Drip.
‘Wow, you’ve lost an arm, and you’re not screaming?’
Drip…!
‘I’m impressed. I didn’t think you’d have that type of willpower in you. The sister that always used to cry has finally grown up.’
Drip. Drip.
Rose’s mind was clouded, her vision blurred as she struggled to see ahead. Her right side was numb, and she could barely focus, let alone think clearly.
The only thing that continued to persist was the annoying voice of her sister.
It just continued…
‘You’d cry for hours for the stupidest things, hehehe. You still do, but not as much.’
And it didn’t stop.
‘Still, at the rate things are going, I don’t know how long you’ll last. I’m worried we’ll be seeing each other soon. Well, I don’t mind.’
Rose knew this was all a fabrication in her mind, and yet she couldn’t make it stop at all.
Even in death, her sister’s image and memories refused to stop haunting her.
“A-ah, make it… stop.”
‘Now, why would you want to stop hearing my voice? That’s sad to hear. And it also makes me want to speak more.’
How could she hate and miss a voice so much?
Rose’s lips trembled.
However, the trembling didn’t persist for very long. It was all of a sudden that she noticed a sudden shift in the surrounding atmosphere, and when she raised her head, she found a familiar figure appearing.
Rustle~
Coming from one of the distant bushes, Rose saw Kiera appear.
Her heart stirred, and her face blanked.
“N-no, why would…”
After everything she had done. Why was she here? No, she should’ve seen this coming. Julien’s presence was clear of that.
Without him, how could Kiera run?
“…Ah.”
Pain finally seeped into Rose’s mind as her chest rose and fell in unsteady breaths. She wanted to stand, to move forward, to stop whatever was unfolding—but the moment she tried, she froze.
That was because…
‘Her eyes.’
She finally took notice of Kiera’s eyes.
Her entire body froze at the sight of Kiera’s eyes.
They were… They were…
‘A spitting image of my eyes?’
Her sister’s phantom materialized beside Kiera, gazing at her with that familiar, half-hearted smile.
‘Yes, yes… They look exactly how my eyes used to look. Don’t you think so?’
There was amusement in her voice as she said those words, and Rose’s entire body trembled.
“N-no.”
She reached forward with her hand, trying to find a way to stop Kiera, but it was too late.
The Crimson Squad Leader had already appeared before Kiera. Rose’s entire body grew tense as she prepared to move, but it was just as she was about to do so that she suddenly realized something was off.
Unconsciously, her eyes drifted to the right, focusing on Julien.
“…..!”
Her eyes widened as she saw him move—his pitch-black hand lunging forward, piercing through the space behind the Crimson Squad Leader, who had no time to react.
The next sequences of actions happened extremely fast.
“Hieeeek—!”
The instant Julien’s hand touched the Crimson Squad Leader’s back, a piercing scream tore through the forest. It was deafening, echoing through every inch of the surroundings.
Everyone froze at the sight.
Everyone besides Rose, as she dashed forward.
Swoosh!
Flames engulfed her body as she surged forward in a blur.
“Stop!”
“…Stop her!”
By the time she moved, the Crimson Squad members reacted—but it was already too late. Rose had already appeared before the Crimson Squad Leader, her hand thrust forward as a terrifying magic circle materialized, engulfing the leader completely.
The Crimson Squad Leader didn’t even have time to react before getting engulfed completely, the flames from Rose’s attack shredding everything behind her.
Thump!
Rose fell to her knees shortly after, her chest rising and falling repeatedly as her face paled.
She was exhausted beyond belief.
“Haa… Haa…”
Still, even though she was exhausted, looking ahead of her and seeing a charred body limply fall before her, she knew that she had done it.
She had somehow managed to kill the Crimson Squad Leader.
The entire exchange didn’t last any more than a second, and yet, she managed to come out on top. Against someone so strong… And this was thanks to none other than her own niece and Julien.
They…
‘Move, I need to move.’
Rose quickly snapped out of her daze. She understood clearly that things were far from over.
The Crimson Squad members remained, but before Rose could turn to face them, Kiera stepped forward. Her hands were completely black as she raised a finger toward Julien—who suddenly felt his own hands darken.
As if understanding what was happening, Julien merely pressed his hand down, and a hand materialized behind one of the approaching Crimson Squad members.
“Careful—!”
One of the members noticed the anomaly, reacting quickly and distancing himself from the spot where the space fluctuated. But as if anticipating this move, just as the burly man from the Crimson Squad stepped back, a hand materialized in the spot where they moved.
“Shit!”
By the time they realized that they had fallen for a trap, it was too late.
“Ahhhh!”
Another scream pierced through the crackling of the flames around them.
“This…”
Rose scanned her surroundings, her gaze eventually locking onto Kiera, who now appeared like an entirely different person.
Her eyes were cold, and her entire body was growing darker and darker by the second.
The sight…
It reminded her of a distant memory.
‘Oh? Doesn’t she remind you so much of me?’
No, stop.
‘I used to be like that too, no?’
I don’t want to hear about it.
‘…Back when I had fully embraced the darkness. Nobody could stop me then. Looks like she’s turning out to be more and more like me.’
“A-ah, ha.”
Rose’s chest trembled at the sight.
Indeed, Kiera had begun to resemble her mother more and more. From the hollow depth in her eyes to her effortless command over the darkness. It was as if she were becoming a reflection of the woman Rose used to respect the most.
And that scared her.
…That woman.
She couldn’t let Kiera stray in that path.
“Ahhh—!”
Another scream suddenly echoed through the air. Frantically, Rose turned toward the source of the cry and saw another squad member clutching their head in agony.
Rose could see the despair and shock on their faces as they held onto their head.
Now… only one member remained.
“Stop! What are you doing?! Get away——Ukeh!”
Two hands suddenly materialized from the space around her, pressing onto both sides of her face.
A scream similar to the previous ones echoed throughout, piercing through the loud crackling of the flames.
The scene was shocking.
Rose could hardly believe her eyes.
For the Crimson Squad, one of the elite forces belonging to the Seat of Power, to be eliminated like this… who would believe it?
Had she not seen it with her own eyes, Rose wouldn’t have believed it.
Julien’s emotive magic aside, Kiera’s transformation was nothing short of staggering. The fact that she could control the darkness so precisely—able to ‘carry’ a body part through it without anyone noticing—was truly shocking.
‘No, that’s not entirely it…’
Upon further reflection, Rose realized that the reason none of the Crimson Squad members had noticed Kiera’s dark magic stemmed from several factors.
For one, their attention was always entirely on her, while they dismissed Kiera as the least threatening, overlooking her presence entirely.
When the situation shifted, instead of redirecting their focus to Kiera, they fixated on Julien, believing him to be the source of all the chaos. This, in fact, was their biggest mistake. Had they paid more attention to Kiera, then…
‘It doesn’t matter. It’s already too late.’
Most importantly, Rose could foresee just how powerful Kiera could become in the future when she utilized this skill properly.
As long as no one was aware of her presence, she could swiftly shift the tide of any situation.
That, alongside Julien’s Emotive Magic, and the two could probably defeat people a lot stronger than them.
“…..”
Still, staring at Kiera, Rose didn’t find it in her to feel happy at all.
In fact, all she felt was fear and apprehension.
The more she looked at her, the clearer the reflection of her mother became, causing a lump to form in her throat.
“Ki—”
Rose was about to speak when Kiera suddenly moved, directing her attention towards the Crimson Squad Members who were still alive.
With her cold, and hollow gaze, she stopp before them.
She stood quietly, staring at them in silence as Julien silently looked at her.
Just as he was about to open his mouth, Kiera suddenly brought her hand forward.
Swoosh!
Flames suddenly erupted from her hand, consuming the Crimson Squad members entirely, incinerating them on the spot.
Her actions left both Julien and Rose stunned.
“Kiera…?”
By the time the flames died, there remained nothing of the Crimson Squad members. Just their charred remains. The same was true for the Crimson Squad Leader whom Rose eliminated.
The only thing that was left behind besides their ashes was the crackling sound of the surrounding flames.
Kiera’s clothes fluttered as she stood in silence, not saying a single word.
“Ki…”
It was then that Rose finally managed to mutter a few words.
Her entire body was in pain, and her vision was blurry, but she still had enough force to call out for her.
“…..”
But her words seemed to go on deaf ears.
Kiera just remained motionless, unmoved by everything. The more she looked like that, the greater the pain Rose experienced.
She was turning more and more like her mother.
“Ki… w-what happened to you?”
In spite of her struggles, Rose forced herself to speak.
“You… you used to be scared of the darkness. And your eyes, they…”
It wasn’t just the pain causing Rose to stumble over her words.
“….You look… more and more like your mother.”
She herself was struggling to articulate her words.
“Don’t let the darkness consume you.”
The fear of witnessing the past repeat itself left Rose breathless. With each word she spoke, she felt her energy draining further away.
“…Don’t repeat what your… mother did. Don’t—”
“You can stop.”
Kiera’s voice suddenly echoed, cutting Rose’s voice.
As her silver hair gently fluttered before, Kiera turned her head.
“…Aunt, I understand everything.”
Something about her voice left Rose unsettled.
“No, you do—”
“I understand that you were also a victim in all of this. I’m sorry for how I treated you in the past. You were never the bad guy.”
“That… I…”
Rose felt completely breathless.
Looking into Kiera’s eyes, it suddenly felt so suffocating.
Because…
“…I now understand who the bad guy is.”
A tear suddenly traced down Kiera’s cheek as she retrieved a small diary.
“It was me. I was the bad guy from the start.”