Kaelan’s Lingering Touch

Corpses upon corpses, as far as the eye could see.

The hidden chamber was oppressively hot, and melted ice water converged into trickling streams across the floor, washing away clumps of congealed blood.

Detecting the initial scent of decaying flesh, Kaelan arched a brow, pressing the palm of her hand over her nose.

The group pressed onward.

“The cries for help came from this direction,”

The elderly bishop of Midas City sat slumped in a lacquered wooden armchair, his eyes wide and vacant, his robes thoroughly soaked with coffee-colored blood.

Cecilia gently lifted the bishop’s chin, her fingers lingering briefly on the side of his neck before she shook her head at the others.

“He’s long gone.”

“There’s nothing to be done here. Let’s keep searching.”

Around the deceased bishop, the bodies of the City Alliance’s joint representatives lay strewn haphazardly across the floor.

Most bore a bloody hole in their chest, their abdominal cavities ripped open, viscous organs spilling out, and their bodies scarred by varying degrees of tearing and gnawing.

Witnessing such a gruesome scene, many felt their throats constrict, instinctively covering their mouths as they averted their gaze.

“That bastard Mejga, we shouldn’t have let him escape…”

“But without his guidance, we never would have found this hidden chamber, would we? The only surviving bishop he spoke of would have been suffocated to death in here.”

“Tch…”

Aivy found herself unable to refute Kaelan’s words.

Her teeth were clenched, her face pale, clearly still reeling from a significant shock.

She had never anticipated such atrocities from Mejga, who was once an ally.

“Lucius never told me Mejga was this kind of person—”

“Tsk, you can’t say that.”

Before Aivy could finish, Kaelan cut her off.

“What do you mean?”

“Lucius wasn’t involved in this.”

“But he—!”

“Do you have any proof?”

“Whose side are you on, anyway?!”

“I’m asking you, do you have any evidence that Lucius was involved in this?”

Kaelan narrowed her eyes, studying Aivy for a moment with a profoundly meaningful expression.

“No, you don’t, do you? There are so many people here; you can’t just throw around accusations…”

Seeing Aivy puff out her cheeks and close her mouth in resentment, Kaelan let out a silent sigh of relief.

Just as she had warned Aivy, words could not be spoken carelessly.

Lucius, having chosen to distance himself, severing ties with Mejga and allowing him to wreak havoc during the divine official selection, clearly possessed immense confidence in his ability to manage the fallout.

Any unsubstantiated accusations would be perilous, easily giving him leverage to counter-sue for defamation.

Considering Mejga’s statements before his escape, the current situation seemed relatively clear.

Lucius and Mejga had initially been partners, conspiring to first ensure Aivy won the divine official selection, then usurp the bishopric and seize actual power within the church.

To this end, they had drugged Westir, controlling the bishop’s heir while simultaneously sowing discord between the two siblings.

They had undoubtedly also planned to assassinate Doron afterward, ensuring the bishopric would either fall into the hands of a puppet Westir or directly to Lucius.

During the selection, they had colluded with Dalia Aurelius.

If all had gone according to plan, they would surely have presented Westir in that disheveled state to tarnish Paresha Greystone’s reputation, perhaps even sending her to court and completely purging the Greystone family’s influence from the Moon-Marked Sect church.

As for her and Saranya, from the very beginning of their takeover of the Redwater Gang, Lucius had begun to exert his influence over their faction.

He had poached Redwater Gang members, swayed Haru, dispatched Aivy to facilitate the meeting aboard the Bloodsail privateer, and, through Borok, the first mate of the Bloodsail Alliance, inserted Aquilis as an informant, hoping the mermaid would subdue her with a betrayal…

‘Wai, how truly terrifying…’

A layer of cold sweat beaded on Kaelan’s forehead.

She had to admit, she had gravely misjudged Lucius, the schemer, dismissing him merely as a lecherous playboy.

She had also underestimated the ferocity of Vero City’s power struggles, believing they could establish a firm foothold with the Redwater Gang and then rest easy, steadily expanding their influence.

Reflecting on it now, such thinking was utterly naive.

Kaelan pressed her lips together, idly fiddling with the hem of her clothes.

Saranya had been right that day; she truly didn’t understand this city, nor did she comprehend the depths of depravity her enemies were capable of.

Therefore… she understood now that she had to rely on Saranya.

As a former legion commander who had once led a knight order, Saranya possessed both capability and experience.

Without Saranya, Kaelan was nothing in Vero City…

She had to keep Saranya by her side, no matter the cost.

Perhaps it was time to shed a bit of her ‘master’s’ facade and grant Saranya some autonomy…

On another note, they couldn’t truly claim to have thwarted Lucius this time.

Aivy’s betrayal had prompted Lucius to voluntarily withdraw from the plan, which directly led to Mejga’s loss of control and his impromptu, violent attempt to seize Saranya.

They had merely repelled a desperate Mejga; calling this outcome a draw would be a stretch.

Mejga had escaped, taking Westir with him; the bishop was dead, Paresha Greystone was distraught, and the church’s influence was severely weakened.

This could hardly be called a victory…

Furthermore, she probably owed a debt of gratitude to the Shadowscale Gang, or rather… to Nazareth.

Nazareth, that fellow, possessed a keen sense for trouble.

Though he never made an appearance during the selection, he consistently offered them aid in moments of crisis.

During the arena event, it was Nazareth who had communicated with Rogni, the Brotherhood’s deputy, sending people to prevent her from sabotaging the comrade-on-comrade confrontation, and even preparing to rescue the severely wounded Saranya.

Later, when Saranya and Paresha Greystone debated in the arena, it was again Nazareth who sent someone to tip her off, allowing her to gather forces with Phillo and counteract Mejga’s machinations.

Now, it appeared Nazareth had demonstrated sufficient sincerity for cooperation, hadn’t he?

Her previous aversion to Nazareth stemmed from several factors: his appearance evoked unpleasant memories, she harbored concerns about his ulterior motives toward Saranya, and also…

She feared Saranya might forge an alliance with the Shadowscale Gang in her personal capacity.

Once Saranya developed her own network of connections and intelligence sources, becoming independent, she might seek to escape Kaelan’s control.

After all, Saranya had explicitly stated that she still hated her.

Given the current extent of her ‘training’ of Saranya, it was highly improbable that Saranya would actually lay a hand on her.

However, Kaelan knew all too well that hatred was a form of desire, and the human pursuit of desire, left unvented, would never simply vanish into thin air.

Even if their relationship had undergone a seismic shift, the seed of hatred would remain deeply buried within Saranya’s heart, ready to be stirred at any moment.

When provoked, this hatred would transmute into various forms, erupting in ways neither of them could anticipate.

For instance, most commonly, a s*ave might reverse everything their master had once done to them…

Kaelan swallowed hard, and Saranya’s desire-filled blue eyes instantly materialized in her mind.

****

Unconsciously, she found herself pacing toward the wall, nearing a row of stretchers.

Due to the vastness of the hidden chamber, after sending word outside, everyone had to immediately commit all available personnel to search for the surviving bishop.

Thus, the injured Phillo, Paresha Greystone, and Saranya were temporarily placed here.

On the surface, she appeared to be helping with the search, but in reality, she was merely restlessly wandering.

No… not wandering.

She was there to see Saranya.

Unable to dispel the chaotic thoughts swirling in her mind, she felt an undeniable need to glimpse her.

Saranya had already shed her Shadowbound Demon form, lying peacefully on the stretcher, her breathing even, her lips slightly parted in tranquil sleep.

Kaelan crouched beside Saranya, reaching out to gather a lock of her long hair.

She noticed the faint silver-white remnants clinging to the ends of Saranya’s strands, then shifted her gaze to the other woman’s cheek, silently lost in contemplation of her sleeping face.

Then, a sudden, inexplicable tension seized her.

She released Saranya’s hair and gently bit her lower lip.

‘When was that? Ah, yes, it was the night they had a picnic outside the city, when she first offered Saranya a reward and deliberately sucked her fingers.’

‘What did it feel like, to have one’s fingers sucked like that…?’

‘Kaelan seemed to realize why she was so nervous.’

‘Because she was about to be a thief…’

As if possessed, Kaelan parted Saranya’s lips and slipped a finger into her mouth.

‘Saranya’s tongue was wet and soft, and after wiping away the surface saliva, the texture became slightly gritty due to the tongue’s surface…’

‘She admitted to liking the sensation, yet felt something was still missing.’

‘Besides, if she truly wished to do this, Saranya would unconditionally obey her if she simply made the request, wouldn’t she? There was no need for such furtive actions…’

‘Was it… because she didn’t want to force Saranya, making her too passive?’

‘That didn’t seem quite right. No, she didn’t understand.’

‘Or perhaps…’

‘Did she, perhaps, wish Saranya would be a little more assertive?’

Kaelan gently teased, her mind unsettled by this strange thought, when she abruptly recalled the night Saranya had pinned her down in the tent, giving her a warm ear-licking.

‘Her body had gone limp, her mouth dry, her skin tingling with an electric itch. In her long life, she had never experienced anything quite like it…’

‘Just let things take their course.’

This had been her true thought at the time.

It had taken ten times the concentration required to cast high-level magic for her to resist the temptation to surrender to Saranya, finally pushing away the wild, impassioned Saranya.

‘What if, just what if… she hadn’t chosen to resist then, but instead yielded to her?’

“Mmm…”

Perhaps her movements had been too clumsy, disturbing Saranya’s slumber.

The sword maiden let out a soft moan, her eyelashes fluttering uneasily.

“Eh!”

Kaelan snapped back to reality, hastily withdrawing her finger and wiping Saranya’s saliva onto her sleeve.

With the guilt of a thief, she glanced left and right, confirming no one had noticed her and Saranya was still asleep, before secretly letting out a breath of relief.

‘What, what was I doing…?’

Staring at Saranya’s serene sleeping face, Kaelan pressed the back of her hand against her own burning cheek, a wave of guilt slowly rising within her.

Unable to bear it, she scrambled to her feet and quickly fled from Saranya’s side.