Backinthat[UndergroundMine], hadalreadybeentransfusedwithvampirebloodrightuptothelimit.
hemontevenalittlemoremonsterbloodmixedintothere,
wouldhavecrossedthelineandbecoamonsterinsteadofahuman.
venso,thereasonhadmanagedtoholdonuntilnowwassimple.
Myclasswaschef.
Andachefwassoonewhorefinedwhatshouldnotbeeatenintosothingthatcouldbeconsud,andpresidedoveraproperal.
Apriestwhooversawtheprocessofturninganother’sbodyintoone’sownbloodandflesh.
venifdevouredothers,
ifthatprocesspassedthroughmycooking,
thenaaltakenthroughthatcookingcausednoproblem.
't’shelpedalotuptonow...'
But...
'Sorryaboutthis...'
otthisti.
Bymyownwill,
hadconsudsothingthathadnotbeen[cooked].
...hethingucahadmadefor.
heserumthatwouldmakegobeyondbeinghuman.
[heactofseekingtogobeyondhumanityisaclearactofbetrayal.]
[fyoudonotstopimdiately—————]
Fromthecracklingstatuswindow,
thewarningstostopthismadnesskeptpouringin.
Butaslookedatthosessages,mutteredinwardly:
'Youknowittoo...don’tyou?'
Unfortunately,
ifwantedtoresolvethissituation,thiswastheonlyway.
herewasnootherthod.
[Ra—ce:u—man...]
Asmuchasfeltsorrytowardthesystemthathadhelpedallthisti,
fromthispointon,
[Race:a—mpireProgenit—r...]
wouldleavehumanitybehind andberebornasamonster.
[BRAYA!!!!!!!!!!]
Andthen,inthatinstant—
[[Хиёнат!خيانة!!!raición!!! خيانة!!!errat!!!Зрада!!!radinto!!!raição!!!Измена!!!背叛!!! विश्वासघात!!!erraad!!!İhanet!!!Προδοσία!!!Forræderi!!!Petturuus!!!Zrada!!!Árulás!!!Предателство!!!裏切り!!!rădare!!! rahison!!!การทรยศ!!!Sựphảnbội!!!Pengkhianatan!!!Издаја!!!Zrada!!!Reetmine!!!šdavystė!!!radhti!Svik!!!raïció!!!Предавство!!!radint!!!Xiyanət!!!ღალატი!!!raizio!!!Урвах!!!odošana!!!Usaliti!!!K’ehjį́!!!배신!!!Pagtraydor!!!خیانت!!!Fa’avae!!!Petturuus!!!ttuy!!zdaja!!!!]
Myvisionfilledwithaflood ofgrotesquelettersandlanguagescouldnotidentify.
Phrasesthatfeltasthoughhundreds,thousands,billionsofvoiceswerescreamingatonce.
hereweresomanyssagesflashingpastsoquicklythatcouldnotevenproperlyreadthem.
[Mi—norReinforc—nt]
But.
hroughthetastecontainedwithinthem,couldunderstandwhatthesystemant.
'Betrayal.'
Asickeningsenseofbetrayal.
Ragealmostonthelevelofhatred.
—hereweressagesthatkeptappearinginmy[StatusWindow].
AconversationhadoncehadwithJangYoungwoongcabackto.
—“hisisaclearactofbetrayal,sostopimdiately.”
Betrayal,huh.
—hatwasthefirsttirealizedthesystemwasabeingcapableofexpressingitsownwilllikethat.
Well.
Consideringhowmuchthisthinghaddonefor,
guessithadeveryrighttobeangry.
Backthenitrarelyexpressedemotionslikethis,butnowitwasgoingsofarastoputthemintowords.
treallymusthavebeenfurious.
...rmaybe.
'thadalotitwantedtosayfromthebeginning...andonlynowthatmy[evel]hasrisen,it’sfinallyabletospeak.'
Well.
didnotreallyknowwhichitwas.
Still,anyway.
'hisdoesstingalittle.'
Seeingitgetthatangry madeunderstand,butatthesati,
honestlyhadmyowngrievancetoo.
'Diditreallythink...'
Fillingmyhandwiththatsmallsenseofhurt,
brushedthestatuswindowbeforemyeyes.
'...that’djustrolloverthateasily?'
Andthen.
[—————————]
hessagewindowoverflowingwithragestopped, andlookedatthatnow-emptyboxwithafaintsnort.
'Justkeepwatchingalittlelonger.'
Staringatthecracklingstatuswindowinfrontof,
slowlyraisedmyhand.
'’llbebacksoonenough.'
Andthen.
aditunderstoodwhatant?
rwasitbecausestillhadnotbecoacompletemonster?
[......Spe—cialrait]
Bzzt...
[‘Soul—ookingMastery’activates!]
couldfeeltheabsurdlyvastmanainsidemybody beginningtotakeshapeatmyfingertips.
***
Puhwaaaaaaaaaak!
“Kh...!”
hebloodsuddenlyburstingoutfrominsideitsownbody—
thegranddukestaredatthatbloodwithshockedeyes.
'othinkthatlittletrickfrombackthenwouldcobacktotripuphere!'
Abeingbornfromsabella’sblood.
fAriella’srankwasraised,maybeshecouldfilltheonemissingseat.
Butifsheknewitantthegranddukeintendedtodevourher,therewasnotellingwhereshemightrun.
Sothegranddukehadluredherwithaplausiblelie.
Sayingitwouldgiveagifttooneinferiorspeciesshetreasured hadbeenpartofthataswell.
'hadplannedtodevourherbeforethatmontevercaanyway.'
fitdevouredtheAriellawhowouldturnthatinferiorspeciesintoanoble,
thenthatinferiorspecieswouldnevergetthechancetobecoanobleinthefirstplace.
hatwaswhyithadbeenanemptypromise.
But.
Sssss...
'hatinferior-speciesbastard!'
hatinferiorspeciesoverthere.
Fromthatlowly,weakbody...
afamiliarscentwasgraduallybeginningtowaftout.
hethicksllofblood.
hetasteofiron.
'...hatbastard!'
hescentofkin.
heonewhohadbeennothingmorethananinferiorspecieswasbeginningtoberebornasanoble.
hemonthadcowhenthegranddukewouldhavetohonorapromiseithadneverintendedtokeep.
“...up!”
But.
hegranddukefocusedallitsmindandcontrolledthebloodvesselsinitsbody.
hebloodtryingtoburstoutofitsbody—
itsuppressedthatoutflowasmuchaspossible.
'hatpromiseonlystatedthatwouldhandovermyblood.'
Right.
Whenyouthoughtaboutit,itwasnothingspecial.
twasrelyatransferofblood,afterall.
'Asforhowmuchbloodwouldbehandedover—!'
hatwasnever—
“—specified,asrecall.”
“...!”
“Ammistaken?”
Aleisurelyvoicesoundedbesidethegrandduke’sear, interruptingitsthoughts.
Andthen.
Puhwaaaaaaaak...
...Sliiide.
hegrandduke’sblood,explodingoutwardintotheair,
begantomovesowherewithcleardirection.
“owdare...!”
And.
hegranddukegrounditsteethasitlookedtowardwherethatbloodwasheaded.
“Aretoy...!”
“ehe.Atoy,isit?”
WithagesturefromAriella’shand,
thebloodthathadbeenflyingtowardShinYoungjunchangeddirectionandshotupwardintotheair.
“Unfortunately,thatsortofprovocationdoesn’tanmuchtoanymore.”
“...!”
rdinarily,
nomatterhowpowerfulanoblemightbe,
itwouldnotbeabletocontrolthebloodshedbyagranddukeatwill.
twasnotbecauseitlackedpower.
heothergranddukes—
evenifallthreegranddukeswhohadnowvanishedgatheredinoneplace,theystillwouldnotbeabletodosuchathing.
...otnow.
'Controlovertheblood...'
heownerofthebloodflowinginsidethegrandduke’sbodyhadbeenthegranddukeitself.
omatterhowmuchmanaanothervampirepouredintoit,
thatbloodwouldnotobeythecommandsofonewhowasnotitsowner.
venthebloodthegranddukehadplantedinsideAriella—
becauseithadremainedthegrandduke’sevenafterenteringAriella’sbody,
thegranddukehadbeenabletostripawayherrankwithease.
Butnow...
'twasgone.'
Anoathwassothingspokenwhileinfusedwithone’sownmana.
Andthestandardbywhichthatoathwasfulfilled
wastheoath-speaker’sownjudgnt,freeofanylies.
AndthegranddukehadtoldShinYoungjunthatitwould“give”himitsblood.
'otlendit,andnotrelyshareit.'
Becauseithadliterallypromisedto“give”it,
thebloodthathadleftitsbodyandbegunmovingtowardShinYoungjun wasnolongerthegrandduke’sblood.
hemontitleftthatbody,thegrandduke’scontroloveritvanishedcompletely.
'...Untilitflowsintothatman’sbody,itisbloodwithnoowneratall.'
And.
fthatwasthecase—
“reallyamfortunate,randDuke!”
—thenevensoonewhooriginallyhadnotbeentheownerofthatblood,
whohadnotpossessedeventhefaintesttraceofcontroloverit—
forexample,
“othinkthere’sthismuchownerlessbloodfloatingaroundhere!”
—evenAriella
couldnowclaimtobeitsowner.
“owdare...!”
hegranddukegrounditsteeth,
butstillconcentratedwitheverythingithadtosohowreclaimcontroloverthebloodsuspendedintheair.
Butitwasimpossible.
'hefulfillntoftheoathhasalreadybegun.'
Unlessthatman—
unlessShinYoungjunactuallyreceivedthegrandduke’sblood,
theoathwouldcontinuetobeforciblycarriedoutuntilthattransferwascompleted.
'can’teventakebackthemanaalreadyoffered...!'
tcouldnotkillthatmaneither.
fithadbeenbeforetheoath’sfulfillntbegan,thatwouldhavebeenonething.
Buttodrawoutthebloodandthenkillhimbeforehandingitoverwouldcountasbreakingtheoath.
venifitwantedtokillhim,thatcouldonlyhappenafter✧оvеight✧(riginalsource)thisoathhadfirstbeencompleted.
nthatcase,
thepaththegranddukehadtochoosewassimple.
'Sohow,havetogetmybloodintohim.'
heamountdidnotmatter.
fitcouldjustmanagetomakethatmanconsuevenalittleofitsblood,thentheoathwouldbeconsideredfulfilled.
Afterthat,itwouldbefreetodowhateveritpleased.
“WhenfirstreceivedthisbloodfromtheProgenitor,couldnotproperlycontroltheoverflowingpower.”
notherwords—
“Backthen...accidentallybrokeagreatmanytoys.”
—theexistenceinterferingwiththetransferofblood,
sabella’stoy,
Ariella,
hadtoberemoved.
“histi,itwon’tbeanaccident.”
Kwwwwaaaaaang!!!
“Kgh...!”
hegrandduke’sattackstruckho, andAriella’sbodylurchedviolently.
venthoughtheshadowsmovingsoskillfullyhadblockedthatattack,theimpactwasenoughtomakehermindgoblankforaninstant.
Yes.
Shehadknownforalongtinowthattheywerenotopponentsitcouldfacethroughrawforce.
venso,thereasontheyhadattemptedsothinglikethis...
wasnotbecausetheywerefoolish.
'Mylord.'
Ariellalookedatherfingertips.
Attheenormouspoolgatheringthere.
Atthegrandduke’sblood.
—Kiiiiiieeeek...
Withinthatpoolfloatinginthesky,
justlikethoseshehaddevouredbefore, thesoulsoftheboundletoutagonizedscreams.
heexistencesthathadmixedintoAriella’sbody
anddilutedhersoul.
nthepast,Ariellatoowouldhavedrawntheminwithouthesitation.
'Urk...'
Butnow,
thesoulsthathadoncedilutedherweregonefromwithinher.
heAriellaofnowcouldnoteventhinkofdrinkingthatblood.
Justlookingatthathideoussightmadeherstomachchurn,andtearsthreatentospillfromhereyes.
Whichwaswhy—
'Whatagreedtoreceivefromyouwasnotthegrandduke’sblood,wasit?'
Shehadnointerestinthegrandduke’sblooditself.
Certainly,therewasaninginweakeningthegrandduke’spower.
Butthedifferenceinstrengthbetweenthemwasnotsothingthatwouldbenarrowedbythatalone.
...ere.
onarrowthatgapmoredecisively,
itwasnotenoughrelyforthegrandduke’spowertoweaken.
Whatwasneededwas...yes.
'hegrandduke’s...cooking!'
Cooking.
Paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!!!
Andthen.
heveryinstantAriellathoughtthat—
“...!”
“!?”
Amassivewaveoflight brushedpasttheplacewhereAriellaandthegranddukehadbeenfighting.
***
Whenithadfirstbegun,ithadbeenavastbluelight.
Butthefartherittraveled,themoreitturnedintoabrilliantgray-whiteradiance.
hatradiancehadnotbeenaidatthegranddukeorAriella.
Plop...
hatlight splasheddownintotheenormouspoolofbloodintheskyandmixedwithit.
Crack.
Andthen...
Sarararararararararak!!!
Frominsideit, whitelightspreadattrendousspeed,
flowingthroughthecountlessreddropletsfloatinginthesky.
—Ahh...
hesoulsboundthere
—urthanks...nothingbutthanks...
vanishedwhileofferinggratitude.
Andthen,
theveryatmosphereofthatredliquidchangedcompletely.
Fromahideouscrystallizationofsinthatmadeyouwanttovomitjustfromlookingatit,
itbecapurepoweritself,beautifulbeyondwords,likeajewel.
'’msorry.'
Andthen.
hosebeautifuljewelsbegantomovetowardAriella.
Watchingthatsight,Ariellabowedherheadinwardly.
'havenorighttotakeyourlives.'
houghitlookedbeautiful,
theprocessbywhichthatpowerhadbeencreatedwasanythingbutbeautiful.
'venso,forgive.'
venso,
shedecidedtoclaimthatpower.
'Yourlives...willbeusedforthesakeofotherlives.'
Withasoftrustle,
thecrimsonjewelstouchedAriella’sbody andsankintoherskinasthoughltingintoit.
[CoursealPreparedwiththeFullSincerityofaero-ClassWarChef]
[Coursea-ife]
omatterhowfilthytherawmaterialmayoncehavebeen, thatingredienthadnowbeenpreparedandcookedbythehandsofachef...
onewhohadreachedtheabsolutesummitamongallchefsonthisland.
[Abeautifuldishbornfromthefingertipsofagreatchefwhohassurpassedtherealmofheroesandnowgazesbeyondit!]
[Beginningwithordinaryatandvegetables,thenmovingontostoneandiron,lightningandwater,thechefnexttookholdoftheingredientknownasthesoul.]
[houghclumsyatfirst,throughextensiveexperiencethatcookingskillimprovedbyleapsandbounds.]
[hisisthefirstcoursealusing‘soul’evercreatedbyachefwalkingthepathofgreatness.]
[Becauseofitsuniquenessandrarity,beingsthroughouttheuniversewouldwishtotastethisdishevenonce!]
ventheAriellaofnow couldeatthatdishwithoutissue.
“...owfinallyunderstand.”
And.
Watchingthatsight,thegranddukemurmuredblankly:
“Sowasnottheonlyonewhochosetowalkthathideouspath.”
hegrandduke’sbloodburstout.
hebloodthatburstforthwasrefinedandsenttowardAriella.
“herewassoonebesides...whochosetodevourtheirownkin.”
Whenitcatoskillinhandlingpower,
Ariellahadalreadypulledahead.
Whatstoodbetweenthemnowwasthedifferenceinpuremartialforce.
“Youintendedtotakethesisterandbrotherinside...”
“Ahh...”
Andthen—
“Youcaheretodevour!!!”
hatgap—
“Sowhatyousaidwastrueafterall.”
—littlebylittle—
“Atastesoexquisitethatevenanyrevulsionisforgotten...”
—very,verylittlebylittle—
“ttrulyisaheavenlytaste!”
—hadbeguntonarrow.
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