The Price of Power

What now served as a massive lounge was once three distinct, adjoining square rooms. Adventurers, seeking refuge in the abandoned space, had carved through the walls, transforming them into this expansive common area.

The lounge was packed with observing bloodkin, their bodies forming a living octagonal cage around Iqiyah and Shest.

“Hey! Get on with it!”

“Hmm, I heard Iqiyah was gravely wounded recently. She looks like she’s just recovered from a severe illness; I wonder if she truly has the strength to fight…”

“Oh, stop overthinking it. Given Iqiyah’s power, even if she can only muster a tenth of it, Shest will still be in for a world of hurt.”

“Gah! To witness the strongest battle of our time, it’s worth dying for!”

Despite the widespread knowledge of Iqiyah’s injuries, it was clear that the crowd still expected her to secure an effortless victory.

As the clamor and jeering of her kin filled the air, Shest knew she was the underdog.

Yet, far from feeling disheartened, a thrill of excitement ignited within her.

‘Hmph, what a pack of short-sighted fools!’

‘Did they truly believe I would challenge her so rashly?’

‘To seize the [True Ancestor’s Blood], I’ve laid out multiple contingencies!’

The two women slowly made their way to the center of the room. Amidst the roaring cheers of the bloodkin, Iqiyah offered Shest a respectful bow.

“I await your challenge.”

“Hmph…” Shest offered no reciprocation to Iqiyah’s courtesy.

“Iqiyah… I can see it. Your body is frail, and your strength is a mere shadow of its former glory.”

“Thirty percent? Fifty? Or perhaps seventy? How much of your true power can you still wield? Or rather… do you truly believe you can still defeat me?”

“I cannot say with certainty.”

In the face of Shest’s taunts, Iqiyah merely spoke her honest thoughts, her voice unwavering.

“Nevertheless, I will give my absolute all. Even if I am defeated, I will not allow you an easy victory.”

“Hmph, Iqiyah, I truly do find myself fond of you.”

A faint smile touched Shest’s lips.

“To choose to give your all, even knowing defeat is inevitable? Iqiyah, your entire family shares the same peculiar trait.”

“What did you say?”

At her words, Iqiyah’s eyes snapped open, a crimson flash erupting from them, threatening to bathe the entire arena in scarlet light.

“Heheheh… You know precisely what I mean.”

As Iqiyah’s fury erupted, a satisfied smile spread across Shest’s face. “I’d advise you to surrender now, or you might truly find yourself reunited with your sister, Styx. Heheheh…”

“Silence, Shest.”

Shedding all pretense of civility, Iqiyah spread her hands wide. From behind her, countless violently twisting blood-red tentacles erupted, coiling and stacking like a grotesque throne.

“Can you withstand this strike!?”

Before her words had even faded, Iqiyah swept her hands. The tentacles beneath her surged forward like dragons, spearheading directly towards Shest—

****

In the spectator stands.

Seraphina Scarlett’s expression grew solemn as she watched Iqiyah unleash her assault.

Yet, her apprehension wasn’t focused on the battle itself, but rather on Shest’s provocative words.

“Iqiyah, your entire family shares the same peculiar trait.”

The moment these words left Shest’s lips, Iqiyah’s expression contorted.

Furthermore, Shest had brought up Iqiyah’s “sister” again, a remark to which Iqiyah offered no reply.

Could this imply… that such a sister truly exists?

Seraphina recalled the deceptive words Shest had used on her previously.

Generally, the most effective deceptions aren’t outright fabrications, but rather a sliver of falsehood concealed within a tapestry of truths.

Thus, it could be confirmed: Iqiyah truly had a sister, and their bond was exceptionally strong.

Moreover, she had indeed met an untimely end.

As for the reason why…

“To choose to give your all, even knowing defeat is inevitable?”

Could it be… that Iqiyah’s sister died while confronting something incredibly powerful?

To the bloodkin… what entities could wield such immense power?

Perhaps Iqiyah’s father could be counted among them.

And then… there was the True Ancestor itself, contained within the [True Ancestor’s Blood]…

Seraphina’s head began to spin. As her connections with the bloodkin deepened, it felt as though countless layers of mist were piling up before her eyes, completely enveloping her.

‘Ah, so many questions… Forget it. None of this seems to concern me much anyway.’

‘Once the Blood Feast concludes and the fighting ceases, these bloodkin will simply scatter, each returning to their own affairs.’

‘The days after that would likely resume their familiar rhythm: she and Iqiyah, sharing affection within the Blood Manor. One day, when their bond reached its peak, she would try to coax Iqiyah away, venturing out together, conquering dungeons, and ascending to the pinnacle of life… Heheheh.’

A fine plan, indeed, yet it felt as though she had overlooked many crucial details…

It was as if… she had consistently neglected some vital, unspoken directive…

Such was the human tendency: when confronted with intricate puzzles, one instinctively sought to simplify, to generalize, to arrive at the simplest solution, or to simply evade the problem altogether.

Yet, more often than not, the true answer lay hidden within those very “simplified” details.

For instance…

“Seraphina.”

A familiar, deep voice resonated from behind Seraphina, startling her into immediate petrification.

“Might we converse once more?”

Unbeknownst to her, the surrounding bloodkin had vanished entirely. The once densely packed spectator stands had inexplicably cleared, leaving a wide, empty expanse.

Dragging his imposing physique, Godia Scarlett pulled a chair beside Seraphina, settling down next to her.

“This time, I’ve brought my own chair…”

****

Confronting Iqiyah’s onslaught of tentacles, Shest merely offered a faint smile.

“Hmph, is this truly your full power, Iqiyah?”

“Clang, clang!”

As she spoke, she extended her hands, and two slender black rapiers slid from her sleeves. She brandished them continuously against the surging tide of blood-red tentacles.

Shest’s movements were utterly imperceptible, her speed far exceeding any biological limit. A continuous blur of silver sword light formed an impenetrable barrier, scything through the tentacles as if harvesting reeds, each blade instantly cleaving them in two.

The severed tentacles instantly went limp, collapsing to the ground in heaps, where they dissolved into inert pools of blood, their combat efficacy completely lost.

“Your assault is concluded. Now, it is my turn!”

As if cloaked in a mantle of blood, a crimson trail of light ignited behind Shest.

“Behold! My strength! My speed! They are several times greater than yours in your current state!”

Like a streaking meteor, Shest’s movement was imperceptible one moment, and in the next, a crimson streak flashed forth. Her blade was already arcing towards Iqiyah’s face, poised to strike directly at her throat!

Yet, confronting the blade that threatened to sever her throat, Iqiyah made no move to evade.

“Still no attempt to dodge?” Shest cackled, a sinister glint in her eye. “If you don’t move, your head will soon be separated from that beautiful body!”

“There is no need.”

“Guh!?”

With a mere lift of her hand, a crimson flash instantly erupted before Iqiyah’s throat—

It was ice crystals!

“When it comes to close-quarters defense, I possess considerable confidence.”

While Shest’s speed was undeniably swift, Iqiyah’s own swiftness was by no means inferior.

“For attacks such as yours—with their predictable trajectories and notably long recovery times—defense becomes effortless.”

Only recently, she had put this very defense into practice, shielding Seraphina from Ailur’s assault.

With a resounding clang, the high-speed blade collided with the unyielding ice crystal, generating a powerful recoil that instantly wrenched the weapon from Shest’s grasp.

“Shest… this move of yours is utterly pathetic. It bears no resemblance to bloodkin techniques; it’s practically something a human would employ…”

The vibration from the impact left Shest’s hands numb.

Seeing her attack fail, she immediately retreated several steps, creating distance between herself and Iqiyah.

“Iqiyah… are you truly underestimating my advantage?”

“…Bloodkin should leverage their inherent strengths,” Iqiyah stated, raising her hands. A magical hum resonated, and the blood-red tentacles that had melted into the ground now writhed back to life, surging towards their master.

“The strength of bloodkin lies in magic. Employ it properly, combine it with your power, and give me a decent attack.”

Iqiyah rotated her hands, and the blood dissolved, spiraled, and coalesced into numerous blood-red ice crystals.

“Otherwise, I will truly kill you.”

“Hmph…”

Shest extended her hand, and the two blades, which had been knocked away, instantly flew back into her grasp.

“Of course, I will…”

A trailing light once again flared around her body.

“Iqiyah, if I’m not mistaken, once your tentacles and ice crystals are shattered, it takes some time before you can control them again, doesn’t it?”

“…” Iqiyah certainly wouldn’t admit it, but her silence at this moment was tantamount to an admission.

“Then…”

Shest began to circle Iqiyah slowly.

However, to everyone’s surprise, a faint red phantom, identical to Shest and wielding twin swords, lingered at each spot she vacated.

“If countless versions of me attacked your tentacles and your ice crystals simultaneously, even your most fortified defense would be powerless to stop us, wouldn’t it?”

As Shest moved, countless pale red phantoms materialized around her.

Then, she halted, turned towards Iqiyah, and raised her twin swords. All the phantoms mirrored her action, and countless glints of cold light instantly flashed, all pointing towards Iqiyah’s throat.

[Seventy-Two Slashes]!!!