If only she still had some strength left…
If only she hadn’t made that deal with that bastard, paying such a steep price…
“It had to happen right now, when I was so close to finishing. If you’d just given me a few more years, I could’ve…”
Sophia let out a sigh. But rather than giving in to despair or fleeing in defeat, she tightened her grip on the massive scythe embedded in the crimson ground and whipped her head around, searching for any sign of Setra.
Dragging her battered body along, she scanned the barren wasteland for the girl lying somewhere nearby, shielded by the barrier Sophia had cast on her. If she could manage it, she’d activate the teleportation spell once more. But that supreme magic came at a cost almost equivalent to her life for someone at the Soul Tier.
“No time to worry about that now…”
Not long ago, this place had been a vast forest, hadn’t it?
Dead silence. The stillness of the grave.
The hurricane had died down. As far as the eye could see, Sophia found herself adrift in an endless expanse of desolate plain—a hapless soul who had unwittingly stumbled into cursed soil.
In truth, she did feel pretty sorry for herself…
One moment, she was the Vampire True Ancestor of the Blood Clan; the next, she vanished without a trace. She endured the agony of betrayal, the humiliation of shattered pride, and the heartbreak of abandoning her family. She went into hiding, rejoined the Iron Wing, and trained relentlessly to reclaim her former power—to claw her way back to the throne of the Demon King.
But raw talent alone wasn’t enough to push her back to Soul Tier Layer 6. It was grueling…
If she hadn’t crossed paths with that oddball Setra, she’d never have found the drive. She’d be lounging in some dingy tavern bed by now, squandering her “inheritance” on a life of drunken debauchery and idleness. In the end, the vice general position was too important to throw away.
The value of life was a strange thing.
Sophia envied those who clung to their ambitions through thick and thin. Most people just plodded along prescribed paths, drifting further from their dreams. Fewer still underwent true transformation in the face of utter ruin. And fools like her? They didn’t even rate a mention in casual chit-chat.
So…
At the very least, before she died, she had to confess her feelings to that girl. Right?
“Setra…”
Sophia reached out a trembling hand, her legs shaking uncontrollably. She didn’t dare look back. That cataclysmic wave of destruction blotting out half the sky could claim her as the Demon Race’s first tragic casualty at any moment.
Sorry. Nothing…
“Setra, you still playing hide-and-seek? Damn it.”
No sign of Setra—that cheerful red-haired girl who was centuries her junior.
In the past, Sophia hadn’t believed it was possible for anyone to completely remake another person. She figured igniting the darkness in one’s own heart was impossible. If she couldn’t do it herself, no one else could either.
But Setra had done it…
Through months and years of companionship, the ice in Sophia’s heart melted away beneath Setra’s sun-like warmth. What emerged was a vast sea of flowers and lush green meadows. And as the tender sprouts of infatuation began to bud, Sophia realized her old arrogance and obsession with reclaiming the Demon King’s throne had faded. All she wanted now was a quiet, ordinary life—like any normal person.
Damn it…
Was she seriously thinking of playing the cougar?
Still, every morning when that little rascal woke her up, made her eat during the day, and offered her blood at night, a flicker of desire would stir deep inside—subtle, but insistent.
“Damn it, you idiot. Sigh… am I the idiot here?”
The sweeter the memories, the more bitter the present tasted.
With no trace of Setra, Sophia’s hope dwindled to despair. She came to a halt at the edge of a crater—her last shred of optimism. But the girl wasn’t there.
She’d heard that Dark Filth arose from fallen souls. And when a Soul Tier powerhouse died, their soul could be reborn in short order.
What a beautiful tale it would be if, someday soon amid the vast sea of humanity, they could reunite.
But…
Lovers reincarnating, crossing paths once more, reclaiming lost memories, and falling in love again? Just a pretty illusion, in the end.
“Setra…”
“Sophia, what are you doing?”
“Missing you…”
“…”
Wait—who said that?
“Sophia, has your head gone soft?”
“Setra?!”
Propping herself up, Sophia raised her head and stared in disbelief at the girl standing before her: the Demon Race’s general, Setra.
Her red hair hung dimmed from the blood Sophia had drained, framing her cute face. Setra looked pale, but far from death’s door—just like someone who’d pulled a few all-nighters without a bite to eat.
Realizing she’d blurted out something bizarre, Sophia flushed crimson and jerked her head away.
“You’re not dead, you idiot!”
“It’s still too early for that. Can’t you at least hope I make it?”
Sophia glared at Setra’s utterly nonchalant expression and attitude, stamping her foot in frustration.
“You idiot! If you’ve got the strength, then run! What do you mean coming here to keep me company? Do you want to die with me? Damn it, damn it, damn it—you’re such a moron, an absolute moron!”
But…
I’m so happy…
In a terribly selfish way, she felt a surge of joy—even the cells in her body seemed to be cheering and dancing.
Because Setra had come to be with her in these final moments, rather than leaving her here all alone to face death in silence.
“You’re crying?” Setra tilted her head.
“You’re the one who’s crying…”
“Scared stupid?”
“You—!”
Sophia nearly exploded with rage all over again.
Sometimes, she truly felt like her centuries of life had been for nothing. The aloof arrogance she’d once possessed had worn away almost completely, transformed in Setra’s presence into nonstop fury—endlessly exasperated by this woman’s idiotic antics.
“If only I’d run sooner… Sigh, Setra.” Sophia didn’t lash out as she usually would. Tears welled in her eyes as she managed a relieved smile. “I’m glad you came to keep me company, but you have to go. I’ll send you out of here with the Blood Clan’s teleportation magic.”
“Oh? So Sophia, you’re a descendant of the Vampire True Ancestor?” Setra sounded mildly surprised.
“…You could put it that way. Hurry up—I’m not going to last much longer. At the very least, you have to survive, you idiot… Actually, no—I’ll follow right after. Then tonight, I’ll drain every last drop of your stupid blood.”
Sorry. She had to lie.
At least this way, Setra wouldn’t feel any guilt that might make her change her mind.
But as Sophia grasped Setra’s slightly cool little hand and prepared to unleash the powerful magic unique to the Vampire True Ancestor, she caught sight of the calm smile on Setra’s face—and the faint blush creeping across her cheeks from their touch.
“I never realized… you really do like me that much.”
“Mm…”
“…”
“Huh?”
Even now, she was cracking jokes like that?
Sophia huffed, her own face flushing as she focused on the teleportation spell.
Yet in the next moment, as Sophia stared in shock, Setra gently cupped her cheeks and whispered, “It’s okay. We’ve already been saved. There’s no need to lie to the person you like and die selfishly anymore.”
“Mm…?”
Sophia blinked in confusion. Then, from the now-clear sky overhead, a Dragon Howl rang out.
