The Price of Protection

Seraphina hadn’t given it much thought.

Everything was instinctual. Though she couldn’t quite articulate it, perhaps deep within her heart, unknown even to herself, she had long considered Iqiyah an indispensable part of her life.

Whether Iqiyah became her source of power or her mistress, death was simply not an option!

She knew that even if Iqiyah possessed enough mana to revive her, Seraphina could, in turn, use her own skills to bring Iqiyah back.

However, if Iqiyah’s consciousness were utterly devoured, she would never truly return to the world, even if her body were restored.

There was only one way for Iqiyah to survive: Seraphina had to intercept the attack herself.

In the instant before Seraphina could fully react, a shroud of blackness enveloped her, completely swallowing her vision.

Everything slowed.

Everything fell silent.

Faced with the overwhelming presence of death, Seraphina closed her eyes.

‘Damn it… I had planned to turn Iqiyah into my personal fighting force, but who knew I’d be sacrificing myself for her first…’

‘All that talk of conquest… of making nobles grovel at my feet… Those grandiose, chuunibyou declarations from before would now simply vanish into dust with my death…’

‘Wait, why am I not dead yet!?’

She snapped her eyes open.

What greeted Seraphina wasn’t the silence of eternal darkness, but a dazzling daylight.

‘What in the world is happening!?’

As Seraphina’s eyes adjusted to the sudden brilliance and her vision returned to normal, she was met with an incredibly fierce sight.

A small, white-haired Bloodkin, indistinguishable from a young Iqiyah, was currently pinning her down, hands splayed, much like Iqiyah once had.

However, unlike Iqiyah, this Bloodkin wasn’t showering her with affection. Instead, it bore slender, sharp claws and pressed down on her like a predatory lion.

“Seraphina!”

“Give me your body!”

****

‘Seraphina!?’

In the real world, Iqiyah lay sprawled on the ground, eyes wide with disbelief.

In her vision, the black beam had devoured Seraphina’s body, then gradually shrunk and weakened, expelling her form.

Yet, after leaving the beam, Seraphina didn’t fall. Instead, she hovered eerily in mid-air, close to the ground.

She looked like a descending deity…

“Hahahahaha!”

Iqiyah followed the sound. There, Godia… No, it wasn’t Godia anymore.

The True Ancestor, clutching their face, cackled maniacally like a yandere, letting out a childlike shriek utterly unlike the deep voice of the large male body they inhabited.

“It’s done! I’ve finally obtained a more perfect body!”

“This body is even closer to divinity than Scarlett’s! It’s the most perfect vessel!”

“Next, to implant the [Blood of the True Ancestor]…!”

Extending a hand towards Seraphina, the True Ancestor manipulated their consciousness, attempting to draw Seraphina closer from a distance.

But at that very moment, something unexpected occurred.

“H-how is this possible!?”

No matter how the True Ancestor waved their arm, Seraphina’s body remained utterly motionless.

“This is impossible! My consciousness, it clearly entered her body!”

“Could it be!?”

****

“Seraphina! You bastard!”

“True Ancestor, I’ll strangle you!”

Clasping each other’s hands, Seraphina and the True Ancestor tumbled and wrestled relentlessly in the pristine white space.

“Why bother with futile resistance?”

The True Ancestor suddenly bared their fangs, biting fiercely into Seraphina’s shoulder.

“Godia’s consciousness has been utterly expelled by me, and your body is now firmly in my grasp!”

“I now control all variables!”

“Seraphina! You have lost!”

A powerful sensation of being drained spread from her shoulder, delving deep into her bones, all the way to Seraphina’s very soul.

Just like the drastic transformation a month prior, Seraphina felt her body changing once more…

“What is this!?”

Her crimson eyes gradually faded, returning to their natural black pupils.

Her luminous white skin regained its natural flush, becoming healthy and soft once more, just as it had been.

Even her pointed ears receded, becoming rounded… like those of a human.

“I… I’ve turned back into a human!?”

‘But… why is my hair still long!?’

‘And my manhood! My manhood! Give it back too, dammit!’

“Ugh~”

The True Ancestor abruptly released their small, moist mouth, then looked at the human Seraphina with a wicked smile.

“Hehehe… Now, let’s see how you’ll fight me!”

‘No longer a Bloodkin… Can you, with a mere human body, truly contend with me, a mighty True Ancestor? I’ll crush you!’

With that, the True Ancestor exerted force with both hands, pressing down violently on Seraphina’s body!

However… the next second, the True Ancestor was dumbfounded.

“Why… you’ve clearly turned back into a human, so why hasn’t your strength weakened in the slightest!?”

“Ah, ah.”

Seeing the True Ancestor’s expression of surprise mixed with horror, Seraphina offered a faint smile.

“That’s because… whether I’m a Bloodkin or a human, my strength has always been just 1!”

“As for why you haven’t managed to overpower me, despite my strength being only 1… perhaps it’s because you’re simply too weak?”

“My dear True Ancestor?”

“Guh-uh-uh!”

Seraphina’s taunt was exceptionally effective; the True Ancestor’s pale face instantly flushed crimson.

“You insolent wretch! Don’t get ahead of yourself!”

“I am the True Ancestor! The one who created the entire Bloodkin race! A being destined to become a deity!”

“You… you are merely a subordinate kin, a stepping stone for my ascension to godhood… How dare you be so arrogant!”

As they spoke, fierce light blazed in the True Ancestor’s eyes, searing into Seraphina’s own like a scorching sun.

“Watch me crush you!”

“What’s all this talk of becoming a god?”

Facing the blazing gaze, Seraphina remained entirely unfazed.

“I don’t care what you intend to do! Just don’t think you can occupy my body!”

****

Meanwhile, outside Seraphina’s body…

“Can anyone tell me what’s actually happening…?”

Before Iqiyah, Seraphina’s eyes were tightly shut. Her hands, like a machine, simultaneously shot up.

“Snap!”

With a crisp sound, Seraphina’s left hand swung out, instantly leaving a red slap mark on her own cheek!

But if that weren’t strange enough.

The next second, Seraphina’s right hand struck her right cheek with almost the same speed and force!

Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!

Please don’t misunderstand; this wasn’t some ritual of life, but the rhythmic self-slapping of Seraphina’s left and right hands against her cheeks.

“Tsk!”

Faced with such a spectacle, Godia (the True Ancestor) also frowned deeply.

“How can a mere subordinate kin resist me for so long!?”

“…Don’t even get me started. I’d like to know that myself.”

Just as Seraphina and the True Ancestor were locked in a stalemate, Iqiyah finally regained her composure.

“If you wish to know…”

Iqiyah spread her hands, and a crimson magic array suddenly appeared beneath her. With a hum of arcane energy, the Crimson Blood Dragon materialized, lifting Iqiyah high into the air.

“I’ll burn the truth into your grave on your death day.”

Giving the True Ancestor no chance to react, Iqiyah swung her arm. The Crimson Blood Dragon roared, raising its mountain-like body, and bore down directly…

****

“Heheheh… In the end, you are nothing more than a mere human, a mere subordinate kin!”

Within the white space, Seraphina, having returned to her human body, finally capitulated under the True Ancestor’s pressure.

With a forceful push, the True Ancestor slammed Seraphina’s hands hard against the ground, pressing their delicate nostrils directly against Seraphina’s cheek.

The reason was simple: after transforming back into a human, Seraphina’s stamina had significantly decreased, leaving her utterly unable to sustain a prolonged confrontation. She could only succumb.

“Gah! You can’t, you absolutely can’t!”

Feeling the True Ancestor’s hot, moist breath, Seraphina’s heart leaped into her throat.

“Can’t?”

The True Ancestor licked their lips, displaying a look of crazed anticipation, much like Iqiyah had when she’d wanted to devour Seraphina.

Only… this “devouring” was in a truly physical sense.

“It’s too late! I’m going to have my hot dog now!”

‘Damn it…’

Watching the True Ancestor open their gaping maw, poised to rip her heart out, Seraphina, powerless to resist, could only close her eyes and await death’s arrival.

‘I thought there might be a turn of events… but in the end, I’m still going to die, aren’t I?’

‘Ah, well, let’s look on the bright side. At least I’m dying at the hands (or rather, mouth) of a beautiful girl. It’s certainly better than being run over by a truck in my last life.’

‘Still… to die in a foreign land, I feel so unwilling…’

‘Dad… Mom…’

A fleeting montage flashed before her eyes, and two stern-looking farmers appeared before Seraphina.

‘No, not you two. I meant my parents from my previous life.’

The farmers’ figures dissipated, replaced by two shimmering golden forms.

‘Ah, yes, it’s you two. I’ve missed you so much.’

‘But wait a minute…’

Seraphina narrowed her eyes, yet found she couldn’t clearly discern the figures of her parents.

‘Even with two reincarnations… it’s only been eighteen years, hasn’t it?’

‘How could I possibly forget what my parents looked like?’

‘Hold on… I… What was my name again?’

‘Shulk, Seraphina… either one is her name in this world.’

‘But as for her former world… aside from a few memories (mostly about the truck), she couldn’t recall anything else.’

‘This isn’t right…’

“Indeed, this isn’t right.”

‘!?’

“So, wouldn’t you like to know the answer?”

A familiar voice echoed.

“And… didn’t you say you wanted to conquer this world, to trample those who looked down on you?”

“Didn’t you say you’d take Iqiyah into your possession, and promise to spend your life with her?”

“Was all that merely empty talk?”

Seraphina snapped her eyes open, and saw behind the True Ancestor, a shimmering golden figure was standing there.

However… unlike her parents from her previous life, this figure’s appearance was incredibly clear, incredibly real.

“…So, Seraphina.”

Flipping their ash-white hair, the figure’s cherry lips parted, their voice resonant and powerful.

“You must never accept death!”

Raising a hand, the figure suddenly brandished a massive warhammer, conjured from who knew where, and swung it fiercely, aiming directly at the True Ancestor pinning Seraphina.