Calculated Cruelty and a Brother’s Despair

Having observed her master for an extended period, Saranya had come to realize that Kaelan’s fighting style was not merely conservative, but rather insidious and strangely unpredictable.

Instead of engaging her adversaries head-on, Kaelan employed a cunning blend of ambush, intimidation, and psychological manipulation, expertly leveraging her surroundings and anyone she could exploit to deliver maximum pain to her enemies at the barest minimum of cost and risk.

Her recent confrontation with Mejga served as the quintessential illustration of this approach.

“Bastard! Face me!”

A series of frigid gleams erupted before Mejga, as ice blades splintered into three distinct trajectories, hurtling towards Kaelan from above and both flanks.

Kaelan’s form shimmered, leaving a fleeting black afterimage in her wake, as she deftly vanished behind Saranya.

“Die!!!”

Veins pulsed violently on Mejga’s face. Out of concern for his sister, he recalled two of the ice blades. The sole remaining blade shot upwards, then, having sliced through Saranya’s silver-grey hair, its tip plunged downward with a whistling rush, hurtling straight for Kaelan’s brow!

The ice blade shattered into a shower of frost, scattering vapor across the floor, while Mejga’s agitated gasps echoed in the sudden silence.

“Brother… you can’t win…”

“Saranya! Move aside! Your brother has grown stronger… I have the power, and the people. Please… come with me! We’ll avenge Father together; we’ll slaughter every imperial who betrayed us!!!”

“How have you become like this…? You’re not my brother… I don’t recognize you… Don’t speak to me…”

Saranya unclasped her hand, letting fall a clump of blood-streaked ice shards. A flicker of confusion clouded her eyes as she tilted her head, bringing a finger to her lips, attempting to process Mejga’s words with her chaotic, demon-corrupted mind.

‘Betrayal… Who, then, was the traitor here?’

“Xiaoya,” Kaelan’s voice purred, “it’s quite obvious who among these present are the traitors, wouldn’t you say?”

Saranya’s eyes widened, her dark golden pupils contracting sharply before she abruptly locked her gaze upon the Redwater Gang members assembled before them.

She stretched the corners of her mouth, her lips parting into a grotesque, savage grin:

“Yes, yes… betrayal… kill them all… right… Heh heh~ The traitors must be slaughtered first!”

The ground beneath Saranya’s feet abruptly fractured, her calf muscles exploding with monstrous power, propelling her entire body forward with such force that only a swirling vortex of air remained where she had stood.

Amidst a chorus of horrific screams, the gang members who had dared to remain were instantly pulverized, their bodies erupting into a foul, bloody mist that swirled radially through the air.

“Kaelan! How dare you use my little snowflake! I’ll tear you into ten thousand pieces!!!”

“Hmph, are you not perhaps even worse? You meticulously plotted behind our backs, forcing her to share your prison of hatred and shoulder your accumulated blood debts. How, then, is your approach any superior to mine?!”

“You… you lie! I am her brother, I must protect her, I am the only one she has left in this world—”

“No, you are nothing. I told you from the very beginning, you are merely a self-serving harlot, resorting to any means, stubbornly pursuing your own path. You are now nothing more than a creature driven by your own desires, seeking to possess Saranya, to use her as a mere Fiji cup (TL Note: A derogatory term referring to a person treated as a plaything or object for gratification, often sexual, to soothe one’s desires.) to soothe your wretched soul.”

“I am not!!!”

Mejga’s protests rang hollow, even paler than his ashen face,

“Stop your baseless conjectures! You have no understanding of my true intentions!”

Kaelan’s gaze bore into Mejga, a faint, furious glint igniting in her crimson eyes, only to dissolve into a self-deprecating chuckle:

“I don’t understand? Ha! I understand all too well… for I am a scoundrel, just like you…”

“So, do you comprehend, Mejga? I am not here to accuse you; I have no right to do so. I merely wish to inform you that you are too late. Saranya Kerfen, she is my s*ave now, and she will serve only me. You will never pry her from my grasp.”

Mejga’s pupils flared with an explosive icy-blue light as he unleashed a torrent of incantations, his voice a raw, mournful howl. Instantly, a bone-chilling gale of ice swept through the air, and from his feet, a spiderweb of frost rapidly consumed the narrow corridor of the second floor.

Kaelan offered no counter, simply letting out a sharp whistle directed at Saranya, who was still some distance away.

Saranya, who had been gleefully toying with the mangled remains of her enemies, laughing like a child as she rolled amidst the blood and gore, immediately straightened.

Upon hearing the whistle, she immediately straightened, rushing to Kaelan’s side with astonishing speed. Without awaiting a command, she took a decisive step forward, extending both arms to form a barrier between her master and her brother:

“Don’t… fight…”

“Sister! Move!!!”

“Sister… sister… what is that…? Hmm… want to play… haven’t played enough… want to keep playing…”

“Well, you’ve truly become a big, dim-witted brute, haven’t you? I merely found your size quite alluring… I hadn’t anticipated that the Shadow-Bound Demon’s Body Strengthening Art would also impair your intellect. It seems that if I wish to utilize this technique effectively in the future, I’ll not only need to nurture your inherent magical abilities but also devise a means to further refine your constitution…”

“Huh?”

Saranya scratched her head, her diminished intellect preventing her from grasping her master’s words; her bewildered expression was one of pure innocence.

Kaelan rose onto her tiptoes, reaching up to pat Saranya’s shoulder:

“Xiaoya, be a good girl and protect your master from the bad man for a little while. Your master will play with you again later, alright?”

“Heh heh… okay… Master is the best~”

This, she understood.

Saranya was already significantly taller than Kaelan, and after her demonization, this disparity had only grown. With Kaelan concealed behind her, Mejga on the opposing side couldn’t even glimpse a shadow.

“Mejga, your objective is unattainable. To persist in this struggle will yield you no benefit! Disclose Lucius’s whereabouts, and I might consider sparing your life!”

Mejga gritted his teeth. He was currently unable to bypass Saranya to strike Kaelan, and even if he could, given the strength Kaelan had already displayed, he harbored serious doubts about his ability to defeat her.

“Aquilis! Go restrain Kaelan, I’ll be responsible for taking Saranya away!”

“Huh?”

“Go now!”

Aquilis took a hesitant few steps closer, her gaze falling upon Kaelan, who leaned casually against Saranya’s side. A troubled expression crossed her face.

“But…”

“Aquilis, do you not want to come with me anymore?!”

Mejga’s threat proved effective; Aquilis wavered, squeezing her eyes shut as if steeling her resolve.

“Aquilis, if you abandon your resistance now, your betrayal of me will be completely forgiven. I will restore your freedom and your tail; return to the embrace of the sea!”

“I’m sorry… Lady Kaelan, I’m very grateful to you, but I can’t be without Mejga…”

“Hmph, what kind of bewitching potion has he plied you with…? I must warn you, while you are indeed my s*ave, my patience for you is not as boundless as it is for Xiaoya. If you are so eager for death, then by all means, come and test your fate.”

“Then please, Lady Kaelan, kill me!”

Kaelan’s intimidation failed to deter Aquilis. The mermaid tightened her fists, a faint, arcane glow shimmering in her eyes, and surged forward, charging straight towards Kaelan.

Behind her, Mejga’s eyes were tightly shut, his lips moving in silent incantations as he began to weave a formidable spell.

The Black Witch’s brows drew together tightly, arcane light flickering in her hand as several black shurikens materialized between her fingers. Yet, in the very next moment, her ears twitched, and her gaze swept the surroundings. Spotting a blood-stained bishop’s robe tucked in a corner, she swiftly cast a spell, causing the garment to billow and settle over Saranya’s demonized form.

Concurrently, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed from the stairwell, and a team of figures burst directly into the second-floor corridor.

“Wait! Aquilis!”

The speaker was an elegant, intellectual woman, clad in a nun’s habit, her black hair cascading over her shoulders with a delicate braid coiled at the back of her head, her features etched with a hint of anxiety.

“Cecilia…”

“Phillo, Cecilia, Aivy, Paresha, everyone from the Bloodsail Alliance and the Rust Chain Brotherhood, and the Templar Divine Guards! Your arrival is perfectly timed, thanks to the timely intelligence from the Shadowscale Gang! Mejga Kerfen, the criminal who sabotaged the priestess election, is right here!”