistress~”

Saranya smiled softly, then suddenly spun around, carrying a wisp of ominous black demonic light, and pounced wolf-like upon her enemies.

“Hey! What are you saying? Is she awake?! Ah? Ahhhhh—”

“Well… *cough, cough*… it’s high time the traitors paid their due…!